June 13th, a banner day for baseball...
Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth and Roger Clemens dominated the game of baseball on this date. All Christy Mathewson would do is pitch his second no-hitter against the same team, 7 years apart, to the day. The victims were (who else ?) the Chicago Cubs. In the history of baseball only 22 pitchers have won 300 or more games. On the day he pitched his second no-hitter against the Cubs, Mathewson became the 8th pitcher to win 300...
Babe Ruth pitched 5 innings in a Yankee victory over the Detroit Tigers and for an encore hit 2 of his 714 home runs. 27 years later he would bid farewell to baseball in a heartwarming day given him at Yankee Stadium when his number 3 was retired...
Roger Clemens entered the record books on June 13th when he became the 21st 300-game winner in baseball. He accomplished something else in defeating the Cardinals for the New York Yankees. In that game the Rocket became the 3rd pitcher with 4,000 strikeouts behind Nolan Ryan and Steve Carlton...
More June 13 Memories...
1825] Walter Hunt patents the safety pin. Wally then sells the rights to his invention for $400 and is banished to the couch for the rest of his marriage to the Mrs...
1888] Congress creates the Department of Labor...
1912] Christy Mathewson pitches a no-hitter and wins his 300th game (part of feature story)...
1920] The U.S. Post Office rules that children may not be sent by parcel post (I mean they send pets, what's wrong with sending kids ?)...
1921] Babe Ruth pitches 5 innings and hits 2 home runs (part of feature story)...
1922] Charlie Osborne (not the newsman) of Anthon, Iowa, starts the longest attack of hiccups, hiccupping for 68 years (which is approximately 435 million times) before stopping. They tell us Charlie lived a normal life with a wife and 2 children. Charlie started hiccupping while slaughtering a hog in 1922 and didn't stop (hiccupping, not slaughtering a hog) until 1991. Charlie died 11 months later at 97 (you can't make this stuff up, Charlie actually appeared on several TV shows including The Tonight Show)...
1927] Charles Lindbergh is given a hero's welcome as he's honored by a ticker tape parade on Broadway...
1935] The Cinderella Man, James J. Braddock, 29, a New Jersey longshoreman wins the world heavyweight championship in a 15-round decision over Max Baer (Braddock will wear the crown for 2 years before being beaten by Joe Louis)...
1943] German spies land near Amagansett, Long Island (in the Hamptons) and are soon captured. They arrived by submarine with cash, dynamite, fuses, wires, timers and bombs and they weren't looking for a summer house...
1944] Marvin Camras patented the wire recorder (the forerunner to the tape recorder). This guy should have invented the camera...
1948] The Red Sox play their 1st night game at Fenway before a crowd of 34,510 (they beat the White Sox 5-3)...
1948] Babe Ruth bows out at Yankee Stadium (part of the feature story)...
1966] The Supreme Court issues its landmark Miranda vs. Arizona decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning (a.k.a. "Miranda rights")...
1967] The Beatles dominate the charts with the #1 single ("Long and Winding Road") and LP ("Let It Be")...
1971] The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of America's involvement in Vietnam...
1972] The Drifters original lead singer, Clyde McPhatter dies at 38. McPhatter who had several solo hits was considered by many to be one of Rock & Roll's great voices. Elvis frequently stated that he wished his voice were the equal of Clyde McPhatter's...
1977] James Earl Ray (accused MLK assassin) is recaptured after his escape from prison 3 days earlier...
1981] Tom Snyder goes to Vacaville prison in California to interview Charles Manson on his show...
1986] Benny Goodman, the "King of Swing" dies of an apparent heart attack in Manhattan at 77...
1994] A jury in Anchorage, Alaska blames recklessness by Exxon and Capt. Joseph Hazelwood for the Exxon Valdez disaster, allowing victims of the nation's worst oil spill to seek $15 billion in damages...
1997] A jury votes unanimously to give Timothy McVeigh the death penalty for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing...
2000] Julius "Dr. J." Erving issues a public appeal for help in finding his 19-year old son, Cory, missing since May 28th (Cory's body is found July 6th)...
2000] Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John II in 1981...
2003] Roger Clemens wins his 300th game and becomes the 3rd pitcher to reach 4,000 strikeouts (part of feature story)...
2004] Former President George H.W. Bush yells "Geronimo" when he parachute jumps from 13,000 feet to celebrate his 80th birthday...
2005] Michael Jackson is found not guilty on all counts in his child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California (46-year old Jackson takes his umbrella to the top of his limo and celebrates with Bubbles and Liz Taylor)...
[To ensure accuracy of dates and content, multiple reference sources are used in the timeline]...
Commentary...
Whether or not Ben Roethlisberger was wearing a helmet or not you just hope his motorcycle accident doesn't curtail what promises to be a brilliant career. The good news was that neither the driver of the car or the Super Bowl champion Steelers quarterback were killed. Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter had it right when he was asked last year about Roethlisberger riding motorcycles. "What I say about motorcycles is that concrete is undefeated"...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday"...
1935] Slightly wacky exterior designer Christo (who will be celebrating his birthday with Jeanne-Claude wrapped in bubble wrap and suspended from the Brooklyn Bridge while David Blaine, dangling from the bubble wrap, holds his breath until each bubble is popped by a pigeon)...
1939] Siegfried (Siegfried & Roy) (who will celebrate with Roy Horn)...
1949] Dennis Locorriere (a.k.a. Dr. Hook)...
1951] Richard (John-Boy) Thomas...
1953] One of America's un-funniest comedians Tim Allen...
1962] Hannah Storm...
1986] Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (who will celebrate by cracking a smile)...
[Today is the 164th day of 2006 with 201 days remaining in the year and 21 days until July 4th]
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