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 Today's
highlight in history:
One hundred years ago, on Sept. 23, 1908, one of baseball's most famous blunders occurred in a game between the New York Giants and the visiting Chicago Cubs. With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth and two runners out, the Giants batted in what should have been the winning run. However, Fred Merkle, who was on first base, began to leave the field apparently without bothering to tag second; the Cubs then claimed to have forced Merkle out. Merkle was eventually ruled out, negating the winning run and leaving the game tied. (The Cubs won a rematch game on Oct. 8 and with it, the National League pennant; Chicago then went on to win the World Series.)
On this date:
In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle.
In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the British.
In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.
In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
In 1938, a time capsule, to be opened in the year 6939, was buried on the grounds of the World's Fair in New York City.
In 1952, Republican vice-presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon went on television to deliver what came to be known as the "Checkers" speech as he refuted allegations of improper campaign financing.
In 1957, nine black students who had entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.
In 1962, New York's Philharmonic Hall (since renamed Avery Fisher Hall) formally opened as the first unit of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1973, former Argentine president Juan Peron won a landslide election victory that returned him to power; his wife, Isabel, was elected vice president.
In 2001, 13 coal miners were killed in explosions at the Blue Creek Mine No. 5 in Brookwood, Ala.
Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council demanded a cease-fire in Kosovo, and threatened further action if fighting continued. Sammy Sosa hit his 64th and 65th home runs, tying Mark McGwire for the single-season record. Federal regulators approved the merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group. Actress Mary Frann, who played Bob Newhart's wife on TV's "Newhart," died in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 55.
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Five years ago: Speaking at the United Nations, President Bush rejected calls from France and Germany to hasten the transfer of power in Iraq, insisting the shift to self-government could be "neither hurried nor delayed." A federal appeals court unanimously put California's recall election back on the calendar for Oct. 7.
One year ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left Tehran for New York to address the United Nations; state media quoted him as saying the American people were eager for different opinions about the world, and that he was looking forward to providing them with "correct and clear information." Cuba published a photo of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met with Angola's president.
Today's birthdays: Actor Mickey Rooney is 88. Actress Margaret Pellegrini ("The Wizard of Oz") is 85. Singer Julio Iglesias is 65. Actor Paul Petersen ("The Donna Reed Show") is 63. Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 61. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 59. Rock musician Leon Taylor (The Ventures) is 53. Actress Rosalind Chao is 51. Actor Jason Alexander is 49. Actor Chi McBride is 47. Actress Elizabeth Pena is 47. Country musician Don Herron (BR549) is 46. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 44. Actress LisaRaye is 42. Singer Ani DiFranco is 38. Rock singer Sarah Bettens (K's Choice) is 36. Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 36. Pop singer Erik-Michael Estrada ("Making the Band") is 29. Actress Aubrey Dollar is 28.
Thought for today: "Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
-- George Orwell (Eric Blair), British author (1903-1950)
[Associated Press]
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