Thursday 8 May 2008

May 5, 2008

980 years ago
1028

Died on this date
Alfonso V
, King of Leon/Galicia (999-1028). King Alfonso V was killed in battle.

100 years ago
1908


Born on this date
Tony Freitas
. U.S. baseball pitcher. Mr. Freitas had a career in professional baseball that spanned the years 1928-1953 (minus three years spent fighting in World War II). Most of his career was spent in the minor leagues, where he amassed 342 wins (fourth greatest in minor league history, and tops among lefthanders) and 238 losses. Mr. Freitas had nine seasons in which he won 20 or more games, including his last season. With the Stockton Ports of the California League in 1953, Mr. Freitas won 22 games, lost 9, and led the league in innings pitched with 279. Mr. Freitas pitched in the major leagues with the Philadelphia Athletics (1932-1933) and Cincinnati Reds (1934-1936), compiling a record of 25 wins and 33 losses. His best major league season was his first, when he posted a 12-5 record. Mr. Freitas died on March 13, 1994 at the age of 85.

Horse racing
Stone Street, with Arthur Pickens up, won the 34th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville in a time of 2:15 2/5, 3 lengths ahead of Sir Cleges. Duvegan finished third in the eight-horse field.

75 years ago
1933

Died on this date
Bill Van Dyke, 69
. U.S. baseball player. Mr. Van Dyke was the starting left fielder for the 1890 Toledo Maumees in the American Association, where he became the first rookie ever to hit for the cycle. Toledo did not field a team again in 1891, and many of their starters were unable to find major league employment. Mr. Van Dyke played just 4 games in the National League in 1892 (St. Louis Cardinals) and 3 in 1893 (Boston Beaneaters). His career major league totals are: 136 games (129 with Toledo in 1890), with a .253 batting average, 2 home runs.

70 years ago
1938

Baseball

Hal Kelleher of the Philadelphia Phillies faced 16 batters in the sixth inning as the Cubs scored 12 runs. Both marks are National League records off one pitcher in a single inning. The Cubs won 21-2, with Joe Marty collecting four hits, four runs, and four RBI. The loss went to Wayne LaMaster, who threw just three pitches to leadoff batter Stan Hack before leaving the game with a pain in his throwing arm.

60 years ago
1948


War
Haganah forces began clearing Arab resistance from the Upper Galilee.

World events
The U.S.S.R. tightened restrictions on the movement of food parcels and precious metals between Berlin and the western occupation zones.

Politics and government
The Belgian cabinet of Prime Minister Paul-Henri Spaak resigned in a dispute over the issue of higher state subsidies to Roman Catholic schools.

Conservative Korean leaders Kim Koo and Kimm Kiu Sic returned to Seoul from a meeting wit Communist leaders in Pyongyang and called for a boycott of United Nations-sponsored elections in the U.S. zone.

A U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C. convicted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo of contempt of Congress for refusing to tell the Hous of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities whether he was a Communist.

Indianica
Eight Sikh princely states in East Punjab formed the Phulkian Union as part of India.

Science
The U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House of Representatives a bill establishing a National Science Foundation with a director appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

50 years ago
1958

Hit parade

Hit parade
#1 singles in the U.S.A. (Billboard): Witch Doctor--David Seville (Best Seller--2nd week at #1; Top 100--2nd week at #1); He's Got the Whole World (In His Hands)--Laurie London (Disc Jockey--4th week at #1)

Television
KNME TV channel 5 in Albuquerque, New Mexico began broadcasting.

Literature
Columbia University awarded Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction: James Agee (A Death in the Family); Drama: Ketti Frings (Look Homeward, Angel); Poetry: Robert Penn Warren (Promises: Poems 1954-56).

Defense
The United States performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Eniwetok.

Politics and government
A new 145-member Iraqi Parliament was elected, completing constitutional revisions necessary for implementation of the Arab Federal State of Jordan and Iraq.

Labour
Bus service in London was suspended as 50,000 drivers, conductors, and maintenance men of the Transport and General Workers Union struck in a wage dispute.

40 years ago
1968


Died on this date
Albert Dekker, 62
. U.S. actor. After a decade as a stage actor, Mr. Dekker went to Hollywood and made his first movie appearance in The Great Garrick (1937). His three most famous screen roles were as a mad scientist in the 1940 horror film Dr. Cyclops, as a vicious hitman in The Killers (1946); and his last role, that of an unscrupulous railroad detective in Sam Peckinpah's western The Wild Bunch (1969). Mr. Dekker also returned to stage acting from time to time, including a stint replacing Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman in the original production of Death of a Salesman. Mr. Dekker also took an interest in politics; he was elected as a Democrat to the California State Assembly in 1944, serving until 1946. Perhaps Albert Dekker’s main claim to fame (infamy?) concerns the circumstances of his death:

On May 5, 1968, after attempting to reach Dekker for three days, his fiancée Geraldine Saunders went to the actor's home. There were numerous messages and notes attached to his door from other concerned friends. Saunders got the apartment manager to open the door, and discovered Dekker's body in the bathtub. Dekker was kneeling nude in the bathtub, with a noose around his neck and a scarf tied over his eyes. A horse's bit was in his mouth, fashioned from a rubber ball and metal wire, and two leather straps were stretched between the leather belts that girded his neck and chest. A third belt, around his waist, was tied with a rope that stretched to his ankles. The end of the rope was found wrapped around his wrist several times and was held in Dekker's hand. Handcuffs clamped both wrists with a key attached. Written in red lipstick on his right buttock was the word, "whip." Sunrays had also been drawn around his nipples. "Make me suck," was written on his throat, and "slave," and "cocksucker," on his chest. On his stomach was drawn a vagina. He had apparently been dead for several days.

Reports surfaced that Dekker was the victim of a robbery gone wrong due to a great deal of cash and electronic equipment was found to be missing from his apartment, but there was no evidence to support this. Police also theorized that Dekker was a closet homosexual who practiced his eccentricities discreetly with anonymous male prostitutes. Police attempted to attribute Dekker's death to a mishap with a hustler who left the actor dying or dead after something went wrong. Police made inquiries, but Mr. Dekker had no reputation among male hustlers, and Dekker's friends denied the accusations. Other theories of a murder made to look like a suicide arose but were never proven.

Dekker's death was eventually ruled accidental. The coroner determined that Dekker accidentally asphyxiated himself while attempting autoerotic asphyxia. Dekker was cremated in East Los Angeles, and his remains were shipped to the Garden State Crematory in New Jersey.
War
As expected, Communists launched the second round of their Vietnamese Tet offensive. A U.S. Command spokesman described the offensive as "a far cry" from the original. The North Vietnamese forces shelled, mortared, and rocketed 122 targets, including 40 cities and towns, 7 air bases and other Allied installations, but only about a dozen of the targets struck had ground attacks. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk declared that "an honourable peace" in southeast Asia hinged on a stop to Communist infiltration of South Vietnam and its neighbours.

World events
A protest strike by two West Bank Jordan towns was punished with Israel travel restrictions for their residents.

Golf
Roberto DeVicenzo won the Champions Golf Tournament in Houston with a score of 274. First prize money was $20,000.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Finals
Montreal 3 @ St. Louis 2 (OT) (Montreal led best-of-seven series 1-0)
Jacques Lemaire’s goal at 1:41 of overtime gave the Montreal Canadiens the win over the Blues at St. Louis Arena. Montreal captain Jean Beliveau fractured a bone in his ankle and was lost for the rest of the series.

30 years ago
1978


Hit parade
#1 single in Sweden (Topplistan): It's a Heartache--Bonnie Tyler (9th week at #1)

#1 single in West Germany (Media Control): Rivers of Babylon--Boney M. (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in France (IFOP): How Deep is Your Love--Bee Gees (3rd week at #1)

Terrorism
The Red Brigade terrorists announced that they were carrying out the "death sentence" against former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro, whom they had kidnapped on March 16.

Crime
Sanjay Gandhi, the son of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was jailed for a month on charges of tampering with witnesses in a case in which he was involved.

Hockey
WHA
Avco World Trophy
Semi-Finals
New England 7 @ Quebec 3 (New England led best-of-seven series 3-1)

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Finals
Philadelphia 108 @ Washington 123 (Washington led best-of-seven series 2-1)

Western Conference
Finals
Seattle 107 @ Denver 116 (Denver led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Baseball
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds became the 14th major leaguer to collect 3,000 career hits when he singled against Steve Rogers of the Montreal Expos at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

25 years ago
1983

Edmontonia

Former U.S. Black Panther activist Eldridge Cleaver was in Edmonton, speaking in Tory Lecture Theatre L-11 on the University of Alberta campus. Mr. Cleaver expressed his opposition to much of the "peace" talk and activities of the day. He talked about how he had come to oppose Communism as a result of actually living under Communism in Cuba. Mr. Cleaver was followed by Cleon Skousen, author of The Naked Communist. The lectures were sponsored by The Freemen Institute, an organization dedicated to upholding the principles of the United States Constitution. Why such an organization would be active in Canada I don’t know. I’d never heard of The Freemen Institute before, but the clean-cut look of the young people in the audience who were associated with the organization, plus recent stories that Mr. Cleaver had become attracted to Mormonism led me to suspect that The Freemen Institute was a front for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Subsequent research proved my suspicions to be correct.

Hit parade
Canada's top 30
1 Jeopardy--Greg Kihn Band
2 Beat It--Michael Jackson
3 Let's Dance--David Bowie
4 Midnight Blue--Louise Tucker
5 She Blinded Me with Science--Thomas Dolby
6 Even Now--Bob Seger
7 Safety Dance--Men Without Hats
8 Overkill--Men at Work
9 Some Kind of Friend--Barry Manilow
10 I Won't Hold You Back--Toto
11 Mr. Roboto--Styx
12 Twistin' By the Pool--Dire Straits
13 Time (Clock of the Heart)--Culture Club
14 Shy Boy--Bananarama
15 Little Red Corvette--Prince
16 Whirly Girl--Oxo
17 Always Something There to Remind Me--Naked Eyes
18 Affair of the Heart--Rick Springfield
19 Sheriff--The Tenants
20 Solitaire--Laura Branigan
21 It Might Be You--Stephen Bishop
22 So Wrong--Patrick Simmons
23 Rio--Duran Duran
24 Love Me Today--Corect Spelling
25 Mornin'--Al Jarreau
26 Too Shy--Kajagoogoo
27 Straight From the Heart--Bryan Adams
28 Electric Avenue--Eddy Grant
29 Don't Let it End--Styx
30 White Wedding--Billy Idol

The lead singer of Corect Spelling, Michelle McAdorey, went on to handle lead vocals for Crash Vegas, a group that had several hits on the Canadian charts in the early 1990s. I don't know if Love Me Today (backed by a great B-side called Strange Boy) was the only record ever released by Corect Spelling, but I'm pretty sure it's the only hit they ever had. When I hear it today, I'm immediately taken back to the spring of 1983--good old days indeed.

Sheriff is one of those songs that sounds as though it's by someone else. The Tenants, a western Canadian band, sound like The Police on this song.

Died on this date
John Williams, 80
. U.K. actor. A tall, moustachioed Englishman, Mr. Williams was one of Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite actors. He appeared in Mr. Hitchcock’s films The Paradine Case (1947); Dial M for Murder (1954); and To Catch a Thief (1955), as well as a number of episodes of the television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (including some directed by Mr. Hitchcock himself). In Dial M For Murder, he recreated the role he had played on Broadway, which had earned him the 1953 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic). His performance in that play also won the Donaldson and New York Drama Critics award. Other movies for Mr. Williams included Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); Kind Lady (1951); Witness for the Prosecution (1957); The Young Philadelphians (1959); and Midnight Lace (1960). He briefly replaced Sebastian Cabot in the television comedy series Family Affair when Mr. Cabot took ill with pneumonia in 1967.

Politics and government
In the British Columbia provincial election, the Social Credit party, under Premier Bill Bennett, retained power by winning 35 seats in the provincial legislature. The New Democrats took 27 seats.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan described the amended nuclear freeze resolution passed in the House of Representatives the day before as ambiguous, and said that he still withheld his support.

Defense
The United States performed a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Prince of Wales Conference Finals
New York Islanders 1 @ Boston 5 (New York led best-of-seven series 3-2)

20 years ago
1988


Died on this date
George Rose, 68
. U.K. actor. Mr. Rose had a long career in cinema and theatre. He made his first Broadway appearance in Henry IV, Part I in 1946, and eventually received five Tony nominations, winning for My Fair Lady (1976) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1986). His movie appearances included A Night to Remember (1958). Mr. Rose was beaten to death by his adopted son at his vacation home in the Dominican Republic. He was on tour with The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and had gone to the D.R. during a two-week vacation break.

Tamara Pos. Surinamese/Dutch activist. I don’t know who she was, but I do know this...

War
French commandos attacked Melanesian separatists on the island of New Caledonia and freed 23 French hostages. For two weeks, the Melanesians had been attacking French military patrols, and a French navy patrol boat had shelled a Melanesian camp. Seven people had been reported killed prior to May 5. Two commandos and 19 Melanesians were killed in the assault. In a statement, the separatists said the "massacre" would reinforce their determination to end French rule.

Terrorism
In France, three French hostages who had been freed from Lebanon the day before were welcomed back by Premier Jacques Chirac. Mr. Chirac had indirect responsibility for hostage negotiations. His government denied that ransom had been paid, but it was reported that France would repay about $340 million (U.S.) owed to Iran.

Labour
Police raided the Lenin steel mill near Krakow Poland and put an end to a 9-day strike of about 7,000 workers who had been demanding more pay and recognition of the independent labour federation Solidarity.

Religion
Eugene Marino was installed as the first Negro U.S. Roman Catholic archbishop.

Hockey
NHL
Stanley Cup
Clarence S. Campbell Conference
Finals
Detroit 3 @ Edmonton 5 (Edmonton led best-of-seven series 2-0)

Basketball
NBA
Playoffs
Eastern Conference
First Round
Chicago 91 @ Cleveland 97 (Best-of-five series tied 2-2)

Western Conference
Dallas 107 @ Houston 97 (Dallas won best-of-five series 3-1)
Denver 117 @ Seattle 127 (Best-of-five series tied 2-2)

10 years ago
1998


Scandal
A United States federal court ruled that President Bill Clinton could not invoke executive privilege or attorney-client privilege to restrict a prosecutor’s questioning of close advisers, lawyers, and other officials involved in the Monica Lewinsky case.

Basketball
NBA
Eastern Conference
Semi-Finals
New York 83 @ Indiana 93 (Indiana led best-of-seven series 1-0)

Western Conference
Semi-Finals
San Antonio 82 @ Utah 83 (Utah led best-of-seven series 1-0)

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