We remember Chuck Connors (1921-1992)

Chuck Connors was born on this day in 1921 and died in 1992.  

We remember Chuck Connors for that wonderful 
western, "The rifleman".   In fact, I try to watch it every Saturday morning.  The show was on from 1958 to 1963.

Before the rifle, he played baseball.   His career was brief or a just two major league seasons:  1949 Dodgers & 1951 Cubs.    

Connors also played winter ball in Cuba, as my dad always reminded us when we were watching his famous show.   

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Houston won their first game in 1962

On this day in 1962, the expansion Houston Colt-45, who later became the Astros, played their first game.  It was also the first major league game played in Texas.     (The Rangers moved to the Dallas Ft Worth area in 1972)

Houston beat Chicago, 8-1:   Veteran Bobby Shantz pitched a complete game and Cuban Roman Mejias was the batting hero:    

Shantz ended his Opening Day complete-game victory by getting Ron Santo to fly out to right field. The Colt .45s had won their first game! And Roman Mejias, with two three-run home runs, a single, and six runs batted in, was the day’s hitting star.

And so Colt-45 got off to a winning start in 1962.

Roman Mejias led Houston with 24 HR & 76 RBI.  He was out of baseball a couple of years later.   

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Remember the Sugar Kings (1954-60)

Once upon a time, there was a team in Cuba: The Havana Sugar Kings of the AAA International League. Back in April 1954, 25,000 fans showed up to watch the Sugar Kings battle the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening game of the International League season.

Montreal, Toronto, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Havana were cities from 3 countries (US, Canada and Cuba) in that AAA league.  Future major-leaguers like Leo Cardenas, Mike Cuellar and Cookie Rojas played in those Havana teams.

In the late 1950s, as the owners were seriously looking at expansion, there was a lot of talk about putting a major league team in Havana.  It’s an important economic as well as baseball point. In other words, Havana was seen as a city with the potential of supporting a major league team in the future. It definitely proved it’s worth supporting a AAA franchise.

Instead, the Sugar Kings were moved to Jersey City in July 1960. The political situation changed and “beisbol se fue de Cuba”.

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We remember John Madden (1936-2021)

We remember John Madden who was born in Austin, Minnesota, on this day in 1936 and passed away December 2021.

 Many remember Madden as an NFL TV analyst.  Let's not forget that he was a great coach and won a Super Bowl with the Raiders!

Madden was a great coach and the best NFL analyst.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Ernesto Lecuona, Moises Simons and other great Cuban composers

We spoke Sunday with Fernando Hernandez (author of The Cubans) about Ernesto Lecuona and Moises Simons, two great Cuban composers. 

Lecuona was a legendary composer.

Simons composed "El Manicero", or the most famous Cuban song. 

Click here for the show............

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Listen to "The Cubans: The music of Ernesto Lecuona & others" on Spreaker.

We remember Omar Sharif (1932-2015)

We remember Michel Dimitri ChalhoubI who was born on this day in Alexandria, Egypt.  We know him as Omar Sharif or one of the great actors of the last 50 years.  

Sharif made many movies.  My favorite is "Dr Zhivago" about Russia in the middle of political turmoil.  Another is "Behold a pale horse" about Spain 25 years after The Civil War.

I have never read the "Zhivago" book.   They tell me that it's a good one to read but a bit long.    The movie is great.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Cease fire about upcoming meeting on Saturday. 25th Amendment. UK Royal Navy is in bad shape.

 

No civilization ended Tuesday night

No civilization ended Tuesday night:

President Trump fooled his TDS-obsessed critics again.

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/04/no_civilization_ended_tuesday_night.html

1865: General Lee surrendered

The costly and bloody US Civil War ended on this day in 1865.    The war ended but reconciliation and reconstruction proved to be very difficult.    A week later, President Lincoln was assassinated to make matters even worse.

Nevertheless, April 9, 1865 was one of the most important dates in US history.

We remember today all of the honorable men who served on both sides.

 

This is a good book about April 1865.

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

 

We remember Nate Colbert(1946-2023)

We remember   Nate Colbert who was born in St Louis, MO, on this day in 1946.  He died in 2023.

Colbert came up with the Astros but got a chance to play with the 1969 expansion San Diego Padres.   

He became one of the NL's top power hitters:   163 HR over 6 seasons with San Diego.    

In 1975, he was traded to Detroit but his career was over at age 30.    He retired with 173 HR & 520 RBI.

 

P.S.  You can listen to my show.  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.