1973: Top 10 this week WABC radio in New York

  1. The Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich (Epic)
  2. Top of the World - The Carpenters (A&M)                     
  3. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (MCA)                
  4. Just You 'n' Me - Chicago (Columbia)                        
  5. Time In a Bottle - Jim Croce (ABC)                          
  6. Hello It's Me - Todd Rundgren (Bearsville)                  
  7. Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) - Helen Reddy (Capitol)     
  8. The Love I Lost -                                            
             Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (Philadelphia Int.)  
  9. The Joker - The Steve Miller Band (Capitol)                 
 10. Photograph - Ringo Starr (Apple)  

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We remember Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1911-2008)

Alexander Solzhenitsyn died in 2008.   He was born in Kislovodsk, Russia on this day in 1911.

We remember him as an author who wrote about Soviet communism. He knew first hand what repression and tyranny really were:

"Beginning with the 1962 short novel "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Solzhenitsyn devoted himself to describing what he called the human "meat grinder" that had caught him along with millions of other Soviet citizens: capricious arrests, often for trifling and seemingly absurd reasons, followed by sentences to slave labor camps where cold, starvation and punishing work crushed inmates physically and spiritually.
His "Gulag Archipelago" trilogy of the 1970s left readers shocked by the savagery of the Soviet state under the dictator Josef Stalin."

Mr. Solzhenitsyn was a real hero of the 20th century!

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1963: President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas

As a kid in Cuba, I sat with my father and watched Fidel Castro on Cuban TV talk about the Kennedy assassination.  I don't remember what he said but my dad told me later that Castro was very nervous.  I guess that he felt that President Johnson would use the assassination to correct the mistake of The Bay of Pigs.  A few days later, I heard my father and some of his friends say the same thing over a little Cuban coffee and cigars.   

It was a very tense time in Cuba because the Castro regime was locking up dissidents, such as my father's cousin Dr. Ignacio Segurola who spent 14 years in prison without a trial.   My mother told me recently that she was afraid that my own father would be picked up because he refused to take a job with the newly created national bank that replaced all of the privately owned banks expropriated (or as they say "nationalized") during that time.

Over time, I've heard all of the conspiracy theories, watched a few documentaries and even that idiotic Oliver Stone JFK movie that came out in 1991.   

Can we finally call it?  President JFK was killed by a crazy guy who was hanging around with communists and supporting the Castro dictatorship in Cuba.

Yes, there were angry right-wingers in Dallas.  Some of them behaved poorly.  However, do you think that one of these groups would have "contracted" a head case like Oswald to kill anybody?.  My guess is that most of these right wing groups would have given Oswald a bloody lip for his communist ideas if they ever had a chance to run into him. 

A few years ago, James Piereson put the nail in all of the conspiracies, especially the nonsense that right wingers in Dallas or the "let's get into Vietnam" military industrial complex.

Mr Piereson tells us about Oswald, the communist who killed the president of the US:

"The facts are that President Kennedy was a martyr in the Cold War struggle against communism. The assassin was a communist and not a bigot or a right-winger. Oswald defected from the U.S. to the Soviet Union in 1959, vowing when he did so that he could no longer live under a capitalist system. He returned to the U.S. with his Russian wife in 1962, disappointed with life under Soviet communism but without giving up his Marxist beliefs or his hatred of the U.S. By 1963, Oswald had transferred his political allegiance to Castro's communist regime in Cuba.  

In April 1963, Oswald attempted to shoot Edwin Walker, a retired U.S. Army general, as he sat at a desk in his dining room. Walker was the head of the Dallas chapter of the John Birch Society and a figure then in the news because of his opposition to school integration and his demand that the Castro regime be overthrown. The rifle Oswald used in the attempt at Walker's life was the one he used to shoot Kennedy.  

Dallas police would not identify Oswald as Walker's would-be assassin until after the assassination of Kennedy, but Oswald, fearful that he would be identified for the Walker shooting, fled Dallas for New Orleans. 

In June 1963 he established a local chapter of Fair Play for Cuba, a national organization dedicated to gaining diplomatic recognition for Castro's regime. Oswald was filmed by a local television station in New Orleans circulating leaflets on behalf of the Castro government and was jailed briefly following a street altercation with anti-Castro Cubans. Soon thereafter he appeared on a local television program to debate U.S. policy toward Cuba.  

In late September, Oswald left New Orleans to travel to Mexico City in pursuit of a visa that would permit him to travel to Cuba and then to the Soviet Union. As documented in the Warren Commission Report, he took along a dossier of news clippings on his pro-Castro activities to establish his revolutionary bona fides with personnel at the Cuban and Soviet embassies in the city. 

Oswald returned to Dallas empty-handed after being told that his application would take months to process. He was still waiting on his application six weeks later when he read that President Kennedy's forthcoming visit to Texas would include a motorcade through downtown Dallas and past the building where he worked.  

The assassin's motives for shooting Kennedy were undoubtedly linked to a wish to interfere with the president's campaign to overthrow Castro's government. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy pledged to abandon efforts to overthrow Castro's regime by force. But the war of words between the two governments continued, and so did clandestine plots by the Kennedy administration to eliminate Castro by assassination."

Last, but not least, I have spoken to Cubans living in New Orleans in 1962-63 who got into heated arguments with Oswald over Cuba.  They will attest to the fact that Oswald was a "Castro loving communist," or exactly the kind of jerk who would kill the president of the US.

The right did not kill JFK.  The bloody communist did!

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1864: President Lincoln was reelected!

On this day in 1864, President Lincoln was reelected in the middle of the US Civil War.   

As people voted, General Sherman's troops were running around the South and winning battles.  Lincoln carried all but three states (Kentucky, New Jersey, and Delaware), and won 55 percent of the vote.   He won 212 electoral votes to McCellan’s 21.    

On one hand, it was a good victory for President Lincoln.  On the other hand, it was not a national election since the South did not participate.

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1973: Ferguson Jenkins traded to Rangers for a young Bill Madlock

Who remember this?   On this day in 1973, the Cubs traded 6-time 20-game winner Ferguson Jenkins to the Rangers for third baseman Bill Madlock and utility man Vic Harris.     

Jenkins won 25 games for a very young Texas team that challenged Oakland for the AL West title in 1974.   

He won 284 with a 3.34 ERA and 267 complete games over 19 seasons.    Jenkins was selected to The Hall of Fame in 1991.

On the other hand, Madlock went on to have a great career: .305 average and 2,008 hits in 15 seasons.  He won 4 batting titles, 2 in Chicago and 2 in Pittsburgh.

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1901: President McKinley died on this day

On this day in 1901, President William McKinley died from gun shots.    During the 2016 election, Karl Rove often brought up the 1896 election and even wrote a book about it.

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A beautiful letter for Memorial Day

Rick Moran published a beautiful letter from The Civil War.

It's a letter written by Sullivan Ballou, a Major in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers.

He wrote this letter to his wife. It was the last letter that he wrote before being killed:

"I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter."

Great love letter.

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May 15, 1973: Remembering the 1st of Nolan Ryan's 7 no-hitters

On this day in 1973, Nolan Ryan threw the first of his 7 no-hitters.   He beat KC with 12 Ks. 

We know the rest of history.   He pitched another no-hitter in 1973, 1974 and 1975.  He pitched #5 in 1981, # 6 in 1990 and # 7 in 1991.

I had the good fortune of listening to # 5 on the radio (it was on a Sunday afternoon against Baltimore) and catching # 7 with the late Mark Holtz calling strike three on Roberto Alomar to end the game.

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1889: Future President Herbert Hoover married Lou Henry

On this day in day in 1889, future President Herbert Hoover married Lou Henry.   

The couple met in Stanford University and traveled extensively during their marriage.   

Hoover was elected in 1928 after a very successful public and private career.  Mrs. Hoover was an author, wrote articles, spoke five languages and received eight honorary degrees in her lifetime.

President Hoover lost his reelection to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.   After that, former President Hoover worked on many projects including developing a very good friendship with President Truman.

He died in 1964 and Mrs. Hoover in 1944.

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1973: The cease fire started in Vietnam

On this day in 1973, the Vietnam War cease fire went into effect.    

The fighting did not stop because both sides accused the other of violations.   The "cease fire" did allow the US to finish its mission and get the POW's out of North Vietnam.

The "cease fire" quickly fell apart in late 1974 when the North invaded much of the South without consequences.    In other words, the US did not use its air power to support the South.

South Vietnam collapsed in May 1975.   Wonder who would have believed that on this day in 1973?

Years later, President Nixon wrote a great book about the war and how it ended:

 

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1973: Another awful anniversary of "Roe v Wade" and abortion in the US

We recall today another anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.  Before the Roe v Wade opinion, abortion was a state matter or an issue settled by voters, not un-elected judges.

My opposition to abortion, or Roe v Wade, is based on two factors;

1) Abortion is the taking of a human life.  What else is it?  Why does any woman have an abortion anyway?  (Of course, I'm not talking about those isolated and rare cases where the mother's life is in jeopardy)

2) Abortion is a state issue.  I think that voters, and legislatures, should decide whether or not abortion is legal in their jurisdictions.

Last, but not least, Roe v Wade has "poisoned" our judicial appointments.  We've turned every Supreme Court nomination into a battle over Roe v Wade. 

We pray that Roe v Wade is overturned.  We will be a better country without legal abortions.

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1973: Another anniversary of Roe v Wade

We recall today another anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the U.S.  Before the Roe v Wade opinion, abortion was a state matter or an issue settled by voters, not un-elected judges.

My opposition to abortion, or Roe v Wade, is based on two factors;

1) Abortion is the taking of a human life.  What else is it?  Why does any woman have an abortion anyway?  (Of course, I'm not talking about those isolated and rare cases where the mother's life is in jeopardy)

2) Abortion is a state issue.  I think that voters, and legislatures, should decide whether or not abortion is legal in their jurisdictions.

Last, but not least, Roe v Wade has "poisoned" our judicial appointments.  We've turned every Supreme Court nomination into a battle over Roe v Wade. 

We pray that Roe v Wade is overturned.  We will be a better country without legal abortions.

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January 14, 1973: We remember the 17-0 Miami Dolphins

Back in the 1970's, Cubans arrived daily in Miami on those historic "freedom flights." 

They found freedom and a city madly in love with the Dolphins. It did not take long for those Cubans to start cheering for the team.

Our family was up in Wisconsin but we detected a little "Dolphin-mania" whenever we spoke to a friend down in Florida.

As my mother said one time: "Esa gente en Miami esta loca con los Dolphins"!

We remember today the story of the 1972-73 Dolphins:

"On January 14, 1973, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Super Bowl VII, becoming the first team in National Football League (NFL) history to finish with an undefeated season."

d 14-game schedule whereas teams today play 16 games.

Nevertheless, perfection is perfection and those Dolphins were perfect for that season.

And I'm sure some Cuban "abuelo" probably said: "Que cosa mas grande. No perdieron un juego."

That's right! The 1972-73 Dolphins did not lose a game!

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1973: ‘Que cosa mas grande,’ said a Cuban abuelo about the perfect Dolphins!

Back in the 1970’s, Cubans arrived daily in Miami on those historic “freedom flights.” They found freedom and a city madly in love with the Dolphins. It did not take long for those Cubans to start cheering for the team.

Our family was up in Wisconsin but we detected a little “Dolphin-mania” whenever we spoke to a friend down in Florida.

As my mother said one time: “Esa gente en Miami esta loca con los Dolphins”!

We remember today the story of the 1972-73 Dolphins:

“On January 14, 1973, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Super Bowl VII, becoming the first team in National Football League (NFL) history to finish with an undefeated season.”

It was a great achievement. We do remind you that the Dolphins played in the old 14-game schedule whereas teams today play 16 games.

Nevertheless, perfection is perfection and those Dolphins were perfect for that season.

And I’m sure some Cuban “abuelo” probably said: “Que cosa mas grande. No perdieron un juego.”

That’s right! The 1972-73 Dolphins did not lose a game!

 P.S.  Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.

Tony Oliva, Mike Cuellar, Luis Tiant and the first year of the DH in the American League

On this day in 1973 or 2 months before players reported to spring training, the American League adopted the “Designated Hitter” effective for the upcoming season.   

3-time batting champion Tony Oliva, who could no longer play the outfield every day, swung the bat with authority:    .291 with 16 HR & 92 RBI as a full time DH in 1973.   Tony-O followed that with a .285 average in 1974.   The DH rule allowed Tony-O to pass 2,000 hits.

The rule initially benefited starting pitchers because they were not removed from the game by a pinch-hitter.   It gave pitchers more decisions and complete games!

For example, Mike Cuellar won 40 and completed 37 in the first two years of the DH. 

His fellow Cuban Luis Tiant won 81 games and completed 85 in the first four years of the DH.

By the way, the aforementioned Luis Tiant of Boston was the first AL pitcher to face a DH or Ron Bloomberg of the Yankees on opening day 1973.  

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1973: George Steinbrenner Purchased New York Yankees

On this day in 1973, George Steinbrenner Purchased the New York Yankees.   

He got to work quickly and the Yankees started winning.   They competed for division titles in 1974 & 1975.     In 1976, the Yankees won their first AL pennant since 1964 but lost to the Reds in the World Series.   

The Yankees beat the LA Dodgers in the 1977 & 1978 World Series.   

In 1980, KC beat NY in the ALCS.    In 1981, LA beat NY in the World Series.

Steinbrenner spent most of the 1980's spending money but not winning.

In 1995, NY was a wild card team but lost a tough series to Seattle.   

From 1996 to 2003, the Yankees won 4 World Series and lost 2.  

They won another WS in 2009 but Steinbrenner died in 2010.

By the way, he was born on July 4, 1930 and died in 2010.  

Very controversial but very successful team owner: