1976: The Brooks Robinson "17 year Gold Glove Era" ended

Some of us had a chance to watch Brooks Robinson play third base for the Orioles.   

I watched him at the end of his career, 1972-76.    Before that, I remember Brooks Robinson on TV, from "The Game of the Week" to the All Star Game to 4 World Series appearances.

On this day in 1976, the Brooks Robinson Gold Glove era came to end.   It ended Robinson's streak, 1959-75.    

Aurelio Rodriguez won the 1976 AL Gold Glove.    Rodriguez was an outstanding defensive third baseman with Detroit.    He deserved the award.     

Brooks Robinson was synonymous with third base!   He was also a clutch hitter (2,848 hits and 1,357 RBI), the AL MVP in 1964 and World Series MVP in 1970. 

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We remember Paul Harvey (1918-2009)

We remember Paul Harvey who was born in Tulsa, OK, on this day in 1918.  He died in 2009.

For years, I listened to Paul Harvey every weekday at 7:30 here in Dallas.    Then there was "The rest of the story" in the afternoons or weekends.   It was some of the best radio ever recorded.   I loved it!

The amazing Mr. Harvey started many years ago.

At the peak of his career, he reached 24 million listeners on 1,200 radio stations plus many over his newspaper column.  Once in Mexico, I picked up his commentary on Armed Forces Radio on short wave radio.

Harvey was great and I miss our daily "radio dates" in the car.

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We remember Ed Ames (1927-2023).....

For our generation, "Daniel Boone" was a must.   We loved the show and the characters, specially Ed Ames as "Mingo".   

We say Happy birthday to the wonderful Ed Ames....born in Massachusetts on this day in 1927.   Did you know that he could sing like this?   He died in 2023.

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1950: General Douglas MacArthur and Korea

On this day in 1950, we remember that General Douglas MacArthur, World War II hero, was appointed head of the United Nations Command in South Korea by President Harry S. Truman.  Eventually, General MacArthur was fired in April 1951.

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A word about Ron Silver (1946-2009)

We remember that Ron Silver was born July 2, 1946.    He died March 15, 2009 after fighting cancer for a few years.

Like many of us, Ron Silver got a big wake up call on 9-11.

Silver understood that there were people in the world determined to blow up one of our cities and kill thousands of innocent people.  Let's not forget that they'd cut your head off if you disagree with them, too.

On top of that, he was a great actor.

A few years agp, my friend Rick Moran wrote about Silver.

In fact, Silver did not change. He was always a liberal on social issues.

Silver understood that the terrorists were opposed to everything that liberals believed in, from women's rights to any kind of tolerance.

Silver concluded that you couldn't do business with people who think that we should live under some kind of 12th century justice.

We take a minute this weekend to remember Ron Silver! It's a shame that there aren't more people like Ron Silver in Hollywood!

  

Last, but not least, make sure you watch "Fahrenhype 9-11", a response to Michael Moore.

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Happy July 4th and a few other thoughts

Happy July 4th and a few other thoughts 07/03 by Silvio Canto Jr | Politics: 

Happy July 4th and a few thoughts about this great day....

.....and other stories........click to listen:

July 4, 1776: Happy birthday to the USA

'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.....'

We remember today these words made famous in 1776. 

It is the most incredible message of individual freedom and self-government ever written.  Our thanks to these men for their courage and vision.  

Check out "John Adams", the wonderful HBO series that everyone should watch.

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World War II: Appeasement and the 1930's

World War II, episode 2: 

Appeasement and the outbreak of war........click to listen.....

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April 25, 1976: Rick Monday saved the US flag

We remember Rick Monday, a pretty good outfielder who played for the A’s, Cubs, and Dodgers.

His best years were with the Cubs (1972-76), when he hit 106 home runs and was a very tough out.    Later he moved to the LA Dodgers and hit a 9th-inning HR to beat Montreal in the 1981 NLCS.

However, his greatest baseball moment had nothing to do with hits or home runs.

It happened on April 25, 1976.

You may remember that it was the Bicentennial year, and Watergate and Vietnam were behind us.  The economy was a bit sluggish, but people were looking forward to July 4 and all of the patriotic parades and celebrations.

On an April afternoon at Wrigley Field, Monday took his position in center field and was playing catch with José Cardenal, his Cuban teammate.

Rick saw a couple of guys trying to burn the U.S. flag; he ran and grabbed it before they could light the match. The two idiots were arrested, and Monday gave the flag to one of the security guards.

This is what he told The Washington Post in 2006 about the incident:

“I was angry when I saw them start to do something to the flag, and I’m glad that I happened to be geographically close enough to do something about it,” said Monday, now in his 13th season as a Dodgers broadcaster.

“What those people were doing, and their concept of what they were trying to do was wrong. That feeling was very strongly reinforced by six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. I still think it’s wrong to do that.”

It was wrong and we salute Rick Monday after all of these years later..

By the way, Rick was with the 1981 LA Dodgers that won the World Series.    He wrote about his time in LA in a very entertaining book:

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We remember Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022)

We remember Queen Elizabeth who was born on this day in 1926.  She died on September 8, 2022.

She became Queen when her father died in 1952 and is the only British monarch that most us have ever known.

In the interest of full disclosure, I don't like monarchs.    It makes little sense although the pageantry is interesting to watch.

During her reign, the UK has declined in many ways although I am not blaming her for that.   Let's blame the UK's political class for that collapse.  

Also, she had to endure her family's problems in public and fight daily newspapers always hungry for more juicy information.   It was not easy!

God bless the Queen and thank you for her service.

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1976: The year that Reggie Jackson was an Oriole

On April 2, 1976, the Orioles and A's swapped some big name players:   Reggie Jackson & Ken Holtzman to Baltimore and Don Baylor & Mike Torrez to Oakland.   It was big!

Reggie had a good season but the Orioles fell short in the AL East:  .277, 27 HR, 82 RBI & 28 stolen bases.      After the season, Jackson signed a big contract with the Yankees and you know the rest of the story.

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Abraham Lincoln was born on this day in 1809

As San Francisco debates school name changes, we are reminded of how much this country has changed.    Maybe the country has not changed but many people do not appreciate its heritage, such as Mark Cuban of  the Dallas Mavericks who is now dancing around what he said about the national anthem.

Our family arrived in the U.S. in September 1964.  By February 1965, we were learning about snow in Wisconsin and celebrating an important birthday.  Our teacher remembered that Abraham Lincoln was was born on a day like this in 1809.   She spoke at length about the man, his character and even had a tear in her eye when she called him "The Great Emancipator."   

To say the least, it was one of those grade school sessions that stays with you for a long time.  I had not heard anyone speak about President Lincoln that way since our Great Uncle Joaquin, a judge and law professor in Cuba, would tell us about the Gettysburg Address when we visited him in Havana.  He admired Lincoln as much as anybody and would have been enraged at those who want to delete his name today.

As my old grade school teacher said that morning, no one is indispensable in a democracy.  After all, democracies are based on laws, not men.  However, President Lincoln comes as close to indispensable as any American ever, as Scott Johnson wrote in 2016

"Today is of course the anniversary of the birth of America’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. As a politician and as president, Lincoln was a profound student of the Constitution and constitutional history. Perhaps most important, Lincoln was America’s indispensable teacher of the moral ground of political freedom at the exact moment when the country was on the threshold of abandoning what he called its “ancient faith” that all men are created equal."

Yes he was the closest thing to indispensable in U.S. history!  Perhaps we can pass that information to those in San Francisco who don't understand it.   

So make sure you tell your kids about Abraham Lincoln today. They may not hear about him in certain school districts.

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We remember Dan Quisenberry (1953-1998)

    

Dan Quisenberry was born in Santa Monica, California on this day in 1953.   He broke with the KC Royals in 1979 and became one of the best right handed closers in the game.

Dan led the AL in saves 5 times and played in the 1980 and 1985 World Series.    He saved 238 games with a 2.55 ERA during his time in Kansas City.

He died in 1998 from a brain tumor.  He had a great sinker and saved many games by forcing hitters to hit into double plays.

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1876: The National League was founded

We call the National League "the senior circuit".    

This is because it was the first professional baseball league in the US founded on this day in 1876.    

The original teams were the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

The American League was started in 1901.

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1976: "Laverne and Shirley" made its US TV debut

"Laverne and Shirely" made its debut on this day in 1976 and quickly became one of the most popular TV shows of its time.   

It was the story of Laverne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams).     They were a couple of 1950's young women working in a brewery in Milwaukee.    

Some may remember that the girls first appeared on a "Happy Days" episode.   They eventually landed their own show.

Very funny show!

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1976: Steelers beat Cowboys in Super Bowl X

On this day in 1976, Pittsburgh defeated Dallas 21-17 in Super Bowl X.   

Coach Tom Landry took Dallas to the Super Bowl 5 times in the 1970’s.    It was the second of 4 Super Bowl wins by the Steelers under Coach Chuck Noll.    

Dallas and Pittsburgh met again in Super Bowl XIII, one of the greatest games ever.

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The Three Wise Men make the Christmas season a bit longer

It's crazy but the Christmas music around here stopped on December 26th.  I joked with a fellow usher at the January 1st mass ("day of obligation as my parents say") that our church was the only place in town singing about Christmas.

I guess that Christmas for me runs longer than December 26th.  It’s hard to change old habits.

We don't celebrate January 6th -- the Epiphany -- the way we did as kids. Back in Cuba, we would go to bed early on January 5th and wait for The Three Wise Men to leave us some gifts.  Once in the U.S., we kept the tradition but didn't go to bed early anymore.  We just exchanged some gifts in the morning and enjoyed a family breakfast.  

Why do so many kids all over the Spanish-speaking world wake up on January 6th and look for their presents?

First, it's what our ancestors brought to Cuba from Spain. As my grandfather from Asturias, Spain, used to say, we had a big meal on December 24th, went to midnight mass and then ate again on December 25th.  And then we got ready for "Los Reyes" or the Three Wise Men.

Second, it is a story right out of the Bible:

"When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

This is not a cheap shot at Santa Claus, but it was the "wise men" who brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

Don't misunderstand.  I have nothing against Santa Claus, "Jingle Bell Rock" or Christmas office parties.  I love them too.  

I'm just saying that the story of The Three Wise Men is about the baby Jesus and that's what Christmas is really all about. This is why I love the Three Wise Men story so much.   This is why I'm thankful that I grew up hearing the story.

Happy January 6th to all of my Spanish friends who grew up opening their gifts today.

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Cuban Americans remember the tradition of "Los Reyes Magos"

Guests:  We remember "Los Reyes Magos" and growing up Cuban with Tersi Bendiburg (storyteller)and Amarilys Rassler (author).    As kids in Cuba, and the US, we used to get our toys on January 6th, or "El dia de los Reyes Magos".    It was a wonderful tradition and we all have memories of it...........

Click to listen.

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