We remember Walter Johnson (1887-1946)

We remember Walter Johnson who was born on this day in 1887.   He died in 1946.

Check out these awesome statistics:  417 wins, 2.17 career ER, 3509 Ks, 531 complete games and 110 shutouts.   

He also lost 279 games!

Johnson had a .599 winning pct.   In other words, he lost 40% of his games.  

How do you lose 40% of your games with a 2.17 career ERA?   He must have had a lot of 1-0 or 2-1 complete game losses.

 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.

1977 and listening to "How deep is your love" by Bee Gees

Back in October '77, Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb released "How deep is your love".

Two months later, the whole world was watching "Saturday Night Fever" and the rest is history.

"How deep is your love" is one of the greatest songs composed and recorded by the Brothers Gibb.   It ranks high in every one's favorite compilation of romantic tunes!

Barry sang lead and Robin & Maurice did some fabulous harmony.

No wonder it stayed in the Top 10 for 17 weeks.  It was great!

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May 25, 1977: "Star Wars" was released

“Star Wars” opened across the US in 1977.    The characters quickly became known from coast to coast:

Mark Hamill as “Luke Skywalker”, “Han Solo” (Harrison Ford) “Princess Leia” (Carrie Fisher) and “Darth Vader” (James Earl Jones).      

Stars mania began years ago!     Soon, “Star Wars” hit the music charts too. 

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.

Gary Cooper and so many great movies

Gary Cooper was born on this day in 1901. 

He made some great movies.   My favorite are "Pride of the Yankees" from  1942 and "High Noon" from  1952.

A great actor, an American original.

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.

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1964: Clay beat Liston for his first heavyweight crown

By February 1964, Cassius Clay was a 22-year old Olympic gold medalist (1960) and looking for first title.   

On this day in 1964, he got it with a technical knockout of Sonny Liston.   

It was the beginning of the legend of Ali.

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.

February 1977: Fleetwood Mac released "Rumours"

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" was released in early February 1977.     It became one of the top LP's of the 1970's.      My guess is that most fans did not know that the group was going through some serious conflicts during the recording of this album.

It sounds good 40-something years later.   There were great songs like "Go your own way"!

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.

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February 1977: Martin Dihigo, Hall of Fame

We remember today the life and times of Martin Dihigo, the great Cuban player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.   He was inducted in Cooperstown this week in 1977.

Dihigo was born in 1905 and played in the Negro Leagues from 1923-47.

Dihigo was 42 by the time that Jackie Robinson broke “the color line” in 1947. 

We do know that Buck Leonard, the legendary player and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs said this: 

“He was the greatest all-around player I know. I say he was the best player of all time, black or white. He could do it all.”

He hit .304 over a 12 year career in the Negro Leagues.

We recorded a show in 2013 about Martin Dihigo.   Click below.

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.

1977: Ernie Banks selected to the Hall of Fame

Ernie Banks was selected to the Hall of Fame on this day in 1977.   

Banks was a three-time .300 hitter and retired with a .274 average,  2,583 hits, 1,305 runs scored, and 1, 636 RBI.    He won the NL MVP in 1958 and 1959 despite playing for some bad Cubs' teams.

On May 12, 1970, Banks hit # 500 and finished with 512.   He died in 2015.

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.

 

A 1951 film with Ronald Reagan & Rhonda Fleming

Late last night, I flipped TV channels and found Ronald Reagan and Rhonda Fleming in "The Last Outpost".     It was reissued later as "Cavalry Charge".    

What's the plot?   It is the story of two brothers who survive an Indian attack in the Old West.

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.

Flipping channels and I found Elvis and "Wild in the country"

Flipping channels and then I find Elvis and "Wild in the country".

It's another of those serious movies that Elvis made, like "Flaming Star", the one I that I mentioned a few days ago.

Elvis is a troubled young man who needs a bit of "tough love".   He wants to be a writer and Hope Lange plays his counselor.    Tuesday Weld and Millie Perkins are the two ladies in the movie.

It's a good movie.  There were no hit songs from this movie.   Two tunes did end up as B-sides for other big Elvis hits.   

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

Dolores Hart and Elvis: A neat story

Elvis was born on this day in 1935 and we remember the story of Dolores Hart.

She gave Elvis his first "screen kiss" in "Loving you", the 1956 movie.  Dolores was also one of the four girls in "Where the boys are", another huge film from that time.

Dolores gave up all of that fame and fortune and became a nun.  She decided that there were more important things in this world than being rich and famous.

What a story and she always spoke very fondly of Elvis.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

Elvis is still selling after all these years

Elvis was born on this day in 1935.    He died in 1977 at the age of 42.

Incredibly, his music still sells and "everything Elvis" turns on the cash register, as we see in this article from Charles Passy:

"The fact that Mr. Presley, who died in 1977 at the age of 42, is continually rediscovered by new generations seems to only fuel Elvis tourism. Graceland, operated by a business partnership in conjunction with Mr. Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie, saw almost 600,000 visitors in 2014—a 5% increase from 2013 and the highest total in seven years.The partnership has its eyes on expansion: Ground has already been broken on a 450-room hotel/entertainment complex as part of Graceland, expected to open in 2016. A Graceland-organized temporary exhibition of Elvis artifacts, from cars to jumpsuits, is now running in London. And Graceland has plans to host a permanent exhibition in Las Vegas."

Elvis's success is probably due to a couple of reasons:

1) Elvis died young, a sure way to become a legend.     See James Dean and Marilyn Monroe; and,

2) Elvis was a fantastic entertainer.   His music still sounds great.

P.S.  You can listen to my show (Canto Talk).  If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column.

We remember Elvis Presley (1935-77)

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on this day in 1935.  Not surprisingly, his songs are still selling. 

As an artist, Elvis sold over 1 billion records. Yes, I did say 1 billion!
He had:

"...no less than 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America.
Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the top ten, and 18 went to number one.
His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one.
He has also had over 90 charted albums with ten of them reaching number one.
These figures are only for the pop charts, and only in America.
He was also a leading artist in the American country, R&B, and gospel fields, and his chart success in other countries was substantial."

In the US, Elvis had 150 different albums and singles certified gold.

 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.