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.

 

Listen to "Martin Dihigo, Cuban American success story" on Spreaker.

1959: The day that "the music died"

In 1972, Don McClean introduced our generation to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in the # 1 song"American Pie". 

It started like this:     

"A long, long time ago...I can still remember How that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance That I could make those people dance And, maybe, they'd be happy for a while. But February made me shiver With every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step. I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside The day the music died."

The "day the music died" was years ago, a big triple loss for pop music. 

McClean's tune got me very interested in Buddy Holly, a native of West Texas.

 

I bought his records. I visited his grave during a business trip to West Texas about 20 years ago. I have followed the creation of The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, TX.

 

I learned that Paul McCartney was also a huge fan of Buddy Holly. He toured England in 1958!

 

The Beatles recorded Holly's "Words of Love" in one of their early LP's. The Rolling Stones recorded "Not fade away", another of Holly's songs.

 

Buddy Holly was only 22 but ".....In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Holly #13 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

 

You can hear Buddy Holly's influence in every rock song recorded over the years. You can specially hear it in garage bands or every 15-year old who has played a rock guitar.

 

Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in the same plane crash. They were not as popular as Holly but Valens had incredible potential since he was only 17!

 

The day "the music died", a sad day in the history of rock.

 

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.

Biden cover-up, tariffs and more stories

CANTO TALK podcasts from last week

Please check our shows from last week..........

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

Cover-up of Joe Biden’s senility finally getting some play

Cover-up of Joe Biden’s senility finally getting some play: It took too long, but some in the media are admitting what we all knew:  President Biden’s elevator didn’t go all the way up to the top floor.  This is what we are hearing now: The unprecedented cover-up of…..

Click to read:

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/02/cover_up_of_joe_biden_s_senility_finally_getting_some_play.html

Cover-up of Joe Biden’s senility finally getting some play - American Thinker https://t.co/rQmGPm7dDs

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) February 2, 2025

It took too long, but some in the media are admitting what we all knew:  President Biden’s elevator didn’t go all the way up to the top floor.  This is what we are hearing now:

The unprecedented cover-up of Joe Biden is finally seeing sunlight. 

Critics of the legacy media have long accused news organizations of shielding the 46th president from bad press, particularly when it came to revelations of his family’s shady financial dealings as well as his cognitive decline, which was put on full display at last year’s CNN debate resulting in his exit from the 2024 presidential race. 

Efforts to cover up for Biden began as early as May 2019 as the primary race for the 2020 Democratic nomination was underway. Last week, former Politico reporter Marc Caputo shed light on a report he had written at the time that stemmed from opposition research from the campaign by one of Biden’s Democratic rivals. The report involved a “tax lien” on Biden’s son Hunter pertaining to his work at Ukrainian energy company Burisma. At the time, the former vice president held a substantial lead over Democratic candidates in the polls. 

Yes, it started in 2019 and ended with that Biden-Trump performance in June 2024.  We saw on the TV screen that night what we had suspected: that the president of the U.S. was not up for the job.

Many of us suspected why then-V.P. Biden ran a campaign from his basement.  We were told that it was COVID, but he didn’t even do a virtual press conference.  His campaign was reduced to a weekly trip to buy ice cream, an interview with a friendly reporter, and letting the media continue obsessing with everything Trump.

It continued as president, with little press access or just reading from a script.  It couldn’t go on after that fateful debate with Trump.

Why did so many reporters go along with it?  That’s the cover-up, we say.  However, this effort to deny Trump’s election ended up hurting the media beyond repair.  Just ask Jorge Ramos, Jim Acosta, and Chuck Todd.

Maybe Woodward and Bernstein will write a book called All the President’s Men  in the Media.  Maybe they’ll make a movie out of it.

PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos. 

Happy # 88 Don Buford

Don Buford was born in Linden, TX on this day in 1937.   

Buford was the O's lead off hitter and left fielder when they won the AL pennant in 1969, 1970 and 1971.     They won the World Series in 1970.

Don started out with the Chicago White Sox and traded to Baltimore for the 1968 season.   Overall, he was a very professional player and productive lead off hitters in 5 seasons with the O's:   .270 BA and a .385 OBP.     He stole 200 bases for his 10-year career with Chicago and Baltimore.

In other words, he did his job by getting on base for the power hitters coming up down the lineup.  By all accounts, he was a great team guy and fan favorite.

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 Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009)

We remember Mary Ferrah Leni Fawcett.   She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas on this day in 1947.  She died of cancer in 2009.

In the 1970's, she became a TV superstar as Jill Monroe in "Charlie's Angels".   It was a show about 3 beautiful girls battling crime and bad people.    She left the series and enjoyed a lot of success in other movies.

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.

---

1974: Barbra Streisand's "The way we were" was # 1 this week

"The way we were" was released in 1973.    It quickly became a very popular romantic film starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford.   The movie's title theme was # 1 this week in 1974.   

As far as I'm concerned, this is Streisand's finest song.    Alan Bergman and his wife Marilyn wrote the lyrics to this song, and Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music.

Her voice is incredible.

Baseball and memories of Cuba

Let me share two childhood memories of growing up Cuba. 

The first one is the political turmoil and upheaval that turned Cuba upside down in the early 60's.   It finally led to our departure in '64.

My second memory is more pleasant or baseball.

It seems that my dad took my brother and I to the baseball doubleheader every Sunday.

I don't remember a lot but I do recall Orestes "Minnie" Minoso getting booed because the fans did not think that he was running out a ground ball.

My favorite player was Camilo Pascual, who would go on to win 174 games in the majors with the Senators/Twins.

There were many young Cuban players who who were destined for the majors----Cookie Rojas, Leo Cardenas, Pedro Ramos, Mike Cuellar, Tony Gonzalez, etc. I remember watching them before they left the island and pursued careers in the majors.

Before Castro, great players like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Satchel Paige played in the island. 

The Yankees played spring exhibitions. The Negro League teams were very popular because many Cubans were on the rosters. 

In the 50's, Tommy Lasorda, Willie Mays, "Rifleman" Connors and Brooks Robinson played winter ball in Cuba.

Every Cuban baseball fan should check out this great book about the history of Cuban baseball.    Better than that, buy your Cuban mom or dad an "Almendares" or "Habana" baseball cap!

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.

“Ricky Ricardo” and growing up in Wisconsin

By the winter of 1964, my brother and I were attending school in Wisconsin.

It was fun playing football in snowstorms and answering questions about “Ricky Ricardo”, or the only Cuban that any of my friends knew anything about.

Desi was born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III in 1917.  His father was a politician and mayor of Santiago de Cuba, or the second largest city on the island.

In the 1930s, Mr. Arnaz sent Desi and his mother to the U.S.  He joined them a little later.  We understand that Mr. Arnaz had some political problems and decided to take a little “exile” in Florida.

In the U.S., Desi worked in odd jobs and eventually found himself playing “bongos” on stage. 

 In 1940, he met Lucy and they were married quickly.  They worked separately for most the 1940s until the idea of “I Love Lucy” in 1951.

We also remember him for “Desilu,” the TV company that changed TV and produced many of the sitcoms that we grew up watching.  

Desi Arnaz became one of the most successful businessmen and executives of the 20th century.

He died in 1986.

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 story of Desi Arnaz" on Spreaker.

Democrats look for new leader plus Biden's coverup & more

A new leader like the last one?

A new leader like the last one?: It's time for the Democrats to look for a party leader. That's what happens every time a party loses an election. It's a great opportunity to turn a losing franchise around, as they do in sports. So far it does not appear that the…..

Click to read:

A new leader like the last one? - American Thinker https://t.co/SEEOq87Ya9

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) February 1, 2025

 

It’s time for the Democrats to look for a party leader. That’s what happens every time a party loses an election. It’s a great opportunity to turn a losing franchise around, as they do in sports. So far it does not appear that the Democrats understand why they lost everything between San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Let’s see what’s happening. This is the story:

A fresh start under a new leader could help turn the floundering Democrats’ fortunes around, insiders fervently hope.

But that’s not likely, whoever wins the battle — be it Wisconsin state chair Ben Wikler, Minnesota state chair Ken Martin or one of their long-shot rivals — because the party’s problems are ideological, not technical.

The DNC, like its Republican counterpart, sounds more important than it is. It does not select candidates for office, establish the party’s platform or set legislative priorities at any level of government.

The national committee isn’t even the leading campaign fundraising entity in presidential, federal or state races.

While the DNC raised an impressive $652 million during the 2024 campaign cycle, the Kamala Harris campaign alone raised over $1 billion.

The race for DNC chair could matter if the party’s woes were purely a matter of campaign mechanics: The central party helps to maintain voter contact databases and provides technological infrastructure that all its candidates can access.

If the Democrats’ November defeats were due to poorly maintained databases or outdated voter modeling software, the new chair could fix those and propel the party to victory.

On immigration, they still think that the solution is immigration reform, or something that fell off the charts when the border was opened under the Biden administration. Reform won’t change a thing when the problem is people across the border.

On education, the party is too close to the teachers unions rather than the parents. On cultural issues. they are out of the mainstream, whether it’s men playing on women’s sports or late-term abortions.

So who will be the new party leader? We will see, but the party has a message problem and I don’t think that they understand yet.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

A word about February 1

We remember Don Everly who was born in Kentucky on this day in 1937.    He died in August 2021 at the age of 84.  Don and, his late brother Phil were the legendary The Everly Brothers.    Along the way, the brothers became one of the greatest rock acts and their tight 2-part harmonies influenced The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Bee Gees, The Hollies and others.    They had many hits, such as "Wake up little Susie".

We woke up to a terrible report about Columbia.     On this day in 2003, television crews captured Columbia‘s tragic disintegration upon reentering the earth’s atmosphere. All aboard were killed. 

We remember Paul Blair born in Oklahoma on this day in 1944.    Blair played center field for the Orioles, a team that won 2 World Series championships, 4 AL pennants, and 2 division titles.      He was traded to the Yankees and played on the 1977 & 1978 teams that won the World Series.  Blair hit .250 over 17 seasons and won 8 Gold Gloves.    His best season was 1969:   .285, 26 HR & 76 RBI.  Blair died in 2013.    He left us with a lot of memories chasing down those fly balls in center field.     He was great!

"La Boheme" made its debut on this day in 1896.  And we've been watching the story and listening to the music ever since.

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 Paul Blair (1944-2013)

We remember Paul Blair born in Oklahoma on this day in 1944.    

Blair played center field for the Orioles, a team that won 2 World Series championships, 4 AL pennants, and 2 division titles.      He was traded to the Yankees and played on the 1977 & 1978 teams that won the World Series.

Blair hit .250 over 17 seasons and won 8 Gold Gloves.    

His best season was 1969:   .285, 26 HR & 76 RBI.

Blair died in 2013.    He left us with a lot of memories chasing down those fly balls in center field.     He was 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.

We remember Don Everly (1937-2021)

We remember Don Everly who was born in Kentucky on this day in 1937.    He died in August 2021 at the age of 84.

Don and, his late brother Phil were the legendary The Everly Brothers.    Along the way, the brothers became one of the greatest rock acts and their tight 2-part harmonies influenced The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Bee Gees, The Hollies and others.    

They had many hits, such as "Wake up little Susie".

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.

Happy # 84 Garrett Morris

A few days ago, I read that Garrett Morris was born in New Orleans on this day in 1931.

Back in the late 1970’s, Garrett Morris was on the “Saturday Night Live” cast. He played various roles and developed quite a following.

His career took off one Saturday night in November 1978. This is when he played Chico Escuela, a New York Mets’ outfielder from Dominican Republic. He became famous for one line:

“Thank you berry much. Baseball been berry, berry good to me. Thank you. God bless you. Gracias!”

He followed that up with another great line:

“Keep you eye… keep you eyes… on de ball.”

And he had everyone of us laughing to tears.

Would that be allowed on the air today? Would it be censured for mocking a Latino baseball player? What advertisers would be contacted to boycott the segment?

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.

1964: The Beatles began their 3-month hold of the #1 song in the US

We are looking back at another anniversary of The Beatles arriving in New York City.  

It was an amazing weekend for the group, from massive crowds at JFK International Airport to a record breaking appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

It also began their incredible domination of the US pop charts.  

According to Billboard, The Beatles had the #1 song in the US from February 1st to May 9th:

"I want to hold your hand";

 "Can't buy me love", 

and "She loves you".

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.

1896: Puccini’s La bohème debut in Italy

"La Boheme" made its debut on this day in 1896.

And we've been watching the story and listening to the music ever since.

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 1968: Nixon started his campaign for President

How did we get to the point where candidates are running for over two years and networks are scheduling debates so far in advance?   

 

Remember FOX and their August 2015 GOP debates or MSNBC with their Democrat debates a year before the party conventions?

 

We remember today that former Vice President Nixon announced that he was seeking the presidency on this day in 1968.  To be fair, everyone knew that Mr. Nixon would be running in 1968 but the official announcement did not come until today.

 

Back then, we were announcing candidacies in February.  Today, we are holding a caucus in Iowa and setting up New Hampshire.

 

Former VP Nixon battled Governor Reagan of California and Governor Rockefeller of New York but won the nomination on the first ballot in Miami. 

 

On Election Day, Mr. Nixon got 43.4% and Vice President Humphrey was right behind with 42.73% of the 74 million votes cast.  Governor George Wallace got 13.5% and carried five Southern states.     

 

In the end, Nixon got the Electoral Votes to become the 37th president.   

 

I was very happy that Mr. Nixon won.  I couldn’t vote in 1968 but he was my choice.   Nevertheless, I look back at that campaign and wish that we were not starting presidential elections so early.

 

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.

1979: Most painful Super Bowl loss or Pittsburgh beat Dallas in SB 13!

Let’s remember Super Bowl 13 or Dallas vs Pittsburgh or Roger Staubach vs. Terry Bradshaw or Coach Landry vs Coach Knoll.

It turned out to be the last post-season game played in the 1970’s between the best two teams of the decade.

Coach Landry’s Cowboys played in the 1971, 1972, 1975, 1978 and 1979 SB’s. They won two of them.

Pittsburgh blossomed in the 1970’s with great draft picks. They played in the 1975, 1976, 1979 and a year later in 1980. They won all 4 SB’s.

Super Bowl 13 went down to the last minute.  

Pittsburgh was up 35-17 but Dallas scored twice and made it 35-31 with seconds left.  The Cowboys tried the onside but Pittsburgh recovered and the game was over.

SB 13 will always be remembered for Jackie Smith dropping a “certain” Cowboys’ TD in the end zone.

It was a great game. I still feel bad for Jackie Smith dropping that pass from Staubach.

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.

The World's Fair, The Beatles, The Ford Mustang and a few stories of 1964

Our family landed in Miami on September 4, 1964, or my brother’s birthday.  I guess that we had double reasons to celebrate that day.  

A week later,  we found our way to Wisconsin where a church was kindly sponsoring our family.  We reunited with my Uncle and his family up there.

All of us learned a lot about the US that year:

The Beatles and lots of other rock groups, were on The Ed Sullivan Show.  It seem like every Sunday there was a new band, from The Beatles to The Dave Clark Five to the Animals and more.  Like most kids back then, my brother and I got our music from AM radio and then saw the groups on that memorable show; 

The Ford Mustang was introduced.  I remember going with my father to a Ford dealer and admiring this wonderful new car;

We watched our first World Series on TV. The Cardinals beat the Yankees in what would be Mickey Mantle’s last post-season game.   He won game 3 with a HR and then hit his last (# 18) World Series HR in game 7.

and perphaps the biggest event of 1964: The New York World’s Fair.

It was a showcase for companies and future technology, such as a touch tone phone!

One big change is that we were a manufacturing nation in 1964. We made cars, telephones, TV’s and lots of other things.   It would have been inconceivable back then to go to the store and find nothing made in the USA.   No one would have believed that it’d be the exact opposite 50 something years later.

We don’t do that anymore and that is something to think about, specially after this pandemic that came from China.

You can hear my 1964 World Fair chat with our friend Frank Burke.

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 "We remember 1964 New York World's Fair with Frank Burke, author" on Spreaker.

Rubio off to Panama, school choice and more

How low can you go?

How low can you go? - American Thinker https://t.co/BIss8pptIA

— Silvio Canto. Jr. (@silvio_canto) January 31, 2025

 

As we debate the future of the Department of Education, we get news that U.S. children are not being educated. Something is wrong, because this department has a budget of $90 billion. How are we spending those billions? Not well as we see in this report:

America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card.

The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind.

Given every two years to a sample of America’s children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading.

“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”

The news is not good. Don’t be surprised if more parents want to teach kids at home or call their state legislators to implement some form of school choice.

Honestly, every leader of the Education Department and Teachers unions should admit that they have failed miserably. Maybe too much indoctrination of our kids and not enough spelling and basic math exercises. 

My guess is that the teachers unions will say today that they need more money. Yes, it’s always money with these people.

How are we helping these kids by graduating them not reading at their grade level? We are condemning them to a lousy future of bad jobs. 

I remember when President Carter created the Department of Education. It made no sense to me because education is a local matter to be run by parents and school boards. However, I never thought that I’d be reading about educational failure of this type. Federal control over education has failed and it’s time to buy out these employees and shut down the building.

We cannot overlook two other issues. First, shutting down schools over COVID was a disaster. Second, the breakdown of the family unit or absence of fathers is hurting our young people immensely.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

1865: The House passed the 13th Amendment

On this day in 1865, the US House passed the 13th Amendment.  It was sent to the states for ratification and approved in November.  

President Lincoln just gets better with age. He was the right man at the most critical moment in US history.    A few years ago, a great movie came out about his efforts to pass the 13th amendment that abolished slavery.   

It was a great movie!

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.

We remember Jackie Robinson (1919-72)

We remember Jackie Robinson, who was born in Cairo, Georgia, on this day in 1919.     He died October 24, 1972.

Robinson was one of the biggest sports stories of the 20th century, as we see in this biography from his Hall of Fame page:   

At the end of his first season, Robinson was named the Rookie of the Year. He was named the NL MVP just two years later in 1949, when he led the league in hitting with a .342 average and steals with 37, while also notching a career-high 124 RBI. The Dodgers won six pennants in Robinson’s 10 seasons, but his contributions clearly extended far beyond the field.

He retired with a .311 career batting average plus 137 HR & 734 RBI in 1,382 games.

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.

 

A word about Ernie Banks (1931-2015)

The great Ernie Banks was born in Dallas, Texas, on this day in 1931.     He died in 2014.

My guess is that most people don't know much about his younger days in Dallas, Texas.

Over the years, I've seen some great players in person and TV.  Sadly, I never got to see Ernie Banks in person but do recall hearing #500 on WGN radio.  

Banks was a great player. Better than that, he was a great human being.  

We will miss Ernie Banks for a long time.

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.