Archive for on this day
The 20th Anniversary of the Biggest Upset In Sports
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Buster Douglas autographed this print memorializing the event
I’ll never forget the boxing match between Mike Tyson and James “Buster” Douglas. I was 8 years old and I was allowed to sleepover my friend’s house because him and his parents were really into boxing. At the time, February 11, 1990 to be precise, Mike Tyson was the most dominant boxer in the sport, and to add to the intrigue, he lived right up the road from me in Bernardsville, NJ. On the other side, though, was James “Buster” Douglas, a relatively unknown boxer who was only known for one thing; he lacked heart. So when boxing promoters suggested this matchup in 1989, everybody just knew it was going to be another walk in the park for Tyson. In fact, Buster Douglas was a 42:1 underdog
Background
Mike Tyson was the most dominant boxer of the late 1980s. He won his first 37 professional matches, 16 of them by KO, with 12 of those KOs in the first round! Buster Douglas, on the other hand, was no slouch, but he was not nearly as dominant as Tyson having only ever registered 6 KOs in his career. The expectation was that Douglas would show up to the fight and Tyson would promptly get another KO and another mark in the W column.
The Fight
Much to everyone’s surprised, Douglas came out and dominated early, using his 12-inch reach advantage to his um…advantage. It wasn’t a problem, though, everybody knew that Tyson would get his bearings and recover, but he never did. By the 5th round, with Douglas still dominating and know turnaround for in sight, everybody Tyson was in trouble. Even if he did manage to last the entire match, there was no way that the judges would give the fight to him. Tyson fought his hardest, though, and managed to knock down Douglas in the 8th round. But Douglas got back up, and the match continued. In the 10th round Douglas did the unthinkable: he knocked down Mike Tyson. For the first time in Tyson’s career he was on the mat. I remember begging Tyson to get up, but the ref kept counting and he never got up. For the first time in his professional career, Tyson lost.
The Aftermath
Well, everybody knows what happened to Tyson. His life fell apart and he never won another big time match like this again. But whatever happened to Buster Douglas? Well, for 8 months, he was the most popular man in boxing, and it showed. Copies of the Nintendo boxing game Ring King flew off the shelves. And what was everybody’s favorite character name? Buster D. Unfortunately, when Douglas had the chance to defend his title in October 1990 against Evander Holyfield he returned to his quitting ways, giving up in the 3rd round and promptly retiring from the sport.
Enough blabbering on, though. I’m sure you want to see the fight (or at least part of it). Fast-forward to 7:00 to see the most unlikely KO in history:
On This Day: The Democrats Become Donkeys
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"A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion"
On January 15, 1870, the unofficial symbol of the Democratic Party was born in the form of a Thomas Nast political cartoon in Harper’s Weekly. The cartoon depicted a donkey kicking a dead lion; the donkey representing the “Copperhead Press,” and the lion representing Abraham Lincoln’s recently deceased Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. If you remember from history class, the Copperheads were the faction of northern Democrats who disagreed with Civil War and were ready to sue for immediate peace at any cost. As you can tell, Nast disagreed with the viewpoint of the Copperheads, and also their treatment of Stanton’s death.
Just a coincidence…
Andrew Jackson, who was a Democrat, was called a jackass by his opponents because of his political views. In an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, Jackson used the symbol of the donkey in his political campaign and subsequently won the 1828 election. Nast, who was born in Germany and emigrated to the U.S. as a young boy, was unaware of this fact when he created the cartoon.
Trivia
Thomas Nast also created the Republican Party symbol, the elephant, in an 1874 Harper’s Weekly political cartoon.
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The Casablanca Conference and FDR’s First Plane Ride
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Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference
Today marks the 67th anniversary of the start of the Casablanca Conference, which took place from January 14-24, 1943 in the French colony of Morocco. The Casablanca Conference was the 8th wartime conference of the Allied powers, but only the 3rd in which Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt both took part, and the first that included the French. In attendance at this conference were Roosevelt, Churchill, and the dual leaders of the Free French; Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud. Josef Stalin was invited, but was unable to make it do to a prior engagement known as the Battle of Stalingrad.
The Casablanca Conference was a success, and solved some of the problems that plagued the Allies in 1942. For example, despite Stalin’s absence and the fact that the Soviets were originally allied with the Nazis, the Allies agreed to provide aid to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, the Allies also agreed on a plan to invade Italy in 1943, as opposed to France, which would have to wait until the summer of 1944.
A Boeing 314 "Flying Boat"
Anyway, this date was also significant because Franklin Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to fly in an airplane on official business. The trip was a harrowing journey, as the flight was 17,000 miles and the plane had to stop to be refueled 4 times. Why did the trip take so long? Well, the flight began in Miami, Florida, and flew south to Brazil before crossing the Atlantic. Then it flew north to Casablanca. To return to the United States, FDR had to take the same flightpath and as a result, celebrated his 61st birthday in the skies over Haiti. For you aviation buffs, FDR’s plane was a Boeing 314 Clipper, known as a “Flying Boat.” Can you imagine the historical fiction that could be written based on this plane crashing?
On This Day: William Brydon Makes it to Jallalabad
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On January 13, 1842, Dr. William Brydon arrived at the British garrison in Jallalabad during the First Anglo-Afghan War. This is significant because the expedition began with over 16,000 people, but Brydon was the sole survivor. It’s like something out of a movie: Brydon was partially scalped, yet survived because he had a magazine in his hat to keep his head warm, which prevented a more severe injury. Then, his horse collapsed dead right after entering the gates of the city. Brydon’s experience was the inspiration for the above painting by Lady Butler. This really is an amazing story, and you can read more about Brydon’s experience on Wikipedia.
On This Day: The Exploding Whale
Posted by: | CommentsIn November 1970 a dead gray whale washed ashore in Oregon. In an effort to dispose of the rotting carcass, the Oregon Highway Division decided to blow it up, and let nature do the rest. This is a prime example of what happens when humans automatically defer to dynamite for solving life’s little problems.
For more information on the exploding whale, check out Exploding Whale: And Other Remarkable Stories from
On This Day: The Curse of the Billy Goat
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever wondered why the Chicago Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908, and haven’t been to the World Series since 1945? Poor play? Nah, the Cubs have 37 players in the Hall of Fame. The reason the Cubs have wallowed in futility for so long is…a goat. That’s right, I said it. Baseball purists know that there is such a thing as luck, and superstitions can be your most powerful ally, or most frightful opponent. Let me tell you the story of how a goat ruined the lives of Cubs fans 74 years ago.
It was October 6, 1945, and the Chicago Cubs were set to play the Detroit Tigers in game 4 of the World Series. Billy Sianis, a well-known local bar owner and goat connoisseur, bought two tickets to the game; one for him, and one for his goat. Now before you go judging the man for trying to bring a goat into the stadium, let me tell you that this wasn’t a one-off experience. Sianis was a regular at Cubs games, and frequently brought his goat along with him. As a matter of fact, before the start of game 4, Billy Sianis and his goat were invited onto the field, and the goat wore a sign that said “We Got Detroit’s Goat.” After parading his goat around the field, Sianis and his goat took their seats to watch the game.
It was in the seventh inning that ushers at Wrigley Field asked Billy Sianis to leave because other spectators were complaining about his goat’s foul odor. Outraged that he would be asked to leave, Mr. Sianis said, “Them Cubs, they aren’t gonna win no more!” According to the Sianis family, Billy even went as far as to send a telegram to Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, which said, “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again. You are never going to win a World Series again because you insulted my goat.”
Sianis attempting to enter Wrigley Field with his goat on October 12, 1945
And there you have it. The Cubs haven’t been to the World Series since they insulted Billy Sianis’ goat. In an effort to lift the curse, the Cubs invited Sianis and a goat of his choosing to a game in 1969, 25 years after that fateful autumn day, but it was to no avail. Since then, the Cubs have invited Sam Sianis, Billy’s nephew, to try and lift the curse on several occasions, but it obviously hasn’t worked. A curse really doesn’t affect you until you actually start believing in it. Maybe that’s why other “cursed” teams (the Red Sox, the White Sox, or the Phillies) have been able to get over the hump and win a championship, while the Cubs still wait for that elusive World Series.
On This Day: “Senator, You’re No Jack Kennedy”
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This famous quote comes from the 1988 Vice Presidential debate between Dan Quayle and Lloyd Bentsen. Quayle, responding to critics about his experience, drew a comparison between John F. Kennedy’s age and his own. Bentsen’s response is classic:
“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
The video of the Quayle-Bentsen exchange is embedded below:
