FACTS and STATS for
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
October 9, 1915, President
Woodrow Wilson, wearing a navy greatcoat,
became the first U.S. president to attend a World Series game, when he traveled
to Philadelphia for a game between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies,
accompanied by his soon to be bride Ediith Galt, herself, a rabid baseball fan.
The couple were seated in box seats next to the Phillies dugout, which had been
decked out with small silk flags. The game started five minutes late due to the
president arriving late to the game. Despite his late arrival, the 28th
U.S. president was met with a thunderous roar from the 20,000 fans in attendance
at the Baker Bowl. Wilson threw out the first pitch of the second game of the
WS.
FACT: In 1924, Calvin
Coolidge became the first president to throw the opening pitch of a World
Series
FACT: Other
presidential firsts: FDR was the first to attend an All-Star Game; Harry
Truman, the first to throw out the first pitch at a night game; Richard Nixon
threw out the first pitch on Opening Day; and Ronald Reagan became the first to
watch a game while actually sitting in a dugout.
STAT: Calvin
Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter
and George W. Bush are the only other presidents to have thrown out a World
Series first pitch since Wilson.
October 9, 1912: The New York Times report on the throng
of bystanders gathered to experience the paper's new electric scoreboard at
Times Square to watch the New York Giants play the Boston Red Sox during game
one of the 1912 World Series. The scoreboard allowed fans outside of the Polo
Grounds– for the first time– to watch every play of a baseball game. At the
time of publication, this was the largest crowd ever to assemble at Times
Square.
October 9, 1966 –
The Rolling Stones record their first LP, "Got Live if you Want It", a recording of live concerts from October 1st
and 7th in Newcastle Tyne and Bristol while on their last UK tour.
The Stones went into the studio on the 9th to correct some audio
imperfections. They were never happy
with the quality of the album and tried to disown it even though it leaped to No.
6 in the US in early 1967 and eventually went gold.
FACT: In August
2002, “ Got Live If You Want It!’’ was reissued in a new remastered CD and
SACD digipak by ABKCO Records.
STAT: According
to the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA), the Stones have sold 66.5 million albums in the US. (#13
overall).
STAT: the Stones
have 91 million in worldwide certified album sales (ranking them 12th),
with estimated sales of $ 200 million, placing them in the top ten of all
artists.
October 9, 1939: New
York Times’ writer Meyer Berger introduces a new column: "About New York."
Due to wartime paper shortages, Meyer discontinued the column, but it returned
in 1953 and continued writing the column until his death in 1959. Meyer was the
recipient of a 1950 Pulitzer Prize in local reporting for his 4,000 word story,
chronicling the mass killings by Howard Unruh in Camden, New Jersey, who killed
13 people (including three children) during a random 12-minute shooting spree through
his neighborhood on September 6, 1949. At the time of the murders, Unruh was 28
years old. Berger reportedly sent the $1,000 Pulitzer Prize money to the mass
murderer’s mother.
FACT: After
Berger’s death, the “About New York’’ column wouldn’t be revived by the Times
until 1979. A number of prominent journalists were custodians of the “About
New York’’ column, including: Francis X
Clines, Anna Quindlen, Bill Geist, Michael Kaufman, Doug Martin, David
Gonzalez, and Dan Barry. Since 2007, the column has been under the capable
stewardship of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author, Jim Dwyer.
October 9, 1946,
the Simmons Company of Petersburg, Va., manufactured the first electric blanket
as hit the market with a $39.50 sticker price. The temperature was regulated by
an "electronic" thermostatic control.
FACT: The first
electric blanket was invented in 1912 by American physician Sidney I. Russell.
STAT: According
to the Electric Blanket Institute, about
4.5 million electric blankets and electric mattress pads are sold in the United
States every year. What's more, about 25 million to 30 million electric bed
warmers are already in use. Europeans also purchase around 4 million pieces of
warming bedding with the UK, Italy and Germany leading the way.
STATS of the DAY:
- The Cleveland Browns are 3-0 and averaging 94.3
rush yards per game since trading Trent Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts.
- The Atlanta Braves have failed to advance a
round in their last seven postseason appearances. They last reached the NLCS in
2001.
- Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones leads the
NFL in receptions (41) and total yards (248) after Monday night’s spectacular catch.
October is National Bullying Prevention Month:
- According to a CareerBuilder.com survey, 35
percent of more than 3,800 workers surveyed claimed that they had been bullied
at their workplaces, 16 percent said they suffered from health problems caused
by this bullying, and 17 percent said they were forced to quit because of
bullying.
- At least 50 percent of teens have been bullied
online according to the iSafe Foundation.
- One-million children on Facebook alone were
harassed in 2011 as reported by Consumer Reports.
-Bill Lucey
October 9, 2013
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