Fred Clarke: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1945

Born: October 3, 1872

1892: Signed with a pro team

Debut: June 30, 1894 (Louisville Colonels)

1895: 35-game hitting streak

1897: Became player-manager (180-212 as Louisville manager)

1899: Traded to the Pirates (1422-969 as Pirates manager)

1901: Won the NL Pennant

1902: Won the NL Pennant

1903: Won NL Pennant; Lost the first World Series to the Red Sox

1909: Pirates won the World Series

1910: Tied ML record with 4 outfield assists in a game

1915: Retired. He spent time as a coach and Pirate executive following his playing days.

1926: Served as assistant manager for Pirates leading to a player revolt. Pirate management released the players including Babe Adams and Max Carey.

1945: Elected to Hall of Fame

1947: Involved in ice fishing accident and survived a gas furnace explosion

1960: Died

Accomplishments:

Managerial Record:
1602-1181 (.576)- 4 pennants and 1 world title

Two 100-win seasons

103-36 (.741) record in 1902

110-42 (.724) record in 1909

1909 World Champion

.312 career hitter

35 game hit streak (1895)

67 Home runs

1015 RBI

2678 hits

1622 runs scored

220 triples

100+ runs: 5x

200+ hits: 2x

30+ doubles: 2x

Led league in doubles in 1903 (32)

10+ triples: 14

Led league in triples (13) in 1906

20+ stolen bases: 14x

30+ stolen bases: 7x

40+ stolen bases: 4x

59 steals in 1897

509 career steals

Led league in walks (80) in 1909

Hit .300+: 11x

.400+ OBP: 5x

.500+ Slugging: 2x

Led league in slugging (.532) in 1903

Led league in OPS (.946) in 1903

Led league in HBP (14): in 1902

Postseason: .245 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI (1903 and 1909 World Series)

Sci Fi History: Buck Rogers (1928)

Buck Rogers was created in 1928. He was originally a World War I vet. In 1978, he worked for NASA.

Anthony Rogers was trapped in a mine cave-in. The gas froze Rogers for 500 years and he awoke in 2419. Buck saves Wilma Deering from a gang and is welcomed into her clan. Deering’s gang enlists Rogers’ help, and World War I combat experience, to battle the evil Hans who conquered America.

The story proved popular leading to sequels, novels, comic strips, radio shows, movies, and two television series. There was even a Daffy Duck version of Buck Rogers. A 2010 web series was produced and there is talk of another film.

History Shorts: Paul's Conversion (36 A.D.)

Paul of Tarsus persecuted Christians for blasphemy. One day, on the road to Damascus, a vision of Christ blinded him. He converted on the spot and changed the course of history. There are a variety of theories as to what happened to Paul, but what matters is he believed he talked to Christ.

Paul enjoyed Roman citizenship and wealth. As a result, he could travel the empire unencumbered and used his connections to spread the word. Additionally, he reworked Christianity making it more palatable for pagans. For example, he eliminated the need to circumcise new converts. He also argued that salvation came from faith and not works. Paul was executed by the Emperor Nero who needed a scapegoat for the Great Fire of Rome. In 2009, the Vatican announced an excavation of Paul’s tomb, which included carbon dating confirming the remains date to the 1^st century A.D.

The first link is "Saint of Me" by the Rolling Stones. The song mentions St. Paul and tells his story. The second is a cartoon dramatization of Paul's conversion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ej0D0NHfMI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4ZJxb4uW-E

Kenesaw Mountain Landis: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1944

No one was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1943.

Born: November 20, 1866 (named after a Civil War battle where his father was wounded)

1887: Applied to bar

1888: Went to Law School

1893-1895: Secretary to Senator Walter Q. Gresham

1895-1905: Law practice

1905-1922: U.S. District Court Judge for Northern Illinois (Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt)

1907: Fined Standard Oil $29 million for violating federal rebate laws

1915: Presided over hearings regarding the Federal League and the Reserve Clause

1916: Baby Iraene Case

1917-1919: Issued stiff sentences to draft dodgers and those opposed to World War I

1919: White Sox conspire to throw World Series

1920-1944: Baseball Commissioner

1921: Banned 8 White Sox for life

1921: Forced John McGraw to sell his interest in a race track

1921: Banned Eugene Paulette for life for throwing games

1921: Banned Joe Gedeon for his involvement in the Black Sox affair (Landis banned 18 players total for involvement with gambling)

1933: Landis supported first All Star Game

1934: Ejected Ducky Medwick from Game 7 of the World Series for the player’s own protection

1941: Offered to shut the major leagues down for World War II.

1943: Banned Phillies owner William D. Cox for betting on his own team

Died: November 25, 1944

1944: Elected to the Hall of Fame

Captain America: Tales of Suspense #72-81

Continuing the Adventures of Captain America in the 1960s...

Tales of Suspense #72-74: Cap battles the Sleepers. In 1945, the Red Skull programmed three robots to return in 1965 to destroy the world. Cap defeats them. One of the sleepers was a flying wing...kudos to Stan Lee for predicting the stealth bomber.

#75-76: Cap teams with the mercenary Batroc to stop the city from exploding. The pair are caught in an espionage battle between SHIELD and THEM. Cap saves the city in the end and Batroc runs away. Meanwhile, Cap meets a girl reminding him of someone in his past.

#77: Cap backstory about a lost love

#78: Cap and Nick Fury battle THEM

#79-81: The Red Skull emerges from 20 years of hiding and captures the Cosmic Cube. He had allied himself with THEM and bided his time. After capturing the cube, he became invincible (think Emperor Joker-lite). Cap uses the Skull's own vanity against him and manages to negate the cube. The Skull falls into the ocean and supposedly drowns...

Sci Fi History: Metropolis (1927)

Metropolis is a film set in an urban future in which workers and capitalists struggle against one another. The film is Marxist in viewpoint and demonstrates class warfare. On one hand, the capitalists live an easy life while the workers struggle for survival. In the end, the two sides reach an accommodation as a mediator intervenes. The human body serves as an allegory for society. The brain represents capitalists, the hands represent workers, and the mediator (the heart) brings them together.

The film has proved influential over the years. Blade Runner borrowed the cityscape. Star Wars appropriated the golden robot. Queen used scenes from the film in their “Radio Ga Ga” video. In the end, almost every Sci Fi film owes something to Metropolis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSExdX0tds4

Quotes of the Month: October 2011

Quote of the Month:

“It’s hard to accept being liked.”

-Andy Rooney

Dumb Quotes of the Month:

"Murder will continue to rise. Rape will continue to rise. All crime will continue to rise."

-Joe Biden on what would happen if the Jobs Bill fails

“I believe all the choices we've made have been the right ones.”

-Barack Obama

Twilight Zone Quote of the Month:

"Dreamt I died in Chicago next weekend (heart attack in my sleep). Need to write my will today."

-Former Weezer Bassist Mikey Welsh one week before he suddenly died.

Slam of the Month:

"Kobe, five championships; LeBron, zero.”

-Magic Johnson

And the rest…

"I was thinking about it in the outfield last night. With all of the stress and everything of that game yesterday, you know, thinking about and actually made some amends with trainers and with staff from the other side, from the Rays' side, because I don't think I ever had, as far as what I did and when I was here and my time. And they put a lot of time and effort into me, so just made an apology, a few yesterday."

-Josh Hamilton

“I’d kill Kurt Cobain for killing himself.”

-Courtney Love on what she’d do if he came back from the dead

“We want sweeping unspecified change.”

- A sign in the Occupy Wall Street protests

“I left the Democratic plantation a long time ago.”

-Herman Cain

"10 years ago, Steve Jobs was alive, Bob Hope was alive, Johnny Cash was alive. Now we're outta jobs, outta hope &outta cash"

-Peggy Noonan

“Without trade, Jerome Harrison doesn't get physical. Without physical, doctors don't find brain tumor. Trade might have saved his life.”

-Adam Schefter

“You’re headed for a one-term presidency.”

-Steve Jobs to Barack Obama

"After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over."

-Barack Obama

“Do you know right from wrong?”

-Moammar Khadafy (last words)

“We came. We saw. He died.”

-Hillary Clinton celebrating Khadafy’s death