A Brief History On September 30, 1947, the “fall classic” of the “great American pastime” kicked off, the 1947 MLB Championship known as The World Series. The teams competing were the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, a cross town series that might have left the rest of the country without a horse in the race, so to speak. Still, it was a special series indeed. Digging Deeper The 1947 Series went all seven games, three decided by one run and two decided by only two runs. The Yankees won, but that was not the historic part. The series…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On September 29, 1714, Cossacks from the Russian Empire slaughtered 800 Finns on the island of Hailuoto during the Russian invasion of Finland, then part of the Swedish Empire, known as The Great Wrath. Digging Deeper Russia has long had a tumultuous relationship with their neighbors, Finland and Sweden, and this time the Russians had the upper hand, defeating Sweden in battles leading up to the massacre at Hailuoto. During 1714, Russia managed to occupy virtually all of Finland, until the end of the Great Northern War, which finally ended by the treaty of Nystad in 1721.…
A Brief History On September 28, 2008, the first Formula One night race was held, the Singapore Grand Prix. The high-profile international auto race was won by Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault F1 team. Later, it was discovered that Alonso’s teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr., had been ordered by team managers to deliberately cause a crash to help Alonso win the race. Digging Deeper This race would not be the first or the last time pro sports events were “fixed,” either by cheating or by deliberately losing in order to affect betting outcomes. Some other examples include the 1919 “Black…
A Brief History On September 27, 1962, the book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson was published. The book dealt with environmental science and focused on the widespread use of pesticides and the disinformation provided by the manufacturers of those chemicals. Digging Deeper Carson made a case that the indiscriminate use of these chemicals was poisoning the environment and killing off many beneficial insects along with the pests. Additionally, many birds suffered ill effects from the pesticides, and Carson projected that one day the birds would be gone, hence the title of the book. You might have thought a cataclysmic environmental…
A Brief History On September 26, 1983, Australian 12-metre-class yacht, Australia II, finally won an America’s Cup yacht race, the first time in 132 years that the Cup was lost by an American sailboat representing the New York Yacht Club. Digging Deeper Australia II represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club in the prestigious sailing race, defeating the American entry, Liberty, to end the longest win streak in sporting history. The race dates back to 1857 and is not held every year, with 37 races so far. American teams have won 30 of those competitions. Some other sporting win streaks by…