Browsing: Arts & Entertainment

A Brief History On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones were performing at the Altamont Free Concert when the Hells Angels motorcycle club members contracted as security got into a fatal confrontation with a music fan. Digging Deeper Never particularly famous for good judgment, rock and roll bad boys The Rolling Stones reached a new low in intelligent decisions when they contracted the brutal outlaw motorcycle gang, The Hells Angels, to serve as ushers and security for the concert at Altamont, California.  Why they would pick a known gang of criminal ruffians boggles the imagination, except perhaps the Stones were…

A Brief History On November 28, 1895, the first American auto race took place, the Chicago Times-Herald Race, a 54 mile event with a grand prize of $5,000.  (If that prize sounds lame, remember that this is worth over $140,000 in today’s money.) Digging Deeper As the automobile was a new-fangled invention at the time, a proper name for the motorized conveyance had not yet been agreed upon and the Times-Herald called their event a “Moto-cycle Race.”  Originally meant to be a race from Chicago to Milwaukee, the roads of the day were not smooth enough for those primitive cars…

A Brief History On November 19, 2004, the National Basketball Association reached perhaps its lowest point in its history when players and fans engaged in a rumble at The Palace of Auburn Hills outside Detroit, Michigan. Digging Deeper The Detroit Pistons, long known as “the bad boys” of the NBA had a history of being a rough and tumble team, with physical play and intimidating behavior.  These Pistons could obviously play basketball well, too, as evidenced by being reigning NBA champions.  The Pistons had beaten the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals the previous season, and the Pacers were…

A Brief History On November 15, 1914, the pre-National Football League professional football world was saddened by the death of a seasoned pro, Center Harry Turner of the Canton Professionals (now there is a catchy name) of the Ohio League.  Turner was playing in a game against Akron Indians when he suffered a broken back, completely severing his spinal cord. Digging Deeper When Turner died soon afterwards in the hospital, he became the first fatality caused by injury playing in a professional football game.  Appropriately, Turner was from Canton, Ohio, the birthplace of pro football.  A real home town guy,…

A Brief History On November 6, 1995, owner of the Cleveland Browns, Art Modell, made an announcement that broke the heart of Cleveland football fans, that he was moving the team to Baltimore.  Ironically, the fans in Baltimore had lost their own beloved Colts after the 1983 season when they moved to Indianapolis. Digging Deeper Clevelanders should have known better than to think their Browns were sacred, since back in 1945 the NFL franchise Cleveland Rams announced a move to Los Angeles for the 1946 season.  Incredibly, this came right after the Rams had won the NFL Championship in 1945! …