January 3, 1959: Alaska Is Admitted As the 49th State

January 3, 1959: Alaska is admitted to the Union as the 49th State. The 1st 48 States are known as the "Contiguous States." But Alaska and Hawaii, the 2 newest States, are separated from them, and neither borders any other State.

Because new States mean new stars added to the American Flag on the following July 4, but Alaska was admitted before that date in 1959, and Hawaii was admitted after it, from July 4, 1959 to July 4, 1960, the United States had a 49-Star Flag. Since my father graduated from high school in 1960, his yearbook has a photograph of a 49-Star Flag. Alaska's State Flag, adopted as a Territorial Flag in a contest in 1927, shows the constellation known as the Big Dipper and Polaris, the North Star.

Count 'em: 49 Stars, in 7 rows of 7

Alaska is in the Pacific Northwest. It had been acquired from Russia as "The Alaska Purchase" on May 15, 1867. There are still places in Alaska with strong Russian heritage, including Sitka, on Chichagof Island. It is one of several places in the State that is not accessible by road, only boat or plane. In the Bering Strait, Little Diomede Island, population 77, belonging to the U.S., and Big Diomede Island, permanent population zero, belonging to Russia, are 2.4 miles apart at their closest point. But they are also a day apart, as the International Date Line cuts between them: Little Diomede is also known as Yesterday Island, and Big Diomede, or Ratmanov Island, is also known as Tomorrow Island.

Alaska is by far the largest State by area, more than twice as large as Texas -- and people in Texas were not happy that they lost their "largest State" status in 1959. But Alaska's great distances and cold temperatures also mean it's the State with the lowest population density. With 733,000 people according to the 2020 Census, they are 48th, ahead of only Vermont and Wyoming.

It also has the largest percentage of Native Americans than any other State, 15.2 percent. (New Mexico with 13 and South Dakota with 11 are the only States that are close in that regard.) However, the term "Eskimo" is now considered offensive, and the ethnic groups upon whom that term was placed now prefer tribal names like Inuit, Aleut, Yupik, and so on.

The State capital of Juneau is on the Pacific Coast, 1,650 miles by road from the Peace Arch at the Washington-British Columbia border crossing; and 848 miles, including having to cross into Canada, through the Province of British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, before re-entering the U.S., to get to the largest city, Anchorage. From Anchorage to Fairbanks, it's 359 miles; to Nome in the west and Barrow, the northernmost point in the United States, forget it: Plane only, 540 and 725 miles, respectively. Because the Aleutian Islands cross the International Date Line, Alaska holds the United States' northernmost, westernmost and easternmost points. (Hawaii has the southernmost.)

The Alaska Highway, a.k.a. the Alaska-Canadian Highway or the ALCAN Highway, was completed in 1942, running from Delta Junction, Alaska, outside Fairbanks, to Dawson Creek, British Columbia (not to be confused with the fictional titular location of the TV show Dawson's Creek). The Alaska Highway should not be confused with the Alaskan Way, which runs for a mile and a half in Seattle. A Constitution was ratified in 1956, and that paved the way for Statehood in 1959.

Alaska has become known for its terribly cold weather, its inaccessibility, but also its natural beauty, and its natural resources, especially oil. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began operating in 1977.

Like many Western States, Alaska tends to be conservative, with a libertarian "Leave me alone, government" bent. The highest-ranking Alaska politician in Congress has been Ted Stevens, who was President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate from 2003 to 2007. The highest-ranking one in a President's Cabinet has been Walter Hickel, a former Governor who was Secretary of the Interior under Richard Nixon in 1969 and 1970.

At 291,000 people, Anchorage's population, despite being 40 percent of the entire State, is too small to host major league sports, and the distance makes participation in U.S.-based minor sports leagues problematic. There is an Alaska Baseball League, a "collegiate summer league."

The University of Alaska was founded in 1917, in Anchorage. It has campuses in Anchorage (UAA), Fairbanks (UAF) and the Southeast Campus (UAS) in Juneau. It competes in NCAA Division I for ice hockey and gymnastics, and Division II for most other sports. It has no football team, but the Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament was held every Thanksgiving weekend from 1978 to 2017. It is being revived in 2022 for women only.

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January 3, 1959 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The college and pro football seasons had ended that week. There were 2 games in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-102 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Boston Celtics, 116-110 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* And the Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 8-2.

And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would eventually support, went to the West Midlands, and beat Leicester City, 3-2 at Filbert Street in Leicester.