June 11, 1963: Thích Quảng Đức, a 65-year-old South Vietnamese Buddhist monk, committed suicide by self-immolation, burning himself to death at a major intersection in the national capital of Saigon, to protest the oppression of Buddhists by the government of President Ngô Đình Diệm, who filled that government with his fellow Catholics.
It was, perhaps, the first sign that Americans had that, while the North Vietnamese were Communist and evil, the South Vietnamese may not have been "good" simply because they were capitalist and anti-Communist.
Associated Press photographer Malcolm Browne was the only journalist "to heed Buddhist advance notices," and his photographs brought worldwide attention the next day, as well as winning him a Pulitzer Prize.
You can see why I didn't make this my "headline" photo.
"Many point to the self-immolation," historian Ronald B. Franken Jr. would later write, "as the single event that turned the U.S. government against Ngo Dinh Diem, though a series of events and personality clashes made the situation inevitable."
Quảng Đức's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. However, the promised reforms were not implemented, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. As protests continued, the Army loyal to Diệm's brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, launched raids on Buddhist pagodas, and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Quảng Đức's example, also immolating themselves. Eventually, an American-backed coup toppled the brothers, who were assassinated on November 2, 1963.
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June 11, 1963 was a Tuesday. It was also the day that Governor George Wallace of Alabama performed his failed "Stand In the Schoolhouse Door." I have a separate entry for that event.
These baseball games were played on that day:
* The New York Yankees and the Washington Senators were not scheduled to play.
* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 8-3 at the Polo Grounds. Frank Robinson went 0-for-5, but Vada Pinson and Tommy Harper hit home runs.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Braves, 8-7 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Clay Dalrymple singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim "Mudcat" Grant outpitched Robin Roberts. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Gibson won the game, and Roberto Clemente went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with 3 walks. Al Kaline went 2-for-5. Tiger reliever Terry Fox -- no relation to the later Canadian runner and anti-cancer activist -- collapsed in the top of the 15th inning, including giving up home runs to Frank Malzone and Dick Stuart.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Houston Colt .45s beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965. Ernie Banks went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Bob Aspromonte won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Juan Marichal pitched a 7-hit shutout, to outduel Don Drysdale. Willie Mays went 0-for-3, but Willie McCovey hit a home run.
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