June 26, 1959: The St. Lawrence Seaway Opens

June 26, 1959: The St. Lawrence Seaway opens, aiding international trade for the United States; Canada, its neighbor and co-owner of the Seaway; and their allies.

It had actually opened on April 25, but June 26 was the dedication ceremony. Attending was each country's head of state: The 68-year-old President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the 33-year-old Queen Elizabeth II of the British Commonwealth, to which Canada still belonged (and still does).

The year before, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, opposing Democratic incumbent John F. Kennedy, was noted Boston attorney Vincent J. Celeste. One of his campaign statements was, "Of course my opponent voted for the St. Lawrence Seaway. It ends at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, which is owned by old Joe Kennedy." The suggestion was that JFK voted for it not because it was good policy -- and even most Republicans seemed to agree that it was -- but because of family corruption. This didn't work at all -- and not just because, while the Merch Mart is effectively on the Seaway, it is not the Seaway's terminal -- and JFK rose from 51 percent of the vote in his 1952 election to 73 percent.

The Seaway is a system of locks, canals and channels that connects the Great Lakes with the St. Lawrence River, and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. Officially, it runs 370 miles from Port Colborne to Montreal. Unofficially, it accesses such port cities as Duluth, Minnesota; Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio; Erie, Pennsylvania; Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia, Port Colborne, Hamilton, Toronto and Oshawa, Ontario; Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Ogdensburg, New York; and Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Québec City, Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles, Quebec, into the Atlantic Ocean.

The locks on the U.S. side are managed by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. The ones on the Canadian side are managed by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation. Over 3,000 ships use the Seaway every year. From Duluth to Sept-Îles, it takes about 8 1/2 days.

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June 26, 1959 was a Friday. Canadian Comedian Mark McKinney, known for his work on The Kids in the Hall from 1989 to 1995, and on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997, was born on this day. This was also the day that Ingemar Johansson knocked Floyd Patterson out to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Mickey Mantle went 3-for-4 with a walk. Art Ditmar outpitched Billy Pierce.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 11-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ted Williams went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Johnny Temple doubled Eddie Kasko home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Frank Robinson only appeared as a pinch-runner, and never came to bat or took the field. Stan Musial hit 2 home runs.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the Detroit Tigers, 12-7 and 4-1 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 2-for-9 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Brooks Robinson did not play in either game.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn went the distance for the win, and helped his own cause with a home run. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Washington Senators beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-4 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run for the Senators. Roger Maris went 0-for-5 for the A's.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Duke Snider, John Roseboro and Charlie Neal hit home runs for the Dodgers. Harry Bright, Don Hoak and Dick Stuart hit home runs for the Pirates. Roberto Clemente did not play.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-0 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Mike McCormick pitched a 3-hit shutout. Willie Mays and Jackie Brandt hit home runs for the Giants.