September 28, 1945: "Mildred Pierce" Premieres

Ann Blyth (left) and Joan Crawford

September 28, 1945: The film Mildred Pierce premieres, directed by Michael Curtiz, and based on the 1941 novel by James M. Cain. Two other Cain novels also became great film noirs: The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.

Joan Crawford plays the title character, whose ex-husband is accused of murdering her 1st husband, but (Spoiler Alert) the real villain of the story is Mildred's daughter. After Crawford died, the idea that her daughter would be bullying her turned out to be ironic.

On an episode of M*A*S*H, Colonel Sherman T. Potter (Harry Morgan) read a letter from his wife, Mildred, which deeply moved him and his officers. Captain B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell) told him, "You oughta marry that woman." Captain Ben "Hawkeye" Pierce (Alan Alda) told Potter, "If you don't, I will." B.J. said, "Nah, then, she'd be Mildred Pierce!"

*

September 28, 1945 was a Friday. Two baseball games were played. The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Luis Olmo, the 1st Puerto Rican to star in the U.S. major leagues, hit a home run. And the St. Louis Browns beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

And there were 6 college football games played that night:

* Temple beat Syracuse, 7-6 at Temple Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The University of Maryland beat Guilford College, 60-6 at the original Byrd Stadium in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland. Maryland had a 1st-year head coach, who moved on to the next stop the following year: Paul "Bear" Bryant. Guilford, in Greensboro, North Carolina, now competes in NCAA Division III.

* This was the last year of World War II, when some military bases fielded football teams that played college teams. The Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command team, based at Maxwell Field outside Montgomery, Alabama, beat Auburn, 7-0 at the Cramton Bowl, in Montgomery.

* The University of Detroit beat Alma College, 32-0 at University of Detroit Stadium. UD dropped football after the 1964 season. In 1990, the all-male UD merged with the all-female Mercy College to form the University of Detroit Mercy. Alma, based in the Michigan town of the same name, now competes in Division III.

* Saint Louis University beat Kirksville State, 96-6 at Walsh Stadium in St. Louis. SLU -- which has always spelled its name out, "Saint Louis," never abbreviated as "St. Louis" -- dropped its football program after the 1949 season, though they remain a notable basketball school.

Kirksville State, actually named Northeast Missouri State Teachers College but based in Kirksville, became Northeast Missouri State College in 1968, Northeast Missouri State University in 1972, and Truman State College in 1996, named for Harry Truman, the Missouri native who became President in 1945. They now compete in NCAA Division II.

* And the University of Kansas beat the University of Denver, 20-19 at Hilltop Stadium in Denver. UD dropped football after the 1961 season.