November 21, 1969: The Haynsworth Rejection

November 21, 1969: Judge Clement Haynsworth, President Richard Nixon's nominee to succeed Abe Fortas on the U.S. Supreme Court, is rejected by a Senate vote of 55-45. The South Carolina native was seen as having made judicial rulings unfair to black people and organized labor. It was the Senate's 1st rejection of a Supreme Court nominee since 1930. Strike one for Nixon.

Nixon would then nominate Harrold Carswell. He would also be rejected by the Senate, on April 8, 1970, because he was a segregationist and an anti-Semite. Strike two for Nixon.

Nixon would then nominate Harry Blackmun. He would be approved on May 12, 1970, but would join the unanimous ruling that would force the release of Nixon's Oval Office tapes in 1974, forcing his resignation 4 days later. Strike three, Tricky Dick, you're out.

Ironically, Nixon died in 1994, just a few days after Blackmun announced his retirement from the Court.

*

November 21, 1969 was a Friday. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was born outside Pittsburgh in Donora, Pennsylvania. Eventually, his father, George Kenneth Griffey Sr., despite becoming a 3-time All-Star and a 2-time World Series winner, would become only the 3rd-best baseball player from that town. He was surpassed by his son, and it's debatable as to who was better, Junior or Stan Musial -- who was also born on a November 21, in 1920. The town was home to about 14,000 people at the time, only about 5,000 now.

Baseball was out of season. Two college football games were played. The University of Miami beat Wake Forest, 49-7 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. And the University of Chattanooga beat The Citadel, the military school in Charleston, South Carolina, by the unusual score of 10-5 at The Citadel's Johnson Hagood Stadium.

There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-94 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Phoenix Suns, 126-116 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Chicago Bulls, 133-119 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 41 points.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-106 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Diego Rockets, 100-98 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The San Francisco Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 118-115 at the Cow Palace in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, California.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 117-115 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Bob Rule scored 35 points in defeat for the Sonics.

There were 4 games played in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Los Angeles Stars, 94-83 at the Island Garden in West Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

* The Carolina Cougars beat the Washington Capitols, 122-112 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

* The Pittsburgh Pipers beat the Kentucky Colonels, 112-108 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 103-100 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

There was 1 game played in the NHL: The Boston Bruins played the Chicago Black Hawks to a tie, 2-2 at the Chicago Stadium.