December 25, 1932: The 1st Royal Christmas Message

December 25, 1932: King George V delivers a Royal Christmas Message to the British Empire, broadcast live over the British Broadcasting Corporation and its Worldwide Service, thus beginning a tradition.

John Reith, founder of the BBC, had first approached the King about the idea in 1922, but the King declined, saying that radio was mainly an entertainment. Reith waited 10 years before trying again. This time, he was smart: He gave the idea to Queen Mary first. When she told her husband it was a good idea, he relented. To be on the safe side, he also talked to the Prime Minister, James Ramsay MacDonald, who was prepared to be an additional voice to try to talk the King into it.

The tradition of the British royal family staying at Sandringham House, their country retreat in Norfolk, East Anglia, for the Christmas season had been put in place ever since it was bought in 1862, as a summer home for the King's father, then the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. A temporary studio was set up there, eventually replaced by a permanent one.

The address was written for the King by one of Britain's most honored (if not "greatest") authors then living, Rudyard Kipling, and is said to have been heard by 20 million people. The broadcast began at 3:00 PM London time, for the best possible distribution across the time zones: Eastern Canada, 10:00 AM; South Africa, 5:00 PM; New Dehli, 8:30 PM; Hong Kong, 11:00 PM; Sydney and Melbourne, 1:00 AM on December 26.

The speech was introduced by a local shepherd named Walton Handy. The town church rang its bells, and its choir sang Christmas carols. Finally, the King spoke, for a little over 3 minutes:

Through one of the marvels of modern science, I am enabled, this Christmas Day, to speak to all my peoples throughout the Empire.

I take it as a good omen that Wireless should have reached its present perfection at a time when the Empire has been linked in closer union. For it offers us immense possibilities to make that union closer still.

It may be that our future may lay upon us more than one stern test. Our past will have taught us how to meet it unshaken.

For the present, the work to which we are all equally bound is to arrive at a reasoned tranquility within our borders; to regain prosperity without self-seeking, and to carry with us those whom the burden of past years has disheartened or overborne.

My life's aim has been to serve as I might, towards those ends. Your loyalty, your confidence in me has been my abundant reward.

I speak now from my home and from my heart to you all.

To men and women so cut off by the snows, the desert or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them; to those cut off from fuller life by blindness, sickness, or infirmity; and to those who are celebrating this day with their children and grandchildren.

To all, to each, I wish a Happy Christmas. God Bless You!

George V delivered such Messages again in 1933 and 1934. In 1935, it was noticed that his voice sounded weaker. Sure enough, he died less than a month later, on January 20, 1936.

His son, King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne on December 11, 1936, so not only did he never get a Coronation, he never got to deliver a Royal Christmas Message. His brother became King George VI. He did not deliver a Royal Christmas Message in 1936. He did in 1937, but not in 1938. But in 1939, all through World War II, and into his final illness, he and delivered them every year through 1951. He died on February 6, 1952.

Since then, his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, has delivered the Message every December 25. Her 1st Message, in 1952, was simulcast, in sound only, on BBC television. Not until 1957 would it be broadcast live on TV.

In 1953, as she and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, were on a tour of the British Commonwealth, she delivered her Message from Auckland, New Zealand. Since then, it has been pre-recorded at either Sandringham House or Buckingham Palace.

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December 25, 1932 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The NFL season had ended the previous Sunday, with the Chicago Bears defeating the Portsmouth Spartans (of Ohio) for the Championship.

There were 2 games played in the NHL that day. The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Maroons, 2-0 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

"Back in Blighty," this was the era when England's Football League still regularly played games on Christmas Day. But not on Sundays, so there were no games played in that League.

November 23, 1963: "Doctor Who" Premieres

William Hartnell

November 23, 1963: Doctor Who premieres on the BBC. The 1st episode is titled "An Unearthly Child." Due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy the day before, it was repeated the next week.

The show was created to fill a gap between children's and young adult programming. Canadian producer Sydney Newman, recently made Head of Drama at the BBC, was tasked with creating the show, with heavy contributions from Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber.

"The Doctor" is the alias assumed by a millennia-old humanoid alien, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels through space and time in a device called the TARDIS: "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space." It's bigger on the inside than on the outside, and can take any exterior form. Except The Doctor's TARDIS has a problem, and is stuck in the form of a mid-20th Century British police call box -- as Americans would say, a phone booth.

The Doctor usually travels with one or two "companions." When the show premiered, William Hartnell played him, and his first companion was named Susan Foreman, alleged to be The Doctor's granddaughter, played by Carole Ann Ford.

Hartnell, 55 years old at the time of the show's premiere, had been typecast as hard-bitten military men, and the idea of playing a mischievous old man appealed to him. It's as if an American version of the show were created in America in the year 2000, during the British version's long hiatus, and it starred R. Lee Ermey. That wouldn't have worked. Tommy Lee Jones, maybe.

A trope is that The Doctor's true name is never revealed. In the 1st episode, since the granddaughter's name is Foreman, The Doctor is addressed as "Doctor Foreman." But he says, "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" Within the show, "Doctor Who" became a running gag, but, through 2022, the closest thing to an official name that the character has ever gotten is "The Doctor."

The show was an immediate hit, and The Doctor visited many prominent points in Earth's history. But in 1966, Hartnell fell ill. Rather than cancel the series, they explained his recasting by saying that Time Lords can "regenerate," allowing them a change of cellular structure and appearance that allows them to survive what would ordinarily be a fatal injury.

Hartnell told the producers that there was only one actor to could properly replace him in the role, even though they looked nothing alike: Patrick Troughton. Troughton took over the role on November 5, 1966; Jon Pertwee on January 3, 1970, at which point the show switched from black & white to "colour"; Tom Baker, the longest-lasting Doctor, on December 28, 1974; Peter Davison on January 4, 1982; Colin Baker (no relation to Tom) on March 22, 1984; and Sylvester McCoy from September 7, 1987 until the series was canceled, its last episode airing on December 6, 1989.

(Note: What the British call a "programme," we Americans call a "series." And, what they call a "series," we call a "season.")

A TV-movie aired on May 27, 1996, with Paul McGann as The Doctor. The show was revived, premiering on March 26, 2005, with Christopher Eccleston. From here on, the show became known for its big Christmas episodes, which made for good timing to switch to a new actor for the Doctor: David Tennant on December 25, 2005; Matt Smith on January 1, 2010; Peter Capaldi on December 25, 2013; and Jodie Whittaker, the 1st female actor to play The Doctor, on December 25, 2017.

Whittaker was the Thirteenth Doctor. Previously, it was established that Time Lords could regenerate 12 times, giving them 13 "lives." This was retconned when it was revealed by The Doctor's longtime nemesis, The Master, that The Doctor was not a true Time Lord, but was "The Timeless Child," and had already had countless lives before taking on the form of the First Doctor, Hartnell's version. Thus, on October 23, 2022, Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, returned, as the Fourteenth Doctor, with roughly the same appearance but a different personality.

Tennant had been one of the youngest actors to play the role, at 34, but now, at 51, he is one of the oldest. In the coming Christmas episode, Ncuti Gatwa, who grew up in Scotland after escaping from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide with his family, will begin playing the Fifteenth Doctor, the 1st nonwhite actor to play the role. (The Doctor has had male and female companions, and they have come from every race to be found on Earth.)

The oldest has been Capaldi, 59 when he left. The youngest has been Smith, 27 when he started. McCoy, Tennant, Capaldi and Gatwa have been Scottish; the rest of The Doctor's portrayers have been English-born-and-raised, although McCoy and McGann have been Englishmen of Irish descent. Nevertheless, every Doctor has spoken with a traditional upper-class English accent.

On occasion, the show's time-traveling feature has allowed "reunions," where the current incarnation of The Doctor has met one or more previous versions. In 1973, for the show's 10th Anniversary, a special was aired, titled "The Three Doctors." Troughton and Pertwee were able to act alongside each other, but Hartnell's health only allowed a camera setup in his home, so it appeared that he was communicating with them remotely.

Hartnell died 2 years later. For the 20th Anniversary Special, "The Five Doctors," Richard Hurndall was cast as the First Doctor, while Troughton, Pertwee and Tom Baker returned to join Davison. Hurndall died the following year. David Bradley, who bears a much stronger resemblance to Hartnell than did Hurndall, has played the First Doctor in scattered appearances since 2017.

Troughton died in 1987, Pertwee in 1996. John Hurt, who played "The War Doctor" in the 50th Anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" in 2013, died in 2017. As of November 23, 2022, all other actors who have played The Doctor are still alive.

In a 2012 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Doc Brown vs. Doctor Who," Zach Sherwin played Dr. Emmett Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean car, against the Tenth Doctor, played there by "Nice" Peter Shukoff. Halfway through the battle, Brown directed a Dalek to shoot The Doctor, and he regenerates into Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, complete with his TARDIS "regenerating" into its earlier form. George Watsky played the Fourth Doctor.

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November 23, 1963 was a Saturday. Nearly every sporting event in America was canceled, or at least postponed, due to the JFK assassination. But 15 college football games were played as scheduled:

* Rivalry: Number 6 Oklahoma were upset by Number 10 Nebraska, 29-20 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 9 Auburn beat Florida State, 21-15 at Cliff Hare Stadium (now Jordan-Hare Stadium) in Auburn, Alabama.

* Rivalry: Florida beat the University of Miami, 27-21 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* Rivalry: Louisiana State beat Tulane, 20-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

* Rivalry: Tennessee beat Kentucky, 19-0 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

* Rivalry: Utah beat Utah State, 25-23 at Romney Stadium in Logan.

* Rivalry: William & Mary beat the University of Richmond, 29-6 at City Stadium in Richmond.

* Arkansas beat Texas Tech, 27-20 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Bowling Green beat Xavier, 26-15 at University Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio.

* Kent State beat the University of Dayton, 23-0 at Memorial Stadium in Kent, Ohio.

* Ohio University beat Marshall, 17-0 at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.

* Southern Mississippi beat The Citadel, 37-12 at Faulkner Field (now M.M. Roberts Stadium) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

* Vanderbilt beat George Washington University, 31-0 at Dudley Field (now FirstBank Stadium) in Nashville.

* And New York City team Columbia beat New Jersey team Rutgers, 35-28 at the old Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway.

Two NBA games went ahead as scheduled. The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 108-99 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Cincinnati Royals, 133-121 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Bob Pettit of the Hawks and Oscar Robertson of the Royals each scored 33 points.

One NHL game was played, and not in the U.S., although it did involve a U.S.-based team: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Before every English soccer game that Saturday, a moment of silence was held for JFK. Arsenal, the team I would one day start supporting, beat Lancashire team Blackpool, 5-3 at Highbury in North London.

November 11, 1953: "Panorama," Britain's Longest-Running TV Show, Premieres

November 11, 1953: Panorama, a current-affairs program, premieres on BBC Television. It is still on the air, and it is the longest-running TV show in British history.

Panorama emphasizes investigative journalism. The original presenter -- we would say "host" or "anchorman" in the U.S. -- was Pat Murphy, a reporter for the Daily Mail. He only lasted one episode, after accidentally broadcasting a technical mishap. Max Robertson then took over for a year. In September 1955, when Richard Dimbleby took over as presenter, it got the subtitle Window on the World. He presented the show until his death in 1965.

His son, David Dimbleby, later presented on November 11, 1974, the 21st anniversary of the show. But from 1966 to 2000, the main presenter was Robin Day. On December 13, 2010, it was announced that the program (or "programme," in British English) would be relaunched during the new year with no regular presenter.

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November 11, 1953 was a Wednesday. Singer Marshall Crenshaw was born.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There was 1 game played in the NBA: The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 78-72 at the Boston Garden.

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

* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings played to a tie, 2-2 at the Boston Garden.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

November 10, 1963: "That Was the Week That Was" Premieres In America

David Frost is 3rd from the right.

November 10, 1963: An American version of the British comedy TV show That Was the Week That Was premieres on NBC. It is a hit, briefly, and inspires several later TV shows.

"TW3" was is a satirical television comedy program (or "programme," as it would be "spelt" in Britain), created by British comedy legend Johnny Speight, that aired on BBC Television from November 24, 1962 to December 28, 1963. David Frost was the host. It is considered a significant element of the satire boom in Britain in the early 1960s, as it broke ground in comedy by lampooning political figures.

Its success led to a U.S. version, also hosted by Frost, supported by Henry Morgan, Buck Henry, Tom Bosley and Alan Alda, the latter two then known as Broadway performers, not yet as TV superstars. Nancy Adams sang the opening news-satire song. Regularly contributing writers included Gloria Steinem, Tom Lehrer and Calvin Trillin. The pilot's guests were Henry Fonda and the comedy team of Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

It ran until May 4, 1965. My parents, who had recently started dating, were big fans. The show helped inspire such shows as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Saturday Night Live, and any show inspired by those.

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November 10, 1963 was a Sunday. There were 2 games in the NHL that day. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Gordie Howe of the Red Wings scored his 545th career goal, making him the NHL's all-time leader. I have a separate entry for that event. And the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. The New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs were not scheduled.

Only 1 game was played in the NBA: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks, 104-79 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Len Chappell scored 23 for the Knicks, and Johnny Green 22, but no other Knick got into double figures. In contrast, Elgin Baylor led the Lakers with 21, but all 5 starters had at least 11.

There were 7 games in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, 42-14 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Detroit Lions, 24-21 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 9-7 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, 6-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 28-7 at the new Green Bay City Stadium. It was renamed Lambeau Field 2 years later.

* The NFL version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Redskins, 24-20 at the 1st Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was previously the last Sportsman's Park.

* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-24 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

There were 2 games played in the American Football League. The New York Jets lost to the Houston Oilers, 31-27 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Boston Patriots, 7-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. The AFL Championship Game would also be a San Diego win over Boston, but by a considerably larger margin.

And Mike Powell, the world record holder in the long jump, was born on this day. 

November 6, 1977: "I, Claudius" Premieres On American Television

November 6, 1977: I, Claudius makes its American television debut, as part of PBS' anthology series Masterpiece Theatre.

Directed by Herbert Wise, and based on the 1934 novel of the same title, and its 1935 sequel Claudius the God, both by Robert Graves, the 13-part, 13-hour series had first aired on British network BBC2 from September 20 to December 6, 1976.

The series begins before the birth of the title character, in 24 BC, under the reign of the 1st Emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus (played by Brian Blessed), nephew of Julius Caesar. His wife, Livia (Siân Phillips), schemes to make Tiberius (George Baker), her son from a previous marriage, Augustus' heir, and it works, as Tiberius is proclaimed Emperor at Augustus' death in AD 14.

But he proves to be an unfit ruler, and when he dies in AD 37, his grandson, Caligula (John Hurt), becomes Emperor. He proves to be even more unfit, and, in 41, he is assassinated by his own guards. They name Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Claudius (Derek Jacobi, Ashley Knight as a boy), the new Emperor. He is Tiberius' nephew, Augustus' grandson, and therefore Caligula's uncle.

Julius, Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula reigned through fear. Nobody was afraid of Claudius: He had a stutter, seemed not to be very smart, had no ambition to be Emperor, and had offended no one -- qualities that allowed people to rally around him.

But the fact that no one was afraid of him meant that people could get away with outrageous things under his reign. This included his wife, Messalina (Sheila White), and his boyhood friend, Herod Agrippa (James Faulkner), grandson of the Bible's figure Herod the Great. While Herod helped install Claudius in power, and ruled what became the Holy Land after his father and grandfather (after the time Jesus walked the Earth), he betrayed Claudius, a fact not supported by the real surviving history of Rome. That history does support Messalina endlessly cheating on him, and being executed for it.

Toward the end of the series, Claudius is tricked into marrying his own niece and Augustus' great-granddaughter, Agrippina the Younger (Barbara Young), who follows Livia's example, and schemes to get her son, who is not the Emperor's son, onto the throne after him. This is the dimwitted Nero (Christopher Biggins).

Claudius accepts that, at some point, Agrippina will poison him. In AD 54, it happens, and 17-year-old Nero rises to the throne. But Claudius has left behind a memoir, and he hopes it will be discovered. The novel and miniseries are said to be that memoir.

The real Claudius was 64 at the time of his death. Nero, of course, went on to have his mother killed. The story that he fiddled while Rome burned is a myth: Not only was the violin or fiddle not yet invented at the time of the AD 64 fire, but Nero -- who did play a stringed instrument, a lyre -- wasn't even in the city at the time. And, while an old proverb says, "Rome wasn't built in a day," it burned on many days. The reason the fire in 64 gets remembered so much is that early Christians saw Nero persecuting him, and wanted to depict him as an even bigger monster than he actually was. He was overthrown in 68, and committed suicide before he could be captured, at 31.

In addition to the preceding, the notable actors from the series included Patrick Stewart as Sejanus, Tiberius' top military aide, executed for treason in AD 31; John Rhys-Davies as Naevius Sutorius Macro, a member of the Praetorian Guard; and future Manimal star Simon MacCorkindale as Lucius Caesar, a grandson of Augustus and cousin of Claudius', who could have become heir had he not died of a sudden illness at age 19.

At the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards, Jacobi won Best Actor, and Phillips won Best Actress. PBS audiences loved it, although it won only one 1978 Emmy Award, with Tim Harvey being honored for Best Art Direction. It has gotten good ratings every time it's been aired on PBS.

The creators of later series Dynasty, The Sopranos, House of Cards (which was a British series airing in America on Masterpiece Theatre before it was an American series airing on Netflix) and Game of Thrones have cited I, Claudius as an inspiration. The character of Livia Soprano, Tony Soprano's mother, played by Nancy Marchand, was styled after, and named for, Phillips' Livia.

Robert Graves died in 1985, Simon MacCorkindale in 2010, George Baker in 2011, Herbert Wise in 2015, John Hurt in 2017, Sheila White in 2018. As of November 6, 2022, Derek Jacobi, Ashley Knight, Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, James Faulkner, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Barbara Young and Christopher Biggins are still alive.

UPDATE: Young died in 2023.

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November 6, 1977 was a Sunday. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-10 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Miami Dolphins, 14-10 at Shea Stadium.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the New England Patriots, 24-14 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New Orleans Saints, 28-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 10-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Chicago Bears, 47-0 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 10-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Lions beat the San Diego Chargers, 20-0 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-7 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Green Bay Packers, 20-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-7 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Seattle Seahawks, 44-7 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Baltimore Colts beat their inter-conference neighbors, the Washington Redskins, 10-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Baseball was out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 106-102 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Washington Bullets beat the New Orleans Jazz, 108-97 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-106 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

* And the Kansas City Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-83 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 5 games played in the NHL:

* Thew New York Islanders lost to the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 7-4 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Gilbert Perreault scored 3 goals and had 2 assists.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Cleveland Barons, 4-1 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio. The Barons' failure meant that Ohio vs. Michigan never became the kind of rivalry in the NHL that it is in college football, the NFL, the NBA, or even in baseball. The coming of the Columbus Blue Jackets hasn't been able to establish it as such, either.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 3-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 5-2 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati. And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Houston Aeros, 7-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

November 2, 1936: The CBC & the BBC

November 2, 1936: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is founded. It picks up Canada's favorite (or, should I say, its favourite) radio show, Hockey Night In Canada, which began in 1931. In 1952, a bit late, they began TV broadcasting, and HNIC remains the country's most popular TV show.

On the same day, the British Broadcasting Corporation begins the BBC Television Service, inventing what we would now call "network television." In 1964, it is renamed BBC1.

"The Beeb" beat America to network by 11 years. Oddly, they would be behind the curve when it came to "colour" TV: While nearly every U.S. TV show that had not already switched to broadcasting in color would do so by the start of the 1965-66 season, the CBC the next season (using a butterfly as a logo, as opposed to NBC's Peacock), and the U.K.'s BBC and ITV wouldn't do so until 1969.

Currently, the CBC airs on 14 affiliates. From east to west, they are:

* St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador: CBNT, Channel 8

* Charlottetown, Prince Edward island: CBCT, Channel 13

* Halifax, Nova Scotia: CBHT, Channel 3

* Saint John, New Brunswick: CBAT, Channel 4

* Montreal, Quebec: CBMT, Channel 6

* Ottawa, Ontario: CBOT, Channel 4

* Toronto, Ontario: CBLT, Channel 5

* Windsor, Ontario (across from Detroit): CBET, Channel 9

* Winnipeg, Manitoba: CBWT, Channel 6

* Regina, Saskatchewan: CBKT, Channel 9

* Calgary, Alberta: CBRT, Channel 9

* Edmonton, Alberta: CBXT, Channel 5

* Vancouver, British Columbia: CBUT, Channel 2

* Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: CFYK, Channel 8

CTV was launched as a competitor to the CBC in 1961. TVA was launched as a French-only network in Quebec in 1971.

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November 2, 1936 was a Monday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season started 3 days later. so there were no scores on this historic day.

October 26, 1938: England vs. The Rest of Europe & Hockey Comes to TV

Tommy Lawton

October 26, 1938: The Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury after its North London neighborhood, hosts a match between the England national team and a team representing "The Rest of Europe." The game commemorates, on the actual anniversary day, the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the Football Association. A crowd of 40,185, including King George VI, sees England win 3-0. It was the 2nd full England match to be shown live on British television.

The England team consisted of Arsenal's left back Eddie Hapgood (Captain) and left half Wilf Copping, Chelsea's goalkeeper Vic Woodley, Tottenham's right back Bert Sproston and inside right Willie Hall, Huddersfield's right half Ken Willingham, Wolverhampton Wanderers' centre half (and future title-winning manager) Stan Cullis, Stoke City's outside right Stanley Matthews, Everton's centre forward Tommy Lawton and outside left Walter Boyes, and West Ham United's inside left Len Goulden. Hall, Lawton and Goulden scored.

The Rest of Europe team included 5 players from recent World Cup winners Italy, 2 Germans, a Frenchman, a Belgian, a Hungarian, and a Norwegian. Only 1 of the 5 Italians was on the forward line, so even then, Italy was a defense-first footballing nation. It was Silvio Piola, considered too young for their 1934 World Cup winners, but starred on the 1938 version while playing his club soccer for Lazio in Rome. The Belgian, Ray Braine, was his country's 1st professional footballer, when he signed for Sparta Prague -- not in his own country, which had yet to allow professionalism, but in Czechoslovakia -- in 1930.

Ray Braine

The last survivor of each team was Cullis, who lived until 2001; and Pietro Rava of Italy and Juventus, who lived until 2006.

Also on this day, for the 1st time, an ice hockey match is televised. Oddly, this does not occur in Canada, or in America, or in any of the European nations that we now associate with the game, such as Russia or Sweden. It is in England, on the BBC, between Harringay Racers of North London and Streatham Redskins of South London. The broadcaster, at least, was a Canadian: Winnipeg-born Stuart MacPherson.

I don't have a record of the result, although Harringay finished ahead of Streatham in the English National League in the 1938-39 season. Harringay won it the preceding season, 1937-38, and Streatham had won it in 1934-35. Harringay folded in 1957, and have since been replaced by a new team using the name. Streatham are still in business.

In 1940, New York station W2XBS (forerunner of WNBC-Channel 4) would become the 1st TV station to broadcast an NHL game, a 6-2 New York Rangers win over the Montreal Canadiens at the old Madison Square Garden. Just 3 days after that, they would broadcast the 1st televised basketball game, also at the old Garden. That station had already done, all in New York City in 1939, the 1st TV broadcasts of baseball, at Ebbets Field; college football, at Columbia University's Baker Field; and the NFL, at the Polo Grounds.

In 1952, CBC would bring Hockey Night In Canada from radio to TV, and it quickly became, and remains, Canada's favourite (that's how it's "spelt" up there) TV show. But the U.S. -- ABC/ESPN, NBC and Fox have all tried -- has never really gotten hockey broadcasts right. "Glow puck," anyone?

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October 26, 1938 was a Wednesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season wouldn't start for another 8 days. So there were no other scores on this historic day.

October 24, 2002: Gary Lineker Saves Leicester City

October 24, 2002: Leicester City Football Club, going into administration as the result of the costs of moving into a new stadium and a larger wage bill for players, are saved by one of their greatest players.

Gary Winston Lineker was born on November 30, 1960 in Leicester, East Midlands, England. A forward, he played for hometown soccer team Leicester City from 1978 to 1985, and helped them gain promotion to the top flight in 1980. He played 1 season, 1985-86, for Liverpool team Everton -- a year after and a year before they won the League, but he did win the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year.

Lineker playing for Leicester City

He went to F.C. Barcelona, helping them win the Copa del Rey (Spain's version of the FA Cup) in 1988 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989. He returned to England, and helped North London team Tottenham Hotspur win the 1991 FA Cup -- and they haven't won a major trophy since. (UPDATE: They won the League Cup in 1999 and 2008, but those are not major trophies. Whether the 2025 UEFA Europa League counts as a "major trophy" is a matter of opinion.)

But his time at "Spurs," including helping England reach the 1990 World Cup Semifinal, made him a beloved figure in his homeland. He was the Football League's leading scorer in 1985, 1986 and 1990.

He then started a media career, mostly with the BBC, and since 1999 has anchored the network’s most popular program (or, as they would spell it, "programme"): Match of the Day. He leads the pundits in promoting classically English teams like Spurs, Everton, Leicester, West Ham United, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, and, of course, the two biggies, Liverpool and Manchester United; and trashing Arsenal, the North London team known for its foreign influence.

When Leicester City went into administration (what the British call the legal form of bankruptcy) in 2002, as a result of moving from their Filbert Street ground to the new Walkers Stadium (now the King Power Stadium), he personally bailed them out, leading a consortium that contributed £5 million (at the time, about $3.5 million), with "six figures" of it (at least £100,000) being his own money. He described his involvement as "charity" rather than an "ego trip."

He met with fans' groups to persuade them to try and raise money to rescue the club, and it was eventually saved from liquidation. He was named the club's honorary Vice President.

He has donated heavily to leukemia charities (one of his sons is a survivor) and, in 2020, £140,000 (about $187,000 at the current exchange rate) to the British Red Cross for COVID-19 research.

*

October 24, 2002 was a Thursday. This was also the day that the "Beltway Snipers," who killed 7 people in the Washington, D.C. area, were arrested. I have a separate entry for that event.

Game 5 of the World Series was played. The San Francisco Giants beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 16-4. Jeff Kent hit 2 home runs. The most well-known moment in this game occurred in the bottom of the 7th inning, when Giants 1st baseman J.T. Snow scored off a Kenny Lofton triple. Three-year-old batboy Darren Baker, son of Giants manager Dusty Baker, ran to home plate to collect Lofton's bat before the play was completed, and was quickly lifted by the jacket by Snow with one hand as he crossed the plate, with David Bell close on his heels. Had Snow not acted quickly, Darren could have been seriously injured in a play at home plate.

The Giants were now 1 win away from winning the World Series for the 1st time in 1954, when they were still in New York. They would have to wait. Darren Baker was later drafted by the Washington Nationals as a 2nd baseman.

(UPDATE: In 2024, he played 9 games for the Nationals. These were his only major league games through the 2025 season.)

The NFL was in midweek. Two games were played in college football. Number 12 North Carolina State beat Clemson, 38-6 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina. And Colorado State beat Brigham Young University, 37-10 at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The NBA season started 5 days later. There were 9 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 2-2 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2 at the First Union Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators, 2-1 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-2 at the American West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* The Dallas Stars and the Calgary Flames played to a tie, 3-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Skyreach Center (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

* And the Vancouver Canucks and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim played to a tie, 2-2 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.)

October 21, 2017: "Gunpowder" Premieres

Left to right: Kit Harington as Catesby,

Tom Cullum as Fawkes, Peter Mullan as Garnett

October 21, 2017: The miniseries Gunpowder premieres on BBC One, telling of the Gunpowder Plot that was foiled on November 5, 1605.

On that date, Guy Fawkes, a 35-year-old Catholic fanatic from York, England, is arrested beneath the House of Lords at Britain's Parliament, for plotting to blow it up, taking with it the Protestant King James I, his wife Queen Anne, and their sons Prince Henry and Prince Charles. The idea was to place James' daughter, Princess Elizabeth, on the throne. She was just 9 years old, and would, under their order, be raised as, and be married to, a Catholic.

Westminster, in a 1647 drawing.

It would have appeared much the same in 1605.

In hindsight, the plot was doomed to failure. The gunpowder was too damp: Lighting it would have had little effect, and aside from whoever lit it, nobody would have died.

And if it had worked? Instead of the people of England rising up in celebration, the reaction would have been like America's after Pearl Harbor and 9/11, or Britain's after the Brighton bombing of 1984 failed to kill Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: A moment of fear, followed by righteous rage. The conspirators would not have lived to see Christmas, no matter what they did.

Although all the conspirators were caught and hanged, Fawkes is generally the only one remembered. Today, Britain chooses to "Remember, remember, the 5th of November, the gunpowder treason and plot," and it's known as Guy Fawkes Night, commemorated with fireworks and bonfires -- leading to its other name, Bonfire Night.

There are those, of course, who commemorate the plot, rather than its failure, but these are less Fawkes' fellow Catholic fanatics, and more people who don't like the government, whoever currently holds it: Fawkes is often called "the only man ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions."

Guy Fawkes

The 1982 graphic novel V for Vendetta features an antihero wearing a mask designed to look like Fawkes, and his attempt to take down a tyrannical government in a dystopian future: 1997 in the book, 2038 in the film -- meaning that Norsefire took over in 2018.

The film based on it (with some considerable differences) was supposed to be released on November 5, 2005, the 400th Anniversary, but after the London bombings of July 7 of that year, it was considered to be too soon, and it was pushed back to March 17, 2006 -- St. Patrick's Day.

Except, in both book and film, "V" got one big thing very wrong: The government Fawkes was trying to bring down was actually more tolerant toward his faith than the one that came before (under Queen Elizabeth I), while the one he wanted to impose would have been a faith-based dictatorship that would have brooked no dissent -- much like the one "V" was trying to bring down. Not the only inconsistency in the character.

The 2017 series Gunpowder was developed by Ronan Bennett, Daniel West, and Kit Harington. Harington, better known in America as John Snow on the TV series Game of Thrones, stars as the actual leader of the plot, Robert Catesby, of whom he is a direct descendant.

Peter Mullan played Henry Garnet, a Jesuit priest who was executed for high treason, for having had advance knowledge of the Plot, and refusing to violate the Seal of the Confessional by notifying the authorities.

Mark Gatiss played Robert Cecil, the 1st Earl of Salisbury, spymaster for King James, discoverer of the Plot, and ancestor of Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of Britain in 1885 and 1886, again from 1886 to 1892, and again from 1895 to 1902.

Liv Tyler played Anne Vaux, daughter of Baron Vaux, who hosted some of the plotters' meetings, making her, effectively, the Mary Surratt of England. Fawkes was played by Tom Cullen. And King James was played by Derek Riddell.

In a 2019 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, "Nice" Peter Shukoff played Fawkes, while Robert Rico played another legendary failed revolutionary, Che Guevara.

*

October 21, 2017 was a Saturday. Game 7 of the American League Championship Series was played at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. The Houston Astros beat the New York Yankees, 4-0, to win their 2nd Pennant, their 1st since moving to the AL.Evan Gattis and Jose Altuve hit home runs, while the Yankees couldn't touch Astro pitchers Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr., who only allowed 3 hits. The Astros went on to win the World Series for the 1st time, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series, 2 days earlier.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Alabama beat Tennessee, 45-7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama went on to lose only 1 game, but it was to arch-rival Auburn, so they only got a share of the Southeastern Conference West Division title, and did not play in the SEC Championship Game. But they finished 4th in the national rankings, and got into the National Championship Playoff.

* Number 2 Penn State beat Number 19 Michigan, 42-13 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State lost their next 2 games, blowing the Big 10 Conference title. But they still got back up to Number 9, and faced then-Number 11 University of Washington in the Fiesta Bowl, which Penn State won.

* Number 3 Georgia were idle. They went on to lose to Auburn, but bounced back to win the SEC East Division, and beat Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, putting them in the National Championship Playoff.

While Alabama and Georgia have played many games against each other, some of them with both of them ranked, they had not played each other in the regular season, but they ended up facing each other in the National Championship Game, at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. If the quasi-home field advantage helped Georgia, it wasn't enough, as Alabama won, 26-23 in overtime.

* Number 4 Texas Christian University beat Kansas, 43-0 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

* Number 5 Wisconsin beat Maryland, 38-13 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 6 Ohio State were idle. Despite an early loss to Oklahoma and a later loss to Iowa, they won the Big 10 Conference title.

* Number 7 Clemson were idle. They went on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title, but lost to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, which served as a National Semifinal.

* Number 8 Miami beat Syracuse, 27-19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Miami lost the ACC Championship Game to Clemson, still got to play in the Orange Bowl on their home field, and lost it to Wisconsin.

* Number 9 Oklahoma beat Kansas State, 42-35 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. Oklahoma went on to win the Big 12 Conference title. However, they lost to Georgia in the Rose Bowl, which served as a National Semifinal.

* Number 10 Oklahoma State beat Texas, 13-10 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.

* In a major rivalry game, Number 11 University of Southern California got clobbered by Number 13 Notre Dame, 49-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame got up to Number 3 before losing to Miami and Stanford.

USC bounced back, and beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Conference title game. But they lost the Cotton Bowl to Ohio State. That wasn't right: Not because USC lost to Ohio State, but because they were playing each other in the Cotton Bowl instead of the Rose Bowl.

* Number 21 Auburn beat Arkansas, 52-20 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. A loss to Louisiana State the week before hurt Auburn, but they went on to upset Georgia and arch-rival Alabama, each of them ranked Number 1 at the time, to win the SEC West Division title. But Georgia avenged their defeat in the SEC Championship Game.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Temple, 31-28 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy lost to Central Florida, 31-21 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and the night before, Air Force beat the University of Nevada, 45-42 at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, beat Purdue, 14-12 at High Point Solutions Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

There were 11 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 111-107 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-108 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors, 111-101 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 128-94 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 114-93 at the Rocket Mortgage Field House (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 87-77 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 113-110 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points.

* The Houston Rockets beat their arch-rivals, the Dallas Mavericks, 107-91 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Sacramento Kings, 96-79 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena)in Denver.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 96-87 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena (as the Delta Center was then known) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns, 130-88 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And there were 12 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Nashville Predators, 4-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-3 at the Barclays Center.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins, 5-4 at the TD Garden in Boston. Ryan O'Reilly scored the winning goal with 2:01 left in overtime.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitals, 4-1 at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-1 at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Ottawa Senators beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 6-4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wild, 4-3 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Arizona Coyotes, 4-2 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames, 4-2 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 at the T-Mobile Arena outside Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It was only the 7th regular-season game in VGK history, and the 5th home game. William Karlsson scored the winning goal with 24 seconds left in overtime.

October 5, 1969: "Monty Python's Flying Circus" Premieres

Left to right: Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, John Cleese,

Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin

October 5, 1969: Monty Python's Flying Circus premieres on BBC1. It becomes one of the most beloved comedy programs in the history of television on planet Earth.

The Monty Python comedy troupe consisted of John Cleese, about to turn 30, from the Bristol area; Terry Gilliam, about to turn 29, from Minneapolis and thus the only non-British member; Graham Chapman, 28, from Leicester; Terry Jones, 27, from Colwyn Bay, Wales; Eric Idle, 26, from the Newcastle area, and Michael Palin, 26, from Sheffield.

Chapman was considered the leader of the group, and took the lead roles in their films Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, King Arthur) and Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979, Brian). Cleese is best remembered for his "Ministry of Silly Walks" and "Dead Parrot" sketches. Palin wrote and starred in the "Lumberjack Song" and "Spanish Inquisition" sketches. Gilliam was responsible for most of the show's animated sketches, Idle for composing most of their music.

The show aired 45 episodes over 5 years, ending in 1974. That year, it began airing in America on PBS, with its penchant for showing British programs.

Chapman died in 1989. Jones died in 2020. As of October 5, 2022, Cleese, Gilliam, Idle and Palin are still alive.

*

October 5, 1969 was a Sunday. The NHL season started 6 days later; the NBA season, 9 days later; the ABA season, 12 days later.

Baseball was in its 1st-ever League Championship Series, and both were in Game 2. In the National League, the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-6 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) Tommie Agee, Ken Boswell and Cleon Jones hit home runs for the Mets; Hank Aaron for the Braves.

In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0 in 11 innings at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Curt Motton singled home the winning run, off Dave Boswell. He and Dave McNally both went the distance. The Mets and the Orioles each finished their sweeps the next day, setting up one of the most stunning World Series ever played.

There were 8 games played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Chicago Bears, 28-24 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-7 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Atlanta Falcons, 21-14 at Grant Field in Atlanta, moved there due to the Braves having first choice at Atlanta Stadium.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints, 36-17 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-14 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh

* The Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns, 28-21 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers, 19-7 at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. As with the Braves and Falcons, this game had to be moved because the Twins had first choice on Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington. This would remain the only game the Vikings would play in Minneapolis proper until the Metrodome opened in 1982.

* And the Washington Redskins and the San Francisco 49ers played to a tie, 17-17 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

There were 3 games played in the American Football League:

* The New York Jets beat the Boston Patriots, 23-14 at Alumni Stadium, on the campus of Boston College, just outside Boston in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

* The Houston Oilers beat the Buffalo Bills, 28-14 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* And the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 26-13 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

Two other AFL games were played the day before. The Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins played to a tie, 20-20 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 21-14 at San Diego Stadium.