April 22, 1962: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" premieres

April 22, 1962: The Western film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance premieres, directed by John Ford. It stars Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne (their only appearance together), Vera Miles, and Lee Marvin as the eponymous desperado. Despite the title containing the most obvious spoiler since Death of a Salesman, it does not give the identity of the titular shooter away.

The song of the same title, sung by Gene Pitney, was composed after the fact by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and was not a part of the film. Nevertheless, for the most part, the song tells the story:

When Liberty Valance rode to town.
the womenfolk would hide, they'd hide.
When Liberty Valance walked around
the men would step aside.

'Cause the point of a gun was the only law
that Liberty understood
When it came to shooting straight and fast
he was mighty good.

Stewart plays Ransom Stoddard, a young lawyer from the East, who arrives in a Western Territory, not named but definitely not yet a State, only to be immediately robbed and beaten by Valance and his gang. Wayne plays Tom Doniphon, who takes "Ranse" to the home of his girlfriend, Hallie (Miles), who treats his injuries.

From out of the East, a stranger came
a law book in his hand, a man
the kind of a man the West would need
to tame a troubled land.

'Cause the point of a gun was the only law
that Liberty understood.
When it came to shooting straight and fast
He was mighty good.

Many a man would face his gun
And many a man would fall.
The man who shot Liberty Valance
He shot Liberty Valance
He was the bravest of them all.

He would have to be. Ranse learns Valance frequently terrorizes the town of Shinbone and the surrounding country, since the local Marshal, Link Appleyard (Andy Devine), is too cowardly to stop him. Tom says Valance only understands force, but Ranse is determined to bring Valance to justice through the law.

Ranse establishes his law practice, and begins to romance Hallie. Tom makes it clear that Hallie is his bride-to-be. Valance bullies Ranse again, and Ranse begins practicing with a gun loaned to him by Dutton Peabody (Edmond O'Brien), the publisher of the town's newspaper.

Ranse and Peabody are elected the town's delegates to a convention to decide whether the Territory should apply for Statehood. Statehood would mean a federal government presence in town, enforcing federal law. That would be bad news for the cattle barons, who are used to getting their own way. So they hire Valance to try to stop Ranse and Peabody from voting for Statehood. Valance challenges Ranse to a gunfight. Tom offers to assist Ranse in leaving town, but Ranse stubbornly declines.

The love of a girl can make a man stay on
when he should go, stay on
just trying to build a peaceful life
where love is free to grow.

But the point of a gun was the only law
that Liberty understood.
When the final showdown came at last
a law book was no good

Alone and afraid, she prayed that he'd
return that fateful night, oh that night
when nothing she said could keep her man
from going out to fight.

From the moment a girl gets to be full grown
the very first thing she learns:
When two men go out to face each other
only one returns!

This is where the song differs from the film: Ranse didn't stay for the love of Hallie, but out of stubbornness. And although Hallie now wanted Ranse, not Tom, and was worried about the gunfight, the film did not depict her praying for Ranse, or discouraging him from dueling.

That night, Valance and his gang vandalize the newspaper office, and severely injure Peabody for reporting Valance's murder of a local farmer. Ranse arms himself and goes after Valance. But, even drunk, Valance easily shoots Ranse in the arm, causing him to drop his gun, then prepares to kill him. Ranse picks up his gun and shoots, and Valance falls dead.

Everyone heard two shots ring out!
One shot made Liberty fall!
The man who shot Liberty Valance
he shot Liberty Valance
he was the bravest of them all!

The man who shot Liberty Valance
he shot Liberty Valance
he was the bravest of them all!

Everyone who was watching and listening during the gunfight did hear two shots: The shot from Valance that wounded Ranse, and the shot that made Valance fall dead. Tom sees Hallie treat Ranse's wound, and knows that he's lost her.

At the Territorial Convention, Ranse is nominated for delegate to Congress, but withdraws after a representative of the cattle barons, still opposing Statehood, accuses him of building a career from murdering a man.

Tom arrives, and explains to Ranse that it was he who killed Valance: Knowing that Ranse could not win, Tom shot him with a rifle at the same time Ranse fired -- two shots at the same time, hence, "Everyone heard two shots ring out, one shot made Liberty fall," but, in fact, there were three shots, and only Tom knew, until he told Ranse. Tom encourages Ranse to accept the nomination for Hallie's sake, before quietly walking out of the Convention.

Time passes -- 25 years. Ransom and Hallie Stoddard return to Shinbone by train, for Tom Doniphon's funeral. Ransom had been elected Governor, and then U.S. Senator. A President had appointed him U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain. It is a Presidential election year, and the rumor is that Ranse will be nominated for Vice President.

He tells the newspaper's current editor, who had been preparing an anniversary story on the shooting, the truth. Not wanting to ruin Ranse's legacy, he burns his notes, and says, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." And yet, when the Stoddards board the train to begin their journey back to Washington, Ranse thanks the train conductor for the railroad's courtesies, and the conductor, none the wiser, answers, "Nothing's too good for the man who shot Liberty Valance!"

TL;DR: Jimmy Stewart got the girl, but John Wayne got the bad guy.

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April 22, 1962 was a Sunday. Football was out of season. The NBA Championship had been won 4 days earlier, by the Boston Celtics, over the Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games.

On this day, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 2-1, to take Game 6 of the Finals and win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 11 years. This started a string of 3 straight and 4 in 6 years under head coach-general manager George "Punch" Imlach, with future Hall-of-Famers like Frank Mahovlich, Tim Horton, George Armstrong and Johnny Bower.

When the string ends on May 2, 1967, the Leafs will have won 13 of the 49 Stanley Cups awarded in the NHL era -- 26 percent. At the time, they were only 1 behind their arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, for the most. In the 60 years since, they have never even been to the Finals again, while the Canadiens have added 10 more.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Cleveland Indians, 7-5 and 9-3 at Yankee Stadium. In the opener, Yogi Berra and Tom Tresh hit home runs, but Bill Stafford didn't get out of the 3rd inning.

In the nightcap, the game was tied 3-3 after 6, but the Tribe scored 2 runs in the 7th and 4 in the 9th to pull away. Jim Coates started, and Luis Arroyo, injured during the recent Spring Training, ended up as the losing pitcher, a mark of his decline from being the game's best relief pitcher the previous season. Over the 2 games, Mickey Mantle went 1-for-5 with 3 walks.

* The New York Mets lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Mets were now 0-9 in their history, and the Pirates were 10-0, so the Mets were 9 1/2 games out of 1st place even though they'd played only 9 games. In this game, Jim Hickman got 3 hits, and Gil Hodges 2, the rest of the team combined, only 2. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-4. The next day, the Mets got their 1st regular-season win, beating the Pirates, 9-1.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6 at Fenway Park in Boston. Norm Cash hit 2 home runs. Al Kaline went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Jim Pagliaroni and Gary Geiger hit home runs for the Red Sox, and both would end up on the 1969 Seattle Pilots, written about by pitcher Jim Bouton in what became his book Ball Four. (And they both homered in the same game? Pagliaroni, who hit only 90 runs in his career? Ang Geiger, who hit 77? Yeah, surrre! Maybe their greenies kicked in.)

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators, 8-3 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. Brooks Robinson, Jim Gentile, Gus Triandos and Jackie Brandt all homered for the O's.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson went 0-for-4, but the Reds got home runs from Vada Pinson, Johnny Edwards and Wally Post. Willie Mays went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Kansas City Athletics swept the Chicago White Sox, 7-1 and 7-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron was injured in the 1st inning, and was replaced by his brother, Tommie Aaron. Eddie Mathews went 0-for-1, but drew 4 walks. Duke Snider went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Hank played again the next day. The main reason he was able to go to hit a record 755 home runs was his remarkable durability and availability: Whatever aches and pains he may have had, from 1955 to 1970, he never played in fewer than 145 games, and only twice in fewer than 150.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-5 and 5-1 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. In the 1st game, Ernie Banks went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs, while Stan Musial went 1-for-4. Banks went 0-for-4 in the 2nd game, while Musial appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Colt .45s, 4-3 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels groundshared with the Dodgers until their stadium could be built in nearby Anaheim. Jim Kaat pitched a 4-hit shutout, with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run.

March 3, 1939: "Stagecoach" Premieres

Claire Trevor and John Wayne

March 3, 1939: The film Stagecoach premieres, directed by John Ford. It is regarded as one of the greatest Western movies ever made, and is credited with making a star out of John Wayne.

Born in 1907 in Iowa, as Marion Michael Morrison, he played football at the University of Southern California, but got kicked off the team when it was discovered that an injury was the result of a dumb stunt. So he went to the Hollywood studios, and became a stuntman for a living, as did many actors before and since.

Stagecoach was the 6th film that Ford directed with John Wayne, but the 1st with Wayne in a starring role. In 1928, Ford directed Wayne in Mother Machree, Four Sons and Hangman's House. This would be followed in 1929 with Salute, and 1930 with Men Without Women. Also in 1930, Ford directed Up the River, which was the film debut of both Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart. Most of these films are considered all or mostly lost.

John Ford, bearing a strong resemblance

to another creative Irishman, James Joyce

Stagecoach is set in 1880, as a driver, Buck (played by Andy Devine) prepares to leave Tonto, Arizona for Lordsburg, New Mexico. (Both Arizona and New Mexico were Territories then, and each would gain Statehood in 1912.) This location would allow Ford to film, as he liked to do, in the American Southwest's "National Monument Valley.

Buck has 4 passengers: Dallas (Claire Trevor, who got top billing in the film, over Wayne), a prostitute driven out of town by self-appointed moral arbiters; Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell), an alcoholic physician; Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), a snobbish Southerner, who will, on arrival, be joining her husband, a cavalry officer; and Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), a short, bald whiskey salesman.

Marshal Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft) tells Buck that his shotgun guard is unavailable, as he is part of a posse looking for the Ringo Kid (Wayne), who has broken out of prison on a revenge mission. Curley offers to "ride shotgun" himself. An Army officer warns that the Apache Chief Geronimo and his braves are on the warpath. Hatfield (John Carradine), a gambler, offers additional protection, and boards the stage. At the edge of town, the stage is flagged by Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill), an arrogant banker, who pays his fare.

Down the road, Ringo is found, walking after his horse had pulled up lame. Curley and Ringo are friends, and Curley figures Ringo is safer in his custody than anywhere else. At Apache Wells, Mrs. Mallory learns that her husband had been wounded in battle with the Apaches. She faints, and, stunning the group, none of whom knew she was pregnant, goes into labor. Doc Boone sobers up, and delivers the baby, with Dallas assisting.

Later that night, Ringo asks Dallas to marry him, and live on a ranch he owns across the border in Mexico. She accepts, but is unwilling to leave Mrs. Mallory and the newborn. She gives Ringo the rifle Curley had taken, and prods him to escape, promising to meet him there later. But he sees smoke signals, heralding an Apache attack, and returns to custody.

The stage is attacked, shortly after crossing the river outside an Apache-sacked Lee's Ferry. A long chase follows, with some of the party injured in the fight. Down to his last bullet, Hatfield is pulling back the trigger to humanely dispatch Mrs. Mallory when he is mortally wounded. The 6th U.S. Cavalry rides to the rescue. This became part of the Western movie trope of "the cavalry coming over the hill in the nick of time."

They get to Lordsburg safely. There, Gatewood is arrested for attempting to abscond with his bank's funds. Mrs. Mallory learns that her wounded husband will fully recover. She thanks Dallas, who gives Mrs. Mallory her shawl. Dallas then begs Ringo not to confront the 3 Plummer brothers, who had killed his father and brother, prompting his prison break. He guns all 3 down in a shootout, then surrenders to Curley, expecting to go back to prison.

As Ringo takes his seat on a buckboard, Curley invites Dallas to ride with them to the edge of town. But when she gets aboard Curley and Doc stampede the horses, letting the couple speed off together toward Ringo's ranch across the Mexican border, where they can be together without the American authorities being able to touch them.

Ford would direct Wayne again in The Long Voyage Home in 1940, They Were Expendable in 1945, Fort Apache and 3 Godfathers in 1948, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon in 1949, Rio Grande in 1950, The Quiet Man in 1952, The Searchers in 1956, The Wings of Eagles in 1957, The Horse Soldiers in 1959, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and How the West Was Won in 1962, and Donovan's Reef in 1963 -- a total of 19 films.

Together and separately, Wayne and Ford became synonymous with both Western movies and World War II-themed films. They shared a love of their Irish heritage and the American West. They started out as political opposites, with Ford as a New Deal Democrat. But, by the 1950s, he had begun to move toward Wayne's staunch conservatism.

Churchill died of uremic poisoning in 1940, only a year and a half after the premiere of Stagecoach. Meek died of leukemia in 1946. He was followed by Bancroft in 1956, Mitchell in 1962, Ford in 1973, Devine in 1977, Wayne in 1979, Carradine in 1988, Trevor in 2000, and Platt in 2003.

Stagecoach was remade in 1966, with Ann-Margret as Dallas, Alex Cord as Ringo, Van Heflin as Curley, Slim Pickens as Buck, Bing Crosby as Doc Boone, Stefanie Powers as Lucy, Red Buttons as Peacock, Mike Connors as Hatfield, and Robert Cummings as Gatewood.

In 1986, CBS aired another remake, featuring the country music legends who occasionally got together and recorded and performed as The Highwaymen: Johnny Cash as Curley, Kris Kristofferson as Ringo, Willie Nelson as the real-life dentist-gunslinger Doc Holliday, and Waylon Jennings as Hatfield.

Bing's daughter Mary Crosby -- best known as Kristin Shepard, sister-in-law, mistress and shooter of J.R. Ewing on the CBS show Dallas -- playing not Dallas, but Lucy. Elizabeth Ashley played Dallas, John Schneider played Buck, Anthony Newley played Peacock, Tony Franciosa played Gatewood, and Cash's wife June Carter Cash and Jennings' wife Jessi Colter, themselves renowned country singers, had minor roles.

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March 3, 1939 was a Friday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL had no games scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.