December 10, 1884: Mark Twain Publishes "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

December 10, 1884: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published by Samuel Langhorne Clemens, under his pen name, Mark Twain.

He had been born on November 30, 1835, in Hannibal, Missouri, on the Mississippi River, while Halley's Comet was making its closest pass to Earth on its 75 1/2-year trip around the Sun. Sam Clemens would go on to do a lot of things with his life, including work on riverboats, drive a wagon on a westward wagon train, and write for newspapers from coast to coast.

From his work on riverboats, he took the pen name Mark Twain. "Mark" meaning distance and "Twain" meaning "two," the combined meaning of "Mark Twain" was, roughly, the point at which water became safe to travel -- or unsafe. And he did often seem to live his life on the border between safe and unsafe -- but also on the border between America's slaveholding South and its abolitionist North, and on the border between its established East and its then-wide-open, freewheeling "Wild West."

William Faulkner called him "The Father of American Literature," based mainly on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published in 1876, the 1st major American novel written on a typewriter; and its sort-of sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, published in 1884.

Tom Sawyer was set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, based on Hannibal, in the 1840s, before the American Civil War. Slavery was still in effect. One day, Tom, about 12 years old at the time, skips school to go swimming, and is made to whitewash his mean old Aunt Polly's fence for the entirety of the next day, Saturday, as punishment. He cons the other neighborhood kids, who adore him, into doing it for him -- perhaps inspiring the late 20th Century character Ferris Bueller. And, just as Ferris faked having a terrible, if ill-defined, illness, Tom fakes his own death, and attends his own funeral, before he's discovered to be alive.

He meets Becky Thatcher, a girl who has just moved to town with her father, a circuit-riding judge. And his best friend is Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, whose father is the town drunk, but all the other boys in school seem to like him.

The narrator of Tom Sawyer is omniscient. Every subsequent work featuring Tom and Huck is narrated by Huck, including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which opens with this warning by the author: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot."

Then the story opens, with Huck saying, "You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain't no matter. That book was made by a Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly."

In this 2nd novel, Huck is now 13 (as is Tom), and runs away from his abusive father, and rides a raft down the river, landing on an island where he finds Jim, a runaway slave. Huck has been told that helping a runaway slave means going to Hell, but when it looks like Jim will be captured, Huck says, "All right, then, I'll go to Hell," and rescues Jim.

They are found by Tom's relatives, and Tom tells them that Jim's owner has died and freed him in her will, and that Huck's father has also died, so Huck is "free" as well. Tom's relatives offer to adopt Huck, but he runs away, saying he's going to "light out for the Indian Territory," present-day Oklahoma.

Huckleberry Finn remains one of the most beloved American novels. Ernest Hemingway declared that "All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn." T. S. Eliot, Twain's fellow Missourian, called it a "masterpiece."

But it also remains one of the most controversial. Liberals criticize it for Twain's use of local speech, including racial slurs. Conservatives criticize it for being anti-racism.

Less-remembered are 2 more sequels, both narrated by Huck. In 1894, Twain published Tom Sawyer Abroad, a parody of Jules Verne's "scientific novels," with Tom and Huck traveling to Africa in a hot air balloon, and having adventures in Egypt and the jungle. In 1896, Twain published Tom Sawyer, Detective, in which Tom, now a teenager, solves a murder. 

Twain became America's leading lecture-circuit figure, unafraid to mock the high and the mighty and point out that their foibles were much the same as those of the low and the powerless. As has been said of journalists since, he sought to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.

Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, at Stormfield, his home in Redding, Connecticut. (The house burned down in 1923, and a replica was built on the site.) It was the day after Halley's Comet had made its closest approach to Earth. A year before, knowing the comet was coming, Twain predicted that, just as he came in with it, he would go out with it. He was right.

He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York. So were Hal Roach, producer of the Laurel & Hardy and Our Gang films; and Ernie Davis, the 1st black Heisman Trophy winner.

In 1985, William Hauptman and country singer Roger Miller wrote a musical titled Big River, based on Huck's novel, and it won Tony Awards. Many later movies and TV shows were based on imagined later adventures of Tom and Huck, but still depict them as boys, as teenagers at the oldest. Few have dared to show what they were like as grown men.

In 1983, Greg Matthews published a novel, The Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Huck and Jim "light out for the territory," but go well past Oklahoma, participating in the California Gold Rush of 1849. So, in this one, Huck is still just a kid.

In 1968, Robert Coover published a novel about a man who created, and becomes obsessed with, a version of what would now be called "fantasy baseball": The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. In 2017, Coover published Huck Out West, imagining Huck's adventures during the Civil War, when he and Tom would have been in their late 20s.

The 2003 film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen cast Shane West as a now-grown Tom, a U.S. Secret Service agent. The character was not in the original graphic novel. But West was 25 years old at the time. Since the story takes place in 1899, Tom, had he lived to that point, was more likely to have been at least twice that old.

The 2015 film Band of Robbers puts the characters in the present day, as young adults, with the trope of two boys in trouble, one got caught and went to jail (Huck), and the other got away and cleaned up his act (Tom). But when Huck is released, it turns out Tom, now a cop, still has dreams of being a Robin Hood type, stealing from criminals and giving back the stole property.

In 1981, Bernard Sabath wrote a play, The Boys in Autumn. It's set in the 1920s, and after a long life away, Tom returns to Hannibal. Tom became a vaudeville performer, and Huck, to the much greater surprise, became a respectable gentleman, now a grumpy old man. Frank Rich, then the Broadway columnist for The New York Times, ripped the original production, starring John Cullum (later Holling on Northern Exposure) as Tom and George C. Scott as Huck, angry that Sabath had "given the men lurid secrets that reduce two of the most beloved characters in our cultural heritage to extras in a Harold Robbins novel."

As if that wasn't just the kind of thing that Twain himself wouldn't have applauded! After all, on August 31, 1884, as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was heading for the printing press, Twain wrote a letter to fellow novelist William Dean Howells, saying, "Isn't human nature the most consummate sham & lie that was ever invented?"  

*

December 10, 1884 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football season were over. Hockey was barely organized. And basketball hadn't even been invented. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 27, 1985: The Cardinal Meltdown

October 27, 1985: Some baseball teams have a meltdown that lasts an entire season. For some, it lasts a few weeks. For some, one week is enough. The St. Louis Cardinals had a meltdown in just 5 innings, at the absolute worst time: In Game 7 of the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals rout the Cardinals, 11-0, to win their 1st World Championship, and the 1st All-Missouri World Series since the Cardinals-Browns matchup of 1944.

They become only the 6th team to rally from a 3-1 deficit and win the Series. (Only the 2016 Chicago Cubs have done it since.) Series MVP Bret Saberhagen pitches the shutout, while Cardinals ace John Tudor allows 5 runs in just 2 1/3 innings.

The Royals had won the American League Pennant, but lost the World Series, in 1980; and had won the AL Western Division, but lost the AL Championship Series, in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1984. This time, the Royals were crowned.

The Cards were still upset over the blown call by 1st base umpire Don Denkinger, which they believed cost them Game 6. And, 37 years later, despite 5 Pennants and 3 World Series wins, they and their fans are still upset about it.

According to Baseball-Reference.com,if the right call had been made, giving the Cardinals an out, they would have had an 87 percent chance of winning the game. Even with the call blown, they had an 66 percent chance -- just under a 2/3rds chance. They still should have won it. And they still could have won Game 7.

Whitey Herzog wasn't the first postseason manager to, as they say in English soccer, lose the plot, and let it carry over to his players. He certainly hasn't been the last. He could have told his players, "We got screwed, but if win tomorrow night, we're the World Champions. So let's forget tonight's result, and get it done tomorrow night.

Instead, Whitey was still fuming, and his team followed his lead, and allowed it to affect their performances and their minds for Game 7.

To make matters worse, for Game 7, Denkinger was the home plate umpire. Tudor believed that Denkinger was "squeezing" him, shrinking the strike zone. After being lifted from the game‚ Tudor punched an electric fan in the clubhouse, and severely cut his hand.

Herzog replaced him with fellow 20-game winner Joaquín Andújar. The Dominican, for whom English was a second language, was once quoted as saying, "You can sum up the game of baseball in one word: Youneverknow." He also thought Denkinger was squeezing him during Kansas City's 6-run 5th inning, and ended up waving his arms and screaming at Denkinger, who ejected him. Herzog also argued, and was also tossed.

The Cardinals finished the World Series with a .185 team batting average‚ lowest ever for a 7-game Series. There's the reason they lost: They didn't hit.

The Cardinals had won the World Series in 1982, then traded Keith Hernandez to the New York Mets the next year. The Cards lost the World Series in 1985, and again in 1987, blew a 3-games-to-1 lead in the 1996 National League Championship Series, got swept by the formerly "cursed" Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, and also lost in the Playoffs in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2005. St. Louis fans began to speak of a "Curse of Keith Hernandez." But they won the World Series in 2006, just 24 years after their last Series win, so that put an end to "curse" talk.

It took the Royals 29 years to even reach the Playoffs again, and I began to wonder if they were cursed. But they won the Pennant in 2014, and went all the way in 2015, so if they were cursed, the curse was broken.

In other baseball news on this day, Billy Martin was fired by the New York Yankees for an unprecedented 4th time (not counting all those firings in 1977 that didn't take), and was replaced by former Yankee outfielder Lou Piniella‚ who had been the team's hitting instructor since retiring as a player in 1984. Billy would be hired a 5th time in 1988, and fired before June was out.

UPDATE: The Royals have a team Hall of Fame. From before their 1st Pennant in 1980, they have inducted 1st baseman John Mayberry Sr., 2nd baseman Cookie Rojas, shortstop Freddie Patek, general manager Cedric Tallis and manager Whitey Herzog.

From the 1980 American League Pennant, but not the 1985 title: center fielder Amos Otis, pitchers Paul Splittorff and Steve Busby.

From their 1985 World Champions: 3rd baseman George Brett, designated hitter Hal McRae, 2nd baseman Frank White, left fielder Willie Wilson; pitchers Dennis Leonard, Larry Gura, Dan Quisenberry, Bret Saberhagen and Mark Gubicza; manager Dick Howser, general manager Joe Burke, scout Art Stewart, owners Ewing and Murial Kauffman, groundskeeper George Toma, and broadcaster Denny Matthews.

From between their titles: Left fielder Bo Jackson, pitchers Jeff Montgomery and Kevin Appier, and catcher Mike Sweeney.

From their 2014 Pennant and their 2015 World Champions: Through the 2025 season, only Stewart, Matthews, left fielder Alex Gordon and manager Ned Yost.

Patek, Mayberry, Herzog, Otis, Splittorff, Busby, Brett, White, McRae, Wilson, Leonard, Quisenberry, Gubicza, Ewing Kauffman, Stewart, Toma, Jackson, Montgomery, Sweeney, Gordon and Yost have been elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. So have 1970s catcher Darrell Porter, 1970s pitcher Al Hrabosky (probably more due to his association with the Cardinals), 1980s catchers John Wathan and Jamie Quirk, 1980s outfielder Jim Eisenreich, 1990s catcher Mike MacFarlane, 2000s pitcher Jeff Suppan, and 2014-15 general manager Dayton Moore.

*

October 27, 1985 was a Sunday. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the New Orleans Saints, 21-13 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The New York Jets beat the Seattle Seahawks, 17-14 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills, 21-17 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The New England Patriots beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-14 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-21 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Cleveland Browns, 14-7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-21 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Green Bay Packers, 37-10 at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-9 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* It wasn't a good day for the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, either: They lost to the Houston Oilers, 20-10 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Atlanta Falcons, 24-10 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, 28-14 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And, the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Los Angeles Raiders beat the San Diego Chargers, 34-21 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

There was only 1 game in the NBA: The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 116-99 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. There were 5 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 7-4 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.

October 25, 1999: The Payne Stewart Plane Crash

October 25, 1999: Golfer Payne Stewart and 5 friends die in the crash of a Learjet. The plane was flying from Orlando to Dallas, and suffered a loss of cabin pressure, meaning that everyone on board was dead well before the plane finally ran out of gas and went down, far off course, in Mina, South Dakota.

NOTE: For a long time, with this project, I resisted putting in references to golf, because of the kind of people who tend to play it. I finally caved in, although I haven't included as many references as I would if it were a real sport, which it is not.

William Payne Stewart was born in 1957 in Springfield, Missouri. He was known for wearing old-time golf clothing, including ivy caps and pants that were a combination between plus-fours for and knickerbockers, and also for diving into water hazards when he won tournaments. He won the PGA Championship in 1989, and the U.S. Open in 1991. Earlier in 1999, he won the U.S. Open, and participated in the U.S.' dramatic come-from-behind win in the Ryder Cup.

He boarded a Learjet 35 and took off from Orlando, Florida, heading for Houston, where he intended to play in the last major tournament of the PGA season, The Tour Championship. The others on board were the pilots, Michael Kling and Stephanie Bellegarrigue; Stewart's agent Robert Fraley, a former University of Alabama quarterback; Van Ardan, president of Fraley's agency; and Bruce Borland, who designed golf courses for Jack Nicklaus' company.

But the plane veered off course -- or, rather, it stayed on course, on automatic pilot, going far from its intended destination of Houston. Stewart was famous enough that the TV news networks broke in with a special report, knowing only that the plane was off course, and saying that the likeliest explanation was that it was on autopilot, everyone on board was already dead, and it would crash when it ran out of fuel.

The plane before its final flight

This was 3 months after the crash of John F. Kennedy Jr., and it was a similar situation: We were merely awaiting the inevitable announcement. Only it would come sooner, because there would be no water search: Since the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) already knew the plane was off course, the U.S. Air Force was able to track it, and escort it, to report on the eventual crash, or to escort it in the slim hope that someone could still land it.

Our Air Force wasn't the only one tracking it: Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was told that the plane might crash over the city of Winnipeg, and he gave the order (reluctantly, he admitted in his memoirs) to the Royal Canadian Air Force to shoot it down if it crossed the border. But right after he gave the order, he received word that the plane had already crashed in South Dakota. It was 12:13 PM, Central Time (1:13 Eastern). The plane had been in the air for 3 hours and 54 minutes.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the plane failed to pressurize, and everyone was incapacitated by hypoxia as it passed Gainesville, Florida. Stuck on autopilot, the plane kept going in the same direction, nearly all the way across the country from Houston.

Stewart was 42. Over the next year, various golfers wore copies of his outfits in tribute in tournaments. He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001. The section of Interstate 44 that goes through his hometown of Springfield has been named the Payne Stewart Memorial Highway. A new course in Branson, Missouri was named the Payne Stewart Golf Club.

*

October 25, 1999 was a Monday. Baseball was on a travel day in the World Series, in which the New York Yankees would sweep the Atlanta Braves in 4 straight. The NBA season was 8 days away from starting.

On ABC Monday Night Football, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Atlanta Falcons, 13-9 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

And there was 1 game played in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Dallas Stars, 4-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

October 21, 1918: Harry Chapman Dies In Service

Harry Chapman

October 21, 1918: Harry Chapman dies of the Spanish Flu epidemic at a U.S. Army base in Nevada, Missouri. He was 30 years old, and 1 of 8 Major League Baseball players to die in the service during World War I -- in his case, in Nevada, Missouri, having been returned to the U.S. to treat combat injuries, unsuccessfully as it turns out.

A native of Severance, Kansas, Chapman was a catcher, who played for the Chicago Cubs in 1912, the Cincinnati Reds in 1913, the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League in 1914 and 1915, and the St. Louis Browns in 1916. Only in the FL was he anything like a regular player. His lifetime batting average was just .198, with 1 home run and 44 RBIs.

There is no memorial to him at Wrigley Field in Chicago, home of the Cubs; Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home of the Reds; or Busch Stadium in St. Louis, home of the Cardinals.

Eugene Mayer also dies while serving in World War I on this day. The former halfback, sprinter, long jumper, shot putter and law school graduate at the University of Virginia, a native of Norfolk, never gets to play in the nascent NFL, because he dies at Camp Joseph E. Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida, a casualty of the Spanish Flu Epidemic. "Buck" Mayer was 26, and was posthumously elected to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Buck Mayer

*

October 21, 1918 was a Monday. The War Department had ordered that the baseball season end a month early, in September, and that all players obey the "work or fight order": Enlist, or get a job in an industry essential to the war effort, or get an otherwise necessary job (like police or firemen), or be subject to the military draft. Football was in midweek. Professional basketball barely existed. And hockey season hadn't started yet. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 15, 1910: The Murder of Stanley Ketchel

October 15, 1910: Stanisław Kiecal, a.k.a. Stanley Ketchel, a.k.a. the Michigan Assassin, Middleweight Champion of the World since 1907, is murdered at the Conway, Missouri ranch where he was training. He was just 24 years old.

The murderer was a ranch hand named Walter Dipley. He and the ranch's cook, Goldie Smith, were a couple (but not married), and set Ketchel up to be robbed. Dipley was captured the next day. At the trial, Smith said she had no idea Dipley was going to rob Ketchel. They were both convicted of murder anyway, and sentenced to life in prison, but Smith's conviction was overturned, and she served just 17 months. Dipley served 23 years.

The writer John Lardner (son of Ring and brother of Ring Jr.) wrote, "Stanley Ketchel died yesterday, shot by the husband of the woman who was cooking his breakfast" – the implication being that Dipley was a jealous husband who had caught Ketchel having an affair with his wife. It was great writing, but it wasn't true.

Ketchel's manager, a con artist named Wilson Mizner, was told about Ketchel's death, and said, "Tell 'em to start counting ten over him, and he'll get up." Mizner is also believed to be the source of the classic lines, "If you copy from one author, it's plagiarism. If you copy from two, it's research" and "Be kind to the people you meet on the way up, because you're going to meet the same people on the way down."

*

October 15, 1910 was a Saturday. Despite the lateness of the year, there was still one regular-season major-league baseball game to be played. The Chicago Cubs, having already clinched the National League Pennant, beat the team that would become their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at the West Side Grounds in Chicago. The World Series started 2 days later, and the Cubs lost to the Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 1.

These notable college football games were played that day:

* The University of Pittsburgh, retroactively named Co-National Champions, beat Waynesburg University, also of Western Pennsylvania, 42-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* Harvard, the other Co-National Champions, beat Amherst, 17-0 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Army beat Yale, 9-3 on The Plain at West Point, New York. But Yale would go on to taint Harvard's undefeated season with 0-0 tie.

* New York University and Williams College played to a 3-3 tie at Ohio Field in The Bronx.

* Princeton beat Lafayette, 3-0 at Taylor Field in Easton, Pennsylvania.

* Rutgers beat Swarthmore, 21-6 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

* Ohio State beat Western Reverve, now Case Western Reserve of Cleveland, 6-0 at Ohio Field in Columbus.

* Michigan beat Michigan Argicultural, the school that would become Michigan State, 6-3 at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

* The University of Illinois -- or so it now claims -- hosts the 1st Homecoming, the tradition of welcoming back former students and members. Illinois beats the University of Chicago, 3-0 at Illinois Field in Champaign.

* Vanderbilt beat arch-rival Tennessee, 18-0 at Dudley Field in Nashville. There would be no Southeastern Conference until 1933, but Vandy were the best team among eventual SEC teams that season.

* Georgia beat Alabama, 22-0 at the Birmingham Fairgrounds in Birmingham, Alabama.

* The University of Washington, the best team on the West Coast, defeated the University of Puget Sound, 51-0 in Tacoma, Washington.

And in English soccer, Woolwich Arsenal, later to be the pride of North London, beat Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers, 4-1 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, South-East London.

August 19, 1976: Regrets at the Republican Convention

Ford welcomes Reagan to the rostrum,

as Nancy Reagan (left) and Nelson Rockefeller (right) look on

August 19, 1976: The Republican National Convention wraps up, at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Hearing the speakers talk of upcoming victory, in the Presidential election and in the Congressional elections, you'd never know they were 2 years out from a President of their Party having to resign in disgrace, a year and a half out from badly losing in the Congressional races, and looking at a country still in a recession. They were not only confident, they were arrogant.

Gerald Ford, who became President when Richard Nixon resigned, had been President for a shade over 2 years, with a hell of a mess dumped into his lap. The results had been mixed: Certainly, the country was better off than when he took office, but it was hardly in great shape. The month before, he had ridden the celebrations of the country's Bicentennial, which had helped him. But little else had gone his way.

His pardon of Nixon, just 1 month into his Presidency, had angered millions of Americans. His refusal to support a federal bailout of a bankrupt New York City had infuriated millions, and his reversal on that issue had angered millions of others, without winning many of the first group back.

Conservatives in the Republican Party hated that he had chosen former Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York as his Vice President, and refused to support him for a term of his own if he ran with Rockefeller on the ticket. He could have reminded him that he was now the leader of the Party, and that he wouldn't be bullied. Instead, he was, telling Rockefeller that he would be dropped. He chose Senator Bob Dole of Kansas.

None of it was enough. Ronald Reagan, who had recently wrapped up 2 terms as Governor of California, was the darling of the conservative movement. He challenged Ford in the Primaries, and the final Delegate total was very close. This remains the last major-party convention at which the nominee was not absolutely certain. Ford got 1,187 Delegates, Reagan 1,070.

Ford's acceptance speech was too dull to quote here. And he kept making the mistake of pointing out the differences in the last 2 years, reminding everyone that he had succeeded Richard Nixon, a fellow Republican. He could have compared the current situation to 1968, the last full year under a Democratic Administration, with war abroad and riots at home, but he didn't.

And then, as the balloons were falling, and everybody was reacting with tepid applause, he made a gracious gesture. Reagan had not had the chance to make a speech on his own behalf. So Ford asked Reagan to come down and make a speech.

Standing behind the podium, with the Presidential seal still affixed, Reagan looked more like a President than Ford ever had. He sounded more like one, too: Whatever else could be said about either man, Reagan, who had been an actor, was a better public speaker than Ford, who had been a lawyer, but not a trial lawyer, used to addressing crowds. Ford had become a good politician, but until he actually got the office, he had never intended to run for President, and he was not made for moments like these.

Reagan was. He spoke of being asked to write a letter for a time capsule, to be opened in Los Angeles in 2076, America's Tricentennial. He spoke of the world in 1976 being a battle between freedom and tyranny, with nuclear missiles as the potential deciding factor:

Those who would read this letter a hundred years from now will know whether those missiles were fired. They will know whether we met our challenge. Whether they will have the freedom that we have known up until now will depend on what we do here. Will they look back with appreciation and say, "Thank God for those people in 1976 who headed off that loss of freedom? Who kept us now a hundred years later free? Who kept our world from nuclear destruction?"

And if we fail, they probably wont get to read the letter at all, because it spoke of individual freedom, and they wont be allowed to talk of that or read of it.

This is our challenge, and this is why were here in this hall tonight. Better than we've ever done before, we've got to quit talking to each other and about each other, and go out and communicate to the world that we may be fewer in numbers than we've ever been, but we carry the message they're waiting for. We must go forth from here united, determined and what a great general said a few years ago is true: There is no substitute for victory. Mr. President.

Reagan's speech got a standing ovation. But a lot of people left the Arena thinking, "We've nominated the wrong guy."

Ford began the Convention far behind the Democratic nominee, former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. The Convention helped. He eventually closed the gap to a virtual dead heat on Election Day. Carter won a very close race.

Would Reagan have won? This time, the Republicans were still tainted with scandal and recession. Reagan's message of tax cuts and Cold War aggressiveness would not have flown in 1976.

Four years later, it was a different world. And while Reagan looked finished after 1976, in 1980, America was ready for him. All 3 men had their moment where they were the man of the moment. For Ford, it was 1974, but not 1976. For Carter, it was 1976, but not 1980. For Reagan, it was 1980, but not 1976.

The Kemper Arena still stands, right on the State Line with Kansas City, Kansas. Originally named for local banker and philanthropist Rufus Kemper, it is now named the Hy-Vee Arena, after a supermarket chain.

*

August 19, 1976 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. After 7 innings, it was 1-0 Los Angeles, a duel between the Dodgers' Burt Hooton and the Mets' Mickey Lolich. But the Mets scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th, and the Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the 8th, to make it 4-2 New York. The Mets made it 5-2 in the top of the 9th. In the bottom of the 9th, the Dodgers got singles from Ted Sizemore and Bill Buckner, and home runs from Steve Garvey and Ron Cey.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 7-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. For the Phillies, it was "Win Day": Steve Carlton went the distance for the win. Mike Schmidt and Jay Johnstone hit home runs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mike Lum singled Tony Pérez home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Pete Rose went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Johnny Bench went 0-for-5.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron, in his last season as a player, was available for the Brewers, but did not get into the game. George Brett went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Brooks Robinson, in his last full season as a player, was available for the Orioles, but did not get into the game. Reggie Jackson did, going 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. For the Twins, Rod Carew had a rare 0-for-5 game.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 7-5 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Indians manager Frank Robinson, in his last season as a player, did not put himself into the game. He did put his former Baltimore teammate, John "Boog" Powell, in, and he hit 2 home runs.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 1-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. John Candelaria allowed 9 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching Jim Barr. The only run came in the top of the 5th, when Richie Zisk singled home Candelaria himself, who had reached base via a forceout. Willie Stargell went 1-for-4.

* And the New York Yankees, the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, the Montreal Expos, the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Padres were not scheduled.

July 15, 1870: The Reunion of the Union Is Completed

The Flag of the United States, with 37 Stars,

in use from July 4, 1867 to July 4, 1877,

including when most of the former Confederate States

were readmitted to the Union.

July 15, 1870: The last of the States that had seceded from the United States of America to form the Confederate States of America is readmitted, completing the reunion of the Union.

Those States seceded over what they called "States' Rights," but each one's Ordinance of Secession mentioned slavery as one of those "rights." The secessions began after the election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the future expansion of slavery, as the President of the United States on November 6, 1860.

This was the order of secession:

1. December 20, 1860: South Carolina.

2. January 9, 1861: Mississippi.

3. January 10, 1861: Florida.

4. January 11, 1861: Alabama.

5. January 19, 1861: Georgia.

6. January 26, 1861: Louisiana.

7. February 23, 1861: Texas.

Lincoln was Inaugurated on March 4. On April 12, Confederate ships fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, starting the American Civil War. This was followed by more secessions:

8. May 6, 1861: Arkansas.

9. May 20, 1861: North Carolina.

10. May 23, 1861: Virginia.

11. June 1, 1861: Tennessee.

On January 3, 1861, Delaware voted not to secede. On January 29, Kansas was admitted as the 34th State in the Union. On March 19, Missouri overwhelmingly vote to remain in the Union. On April 29, Maryland voted not to secede.

This was key: The District of Columbia, the seat of the Union's government, was between Maryland and Virginia, and Virginia was already considering secession. If both had seceded, the federal government would be trapped. As it was, when Virginia seceded, the U.S.A. literally had its capital on the border with an enemy nation. Fortunately, the C.S.A. didn't have engineers capable of building a bridge across the Potomac River to invade. Nor did they have cannons capable of reaching the U.S. Capitol or the White House.

On May 20, Kentucky declared its neutrality. But on November 18, delegates from 68 of Kentucky’s 110 Counties met, passed an ordinance of secession, adopted a new state seal, and elected a secessionist as Governor. Kentucky was admitted to the Confederacy on December 10. However, the elected State government did not secede, and Kentucky remained in the Union.

Still, the Confederate Flag -- and its variation that is more familiar today, the Confederate Battle Flag -- had 13 stars, one for each State that had seceded, and one each for Kentucky and Missouri, which had not. So the States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri remained in the Union, despite still keeping slavery legal within their borders.

Several Western Counties in Virginia voted to secede from the rest of the State, and on June 20, 1863, those Counties, collectively, were admitted to the Union as West Virginia, the 35th State. This included Harpers Ferry, home to the federal arsenal that abolitionist John Brown tried and failed to capture in 1859.

The idea that Virginia went to the Confederacy and West Virginia stayed loyal to the Union will seem strange to people whose experience watching those States only goes back far enough to know Virginia as a State regularly voting Democratic and West Virginia as one regularly voting Republican.

Nevada was admitted as the 36th State on October 31, 1864. Because it was admitted during the Civil War, and immediately sent troops to the Union Army, the State’s motto is "Battle Born."

The Confederate States of America surrendered, piece by piece, in the Spring of 1865. This was the order of readmission to the Union, based on acceptance of the Constitution of the United States, including the Reconstruction Amendments: The 13th, prohibiting slavery; the 14th, guaranteeing citizenship and equal protection of the laws to all people born in the United States; and the 15th, guaranteeing the right to vote to all male American citizens age 21 and up:

1. July 24, 1866: Tennessee.

2. June 22, 1868: Arkansas.

3. June 25, 1868: Florida.

4. July 4, 1868: North Carolina.

5. July 9, 1868: Louisiana.

6. July 9, 1868: South Carolina (same day as Louisiana).

7. July 13, 1868: Alabama.

8. January 26, 1870: Virginia.

9. February 23, 1870: Mississippi.

10. March 30, 1870: Texas.

11. July 15, 1870: Georgia.

During this process, another State was admitted to the Union: Nebraska, the 37th State, on March 1, 1867. The 38th wouldn’t come until 1876, Colorado.

Of the 33 States in the Union when South Carolina became the 1st to secede, slavery had been banned in 18. Of the 37 States in the Union when Georgia became the last to rejoin, it had been banned in all 37.

So 1870 marked the final reunion of the Union. On October 12, Robert E. Lee, the leading General of the CSA, died from the effects of a stroke, in Lexington, Virginia. He was 63 years old. Jefferson Davis, the one and only President of the C.S.A., previously a U.S. Senator from Mississippi and Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, lived on until 1889.

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July 15, 1870 was a Friday. By an odd coincidence, this was also the day that Manitoba became a Province of Canada, ending the Red River Rebellion. I have a separate entry for this event.

The only organized team sport in America at this point was baseball, and it was just starting the professional era. The difference between those teams that had turned pro and those that hadn't became stark. The only score I can find for this historic day involves the 1st team to openly turn pro, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who beat the Eagle Base Ball Club of Louisville, Kentucky, 39-8. That season, against pro teams, the Red Stockings went 27-6; against amateur teams, they went 40-0.

July 7, 1928: Sliced Bread

July 7, 1928: The Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri, sells something for the first time, something never before sold by anyone: Sliced bread.

Otto Rohwedder of Davenport, Iowa, invented the 1st single loaf bread-slicing machine in 1912. But his prototype was destroyed in a fire. It would take until 1928 before he was ready to try again, and he sold his machine to Chillicothe Baking. They advertised their product as "Kleen Maid Sliced Bread."

Gustav Papendick, a baker in St. Louis, bought Rohwedder's next slicer, and improved it by placing the slices on a cardboard tray. This allowed him to keep the slices together long enough to allow the loaves to be wrapped, making for easier packaging and selling. By 1930, Wonder Bread was marketing sliced bread nationwide.

In the Bible, Deuteronomy 8:3 says, "Man doth not live by bread only." In Matthew 4:4, Jesus worded it as, "Man shall not live by bread alone." But man does seem to prefer his bread sliced: By 1958, 80 percent of the world's bread was pre-sliced.

So the next time you hear the old line that something is "the greatest thing since sliced bread," remember that, if it debuted before the Summer of 1928, that sliced bread could be the greatest thing since it.

*

July 7, 1928 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Browns at Yankee Stadium. They won the opener, 6-5. Earle Combs went 4-for-5 with an RBI, in support of George Pipgras. The Yanks won the nightcap, 1-0. The only run of the game came in the 6th inning, when Babe Ruth doubled and Lou Gehrig singled him home. Waite Hoyt went the distance for the shutout, allowing 7 hits.

* The New York Giants lost a doubleheader at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat them, 8-6 and 5-2. Between them, the Waner brothers, Paul and Lloyd, went 9-for-17 with 3 RBIs against the Giants. Bill Terry went 3-for-8. Mel Ott went 1-for-8 with a walk.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers -- then still known as the Brooklyn Robins, under manager Wilbert Robinson -- split a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Robins won the 1st game, 5-3. The Cubs won the 2nd game, 6-2.

* Fans at Fenway Park in Boston got 22 innings for their money, but they also got swept. In the 1st game, the Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 20-8, including 10 runs in the 5th inning. And yet, none of those 20 runs came on home runs. Harry Rice went 3-for-5 with 5 RBIs. Charlie Gehringer, Jack Warner (not the film studio head), Al Wingo and Pinky Hargrave also got 3 hits each. Doug Tatt went 4-for-4 with an RBI for the Red Sox, and Bill Regan hit a home run, to no avail.

The Tigers won the 2nd game, 4-3. In the top of the 13th inning, an error by Billy Rogell (whom the Tigers would later acquire in what turned out to be a good move), a single by Bob Fothergill (a good hitter and a decent runner despite his well-earned nickname of "Fats"), a walk by Wingo, and a sacrifice fly by William "Pinky" Hargrave gave the Tigers the win.

* A doubleheader was split at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The Cleveland Indians won the 1st game, 2-1. The Philadelphia Athletics won the 2nd game, 6-2. Ty Cobb, in his final season after a long and great career with the Tigers, went 1-for-7 with a walk and an RBI for the A's over the 2 games. Tris Speaker, also in his final season after a nearly as long and nearly as great career with the Red Sox and the Indians, did not play for the A's in either game. Nor did Jimmie Foxx. Mickey Cochrane went 1-for-4 with 3 walks and an RBI.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at Redland Field in Cincinnati. (It was renamed Crosley Field in 1934.)

* And the Boston Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-3 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Rogers Hornsby, only 2 years ago leading the Cardinals to win the World Series as slugger, 2nd baseman and manager, went 3-for-5 with an RBI against them for the Braves.

June 10, 1967: The Gateway Arch Opens

June 10, 1967: The Gateway Arch opens in St. Louis. It becomes the symbol of that city, leading to its nickname, the Gateway City.

In 1933, Luther Ely Smith, a St. Louis lawyer and "civic booster," visited the memorial to George Rogers Clark in Vincennes, Indiana. Knowing that Clark was the father of William Clark, whose westward expedition with Meriwether Lewis was launched from St. Louis in 1804, he decided that his hometown should have his own such memorial.

After consulting with Mayor Bernard Dickmann, Ely was appointed chairman of the nonprofit Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association (JNEMA, pronounced "Jenny May"). The goal was to produce:

A suitable and permanent public memorial to the men who made possible the western territorial expansion of the United States, particularly President Jefferson, his aides Livingston and Monroe, the great explorers, Lewis and Clark, and the hardy hunters, trappers, frontiersmen and pioneers who contributed to the territorial expansion and development of these United States, and thereby to bring before the public of this and future generations the history of our development and induce familiarity with the patriotic accomplishments of these great builders of our country.

One thing led to another, including the Great Depression and World War II, and delays meant that construction had not even begun by the time Smith died in 1951. Dickmann left office in 1941, but did live to see the Arch's completion, dying in 1971.

Eero Saarinen, an American architect of Finnish descent, won the design competition: His idea for an arch as a "gateway to the West" was chosen in 1948. But he, too, did not live to see its completion, dying of a brain tumor in 1961, only 51 years old.

It had been hoped that the Arch would be finished by 1964, the 200th Anniversary of the settling of St. Louis by the French. They didn't make it. Construction finally began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, at a cost of $13 million. It took a little longer to build the visitors' center, beyond the May 12, 1966 opening of the nearby Busch Memorial Stadium, new home of the baseball Cardinals and the football Cardinals. The monument finally opened to the public on June 10, 1967.

The Arch is 630 feet wide, and also exactly 630 feet high, making it the tallest habitable structure in the State of Missouri. It doesn't match the definition of a "building," since very little of it is actually occupiable. The tallest building in the State is One Kansas City Place, 624 feet. The tallest building in St. Louis is One Metropolitan Square, 593 feet. There are a few taller structures in the State, either radio and TV antennae or smokestacks.

The Arch includes the Museum of Westward Expansion, and a tram that carries passengers to its apex, where there is an observation deck, looking out over eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, and the Mississippi River in between.

Like the Empire State Building in New York, and some other prominent structures, the Arch has a lighting system, using various colors for various events and commemorations.

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June 10, 1967 was a Saturday. Darren Robinson, of the rap group The Fat Boys, was born. This was also the day that Israel won its "Six-Day War" with its Arab neighbors. I have a separate entry for that event.

These games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees lost nearly as badly as the Arab nations did -- and, like them, on home soil. They lost 9-0 to the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. Gary Peters went the distance for the Pale Hose, giving up just 4 hits, all singles: To Mickey Mantle, Joe Pepitone, Horace Clarke and Charlie Smith, for whom the Yankees traded Roger Maris to St. Louis, even-up. Dumb trade, although Roger was happier.

Thad Tillotson didn't get out of the 5th inning, giving up home runs to Don Buford and to Peters himself. Peters got 2 hits, and Pete Ward reached base 5 times: 2 doubles, a single and 2 walks.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. The Senators got 2 home runs, both from Frank Howard. The Red Sox got 2 home runs, from George Scott and Rico Petrocelli. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-2 with 2 walks, while Tony Conigliaro went 0-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-4 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) The Giants got homers from Willie McCovey, Tom Haller and Jim Ray Hart. Willie Mays went 1-for-4. The Braves got homers from Felipe Alou and Gary Geiger. Hank Aaron went 3-for-4, but Joe Torre went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4, and Willie Stargell went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 9-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 with an RBI. For the Astros, Jimmy Wynn, a Cincinnati native, hit a home run over the left-field scoreboard, and onto Interstate 75, the Mill Creek Expressway.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. 

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rich Rollins hit 2 home runs, Tony Oliva hit 1, and Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-2, but drew 3 walks. The only Oriole run came on a solo homer by Boog Powell. Frank Robinson went 0-for-4, and Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3.

* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004.) Clyde Wright pitched 7 innings of 4-hit ball, and Minnie Rojas went 2 perfect to finish the shutout. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

* And the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Since a doubleheader was already scheduled for the next day, this game was moved to August 31. The Cubs won, 2-1. Rookie Tom Seaver pitched 9 innings, to no avail. Ernie Banks went 1-for-5, and was replaced for a pinch-runner -- Fergie Jenkins, usually a pitcher. Al Spangler singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

May 4, 1944: The St. Louis Browns Desegregate Sportsman's Park

May 4, 1944: The St. Louis Browns baseball team has its finest hour. And it has nothing to do with their winning their only Pennant that season.

The St. Louis Browns, playing in a racially segregated city, announce that they are dropping their policy restricting black fans to the bleachers at Sportsman's Park, which they own. The St. Louis Cardinals, tenants despite their great success since 1926 and the Browns' long failure, have no choice but to comply.

Conceivably, the Cardinals could have accepted this until being able to build their own ballpark, which wouldn't have been allowed to begin construction during World War II, anyway. But, even after the war, they couldn't afford it, despite all their success.

In their game that day, the Browns beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0. Nelson "Nels" Potter pitched a 5-hit shutout. George McQuinn drove in a run with a looper in the 3rd inning, and another with a double in the 5th.

This season, the Browns go on to win their 1st Pennant. It is poetic justice. But the Browns do not desegregate their playing roster. And the Cardinals, who also don't, defeat them in the only All-St. Louis World Series ever. Only partial poetic justice.

On July 17, 1947, 3 months after Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color barrier, and 12 days after Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians did so in the American League, the Browns became the 3rd team to add a black player, Kansas City Monarchs 3rd baseman Hank Thompson. Two days later, they added Monarchs outfielder Willard Brown. On July 8, 1949, Thompson and Monte Irvin each made their debut with the New York Giants, becoming that team's 1st black players.

Hank Thompson (left) and Willard Brown

The Cardinals did not field a black player until April 13, 1954, 1st baseman Tom Alston. By that point, the Browns had moved, becoming the Baltimore Orioles. The Cardinals now owned Sportsman's Park. Their refusal to integrate their roster allowed the Dodgers, and then other National League teams, to surpass them in talent, and in the NL standings.

Tom Alston

By 1964, they had integrated, with black players like Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Bill White, and won their 1st Pennant, and their 1st World Series, since 1946. Except for 1950, with the Philadelphia Phillies, every National League Pennant winner in between had been integrated.

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May 4, 1944 was a Thursday. This was also the day that the film Gaslight and the play No Exit premiered. I have a single other entry for those 2 events.

There were 3 other games in baseball that day:

* The Cardinals lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Stan Musial went 1-for-4.

* The New York Giants lost to the Boston Braves, 8-4 at Braves Field in Boston. Mel Ott, by then also the manager of the Giants, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at League Park in Cleveland.

April 12, 1955: Kansas City Goes Major League

April 12, 1955: The Kansas City Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. It was the 1st home game for the A's after moving from Philadelphia. Their new hometown was back in the major leagues after 40 years.

Former President Harry S Truman, from nearby Independence, Missouri, threw out the ceremonial first ball. For the Tigers, Al Kaline went 2-for-4, and Red Wilson hit the ballpark's 1st major league home run. For the A's, Bill Wilson hit a home run, and Alex Kellner was the winning pitcher.

Previously, Kansas City had these major league teams in baseball: The Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association, a league which only played the 1884 season; the Kansas City Cowboys of the National League, a team which only played the 1886 season, with none of these teams have any official connection with the other; the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association, a team which only played the 1888 and 1889 seasons; and the Kansas City Packers of the Federal League, a league which only played the 1914 and 1915 seasons. And, in football, the Kansas City Blues entered the NFL in 1924, became the Kansas City Cowboys in 1925, and folded after the 1926 season.

The Kansas City Blues won 10 American Association Pennants: 1888, 1890, 1898, 1901, 1918, 1923, 1929, 1938, 1952 and 1953. The Kansas City Monarchs won 11 Negro League Pennants: 1923, 12 1924, 1925, 1929, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946 and 1953.

Both teams played at Muehlebach Field, built in 1923 by, and named for, George E. Muehlebach, who owned the Blues and a number of other Kansas City businesses, including Muehlebach Beer and the Muehlebach Hotel. The previous Kansas City ballpark, Association Park, was owned by a railroad, which decided to build a new line through it, creating the need for a new ballpark.

In 1937, the New York Yankees bought the Blues, made them their top farm team, and renamed the ballpark Ruppert Stadium, in honor of team owner Jacob Ruppert. Ruppert died in 1939, and the ballpark was renamed Blues Stadium in 1943.

Knowing that the Philadelphia Athletics had been purchased by Arnold Johnson, and were being moved to Kansas City for the 1955 season, the city added an upper deck to Blues Stadium, and renamed it Kansas City Municipal Stadium. It now seated 35,020 people. When the American Football's League's Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963, the addition of football bleachers raised seating capacity to 51,000.

When Johnson died in 1960, the A's were bought by Charles O. Finley. He wanted a bigger ballpark, and when the city wouldn't build him one, he flirted with moving the A's to Dallas and Louisville, before finally moving to Oakland, California for the 1968 season. Kansas City then got an expansion team, and the Royals played there from 1969 to 1972.

Unusual for that era, instead of building one stadium for both baseball and football, Kansas City built a stadium for each. Arrowhead Stadium opened in 1972, Royals Stadium opened in 1973, and the complex was named the Harry S Truman Sports Complex. Missouri's favorite son had died the day after Christmas, 1972.

When the Royals' original owner, pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman, died in 1993, the stadium was renamed Kauffman Stadium for him. Despite a major renovation in 2009, the Royals are looking to build a new stadium, downtown. (UPDATE: In 2024, the Royals released plans for a new stadium, tentatively set to open in 2028.) The Chiefs renovated Arrowhead Stadium at the same time, and have no plans to replace it.

The Chiefs won the AFL Championship in 1966 and 1969, losing Super Bowl I but winning Super Bowl IV. The Royals won the World Series in 1985 and 2015, having lost it in 1980 and 2014. The Chiefs have since won Super Bowl LIV, while losing Super Bowl LV. (UPDATE: They have since won Super Bowls LVII and LVIII.)

In soccer, the Kansas City Spurs won the 1969 North American Soccer League title, playing home games at Municipal Stadium. But they only lasted 1 more season. The Kansas City Wizards won the 2000 MLS Cup. In 2010, they rebranded as Sporting Kansas City, and moved from Arrowhead to a new stadium in nearby Kansas City, Kansas. They won the MLS Cup again in 2013.

A women's team, FC Kansas City, only lasted from 2013 to 2017, but won the National Women's Soccer League title in 2014 and 2015. In 2021, they were replaced by the Kansas City Current.

The area has been less successful in the indoor sports. In 1972, the NBA's Cincinnati Royals moved in, but, since the baseball team was already called the Royals, they became the Kansas City Kings. In 1974, they moved from the Municipal Auditorium to the new Kemper Arena. That same year, the NHL placed an expansion team there, the Kansas City Scouts.

The Scouts were lousy, and moved after 2 seasons. The Kings won a Division title in 1979 and reached the Western Conference Finals in 1981, but never drew well, and moved to Sacramento in 1985. In 2018, the Kemper Arena was downsized and rebranded as the Hy-Vee Arena. In 2007, the Sprint Center opened downtown, but it has failed to attract and NBA, WNBA or NHL team.

No matter: Kansas City still has MLB and the NFL, the 2 sports that mark a city and its metropolitan area as "major league." And while the A's left, the Royals and the Chiefs aren't going anywhere.

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April 12, 1955 was a Tuesday. This was also the day on which Dr. Jonas Salk announced that the vaccine he had been testing against polio was effective and safe. I have a separate entry for that event

These other baseball games were played:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Ted Williams did not play that day.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 14-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. For the Cubs, Randy Jackson hit a home run, and Ernie Banks went 2-for-4 with an RBI. For the Cards, Ken Boyer hit a home run, and Stan Musial went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Redlegs, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. It was the 2nd of 5 seasons when, in the wake of anti-Communist hysteria, the Cincinnati team was known as the Redlegs, not the Reds. Warren Spahn was the winning pitcher, future World Series-winning manager Chuck Tanner hit a home run on the 1st pitch he ever sees in the major leagues, and Hank Aaron went 1-for-4, the hit an RBI triple.

The next day, April 13:

* The New York Yankees and the Washington Senators opened the season at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won, 19-1.

* The New York Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies opened the season at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Phillies won, 4-2.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates opened the season at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers won, 6-1. Nobody knew it yet, but the "Next Year" that their fans had long waited for had finally come.

Football was out of season. The NBA season had ended 2 days earlier, when the Syracuse Nationals beat the Fort Wayne Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played at the Montreal Forum that night, and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3. But the Wings would win the Cup in Game 7 in Detroit, 2 nights later.