November 5, 1943: The Bombing of the Vatican

November 5, 1943: Vatican City, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and neutral in World War II despite having been completely surrounded by the City of Rome, the capital of (until a few months ago) Fascist Italy, is bombed by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe.

Four bombs are dropped on the microstate. There is some damage, but there are no deaths. The aircraft responsible is never identified. There would be another bombing on March 1, 1944, causing less damage, but taking a life. In neither case was Pope Pius XII within range of the bombs.

Vatican City, usually listed as just "The Vatican, is the world's smallest independent nation, with just 121 acres of land, about half of which is parkland; and, as of 2022, 453 permanent residents. It is dominated by St. Peter's Basilica, the center of the Catholic world. The original Basilica was finished around AD 360, and the current one dates to 1626. There are no chain restaurants -- indeed, no public restaurants at all -- but, one block east into Rome, there is a McDonald's.

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November 5, 1943 was a Friday. Playwright and actor Sam Shepard was born. So was Friedman Paul Erhardt, the TV chef billed as Chef Tell.

Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And while the NHL season had started, no games were scheduled for this day. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 16, 1943: The Raid of the Ghetto of Rome

October 16, 1943: Nazi Germany's Gestapo round up over 1,000 Jews in Rome, and deport them to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Only 16 of them survive World War II. The public silence of Pope Pius XII, the Bishop of Rome, on this raid casts a shadow over his legacy.

Born on March 2, 1876 in Rome, Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli rose through the ranks of the Vatican before being elected Pope on March 2, 1939 (his 63rd birthday), taking the name Pius XII, as his much-admired immediate predecessor had been Pius XI. Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany was already in Austria and Czechoslovakia, and before the year was out, he had invaded Poland and started World War II.

With Vatican City surrounded by the Metropolitan City of Rome, and thus by Italy, and thus by Benito Mussolini's Fascist government, allied with Hitler, there wasn't much that the Pope could do. The same was true of Communism: Joseph Stalin, the Premier of the Soviet Union, was told by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, at the Tehran Conference, earlier in 1943, that the Pope might be able to help the Allied cause, and responded, "The Pope? How many divisions has he?" As in, army divisions.

Pius maintained the Vatican's neutrality, and refused to denounce the Nazis' persecution of the Jews, before the extent of the horrors of the concentration camps were known to the outside world. As Holocaust survivor, author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel put it, "We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." For that reason, some of have called Pius "Hitler's Pope."

This is grossly unfair. He organized relief efforts from Rome, and, through intermediaries in the Church, all over the world, helped get thousands of refugees, Jewish and otherwise, out of Nazi-controlled territories. He continued to lead the Church until his death on October 9, 1958.

The term "ghetto" originated in the limited area into which medieval Rome put Jews, and even in America, the word was used to describe poor Jewish neighborhoods before it was used for poor black ones -- many of which had once been poor Jewish ones. Ruby Goldstein, before becoming one of boxing's best referees, was a lightweight contender from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, nicknamed "The Jewel of the Ghetto."

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October 16, 1943 was a Saturday. Scottish soccer star Tommy Gemmell, once of Celtic Football Club's 1967 "Lisbon Lions," was born on this day. So was Paul Rose, one of the Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) terrorists who kidnapped Pierre Laporte, Minister of Labour for the Province of Quebec, as part of what became known as the October Crisis. Unlike his brother Jacques, Paul was not with the others when Laporte tried to escape, and the others killed him in the attempt.

Although England had suspended Football League and FA Cup play for the duration of The War, there was competition. The North London team I would one day support, Arsenal, played West London team Brentford to a 3-3 draw. The game was played at White Hart Lane, home of Arsenal's rivals Tottenham Hotspur, because the British government had appropriated the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, for the war effort.

The baseball season had ended 5 days earlier, with the New York Yankees winning the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The NHL season started 2 weeks later.

There was football. But with the manpower drain of World War II, many military bases had football teams, and were scheduled against college teams. This also enabled the teams at the service academies to be better than usual. Indeed, Army won the National Championship in 1944 and 1945, almost did so in 1943 and 1946; and Navy finished the season ranked Number 4 in 1943 and '44, and Number 3 in '45.

On October 16, 1943, Army were ranked Number 2, and beat Columbia, 52-0 at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan; while Navy were ranked Number 3, and beat Penn State, 14-6 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. Among the other games:

* Number 1 Notre Dame beat Wisconsin, 50-0 at Camp Randall Stadium, which had been built on an Army base in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 4 University of Pennsylvania beat Lakehurst Naval Air Station, the site of the Hindenburg disaster, 74-6 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* Number 5 Purdue beat Ohio State, 30-7 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* Number 6 Duke beat their arch-rivals, North Carolina, 14-7 at Duke Stadium, later renamed Wallace Wade Stadium, in Durham, North Carolina.

* During the war, the University of Iowa was represented by a U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School, and "Iowa Pre-Flight" were ranked Number 7 on this day. They beat Missouri, 21-6 at Memorial Stadium (later Faurot Field) in Columbia, Missouri.

* Number 8 University of Southern California beat the University of San Francisco, 34-0 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

* In New York City, in addition to Columbia's loss, City College of New York (CCNY) beat Brooklyn College, 22-6 at Kingsmen Field in Brooklyn; New York University (NYU) suspended their program for the 1942 and '43 seasons; and Fordham suspended their program for the 1943, '44 and '45 seasons.

* And among New Jersey's teams, Rutgers had trouble scheduling opponents, and did not play their 1st game until October 30; while Princeton lost to Brown, 28-20 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

October 11, 1962: The Second Vatican Council Is Convened

October 11, 1962: Pope John XXIII opens the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, and the 1st since the First Vatican Council in 1869-70. This Second Council becomes widely known as "Vatican II."

The Pope called the Council because he felt the Church needed "updating" -- what he called, in Italian, aggiornamento. In order to connect with 20th Century people in an increasingly secularized world, some of the Church's practices needed to be improved, and its teaching needed to be presented in a way that would appear relevant and understandable to them. For this, Time magazine named him its Man of the Year for 1962.

Many Council participants were sympathetic to this, while others saw little need for change and resisted efforts in that direction. But support for aggiornamento won out over resistance to change, despite the fact that he died while it was in progress, on June 3, 1963. His successor, Pope Paul VI, was a full supporter of John's reforms, and kept the Council going, closing it on December 8, 1965.

As a result, the 16 magisterial documents produced by the council proposed significant developments in doctrine and practice: An extensive reform of the liturgy, a renewed theology of the Church, of revelation and of the laity, a new approach to relations between the Church and the world, to ecumenism, to non-Christian religions, and to religious freedom.

Among the more notable reforms was allowing Mass in each country's native language, so that it was no longer necessary to deliver the Mass in Latin; and removing the restriction on eating meat on Friday. (The exception is during Lent, when it is still forbidden. For those times when St. Patrick's Day, which is usually during Lent, falls on a Friday, exceptions are sometimes made, due to the tradition of corned beef and cabbage.)

John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, and known in his time as "The Good Pope," was canonized in 2014: St. John XXIII.

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October 11, 1962 was a Thursday. Actress Joan Cusack was born.

It was a travel day in the World Series, which the New York Yankees would win over the San Francisco Giants. Football was in midweek. The NBA season started 5 days later.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-0 at the Boston Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

October 4, 1965: The 1st Papal Mass In the Western Hemisphere

October 4, 1965: For the 1st time, a Pope delivers a Mass in the Western Hemisphere. Pope Paul VI does so at Yankee Stadium in New York. A crowd of 90,000 attends. It is the only sellout at Yankee Stadium all year long.

I looked it up: No, the Yankees couldn't sell The Stadium out that season. Not on Opening Day, not on Old-Timers' Day, not even in the preceding month on the 1st Mickey Mantle Day. They held their 1st promotion that season, Bat Day, and couldn't sell it out then, either. Nor could the NFL's Giants sell The Stadium out in 1965.

On the same trip, the Pope addresses the United Nations. The theme of both of his speeches is peace: "No more war. Never again, war. Peace. It is peace that must guide the destinies of people and of all mankind."

The New York branch of the Catholic advocacy group the Knights of Columbus dedicates a plaque in honor of the event, which is hung on the center field wall at The Stadium. It is moved to Monument Park in 1976, and to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009, along with plaques for later Masses delivered by Popes John Paul II in 1979 (he also went to Shea Stadium and Madison Square Garden) and Benedict XVI in 2008.

While Pope Francis came to New York in September 2015, and delivered Mass at Madison Square Garden, the Yankees still playing home games made a Mass at the new Yankee Stadium logistically impossible on that occasion. Hopefully, he will get another chance.

In 1972, Paul Owens was hired as general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. The man who built the Phils' quasi-dynasty of 1976-1983, including their 1980 World Championship and their 1983 Pennant (the latter of which he managed) was nicknamed "The Pope," not just because his name was Paul, but because he looked a bit like Pope Paul VI.

Paul VI died on August 6, 1978, of heart trouble at Castel Gandolfo, the Papal country retreat outside Rome. He was 80 years old. He died late at night, Rome time. The announcement was made at around the same time, U.S. Eastern Time, just as the Yankees were finishing up a 3-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, with Catfish Hunter pitching a shutout. Broadcaster and former shortstop Phil Rizzuto, an Italian and a good Catholic, said, "Well, that puts a damper on even a Yankee win."

UPDATE: Pope Francis died in 2025, having made only the one visit to America. He was succeeded by Robert Prevost, the 1st American to be named Pope, who took the regnal name Leo XIV. He is a fan of the Chicago White Sox, and so knows the power of baseball. I have no doubt that, when he makes his first visit back to America, he will go to New York, and include a Mass at Yankee Stadium.

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October 4, 1965 was a Monday. Baseball was between the end of the regular season and the start of the World Series. There would be no Monday Night Football for another 5 years. The NBA season wouldn't start for another 11 days, and the NHL season for another 19. So there were no scores on this historic day.

October 3, 1992: Sinéad O'Connor Rips the Pope

October 3, 1992: Sinéad O'Connor is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. She sings Bob Marley's "War" a cappella, then shows a picture of Pope John Paul II, tears it in half, and yells, "Fight the real enemy!"

At the time, it was unclear what point she meant to make by this action and these words, which seemed to condemn the Catholic Church, and the then-current Pope in particular. The American media condemned her to the point that whatever her message was became completely ignored.

She was trying to make a point about how the Church had abused children, boys and girls alike, in many ways, in her native Ireland and elsewhere. Neither her career nor her life has ever recovered. She threw her career away for the truth, but blaming the most popular Pope of all time did no one any favors.

Born as Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on December 8, 1966 in Dublin, she had been launched to stardom with her 1987 album The Lion and the Cobra, and had hit Number 1 with a cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" in 1990. But the SNL incident ended her run as a star.

Just a few days later, she was one of the performers at the Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, and was booed off the stage. Master of ceremonies Kris Kristofferson, who had cited her courage in introducing her, hugged her, and said, "Don't let the bastards get you down."

But they did. She never had another hit. She explored other avenues of religion, becoming a priest in a radical offshoot of the Catholic Church; then later converting to Islam, taking the name Shuhada' Sadaqat. But she didn't seem to find peace in either of her new attempts at religion. A few times in the 2010s and early 2020s, she had threatened suicide, and even disappeared for a few days.

She married 4 times, and had 4 children. But on January 7, 2022, her son Shane, only 17, committed suicide. She canceled her planned tour, and an album she was set to release was postponed indefinitely.

John Paul must have learned something from the experience, because he made more of an outreach to more people than any other Pope. Time magazine named him their Man of the Year for 1994.

UPDATE: Sinéad O'Connor died on July 26, 2023, at the age of 56. An autopsy listed the cause of death as Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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October 3, 1992 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Wade Boggs went 1-for-2 before being removed for a pinch-hitter. Wade Boggs, removed for a pinch-hitter? It worked: Phil Plantier hit a home run.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Shea Stadium. Dwight Gooden went the distance for the win, and Dave Gallagher went 3-for-4. Eddie Murray went 0-for-3 for the Mets. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, in a game shortened to 6 innings due to rain. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cal Ripken went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium the next season.) George Brett went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Kevin Koslosfki singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Simms singled home Craig Biggio in the bottom of the 13th inning. Before the game, the Houston Astros retired the Number 25 of former outfielder Jose Cruz Sr. and the Number 33 of former pitcher Mike Scott.

* The California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). 

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. The A's got home runs from Mark McGwire, Harold Baines, Scott Brosius and Mike Bordick. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-2 with 3 walks. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Paul Molitor went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

There was also college football that day, including these games:

* Number 1 and defending Co-National Champion University of Washington beat Number 20 Southern California, 17-10 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Washington won the Pacific-10 Conference title.

* Number 2 Miami beat Number 3 Florida State, 19-16 at the Orange Bowl in Miami. For the 2nd season in a row, Florida State lost to Miami when a last-second field goal was missed. In 1991, it was "Wide Right I." In 1992, it was "Wide Right II."

Defending Co-National Champion Miami continued its undefeated streak through the regular season. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title. This week, they were ranked Number 15, and were idle.

* Number 4 Michigan beat Iowa, 52-28 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan won the Big Ten Conference title, and beat Washington in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 5 Texas A&M beat Texas Tech, 19-17 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas. A&M won the Southwest Conference title.

* Number 6 Notre Dame were upset by Number 18 Stanford, 33-16 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame still managed to reach the Cotton Bowl, where they beat Texas A&M.

* Number 7 Tennessee beat Louisiana State, 20-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 8 Penn State beat Rutgers, 38-24 at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The attendance was 72,203, the largest crowd that Rutgers has ever had for what has been designated as a "home game" for them. The game is played there, instead of on campus at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, 36 miles away, because arch-rival Penn State bring so many fans, and attract so many fans from New Jersey and New York City, that it feels more like a home game for them.

* Number 9 Alabama beat South Carolina, 48-7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama went on to win the Southeastern Conference title, and beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl to end their streak and replace them as National Champions.

* Number 11 UCLA were upset by Arizona, 23-3 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

* Number 12 Ohio State were upset by Wisconsin, 20-16 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Number 23 Georgia Tech beat Number 21 North Carolina State, 16-13 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

* Navy lost to North Carolina, 28-14 at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Army were idle this week.

* And Princeton beat Lehigh, 38-29 at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat West London team Chelsea, 2-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.

September 28, 1978: Pope John Paul I Dies After Just 33 Days In Office

September 28, 1978: Pope John Paul I dies of a heart attack at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. He was 65, young for a Pope, and had been in office only 33 days.

He was born on October 17, 1912 in Canale d'Agordo, in the province of Veneto, Italy, as Albino Luciani. He was ordained as a priest in 1935, and rose to become Patriarch of Venice in 1969. On August 26, 1978, he was elected Pope. He was the 1st Pope to take 2 names, those of the last 2 Popes, both of whom had been very popular: John XXIII and Paul VI, who had died on August 6.

He said he wanted to "humanize" the papacy. Most Popes, recognizing that they were the monarch of the Church, spoke of themselves with "the royal we," but John Paul I publicly called himself "I." Instead of a coronation, he called his ceremony an inauguration, as if he were, instead, a President. He quickly proved popular, and became known as "the Smiling Pope."

And then, on September 29, he was found dead in his bed. It was determined that he had suffered a heart attack the night before. There would have to be a 3rd Pope in a matter of weeks, and on October 16, Karol Wojtyla was elected, taking the name Pope John Paul II. And 1978 became known as "The Year of the Three Popes."

Despite rumors, later encouraged by the film The Godfather Part III, there is no known evidence that Pope John Paul I was murdered. He was beatified in 2022, and is considered a candidate for sainthood.

Although the current Pope, Francis, is of Italian descent, he is from Argentina. Benedict XVI was from Germany, and John Paul II was from Poland. For 455 years, all the Popes had been Italian. John Paul I currently stands as the last Pope from Italy.

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September 28, 1978 was a Thursday. There were 7 Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees only got 4 hits, but Thurman Munson got 2 of them. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk. Ron Guidry went the distance to get to 24-3 on the season, and broke Jack Chesbro's team record for strikeouts in a season, 240 in 1904. He would finish 25-3 with 248 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. But that finish would be in a Playoff for the American League Eastern Division title, because...

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. The only run came on a home run by Jim Rice in the 4th inning. It was his 45th of the season, and he would finish with 46. Rice was named the AL's Most Valuable Player, ahead of Guidry, which, by definition -- Guidry carried his team to the Division title, Rice didn't -- was a fraud. Mike Torrez pitched a 3-hit shutout, and would face Guidry in the Playoff game.

On radio station WBCN, in Boston, perhaps the most Catholic city in America, disc jockey Charles Laquidara earned himself a lot of hate mail by beginning his broadcast with this teaser: "Pope dies, Sox still alive."

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-2, but an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-7 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Dodgers led 4-0 going into the bottom of the 8th, then the Reds scored 2 runs. The Dodgers scored 2 more in the top of the 9th, but the Reds scored 6 in the bottom of the 9th to win it. Pete Rose went 4-for-6 with an RBI. Dave Concepcion and Ken Griffey Sr. each got 3 hits. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-7 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

Also, Peter Cambor, who plays Special Agent Nate Getz on NCIS: Los Angeles, was born on this day.

February 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI Abdicates

February 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI announces he will resign the Papacy, effective on February 28. He cites a "lack of strength of mind and body." He was 85 years old.

He was the 1st Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415, and the 1st to do so by his own choice since Celestine V in 1294.

He was given the title of Pope Emeritus, and retained the right to be addressed as Your Holiness.

Benedict had become Pope on April 19, 2005, upon the death of John Paul II. Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Bavaria, southern Germany, in 1927, he was drafted into the Hitler Youth at the age of 14. He was eventually held as a prisoner of war by the U.S. Army, and released. There has never been any serious evidence that he committed war crimes while serving the Nazis.

He eventually served as Archbishop of Munich, and was Dean of the College of Cardinals when John Paul II died, making him an international betting favorite to be the new Pope. When this proved to be correct, he choice his regnal name in memory of St. Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Benedictine monasteries; and Pope Benedict XV, who reigned during World War I and worked for peace in its aftermath.

He proved to be a more conservative Pope than had been seen in a long time. Certainly, more so than John XXIII, Paul VI, and both John Pauls. I'd seen pictures of him in full regalia, with a smile that made him look almost sinister, like a villain in a James Bond film.

In April 2008, he visited America, including New York on the 20th, visiting the site of the World Trade Center and delivering a Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium. The crowds were respectful, but he never engendered the kind of love that John Paul II got on his American visits (including at Yankee Stadium in 1979), or that Paul VI got (he delivered the 1st Papal Mass in the Western Hemisphere at Yankee Stadium in 1965).

On April 16, 2021, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI celebrated his 94th birthday. He is the longest-lived person to have been the Pope.

On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope, taking the name Francis. He has proved considerably more popular, all over the world.

I was 8 years old when Paul VI died. I have little memory of him. And John Paul I reigned for only a month before he died, so I don't remember much about him. John Paul II and Francis both went around the world looking as if they enjoyed meeting people and spreading the word of a God of love. I never got that feeling from looking at Benedict XVI. It wasn't just the fact that he didn't stay on the Papal throne for the rest of his life that made him an anomaly.

UPDATE: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died on December 31, 2022, at the age of 95.

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February 11, 2013 was a Monday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 8 NBA games played that day: 

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers, 89-84 in overtime at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-90 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Charlotte Bobcats beat the Boston Celtics, 94-91 at the Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center) in Charlotte.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Dallas Mavericks, 105-101 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-92 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Detroit Pistons, 105-86 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 103-89 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the Washington Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-90 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

And there were 6 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-4 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks, 6-2 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-1 at the Scottrade Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Shane Doan scored the winning goal, with 59 seconds left in overtime.

* And the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames, 2-1 in a shootout at the Saddledome in Calgary.

February 7, 1878: The Longest-Reigning Pope

Not only is this the earliest known photograph of a Pope,

but it's a photograph of a man born in 1792.

February 7, 1878: Pope Pius IX dies of a heart attack in the Vatican. He was 85 years old, and had reigned for 31 years. Aside from the 1st Pope, Saint Peter himself, 34 years, he is the longest-reigning Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

He was born on May 13, 1792, in Senigallia, in the Marche region of Italy, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, with the name Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti. In 1814, as a theology student in his hometown of Sinigaglia, he met Pope Pius VII. The following year, he entered the Papal Noble Guard, but was soon dismissed after an epileptic seizure. He threw himself on the mercy of Pius VII, who elevated him, and supported his continued theological studies.

His seizures became less frequent. He was ordained as a priest in 1819, and earned the trust of the next Pope, Leo XII, who appointed him Archbishop of Spoleto in 1827. Pope Gregory XVI named him a Cardinal in 1839, and Cardinal Ferretti was named his successor on June 16, 1846, at the age of 54. He took the regnal name Pius IX, in honor of his patron, Pius VII.

He modernized the Papal States, before they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy in 1870. He was also Pope during the Irish Potato Famine of 1845 to 1849, for which he raised aid; the European Revolutions of 1848, which led him to become considerably more conservative; the rise (1852) and fall (1870) of France's Second Empire; the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856, which he did nothing to end; the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865, which he did nothing to end, nor did he do anything to encourage the abolition of slavery in America; the unification of Germany in 1871, which saw him at odds with Chancellor Otto von Bismarck; and the Paris Commune, also in 1871, which he opposed.

He convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which raised the role of Mary in the Church, and ratified his doctrine of Papal infallibility.

He developed erysipelas, especially on his legs, which made walking painful and eventually nearly impossible. A heat wave in 1877 sent his health into decline, but he lived long enough to see the death of his former enemy, King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, on January 9, 1878. On February 7, he had a seizure, which gave him a fatal heart attack.

He was beatified in 2000, but, as of 2022, has not been canonized as a saint. In 1874, while he was still alive, a street in Montreal was named for him: Pie-IX Boulevard (pronounced "Pee-noof"). It forms part of Quebec Route 125, and part of the border of Montreal's 1976 Olympic Park. The station serving that Park on the Montreal Metro (subway) system is named Pie-IX. In 1937, as part of the Boulevard, the Pie-IX Bridge was built over the Prairies River. It was rebuilt in 1967.

Pius IX was succeeded by Leo XIII, and he reigned for 25 years. So, for 56 years, 1846 to 1903 -- in America, the Presidencies of James K. Polk to Theodore Roosevelt -- there were 16 Presidents, but only 2 Popes. (Of course, there had only recently been a 2nd monarch of Great Britain, as Queen Victoria had been on that throne from 1837 to 1901, succeeded by King Edward VII.)

Leo XIII was followed in 1903 by Pius X, in 1914 by Benedict XV, in 1922 by Pius XI, in 1939 by Pius XII, in 1958 by John XXIII, in 1963 by Paul VI, in 1978 by John Paul I, and then, after just 33 days, the shortest-reigning modern Pope, by John Paul II. His reign of 26 years is the 2nd-longest in the modern era. He was succeeded in 2005 by Benedict XVI. He resigned in 2013 (all the other changes mentioned here were through the death of the preceding Pope), and was succeeded by Francis.

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February 7, 1878 was a Thursday. There were no scores on this historic day.