October 17, 1941: The 1st U.S. Casualties of World War II

The USS Kearny

October 17, 1941: For the 1st time, American troops died in World War II. And America wasn't even in the war yet.

The USS Kearny was a Greaves-class destroyer, launched in 1940, and named for Commodore Lawrence Kearny, an early American naval officer. He served as Mayor of his hometown of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and another city in that State was named for him.

The Kearny was docked at Reykjavik, Iceland, when it was sent to assist a British convoy that had been attacked by a "wolfpack" of German U-boats (submarines). The Kearny dropped depth charges, and the Nazis returned fire, hitting the Kearny with a torpedo, killing 11 American sailors and injuring 22 others.

Though damaged, the Kearny was able to reach port, and was ready to go again on December 25 (Christmas Day), able to head back to Boston for permanent repairs.

This was hardly the 1st time American and Nazi vessels had fired on each other. Still, Congress would not grant President Franklin D. Roosevelt a Declaration of War. But Adolf Hitler would specifically cite the Kearny incident in his declaration of war on America on December 11, 1941. That declaration was a mistake he would regret.

The Kearny continued to be used as a convoy escort through the end of World War II. It was decommissioned in 1946, held in reserve in Orange, Texas, and scrapped in 1972.

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October 17, 1941 was a Friday. The baseball season ended 11 days earlier, when the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season wouldn't start for another 14 days. There were 3 games in college football:

* Duquesne University beat St. Vincent's of Pennsylvania, 7-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The University of Miami beat Rollins College of the Orlando area, 21-0 at Burdine Stadium in Miami. The stadium would be renamed the Orange Bowl in 1959.

* And San Jose State and Hardin-Simmons played to a tie, 7-7 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. The stadium would be renamed CEFCU Stadium in 2015. 

October 11, 1986: The Reykjavik Summit

October 11, 1986: President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev meet for a summit in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Although Iceland was, and remains, a member of NATO, it is the member with the smallest population, and the only one without a standing army, just a lightly armed coast guard. So Gorbachev accepted it as a suitable, if not quite neutral, location.

Discussions were held at Höfði (pronounced HOFF-dee), a coastal house that had previously served as the French Consulate and the British Embassy.

Reagan sought to include discussion of human rights, including the emigration of Soviet Jews and dissidents, and the war caused by the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Gorbachev sought to limit the talks solely to arms control.

Gorbachev had proposed banning all ballistic missiles, but Reagan wanted to continue research on the missile-defense system called the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, mocked by its opponents as "Star Wars"), which involved the militarization of outer space. Yet Soviet suspicion of SDI continued, and relations between the countries were strained.

Despite getting unexpectedly close to the potential elimination of all nuclear weapons, the meeting adjourned with no agreement. But both sides discovered the extent of the concessions the other side was willing to make. Observers have referred to the summit as an enormous breakthrough, which eventually facilitated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty that was signed at the Washington Summit on December 8, 1987.

Some time later, Gorbachev was asked by a journalist when he knew "the Cold War was lost." He said, "Reykjavik." In other words, when he knew that Reagan wouldn't give up SDI. Except SDI was far from ready. Reagan believed (incorrectly) it would be ready by the time he left office on January 20, 1989, presuming.(correctly) that Gorbachev would still be in office.

Reagan was too ignorant to realize that he was bluffing, but Gorbachev was too timid to call his bluff. If he had, things might have been different.

Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022. By that point, Reagan had been dead for 18 years, the Soviet Union had been dead for 31 years, Vladimir Putin had been in charge of Russia for nearly 23 years, and SDI was still not operational.

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October 11, 1986 was a Saturday. Game 3 of the National League Championship Series was played at Shea Stadium. The Houston Astros took a 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning, but the New York Mets tied it in the 6th. The Astros scored in the 7th. In the bottom of the 9th, Lenny Dykstra hit a 2-run home run off Dave Smith, giving the Mets a 6-5 win. It was the 1st time a Met had hit what would later become known as a "walkoff home run" in a postseason game.

And that might not have been the best game of that day. Game 4 of the American League Championship Series was played at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). The Boston Red Sox led 3-0 going into the bottom of the 9th, but the Angels tied it. Bobby Grich singled Jerry Narron home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Angels won, 4-3. And that might not have been the best game of that series. Game 5 turned out to be the Dave Henderson Game.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 University of Miami beat West Virginia, 58-14 at the new Mountaineer Field (now Milan Puskar Stadium) in Morgantown, West Virginia. As an independent, Miami didn't have a Conference Championship to win, but finished the regular season undefeated and ranked Number 1, setting up a de facto National Championship Game.

* Number 2 Alabama beat Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), 37-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They advanced to 7-0 by beating Tennessee the next week, but lost 3 of their next 5 games to blow their chances at the Southeastern Conference and National Championships.

* Number 3 Nebraska beat Oklahoma State, 30-10 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Rivalry: Number 4 Michigan beat Michigan State, 27-6 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan went on to win the Big Ten Conference Championship.

* Number 5 Penn State beat the University of Cincinnati, 23-17 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. As an independent, Penn State didn't have a Conference Championship to win, but finished the regular season undefeated and ranked Number 2, setting up a de facto National Championship Game. It was the Fiesta Bowl, one of those games that gets billed as "The Game of the Century," and Penn State beat Miami to win the National Championship.

* Rivalry: Number 6 Oklahoma beat Texas, 47-12 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Oklahoma had blown its shot at the National Championship 2 weeks earlier, losing a Number 1 vs. Number 2 game against Miami. But that would be their only loss, and they went on to beat Nebraska for the Big Eight Conference Championship.

* Number 7 Auburn beat Vanderbilt, 31-9 at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville. Auburn advanced to 7-0 the next 2 weeks, but lost 2 of their next 3 games to blow their chances at the SEC and National Championships.

* Number 8 Arkansas were upset by Texas Tech, 17-7 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They ended up finishing 2nd in the Southwest Conference, and were invited to the Orange Bowl, where they lost to Oklahoma.

* Number 9 University of Southern California were upset by Washington State, 34-14 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

* Number 10 Iowa beat Wisconsin, 17-6 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Iowa were now 5-0, but lost 3 of their next 4 games to blow their chances at the Big 10 and National Championships.

* Number 11 Arizona were upset by UCLA, 32-2 at the Rose Bowl outside Los Angeles in Pasadena, California.

* Number 12 Washington beat Number 18 Stanford, 24-14 at the original Stanford Stadium outside San Francisco in Palo Alto, California.

* Number 13 Baylor were upset by Southern Methodist University (SMU), 27-21 at Baylor Stadium (later Floyd Casey Stadium) in Waco, Texas.

* Number 14 Texas A&M beat the University of Houston, 19-7 at the Astrodome in Houston. A&M won the SWC Championship.

* Number 15 Arizona State beat Oregon, 37-17 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. ASU went on to win the Pacific-Ten Conference Championship, despite losing to arch-rival Arizona, and beat Michigan to win the Rose Bowl.

* Number 16 Louisiana State University beat Georgia, 23-14 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU went on to win the SEC Championship, but lost to Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 17 North Carolina State were upset by Georgia Tech, 59-21 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

* Ohio State, unranked at this point, beat Indiana, 24-22 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. Ohio State went on to beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Tennessee, 25-21 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee; and Air Force beat Navy, 40-6 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* The University of Pittsburgh beat Notre Dame, 10-9 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, had the week off.

The NBA was in its preseason. There were 10 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. Doug Bodger scored the winning goal, 50 seconds into overtime.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 5-4 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Boston Bruins, 5-4 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Minnesota North Stars and the Quebec Nordiques played to a tie, 4-4 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4 at the Montreal Forum. Jari Kurri scored the winning goal with just 11 seconds left in overtime.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Calgary Flames, 6-5 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals, 6-1 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 5-5 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Detroit Red Wings beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Denver.

* And the Winnipeg Jets were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat Hertfordshire team Watford, 3-1 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.

September 1, 1972: Bobby Fischer Becomes the World Champion of Chess

September 1, 1972: Boris Spassky resigns his match against Bobby Fischer, in Reykjavik, Iceland, and forfeits the World Championship of Chess. This makes Fischer America's 1st World Champion in the game since Paul Morphy, over a century earlier. It is a mildly interesting footnote in the Cold War.

Born in 1943 in Chicago, and raised in Brooklyn, Fischer, like Morphy, had been a child prodigy at the game, but even during his competition with Spassky, he was a problematic representative for America. In 1975, as he had in 1972, he insisted upon some ridiculous conditions for his defense of his title, against Soviet champion Anatoli Karpov. This time, FIDE, the world governing body for chess, refused to give in, and Fischer flat-out refused to play Karpov. FIDE stripped him of the title, and awarded it to Karpov, who held it for the next 10 years.

Unfortunately, growing mental illness and an early departure from the game were also traits Fischer shared with Morphy, who peaked in 1859 at age 21, soon stopped playing regularly, and died in 1884. Fischer became a recluse, and probably should have stayed that way, because when he did venture out into public, including in his occasional brief returns to public chess, he said some disgusting things. He died in 2008. As of September 1, 2022, Spassky is still alive. (UPDATE: He died in 2025.)

Since 2013, the title has been held by Magnus Carlsen of Norway. At 22, he was the youngest champion in the game's history.

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September 1, 1972 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-0 at Yankee Stadium. Mel Stottlemyre pitched a 4-hit shutout. Thurman Munson went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 8-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Dave Roberts pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Tom Seaver. Willie Mays went 1-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Marty Pattin, who would later pitch for the Royals, pitched a 7-hit shutout. The only run came in the bottom of the 4th, when Rico Petrocelli singled Carl Yastrzemski home.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Bobby Darwin hit 2 home runs for the Twins, but it was Rod Carew, after getting his only hit of the day, who won the game by stealing home plate with Jim Nettles (whose brother Graig was at 3rd base for the Indians) at bat in the bottom of the 10th inning. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Texas Rangers, 3-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Jim Colborn pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 3-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Dave McNally outpitched Clyde Wright. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Joe Rudi hit a home run. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4. Al Kaline went 2-for-3 with an RBI. This turned out to be a preview of the American League Championship Series, which the A's also won.

* A doubleheader was split at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The Philadelphia Phillies won the opener, 11-1. Ken Reynolds went the distance, for his 1st win of the season. He was now 1-12. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3 with a walk, then got the nightcap off. The Atlanta Braves won that game, 11-5.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-6 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-2, but had 2 walks, and an RBI on sacrifice fly. Willie Stargell went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Montreal Expos, 1-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench singled Pete Rose home in the bottom of the 12th inning, to beat Bill Stoneman, who had gone the distance. Clay Carroll was the winning pitcher, pitching 3 innings on top of the 9 of starter Ross Grimsley Jr.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 14-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And a doubleheader was split at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1st game, 5-1. Rick Wise outpitched Don Sutton. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2nd game, 2-1. Al Downing outpitched Al Santorini.

Over the 2 games, Lou Brock went 0-for-7, but drew a walk and stole a base; Joe Torre went 1-for-7, with a hit-by-pitch and 2 RBIs; and Frank Robinson, in his only season with the Dodgers, was injured, and did not play in either game.