Mel Gibson as William Wallace
May 24, 1995: The film Braveheart premieres. Mel Gibson co-produced, directed, and starred as William Wallace, the Scottish warrior whose nickname gives the film its title.
Gibson and historical films have gone well together. Gibson and historical accuracy have not. If you've never seen it, take it as fiction, and you might enjoy it.
The story begins in 1280, when King Edward I of England (Patrick McGoohan), known for his long legs as "Edward Longshanks," conquers Scotland. Wallace sees his father and brother resist and end up executed. Years later, he launches a rebellion. Edward orders his son, Edward of Caernarvon, the eventual King Edward II (Peter Hanley), to stop him. The result is the Battle of Stirling Bridge, on September 11, 1297, a Scottish victory. Wallace invades England, sacking York, and meets Robert the Bruce (Angus McFadyen), a contender for the vacant title of King of Scotland.
Patrick McGoohan as King Edward I
King Edward takes matters into his own hands, and beats Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk on July 22, 1298. But his health fails. Wallace is captured, and the film suggests that, after being tortured but refusing to submit, Wallace and Edward die at the same time. On June 24, 1314, in Wallace's memory, the Bruce leads Scotland to victory over England, establishing Scotland as a fully separate country -- until the union of the crowns under King James I of England and VI of Scotland in 1603, anyway.
The historical inaccuracies were many. It would be another 200 years or so before Scots wore belted plaid, let alone kilts, and they had long since stopped painting their faces in battle. Edward I was pretty mean, but he was also faithful to his wife.
What the real Edward I is alleged to have looked like
The real Wallace was wealthy, and did seek a peaceful resolution with Edward. And while Wallace was executed on August 23, 1305, probably at the age of 35, Edward lived another 2 years, aged 68, after 35 years on the throne.
What the real Wallace is alleged to have looked like
The British comedy writer John O'Farrell has said that the film could not have been more historically inaccurate if there had been a Claymation dog added and the film titled William Wallace and Gromit.
In a 2014 episode of Epic Rap Battles of History, "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist played the Gibson version of William Wallace, against "Nice" Peter Shukoff as George Washington.
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May 24, 1995 was a Wednesday. This was also the day that Ajax Amsterdam defeated AC Milan in the -UEFA Champions League Final, 1-0 at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria. I have a separate entry for that event.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 3-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Jack McDowell blew a 1-0 lead as the Halos scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4.
* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Pedro Astacio pitched a 6-hit shutout.
* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Tony Gwynn was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-5 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 14-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* A doubleheader was split at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox won the opener, 10-8. The Texas Rangers won the nightcap, 13-6.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. It looked like Mike Mussina would outpitch Dave Stewart, but the A's scored 2 runs in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to win it, making a winning pitcher out of Jim Corsi. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
Football was out of season. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 106-95 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Hakeem Olajuwon scored 41 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
And there were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both Eastern Conference Semifinals, within 7 miles of each other. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden. And the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands.
