November 2, 2010: The Redemption of Jerry Brown

November 2, 2010: Jerry Brown is elected Governor of California. It was a stunning comeback for a politician that most political observers had given up on long ago.

Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. was born on April 7, 1938 in San Francisco. His father, Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, was Governor of California from 1959 to 1967, but was beaten for a 3rd term by Ronald Reagan. Pat had wanted to become the 1st Catholic President in 1960, but his campaign went nowhere, and while that year did see the election of the 1st Catholic President, it was Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Jerry considered becoming a priest, but dropped out of the necessary school, and instead graduated from the University of California in Berkeley and Yale Law School. He joined a law firm in Los Angeles, and, in 1968, he won his 1st political office, to that city's Community College Board of Trustees. He was elected California's Secretary of State in 1970, despite Reagan's re-election.

After Reagan left the Governorship after 2 terms, Jerry, then the State's Secretary of State, ran for the office in 1974. In a hotly contested Democratic Primary, he got 38 percent of the vote, beating out Mayor Joseph Alioto of San Francisco with 19 and Assembly Speaker Bob Moretti with 16. In the general election, he beat Reagan's Lieutenant Governor, Houston Flournoy, 50.1 percent to 47.2. Brown won only 3 of the 10 Counties in Southern California: Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Imperial, but Los Angeles County gave him his margin of victory.

His lifestyle was unconventional, especially for a politician. He was single, but dated some well-known women, including singer Linda Ronstadt. He kept a small apartment near the State Capitol in Sacramento, rather than move into the Governor's Mansion. Tonight Show host Johnny Carson once joked that Brown skateboarded to work.

But the man derided as "Governor Moonbeam" won a 2nd term in 1978. He defeated Evelle Younger, who had succeeded him as the State's Attorney General, and had previously been the District Attorney of Los Angeles, successfully prosecuting Charles Manson and Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan. This time, Brown won 56 percent of the vote, including 49 of California's 58 Counties.

At the time, the law allowed him to run for a 3rd term as Governor in 1982. Instead, he ran for the U.S. Senate, against Mayor Pete Wilson of San Diego. Despite it being a good year for Democrats nationally, people in California were tired of Brown, and Wilson won, 51.5 percent to 44.8. Brown won only 5 Counties: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Alameda (Oakland) and Yolo. He went into political exile.

In 1989, he began a comeback, being named Chairman of the California Democratic Party. He ran for President again in 1992, soliciting campaign contributions through a toll-free "800 number." (It's no longer in service.) Despite having name recognition on his side, he finished 3rd among Democrats, behind Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas and former Senator Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts. By the time of the California Primary on June 2, Clinton pretty much had the race wrapped up, and Brown's only chance at preventing an actual clinch of the nomination by Clinton was to win his home State. Even there, he finished 3rd.

For the 2nd time, his political career seemed dead and buried. Wilson was California's man of the moment. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1988, and was elected Governor in 1990. In 1994, he was opposed for re-election by Jerry's sister, State Treasurer Kathleen Brown. But it was a big year for Republicans, and she did not come close to becoming the 3rd Brown to be elected Governor. Pat Brown lived long enough to see his daughter's defeat, dying in 1996, without seeing his son make another comeback. Kathleen has never run for office again.

In 1995, Jerry began a talk show on an Oakland radio station, showing he was still in tune with current events in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1998, he ran for Mayor of Oakland, and, despite being a 60-year-old white man (who had lost his famous hair) in a majority-black city, he won. He won again in 2002, and was returned to the office of California's Attorney General in 2006.

In the interim, California had passed term limits on all elected officials, including a 2-term limit for the Governor. That law was why Brown had served only 2 terms as Mayor and 2 in his 2nd go-around as Attorney General. But since he had served as Governor (and as Attorney General) before the law was passed, he was constitutionally permitted to try again -- but (in each case) only for 2 more terms.

In 2010, he regained the Governorship, defeating former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, 53 percent to 40. After the 2003 recall of Governor Gray Davis, and then 7 years of Arnold Schwarzenegger proving that he was a celebrity in over his head as "The Governator," Californians realized that even ol' Governor Moonbeam would have been an improvement. (Hopefully, after Reagan and "Ahnold," California will never elect another Republican actor to high office.)

His return to the Governorship in 2010 was a Democratic highlight in what was mostly a big year for Republicans, who gained 63 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, their best performance since 1938, and enough to take control; and 6 seats in the Senate, though that wasn't enough to take control.

Among the new Senators elected were Republicans Marco Rubio in Florida, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Rob Portman in Ohio, Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, and Ron Johnson in Wisconsin. Although 10 Democrats were re-elected, including Barbara Boxer in California, possibly "on Brown's coattails," no new Democrats were elected to the Senate that year.

Brown won a 4th term as Governor in 2014, his best performance, getting slightly under 60 percent of the vote against Neel Kashkari, a Kashmiri-American who had served under President George W. Bush as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

The term-limit law meant that he couldn't run again in 2018, even if he wanted to. But he let office as popular as ever. Hey, give him 40 years, and he'll get it right. Although it wasn't all consecutive, he served 16 years and 5 days as Governor of his State, longer than anyone in American history.

Having entered the office of Governor of California at the age of 36, making him the youngest Governor in the State's history, he left office as the oldest, 80. Given that most States have a 2-term limit on their Governors -- although many still don't, like New York, and some, like New Jersey and North Carolina, limit their Governors only to 2 consecutive terms, allowing for a 3rd after a hiatus -- this feat is unlikely to be repeated in any State. Certainly, not at ages of 36 or under and 80 or older.

In 1990, Brown met Anne Gust, then an executive for clothing company The Gap. A native of the Detroit suburbs, she's a graduate of Stanford University and the law school at the University of Michigan. She's 20 years his junior, but, being that they were then 52 and 32, it didn't make nearly as much of a difference. They have lived together ever since, although they did not get married until 2005. Brown is not known to have any children.

As of November 2, 2022, they live on a ranch in Colusa County, outside Sacramento. Jerry Brown finally has something in common with Ronald Reagan: He's an elderly ex-Governor who married a redhead and lives on a ranch in California. Kathleen is also still alive, married to her 2nd husband, having had 3 children with her 1st, although none has shown any sign of running for office.

*

November 2, 2010 was, like most Election Days in America, a Tuesday. The day before, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the 1st time since moving from New York, defeating the Texas Rangers.

Football was in midweek. There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The Washington Wizards beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 116-115 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Miami Heat beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 129-97 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-88 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-86 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 90-76 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 124-105 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And there were 4 games in the NHL:

* The Ottawa Senators beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the San Jose Sharks, 1-0 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

September 26, 2024: The End of the Oakland Athletics

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

September 26, 2024: The Oakland Athletics play their final home game. They beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Former A's pitcher Barry Zito sang the National Anthem, and Dave Stewart and Rickey Henderson, both Oakland natives and A's legends, threw out the cereominal first balls.

All game long, there were chants of "Sell the team!" and vulgar chants directed at team owner John Fisher. In the 9th inning, 2 fans ran onto the field, and were tackled by security. The game was delayed again by a smoke bomb thrown onto the field.

J.T. Ginn was the winning pitcher. The last play was Travis Jankowski, batting against Mason Miller, grounding out to 3rd baseman Max Scheumann.

The day before, Adolis García of the Rangers hit the Coliseum's last home run. The 1st game was on April 17, 1968, a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Boog Powell hit the 1st home run, and Rick Monday hit the 1st for the A's.

Attendance at the finale was 46,889, pretty much every seat that was open to the public, without a tarp being put over a section. It was the largest crowd ever for a team moving away, although not the largest for a stadium finale: The Cleveland Indians got 72,390 for their last game at Municipal Stadium in 1993, before the now-Guardians moved to Jacobs Field, now Progressive Field.

Because the A's were a "lame duck" franchise, and had a 69-93 finish, attendance for the season was just 922,286, an average of just 11,386, worst in the major leagues.

Over 57 seasons, the A's played home games in Oakland. In that time, they reached the Playoffs 21 times, won the AL West 17 times, won the American League Pennant 6 times, and won 4 World Series: 3 straight, 1972, 1973 and 1974; and 1989.

They produced Hall of Fame players Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson and Dennis Eckersley; and many other baseball legends, including Sal Bando, Joe Rudi, Vida Blue, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Dave Stewart, Jason Giambi, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

But cheap ownership broke up good or even great A's teams in 1976, 1982, 1993, 2007, 2015 and 2022. Deals to build a new stadium at the Oakland Coliseum complex, at Howard Terminal closer to downtown Oakland, near the campus of Laney College (where the Raiders played from 1962 to 1965, before the Coliseum opened in 1966), in suburban Fremont, and in San Jose all fell apart.

After previous owner Charlie Finley threatened to move them to Denver in 1978 and New Orleans in 1979, current owner Fisher, who had no respect for the City of Oakland or for baseball, decided to move the team to Sacramento for the next 3 or 4 seasons, while a new ballpark was built in Las Vegas.

The "Swingin' A's" were dead. Cause of death: Greed. Fisher released an open letter, saying to fans, "We tried." Former A's pitcher Trevor May called him on his lie: "You love owning stuff, just not your actions." 

Oakland has now lost teams in all 4 sports. The Oakland Seals, a.k.a. the California Golden Seals, only lasted from 1967 to 1976. Finley owned them for a while, too, dooming them. The Oakland Raiders played in Oakland from 1962 to 1981, moved to Los Angeles, moved back in 1995, and moved again, to Las Vegas, after the 2019 season. And the Golden State Warriors, who arrived in San Francisco in 1962, and moved to Oakland in 1971, moved back across the Bay in 2019.

The A's will spend the 2025, 2026 and 2027 seasons -- and possibly also 2028, depending on how the building of their Las Vegas stadium goes -- at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, across the Sacramento River from downtown, before joining their fellow former Coliseum renters, the Raiders, in Vegas.

It took until 2018 for the A's to start a team Hall of Fame, and they continued to induct players until 2024, their last season in Oakland.

From their 1972, 1973 and 1974 World Champions, they've inducted right fielder Reggie Jackson, left fielder Joe Rudi, 1st baseman Gene Tenace, shortstop Bert Campaneris, 3rd baseman Sal Bando, catcher Ray Fosse; pitchers Jim "Catfish" Hunter, Vida Blue and Rollie Fingers; and manager Dick Williams.

From their 1989 World Champions, they've inducted left fielder Rickey Henderson (who remains the only player elected from their 1981 American League Western Division title), right fielder Jose Canseco, 1st baseman Mark McGwire, 3rd baseman Carney Lansford, catcher Terry Steinbach; pitchers Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley; and manager  Tony La Russa.

From their Playoff teams of the early 2000s, they've inducted 1st baseman Jason Giambi, shortstop Miguel Tejada and 3rd baseman Eric Chavez. Had they lasted longer in Oakland, I suspect they would have inducted each of that team's "Big Three" pitchers: Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder.

In addition, they've inducted Charlie Finley; Walter Haas, owner from 1980 to 1995; Roy Steele, public address announcer from 1968 to 2008; Steve Vucinich, the clubhouse manager for their entire tenure in Oakland; Keith Lieppman, director of player development from 1971 to 2024; and Bill King, broadcaster from 1981 to 2005. Fosse was also an A's broadcaster, from 1986 to 2021.

Jackson, Hunter, Blue, Fingers, Campaneris, Henderson, Stewart, Eckersley, La Russa and Haas have been inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF). So has Billy Martin, the Berkeley native who managed the "Billy Ball" A's from 1980 to 1982, including the 1981 Division title.

*

September 26, 2024 was a Thursday. These 8 other games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-1 at Yankee Stadium II. This game clinched the American League Eastern Division for the Bronx Bombers. It was a battle of aces: Gerrit Cole beat Corbin Burnes. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Alex Verdugo each hit home runs -- their 58th, 27th and 13th, respectively, on the season.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Washington Nationals, 7-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 7-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The South Siders scored all 7 runs in the 5th inning. Chris Flexen (5 hits over 6 1/3rd innings), Gus Varland (2/3rds without a baserunner) and Jairo Tirarte (1 hit over 2) combined on a 6-hit shutout.

It was the Pale Hose's 39th win of the season, against 120 losses. They had already broken the American League record for losses in a season, and would finish 41-121, setting a new standard for the most losses by a major league team since 1899.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-6 at Target Field in Minneapolis. In the top of the 13th inning, a double by Otto Lopez and a 2-run single by Griffin Conine gave the Marlins the lead. The Twins could only get 1 run back in the bottom of the 13th.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-8 at Coors Field in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 7-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

There was 1 college football game: Army beat Temple University, 42-14 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Temple groundshares with the Philadelphia Eagles.

And there was 1 NFL game: The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants, 20-15 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

September 5, 1975: President Gerald Ford Faces an Assassination Attempt

September 5, 1975: President Gerald Ford faces an assassination attempt on a visit to Sacramento, the capital of California.

He was visiting the city to attend the annual Sacramento Host Breakfast, a gathering of wealthy California business leaders at the Sacramento Convention Center. The new Governor, Jerry Brown -- Edmund G. Brown Jr., son of former Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown -- refused to attend, because he wanted to show them, after 8 years of the archconservative Ronald Reagan, the new Governor wasn't going to be their friend.

To spite Brown, a Democrat, who was already talking about running for President in 1976 -- or, perhaps, to counter-spite him -- they invited President Ford, a Republican, as was Reagan. Ford, who had become President 13 months earlier upon the resignation of Richard Nixon, knew that winning a term of his own would be difficult, and that California would be crucial. (This included in the Republican Primaries, in which Reagan was expected to run.) So he accepted.

In August 1975, The New York Times printed an article detailing Ford's visit to California in September. It included the fact that, as a Congressman from Michigan, he had voted against the Clean Air Act of 1970.

This angered Lynette Alice Fromme. Born on October 22, 1948 in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Monica, California, As a child, she was a member of the Westchester Lariats, a Los Angeles-based dance group that appeared on The Lawrence Welk Show -- and had even been invited to perform at the White House, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President. As far as I know, this is the only time that someone who would go on to attempt to assassinate a President would visit the White House before that President took office.

In 1967, she became a follower of cult leader Charles Manson. Another of his followers, George Spahn, noticed that she made a sound like a squeak when he touched her, so he gave her the nickname "Squeaky." She was not charged in connection with the Tate-Labianca Murders, unlike Manson and some of his other followers.

In 1975, she was 26 years old, still committed to the imprisoned Manson, and paranoid about the environment. When she saw the article about Ford, she saw a chance to strike a blow for both the environment and Manson.

Ford was crossing L Street from the Senator Hotel to the State Capitol, shaking hands, at 10:02 AM. Fromme got within 2 feet of him. In his memoir, Ford wrote, "As I stopped, I saw a hand come through the crowd in the first row, and that was the first active gesture that I saw, but in the hand there was a gun."

Fromme didn't know that she needed to pull back the gun slide to insert a cartridge into the pistol's chamber. She pulled the trigger, and nothing happened. Secret Service Agent Larry Buendorf grabbed the gun, and forced Fromme to the ground. Other Agents pulled Ford away, and dragged him to the Capitol's entrance.

Ford was unhurt, and, when the Agents determined that the threat was over, he resumed his schedule, including meeting with Governor Brown. He returned to Washington that night. He would go back to California later in the month -- and face another assassination attempt, totally unconnected to this one.

Had the attempt succeeded, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller would have become President. Next in line was the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Carl Albert of Oklahoma.

Ford lost the California Primary to Reagan in 1976, and almost lost the nomination to him. He won it, and did win California in the general election, but narrowly lost both the popular vote and the Electoral Vote to former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. In 1981, he opened his Presidential Museum in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento donated Fromme's gun to the Museum. Ford lived until 2006.

Fromme was convicted of attempted murder, and sentenced to life in prison. On Christmas Eve 1987, she escaped, but was captured 2 days later. She was released in 2009, after serving 34 years.

As of September 5, 2022, she is 72 years old, and lives with a fellow ex-con in Marcy, New York, outside Syracuse. Unlike most of Manson's followers, she has never renounced him.

*

September 5, 1975 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees were swept by the Baltimore Orioles in a doubleheader Memorial Stadium, the result of a rainout on the preceding May 6. The O's won the opener, 5-4. Ken Singleton, later to broadcast for the Yankees, hit a home run for the O's. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-2 with a walk.

Graig Nettles and Chris Chambliss each had 3 hits for the Yanks, in support of George "Doc" Medich, but to no avail.

The O's won the nightcap, 2-1. Ross Grimsley outpitched Larry Gura, and this was one of the games that led Yankee manager Billy Martin to ask that Gura be traded, which led to him pitching well against the Yankees for the Kansas City Royals over the next few years. Brooks only appeared as a pinch-hitter in this game, and did not reach base. Future Yankee Rick Dempsey got 3 hits, but the rest of the Yankees only got 2 hits: A home run by Bobby Bonds, and a single by Sandy Alomar Sr.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 at Shea Stadium. Dave Kingman hit a home run for the Mets, not exactly a surprise. Mike Vail also hit one for them, which was a bit of a surprise. Tom Seaver only went 6 innings, but got his 21st win of the season. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Willie Horton hit 2 homers for the Tigers. Indians manager Frank Robinson, not yet retired as a player, did not put himself into the game.

* A doubleheader was split at Jarry Park in Montreal, the result of a rainout on the previous July 2. In the 1st game, the Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3. Richie Zisk hit a home run, and Willie Stargell had a single as a pinch-hitter. Pepe Mangual drew a bases-loaded walk off Kent Tekulve to win the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Pirates won the 2nd game, 5-2. This time, Stargell went 1-for-4, his hit a solo home run.

* A doubleheader was split at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, the result of a rainout on the previous August 6. In the 1st game, the Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3. Bill Bonham outpitched Steve Carlton. In the 2nd game, the Phillies won, 6-3. Mike Schmidt went 4-for-8 with a homer and 2 RBIs over the 2 games.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 2-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBIs. Johnny Bench went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Uncharacteristically, Rod Carew went 0-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now named Angel Stadium of Anaheim). George Brett went 5-for-5 with 4 RBIs.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3.

January 13, 1968: Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

 

January 13, 1968: Johnny Cash and his entourage perform at Folsom Prison, in Folsom, California, near the State Capitol of Sacramento.

In 1951, Crane Wilbur, one of the first Hollywood stars, moved into documentary filmmaking with Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison. In 1953, that film was screened at a U.S. Air Force base, at which Cash was serving. In late 1955, at the start of his country music career, he wrote, recorded and released the song "Folsom Prison Blues."

The song, about a prisoner regretting the murder he committed and the life sentence it's gotten him, reached Number 4 on the country charts, and Number 5 on the pop charts, in early 1956. Along with "I Walk the Line," it made him a star.

Real prisoners, rather than thinking Cash a poseur trying to make money off of their plight, loved it, and sent him fan mail, asking him to perform at their prisons. He first did so at Huntsville, Texas the following year. "I keep doin' it for a reason," he said. "I want these men to know that someone, somewhere, still thinks of them as human beings."

Despite an increasing dependence on amphetamines, Cash kept churning out hit records, but his behavior at concerts made bookings hard to get. He got clean in 1967 -- although he had at least two relapses down the line -- and thought a live album recorded at a prison would be a good comeback vehicle. Bob Johnston, a producer at Columbia Records, agreed, and began calling prisons. Folsom was the 1st to say yes.

The Cash group arrived in Sacramento on January 10, 1968, where they rehearsed for 2 days. The Governor of California, Ronald Reagan, was giving a speech at a dinner at their hotel, and met with them. (Years later, when Reagan was President, Cash was less of a fan.)

Two shows were scheduled for January 13: For 9:40 AM, and then, in case the recording didn't go well, a 2nd try at 12:40 PM. The performers included Cash; his girlfriend (later wife) June Carter of the country-singing Carter Family; the Tennessee Three, Cash's backing band, with lead guitarist Luther Perkins, bass player Marshall Grant, and drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland; Carl Perkins' author-singer of "Blue Suede Shoes," Cash's stablemate at Sun Records in the 1950s, and Luther's brother; and The Statler Brothers, country and gospel stars in their own right, serving as Cash's backing vocalists (though none of them were named Statler, and only Harold and Don Reid were actually brothers, the others being Joe McDorman, Lew DeWitt and Phil Balsley).

Johnston handled the recording board. Also present with Cash's group were his father, Ray Cash; and the Rev. Floyd Gressett, the pastor at a church near his home in Ventura, California.

Carl Perkins opened the show with "Blue Suede Shoes." The Statlers sang their hit song "Flowers On the Wall" and the country standard "This Old House." Then the Tennessee Three kicked into an intro with Cash's familiar "Boom-chicka-boom" sound, and The Man In Black took the stage. He gave is familiar, "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash," and told the prisoners, this show is being recorded for a live album, so you can't say, 'Hell' or 'Shit,' or anything like that!" The prisoners cheered.

And then he launched into a new version of "Folsom Prison Blues," more hopped-up than the original version. He sang songs about prison life, including "Dark as a Dungeon," "The Long Black Veil," "Green, Green Grass of Home," and "25 Minutes to Go." To me, the interesting thing about that last one, which had been written by Shel Silverstein, is that, in contrast to "Folsom Prison Blues," where the narrator admits his guilt, and won't be executed," this narrator never says whether he admits it, only that he will be executed, and that he doesn't want to die."

Cash brought Carter onstage to sing the duet "Jackson," and closed the show with a new song, "Greystone Chapel." Ironically, given the intent, the 2nd show wasn't as strong as the 1st, and, although some songs were played at both shows, only 2 songs from the 2nd show went on the album, neither of which were played during the 1st show: "I Got Stripes" (as in, prison stripes, this in the era before "prison clothes" meant "an orange jumpsuit") and "Give My Love to Rose."

The album Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison was released on May 6, 1968, and was a hit. But the line, "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" doomed the new version of "Folsom Prison Blues": While it still hit Number 1 on the country charts, on the pop charts, it had only reached Number 32 when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, and a lot of radio stations refused to play it after that.

But the album did provide the revival that Cash wanted. On February 24, 1969, lightning struck again, although not in the same place: Johnny Cash at San Quentin was recorded, at the prison of that name north of San Francisco, in Marin County. Among the songs done for this one was another Shel Silverstein composition, one Cash had never even seen before, so he had the lyrics written down, for him to basically recite: "A Boy Named Sue."

A few weeks after that album's release, ABC began airing The Johnny Cash Show, and for 3 years, it ran as a Summer replacement series. He married June Carter, and became a bigger star than ever.

*

January 13, 1968 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. The football season came to an end the next day, as the Green Bay Packers beat the Oakland Raiders, 33-14 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, to win Super Bowl II.

There were 3 games played in the NBA that day:

* The Cincinnati Royals beat the San Diego Rockets, 122-116 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 32 points.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons, 115-106 at Cobo Hall in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Bulls beat the Baltimore Bullets, 110-106 at the Chicago Stadium.

There were 2 games played in the American Basketball Association, in its 1st season. The New Jersey Americans beat the Oakland Clippers, 118-110 at the Teaneck Armory in Teaneck, Bergen County, New Jersey. And the Indiana Pacers beat the Pittsburgh Pipers, 113-99 at the Indiana Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

Both venues still stand. The latter is now named the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. After 1 season in Teaneck, the Americans, the 1st major league sports team with "New Jersey" in its name, moved to Long Island, becoming the New York Nets.

There were 5 games played in the NHL: 

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings played to a tie, 4-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Seals and the Minnesota North Stars played to a tie, 2-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. This was the game in which Bill Masterton of the North Stars sustained the head injury that led to his death 2 days later.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.

Also, Arsenal played Sheffield United to a 1-1 draw at Highbury in North London.