November 8, 1942: Operation Torch: D-Day In North Africa

November 8, 1942: Operation Torch is launched, the Allied invasion of Nazi-held North Africa in World War II. Landing points include several points in Morocco, including Casablanca; and the Algerian cities of Algiers and Oran. At the time, Morocco and Algeria were French colonies, but were heavily influenced by Nazi-controlled "Vichy France."

The invasion is planned by Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would learn from both the successes and mistakes of Operation Torch a year and a half later, when planning the Allied invasion of Western Europe, codenamed Operation Overlord, a.k.a. "D-Day."

By Thanksgiving Day, November 26, the Allies were in control of Morocco. On that day, the film Casablanca premiered, set in early December 1941, right before America entered The War due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Since Axis forces including Vichy French, this also marks the last battle ever fought between English or British troops and French troops.

Among the American soldiers stationed in Casablanca at the time was Sergeant George Goldberg, later to rename himself George Golden, my future grandfather. A Yankee Fan from The Bronx, he was nominally Jewish, but hated organized religion, believing it to be the cause of all human strife. But, as they were determined to wipe the Jews off the face of the Earth, he hated the Nazis more than he hated religion, and enlisted.

Grandpa was a photographer in civilian life, and my mother once showed me some pictures he'd taken in the service. One showed a very tall French general, conferring with 2 of his officers. Grandpa may not have known who the general was, but, clearly, he was a man of some importance. It turned out to be Charles de Gaulle. If a soldier tried to take a picture of an army's commanding officer like that today, he'd be in big trouble.

Grandpa also served with the invading U.S. Army in Italy. In both cases, his ultimate commanding officer --- aside, of course, from his Commander-in-Chief, President Franklin D. Roosevelt -- was Major General, later Lieutenant General, George S. Patton, "Old Blood and Guts."

Also on this day, Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. is born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the same hometown as Roberto Clemente. The 1st Puerto Rican elected to the United States Racing Hall of Fame, the son of renowned jockey and horse trainer Angel Cordero Sr. won 7,057 races, including the Kentucky Derby in 1974, 1976 and 1985; the Preakness Stakes in 1980 and 1984; the Belmont Stakes in 1976; 4 Breeders' Cup races, 3 Jockey Club Gold Cups, and an Arlington Million. He is still alive.

He came into controversy at the 1980 Preakness. He was riding Codex, and came upon Genuine Risk, who, 2 weeks earlier, had become the 1st filly in 65 years to win the Kentucky Derby. Jacinto Vásquez, Genuine Risk's Panamanian jockey and, as a fellow Hispanic, something of a rival to Cordero, got a little too close. Cordero nudged Codex over and bumped Genuine Risk, affecting the outcome of the race. Don't judge Cordero too harshly: Vásquez later got involved in some shady things, while this remained the only blot on Cordero's career.

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November 8, 1942 was a Sunday. Baseball season was over. The NBA wasn't founded yet. But there were 2 games played in the NHL. The Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings played to a 3-3 tie at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

And the New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 10-4 at the Montreal Forum. Among the Canadiens players who scored was a rookie with his 1st NHL goal. His name was Maurice Richard. There would be 543 more.

And there were 5 games played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 14-0 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The NFL version of the Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Bears, 35-0 at Ebbets Field.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Chicago Cardinals, 28-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Cleveland Rams, 30-12 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Rams would win the NFL Championship in 1945, but, due to low attendance, moved to Los Angeles the next season.

* And the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Detroit Lions, 35-7 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

Also on this day, Alessandro Mazzola is born in Turin, Italy, where his father, Valentino Mazzola, was a star with soccer team Torino, but died with most of his teammates in a plane crash in 1949, known as the Superga Disaster.

Sandro and his brother, Ferruccio Mazzola, overcame the loss of their father, and both played top-flight calcio (what the Italians call soccer). Ferruccio (1945-2013) was a midfielder for several teams, helping Rome club Lazio win its 1st Serie A (national league) title in 1974, alongside future New York Cosmos star Giorgio Chinaglia.

Sandro Mazzola was an attacking midfielder who played 17 seasons for Internazionale Milano, leading La Grande Inter to league titles in 1963, 1965, 1966 and 1971, and the European Cup in 1964 and 1965. He and Ferruccio were briefly teammates in 1967, when Inter again reached the European Cup Final, losing to Celtic. Between them, the father and 2 sons won 10 league titles.

Sandro helped Italy win Euro 1968, but they lost the Final of the 1970 World Cup, because the manager, Ferruccio Valcareggi, could never find a way to put the 2 great Milan-based stars of the era, Sandro Mazzola of Inter and Gianni Rivera of AC Milan, together in the same lineup. Sandro also played in the 1966 and 1974 World Cups. Sandro became a commentator for Italian network RAI, including for Italy's wins in the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, and is still active in that role.

May 27, 1964: Il Grande Inter

May 27, 1964: F.C. Internazionale Milano, a.k.a. Inter Milan, defeat Real Madrid 3-1 at the Praterstadion in Vienna, Austria, and win the European Cup for the first time.

The Nerazzurri (Black & Blues), also known as La Grande Inter, were managed by Italo-Argentine Helenio Herrera. They were led by 2 goals from midfielder Sandro Mazzola, possibly the best player in club history, and the son of Valentino Mazzola, one of the leaders of the great Torino team that was killed in the Superga air disaster of 1949.

Inter succeeded their intra-city rivals, AC Milan, as Champions of Europe. Milan had won the 1963 edition with a tight defense, but Inter's was even better. The style became known as "catenaccio," meaning "padlock." With Giuliani Sarti in goal, Tarcisio Burgnich at right back, Giacinto Facchetti at left back, Carl Tragnin as a defensive midfielder, Aristide Guarneri at centerback, and Armando Picchi as sweeper and Captain, it might have been the best defense the world had ever seen to that point.

Built in 1931, the Praterstadion was renamed

the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in 1992.

The offense was also sensational. Mazzola was in central midfield, along with Spaniard Luis Suárez. No relation to the later Uruguayan star known for his diving and his biting of opponents, this one had previously starred for FC Barcelona. They were bracketed by Brazilian right wing Jair da Costa and Italian left wing Mario Corso, who was nicknamed "Mandrake the Magician" and "God's Left Foot." Up top was forward Aurelio Milani.

May 27, 1965, 1 year later to the day: Inter won the European Cup Final on home soil, at the San Siro in Milan, defeating S.L. Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal 1-0. Brazilian star Jair da Costa scored the only goal, despite Benfica having the great Mozambican player Eusébio.

The San Siro, as it would have appeared in 1965

They won Serie A, the Italian national league, again in 1966, and again in 1971. But they then went into a terrible decline, made all the worse by the glories of their San Siro housemates and the team both of them loved to hate, Turin's Juventus. Inter would only win 2 of the next 24 Serie A titles, in 1980 and 1989, and that 1980 title was largely seen as aided by a scandal that got AC Milan temporarily relegated to Serie B. Inter had won the Coppa Italia, Italy's version of the FA Cup, in 1939, but they didn't win it again, not even in their Grande Inter years, until 1978, then again in 1982, and then not again for another 23 years.

They reached the European Cup Final again in 1967, but were unable to make it 3 out of 4 titles, as they lost to Glasgow Celtic. They made it again in 1972, but lost to AFC Ajax of Amsterdam, the stodginess of Catenaccio defeated by the creativity and joy of Total Football. They won the UEFA Cup, European soccer's secondary tournament, in 1991, 1994 and 1998, but it wasn't the same thing.

AC Milan fans, Juventus fans, fans of pretty much every club in Italy, including those who, themselves, never or rarely won began to taunt them with a chant: "Non vincerai mai!" (You never win.) It would take the arrival of Jose Mourinho before they once again won the Coppa Italia in 2005, won 5 straight Serie A titles starting in 2006, and won the rebranded European Cup, the UEFA Champions League, as part of the first-ever "European Treble" won by an Italian team, in 2010.

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May 27, 1964 was a Wednesday. Talk show host Adam Carolla was born.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. Al Downing went the distance for the win. Roger Maris and Clete Boyer hit home runs. Mickey Mantle was rested, since it was a day game after a night game.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-8 at Fenway Park in Boston. Dick Phillips singled Jim King home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. The Senators got home runs from former Yankee Bill "Moose" Skowron and Chuck Hinton. Dick Stuart hit 2 home runs, and "Dr. Strangeglove" did not make an error at 1st base. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Al Kaline hit a home run. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-5.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Art Mahaffey pitched a 4-hit shutout. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Joe Nuxhall pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Sandy Koufax. Frank Robinson went 0-for-1 with 2 walks. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Houston Colt .45s, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Fischer pitched a 4-hit shutout. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3. The Colts became the Houston Astros the next year.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Juan Marichal allowed 7 hits, but no walks, and struck out 11, outpitching Bob Gibson. Willie Mays went 0-for-3. Willie McCovey went 0-for-4. Duke Snider, running out the string with, of all teams, the Giants, hit his 405th career home run. He would hit just 2 more.

* A doubleheader was split at Dodger Stadium, where the Los Angeles Angels were groundsharing with the Dodgers until their Anaheim stadium could open. The Angels won the opener, 4-1. The Minnesota Twins won the nightcap, 4-3. Don Mincher won it with a home run in the top of the 13th inning. Over the 2 games, Harmon Killebrew went 3-for-8 with a solo home run.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Athletics were rained out at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 13. The ChiSox won the opener, 8-6. The A's won the nightcap, 8-7. Wayne Causey singled Dick Green home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.