September 29, 2022: Hurricane Ian Shreds Florida

September 29, 2022: Hurricane Ian hits the Gulf Coast of Florida, causing severe damage in the Tampa Bay area. In terms of strength, it was the 5th-biggest American hurricane yet measured. At least 137 deaths were attributed to it, making it the deadliest to hit Florida since the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.

Particularly hard-hit was the area around the city of Fort Myers, about 125 miles south of Tampa and 150 miles northwest of Miami. The causeways connecting Pine Island and Sanibel Island to Florida's mainland both collapsed. The famed Fort Myers Fishing Pier was also wrecked.

Ironically, the cruel actions of Governor Ron DeSantis, a racist Republican who had dropped hints about running for President in 2024, to fly illegal immigrants out of Florida to States that had voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, may have been the right thing to do, because it got them out of the path of the hurricane. Ian was significantly reduced by the time it got up to the Northeast, where I live: We got 4 straight days of rain, but no flooding.

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September 29, 2022 was a Thursday. There was an NFL game played that day, and a Florida team was in it, on the road. But that didn't mean it would be safe for that team.

The Miami Dolphins lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-15 at Paycor Stadium (formerly Paul Brown Stadium) in Cincinnati, but the result wasn't the worst of it. The preceding Sunday, they pulled off a big upset against the Buffalo Bills, 21-19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. But their quarterback, Tuanigamanuolepola "Tua" Tagovailoa, who led the University of Alabama to the 2017 National Championship, suffered a concussion and had to be removed from that game.

In this game against the Bengals, just 4 days later, Tua got sacked by Josh Tupou, and hit the back of his head on the artificial turf. At first, it looked like he was paralyzed. He did not move for 8 minutes until the ambulance came onto the field. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, regained full movement, was discharged, and was allowed to fly back to Miami with his teammates.

Still, the Dolphins fired their medical staff. That was not enough. Too many players have suffered and eventually died as a result of football-inflicted head trauma. Usually, the effects are long-term. But five players have died as a result of playing in professional football games in this country, the last being Chuck Hughes of the Detroit Lions in 1971. Six if you count Darryl Stingley, who lived nearly 30 years after his 1978 paralysis which did, indirectly, lead to his death. I don't want there to be another.

There were also Major League Baseball games played on this day:

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Cleveland Guardians beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-3 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Javier Assad and 2 relievers pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-2 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Shohei Ohtani pitched 8 innings to raise his record to 15-8, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk, striking out 10; and he went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-4 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 10-9 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Mariners had the longest Playoff drought in MLB, having not made it in 21 years. The Mariners blew a 7-4 lead going into the 7th inning. Each team scored a run in the 10th. The Rangers scored a run in the 11th, but the "ghost runner" of Jarred Kelenic and 3 straight singles by Dylan Moore, Luis Torrens and J.P. Crawford gave the M's the win and clinched a Playoff berth.

June 30, 1988: A Stopped Clock Saves the Chicago White Sox

Governor Jim Thompson

June 30, 1988: This is the deadline for the Illinois legislature to approve a deal for a new stadium for the Chicago White Sox.

Team owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, a.k.a. "The Reinhorn Twins," have said that, if it's not approved, they will move the White Sox to the Tampa Bay region for the 1989 season, as the Florida White Sox, even though the domed stadium that will become Tropicana Field won’t open until 1990. They'd rather spent the 1989 season at 7,500-seat Al Lang Stadium (built in 1947 and seriously renovated in 1976) than at their current home, Comiskey Park (built in 1910 and in bad shape).

The deadline is 12:00 Midnight, Central Daylight Time. Governor James R. Thompson, a White Sox fan, knows that the bill won't get enough support in time, and 88 years of White Sox baseball will come to an end.

So he orders the clocks to be shut off in the State Capitol in Springfield, so, like gamblers in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, no one will know what time it is. (Unless they look at their watches.) It works: The bill gets the last supporter it needs, and the vote is taken, and declared passed, and signed into law by Thompson… at 12:03 AM. For once, political chicanery had helped the people.

The White Sox played the 1989 and 1990 seasons at old Comiskey. When the new Comiskey Park, now named Rate Field, opened on April 18, 1991, across 35th Street from its predecessor, Jim Thompson, by now out of the Governor's office, was invited to throw out the ceremonial first ball. In 2005, the White Sox won the World Series, something no Chicago team had done since 1917.

A bust of Thompson now stands outside the ballpark he made possible. It mentions that he is the longest-serving Governor in Illinois history, and says, "He kept the White Sox in Chicago."

As for Tampa Bay, after some cruel near-misses like this one, the San Francisco Giants in 1992, and the Seattle Mariners in 1995, they finally got the Rays in 1998, and have won Pennants in 2008 and 2020 -- but, through the 2021 season, not a World Series.

*

June 30, 1988 was a Thursday. There were 4 Major League Baseball games were played that day, and 1 was a home game for the team in question:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Tommy John, 45 years old, outpitched future Yankee Dave LaPoint, for the 283rd win of his career. There would be 5 more.

Jack Clark hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 1-for-5. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with a walk. Gary Redus and Steve "Psycho" Lyons each had 3 hits for the South Siders.

* The New York Mets beat the Houston Astros, 12-6 at Shea Stadium. Bob Ojeda was the winning pitcher, and also went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Darryl Strawberry went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs. Kevin McReynolds went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Howard Johnson went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Dave Magadan went 3-for-4 with a walk.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Brian Holman pitched a 5-hit shutout, outpitching Tom Glavine, still only 22 years old and not yet a great pitcher. 

* And the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. Mark Davis got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, but he gave up a single to Barry Larkin, and then walked Kal Daniels, Chris Sabo and Tracy Jones, throwing just 2 strikes to those 4 batters.

May 9, 1980: The Sunshine Skyway Disaster

May 9, 1980: The Japanese cargo ship MV Summit Venture crashes into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, causing 7 vehicles, including a Greyhound bus, to fall into Tampa Bay, killing 35 people.

The ship's pilot, an American, was soon cleared of wrongdoing, because he was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, and would eventually die as a result of it.

One of the cars on the bridge actually landed on the deck of the ship, and the driver survived. Among the drivers who weren't hurt, and got out to help, was Granville "Granny" Hamner, the shortstop on the 1950 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies, a.k.a. the Whiz Kids.

The original Sunshine Skyway, which became the northbound span, opened in 1954. The southbound span opened in 1971, and had to be completely replaced after the accident. The new southbound span opened in 1990, and a new northbound span in 1993.

It carries Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19 over Tampa Bay, between St. Petersburg and Palmetto. In 2005, it was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, after the Governor of Florida who presided over the 1990 and '93 bridges' design and construction, and later served as a U.S. Senator,

The Sunshine Skyway should not be confused with the W. Howard Frankland Bridge, which also carries Interstate 275, further north, over the Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Named for the Tampa businessman who proposed it, it opened in 1960, with a 2nd span opened in 1990. Traffic on that bridge is so bad (How bad is it?), it is known as "the Howard Frankenstein Bridge" and "The Car-Strangled Spanner."

(UPDATE: In 2025, a new southbound span opened. The former southbound span of 1990 was switched to northbound, and the 1960 northbound span was demolished.)

Just to the south of the Frankland, the Gandy Bridge spans the Bay from Tampa to St. Petersburg, carrying U.S. Route 92, with a 1924 span replaced in 1975, and a 1956 span replaced in 1996. George S. Gandy was the original bridge's designer.

*

May 9, 1980 was a Friday. This was also the day the 1st Friday the 13th film premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Football was out of season. The NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs were both underway, although no games were played on this day. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry outpitched Jerry Koosman. Bob Watson went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Craig Swan outpitched Steve Rogers. Lee Mazzilli doubled home a run in the 3rd inning, and Steve Henderson singled a run home in the 5th.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. George Brett went 1-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with a walk. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 against his former team, and Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout. Robin Yount went 2-for-4. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 15-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Richie Zisk hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Willie Stargell only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Each team scored a run in the 9th. In the top of the 10th, Jason Thompson hit a home run to give the Tigers the win.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at the Oakland Coliseum. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 22. The Jays won the opener, 6-2. The A's won the nightcap, 5-1. Over the 2 games, rookie Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases and an RBI.

March 31, 1998: Major League Baseball Comes to Arizona and Tampa Bay

March 31, 1998: Major League Baseball's 2 newest expansion franchises, both based in places that had been used to Spring Training, but not the regular season, make their regular-season debuts. Neither wins.

Just as Florida had been home to many teams' Spring Training, known as the "Grapefruit League," Arizona, in particular Phoenix and environs, had been the "Cactus League." The Phoenix Giants, later renamed the Phoenix Firebirds, were the top farm team of the San Francisco Giants, and won Pacific Coast League Pennants in 1959 and 1977. Phoenix got an NBA team in 1968, and an NFL team in 1988. In 1995, MLB awarded Phoenix an expansion team for the 1998 season.

At Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks lose to the Colorado Rockies 9-2. Andy Benes is their 1st pitcher, and he lasts into the 7th inning. Their 1st batter is Devon White, and he strikes out. Mike Lansing of the Rockies has the stadium's 1st hit, Travis Lee the Diamondbacks' 1st hit. Vinny Castilla hits the stadium's 1st home run (and later hits another), and Lee the Diamondbacks' 1st homer.

Chase Field

The D-backs actually made the Playoffs in only their 2nd season, and won the World Series in their 4th. But we don't talk about that around here.

*

The Tampa Bay region had been trying to get a major league team for 30 years. They came within inches of having the Chicago White Sox move there for the 1989 season, and also of having the San Francisco Giants move there for the 1993 season.

Had the Seattle Mariners not won the American League Division Series in 1995, the ballot initiative to build what is now named T-Mobile Park would not have passed, and it's likely that the Mariners would have been bought by the owners of the expansion franchise granted to Vince Naimoli and his group, leaving the expansion franchise to be moved elsewhere.

But Naimoli's group got the franchise in 1995, and, on March 31, 1998, the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays played their 1st game. They lost to the Detroit Tigers, 11-6 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

With the Rays having no team legends, Hall-of-Famers Ted Williams (who lived in nearby Hernando) and Stan Musial (who trained in St. Petersburg with the St. Louis Cardinals) threw out the ceremonial first balls.

Wilson Alvarez is their 1st pitcher, and he gets knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning. Their 1st batter is Quinton McCracken, and he grounds out. Tony Clark of the Tigers has the stadium's 1st hit, Dave Martinez the Devil Rays' 1st hit. Luis Gonzalez hits the stadium's 1st home run, Wade Boggs the Devil Rays' 1st homer. The Devil Rays score 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it's not enough.

It it would be 10 years before the team simplified their name as "the Tampa Bay Rays." That year, 2008, was the 1st time they got into a Pennant race, and they won the American League Pennant.

*

March 31, 1998 was a Tuesday. These other games were played that Opening Day in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Shea Stadium. Alberto Castillo singled Brian McRae home with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning, making a winning pitcher out of Turk Wendell in relief of Bobby Jones. In 14 innings, 6 Met pitchers had allowed 9 hits and 6 walks, but no runs. Curt Schilling started for the Phils, and pitched 8 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, but it wasn't enough.

* The Atlanta Braves, formerly of Milwaukee, beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. This was the Brewers' 1st regular-season game in the National League, after having been in the American League from 1970 (plus 1969, as the Seattle Pilots) until 1997.

Greg Maddux and Cal Eldred started. In the bottom of the 9th, with Javy López up, Keith Lockhart tried to steal 2nd base, and Brewer catcher Mike Matheny threw the ball away, allowing Gerald Williams, who had been on 3rd base, to score the winning run.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-6 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Tony Gwynn and Wally Joyner hit home runs for the Padres.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. How many Cardinal pitchers does it take to pitch a 3-hit shutout? This time, 4: Todd Stottlemyre went 7 innings, Lance Painter pitched to 1 batter in the 8th and got him out, John Frascatore finished the inning, and Brad Looper struck out the side in the 9th.

Mark McGwire went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs, including a home run, the 1st of 70 he would hit that season, thanks to steroids.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 9-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Astro reliever C.J. Nitkowski melted down in the top of the 13th inning, and before José Cabrera could stop the bleeding, the Giants had scored 5 runs. Barry Bonds went 2-for-6 with a walk.

* The Montreal Expos and the Pittsburgh Pirates opened the next day, at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Pirates won, 4-0. Francisco Cordóva pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, Marc Wilkins pitched a perfect 8th, and Rich Loiselle finished the 5-hit shutout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Tim Belcher, outpitched Mike Mussina. Cal Ripken went 0-for-3.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 9-2 at The Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-9 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Sandy Alomar Jr. went 3-for-5 with the Tribe's only home run. The M's got homers from Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, Jay Buhner and Russ Davis. Alex Rodriguez went 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts.

Football was out of season. There were 12 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 95-78 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-90 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-93 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics, 121-95 at the Miami Arena.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 97-86 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors, 114-105 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic, 93-86 at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 128-106 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-101 at the United Center in Chicago. Grant Hill scored 37 points in defeat. For the Bulls, Scottie Pippen scored 27, and Michael Jordan 26.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Golden State Warriors, 94-89 in overtime at The Arena in Oakland (as the Oakland Coliseum Arena was then known).

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Utah Jazz, 88-86 at the KeyArena in Seattle.

* And the Dallas Mavericks beat the Vancouver Grizzlies, 104-101 at General Motors Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

And there were 3 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals, 5-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the CoreStates Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* And the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes played to a tie, 3-3 at the Greensboro Coliseum (now the First Horizon Coliseum).

January 19, 1977: Snow In Florida

January 19, 1977: It snows in Florida. It was just a dusting, but it remains the only recorded snowfall in the history of "the Sunshine State."

A cold front combined with a high-pressure area over the Mississippi River Valley. This caused cold air to move south across Florida, causing both snow flurries and record-low temperatures for the region. Snow reached as far south as Homestead, 40 miles south of Miami.

One person was killed in a car accident in Central Florida. Most of the damage was done to the State's citrus fruit industry.

*

January 19, 1977 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Phoenix Suns, 97-90 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* The New York Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-94 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-94 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Buffalo Braves, 91-87 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Houston Rockets, 112-102 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-107 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-102 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were no games played in the World Hockey Association that night, but there were 4 in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers played the Cleveland Barons to a tie, 3-3 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.