September 2, 1945: The Battleship Missouri Surrender

MacArthur signing, for the U.S. acknowledgement of the surrender

September 2, 1945: Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, acting for the Empire of Japan, signs the Instrument of Surrender to end World War II, on the deck of the American battleship USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Shigemetsu later served as Deputy Prime Minister, and died in 1957.

The signing took place at 9:04 AM on September 2, Japan Standard Time -- 8:04 PM on September 1, U.S. Eastern. Representing the Allied Powers:

* The United States of America: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, and Admiral John S. McCain Sr., grandfather of the longtime Senator and Presidential candidate.

* The British Empire: British Admiral of the Fleet Sir Bruce Fraser, Canadian Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Australian General Sir Thomas Blamey, and New Zealand Air Vice Marshall Sir Leonard Isitt.

* France: Général d'armée Philippe Leclerc.

* The Netherlands: Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich.

* The Republic of China: General Xu Yongchang.

* The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko.

Admiral Fraser was the last survivor of these men, living until 1981.

Among the sailors serving aboard the Missouri at the time, and thus a witness to the ceremony, was Bernard Schwartz, an aspiring actor from The Bronx, who was inspired to enlist in the Navy by Cary Grant and Tyrone Power, who had both appeared in films about submarine service. He took his stage name from the 1936 film Antony Adverse, and a name that had been in his mother's family: Kurtz. He anglicized the name to "Tony Curtis."

World War II was over, and the Allies had won. Now, the victorious nations had work to do, to set their own people free. The British Empire would get there first, mostly getting it done by 1960. France took a bit longer, due to a nasty war in Algeria. America took until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Soviet Union, and the countries formed when it broke apart? Some of those countries have never been free, to this day.

USS Missouri

The Missouri, built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was the last ship built by the U.S. Navy to be classified as a "battleship" and still be in active service. The "Mighty Mo" also served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War, and was decommissioned in 1992. It is now a museum ship -- appropriately, docked at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii.

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September 2, 1945 was a Sunday. Due to that fact, and the wartime travel restrictions that were still in place, not only was a full slate of baseball games played that day, but nearly every team was in a doubleheader:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Yankees won the opener, 4-2. Joe Page, later to be known as the best reliever in the game, started, and went 8 innings for the win. The Yankees scored all 4 runs in the 6th inning, including 3 on a bases-loaded triple by Nick Etten.

The Senators won the nightcap, 3-0. Roger Wolff almost pitched a 5-hit shutout, but he walked 2 batters in the bottom of the 9th, and Senators manager Ossie Bluege brought Mickey Haefner in to get the last out.

* The New York National League arch-rivals split a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds. The Brooklyn Dodgers won the 1st game, 7-4. The New York Giants won the 2nd game, 6-2. Dixie Walker singled home the winning run of the 1st game in the top of the 11th inning, and Tommy Brown singled home 2 more.

* A doubleheader was split at Braves Field in Boston. The Boston Braves won the 1st game, 6-3. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2nd game, 5-4.

* The Philadelphia Athletics swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 and 7-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Bobo Newsom pitched a 5-hit shutout in the 1st game. He would finish 8-20 with a 3.29 ERA for a team that finished 52-98.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 and 7-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

* In a single game, the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Having already been discharged by the U.S. Army, Hank Greenberg went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. At the end of the month, his grand slam on the last day of the regular season would win the Pennant for the Tigers.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox won the 1st game, 6-0. Eddie Lopat, later to star with the Yankees, pitched a 5-hit shutout. The St. Louis Browns won the 2nd game, 3-2.

* And the NL's Midwestern arch-rivals split a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The Chicago Cubs won the 1st game, 4-1. Frank Secory hit a bases-loaded double in the top of the 10th inning.

The St. Louis Cardinals won the 2nd game, 4-0. Charles "Red" Barrett allowed only 1 hit, a single by Lennie Merullo in the 3rd inning. It was his 20th win of the season, and he finished 23-12. But his only full season with the Cards would be the one season between 1942 and 1946 in which they didn't win the Pennant. He did win one with the 1948 Boston Braves.

April 19, 1989: The USS Iowa Explosion

April 19, 1989: An explosion onboard the USS Iowa kills 47 crewmen, during a fleet exercise in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla. This hastened the ship's retirement, and that of the other remaining World War II-Korean War era battleships.

The NIS (Naval Investigative Service), the precursor to the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service), determined that it was caused by a sailor's suicide attempt.

Battleships BB-65, USS Illinois, and BB-66, USS Kentucky, were still under construction when World War II ended, were never completed, and were ultimately scrapped, never joining the Iowa-class battleships that actually did sail. Those 4 have all become "museum ships":

* BB-61, USS Iowa, "The Grey Ghost." Decommissioned October 26, 1990. It is berthed at the Pacific Battleship Center, Port of Los Angeles.

* BB-62, USS New Jersey, "The Big J" or "The Black Dragon," it saw more battles than the other 3 combined. Decommissioned February 8, 1991. It is berthed at the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.

* BB-63, USS Missouri, "The Mighty Mo," the ship on which the Empire of Japan formally surrendered to the Allies. Decommissioned March 31, 1992, making it America's last battleship. It is berthed at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The place where, for America, World War II began seems an appropriate place for the ship where it formally ended.

* BB-64, USS Wisconsin, "The Big Wisky." Decommissioned September 30, 1991. It is berthed at Nauticus, a museum at the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.

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April 19, 1989 was a Wednesday. Actor Simu Liu was born. This was also the day the "Central Park Jogger" case began. I have a separate entry for that event.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. John Candelaria outpitched future Yankee Jimmy Key. Steve Sax, Bob Brower and Álvaro Espinoza each had 2 hits for the Yankees. Don Mattingly and Rickey Henderson each went 1-for-5.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Lee Mazzilli hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning, to make Randy Myers a winning pitcher in relief of David Cone. Mike Schmidt, entering his final season, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4. George Brett and Bo Jackson hit home runs for the Royals.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Barry Bonds went 2-for-5.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Dodgers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? On this night, 4: Mike Morgan, 4 over 5 2/3rds innings; Tim Crews, 1 before getting the last out in the 6th; Ray Searage, a perfect 7th; and Jay Howell, a perfect 8th and 9th.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4.

Football was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Miami Heat, 117-91 at the Miami Arena.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 115-105 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 100-92 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* And the Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 99-84 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both in Game 2 of the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum, in Game 2 of their series. Bobby Smith scored the winner, at 12:24 of the 1st overtime. And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.