December 5, 1973: Paul McCartney Releases "Band On the Run"

December 5, 1973: Band On the Run by Wings is released. It remains the best album led by any of the ex-Beatles.

The only constant members of Wings were Paul and Linda McCartney, and lead guitarist Denny Laine. Wings' rhythm guitarist? Paul. Wings' bass guitarist? Paul. Wings' piano player? Paul. Wings' drummer? Paul. Who played those instruments on tour? Nobody: Wings didn't tour in support of the album.

On the cover of the album are the McCartneys and Laine; plus singer Kenny Lynch, actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee, broadcasters Michael Parkinson and Clement Freud (grandson of Sigmund), and boxer John Conteh.

The 1st 2 tracks, the title track and "Jet" were big rockers and hits. They were followed by "Bluebird." Not one of Paul's better songs, not even as good as "Blackbird" on The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album). Pablo Picasso had died earlier in the year, and Paul wrote a song titled "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)."

The album was closed with "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five." At first, it sounds post-apocalyptic, until you realize that it's a love song from Paul to Linda: "Oh, no one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty-five, will ever do. She may be right, she may be fine. She may get love, but she won't get mine, 'cause I got you." Basically, it's a harder-rocking "When I'm 64." (Paul was 31 years old in 1973, 53 in 1985, and 64 in 2008.)

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December 5, 1973 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 119-97 at the Boston Garden.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 89-75 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 114-110 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Bob McAdoo of the Braves led all scorers in both leagues with 37 points.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Capital Bullets, 119-99 at the Hofheinz Pavilion (now the Fertitta Center) in Houston. This was the Bullets' 1st season after moving down the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The "Capital Bullets" name didn't catch on, so, the next season, they became the Washington Bullets; in 1997, the Washington Wizards.

* The Kansas City-Omaha Kings beat the Atlanta Hawks, 117-105, in 1 of 3 games the Kings played at the Omaha Civic Auditorium that season. Jimmy Walker, who had taken Providence College to the NCAA Final Four the season before, led the Kings with 29 points. He was not related to Jimmie Walker, soon to begin starring on Good Times. "Pistol" Pete Maravich scored 35 and "Super" Lou Hudson 32 in defeat for the Hawks.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 103-97 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

There were 2 games in the American Basketball Association. The New York Nets beat the Indiana Pacers, 108-103 at the Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis. Larry Kenon of the Nets scored 25 points. George McGinnis of the Pacers scored 19 points and grabbed 33 rebounds.

And the Denver Rockets beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 138-108 at the Denver Auditorium Arena.

There were 4 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 8-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the California Golden Seals played to a tie, 3-3 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:

* The Jersey Knights lost to the Houston Aeros, 5-2 at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* And the Toronto Toros beat the Vancouver Blazers, 3-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

August 12, 1927: The Film "Wings" Premieres

Left to right: Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Clara Bow, Richard Arlen

August 12, 1927: Wings premieres, directed by William Wellman, starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen as combat pilots in World War I, rivals for the affections of a woman played by Clara Bow, who became a superstar earlier in the year by starring in It. She was still "The It Girl."

Gary Cooper had a small role in the film, launching him to stardom. Two months later, The Jazz Singer opened the door for talking pictures, and Wings almost immediately became a relic.

On May 16, 1929, the 1st Academy Awards ceremony was held, honoring the best films of 1927 and 1928 -- a last gasp for the Silent Film Era. Wings was awarded Best Picture, and it remains the only silent film so honored. (The Artist was awarded Best Picture for 2011, but became a "talkie" at the end.)

Bow died in 1965, Wellman in 1975, Arlen in 1976. Rogers, known as "America's Boyfriend" for his romantic leading roles, married silent film legend Mary Pickford in 1937, following her divorce from Douglas Fairbanks Jr. They remained together until her death in 1979. Rogers lived on until 1999.

The 1990-97 NBC sitcom Wings was also about pilots, but, aside from the title, bears no resemblance to the silent film.

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August 12, 1927 was a Friday. Country singer Porter Wagoner was born. And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers -- or, rather, the Brooklyn Robins, as they were known while Wilbert Robinson was their manager from 1914 to 1931 -- 7-6 at the Polo Grounds. The Robins led 6-0 going to the bottom of the 8th, and blew it. Mel Ott was batting in the bottom of the 10th inning, and hit a ground ball to 1st base, where Babe Herman, normally an outfielder, proved he couldn't play 1st base, either, allowing Rogers Hornsby to score the winning run. Hornsby had 4 RBIs in the game, and Bill Terry went 4-for-5 on the day.

* The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-6 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Ty Cobb, now with the A's, proved he wasn't just playing out the string, going 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Nor was former Brooklyn star Zack Wheat playing out the string, as he went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-3 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. "Sunny" Jim Bottomley hit a home run to win the game in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Senators, the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were not scheduled. At the time, Babe Ruth had 36 home runs, and Lou Gehrig had 38.