Pat Snyder's Blog

220 years ago . . . in 1792 - THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE was founded by brokers meeting under a tree located on what is now Wall Street. 

167 years ago . . . in 1845 - The RUBBER BAND was patented.  

58 years ago . . . in 1954 - The Supreme Court unanimously ruled AGAINST RACIAL SEGREGATION in the landmark case of "BROWN VS. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA" . . . saying "separate but equal" isn't really equal at all. 

25 years ago . . . in 1987 - A fire destroyed TOM PETTY'S home just north of Los Angeles and caused $800,000 worth of damage.  It was later discovered to be the work of an arsonist, who was never caught.--Petty did NOT take the fire in stride.  Quote, "It's sort of like being raped.  It really took a long time [to get over it].  And it was 10 times as bad, because you knew that somebody just went and did it.  Somebody tried to off you." 

22 years ago . . . in 1990 - KELSEY GRAMMAR was sentenced to 30 days in jail for DWI.  Six years later, he'd prove he learned nothing from the experience . . . when he drunkenly flipped his Dodge Viper. 

20 years ago . . . in 1992 - LAWRENCE WELK died of pneumonia in Santa Monica, California, at age 89. 

16 years ago . . . in 1996 - PRESIDENT CLINTON signed a measure requiring neighborhood notification when sex offenders move in.  It's known as "Megan's Law". . . so-named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and killed in 1994. 

15 years ago . . . in 1997 - SYLVESTER STALLONE married his third wife, Jennifer Flavin.  Today is their 15th wedding anniversary. 

13 years ago . . . in 1999 - ALEX TREBEK deservedly received a star on the HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME. 

12 years ago . . . in 2000 - THE EAGLES sued the "HOTEL CALIFORNIA" restaurant in Addison, Texas, for trademark violation.  The two sides settled, and the restaurant changed its name to the Baja California Grill. 

8 years ago . . . in 2004 - TONY RANDALL died of complications from pneumonia at age 84. 

7 years ago . . . in 2005 - FRANK GORSHIN, the guy who was The Riddler on "Batman", died at the age of 71. 

1 year ago . . . in 2011 - The last episode of the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was recorded after twenty seasons on the air.

146 years ago . . . in 1866 - Congress authorized minting the nickel FIVE-CENT PIECE to replace the smaller silver piece known as the "HALF-DIME".  

32 years ago . . . in 1980 - In Game 6 of the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers' rookie point guard MAGIC JOHNSON replaced the injured KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR at CENTER, and scored 42 points to carry the Lakers to the title. 

28 years ago . . . in 1984 - ANDY KAUFMAN died of lung cancer in Los Angeles.  

22 years ago . . . in 1990 - SAMMY DAVIS JUNIOR died of throat cancer in Los Angeles at age 64.  

22 years ago . . . in 1990 - "MUPPETS" creator JIM HENSON died of pneumonia in New York at age 53. 

14 years ago . . . in 1998 - Think that KEITH RICHARDS falling out of a coconut tree was a new experience for him?  Not even close.  Thirteen years ago on this day, the ROLLING STONES had to cancel a few dates from their "Bridges to Babylon" tour . . . after Keith fell off a chair in his home, and injured his chest and ribs.   

12 years ago . . . in 2000 - THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE went back to JUST PLAIN PRINCE.  Because his publishing contract expired on December 31st, 1999.  

1 year ago . . . in 2011 - FOX canceled"America's Most Wanted" after 23 years and 1178 criminals caught.

82 years ago . . . in 1930 - Ellen Church became the FIRST AIRLINE STEWARDESS when she went on duty aboard a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyoming.   

72 years ago . . . in 1940 - NYLON STOCKINGS went on general sale for the first time in the United States. 

71 years ago . . . in 1941 - JOE DIMAGGIO'S record 56-GAME hitting streak began.  DiMaggio got a hit in every game until July 17th.   

14 years ago . . . in 1998 - SONNY & CHER received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

9 years ago . . . in 2003 - JUNE CARTER CASH died in Nashville, Tennessee, following heart surgery complications.  She was 73.  (--Nearly four months later, on September 12th, Johnny Cash died of complications from diabetes.  He was 71.)

176 years ago . . . in 1836 - CHARLES CHARLESWORTH died of old age . . . even though he was only SEVEN.  By age four, Charles was growing whiskers and body hair. 

--Within the next three years, he reached sexual maturity, his hair turned white, and his skin became wrinkled.

134 years ago . . . in 1878 - Lonely chemist Robert Chesebrough registered the trademark VASELINE for his new petroleum jelly. 

64 years ago . . . in 1948 - British rule in PALESTINE came to an end, and the independent state of ISRAEL was proclaimed at 12:01 the following day.(--The next day, Arabs from Palestine and neighboring countries attacked Israel, but the Israelis defeated them, capturing almost all of Palestine.  The Arabs then set up refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank where they remain today.)  

20 years ago . . . in 1992 - LYLE ALZADO . . . an NFL stud who became an actor after his playing career . . . died of brain cancer at age 43.  It was brought on by STEROIDS.  Lyle was one of the first athletes to admit using them. 

16 years ago . . . in 1996 - MELANIE GRIFFITH married the en fuego ANTONIO BANDERAS.  Today is their 16th anniversary. 

14 years ago . . . in 1998 - "SEINFELD"aired its final episode after nine years on NBC.  Most people hated the final episode.  The cast finally reunited on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" to give the show a true, proper send-off.

14 years ago . . . in 1998 - FRANK SINATRA died from a heart attack at age 82.   

14 years ago . . . in 1998 - GEORGE MICHAEL pleaded no contest in the Beverly Hills Municipal Court to committing a deliciously lewd act in a park restroom.  He was fined $810, given 80 hours of community service, and ordered to undergo counseling. 

9 years ago . . . in 2003 - ROBERT STACK, the man whose deep voice and gravitas MADE "Unsolved Mysteries" so incredible, died of a heart attack at age 84. 

8 years ago . . . in 2004 - GWYNETH PALTROW and that CHRIS MARTIN from Coldplay, had a baby girl.  They gave her one of those classically-terrible celebrity baby names:  APPLE. 

 154 years ago . . . in 1858 - MINNESOTA became the 32nd state in the Union.  Its nickname is the Land of 10,000 Lakes", but the state actually has about 12,000 . . . giving it more shoreline than California, Florida and Hawaii combined.

63 years ago . . . in 1949 - SIAM OFFICIALLY CHANGED ITS NAME TO THAILAND for the second time.  The first time was in 1939, but they changed it back to Siam in 1945. 

52 years ago . . . in 1960 - Israeli agents captured NAZI WAR CRIMINAL ADOLF EICHMANN . . . also known as the "architect of the Holocaust."  He was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, under the name Ricardo Klement.  He was tried and executed two years later. 

52 years ago . . . in 1960 - The first ever BIRTH CONTROL PILL hit the market.  

31 years ago . . . in 1981 - "Bette Davis Eyes" by KIM CARNES hit #1, and stayed there for 9 weeks.

31 years ago . . . in 1981 - A brain tumor killed BOB MARLEY in Miami.  He was only 36. 

28 years ago . . . in 1984 - "Firestarter", starring 9-year-old DREW BARRYMORE, was released. 

22 years ago . . . in 1990 -Thirty-one years after his death,RITCHIE VALENS WAS FINALLY AWARDED A STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME.  

17 years ago . . . in 1995- Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and Robert Cray reunited for a tribute to STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN.  All five had played with Stevie Ray at his last show on August 26, 1990, before he was killed in a helicopter crash.

15 years ago . . . in 1997 - IBM Supercomputer DEEP BLUE defeated world champion GARRY KASPAROV at chess.  It was the first time a computer had ever defeated a world champion chess player.--14 years later, IBM's "Watson" computer absolutely SMOKED the two best "Jeopardy!" players in history.  Sorry folks . . . THE RISE OF THE MACHINES has begun.

237 years ago . . . in 1775 - ETHAN ALLEN AND HIS GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS captured the British-held fortress at Ticonderoga, New York.  I think they then opened up a furniture store there. 

143 years ago . . . in 1869 - America's first transcontinental RAILROAD was finished.  The final spike . . . a GOLDEN SPIKE . . . was put in ground at Promontory Summit, Utah. 

 140 years ago . . . in 1872 - VICTORIA WOODHULL became the first woman nominated for the U.S. presidency.  She was nominated by the National Equal Rights Party and got about 2,000 votes.  (--ULYSSES S. GRANT got 3.6 million votes for the win.) 

119 years ago . . . in 1893 - The Supreme Court ruled on the case of Nix versus Hedden . . . and officially declared that a TOMATO IS A VEGETABLE, NOT A FRUIT. 

104 years ago . . . in 1908 - The FIRST MOTHER'S DAY observance took place during church services in Grafton, West Virginia, and Philadelphia. 

58 years ago . . . in 1954 - BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS released the song "Rock Around the Clock".  It would be the first rock-and-roll track to reach number one on the Billboard chart. 

 37 years ago . . . in 1975 - STEVIE WONDER played at the Washington Monument as part of Human Kindness Day. 125,000 people showed up.  

18 years ago . . . in 1994 - NELSON MANDELA was inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.  No big deal.

 18 years ago . . . in 1994 - Serial killer JOHN WAYNE GACY WAS EXECUTED via the lethal injection at Stateville penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois.--He was convicted of dressing up as a clown and killing 33 hairless young men and boys during the 1970s, most of whom he buried under his house.