Good Monday Afternoon
A few more bits and pieces
Monday Morning Humor from Al Baseball
2020—the longest rain delay in history
Why hasn't baseball returned from covid shutdown?
They are unable to test all the bats
I heard that during this "covid-no fan", Dodger stadium chefs and other workers couldn't work. Therefore the famous Dodger Dogs won't be made for sometime. As a result, the workers set free hundreds upon hundreds of gerbils, rodents, and other mammals.
I was watching a baseball game on TV and my wife said, "Speaking of high and outside, the grass needs mowing.
My wife claims I'm a baseball fanatic. She says all I ever read about is baseball. All I ever talk about is baseball. All I ever think about is baseball. I told her she's way off base.
Interesting Baseball Facts and Trivia
Fidel Castro was once a star baseball player for the University of Havana, Cuba.
In 1965, the minimum annual salary for a baseball player was $6,000, just a thousand dollars more than it had been in 1947.
A regulation baseball has 108 stitches.
The very first baseball game was played on 19th June 1845, across the Hudson River in Hoboken, New York, USA.
In baseball, a "can of corn" refers to a fly ball that is easy to catch.
Robert Redford attended the University of Colorado on a baseball scholarship.
In July 1934, Babe Ruth paid a fan $20 dollars for the return of the baseball he hit for his 700th career home run.
In an effort to sell more licensed apparel, minor-league baseball teams were changing their names so often that the sport's governing body now limits franchises to team name changes every three years. Please note Premier League Soccer in the UK say Will and Guy.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, houses the largest collection of baseball cards: 200,000.
The first perfect nine innings baseball game was achieved by John Lee Richmond on 12th June 1880.
In 1897, the Washington Senators became the first baseball team ever to introduce "Ladies' Day."
Baseball star Babe Ruth was born George Herman Ruth. He played in 2503 games and had a lifetime batting average of .342.
Mike Schmidt earned the first $500,000 salary in baseball in 1977.
When the National League first started in 1876, pitchers had to pitch underhand and the batter could request a high or low pitch. Strikes only occurred if the batter swung and missed.
In 1910 the cork centre was added to the official baseball.
Cal Ripken Jr., shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, didn't miss a game in 16 years.
The American Baseball League was formed in 1882. Giants baseball catcher Roger Bresnahan introduced shin guards in 1907.
In 1885 the baseball bat was allowed to have one flat side.
In 1876 an umpire was allowed to ask spectators and players whether a catch had been fairly made if he did not see it himself.
Previous to 1931, fly balls that bounced over or through the outfield fence were considered home runs.
The New York Yankees have won more World Series titles than any other team with 26.
One of my all time favorites is comedian George Carlin on the difference between baseball and football:
Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.
Also, in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring. In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you would have ever seen John Madden in an Oakland Raiders uniform, you'd know the reason for this custom.
Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball and football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values. I enjoy comparing baseball and football:
Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.
Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park: The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.
Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.
In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.
Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?
In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error.
In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.
Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.
Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.
Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.
Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.
In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.
And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different: In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line. In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!
Baseball Quotes:
· The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing.—Baseball great Dizzy Dean explaining how he felt after being hit on the head by a ball in the 1934 World Series
· It's a weird scene. You win a few baseball games and all of a sudden, you're surrounded by reporters and TV men with cameras asking you about Vietnam and race relations.—Vida Blue, 1971
· I watch a lot of baseball on the radio.—Gerald Ford, 1978
· It's a beautiful day for a night game.—Announcer Frankie Frisch
· The most important things in life are good friends and a strong bull pen.—Pitcher Bob Lemon, 1981
· Well, that kind of puts a damper on another Yankees win.—Announcer Phil Rizzuto, after a news bulletin reporting the death of Pope Paul VI, 1978
· It was too bad I wasn't a second baseman; then I'd probably have seen a lot more of my husband.—Karolyn Rose, ex-wife of Pete Rose, 1981
· They brought me up with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which at time was in Brooklyn—Casey Stengel, 1962
· I won't play for a penny less than $1500.—Honus Wagner, turning down an offer of $2000
Have an enjoyable although shortened baseball season,
Al
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This Day in Aviation History" brought to you by the Daedalians Airpower Blog Update. To subscribe to this weekly email, go to https://daedalians.org/airpower-blog/
July 26, 1971
The Apollo 15/Saturn V (AS-510) lifted off from Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The three-man flight crew were Col. David Randolph Scott, mission commander, on his third space flight; Maj. Alfred Merrill Worden, USAF, command module pilot, on his first mission; and Lt. Col. James Benson Irwin, lunar module pilot, also on his first space mission. All three were U.S. Air Force officers. Colonel Scott is a Daedalian Life Member. Colonel Irwin was a Life Member until his death in 1991.
July 27, 1912
While in a Wright B1 Flyer, Navy Lt. John Rodgers, Daedalian Founder Member #4376, and Ensign Charles Maddox send the first wireless message from an airplane to a ship, the torpedo boat USS Stringham, stationed in Annapolis, Maryland. Rodgers was a 1903 Naval Academy graduate. He was the first Navy officer to receive flying training from the Wright Brothers. Learn more about him HERE.
July 28, 1971
HC-7 became the second Navy helicopter squadron to receive the Presidential Unit Citation for duty during the Vietnam War. HAL-3 had previously received the award. The Navy credited HC-7 search and rescue detachments operating from ships at sea on Yankee Station with rescuing 76 aviators. During the early stages of the war, the squadron made several overland rescues in North Vietnam under intense enemy fire.
July 29, 1952
An Air Force RB-45 Tornado completed the first non-stop transpacific flight by a jet aircraft.
July 30, 1935
Navy Lt. Frank Akers became the first person to make a "blind" landing at sea. His biplane had a hooded cockpit allowing him to see only his controls and instruments. He landed on the USS Langley, which was steaming in the Pacific off San Diego.
July 31, 1923
The original patent application, Serial No. 654,955, was filed with the U.S. Patent Office for the legendary Browning .50-caliber machine gun. Patent Number 1,628,226 was issued to the estate of John Moses Browning by the Patent Office on May 10, 1927. The majority of U.S. combat aircraft during World War II were armed with the Browning Machine Gun, Caliber .50, AN-M2. The machine gun could be mounted as a fixed weapon in the aircraft's wings or nose, in flexible mounts, or power-operated turrets.
Aug. 1, 1944
Over 190 Eighth Air Force B-17s dropped supplies to underground forces over France as 320 more hit targets in Paris, and a force of 75 heavy bombers struck at Tours. B-24s meanwhile conducted numerous raids again V-1 launching sites across northern France.
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Thanks to Frank via Billy … read the comments too!
Mi Amigos:
Recent estimates are fifty percent or more of police shootings are "suicide by cop".
Apparently her department has an excellent firearms program and highly motivated firearm instructors. When her blaster choked she flawlessly cleared the malfunction with a tap, rack, followed by a bang.
Semper Fi
Frank
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for July 12, 2020 FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
1909: Orville Wright, with Lt Frank P. Lahm riding as a passenger, flew the Army's first airplane for 1 hour 12 minutes 40 seconds to set a two-man endurance record. Thus, the first official flight test of the airplane fulfilled a contract requirement for an hour-long flight with a passenger. (20)
1917: The Secretary of the Navy authorized the building of Philadelphia's Naval aircraft factory. (12) The first British DH-4 arrived in the US. It became the model for later US planes produced with Liberty engines. (21)
1953: KOREAN WAR ENDS. UN and Communist representatives signed an armistice at Panmunjom. When it ended, US pilots enjoyed a 10-1 edge in air-to-air combat. US aircrews flew more than 625,000 combat sorties and destroyed 839 MiG-15s, probably destroyed 154 more, and damaged 919 others. FEAF pilots destroyed the North Korean Air Force in the first weeks of the war. They obliterated strategic targets within the first months and conducted an effective interdiction campaign throughout the conflict. FEAF aircraft, including B-29s in a tactical role, wiped out 34,000 vehicles, 276 locomotives, and 3,800 railroad cars. Interdiction destroyed 70 percent of North Korea's tanks, trucks, and artillery pieces--and inflicted nearly 50 percent of the casualties sustained by North Korea troops. MATS used C-47s, C-54s, C-97s, C-119s, and C-124s to airlift 214,000 passengers and 80,000 tons of cargo to the combat area. In Korea, MATS aircraft airdropped another 15,000 tons of supplies and equipment, while medical aircraft airlifted 386,536 patients. The Air Rescue Service also recovered 9,898 UN troops, with 996 saves in the combat zone. SAC's B-29s flew 1,995 reconnaissance and 21,328 effective combat sorties to drop 167,000 tons of bombs on various targets. Air Force casualties numbered 1,729. (1) (2) (17) Capt Ralph S. Parr, Jr., shot down an Il-12 for the last aerial victory of the Korean War. (21)
1958: Commanders Malcolm Ross and Morton L. Lewis ascended to 82,000 feet in a balloon with 5,500 pounds of equipment, where they stayed aloft for 34 hours 30 minutes to set an endurance record for a flight into the stratosphere. They also transmitted the first statospheric television pictures. (24) 1962: SAC's first Minuteman I (Model A) went into site A-9 at Malmstrom AFB. (6)
1964: The 1964 Daniel Guggenheim Medal was awarded posthumously to Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the father of American rocketry. (26) (16)
1967: The USAF launched a flare activated radio-biological observatory satellite to study solar-flare radiation.
1972: Test pilot Irving L. Burrows took the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle up for its first flight at Edwards AFB. (3) (30)
1976: At Edwards AFB, Maj Adolphus H. Bledsoe, Jr., the pilot, and Maj John T. Fuller, the reconnaissance systems officer (RSO), flew an SR-71 over a 1,000 kilometer closed course (621 Miles) at to set three new world speed records: world absolute speed of 2,092.29 MPH, speed with 2,200-pound payload, and speed without payload. (1)
1986: A C-9 Nightingale flew Father Lawrence Jenco, who was released as a hostage by Muslim extremists in Lebanon, from Damascus to the USAFE Medical Center at Rhein-Main AB. (26)
1996: Lt Gen Lawrence Boese, the Eleventh Air Force Commander at Elmendorf AFB, joined Senator Ted Stevens (Alaska) and Gen Richard Hawley, the ACC Commander, in a dedication ceremony at Eielson AFB to christen a B-2 the Spirit of Alaska. (AFNEWS, July 1996)
1999: The 135th Airlift Group (Maryland ANG) accepted the ANG's first new C-130J (Tail No. 97-1351) at Martin State Airport, Md. (32)
2007: DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS: An Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, Maj Keith Wolak, with the 74th Fighter Squadron at Pope AFB, N. C., received his cross for his actions in a night rescue mission in Afghanistan. During a mission to retrieve a U. S. Navy Seal on 2 July 2005, Major Wolak cleared a helicopter landing zone while suppressing the enemy's attacks. He not only attacked several fighting positions around the landing zone, but he also coordinated the rescue mission. (AFNEWS, "A-10 Pilot Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross," 2 Aug 2007.)
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This Day in US Military History
1778 – British and French fleets fought to a standoff in the first Battle of Ushant. The British had 30 ships of the line commanded by Admiral the Honorable Augustus Keppel in HMS Victory. The French had 29 ships commanded by Admiral the Comte d'Orvilliers. The two fleets manoeuvered during shifting winds and a heavy rain squall until a battle became inevitable with the British more or less in column and the French in some confusion. However, the French managed to pass along the British line to windward with their most advanced ships. At about a quarter to twelve HMS Victory opened fire on Bretagne, 110, followed by Ville de Paris, 90. The British van escaped with little loss but Sir Hugh Palliser's rear division suffered considerably. Keppel made the signal to wear and follow the French but Palliser did not conform and the action was not resumed. Keppel was court-martialled and cleared and Palliser criticised by an enquiry before the affair turned into a squabble of party politics.
1806 – Attempting to stop a band of young Blackfoot Indians from stealing his horses, Meriwether Lewis shoots an Indian in the stomach. The voyage of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the West began in May 1804 when the two captains and 27 men headed up the Missouri River. They reached the Pacific Ocean the following year, and on March 23, 1806, began the return journey. After crossing the worst section of the Rocky Mountains, the expedition split up. Clark took most of the men and explored the Yellowstone River country to the south. Lewis, with nine men, headed west to the Great Falls of the Missouri River where he split the small party still further. Six men remained behind to make the portage around the Great Falls. Lewis took the remaining three and headed north to explore the Marias River country of present-day northwestern Montana. It was a risky, perhaps even irresponsible, decision. Lewis knew the Marias River country was the home of the Blackfoot Indians, one of the fiercest tribes of the Great Plains. Lewis hoped he could meet peacefully with the Blackfoot and encourage their cooperation with the United States. Yet, if they met a hostile Blackfoot band and a fight began, the four explorers would be badly outnumbered. On July 26, Lewis encountered a party of eight young Blackfoot braves. At first, the meeting went well, and the Indians seemed pleased with Lewis' gifts of a medal, flag, and handkerchief. Lulled into a false sense of security, Lewis invited the Indians to camp with them. In the early morning of this day in 1806, Lewis awoke to the shouts of one his men–the Indians were attempting to steal their rifles and horses. Lewis sped after two Indians who were running off with several of the horses, calling out for them to stop or he would shoot. One Indian, armed with an old British musket, turned toward Lewis. Apparently fearing that thee Indian was about to shoot, Lewis fired first and hit him in the stomach. The Indians retreated, and the men quickly gathered their horses. Lewis then learned that one of his men had also fatally stabbed another of the Blackfoot. Fearing the survivors would soon return with reinforcements, Lewis and his men immediately broke camp. They rode south quickly and managed to escape any retribution from the Blackfoot. Lewis' diplomatic mission, however, had turned into a debacle. By killing at least one Indian, and probably two, Lewis had guaranteed that the already hostile Blackfoot would be unlikely to deal peacefully with Americans in the future.
940 – Bugs Bunny made his official debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon "A Wild Hare." Three years later, Bugs would be made an honorary Corporal of the US Marine Corps after ther release of the short Super Rabbit in which he is portrayed as a parody of Superman. Bugs abandons his colorful costume, faces the camera, and proclaims that "This looks like a job for a real Superman!" Then he reappears from the phone booth wearing a uniform of the United States Marine Corps. His former antagonists snap to attention and salute Bugs as he marches into the horizon singing the Marine Corps Hymn.
1944 – US 1st Army continues its offensive. The US 8th Corps breaks through between Lessy and Periers, capturing both towns. As large numbers of German soldiers are killed or surrender and their armored equipment is destroyed by constant air attack Operation COBRA, the planned Allied breakout from Normandy, continues. This operation, which was supposed to start with a massive aerial bombardment of the German defensive lines along the Vire River on July 24th led instead to one of the worst incidents of "friendly fire" during World War II. Due to poor visibility the bomber strike was called off; however, some of the squadrons did not get the word and dropped their loads on top of North Carolina's 120th Infantry, an element of the 30th Infantry Division composed of Guard units North and South Carolina and Tennessee. Because word of the cancelled attack had also not reached the frontline soldiers the Guardsmen of the 120th instead of being 'dug in' were exposed waiting for the word to advance. More than 150 men were killed or wounded in this mistake. Cobra started the next day, again with some Americans being stuck by our own bombs, but with more hitting the enemy. The 30th Division and other American units punched through the Nazis lines and by early August the Allied armies would break out of Normandy completely, liberating Paris on August 25th.
. 1965 – Forty-six U.S. F-105 fighter-bombers attack the missile installation that had fired at U.S. planes on July 24. They also attacked another missile installation 40 miles northwest of Hanoi. One missile launcher was destroyed and another was damaged, but five U.S. planes were shot down in the effort. On July 24, U.S. bombers on a raid over munitions manufacturing facilities at Kang Chi, 55 miles northwest of Hanoi, were fired at from an unknown launching site. It was the first time the enemy had launched antiaircraft missiles at U.S. aircraft. The presence of ground-to-air antiaircraft missiles represented a rapidly improving air defense capability for the North Vietnamese. As the war progressed, North Vietnam, supplied by China and the Soviet Union, would fashion a very effective and integrated air defense system, which became a formidable challenge to American flyers conducting missions over North Vietnam.
The Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
*PETRARCA, FRANK J.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Medical Detachment, 145th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Place and date: At Horseshoe Hill, New Georgia, Solomon Islands, 27 July 1943. Entered service at: Cleveland, Ohio. Birth: Cleveland, Ohio. G.O. No.: 86, 23 December 1943. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Petrarca advanced with the leading troop element to within 100 yards of the enemy fortifications where mortar and small-arms fire caused a number of casualties. Singling out the most seriously wounded, he worked his way to the aid of Pfc. Scott, Iying within 75 yards of the enemy, whose wounds were so serious that he could not even be moved out of the direct line of fire Pfc Petrarca fearlessly administered first aid to Pfc. Scott and 2 other soldiers and shielded the former until his death. On 29 July 1943, Pfc. Petrarca. during an intense mortar barrage, went to the aid of his sergeant who had been partly buried in a foxhole under the debris of a shell explosion, dug him out, restored him to consciousness and caused his evacuation. On 31 July 1943 and against the warning of a fellow soldier, he went to the aid of a mortar fragment casualty where his path over the crest of a hill exposed him to enemy observation from only 20 yards distance. A target for intense knee mortar and automatic fire, he resolutely worked his way to within 2 yards of his objective where he was mortally wounded by hostile mortar fire. Even on the threshold of death he continued to display valor and contempt for the foe, raising himself to his knees, this intrepid soldier shouted defiance at the enemy, made a last attempt to reach his wounded comrade and fell in glorious death.
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