Romney's tax return: Too little, too late

The issue has never been Romney's 2011 tax return - in fact it is a distraction from the real issue.  All the important compliance and policy questions relating to Romney's personal tax matters relate to the past.

- Edward D. Kleinbard
Law professor, University of Southern California and former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation

After much urging, U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has finally released his 2011 income tax return.  Mr. Romney could have spared himself a great deal of criticism had he done so much sooner - and he is not out of the woods yet!  His 2011 tax return has sparked some more questions and some more criticism. Not only that, but the release of his 2011 tax return is not sufficient.  Romney has failed to release any tax return prior to 2010.  That's just not good enough for a man who aspires to be President of the United States and it has cast suspicion on his financial dealings  His opponents will not stop questioning him on the matter.

Romney and his wife, Ann, paid $1.94 million in federal taxes on an income of $13.7 million in 2011.  That's an effective tax rate of 14.1 per cent.  His tax rate of 14.1 per cent is less than many Americans because most of it is derived from capital gains.  Capital gains are taxed at 15 per cent.  The bulk of Romney's income is from investments held in blind trust.

President Barack Obama's tax return for 2011 showed that he and his wife, Michelle, paid $162,074 in federal taxes on an adjusted gross income of  $789,674.  That is an effective tax rate of 20.5 per cent.  The couple's income has plummeted from $1.7 million in 2010 and $5.5 million in 2009 due to declining sales of President Obama's best-selling books.

The point is that Romney's finances are a great deal more complicated than Obama's.  He is more wealthy and his investments are more spread out - particularly his offshore investments and his now-closed Swiss bank account.  In order to have a clearer picture, his pre-2010 tax returns need to be released.  By not releasing them, Romney has cast suspicion on his financial dealings.

Mitt Romney's own father, the late George Romney, released 12 years of tax returns prior to entering the 1968 presidential campaign. When asked why he was revealing so many years of tax information, the elder Romney replied, "One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show."  Perhaps if Mitt had the good judgement and the integrity of his father, Americans would trust him more.


- Joanne

Laura Secord: A Woman of Courage

This is the face of a courageous woman.  It is not the portrait of the young Laura Secord that appears on the boxes and wrappers of the chocolate company that bears her name.  It is, however, the only authentic drawing of this heroic Canadian, though she lived to the ripe old age of 93.

Today is the 237th anniversary of Laura Secord's birth.  She was born Laura Ingersoll on September 13, 1775.in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, less than a year before the Americans declared their independence from Britain.  Her father, Thomas Ingersoll, supported the American revolutionaries during the War of Independence and he served as a lieutenant in the American militia from 1777 to 1781.

In 1793, Thomas Ingersoll and his family immigrated to Upper Canada after receiving a land grant of 27,000 hectares (66,000 acres) from Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe.  Thomas named the new settlement Oxford-on-the-Thames.  Charles Ingersoll, Laura's younger brother, later renamed it "Ingersoll" in honour of his father,  In 1852, it was incorporated as the "Village of Ingersoll" and it is now the site of the town of Ingersoll, Ontario.

In 1795, Thomas Ingersoll moved to the Niagara region and operated a tavern at Queenston, now part of Niargara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. His eldest daughter, Laura, married James B. Secord, a Queenston merchant in 1797.  The couple lived in Queenston and Laura gave birth to seven children, six daughters and a son named Charles Badeau Secord (1809-1872).  The daughters were Mary Lawrence (born c. 1790), Charlotte (1799-1868), Harriet Hopkins (1806-1877), Apollonia (1811-1828), Laura Ann (1815-1850)  and Hannah Cartwright (1820-1877).

When the War of 1812 broke out, James Secord, a staunch United Empire Loyalist, served as a sergeant with the 1st Lincoln Militia.  On October 13, 1812, James was severely wounded in the Battle of Queeston Heights.  Upon hearing of her husband's wounding, Laura Secord immediately went to the battlefield and climbed the hill to search for him.  After finding him with his shoulder and knee bleeding profusely, she brought him home, dressed his wounds.and nursed him during his convalescence.  In short, she single-handedly saved his life.

In June of 1813, Queenston was occupied by American troops and James was still recuperating from his battle injuries.  The Secord family was forced to billet some American soldiers in their home. At that time, Laura learned of a planned American attack on a British outpost at Beaver Dams (near present-day Thorold, Ontario).  Since James was unfit to make the trip to warn the British, Laura  undertook the difficult journey herself.  Early on June 22, she set out for the stone house of United Empire Loyalist John De Cou, in Thorold Township, Upper Canada, near present-day Brock University.  During De Cou's absence, the house was being used as a British army detachment headquarters commanded by Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.

:James FitzGibbons

Laura's remarkable 30 kilometre (18 miles) journey was fraught with peril.  The terrain was rough and she had to take a circuitous rote in order to avoid Amrerican sentries.  She walked through the woods until she reached a Native encampment on the Twelve Mile Creek. The aboriginals escorted her to the British outpost where she delivered her message to Lieutenant FitzGibbon. Within days, FitzGibbon and his forces ambushed the Americans and they surrendered.  Although Laura Secord never revealed exactly how she obtained knowledge of the planned American attack, it is probable that the American soldiers were less discreet around her because she was a woman.

In 1828, James Secord was appointed registrar of the Niagara Surrogate Court and promoted to judge in 1883.  The Secords left Queenston in 1835 when James became a customs officer at the Port of Chippawa.  His new position came with a home  in the Village of Chippawa (part of present-day Niagara Falls).  Son Charles took over the Queenston home.

James died of a stroke on February 22, 1841 at the age of 67.  After her husband's death, Laura moved to a red brick cottage in Chippawa on Water St. (now a historic house at 3800 Bridgewater Street). She was quite destitute after James' death because his war pension had ceased and she was unable to make a profit from her land holdings.  In addition, Laura's own petition for military pension had been denied.

Laura Secord did not receive any official recognition for her bravery until she was 85 years old.   In 1860, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) visited Canada and Laura presented him with a memorial detailing her contribution. She added her signature to a list of War of 1812 veterans who had prepared to address him.  Upon returning to England, the prince sent her 100 pounds sterling for her service.  Laura Secord died at Chippawa on October 17, 1868 at the age of 93.  She is buried next to her husband in the Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

THE CHOCOLATE COMPANY

So how did Laura Secord's name become associated with a chocolate company?  In 1913, Frank P. O'Connor founded a small candy business on Toronto's Yonge Street.selling hand-made chocolates.  He expanded his business across Canada and into the United Stated.  In the United States, it is known as Fanny Farmer Candy Stores.  O'Connor said that he named his company after Laura Secord because she "was an icon of courage, devotion and loyalty."

In 1935, Frank P. O'Connor was appointed to the Senate of Canada where he served until his death on August 21, 1939 at the age of 54.  Senator O'Connor College School, a Catholic high school in Toronto, was named after him.


MY VISIT TO THE LAURA SECORD HOMESTEAD

During my visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake this past Labour Day weekend, I toured the Laura Secord Homestead at Queenston, the residence of  Laura Secord from 1803 to 1835.  Invading American soldiers looted the Secord house in October of 1812 during the Battle of Queenston Heights. Less than a year later, that same house was the starting point of Laura's celebrated journey to warn the British of a surprise attack.

In 1971, the Laura Secord Candy Company restored Laura's Queenston home with original furniture and gifted it to the Niagara Parks Commission in 1998.  It is located just off the Niagara Parkway, a short distance from the scenic Bruce Trail.

At the Laura Secord Homestead, a costumed tour guide provided me with much information about Secord and her family. The guide, a Brock University student, was very personable and answered all my queries.   The homestead is a great place to visit.  Next year there will be a re-enactment of Laura's historic trek to mark the 200th anniversary of the event on Saturday, June 22, 2013.

Here are some photos I took of some of the rooms in the Laura Secord Homestead.

- Joanne

Joan Kennedy at 76

If fragile means somebody who can't cope, well, Joan coped.  I think she had a life that was very demanding of her.  Sometimes she had real problems in those days.  I think she never gave up.  She consistently tried to improve and overcome her problems, and eventually she did.  So that is not a person who is fragile.

- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of Ted Kennedy
Interview with the Boston Globe in the year 2000

Joan Kennedy, the first wife of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, turns 76 years old today. She was born Virginia Joan Bennett on  September 9, 1936 in Riverdale, an area in the Bronx borough of New York City.  Her parents, Henry Wiggin Bennett, Jr., a British-born advertising executive and her mother, Virginia Joan (nee Stead) Bennett, married in New York City on June 8, 1935.  A second daughter, Candace Bennett, was born to the family in 1939. Candace is now Candace McMurrey and resides in Houston, Texas.

According to Laurence Leamer, author of the 1994 book The Kennedy Women: The Saga of an American Family, Joan's father and mother were both alcoholics.  It is certainly no secret that Joan herself  has struggled with alcoholism for years.  She lost her driver's licence for the first time in 1974 after a drunk driving arrest in Virginia.  After years of battling her addiction, she reached the lowest point of her life on a rainy night in February of 2005.  A passer-by  discovered her on a sidewalk in Beacon Hill, Massachusetts, bleeding and disoriented.after a drunken fall.  She was hospitalized with a concussion and a broken shoulder. In October of 2005, only months after she was found lying on the street, Joan underwent surgery for breast cancer.

As a teenager, Joan worked as a model during summer vacation.  She appeared on television as the Revlon Girl on Perry Como's show and on Coke Time with Eddie Fisher.  She also joined the actors union under the name J. Bennett to avoid confusing herself with the well-known Hollywood actress Joan Bennett.  

In October of 1957, Joan's life was changed forever when she met Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, a dashing young University of Virginia law student.   Joan was a senior at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, the same college attended by Ted's sister Jean and his future sister-in-law Ethel.  It was Jean who introduced Joan to Ted at the dedication of a Manhattanville College gymnasium to the their sister, Kathleen Kennedy Cavendish, who had perished in a 1948 plane crash in France.  Joan and Edward Kennedy were married by Cardinal Francis Spellman on November 29, 1958 at St. Joseph's Church in Bronxville, New York.  Kennedy was 26 years old and his bride was 22.

Joan & Ted on their wedding day

Ted Kennedy graduated from law school and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1959.  In 1960, Ted's brother, John, ran successfully for the presidency of the United States and Ted managed his campaign in the Western states.  In November of 1962, Ted himself was elected U.S. senator from Massachusetts.

Joan and Ted had three children.  Their daughter, Kara Anne was born on February 27, 1960.  Their first son, Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr., was born on September 26, 1961 and their second son, Patrick Joseph Kennedy II, was born on July 14, 1967. Through the years, the family faced numerous trials and tragedies.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  In 1964, Ted was injured in a plane crash and spent months in the hospital recuperating from a broken back. During Ted's convalescence,  it was Joan who went out on the campaign hustings to support her husband's re-election to the Senate.  In June of 1968, Ted lost a second brother to an assassin's bullet when Senator Robert Kennedy was gunned down  in Los Angeles while campaigning for the presidency.  Then, in July of 1969, Ted, became involved in a scandal that did irreparable damage to his marriage, his reputation and to his political career.

On the night of July 18, 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy attended a party for a group of women who had worked on his brother Bobby's campaign the previous year.  On the way home from the party, his car went off a bridge at Chappaquiddick Island on Maratha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.  His companion in the vehicle, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.  Kennedy escaped from the overturned car but failed to contact the police until nine hours had passed.  When  he reported the accident  the next morning, Kopechnie's body had already been found.

Ted pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a sentence of two months in jail, suspended.  Joan stood by her husband throughout this nightmarish ordeal.and even accompanied him to Mary Jo Kopechne's funeral in Pennsylvania.  Joan was pregnant at the time and a month later, she suffered her third miscarriage.

In 1973, when Edward Kennedy, Jr. was 12 years old, he was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer in his right leg.  On November 17, 1973, the leg was amputated.  Fortunately, Ted Jr. survived the cancer and will soon celebrate his 51st birthday.  A father of two, he is a lawyer and an entrepreneur.

Joan and Ted separated in early 1978.  Joan moved into her own apartment in Boston's Back Bay and pursued a master's degree in education.  Her alcoholism and Ted's philandering had put a terrible strain on their marriage.  Nevertheless, Joan campaigned for him during his run for the presidency in 1980, responding to question about her alcoholism and assuring the press that she would live in the White House if her husband were elected..  The following year, Ted and Joan Kennedy announced plans to divorce and their divorce became final in 1982.

Joan had always been reluctant to confront Ted about his reported womanizing.  In her 1985 biography, Living with the Kennedys: The Joan Kennedy Story, author Marcia Chellis quotes Joan as saying, "And so rather than get mad or ask questions concerning the rumours about Ted and his girlfriends, or really stand up for myself at all, it was easier for me to just go and have a few drinks and calm myself down, as if I weren't hurt or angry."

In 1991, Ted began dating Washington lawyer Victoria Anne Reggie, daughter of  longtime Kennedy ally, Louisiana judge Edmund Reggie.  On July 3, 1992, Ted married Victoria, a divorced mother of two, in a civil ceremony at his home in McLean, Virginia.  Joan, meanwhile, has never remarried.  In 2007, she was admitted to hospital for alcoholism after reportedly becoming inebriated at a charity event.

Senator Ted Kennedy died of brain cancer on August 25, 2009 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, two weeks after the death of his sister Eunice.  Joan attended the funeral but remained out of the spotlight. In 2011, she suffered yet another tragedy when her only daughter, Kara, died of a heart attack at a Washington, D.C. health club after a workout.  Kara was 51 years old and had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002.  She underwent surgery to remove a part of her right lung.  The surgery was successful and she had been able to resume an active life.

Joan Kennedy is a talented pianist.  She has taught classical music and performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  In 1992, she published a book titled The Joy of Classical Music: A Guide for You and Your Family.  I distinctly remember watching Joan's appearance on The Andy Williams Show many years ago.  She played the piano and joked with Williams and Henry Mancini.  (I looked it up.  She appeared on Andy's variety show in 1971.   An Associated Press report by Bob Thomas said "The piano keys stuck and she couldn't read the cue cards, but otherwise Joan Kennedy's debut as a television performer appears to have been a success."

Joan has faced numerous challenges and tragedies in her life.  After the assassinations of her brothers-in-law John and Bobby, Ted's safety became a serious concern for the family.  It wasn't easy being married to the last of the Kennedy brothers. Joan, however, tried to face her problems head on.  She sought psychiatric treatment at a time when it was frowned on in Washington.  She spoke openly about her battle with alcoholism and was not afraid to reveal that she had joined Alcoholics Anonymous.

- Joanne

Thoughts from Niagara-on-the-Lake

Greetings from beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, arguably the most picturesque small town in Canada.  As the month of September begins, I find myself in the heart of Ontario's wine country and a place that's a peach-lover's delight. The big attraction here is, of course, the Shaw Festival. Last night I saw a wonderful  comedy at the historic Court House Theatre , George Bernard Shaw's The Millionairess.  Of the Shaw Festival's four theatres, the Court House is my favourite.  It is small and intimate and I really enjoy a stage performance there. This one did not disappoint. Completed by Shaw during a visit to New Zealand in 1934, The Millionairess features the flamboyant and avaricious Epifania Ognisanti di Paterga as its main character.  Nicole Underhay is simply outstanding in the demanding lead role.  She truly brings Epifania, the millionairess of the title, to life.

Friday night I watched the magnificent Blue Moon, the second full moon in the month of August. As a dedicated moon watcher, I revelled at the rare sight of the encore full moon.  As I gaze at the orange-tinged ball in the sky, I thought of Neil Armstrong who died recently and of his first steps on the lunar surface back in 1969.

Here are some photos of Niagara-on-the-Lake taken over this Labour Day Weekend.  As you can see, the town was festooned with War of 1812 bicentennial banners and beautiful flowers.

The historic Prince of Wales Hotel

The posh Prince of Wales Hotel was built in 1864 by William Long and specializes in traditional afternoon tea.  In 1899, it was called The Niagara Hotel.  In 1901, however, due to a royal visit, it was renamed The Prince of Wales.  The establishment is said to be haunted.by a ghost.


- Joanne

Facebook denies us choice

This morning, I checked my Facebook account and discovered a message welcoming me to my Timeline-Preview.  Am I ever lucky!  I will be on Timeline on September 4, 2012 - whether I like it or not.  Do I get a say in the matter?  Do I get a choice?  No way, Jose!

Some people enjoy Timeline and that's fine.  I prefer to be more private.  I do not want every biographical detail of my life available online, especially since identity theft is so rampant. Even without the privacy factor, I still resent the fact that Facebook is not giving its users a choice.  I'm sure many people share the same opinion.

This is the message I and countless others received on Facebook.

Welcome to Your Timeline — Preview Timeline is your collection of the photos, posts and experiences that help tell your story. People won't start seeing your timeline until September 4. This gives you a chance to: 1. Review what's on your timeline now. 2. Add or hide whatever you want. Want people to see your timeline before September 4? Just click Publish Now.  I am finding Facebook increasingly dictatorial and intrusive.

- Joanne

Joanne's Journal: August 28, 2012

JOANNE'S JOURNAL
Edition No. 9

Quote of the Day


I learned . . .that one can never go back, that one should not ever try to go back - that the essence of life is moving forward.  Life is really a One Way Street.
- Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976), English writer of murder mysteries
From At Bertram's Hotel [1965]

Is life really a One Way Street?  As August begins to fade away and we head into September, the subject of experience comes to mind.  I think about the 1993 film Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.  Murray's character, an egotistical TV weatherman named Phil Connors, lives the same day over and over again and is given the opportunity to correct his mistakes.  In real life, there are no do-overs.  You can't relive an experience.  You can't go back in time.  All you can do is learn and move ahead.


Experience is the best of schoolmasters, only the school fees are heavy.

- Thomas Carlyle (1722-1881), Scottish historian and philosopher
From Miscellaneous Essays [1838] "Goetha's Helena"


The light which experience gives is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind us!

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), English poet, critic and philosopher
From Table Talk [1835] 18 December 1831

On this Day

On August 28, 1963, 49 years ago today, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.  Dr. King made the inspiring speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  His rousing 17-minute oratory in front of thousands of civil rights marchers was a plea for racial equality and it is regarded as one of the greatest speeches ever given by an American.


Joke of the Day

A man went for some medical tests and was diagnosed with  Tom Jones disease.  The man was taken aback.  He had never heard of such a disease.  "Is it rare?" he asked his doctor.  His doctor replied, "No, it's not unusual."


Joanne's Look-a-Likes

Gary Bettman and Count von Count 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

Count von Count of  Sesame Street

Jose Bautista and a young Fidel Castro

Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays

Cuba's Fidel Castro

Roses and Thorns

ROSES

ROSE: To the CBC for acquiring the rights to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Socchi, Russia and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  At a time when Canada's national broadcasting system is being slowing starved to death by a reduction in funding from the Harper government, our public broadcasting system was long overdue for a break..

ROSE: To Britain's Prince William for rescuing a Canadian woman from Barrie, Ontario.  The woman, Darlene Burton, was on vacation in Wales.  She was hiking along the Anglesey Coastal Trail when she slipped and  fell on a rock, breaking her leg.  She was rescued by a Royal Air Force helicopter controlled by Prince William.  True,William was only doing his job.  Nevertheless, with his status and his wealth, he could have be idling and spending his money on less noble pursuits.  Instead he has chosen to rescue people.

THORNS

I am not intentionally picking on Mitt Romney.  The Republican candidate for president of the United States, however, has earned three thorns.  Hence, the triple crown of thorns goes to the former governor of Massachusetts.

THORN: To Mitt Romney for pandering to right wing "birthers" during a speech in his home state of Michigan.  Romney quipped that no one had asked to see his birth certificate.  This was a clear reference to the right wing theories about President Barack Obama not being born in the United States.  Romney later remarked that he had been joking and that he hadn't questioned Obama's citizenship. Yet that not how the crowd in Michigan perceived his remarks.  They cheered and laughed heartily.  They clearly believed that Romney was questioning the president's "Americanism."  The whole "birther" issue is ridiculous and has been discredited.  Barack Obama was born in Hawaii.  So why won't Romney and other Republicans put the matter of Obama's birthplace it to rest?  To their shame, they are playing to the xenophobic and racist elements of American society.  Of course, Obama's race can't be mentioned by the Mitt Romneys, Donald Trumps and Rush Limbaughs of America.  Instead, they paint the president as a foreigner, not a real American.  They are using code to convince white voters that Barack Obama is not one one of them.  How disgusting!  How unworthy of America!  Mitt Romney should have risen above that.

THORN: To Mitt Romney for not releasing his tax returns as his father, George Romeney, did when he was Governor of Michigan.  In 1967, George Romney released 12 years of tax returns ahead of his 1968 presidential campaign.  When asked why he was releasing so many years' worth of tax information, Mitt Romney's father replied, "One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show."  Oh Mitt, why can't you show some of the same integrity as your father?  What have you got to hide?  Some offshore tax havens, perhaps?

THORN: Speaking of offshore tax havens, a third thorn goes to Mitt Romney for remarking that big business was "doing fine" in the current struggling economy partly due to companies taking advantage of offshore tax havens.

THORN: To Pauline Marois, leader of the sovereigntist Parti Quebecois for calling for a ban on the wearing of religious symbols by public employees.  This would prevent many Jews, Sikhs and Muslims in Quebec from working in the public sector.  It is not inclusive and it is not the Canadian way.  If this is Marois' vision of an independent Quebec, it should be soundly rejected by the people of the province.   It is simply intolerant.


Sports

 









Hockey

An NHL lockout looms and it seems inevitable.  The only question is whether the entire season and the Stanley Cup playoffs.will be lost.  I can't say that I have much sympathy for the owners or the players.  They are both greedy and overpaid.  The real victims are the small business owners near the arenas who depend on the hockey crowd.  The restaurant owners and the shopkeepers all stand to lose money and some will have to lay off employees.  I also empathise with the arena employees, those who sell tickets and programs and refreshments.  As for the fans, I hope they express far more displeasure than they did during and after the lockout of 2004-05.

Baseball

So Roger Clemens is attempting a comeback at the age of 50.  He is playing for the Sugarland Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League.  Of course, Rocket Roger has motives and an agenda for his return to the mound.  According to Richard Griffin, baseball columnist for the Toronto Star, it's all about Clemens' ego and his legacy.  In his August 21st column, Griffin writes that Clemens is concerned about "his place in the hall of fame, and the negative reaction from the fans and the media after being acquitted of obstruction of justice and perjury on June 19."  Griffin contends that Roger wants to disassociate himself with others implicated in the steroid scandals.  Without a major league comeback, Clemens' name will appear on the same Hall of Fame ballot as Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.

As the 2012 major league season heads toward the finish line, the Toronto Blue Jays are once again out of contention.  It's been a trying year for Blue Jays fans.  All the injuries have been unbelievable.  At last count, the team has 14 players on the DL.  After a brief return to the lineup, star slugger Jose Bautista is out for the remainder of the season with a wrist injury.  He sustained the injury at Yankee Stadium back on July 16th and will undergo surgery.

This injury-riddled season is mercifully coming to an end for the Blue Jays. Once again, it's wait until next year.  The situation would have been easier to deal with, however, if the Jays had acquired a proven starting pitcher during the off season.  They didn't and they paid the price.

The Baltimore Orioles have been the most surprising team this season.  I hope they make the playoffs.  I'd rather see the Orioles win than the Yankees.  I'm tired of them winning all the time.

- Joanne

The Great Olympics Quiz 2012

                                                                © Bobbie Jean Peachey 
                                                        http://www.clipartmountain.com


THE GREAT OLYMPICS QUIZ 2012

While you enjoy the London Olympics, you might want to take a break and try Number 16's 2012 Olympics Quiz.  There are 12 questions.  If you answer 14 to 15 questions correctly, award yourself a gold medal.  For 12 to 13 correct answers, you win a silver medal.  For 10 to 11, you receive a bronze.  Less than 10, you don't make the podium.  Are you ready to go for the gold?


!.  The 1940 Summer Olympics were cancelled due to World War II.  Where were they originally scheduled to be held?

A.  Tokyo, Japan

B.  Rome, Italy

C.  New York City, U.S.A.

D.  Helsinki, Finland

E.  Copenhagen, Denmark


2.  Including the London Games of 2012, how many times have the Olympics been held in London, England?

A.  The Olympics have been held in London four times.

B.  They have been held in the British capital two times.

C.  They have been held in London three times.

D.  The 2012 Olympics mark the first time the Olympics have been held in London.

E.  London has hosted the Olympics five times.


3.  Which famous boxer won a gold medal for the United States at the 1960 Olympics in Rome?

A.  Floyd Patterson

B.  Sonny Liston

C.  George Foreman

D.  Muhammad Ali

E.  Joe Frazier


4.  How old was Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci when she scored a perfect ten in a gymnastic event at the Montreal Olympics in 1976?

A. 15 years old

B.  14 years old

C.  16 years old

D.  18 years old

E.  17 years old


5.  The colours of the five rings on the Olympic flag are blue, black, green, red and yellow?  Why were those colours chosen?

A,  A poll was taken among the athletes at the 1920 Summer Olympics and they chose those colours.

B. These colours were chosen because they include primary colours and bright colours.  The colours were meant to be emphatic and to stand out.  Thus, pastel colours were avoided.

C.  They were the favourite colours of the flag's designer.

D.  A French psychologist,, Dr. Marcel Rousseau, was consulted and he advised that those colours would have the most impact and be the most inspiring.

E,  Those colours were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country.


6.  Why is a long distance race called a marathon?

A.  It was named after a town in Greece.

B,  The first winner of the Olympic long distance race was Demetrius Marathon.

C.  It is derived from a Greek word meaning "long race."

D.  It was named after Marathon, a Greek god known for endurance and strength.

E.  It was named to honour an ancient Greek politician, Adelphos Marathon, who was instrumental in promoting long distance running.


7.  Switzerland boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.  Why?

A.  The Swiss were upset with the Australians over a diplomatic incident.

B.  They were angry about the disqualification of a Swiss athlete at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

C.  The Swiss boycotted the 1956 Games to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary.

D.  They boycotted the 1956 Olympics in response to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal on July July 26, 1956.

E.  The Swiss boycotted the Melbourne Olympics in support of Taiwan.. They were  the People's Republic of China decided to boycott the event because of Taiwan had been allowed to compete under the name "Formosa."


8.  When and where were the first Winter Olympics held?

A.  The first Winter Olympics were held in Oslo, Norway in 1920.

B.  Davos, Switzerland played host to the first Winter Olympics in 1928.

C.  They were held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1924.

D.  They were held in Chamonix, France in 1924.

E.  They took place in St. Tropez, France in 1920.


9.  The great American athlete Jim Thorpe was stripped of  the gold medals he had won in  the decathlon and the pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.  Why?

Thorpe in Stockholm in 1912

A.  It was discovered that his U.S. passport was not valid.

B.  It was learned that he had played professional minor league baseball.

C.  Three days after the Olympics, he was arrested for disorderly conduct and disturbing the public.

D.  He was charged with theft.

E.  It was revealed that he had gambled money that he would win both the decathlon and the pentathlon.


10.  No women were allowed to compete in the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.  At the time, who said that the inclusion of women would be "impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and incorrect."

A.  Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics.

B.  Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany.

C.  Grover Cleveland, President of the United States in 1896

D.  Queen Victoria

E.  William Milligan Stone, the American educator and historian who escorted the U.S. Olympic team to the 1896 Olympics.


11.  Which of these statements about the first Winter Olympic is not true.

A.  In hockey, the Canadian team scored 85 times over three games without allowing a goal.  Canada won the tournament by scoring 122 goals on their opponents.  Only three goals were scored against the Canadians.

B.  An American, Charles Jewtraw, became the first champion of the Winter Olympics by winning the first event, 500m speed skating.

C.  Clas Thunberg of Finland earned five medals, including two golds, in the five speed skating events.

D.  The first Winter Olympic were originally known as Winter Sports Week.  It wasn't until 1926, during the 25th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Lisbon, Portugal, that they were recognized as the first Winter Olympic Games.

E.  All of the above statements are true.


12.  Who was Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera?

A.  He was the first athlete from Belgium to win an Olympic medal.

B.  He was the French flag bearer at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.  He won two medals in swimming.

C.  He was the President of the International Olympic Committee from 1950 until 1958.

D.  He was the first athlete to win a medal in diving at the Olympics.

E.  He was the first black athlete to compete in the Olympics.


ANSWERS

1  A.

The 1940 Summer Olympics were originally awarded to Tokyo, Japan.  They were officially known as the Games of the XII Olympiad and were scheduled to take place in the Japanese capital from September 21 to October 6, 1940.  Due to the outbreak of war between Imperial Japan and China, the Japanese renounced the International Olympic Committee's Cairo Conference of  1938.  As a result, the IOC denied Japan its host status..

In July of 1940, the Japanese government withdrew its support for the Games.  The Games were then awarded to Helsinki, Finland, the second place finisher in the original bidding.  Following the outbreak of World War II, however, the Games were suspended.  They did not resume until post-war London hosted them in 1948.

2.  C

The Olympics have been held in London three times - 1908, 1948 and 2012.  They were first held in the British capital in 1908.  Rome, Italy was originally awarded the 1908 Games but had to bow out due to the  huge volcano eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906.  As a result, the '08 Olympics were relocated to London.
In 1948, London hosted the first post-World War II Olympics.  The 2012 Summer Games give London the distinction of being the only city in the world to have hosted the Olympic three times.

3.  D

Ali in Rome in 1960

In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) won the gold medal for the U.S. in the boxing light heavyweight division.  There is an apocryphal Upon returning home to Louisville, Kentucky, the 18-year-old was refused service at a diner due to his race.  According to the story, his response was to throw Olympic medal in the Ohio.River.  The truth is that the gold medal was simply lost or misplaced.

At the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Ali was presented with a replacement medal by the late Juan Antonio Samaranch, then President of the International Olympic Committee.  At the Opening Ceremony of those Atlanta Olympics, Ali, trembling from Parkinson's Disease, lit the cauldron to open the game.

To watch a video of Muhammad Ali receiving his replacement gold medal, click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9OlmPyjsNU

4.  B

Nadia Comaneci was 14 years old when she won three gold medals and scored a perfect 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.  Nadia is the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event.  She also won two gold medals at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.  Born November 12, 1961, Nadia is now 50 years old.

5.  E

Those colours were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country.  The Olympic flag was created in 1914 by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games.  It was first flown during the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

6.  A.

Marathon is the name of a town in Greece.  According to legend, more than 2,000 years ago a Greek soldier named Pheidippides ran from Athens to Marathon, a distance of about 40.2 km. or 25 miles.  He arrived in Athens tired and bleeding with the news of  Greek victory in a battle with the invading Persians.  After informing the townspeople of the Greek success, he collapsed and fell to the ground dead.  In 1896, at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, a race was held of approximately the same length as Pheidippides' run.

Statue of Pheidippides alongside the Marathon Road

7.  B

Switzerland and two other countries (Spain and Netherlands) boycotted the 1956 Summer Games in response to the Soviet Union's crushing of the Hungarian Revolution.  The 1956 Olympics were affected by
other boycotts too.  Egypt, Iran and Lebanon withdrew from the Games to protest Israel's involvement in the Suez conflict.  Less than two weeks before the November 22nd opening ceremony, The People's Republic of China boycotted the games over the inclusion of a team from Taiwan (Formosa0.

8.  D

The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France from January 25,1924 until
February 5, 1924.  The event turned out to be very successful and it attracted 10,004 paying spectators.

9.  B.

Jim Thorpe was stripped of the gold medals that he won in the 1912 Olympics when it was discovered that he had played professional minor league baseball three years earlier.  Thorpe, one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, was born on May 28, 1888 on Native American territory in what would later become the state of Oklahoma.  He was of mixed ancestry, aboriginal and European.  He had some French and Irish blood but he was mostly of aboriginal heritage, that of of Sac and Fox Nation.

About six months after winning his gold medals, Thorpe admitted that he had been paid to play baseball in North Carolina.  Not long after, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), declared him to be a professional and requested that he return his medals.  His name was deleted from the record books. In solidarity with Thorpe, decathlon silver medalist Hugo Wieslander
of Sweden, rejected the gold medal when it was offered to him.  Jim Thorpe died at the age of 64 on March 28, 1953.  In January of 1983, three decades after his death, the IOC returned Thorpe's gold medals to his children.

10.  A

Pierre de Coubertin, the French historian and pedagogue who founded the modern Olympics, was opposed to female participation in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.

11.  C.

Clas Thunberg of Finland earned five medals, including three golds, not two, in the five speed skating events at the first winter Olympics in Chamonix, France in 1924.

12. E

Constantin Henriquez de Zubiera, who competed for France at the 1900 Olympics in Paris, was the first known black athlete to participate in the Olympic Games.  He was a Haitian-born French rugby union footballer.  He was also the first black Olympic gold medalist as he was a member of the French team that won the Olympic title at the first Rugby Olympic Tournament.  In addition., Henriquez de Zubiera won a silver medal in tug-of-war at the 1900 Olympics.


- Joanne

America is gun crazy!

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre

It is difficult for Canadians to understand America's deadly obsession with guns.  South of the border, devotion to the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.runs so deep that it borders on the sacred.  When some Americans refer to the Second Amendment, they speak with a tone of reverence in their voices.  How dare anyone even question the holy writ of the right to bear arms?  How dare anyone inconvenience God-fearing Americans by placing any regulations on their gun purchases?

The Second Amendment is being used as an instrument to intimidate those who advocate sensible gun regulation.  America is justly proud of its Constitution and the gun lobby brazenly takes advantage of that pride in order to achieve its goals.  Constitutions, however, are not written in stone.  Times change and technology changes.  That is why the U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times to date.  It has been amended to abolish slavery, to give women the vote and to establish and revoke Prohibition.

The Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, only 15 years after the United States had won its independence from Britain.  It reads as follows:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

In 1791, the young American nation was faced with internal and external threats to its security, especially from England and France.  The right to bear arms was intended to give citizens the power to form militias in order to overthrow  those who would gain control of the United States government by force.  With a considerably smaller population, much of it rural-based, 18th century America bore very little resemblance to urban 21st century America.  In the 18th century, hunting was a necessity for many Americans if they were to have their daily subsistence.  They used shotguns, not semi-automatic weapons, and they had large families to feed.

The Second Amendment is outdated.  It reflects another time and another era.  In the wake of recent events, it's more urgent than ever for Americans to commit constitutional sacrilege.  The latest horror show occurred this past Sunday (August 5th) at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The gunman has been identified as a 40-year-old U.S. Army veteran named Wade Michael Page. Six people were shot dead and three were seriously wounded in the brutal attack.  Page, a neo-Nazi, was killed by police.  Authorities recovered a legally-owned 9 mm semi-automatic pistol at the scene.  Wisconsin, by the way, has some of the most lax gun laws in the U.S.  In 2011, the state passed a law permitting citizens to carry concealed weapons.

The tragedy in Milwaukee comes only two weeks after a shooting rampage at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado in which a crazed gunman opened fire at a screening of the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.  The accused gunman, James Holmes, 24,  had little difficulty in assembling a veritable military arsenal.  According to Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, Holmes possessed  four guns and more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition, all obtained legally.  He had a 100-round drum magazine clipped into his Smith & Wesson semi-automatic.

James Holmes' mental instability was known prior to the theatre rampage.  According to an ABC News report, the psychiatrist who treated Holmes contacted a University of Colorado police officer to express concerns about his patient.  It is also known that Holmes was recently denied membership at a gun range in Byers, Colorado.  The ranges owner found Holmes' voicemail to be "incoherent, just bizarre, really bizarre - slurring words, but he didn't sound drunk, just strange . . ."  Yet this man was able to acquire weapons legally.

On September 13, 1994, the United States Congress passed a ten-year prohibition on the manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms for civilian use.  This federal ban on assault weapons, however, expired back in 2004.  Although President Barack Obama promised to reinstate the ban during the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, he has yet to deliver on his pledge.

It is also interesting to note that Obama's 2012 Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, signed a permanent assault weapon ban during his tenure as governor of Massachusetts.  When Romney signed the ban on July 1, 2004, he declared, "Deadly assault weapons have no place in Massachusetts.  These guns are not made for recreation or self-defence.  They are instruments of destruction with sole purpose of hunting down and killing people."  Romney, of course, doesn't make such statements now because it's not politically expedient.  He's campaigning to be President of the United States and he seeks the endorsement of the powerful National Rifle Association.

How many more tragedies must there be before sanity is restored?  I wish I could be more optimistic, but Americans can't seem to shake their gun frenzy.  Support for gun control in the U.S. has actually been decreasing.  A Gallop Poll, conducted in January of this year, found that 50 per cent of Americans are at least somewhat satisfied with gun control laws.  42 per cent are either very or somewhat dissatisfied.  In 2001, however, 57 per cent indicated that  they were dissatisfied.  Sadly, those are the kind of statistics that delight the National Rife Association, the largest and wealthiest gun rights advocacy group in the U.S.

According to its website, the NRA has 4.3 million members.  If that number is accurate, it translates into an enormous amount of money in membership fees.  Even if the number is lower, the NRA still wields a tremendous amount of power.  Its leader, 64-year-old Wayne LaPierre, receives $970,300 per year in salary.  LaPierre has served as vice president and chief executive officer of the NRA since 1991.

What do we know about this influential and powerful man?  We know that he's never met a gun he didn't like.  For the past 21 years, LaPierre has endeavoured to strong-arm elected officials into opposing any form of gun control.  His organization steadfastly defends the rights of Americans to carry concealed guns and it condones the selling of semi-automatic weapons..  The NRA also provides insurance to its members to pay for the legal costs of shooting someone in "self-defence."  Only three days after the Colorado shooting, it had the audacity to seek donations.

To put it bluntly, the NRA has blood on its hands.  Its actions have strongly aided and abetted gun violence throughout the United States.  It is a malicious organization that equates guns with freedom.  It present itself to Americans as a group of brave patriots, staunchly defending and protecting their constitutional right to bear arms.  Unfortunately, millions of Americans are deceived by the NRA's sophistry.

After the latest gun nightmares, it's high time that prominent American leaders stood up to this gun bully.  One would think Americans had already seen enough after the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 and the shootings in Arizona that almost took the life of former Rep Gabrielle Giffords and left six others dead.  How free are American citizens if they cannot walk into a movie theatre without worrying that some madman with a semi-automatic weapon is going to gun them down?

It is heartening that Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City has taken both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to task for their "deafening silence" on gun control after the horrors in Colorado and Wisconsin.  Bloomberg, a long-time advocate for stricter restrictions on firearms, challenged the two presidential candidates to outline their plans for curtailing gun violence.

Michael Bloomberg should be applauded for his leadership and courage in speaking out unequivocally in support of gun control.  On the day after the shootings at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin, he stood on the steps of a Sikh community centre in Queens New York.  "Just two weeks after the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, we've seen another mass shooting," he stated.  "One in which it appears there were some warning signs in the shooter.  And still, the two presidential candidates have not given the American people a plan to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.  Every day, 34 Americans are murdered with guns.  The fact that criminals, terrorists and other mentally ill people have access to guns is a national crisis."

Although I have no interest in target shooting and hunting, I am well aware that many people do.  I also recognize that there are many responsible and law-abiding gun owners.  Those responsible owners should be willing to undergo a waiting period and strict regulations before being allowed to possess a gun.  No civilian, however, should be permitted to purchase a semi-automatic weapon.  No law-abiding civilian requires such lethal arms.  Their only purpose is to take human lives.

If someone is truly responsible and law-abiding, they should be willing to endure some inconvenience for the sake of the public good.  No one enjoys having to go through security checks at airports.  It is tolerated because it serves to protect the safety of air travellers.  For some perspective on the issue of inconveniencing hunting and sporting enthusiasts, here are the words of Sarah Brady, wife of James Brady, the White House  aide who was wounded and left disabled during a 1981 assassination attempt on then-President Ronald Reagan.

The gun lobby finds waiting periods inconvenient.  You have only to ask my husband how inconvenient he finds his wheelchair from time to time.

I am in favour of gun registries.  We in Canada had a long-gun registry until it was ended by our Conservative government which has been foolishly relaxing gun control in this country.  The fact remains that the easier it is to obtain guns, the easier it is for them to fall into the hands of criminals and mentally unbalanced people.  Another factor that can't be ignored is that some criminals obtain guns by robbing the homes of law-abiding gun owners.

America has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world.  According to FBI statistics, there were 12,996 murders in the U.S. in 2010.  Of those homicides, a whopping 8,775 were gun related.  When will this madness end?  James Madison, fourth President of the United States and the author of the Second Amendment, would be appalled by all this carnage.  In 1791, he could not have envisioned semi-automatic assault weapons or dazed gunmen such as James Holmes.

- Joanne

Update on Amelia Earhart disappearance

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2012

Yesterday was the 115th anniversary of the birth of the great American aviation pioneer, Amelia Earhart.  She was born on July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas.  Amelia disappeared on July 2. 1937 over the South Pacific while en route to uninhabited Howland Island..  She was accompanied on the flight by her navigator, Fred Noonan.  The duo set forth from Papua, New Guinea in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe along an equatorial route.  They never reached their destination and the wreckage of their twin-engine Electra 10E aircraft is yet to be found.

I am intrigued by the mystery surrounding Amelia's disappearance and I have been following the the most recent attempt to determine her fate.  Earhart was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and I've long admired her spunk and her adventuresome spirit.  That is why I have written about her in two previous postings on this site: "The Disappearance of Amelia Earhart"  (January 29, 2011) and  "Amelia Earhart and reflections on courage" (February 24, 2011).

On July 3, 2012, a group of scientists set off on a $2.2 million expedition to a remote island in the Pacific.  The group, known as The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), travelled 2,897 km (1,800 miles) by sea from Honolulu, Hawaii to the island of Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati.  Their mission was to find some clues to Amelia's fate and to uncover the  wreckage of her plane in the waters surrounding the island.

The expedition, however, was called off yesterday and the research team returned to Hawaii without locating the missing plane.  It was cut short five days early.  Ric Gillespie, TIGHAR's founder, said that the searchers had faced "nightmare terrain" and that there had been some accidents with equipment.  Gillespie's wife, Tighar president Pat Thrasher, was quoted in a BBC report as saying, "It's not like an Indiana Jones flick where you go through a door and there it is.  It's not like that - it's never like that."

Although the outcome of the expedition was disappointing, the scientists were able to discover some useful information.  They collected video and sonar data which they were expected to begin analyzing during their voyage back to Hawaii.  The research team remains undaunted.  In fact, according to the BBC, they are planning a return trip next year to Nikurmaroro, the remote island where they believe Earhart and Noonan survived for a period.

While many experts subscribe to the theory that Amelia's plane ran out of fuel due to a navigational error, .  Tighar believes that she and Noonan may have been castaways for awhile.   During previous TIGHAR expeditions to Nikmaroro, bottles and other artifacts have been discovered that may have belonged to Earhart and Noonan, including a jar of what is thought to be anti-freckle cream.  Joe Cermiglia, a TIGHAR researcher, has said, "It's well documented that Amelia had freckles and disliked having them."

Broken shards and many glass containers have been recovered from the archaeological site on the southeast end  Nikumoraro.  The partial skeleton of a castaway was found there in 1940, but the bones and artifacts found in 1940, have been lost.  The evidence strongly points to the presence of castaways on the island.  Yet it still has not been proven conclusively that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan.  The 75-year-old mystery continues.  Stay tuned!


FURTHER UPDATE!

EDITOR'S NOTE  In August, it was reported that TIGHAR researchers may have found Amelia Earhart's plane debris. Due to technical difficulties, they were unable to see high definition images until late July.  When they looked at the high definition images, they discovered what appears to be a wheel and other landing gear off the coast of Nikurmaroro Island.  Click on the link below to watch videos and read ABC news stories about the latest discovery.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/researchers-found-amelia-earharts-plane-debris/story?id=17034766#.UG8Ir5j7K4k 


http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/19309714/researchers-may-have-found-parts-of-amelia-earharts-plane


- Joanne

Whitey Ford: His six consecutive strikeouts

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012

On this day, 56 years ago, pitching great Whitey Ford tied an American League record with six consecutive strikeouts.  So why don't we go back in time and enjoy that great moment in baseball history.  I'll be happy to set the stage for you.

It was July 20, 1956 at Yankee Stadium.  On that Friday night, there were 16,103 fans in attendance to watch the Bronx Bombers play host to the Kansas City Athletics.  The Yankees boasted a stellar line-up with an infield that consisted of Bill Skowron at first base, Billy Martin at second base, Andy Carey at third and Gil McDougald at shortstop.  Elston Howard was the catcher.  Future Yankee manager Hank Bauer played right field while 24-year-old Mickey Mantle was the centre fielder and Bob Cerv was in left.  The team was managed by the legendary Casey Stengel.

Whitey Ford's string of six strikeouts began in the top of the second inning when Kansas City catcher Joe Ginsberg was called out on strikes.  In the top half of the third inning, Ford struck out three batters in succession: the A's shortstop, Joe De Maestri; their second baseman, Clete Boyer and their pitcher, Jack McMahan.  He added two more consecutive strikeouts in the top of the fourth inning:: third baseman Hector Lopez  and centre fielder Al Pilarcik.  His streak came to an end when he hit the next batter, left fielder Enos Slaughter, with a pitch.

Ford finished the game with eight strikeouts in a 6-2 Yankee victory over the Athletics.  Mickey Mantle had the game-winning RBI.  The time of that memorable game was 2 hours and 20 minutes.  It is also worth noting that Whitey Ford struck out six consecutive batters for the second time in his career on June 2, 1958 at Yankee Stadium.  He shut out the visiting Chicago White Sox by a score of 3-0.

Born Edward Charles Ford in New York City on October 21, 1928, Whitey is a native of the Astoria neighbourhood of Queens and he graduated from Aviation High School in nearby Sunnyside.  His father, James Ford, worked as a bartender.

The Yankees signed Ford as an amateur free agent in 1947.  While in the minor leagues, he was nicknamed "Whitey" because of his light blond hair.  On July 1, 1950, at the age of 21, the young left-hander played his first game in the major leagues.  He made quite an impression during his rookie year, winning his first nine decisions before being defeated in relief.  Sporting News voted him the American League Rookie of the Year.

Despite his auspicious debut, Whitey Ford chose to put his baseball career on hold in order to serve in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.  After missing the 1951 and 1952 seasons, he rejoined the New York Yankees in 1953.  During his rookie season, Whitey had worn the number 19 on his uniform.  Upon his return to the Yanks in 1953, he began wearing the number 16 (my favourite number).  Ford wore that number as a player from 1953 until 1967 and later as a coach.  His number was retired by the New York Yankees in 1974, the same year that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.

Whitey Ford played his entire 16-year career with the Yankees (my number again).  His statistics are truly outstanding.  He won 236 games and lost 106.  In addition, he had an impressive 10 victories in World Series play.  His career earned run average was 2.75.  He accumulated 45 shutouts and struck out 1,956 batters.

During his illustrious career, the southpaw had two twenty game seasons.  He recorded 25 wins and four losses in 1961, the year he won the Cy Young Award.  In 1963, he had 24 wins and seven losses.  When the Yanks won the World Series in 1961, Ford was named World Series MVP.  He was a member of six World Series championship teams (1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962).

After going 17-6 in 1964 and 16-13 in 1965, Whitey Ford developed health problems.  During the next two seasons, his appearances on the mound became infrequent and he only recorded four wins.  In August of 1966, plagued with circulatory problems in his left shoulder, Ford underwent surgery.  He appeared in his last major league game on May 21, 1967.  He only lasted one inning in his final start and retired at the end of the 1967 season.

During the 1966 season, while still an active player, Whitey became a coach for the New York Yankees.  For a year after his retirement, he remained with Yankee organization as a coach.  He left to engage in business ventures, but returned as a pitching coach in 1974.  He later took a position as a spring training coach with the team.

Whitey Ford pitched in 498 games.  He had a 690 win percentage, the highest of any major league pitcher in modern baseball history with at least 300 career decisions.  He was also a ten-time All-Star..


WHITEY FORD FACTS AND TRIVIA

* Whitey Ford disliked pitching at Fenway Park in Boston..  He seldom did.

* Whitey Ford acquired the nickname "Chairman of the Board" because he was able to remain calm and in control during intense situations. His other nickname, Slick, came about because of a stern lecture manager Casey Stengel gave to his players for drinking too much and not applying themselves.  Stegel said that some of the guys were getting "whisky slick."  After Stengel's lecture, the other players began referring to Whitey and Mickey Mantle as "Slick."  The title of Whitey Fords's 1987 biography with New York sports writer Phil Pepe is Slick: My Life In and Around Baseball.

* There is one huge blemish on Whitey Ford's spectacular career.  He has admitted to cheating, especially during the latter part of his career, to give himself an edge when his skills were declining.  He was caught doctoring baseballs with the assistance of his catcher who made sure the ball landed in the dirt so that the evidence was concealed.  Here's how Ford rationalized his illicit activities.  "I didn't begin cheating until late in my career, when I needed something to help me survive.  I didn't cheat when I won the 25 games in 1961.  I don't want anybody to get any ideas and take my Cy Young Award away.  And I didn't cheat in 1963 when I won 24 games.  Well, maybe a little."

* Ford specialized in the curve.  He was a high percentage winner, a "money pitcher," who excelled at winning when the stakes were high.  He came up big when he need to.  That is why he holds World Series records for victories (10), consecutive shutout innings (33) and strikeouts (94).  That's why Mickey Mantle proclaimed, "If the World Series was on the line and I could pick one pitcher to pitch the game, I'd choose Whitey Ford every time."

*  Whitey married Joan Foran on April 14, 1951 in Long Island City, Queens, New York.  His entire New York Yankees team showed up after playing an exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Joan and Whitey had three children: Sally Ann, Eddie and Tommy.  Son Eddie works as a baseball scout.  Tom Ford, who was a resident of Long Island, died in August of 1999 at the age of  44.  At the time of Tommy's death, Jason Zillo, a spokesman for the New York Yankees, said that Whitey's son had died of a heart condition.

*  In 2000, Whitey Ford missed attending the New York Yankees' spring training camp for the first time in 49 years.  He acknowledged that he had received radiation treatment for cancer, but refused to identify the type of cancer for which he had been treated.

* Ford opened a sports bar and restaurant in 2002.  It is located next to Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York and it was called Whitey Ford's Cafe.  Whitey Ford's Cafe shut down after less than a year.


SPECIAL NOTE TO CANADIAN SPORTS FANS

In April of 1977, Whitey Ford was a member of the broadcast team for the very first game in Toronto Blue Jays history.


- Joanne