Cy Young was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. During his 22-year career (1890-1911), he pitched for five different teams, most notably the Boston franchise (Americans/Red Sox). Young established numerous pitching records, some of which have stood for a century. He still holds the MLB records for most wins (511), career innings pitched (7,355), career games started (815) and complete games (749). One year after Young’s death in 1955, the Cy Young Award was created to honor the previous season’s best pitcher. He was born on this day in 1867.
Francis I (born Jorge Bergoglio) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013. As such, he is Bishop of Rome, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina of Italian descent, Bergoglio became cardinal in 2001. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the papal conclave elected Bergoglio, who chose the papal name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas and the first from the Southern Hemisphere.
Before his election, Bergoglio was considered one of the most conservative cardinals, expressing strong opposition to homosexuality, same-sex marriage, LGBT adoption, contraceptives, abortion and euthanasia. My hope is that, in addition to his unprecedented name choice and humble refusal to stand on an elevated platform, Francis continues to be a pontiff of firsts and break other archaic traditions for the betterment of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and all seven billion humans on this small planet.
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Kurosawa directed approximately one film per year, including a number of highly regarded films such as Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961). In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was born on March 23, 1910.
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983. As a director, he is best known for Do the Right Thing (1989). Lee’s movies have examined race relations, colorism in the black community, urban crime and poverty. He has won an Emmy Award and received two Academy Award nominations. As an obnoxious superfan of the New York Knicks (and the Yankees), Lee is often seen courtside at Madison Square Garden. He was born on this day in 1957.
Willie Stargell, nicknamed “Pops” in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played his entire 21-year career as the left fielder and first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1962-1982). He helped the Pirates capture six National League East division titles, two National League pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979). He was born on this day in 1940.
Bosko is an animated “talkie” cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko is the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger’s cartoon series, and is the star of over three dozen Looney Tunes shorts released by Warner Bros. Bosko, created in 1927, was registered with the copyright office as a “Negro boy.” His looks were based on Felix the Cat, but his personality was derived from the blackface characters of minstrel shows.
Ty Cobb was a Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team’s player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2012, including the highest career batting average (.367). Cobb’s legacy as an athlete has sometimes been overshadowed by his surly temperament and aggressive playing style. He was born on this day in 1886.
Nostradamus was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Despite loads of academic whining about popular misinterpretations and deliberate mistranslations of his vague quatrains, Nostradamus has still been credited with predicting many major world events. He was also a famous plague doctor who gave medical advice about preventive measures.
Note: Nostradamus was born on December 14 or 21, 1503. This means his birthday is either today or next week, which precisely coincides with the so-called end of the Maya calendar. So, Happy 509th Birthday, Dr. Apocalypse.
George Custer was a U.S. Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Custer graduated last in his class from West Point, but developed a strong reputation during the Civil War. He is best known for his disastrous final battle, popularly known as “Custer’s Last Stand.” Custer and all the men with him were killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, fighting against a coalition of Native American tribes led by Sitting Bull. Custer was born on this day in 1839.
Joe DiMaggio was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 13-year career as the center fielder for the New York Yankees (1936-1942 and 1946-1951). He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak (May 15 to July 16, 1941), a record that still stands. DiMaggio was a three-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star. During his 13 years with the Yankees, the club won 10 American League pennants and nine World Series championships. He was born yesterday in 1914.
Note: DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe eloped in 1954, but divorced less than a year later. In 1962, they were on the verge of remarriage when Monroe was found dead in her bedroom. Suicide by barbiturate overdose, or was she murdered?
Ismail Enver Pasha was an Ottoman military officer and a leader of the Young Turk Revolution. He was the main leader of the Ottoman Empire in both Balkan Wars and World War I. Enver was considered the most powerful figure of the government of Ottoman Turkey or “the number one man in Istanbul.” He played a major role in the Armenian Genocide, in which over two million were killed during 1915-20. Enver was born on this day in 1881.
Note: Happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful you didn’t know this guy.
Stan Musial is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1941-1963). He was a 24-time All-Star selection (tied with Willie Mays) and is widely considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He compiled 3,630 hits and 475 home runs during his career. He was named the National League MVP three times and won three World Series. He was born on this day in 1920.
Ted Williams was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 22-year career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox (1939-1942 and 1946-1960). Williams led the league in batting six times, won the American League MVP twice and won the Triple Crown twice. A 19-time All-Star, he had a career batting average of .344 with 521 home runs. Williams was the last player to bat over .400 in a single season (.406 in 1941).
Ken Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), and counterculture figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. “I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a hippie,” Kesey said. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) by Tom Wolfe tells the story of Kesey and his 1960s band of psychedelic drug-using Merry Pranksters. Kesey died of liver surgery complications on November 10, 2001.
At the time, it seemed ominous to me that the great Ken Kesey, an Oregon resident, died the weekend I moved to Oregon in 2001. As of today, I have lived in Oregon for exactly 11 years. I swear my presence didn’t kill him. Today is also the day that Heidi and I return home to Oregon after 40 days of backpacking and train-riding through 10 countries in Europe.
Lou Gehrig was a Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent his entire 17-season career with the New York Yankees. His durability earned him the nickname “The Iron Horse.” Gehrig played first base until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disorder now commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He played in 2,130 consecutive games over a 15-season span (1925-1939). This streak ended only when Gehrig became disabled by the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. He is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Hank Aaron is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent most of his 23-season career with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. Aaron made the All-Star Game every year from 1955-1975 and won three Gold Glove Awards. In 1957, he won the NL MVP Award and the Braves won the World Series. His most notable achievement was breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth (714) with 755. He holds the MLB records for the most career RBIs, extra base hits and total bases. He is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Willie Mays is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) player who spent the majority of his career with the New York/San Francisco Giants. Known as “The Say Hey Kid,” Mays won two MVP awards, made 24 All-Star Game appearances and hit 660 home runs. He was a center fielder who won a record-tying 12 Gold Gloves from 1957-1968 (despite the award being introduced six seasons into his career). The 1954 World Series won by the Giants is best remembered for “The Catch,” an over-the-shoulder running grab made by Mays. He is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Justine Henin is a Belgian former tennis player. She won seven Grand Slam singles titles from 2001-2007. Henin also won the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a very gifted athlete with the best one-handed backhand in the women’s game (and probably the men’s game too, unless you think the Federer backhand is better).
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #7 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Venus Williams is an American tennis player. In 2002, she became the first African-American woman to achieve a world No. 1 ranking in the Open Era. Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (with her younger sister Serena) and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles (2000) and three in women’s doubles (2000, 2008 and 2012).
Note: Venus wore this controversial lacy corset dress at the French Open in 2010. This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
Pope Francis I – No. 593
Francis I (born Jorge Bergoglio) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013. As such, he is Bishop of Rome, the head of the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina of Italian descent, Bergoglio became cardinal in 2001. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the papal conclave elected Bergoglio, who chose the papal name Francis in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas and the first from the Southern Hemisphere.
Before his election, Bergoglio was considered one of the most conservative cardinals, expressing strong opposition to homosexuality, same-sex marriage, LGBT adoption, contraceptives, abortion and euthanasia. My hope is that, in addition to his unprecedented name choice and humble refusal to stand on an elevated platform, Francis continues to be a pontiff of firsts and break other archaic traditions for the betterment of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics and all seven billion humans on this small planet.