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Adjusting Your Network

Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Successful originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry have strong networks of vendors and/or end-users to which they provide superior service and depend upon for their on-going business volume. Two veteran originators described how their networks have changed over the past few months.

Originator A explained how his vendors have been affected differently by the pandemic. Some are busier than others. Several vendors need his services more now than ever because manufacturing programs have tightened and other funding options and resources have diminished in their capabilities. This originator is seeing better quality transactions and larger transactions than in the past. Although the number of funded transactions has decreased slightly, his dollar amount of funding has remained steady, if not up slightly year-to-date. The changes in the market have required him to adjust his network, to shift his priorities, and to add some key new vendors, while eliminating others. Originator A has taken vital steps to redesign his network to better align with his current capabilities and market conditions.

Originator B realized almost immediately, back in March, that his network of end-users was not going to sustain him through the pandemic. Most of his clients were significantly and negatively affected by the shut-down. His network, that had taken him years to establish, was quickly deteriorating. This originator immediately pivoted and began build a new network of end-users in a different sector which was less affected by the pandemic. Today, the originator is back on track. His network is smaller than before and his network is certainly different than before. In less than a six- month period, his new network of end-users is producing significant volume and stronger transactions.

Successful originators are flexible and are constantly adjusting their network to maximize their personal results. It is often hard to leave past relationships behind and to find new participants that align with your new capabilities. Top originators are always building and expanding their network of potential clients and partners. New networks are being created for future success.

Scott A. Wheeler, CLFP
Wheeler Business Consulting
1314 Marquis Ct.
Fallston, Maryland 21047
Phone: 410 877 0428
Fax: 410 877 8161
Email: scott@wheelerbusinessconsulting.com
Web: www.wheelerbusinessconsulting.com 

Sales Makes it Happen articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Legacy/index.html

 

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

 

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July, 2020 - The List
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

 

Rapid Finance Resumes Funding
    Invites New Partners
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_31.htm#rapid

Marlin Business Services 2Q $5.9 Million Loss
    Compared to $11.8 Million Loss 1Q
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_31.htm#marlin

Pictures from the Past:
    Paul Menzel and Jim Merrilees. 1992
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_31.htm#pictures

The First COVID-19 Business Interruption Decision
    Sides In Favor of Insurers
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_31.htm#covid

New York Follows California’s Lead
  By Passing Small Business Truth-in-Lending Act
Written by Attorneys Robert Hornby, Frank Peretore,
   Adrianne Price, Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, PC
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_29.htm#ny

“I finally remember what Zoom Meetings
    reminds me of”  --Placard
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_27.htm#placard

Ascentium Capital LLC Reports Second Quarter Funding Volume
    and Exceeds $2.5 Billion in Managed Assets
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_24.htm#asc

Marlin Business Services Lets Go Another 25 Employees
    Form 8-K Notice
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_17.htm#marlin

Balboa Capital Added to Good Guys: Companies
    Who Notify Lessee in Advance of Lease Expiration
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_09.htm#balboa

Crestmark Vendor Finance to Halt Business
    From 7/1/2020 to 7/19/2020
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_07.htm#crestmark

Popular Barry Shafran Out as President/CEO
    Chesswood Group Limited, Pawnee Parent among others
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_07.htm#popular

North Mill Record First Half 2002 Originations!
    Expands to Larger Headquarters
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2020/07_07.htm#north

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Aggregate Funding Sources
(Online: connects lessees, lessors, and vendors)

These are online companies that connect via Financial Technology to funders of business loans, leasing, working capital, and other finance methods to secure credit approval that meet the criteria of the funder that they represent with the most attractive rate and terms for the applicant.

The list is down to two: both licensed in California. In 2000, there were 23 such companies. There are many alternate finance companies with many sources but they do not qualify as an Aggregate Funding Source.

These companies have several funders "where funders compete."

https://www.lendio.com/franchise/
Lendio, based in Lehi, Utah as Lendio Partners, LLC.
Website states they appear to have changed direction and now looking for applicants to become a “Lendio franchise. “ In the past, they advertised a network of 75 lenders offering multiple loan and lease options. They stated, "To date, Lendio has facilitated close to $1.5 billion in financing through more than 70,000 loans to business owners in all 50 states. With this access to capital, Lendio’s small business clients have generated an estimated $5 billion in economic output and created more than 35,000 jobs in communities nationwide."

Today they state, “As a Lendio Franchisee you will be able to help small business owners find the loan they need to grow their business by leveraging Lendio’s business loan marketplace. By helping your clients complete a single application, they will be reviewed by over 75 lenders, taking the headache of loan applications out of the equation!”

https://www.gocurrency.com/
Currency Capital is licensed as CFL (Lender and Broker), located in Los Angeles, California. They are a growth from IMCA Capital; Supermoney.com states “out of business.”

This company appeals primarily to vendors and other sellers of equipment.
https://www.gocurrency.com/resources/about-us/. They also offer
job opportunities in Scottsdale, Arizona and working remotely (see “Work with Us”).

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Across the world, some business models have proven resilient throughout the coronavirus pandemic with online retailers such as Amazon and streaming services like Netflix thriving. A catastrophic health crisis may seem like a good financial opportunity for health insurance companies and according to the most recent results of some major U.S. players, they are raking in billions of extra dollars thanks to the pandemic, with some companies even doubling their profits.

In some parts of the country, hospitals are being overwhelmed by an influx of patients with some announcing staggering financial losses. Meanwhile, major health insurance providers have been able to avoid paying big money for major surgeries and other complex procedures while people have stopped visiting their local doctors in recent weeks. That has led to a drastic increase in net income for most health insurance companies between Q2 of last year and Q2 of 2020 with a selection compared on this infographic.

For example, the UnitedHealth Group doubled its income from $3.4 billion to $6.7 billion with Anthem's also growing by a similar percentage, climbing from $1.1 billion to $2.3 billion. CVS Health owns insurance provider Aetna as well as several other brands including pharmaceutical companies. It added an extra billion dollars in net income in the second quarter of 2020. Humana also posted staggering numbers with a net income of $1.8 billion versus $940 billion for Q2 of last year.

The Affordable Care Act saw the profits of health insurance companies capped under the requirement that they pay out rebates for the benefit of their customers, a process which does not seem to be occurring quickly enough given the severity of the current situation. That has prompted the Health and Human Services Department to weigh in on the situation and it has advised health insurance providers to accelerate the rebate process and reduce premiums.

By Niall McCarthy, Statista

 

 

The United States has passed yet another grim milestone in its battle to contain COVID-19 with the number of cases now above the five million mark. While some countries such as New Zealand have successfully suppressed the pandemic, a vaccine now appears to be the only hope for much of humanity in breaking chains of infection and restoring some semblance of normality. When he was testifying before Congress, Dr. Fauci, America's top expert on infectious diseases, said he was optimistic a vaccine would be ready by early 2021.

Even if that happens, a large swath of the American population would be unwilling to take it, according to a new Gallup poll. Conducted between July 20 and August 2, it found that more than a third of U.S. adults would be unwilling to take an FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine at no cost. It also recorded a considerable partisan divide in attitudes with 81 percent of Democrats indicating they would be willing to get vaccinated while 53 percent of Republicans said they would be unwilling. Broken down by age, 76 percent of Americans aged between 18 and 29 said they would take a vaccine, along with 70 percent of senior citizens, while reluctance levels are highest among middle aged people.

By Niall McCarthy, Statista

 

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##### Press Release ############################

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020-21 fall sports season, including all regular-season contests and Big Ten Championships and Tournaments, due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
In making its decision, which was based on multiple factors, the Big Ten Conference relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.

Morton Schapiro, Chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors and Northwestern University President, stated, “Our primary responsibility is to make the best possible decisions in the interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said.
 

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, added, “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward.

 “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.
 
“We know how significant the student-athlete experience can be in shaping the future of the talented young women and men who compete in the Big Ten Conference. Although that knowledge made this a painstaking decision, it did not make it difficult. While I know our decision today will be disappointing in many ways for our thousands of student-athletes and their families, I am heartened and inspired by their resilience, their insightful and discerning thoughts, and their participation through our conversations to this point. Everyone associated with the Big Ten Conference and its member institutions is committed to getting everyone back to competition as soon as it is safe to do so.”
 
The fall sports included in this announcement are men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The Big Ten Conference will continue to evaluate a number of options regarding these sports, including the possibility of competition in the spring. Decisions regarding winter and spring sports will also continue to be evaluated. 
 
The Big Ten Conference is proud of its 14 world-class research institutions and has leveraged their resources and expertise to address this pandemic over the past five months. The Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee have engaged in extensive research and sharing of materials and conversations with federal, state and local government agencies, and professional and international sports organizations in order to track and better understand the daily updates surrounding this pandemic. Their advice and counsel have been invaluable as they have worked tirelessly over the past several months in their efforts to create and maintain a safe environment for athletics.
 
The Big Ten Conference will continue to work with medical experts and governmental authorities to gather additional information, evaluate emerging data and technologies, and monitor developments regarding the pandemic to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes.

### Press Release ############################

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Akbash
Oakland, California
Adopt-a-Dog

Oscar

Male
2 years
White
80 lbs.
OK with Kids 14 years+
Okay with Dogs
Okay with Cats: Not Known

Oscar is a 1 to 2 year old, 80 pound, Akbash mix. He is young with lot to learn but is a happy go lucky kind of pup! His ideal home would be one with guarding breed dog experience.

Oakland Animal Service
1101 29th Avenue,
Oakland, CA 94601
Phone: 510.535.5602

Oakland Animal Service HOURS
In response to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place declaration, OAS is open to the public by appointment only.

Between the hours of 11 am to 4 pm, we can be reached at (510) 535-5602. We will assess your situation to offer help when possible.

The Akbash (from Turkish: Akbash 'white head' [2]) is native to Turkey, and it is primarily used as a livestock guardian dog or shepherd dog. It is officially recognized by the KIF, the Turkish dog breed society.

The Akbash is an old traditional breed of livestock guardian dog, used to protect herds from predators in the rugged terrain of inland Turkey.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbash

Akbash:
https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/dog-breeds/akbash-dog
https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/akbash

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Your Dog Advisor
15 Tips for Walking Two Dogs at the Same Time

https://yourdogadvisor.com/walking-two-dogs/

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To Register for Free Webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9SU-CY05QamEB9S_dftdDg

News Briefs----

Qualcomm wins appeal in FTC antitrust lawsuit
    worth billions
https://9to5mac.com/2020/08/11/qualcomm-wins-ftc-case-appeal/

Rock band Smash Mouth performed to a packed crowd
    of hundreds during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/11/entertainment/smash-mouth-concert-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-trnd/index.html

Trump’s unemployment plan unworkable
    for California, Gavin Newsom says
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article244856517.html?

Missouri has little clarity on plans
    for extra unemployment under Trump order
https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/missouri-has-little-clarity-on-plans-for-extra-unemployment-under-trump-order/article_0e87c758-af7a-5d0d-b1cb-34d5974638de.html

Op-Ed: Trump just made another huge
    and illegal power grab. Be very alarmed
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-08-10/president-trump-executive-order-unconstitutional

Federal Reserve Board announces individual large bank capital
     requirements, which will be effective on October 1
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20200810a.htm

This Mother-Daughter Duo Turns RVs Into Perfect Tiny Homes
 and the Before and Afters Are Incredible
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/mother-daughter-duo-turns-rvs-173300001.html

 

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You May Have Missed---

Opinion: The Coming Eviction Crisis:
    ‘It’s Hard to Pay the Bills on Nothing’
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/09/opinion/evictions-foreclosures-covid-economy.html

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Sports Briefs---

PGA Championship: Cal’s Colin Morikawa wins first major
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/09/pga-championship-cals-collin-morikawa-wins-first-major/

Sources: Some Cowboys creating camp bubble
http://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/82969/Sources--Some-Cowboys-creating-camp-bubble

Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford:
    COVID-19 test result 'a little bit of a scary thing'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2020/08/11/detroit-lions-matthew-stafford-covid-19-coronavirus/3347725001/

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders leaving
    analyst job at NFL Network
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/08/11/deion-sanders-leaving-nfl-network-after-years-analyst/3343971001/

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California Nuts Briefs---

More than 13,000 new coronavirus cases recorded
     as state reports test result backlog
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-11/13000-more-coronavirus-cases-california-test-results-backlog

Coronavirus infections in kids: California
    sees alarming surge in cases in late July
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/10/coronavirus-infections-in-kids-california-sees-alarming-surge-in-cases-in-late-july/

Top California health official resigns amid revelation
of giant coronavirus record backlog
https://www.yahoo.com/news/californias-top-public-health-officer-224522860.html

Third El Dorado restaurant gets health permit pulled
     for ‘flagrant’ COVID-19 violations
https://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/restaurants/article244890027.html?

In 11th hour reversal, San Jose teachers
    allowed to work from home if they choose
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/11/one-day-before-going-back-to-school-san-jose-teachers-granted-the-choice-to-work-from-home/

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Millennial Wine Buyers Increasing Consumption during Lock-down
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=234577

Beloved Wine Industry Pioneer, Warner Henry, Passes Away at Age 82
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=234944

Francis Ford Coppola Will Throw in Signed
    ‘The Conversation’ Script if You Buy $800 of His Wine
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/08/francis-ford-coppola-signed-conversation-
script-wine-1234578865/

Free Wine App
https://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

This Day in History

     1492 – Columbus arrived in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World.
    1508 - Ponce de Leon arrived in Puerto Rico. Spain had appointed him to colonize Puerto Rico. He explored Puerto Rico and Spanish ships under his command began to capture Bahamanian Tainos to work as slaves on Hispaniola. His settlement at Caparra, 2 miles south of San Juan Bay, was plagued by Taino Indians and cannibalistic Carib Indians. 
    1553 - Pope Julius III orders confiscation and burning of the Talmud. Religious prosecution of Jews in Europe becomes prevalent for the next two centuries, as many then migrated to the United States to escape growing religious prosecution. 
    1585 - The first letters written in English in America were the four letters of Ralph Lane, the first commander of Raleigh's first colony at Roanoke Island, NC, Porte Ferdynando. 
http://www.britannia.com/bios/rlane.html 
Here is Lane's Report from his letters: 
http://www.nationalcenter.org/ColonyofRoanoke.html 
    1658 – The first police force in the colonies was established in New Amsterdam.
    1676 - King Phillip’s War (1675-1676) ended when the Wampanoag leader was surprised and shot by an Indian in the service of Captain Benjamin Church near Mt. Hope, Rhode Island. King Phillip was the son of the chief of the Wampanog tribe. The conflict had grown to include the Wampanoag, Nipmuck, Narragansett, Mohegan, and Podunk tribes and ended with their virtual destruction, opening southern New England to unimpeded colonial expansion. 
    1778 - A Rhode Island hurricane prevented an impending British-French sea battle, and caused extensive damage over southeast New England. 
    1833 - Chicago incorporates as a village of about 350 
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/timeline/originame.html 
    1833 - Birthday of Lillie Devereux Blake (1833-1913) in Raleigh, NC.  U.S. writer and suffrage activist. Widowed, she turned to writing to support herself. Prolific, she used a dozen pseudonyms as she churned out newspaper and magazine articles and novels. She was a main contributor to Elizabeth Cady Stanton's “Woman's Bible” that may be found in WOAH's library - http://www.undelete.org/library/library0041.html.  See some quotes below in Quotes du Jour. She led successful campaigns to have women matrons or physicians on duty at public institutions and police stations where it was customary to have males supervise jailed women in ALL aspects of their lives, often alone. The women had no way to object to any kind of treatment by the male guards, including rape or beatings. She also was successful in having wives declared joint guardians of minor children in New York State, a provision that soon spread to other states. Up to the late 1890s, despite propaganda today by ultra-conservative forces, men had SOLE custody of his children and the mother had NO rights. 
    1835 - The City of Canaan, NH votes to remove the Noyes Academy (black school) from their city and a group attacks it, breaking windows, and threatening to tear down the building. The building survives, Blacks leave, according to many diary accounts, and a year later, after it is repaired at city expense, it burns down, according to one report. 
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~townsend/HoC/HoC272.html 
    1834 - Dental amalgam for filing teeth was introduced by Messrs. Carcour and Sons, who first started advertising in the New York Commercial Advertiser, as "Royal Mineral Succadaneum for filling decayed teeth without the slightest pain, heat or pressure."  They paid little attention to decay of the tooth and filled all cavities without first removing decay. Their work was unsatisfactory and they were obliged to flee the country. 
    1851 - Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-75) developed the sewing machine for use in homes and received a patent for a rocking treadle or double treadle. He used a treadle similar to that employed in old spinning wheels and attached it by means of a pitman to the handle on the driving gear of the machine.
    1851 – In the first America’s Cup yacht race, the U.S. schooner America beat the British yacht Aurora. 
    1856 – Diamond Jim Brady (1856-1917) was born James Buchanan Brady in NYC.  At 23, Brady parlayed his knowledge of the rail transport industry and its officials to become a highly successful salesman for a railroad supply company. Known for his penchant for jewels, especially diamonds, he collected precious stones and jewelry in excess of US$ 2 million (equivalent to approximately $56,696,000 in 2015 dollars). He was known for being the first person in New York City to own an automobile, in 1895. 
    1858 - William and Ellen Demorest of New York devised paper sewing patterns, publishing them in magazine. They cut apart stylish dresses and recreated them in tissue-paper versions packaged in large envelopes, which they sold mainly by mail order. Their company was notable in its time for being run jointly by a married couple and for employing African-Americans and whites equally. The business was eventually eclipsed by e. Butterick and Company of New York City, bounded in 1867 by Ebenezer and Eleanor Butterick of Sterling MA, who had received a patent for paper sewing patterns. In 1866, Excelsior Needle of Wolcottville, CT, organized with $20,000 of capital, sped the sale of sewing machines with a means of making uniform sewing needles at a very low cost rather than the crude needles previously made. Singer at this time started lay-away plans, trade-in plans, leasing of sewing machines for clothing manufacturers (seasonal and long term), and in 1876 introduced the first sewing machine lamp holder. IT "quite obviated the difficulty experienced by operators when sewing at night" because the lamp would not" jar off the table or upset" and it could "be moved without soiling the fingers (patented by Ludwig Martin Nicolaus Wolf of Avon, CT). In 1889, the first electric sewing machine was manufactured by the Singer Manufacturing Company at its factory in Elizabethport, NJ. 
    1859 - Birthday of Katherine Lee Bates (1859-1929) in Falmouth, MA. American English teacher. She published over 20 books, but is best remembered today for writing the patriotic hymn, "America, the Beautiful" (a.k.a. "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies"). 
    1862 – Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his raiders capture Gallatin, TX. 
    1863 - Confederate raider William Quantrill led a massacre of 150 men and boys in Lawrence, Kansas. Quantrill's last ride. 
    1867 - President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him as he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. 
    1867 - Birthday of Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) in Dresden, Germany.  U.S. classicist, author and authority on ancient Greece and mythology. She was headmistress of Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore (founded by Mary E. Garrett and M. Carey Thomas). She remained headmistress for 26 years until what has been termed a "disagreement" with Thomas in 1922. In her retirement, she was able to devote herself to her classical studies and writing and a second career that has made her a popular writer even today.  At age 90, she was made an honorary citizen of Athens in recognition of her scholarly writings. She started “The Greek Way” (1930) and published a series of astoundingly easy to read yet scholarly books including the ever-popular “Mythology” (1942) that is still in print. Her other books are “The Roman Way” (1932), “The Prophets of Israel” (1936), “Three Greek Plays, translations from Aeschylus and Euripides” (1937), “Mythology” (1942), “Witness to the Truth: Christ and His Interpreters” (1949), “The Great Age of Greek Literature (an expansion of The Greek Way” (1943), “Spokesmen for God (an expansion of The Prophets of Israel” (1949), and “The Echo of Greece” (1957). In 1922, she began living with Doris Field Reid for the rest of her life, "staying home to keep house" and write while Reid continued as a noted investment banker. The couple bought a summer home on Mount Desert Island and later moved to New York City from Baltimore when Reid received the opportunity to go with a noted Wall Street firm. Hamilton later followed Reid to Washington when Reid was made head of the firm's offices there.
    1877 - Thomas Edison completes his first model of a phonographic player. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug12.html 
    1880 - Birthday of famed American baseball player Christopher (Christy) Mathewson (1880-1925), one of the players named to Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class. Born at Factoryville, PA, he was a college graduate, and considered one of baseball's first clean-cut stars. He pitched three complete game shutouts during the 1905 World Series. In 17 years, he won 373 games while losing 188 and striking out 2,499 players.  He played his entire career with the New York Giants. He was among the most dominant pitchers of his (or any) era and ranks in the all-time top-10 in major pitching categories including wins, shutouts, and ERA. In fact, he is the only pitcher in MLB history to rank in the top ten both in career wins and in career ERA.  Mathewson served in the US Army’s Chemical Warfare Service in World War I, and was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons during training; his respiratory system weakened from the exposure, he contracted TB and subsequently died of the disease
    1881 - Birthday of Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959), film pioneer, born at Ashfield, MA. Cecil Blount De Mille was a film showman extraordinaire known for lavish screen spectacles.  He produced more than 70 major films which were noted more for their large scale than for the subtle artistry. He produced one of the earliest four-reel films, "The Squaw Man," in 1913, which boasted the first use of indoor lighting on an actor and was the first film to publicize the names of its stars. His other innovations included the sneak preview and the idea of producing different versions of a popular film. His films include, "The Crusades," "The Sign of the Cross," "King of Kings," "Cleopatra," "The Plainsman," "The Buccaneer," "Reap the Wild Wind" and "The Ten Commandments," which was made in 1923 and then in a new version in 1956. DeMille was awarded an Oscar for "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1953. 
    1892 - The Baltimore Orioles removed outfield posts‚ around which ropes holding back overflow crowds would be wrapped‚ after a batted fair ball struck a post and bounced back toward the infield‚ forcing the batter to stop at second base. Another factor in the decision is an incident three days earlier in which the Oriole RF missed a sure catch when he ran into a post. 
    1896 – Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie who batted .429 in the minors, made his Major League debut for the Philadelphia Phillies going 1-for-5 in a 9-0 win over Washington.
    1896 – Gold was discovered in Dawson, Yukon Territory.  Some 30,000 miners swarmed to the Yukon and many eventually found their way to Alaska and discovered gold there as well.
    1898 - The first island territory annexed by the federal government was the Hawaiian Islands. The treaty was signed on June 16, 1867, by John Sherman, secretary of state. A joint congressional resolution to provide for annexation was passed on July 7, 1898 and were formally annexed this day, to become known after their largest island, Hawai’i.  The flag of Hawai’i was lowered from ‘Iolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the US flag to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawai’i to the US. 
http://www.uwec.edu/Academic/curric/greidebe/Indigenous/
Student.Web.Pages/Hawaii/HISTORY%20II.htm 
    1898 - The brief and one-sided Spanish-American War comes to an end when Spain formally agrees to a peace protocol on U.S. terms: the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Manila in the Philippines to the United States pending a final peace treaty. 
    1910 – Jane Wyatt (1910-2006) was born in Mahwah, NJ.  She starred in a number of Hollywood films, but is best known for her role as the wife and mother on the television comedy series, “Father Knows Best,” and as Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock on “Star Trek.” Wyatt was a three-time Emmy Award-winner. 
    1912 - Three men attacked Ty Cobb on his way to the Detroit rail station. Cobb sustained a cut on his shoulder, but he caught one of his attackers and pistol-whipped him. Cobb then traveled to Syracuse where he got two hits in an exhibition game. 
    1915 - "Of Human Bondage," by William Somerset Maugham, published 
    1918 – Sid Bernstein (1918-2013) was born in NYC.  Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman’s hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums, first at Shea Stadium for the Beatles first US appearance, and later at Madison Square Garden.
    1923 - Victor Cine Camera introduced the first portable movie camera. It weighed five pounds and cost $55. Today it was first advertised and Charlie Chaplin was one of the first customers. 
    1927 – “Wings” the only silent film to win an Oscar, opened.
    1929 - Birthday of Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens (1929-2006), singer and songwriter, Sherman, TX. 
    1930 – Progressive George Soros, the 30th richest man in the world, was born in Hungary.
    1933 - The temperature at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA, hit 127 degrees to establish a U.S. record for the month of August. 
    1934 – The Babe played his final game at Fenway Park, where it all began.  Nearly 42,000 fans jammed the park, whose stated capacity is approximately 37,000, to pay their respects to their former hero.  
    1936 - The temperature at Seymour, TX hit 120 degrees to establish a state record. 
    1947 - Top Hits 
“Peg o' My Heart” - The Harmonicats 
“I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder” - Eddy Howard 
“Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba” - Perry Como 
“Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” - Tex Williams 
    1950 - The New York Giants defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League, 27-6, in an exhibition game played at Ottawa. The Giants thus became the first NFL team to play outside the US. 
    1950 – Bloody Gulch Massacre:  75 American POWs were massacred by the N. Korean Army.   
    1951 - The New York Giants (59-51) started the day 13 games behind first place Brooklyn (70-36). They swept the Phillies in a doubleheader to launch a 16-game win streak and a spurt of 39 wins in 47 games. They wound up tied with the Dodgers for first, won the playoff on Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” and lost to the Yankees in the World Series.
    1953 – Yankees P Whitey Ford had 4 hits in a 22-1 win over the Philadelphia A’s.  Yogi Berra and Billy Martin each had 5 hits and Hank Bauer scored 5 runs. 
    1955 - The US Government set the first minimum hourly wage of one dollar. It was set at $3.10 effective January 1, 1980, and at $4.25 effective April, 1991. 
    1955 - During the second week of August, Hurricanes Connie and Diane produced as much as 19 inches of rain in the northeastern U.S., forcing rivers from Virginia to Massachusetts into a high flood. Westfield, MA was deluged with 18.15 inches of rain in 24 hours, and at Woonsocket, RI the Blackstone River swelled from seventy feet in width to a mile and a half. Connecticut and the Delaware Valley were hardest hit. Total damage in New England was $800 million and flooding claimed 187 lives. 
    1955 - Top Hits 
“Rock Around the Clock” - Bill Haley & His Comets 
“Ain't that a Shame” - Fats Domino 
“Learnin' the Blues” - Frank Sinatra 
“I Don't Care” - Webb Pierce 
    1958 – Art Kane photographed 57 notable jazz musicians in the black and white group portrait "A Great Day in Harlem" in front of a brownstone in New York City. 
    1959 - Little Rock, Arkansas responded to a Federal Court order with the token integration of two public schools (six blacks were admitted).  White mobs protested and there was major confrontation. Ironically, today there is a placard celebrating the history of this "event." 
    1959 - Bobby Darin signed his first movie contract, a million-dollar, six-year, six-picture deal with Paramount Studios. He would go on to secure a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1962. 
    1960 - The first communications satellite was Echo 1, a 26.5-inch magnesium sphere launched by a Thor-Delta rocket at 5:30am from Cape Canaveral, FL. The satellite went into orbit at 7:45am after the three stages of the rocket had been fired successfully. A tape message was transmitted from Goldstone, CA, bounced off the satellite, and received by the Bell Laboratories at Holmdel, NJ. This eventually revolutionized the communication industry from radio and television news, miniature portable telephones, Internet and geographic location at extremely low costs and very high efficiencies. 
    1963 - Top Hits 
“Fingertips - Pt 2” - Little Stevie Wonder 
“Wipe Out” - The Surfaris (The “A” side was “Surfer Joe.”
“(You're the) Devil in Disguise” - Elvis Presley 
“Ring of Fire” - Johnny Cash 
    1963 - The Four Seasons sued their struggling first label, Vee Jay, for non-payment of royalties and moved to Mercury/Philips Records. This would be the first of a long line of incidents that would doom the label. 
    1963 – Hall of Famer Stan Musial announced his retirement at season’s end.
    1964 - Race riot in Elizabeth, NJ. 
    1964 – For the 10th time in his career, then a record, Mickey Mantle hit HRs from both sides of the plate.  One traveled 502 feet.
    1965 - Race riot in West Side of Chicago, IL. 
    1966 - Longview, TX radio station KLUE-AM organized the first of the "Beatles bonfires," where ex-Beatle fans burned the groups' records in protest of John Lennon's recent "bigger than Jesus" comment. KLUE's radio tower was struck the next morning by lightning, throwing the station off the air. Meanwhile, Cleveland's Reverend Thurman H. Babbs, of the New Haven Baptist Church, calls for the excommunication of all Beatles fans. 
    1967 - A planned Joan Baez concert at Washington DC's Constitution Hall was canceled after the Daughters of the American Revolution protested her recent anti-war remarks concerning Vietnam. 
    1968 - WORLEY, KENNETH L., Medal of Honor. 
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Bo Ban, Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 12 August 1968. Entered service at: Fresno, Calif. Born: 27 April 1948, Farmington, N. Mex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with Company L, 3d Battalion, in action against enemy forces. After establishing a night ambush position in a house in the Bo Ban, Hamlet of Quang Nam Province, security was set up and the remainder of the patrol members retired until their respective watch. During the early morning hours the marines were abruptly awakened by the platoon leader's warning that "grenades" had landed in the house. Fully realizing the inevitable result of his actions, L/Cpl. Worley, in a valiant act of heroism, instantly threw himself upon the grenade nearest him and his comrades, absorbing with his body, the full and tremendous force of the explosion. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of almost certain death, he saved his comrades from serious injury and possible loss of life although 5 of his fellow marines incurred minor wounds as the other grenades exploded. L/Cpl. Worley's gallant actions upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country. 
    1969 - The Boston Celtics NBA championship basketball team was sold for $6,000,000; the highest dollar figure ever paid, to that time, for a pro basketball team. 
    1969 - Chuck Berry, Jethro Tull, Chicago Transit Authority, The Youngbloods and The Loading Zone @ San Francisco Fillmore West. 
    1970 - The Hollywood Bowl holds a memorial concert for recently deceased folk legend Woody Guthrie, featuring (among others) Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Pete Seeger, Odetta, and Tom Paxton. 
    1970 – Curt Flood lost his $41 million suit against Major League Baseball.  Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the baseball’s labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency, now commonplace.
    1971 - Birthday of tennis player Pete Sampras, Washington, DC. 
    1971 - Top Hits 
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” - The Bee Gees 
“Take Me Home, Country Roads” - John Denver 
“Beginnings/Color My World” - Chicago 
“I'm Just Me” - Charley Pride 
    1972 - The last United States ground combat forces in Vietnam were withdrawn. 
    1973 - Golfer Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title, breaking a record held for nearly 50 years by Bobby Jones. Nicklaus won the PGA Championship for the third time.  Nicklaus finished his career with 18 major championships, still the best.
    1974 – New York Yankee teammates Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the first teammates to be so honored simultaneously.
    1975 - Marking his first real appearance on the national radar, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the first of five sold-out shows at New York's Bottom Line. 
    1978 - The Commodores have their first US number one single with "Three Times a Lady". Lionel Richie would later explain that he wrote the song after hearing his father give a touching speech at his 37th anniversary party. 
    1979 - Top Hits 
“Bad Girls” - Donna Summer 
“Good Times” - Chic 
“The Main Event/Fight” - Barbra Streisand 
“Suspicions” - Eddie Rabbitt 
    1980 - Songwriter, producer, and artist Todd Rundgren, his female companion, and three others were victims of a home invasion at his house in Woodstock, NY, bound and gagged by four masked intruders who stole art, stereo equipment, and recording equipment. One of the criminals hummed Todd's 1972 hit "I Saw the Light" to himself as the robbery takes place. 
    1981 - IBM (International Business Machines) introduced the Model 5150 PC (personal computer). The IBM PC ran on the Intel 8088 microprocessor at 4.77 MHz with one or two 160K floppy disk drives. It had 16 kilobytes of memory, expandable to 256k, five 8-bit ISA slots, a 65-watt power supply, no built-in clock, no built-in serial or parallel ports, and no built-in video capability -- it was available with an optional color monitor. MS-DOS 1.0/1.1 was issued with the PC (IBM later released its own operating system: PC-DOS). Prices started at $1,565. The IBM PC was a smashing success and IBM quickly became the #1 microcomputer company, with Apple dropping to #2, primarily because it was one-third the cost and available at Sears-Roebuck and many other retail stores, plus direct from IBM with a lease-finance plan both for consumers and business, including many start-ups (it followed their typewriter leasing-finance plan with maintenance available). 
    1982 – Mexico announced that it is unable to pay its enormous external debt, marking the beginning of a debt crisis that spreads to all of Latin America and the Third World.  Citi’s then CEO, Walter Wriston, a holder of a considerable amount of this debt, once declared them to be the safest investment because “countries don’t go bankrupt.”
    1982 - The Minnesota Vikings, who for years used to the frozen tundra of Minneapolis's Metropolitan Stadium as a significant home-field advantage, made their debut in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. They beat the Seattle Seahawks in a preseason game. 
    1987 - Top Hits 
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” - U2 
“I Want Your Sex” - George Michael 
“Heart and Soul” - T'Pau 
“One Promise Too Late” - Reba McEntire 
    1988 - The Red Sox beat the Tigers 9-4 for their 23rd consecutive win at Fenway Park establishing a new Major League record [the streak will end after one more home victory]. The 1931 Philadelphia Athletics had previously set the league mark with 22 straight home victories. 
    1988 - Fifteen cities in the northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Youngstown, OH reported twenty-six days of 90 degree weather for the year, a total equal to that for the entire decade of the 1970s. 
    1990 – Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton found to date, was discovered by Sue Hendrickson at the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.  It has a length of 42 ft., stands 13 ft. tall at the hips, and was estimated to have weighed more than 6.4 metric tons when alive. After ownership disputes were settled, she was auctioned in October 1997 for US $7.6 million, the highest amount ever paid for a dinosaur fossil.  It is now a permanent feature at the Filed Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
    1992 - The United States, Mexico and Canada agreed to form a free-trade zone that would rank as the world's largest single trading bloc.  Known as NAFTA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce credits NAFTA with increasing U.S. trade in goods and services with Canada and Mexico from $337 billion in 1993 to $1.2 trillion in 2011, while the AFL-CIO blames the agreement for sending 700,000 American manufacturing jobs to Mexico over that time.  The U.S. goods trade deficit with NAFTA accounted for 26.8% of the overall U.S. goods trade deficit in 2010.
    1993 - President Bill Clinton signed a bill providing $6.2 billion in federal relief to victims of floods in July and August for nine states from North Dakota to Missouri. Due to the record rains in the spring of up to 200 percent above average, the Midwest suffered 50 deaths, 70,000 left homeless and an estimated $12 billion in damage as of August 9, 1998. 
    1994 - "Woodstock '94" was held in Saugerties, New York. About 350,000 attended the show, which included mud fights and performances by Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Aerosmith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers 
    1994 - In baseball's eighth work stoppage since 1972, players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The work stoppage will lead to the cancellation of the World Series and a delayed opening of next season. 
    1996 - National Hockey League general managers agreed upon a rule change taking effect at the start of the 1996-1997 season. If fans litter the ice during the game, the referee is empowered to give a warning and then, if the offense is repeated, to penalize the home team for delay of game. The rule was a response to fans of the Detroit Red Wings, who tradition called for throwing octopi on the ice, and more particularly to fans of the Florida Panthers, who littered the ice with plastic rates after Panther goals during the 1995-96 season. 
    1997 - MTV debuts the Fleetwood Mac reunion concert. The special was taken from two performances at a Warner Brothers soundstage a few months earlier. 
    2007 - Fats Domino was honored as an "American Music Legend" by the Recording Industry Association of America.
    2011 – The health insurance mandate from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was struck down by the U.S. court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
    2014 - A home-based colon cancer screening test by Exact Sciences Corp. has received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; patients must receive a doctor's prescription in order to purchase the test.