Menzel on Bob Fisher July 18, 2000 Capital Stream
By Christopher Menkin, Editor

 

It was Paul Menzel, CLFP, President and CEO of Financial Pacific, an Umpqua Bank subsidiary, who caught on to the story best:

"Hi Kit – Thanks for sharing the Bob Fisher Capital Stream story. I had a good chuckle. With all the hype for Fintech it amazes me that all the so called automation was what Capital Stream offered twenty years ago.  Even before that, we had started to implement the software Sierra Cities had acquired from an Orange County company which ultimately was acquired by American Express. That original software company went out of business.  Innovation can be a slow and torturous process."

The full article is at the end *, but the crux that Paul saw was Bob Fisher, CLFP, was touting in a July 18, 2000 Leasing News story about "Embracing Fintech with Capital Stream."  Fisher stated in the press release:

-- Credit approval time has decreased from four hours to one
-- Transactions submitted per broker have increased by 25 percent
-- Deal processing costs have declined by 10 percent
-- Approval/submission ratios have improved by as much as 20 percent

The point being Financial Technology was there with documents sent online, funding by fax, and the internet, and in 2003, DocuSign came about. 

Borrowing on credit cards, now called Merchant Cash Advance, was in place earlier. It started around the time plastic cards being sent by mail with "You are approved for $50,000" by David Murray, one of the founders of Direct Capital (the sales practice is still going strong today.)

Leasing News also wrote about the "new" credit card borrowing in 1995, now called Merchant Cash Advance, and more so in 2000 lending to small businesses, many one person shops, who could not get bank lines or had personal ability to borrow money for parts, for equipment, let alone working capital. They were relying on getting advances from their credit card sale purchases. They were originally small dollar amounts, five to ten thousand dollars. It usually was in small communities, not large cities, and companies like eBay and PayPal both in San Jose, California, among others, were growing in use. They brought new business ideas into the market place via the internet.

Associate Editor Ralph Mango remembers, “When we launched Dell Financial Services in 1997, we did so with a proprietary lease origination system that was completely automated with links to D&B and the retail credit bureaus.  We contracted with several developers from Montreal to program the submittal of apps by fax and phone such that once completed, the data therein was transmitted electronically to the credit agencies for a decision….while the customer was still on the phone.  It was so successful that decisioning was a matter of minutes, so much so that the customer was disbelieving that a decision would have been reached so quickly.  Again this was 1996, a time not nearly as automated as now.

“In any event after, a couple of days onto the launch, we re-tooled and advised our phone reps to keep talking to the customer about more memory, a printer perhaps, or “how ’bout them Cowboys,” even if they had the decision after 5 or so minutes.  It worked and we saw our average sale – a desktop was about $3000 and a laptop about $5000 – increased as a result.

“The declines were difficult but we encouraged them to use their credit card as a backup of last resort. 

“Fun times, even blowing up first a Tandem server then a Dell because of the heavy volume that began with over 1000 apps the first day and grew from there.”

The fast process to approving credits has been around a very long time. Everyone had their experience, their approach, and as more entered the field with little experience, the spiral was fueled by a major economic downturn.

The idea that internet or telephone or marketing in this manner is new today is a misconception. More sophisticated, yes. Improved, yes. But the fuel today is cash available, investors finding returns higher than a bank savings account, groups pooling money for alternate financing and "we do deals that banks won't do." We are at the tail end of a long market growth.

Attorney Joseph Bonanno, CLFP, commenting in LinkedIn on an article in Leasing News about ELFF July survey seeing confidence dropping by those in the equipment and finance industry. He wrote: "I believe that many qualified and honest financial planners are bracing for a stock market adjustment (not a question of "if" but when and further interest rate increases.) We've all seen these before, should not come as a surprise to anyone. These factors can actually be used to encourage companies to acquire capital equipment now before the adjustments happen and before the economics of financing changes."

The entire financial market, not just the market of stocks, is going to change. But the question is when? Debt, rates, and inflation are going to hit either before or right after November, so the time now is to save cash, reduce debt, and if you need to acquire equipment, get low monthly payments with a longer term, better rate than MCA or a nine month or 12 month term.

I have written about this before, reminding readers that I am not a pessimist. The time now is to make more sales, build up your coffers, build up your reserves, don't take the summer off because September will be the start of making more sales.

Now is the time to take the tip from the squirrel that puts away chestnuts to make it through the winter. Close more sales today while you can.

* July 18, 2000: Bob Fisher, CLFP
Embraces FinTech with CapitalStream
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Jul2018/07_18.htm#fisher

 

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No Longer taking Broker/Discounting Business
plus Leasing Companies Out of Business

Companies with an * are no longer in business. The others are companies that were taking broker business, but announced that they no longer are accepting broker business. Many have also down-sized or are managing an existing portfolio.

More details are available in this list by company name:

http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm

*ABCO Leasing Inc., Bothell, WA
*ACC Capital, Midvale, Utah (lenders running off portfolio residuals, Leasing News receiving Evergreen non-notification complaints, demanding 12 more monthly payments)
Advantage Business Capital, Lake Oswego, Oregon
AEL Financial, Buffalo Grove, Illinois
(No longer taking new broker business)
Agility Solutions Corp., Prescott, Arizona
Allegiant Partners, Walnut Creek, California 
Alliance Financial, Syracuse, New York
*Alternative Capital, Apollo Beach, Florida 
*AMC Funding, Charlotte, North Carolina
American Bank Leasing, Alpharetta, Georgia
*American Equipment Finance, Warren, New Jersey
Balboa Capital, Costa Mesa, California
Bank of Ozark Leasing/Finance, Little Rock, Arkansas 
*Bank of West Indirect Leasing, Dublin, California
*Bank of the West Leasing Indirect, San Ramon, California
*Bank Midwest Leasing, Overland Park, KS 
Bankers Healthcare Group, Weston, FL
*BBVA Compass Equipment Leasing, Houston, Texas
*Blackstone Equipment Financing, Orange, California
*BusinessFinance.com (on line aggregate funder)
*Business Leasing NorthWest, Seattle, WA
*Capital One Equipment Finance, Towson, Maryland 
*CapitalSource Healthcare Finance, Chevy Chase, Maryland
*CapNet, Los Angeles, California
*C and J Leasing Corp, Des Moines, Iowa
*Carlton Financial Corporation, Wayzata, Minnesota
*Chase Industries, Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan 
*Chesterfield Financial, Chesterfield, Missouri
CHG-MERIDIAN U.S. Finance, Ltd, Woodland Hills, CA
(Sales Management focuses very selectively on certain brokers.) 
*Churchill Group/Churchill Leasing, Jericho, NY
CIT Group (limited)
Citizens Business Bank, Ontario, CA
Columbia Bank Leasing, Tacoma, WA
*Columbia Equipment Finance, Danville, California 
Commercial Equipment Lease, Eugene, Oregon 
Concord Financial Services, Long Beach, California
*Court Square, Malvern, Pennsylvania
*Creative Capital Leasing Group, LLC, San Diego, CA
Crossroads Equipment Lease & Finance, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca 
Direct Capital, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Diversified Financial Service, Omaha, NE
* Dolsen Leasing, Bellevue/Yakima, Washington
Equipment Finance Partners, a division of Altec, Birmingham, Alabama 
Evans National Leasing, Inc., Hamburg, NY
*Enterprise Capital Partners dba Enterprise Leasing, Spokane, WA
Enterprise Funding, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Enverto Investment Group, LLC, West Los Angeles, California
*Evergreen Leasing, South Elgin, Illinois
*Excel Financial Leasing, Lubbock Texas
*First Corp.(IFC subsidiary), Morton Grove, Illinois
First Federal Financial Services, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin
First Republic Bank, San Francisco, CA
Frontier Capital, Teaneck New Jersey 
*GCR Capital, Safety Harbor, Florida 
GE Capital, Conn (limited)
Global Funding LLC., Clearwater, FL
*Greystone, Burlington, MA
*Heritage Pacific Leasing, Fresno, CA
*Hillcrest Bank Leasing, Overland Park, KS (Parent bank sold)
Huntington Equipment Finance, Vendor Finance Group, Bellevue, Washington
*IFC Credit Corp., Morton Grove, Illinois
Irwin Financial (Irwin Union Bank), Columbus, Indiana 
Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B. (Louisville, Kentucky)
Lakeland Bank, Montville, NJ
LaSalle Systems Leasing
*Latitude Equipment Leasing, Marlton, New Jersey 
*Leaf Specialty Finance, Columbia, South Carolina
*LEAF Third Party Funding, Santa Barbara, Ca.
Lease Corporation of America, Troy, Michigan
Lombard, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, worldwide
M&T Credit (Bank)
Manufacturer's Lease Plans, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona
*MarVista Financial, Villa Park, California 
*MericapCredit, Lisle, Illinois
*Meridian Healthcare Finance, San Diego, California 
Merrill Lynch Financial
Midwest Leasing Group, Livonia, Minnesota
*Mount Pleasant Capital, Wexford, PA 
National City, Cleveland, Ohio
*Navigator (Pentech subsidiary) San Diego, California
OFC Capital, Roswell, Georgia
Old National Bank, Evansville, Illinois
*Pentech Financial, Campbell, CA
*PFF Bancorp, Inc, Pomona, CA
Pinnacle Business Finance, Fife, Washington
*Pioneer Capital Corporation, Addison, Texas
PredictiFund, a subsidiary of Capital Access Network, Inc
*Podium Financial Group, Inc.,Costa Mesa, CA
Popular Finance, St. Louis, Missouri
Puget Sound Leasing, Seattle, Washington 
Radiance-Capital, Tacoma, WA
Rational Technology Solutions, Rolling Meadows, IL
*Reliant National Finance, Jacksonville, Florida
Sandy Springs, Olney, MD
*Securities Equipment Lsg. (SEL, Inc.), Glendora, CA
*Select Equipment Leasing Co., Concord, CA
* Sharpe Financial Network, Phoenix, Arizona 
Sovereign Bank, Melville, New York
Specialty Funding, Albuquerque, NM
*Studebaker-Worthington Leasing, Corp., Jerico, NY
(part of sale from Main Street Bank to Ascentium Capital)
*Summitt Leasing, Yakima, Washington
Sun Trust Equipment Finance & Leasing, Baltimore, Maryland 
*SunBridge Capital, Mission, Kansas
Suncoast Equipment Funding Corp., Tampa, Florida
TCF Equipment Finance, Minnetonka, Minnesota 
TechLease, Morgan Hill, California
*Tennessee Commerce Bank, Franklin, Tennessee 
Textron Financial
*Triad Leasing & Financial, Inc., Boise, Idaho
*TriStar Capital, Santa Ana, California 
*Union Capital Partners, Midvale, Utah
US Bank, Manifest Funding, Marshall, Minnesota
(new requirement: large yearly funding) 
US Bank, Middle-Market, Portland, Oregon 
Velocity Financial Group, Rosemont, Illinois
VenCore, Portland, Oregon (former company Len Ludwig)
*Vision Capital, San Diego, California
Vision Financial Group, Inc. (VFG Leasing & Finance), Pittsburg, PA 
Wachovia Bank Leasing
*Warren Capital, Novato, California
*Washington Mutual Financial
Western Bank, Devils Lake, ND
*Westover Financial, Inc., Santa Ana, California

(Note: Should a company policy have changed, please contact kitmenkin@leasingnews.org)

Funders looking for new Brokers:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Funders_Only/New_Broker.htm

 

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Help Wanted

Byline Financial Group Bannockburn, Ilinois Positions Open Customer Service Repesentative  Credit Administrator    Sales Coordinator (Click on position to learn more) bylinebank.com/byline-financial-group/ Byline Financial Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Byline Bank, Member FDIC

 

Leasing Funding Coordinator Los Angeles, California Visit: Recent Transactions Visit: Leasing Program Job Description www.dakotafinancial.com Asset-Based Direct Funding Source

 

 

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Career Crossroad---By Emily Fitzpatrick/RII

“When Would I Expect a Promotion?”

Question: I was asked in an interview: If you are hired, when would you expect a promotion? How should I have handled this?

Answer: If you are interested in any type of promotion, down the line prepare your response to be something similar to the following “… (a)  I would not expect a promotion without the performance that marks me as deserving of a promotion (b) I would hope the company has the growth necessary to provide such an opportunity (c) I hope that my manager believes in promoting from within. I hope I learn and get training in my development to deserve a promotion.”

If the position you are applying for is a management type role, you need to build other factors into your response. For example:  “ … as a manager, I realize that part of my job is to have done my succession planning, and that I must have someone trained and ready to step into my shoes before I can expect to step up into a higher-level position. That way, I play my part in preserving the chain of command….” To be proactive, demonstrate how you have achieved this in your current (or previous) role add, “… just as I have done in my present job, where I have a few employees capable of taking over the reins when I leave …”

Additionally, how do I relay to a potential employer that I am not interested in a future promotion into a Sales Management role?  

Many sales professionals prefer to remain in strictly income producing, non-management roles. Relay to the potential employer your goals, for example “… To be candid, my passion lies in business development functions rather than management. I have the capability to manage a sales team, but my strengths are in sourcing new business relationships and client retention …” 

Emily Fitzpatrick
Sr. Recruiter
Recruiters International, Inc.
Phone:  954-885-9241
Cell:  954-612-0567
emily@riirecruit.com

Invite me to connect on LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/pub/emily-fitzpatrick/4/671/76
Also follow us on Twitter #RIIINFO

Career Crossroads Previous Columns
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/crossroad.html

 

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Sales Makes it Happen by Scott Wheeler, CLFP

Continue to Grow

Successful originators in the commercial equipment leasing and finance industry are constantly forcing themselves outside of their comfort zones. They make mistakes. They lose transactions. They fail. But, they never give up. They persevere. They learn from their mistakes and failures, and they become better professionals because of their ability to learn from their past.

"Lessons learned" are part of the process of developing your career, your integrity, and your character. Playing it safe, never taking a chance, always staying in your comfort zone, creates stagnation and sub-par results. Successful originators:

• Are willing to explore uncharted territory - even with the prospect that they may make a few mistakes along the way.

• Are willing to admit their mistakes, but quickly counter with the lessons learned and how past mistakes will create future opportunities.

• Are leaders and opportunists willing to take calculated risks to move themselves and their organizations forward. 

• Accept their failures as stepping stones toward success.

"If you aren't making mistakes, you are hindering your ability to learn and to grow."

Order via Amazon: https://www.createspace.com/5355516 

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

 

Industry Survey: Compensation - Last Call
For Leasing and Finance Originators

This is a short survey, three minutes on the average, and anonymous.  The survey results will be made available through Wheeler Business Consulting as well as reported ion Leasing News.

Last Call
Click here to begin the survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NVF7H5H

 

 

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Celebrating our 40th Anniversary
By Sudhir P. Amembal

I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to the global equipment finance and leasing industry for having supported our firm in so many different ways since I co-founded it exactly 40 years ago.

What started as a career became an adventure and soon, a passion. Through almost four decades of traveling and teaching in over 80 countries, my life has been vastly enhanced by the thousands of leasing professionals I have encountered in my seminars.

I have witnessed leasing’s spectacular global growth over the past 40 years. In 1978, it accounted for a mere $22 billion in annual volume; today, it exceeds $1 trillion! As a part of the growth, I have seen the implementation of many of our thoughts and ideas – some have even developed into industry practices - a tribute that has been, to say the least, psychologically rewarding. It has indeed been a joy to witness and contribute to the growth of an extremely dynamic, vibrant, and resilient industry.

Leasing’s growth has come about for a simple reason – it is an extremely viable financing alternative owing to the fact that it delivers a multiplicity of benefits to those who wisely choose to lease.
I am in the midst of writing our 17th publication, and, for this newsletter article, I thought it would be appropriate to borrow from a chapter entitled “Winning the Deal” that demonstrates why leasing has been, and remains, a popular means of financing equipment. As I wrote the chapter, I must confess, was overwhelmed to discover that leasing offers 36 benefits to customers, and I am sure my list is not entirely complete!

Without being presumptuous, I doubt if there is any literature that does total justice to the benefits of leasing. Hence, as “simple” as the topic is, I feel it is appropriate to detail, in one place, the host of benefits leasing offers and thereby helps fuel varied economies throughout the world.

What Makes Leasing So Viable

Leasing offers six major categories of benefits. Each of the six categories contains many subsets. Setting aside “complex” products such as TRAC leases, synthetic leases, leveraged leases and the like, which are themes and variations of the operating lease, there are only two types of leases: finance leases and operating leases (often referred to as FMV leases in the U.S.A.).

The matrix below details the benefits that leasing offers under each of the six categories, by product:

The list, other than the two items under U.S.A. nuances, is not country specific. It is more than possible that there are other benefits in certain countries, specifically owing to tax or regulatory nuances.

The “✓” indicates that the benefit is generally offered by the product in question. The “?” indicates that the benefit may be offered by the product. As an example: under Tax, rent expense is invariably claimed by lessees on operating leases; and often, it would result in a faster deduction than the otherwise depreciation. However, in a few countries, such as in Australia, there is no difference from a tax point of view between a finance lease and an operating lease; hence, the same benefit can be availed with a finance lease. Another example – under Convenience and Flexibility, some lessors offer full-service finance leases.

Purpose of the Article

I chose to write on this topic hoping that lessors would better comprehend the power that propels leasing. More importantly, I hope they will take the time and effort to enhance their marketing collateral so as to educate their potential and actual customers that leasing merits serious consideration compared to other means of acquiring equipment.

Sudhir P. Amembal is the Chairman & CEO of Amembal & Halladay. Mr. Amembal has authored or co-authored 16 publications for the equipment leasing industry, including the bestsellers "Winning With Leasing" and "The Handbook of Equipment Leasing.". Currently, he is working on a new publication that will be available in 2019.

 

Mini Pinscher - Mix
Portland, Oregon   Adopt a Dog

Wally
Male
Color: Tan, Black
Age: 2 years
Weight: 12.5 lbs.
Location: Dog Green Pod
Kennel 25
Code#220061
Adopt Fee: $350

What my friends at Oregon Humane Society (OHS) say about me:

I came all the way to OHS through the Second Chance Program. My history is a mystery and my friends here do not know much about me yet! It is unknown if I have ever lived with other animals or children. I am eager to learn and a Basic Manners class may be just the right thing for us!

The type of home I’m looking for: It could be with you! Please go here for Adoption Information:
https://www.oregonhumane.org/adopt/how-to-adopt/

Oregon Humane Society
1067 NE Columbia Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97211 -1411
(503) 285 - 7722

 

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

Adopt a Pet
http://www.adoptapet.com/

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Early Bird Pricing Expires Next Wednesday, August 1

  
Full Information
https://apps.elfaonline.org/events/2018/AC/reg.cfm

News Briefs----

U.S. business borrowing for equipment falls 7% in June
However, borrowing rose 18 percent from $7.7 billion in May.
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-elfa/us-business-borrowing-for-equipment-falls-7-pct-in-june-elfa-idUSL4N1UK4T0

CIT Profits Decline 19% on Credit, Restructuring Costs
"earned $126 million, or 19% less than in last year's second quarter"
https://www.americanbanker.com/news/cit-profits-decline-19-on-credit-restructuring-costs

Existing-home sales slide for third-straight month in June,
    touch 5-month low as housing sputters
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-home-sales-slide-for-third-straight-month-in-june-touch-5-month-low-as-housing-sputters-2018-07-23  

Southern California home sales crash,
    a warning sign to the nation
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/24/southern-california-home-sales-crash-a-warning-sign-to-the-nation.html

Whirlpool CEO: Steel prices have reached 'unexplainable levels'
 "cost of raw materials used in building appliances more expensive"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whirlpool-ceo-steel-prices-reached-unexplainable-levels-164746629.html

eBay & Square Partner on Business Loans,
   Apple Pay Coming to eBay this Fall
https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2018/07/136861-ebay-square-partner-on-business-loans-apple-pay-coming-to-ebay-this-fall/

Leasing Funding Coordinator Los Angeles, California Visit: Recent Transactions Visit: Leasing Program Job Description www.dakotafinancial.com Asset-Based Direct Funding Source

 

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You May Have Missed---

An arcane pilot union rule will make flying
   (a little) more comfortable on United
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/17/your-united-flight-will-be-more-comfortable-thanks-to-this-union-rule.html

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The Night Game

by Robert Pinsky

Some of us believe
We would have conceived romantic
Love out of our own passions
With no precedents,
Without songs and poetry--
Or have invented poetry and music

As a comb of cells for the honey.

Shaped by ignorance,
A succession of new worlds,
Congruities improvised by
Immigrants or children.

I once thought most people were Italian,
Jewish or Colored.
To be white and called
Something like Ed Ford
Seemed aristocratic,
A rare distinction.

Possibly I believed only gentiles
And blonds could be left-handed.

Already famous
After one year in the majors,
Whitey Ford was drafted by the Army
To play ball in the flannels
Of the Signal Corps, stationed
In Long Branch, New Jersey.

A night game, the silver potion
Of the lights, his pink skin
Shining like a burn.

Never a player
I liked or hated: a Yankee,
A mere success.

But white the chalked-off lines
In the grass, white and green
The immaculate uniform,
And white the unpigmented
Halo of his hair
When he shifted his cap:

So ordinary and distinct,
So close up, that I felt
As if I could have made him up,
Imagined him as I imagined

 The ball, a scintilla
High in the black backdrop
Of the sky. Tight red stitches.
Rawlings. The bleached

Horsehide white: the color
Of nothing. Color of the past
And of the future, of the movie screen
At rest and of blank paper.

"I could have." The mind. The black
Backdrop, the white
Fly picked out by the towering
Lights. A few years later

On a blanket in the grass
By the same river
A girl and I came into
Being together
To the faint muttering
Of unthinkable
Troubadours and radios.

The emerald
Theater, the night.
Another time,
I devised a left-hander
Even more gifted
Than Whitey Ford: A Dodger.
People were amazed by him.
Once, when he was young,
He refused to pitch on Yom Kippur.

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Sports Briefs---

The Cavaliers Are Kevin Love's Team Now
https://deadspin.com/the-cavaliers-are-kevin-loves-team-now-1827833220

[headlines]
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California Nuts Briefs---

Yosemite Valley will close due to fire and smoke
  ‘Get yourself out of here if you can,’ officials say
https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article215400735.html

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Yosemite-closing-Fergus-Fire-smoke-
air-quality-13101183.php

Mountain View’s unusual rule for Facebook: No free food
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Mountain-View-s-unusual-rule-for-Facebook-No-13096100.php

$1 billion coming to Bay Area for two new dams
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/23/1-billion-to-build-new-dams-coming-to-bay-area/

Santa Clara County job market booms in June,
   outstrips state and Bay Area
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/07/20/santa-clara-county-job-market-booms-june-outstrips-state-and-bay-area-tech-google-apple-facebook-adobe-amazon/

Downtown San Jose welcomes first 100% homeless housing project
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/07/23/downtown-san-jose-welcomes-neighborhoods-first-homeless-housing-project/

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Truck Driver Shortage Affects Wineries, Entire Ag Industry
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=201321

 How Supreme Court Ruling Affects Wineries States
          can now tax shipment from out-of-state if they don't already
https://www.winesandvines.com/news/article/201342/How-Supreme-Court-Ruling-Affects-Wineries

A Wine Journey With Chef Rick Bayless
https://www.foodandwine.com/wine-regions/baja-california-mexico-wine-tacos

Study: Radioactive Fukushima particles found in California wine
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8553019-181/study-radioactive-fukushima-particles-found

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

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

This Day in History

        1609 – The English ship, Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.
    1651 - African slaves in America arrived for the first time at the Spanish colony of St. Augustine. They belonged to King Phillip II of Spain. The first slaves in the English colonies in America were introduced in Jamestown, VA, in August, 1619 by a Dutch man-of-war that sold 20 kidnapped Africans to the planter colonists. They were treated as indentured servants since slavery was not legalized in Virginia for several decades. Forms of slavery were also practiced among Native American peoples from ancient times.
    1722 – Drummer’s War began on the Maine-Massachusetts border.  This was a series (1722–1725) of battles between New England colonists and the Wabanaki Confederacy of natives (specifically the Mi’kmag, Maliseet, and Abenaki), who were allied with New France. The eastern theatre of the war was fought primarily along the border between New England and Acadia in present-day Maine and Nova Scotia.  The western theatre was fought in northern Massachusetts and Vermont at the border between Canada and New England. (During this time, Massachusetts included present-day Vermont and Maine).
    1729 - North Carolina becomes royal colony. As Jews were being banished in Europe from many cities for practicing their religion, they began migrating to the New World along with many other Christian faiths who no longer wanted to follow either the Church of England or the Vatican. Although few in number, Jewish immigrants were strong contributors to the religious life of America, according to historians. The first permanent Hebrew congregation to the colonies was formed in 1729 in New York City; the next year the members constructed a synagogue on Mill Street that was described as a “solid, neat, stone Temple.”  The congregation later added the first school for Jewish children. Around this time, Jewish communities were also developing Charleston, S.C., Newport, R.I., and Philadelphia, PA.   By the time of the American Revolution, there were between 2000 and 3000 Jews in the colonies, mostly merchants and traders. An act of Parliament in 1740 allowed Jews to be naturalized, and in the colonies they found more political and religious freedom than anywhere else in the world.
    1750 – Henry Knox (d. 1806), America’s first Secretary of War was born in Boston.  When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, he befriended General George Washington and quickly rose to become the chief artillery officer of the Continental Army. He accompanied Washington on most of his campaigns, and had some involvement in many major actions of the war. He established training centers for artillerymen and manufacturing facilities for weaponry that were valuable assets to the fledgling nation.  Following the adoption of the Constitution, he became President Washington's Secretary of War.
    1755 - British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council ordered the deportation of the Acadians. Thousands of Acadians are sent to the British Colonies in America, France and England. Some later move to Louisiana.  The word Cajun is a prostitution of the word Acadians.
    1783 – According to Wikipedia, the final conflict of the American Revolutionary War occurred, the Siege of Cuddalore, in present-day India.  Although a cease-fire was declared by Congress on Apr 11, 1783, British troops attempted an attack on a combined French and Mysorean garrison at Cuddalore. The siege was ended by the preliminary peace between France and Britain.
    1805 - Aaron Burr reportedly visited New Orleans with plans to establish a new country, with New Orleans as the capital city.
    1814 - Battle of Niagara Falls (Lundy's Lane).  Reinforcements arrive near for General Riall's British and Canadian forces and a bloody, all-night battle with Jacob Brown’s American forces commences at 18.00; the Americans retreated to Fort Erie.
http://www.lundyslanemuseum.com/battle.html
    1814 - George Stephenson (1781-1841) introduced the first steam locomotive, for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Renowned as the "Father of Railways,” he is considered a great example of diligent application and thirst for improvement.  His rail gauge of 4 feet 8 1⁄2 inches, sometimes called "Stephenson gauge", is the standard by name and by convention for most of the world's railways.
    1832 – The first railroad accident in U.S., on the Granite Railway in Quincy, Mass., resulted in one fatality.
    1848 - Arthur James Balfour (d. 1930), the British statesman best remembered, on Nov. 2, 1917, for issuing the British declaration of support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, was born in East Lothian, Scotland.
    1850 - Gold is discovered in the Rogue River in Oregon, extending the quest for gold up the Pacific coast. 
    1851 – A new Mission Plank toll road opened in San Francisco. First toll station at Third and Stevenson. The planked roadway ran from Clay and Kearny, out Third to Mission, and then along Mission to Corbett Road. It bridged the marsh between Sixth and Eighth St. Tolls were 25 cents for riders on horseback, 75 cents for two-horse wagons and one dollar for a four-horse team.
    1853 – Joaquin Murrieta, the famous California bandit known as "Robin Hood of El Dorado", was killed. Murrieta reportedly went to California in 1849 to seek his fortune in the Gold Rush. He encountered racism in the extreme competition of the rough mining camps. While mining for gold, he and his wife supposedly were attacked by American miners jealous of his success.  They allegedly beat him and raped his wife. The historian Frank Latta, in his twentieth-century book, “Joaquín Murrieta and His Horse Gangs” (1980), wrote that Murrieta was from the northern Mexican state of Sonora and that he had a paramilitary band made up of relatives and friends. Latta documented that they regularly engaged in illegal horse trade with Mexico, and had helped Murrieta kill at least six of the Americans who had attacked him and his wife.  He and his band attacked settlers and wagon trains in California. The gang is believed to have killed up to 28 Chinese and 13 Anglo-Americans.  By 1853, the California state legislature considered Murrieta enough of a criminal to list him on a bill passed in May 1853. The legislature authorized hiring for three months a company of 20 California Rangers, all veterans of the Mexican-American War, to hunt down "Joaquin Botellier, Joaquin Carrillo, Joaquin Muriata [sic], Joaquin Ocomorenia, and Joaquin Valenzuela," and their banded associates.  On July 25, 1853, a group of Rangers encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Arroyo de Cantua near the Coast Range Mountains of Coalinga. In the confrontation, three of the Mexicans were killed. They claimed one was Murrieta, and another Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of his most notorious associates.
    1861 – Congress passes the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.  Could this have been the first attempt by Congress to spin a story?
    1863 - The first monument to commemorate the Civil War, a plain brownstone shaft designed by Nelson Augustus Moore, was dedicated two years before the end of the war, at a cost of $4350. It was “erected to commemorate the death of those who perished in suppressing the Southern Rebellion” and eventually carried the names of 16 men. It is still standing in Berlin, CT.
http://www.chs.org/ransom/images/004.jpg
http://www.chs.org/ransom/004.htm
    1866 - Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army.  Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.
    1866 - David G Farragut became the first Rear Admiral in US Navy
http://www.abraham-lincoln.org/admiralfarragut.org/
    1868 - Territory of Wyoming was created.  The territory was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, made famous by the 1809 poem “Gertrude of Wyoming” by Thomas Campbell, based on the Revolutionary War battle at that site.  The name ultimately derives from the Munsee word meaning "at the big river flat.”   After the Union Pacific Railroad had reached the town of Cheyenne in 1867, the region's population began to grow steadily, motivating the federal government to establish the Wyoming Territory.
http://www.wyomingnews.com/
http://www.wyomingtourism.org/tourism/internal.cfm
    1874 - "The Maple Leaf Forever," one of Canada’s most famous patriotic songs, was said to have been performed for the first time during the laying of the foundation stone for the Christian Baptist Church in Newmarket, Ontario. The song's composer, Alexander Muir, conducted a choir of schoolchildren. But "The Maple Leaf Forever" likely had its first public performance years earlier. An early sheet music edition of the song in 1871 said it had been "sung with great applause by J.F. Hardy, Esquire, in his popular entertainments." (sounds very much like “My Country ‘Tis of Thee“).
http://www.geocities.com/loyal1ca/queen.mid
http://www.canadafirst.net/maple_leaf_forever/
http://www2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/clamen/misc/Canadiana/
MapleLeafForever.html
    1890 - In his last minor league appearance, 23-year old Cy Young strikes out 18 batters en route to a tossing no-hitter in a Tri-State contest against McKeesport (PA). The right-hander went on to amass a record 511 victories during his 22-year Hall of Fame Major League career. 
    1891 - Heat wave at Los Angeles with 103 on the 24th and 100 on the 25th. Peak during heat wave was 109
    1894 – Birthday of actor Walter Brennan (d. 1974), in Lynn, MA.  He served as a private with the 101st Field Artillery Regiment in France during World War I. During the 1920s, he made a fortune in the real estate market, but he lost most of his money during the Great Depression.  Finding himself broke, he began taking extra parts in 1929 and then bit parts in as many films as he could, then proceeded to record one of the industry’s most versatile careers in both movies and television.  Film historians and critics have long regarded Brennan as one of the finest character actors in motion picture history.  He was the first actor to win three Academy Awards: “Come and Get It” (1936), “Kentucky” (1938), and “The Westerner” (1940) and remains the only person to have won three Best Supporting Actor awards.
    1896 or 1897 - Birthday of blues guitarist Sylvester Weaver (d. 1960), Louisville, KY, considered to be the pioneer of country blues music.
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,508077,00.html
?artist=Sylvester+Weaver
    1898 - Puerto Rico was invaded by U.S. Forces led by Major General Nelson A. Miles. The landing was made at Guanica, on the southern coast. Resistance was minimal. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.com/namiles.htm
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/miles.htm
    1899 - Birthday of coronet player Johnny Wiggs (d. 1977), born John Wigginton Hyman, New Orleans, LA.  He helped found the New Orleans Jazz Club and was a force behind the jazz revival in the 1940s.
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,509639,00.html
?artist=Johnny+Wiggs
    1903 - Castle on top of Telegraph Hill, San Francisco burns down.  Frederick O. Layman imagined an “observatory” where people could survey the surroundings for as far as the eye could see in any direction. He designed the building to look like a German baronial castle which he opened on the Fourth of July in 1882.  Within two years, a new cable care line was created on Greenwich Street to make it easier for people to get up the steep hill.  After an accidental death on the Greenwich Street cable car line on its way up to the Observatory, business at the tourist attraction plummeted. It never fully recovered, and in 1903, a fire engulfed the wooden structure; Layman’s Folly was no more.  Among those watching the devastating fire that destroyed the castle on the hill were Julius and Louis Mastropasqua. The two Italian immigrants had just arrived in San Francisco the year before. The memory of the castle on the hill stayed with these men, and twenty years later, those nostalgic memories became the basis for the Roz the restaurateur and Mastropasqua the architect to create a new restaurant on Telegraph Hill – Julius’ Castle that remained open until 2008.
http://www.discountgraphics.net/photo-sbloom/sbloom/sbnorbeach.html\
http://www.sfneighborhoodparks.org/parkhistories/pioneer.html
    1906 - Johnny “Rabbit” Hodges (d. 1970) birthday, Cambridge, MA; alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band.
http://blackhistory.eb.com/micro/273/36.html
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?action=new
&aid=339&aname=Johnny+Hodges
http://thrill.to/Hodges
    1907 - Birthday of blues guitarist Guitar Slim Green, born Norman G. Green (d. 1975) Bryan, TX, who made a handful of 45s for West Coast-based labels between the late 40s and 1970.
    1908 - Birthday of pianist Henry Brown (d. 1981), Troy, TN.  He recorded sides (often in tandem with Ike Rogers) with Mary Johnson, among others, in between playing in clubs around St. Louis, where he lived most of his life and worked regularly right up through the mid-'70s.
    1914 – Birthday of Woody Strode (d. 1994), born Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode in Los Angeles.  Strode, Kenny Washington and Jackie Robinson starred on the 1939 UCLA football team.  With Ray Bartlett, there were four African-Americans playing for the Bruins, when only a few dozen at all played on other college football teams. They played eventual conference and national champion USC to a 0–0 tie with the 1940 Rose Bowl on the line. It was the first UCLA-USC rivalry game with national implications.  Strode and Washington were two of the first African-Americans to play in major college programs and, later, in the modern NFL, playing for the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. No black men had played in the NFL from 1933 to 1946.  His post-football career included several dozen film roles.
    1915 – Birthday of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., (d. 1944), Hull, MA.  First-born of the Kennedy clan and brother of President Kennedy.  After graduating from Harvard in 1938, he left before his final year of law school to begin officer and flight training in the US Navy. Kennedy had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an Operation Aphrodite mission.  Operation Aphrodite (US Army Air Forces) and Operation Anvil (US Navy) made use of unmanned, explosive-laden bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control. These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators and parachuting from the aircraft.  On the fatal mission, on August 12, 1944, the explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the plane, killing Kennedy and his co-pilot instantly.
    1916 - African-American Garrett T. Morgan, inventor of the gas mask, rescues six from gas-filled tunnel in Cleveland, Ohio.
  http://www.kytales.com/gmorgan/gmorgan.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/page/m/morgan.shtml
    1918 - Annette Abbot Adams became the first woman District Attorney, serving as U.S. district attorney in the Northern California District from July 25, 1918 to June 26, 1920. http://www.stanford.edu/group/WLHP/papers/aaahtml.html
    1918 - Race riot in Chester Pennsylvania (3 blacks and 2 whites killed)
http://www4.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr54i.htm
http://africana.umn.edu/hist1901_25.htm
    1925 - Station 2XAG in Schenectady, NY became the first radio station in the U.S. to broadcast with a 50,000-watt transmitter. The station, soon known as WGY Radio, was owned by the General Electric Company. Today, WGY still broadcasts with its original call letters and is still using 50,000 watts of power. http://www.wgy.com/main.html
    1930 - Birthday of Maureen Forrester (d. 2010), Montreal.  One of the world's leading contraltos, she appeared with top orchestras and choirs in Europe and North America under such renowned conductors as Sir Thomas Beecham, Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan. In 1971, Forrester was awarded the Molson Prize by the Canada Council for outstanding cultural achievement.
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Forrester-Maureen.htm
    1930 - Birthday of singer Annie Ross, born Annabelle Allan Short, Mitcham, UK.  Best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF96/Ismael/jazz/1960/Ross.html
http://www.hopper-management.com/ar_bio_e.htm
    1934 - Birthday of trumpeter Don Ellis (d. 1978), Los Angeles, CA. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of unusual time signatures. Later in his life he worked as a film composer, among other works contributing a score to 1971's “The French Connection” and 1973's “The Seven-Ups.” http://www.handofgord.com/donellis/
http://home.earthlink.net/~tfronauer/info.html
    1934 - The first president to visit Hawaii while in office was Franklin Delano Roosevelt at Hilo. He was officially welcomed by Governor Joseph Poindexter on board the cruiser U.S.S. Houston. Hawaii was then a territory of the United States.
    1936 - 115-acre Orchard Beach opens in The Bronx, part of Pelham Bay Park.
http://www.newyorkled.com/pelhambay.htm
http://www.newyorkled.com/moreNYseasonal_Beaches.htm
    1941 – Birthday of Emmitt Till (d. 1955), Chicago.  Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Several nights later, on August 28, 1955, the woman’s husband and his half-brother went to Till's great-uncle's house. They took the boy away to a barn, where they beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound cotton gin fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. Three days later, Till's body was discovered and retrieved from the river.  "When an all-white, all-male jury acquitted Bryant and Milam of kidnapping and murder in September, the verdict shocked observers across the country and around the world. And when, mere months later, the men openly admitted to Look magazine that they had, in fact, mutilated and murdered Till, the outcry was so intense — and the reaction of Till’s devastated family so dignified — that it lit a spark that helped ignite the modern civil rights movement."  In a report to Congress in March 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that it was reopening the investigation into Till's death due to unspecified new information.
    1941 - Forty-one-year-old Lefty Grove won his 300th game as the Red Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians, 10-6, at Fenway Park. This was Grove's last career win.
    1942 - Capitol Records first number one hit made it to the top. It was one of their first six records released on July 1. The new company's hit was "Cow Cow Boogie," by Ella Mae Morse and Freddy Slack. http://www.redhotjazz.com/cowcow.html
http://www.prescottlink.com/morse/ella.html
    1943 - The SS Leonard Roy Harmon was launched in Quincy, MA, the first warship named for an African-American.  Harmon (1917-42) was a sailor who died in action during World War II and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his valor. 
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-h/de678.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/pers-us/uspers-h/l-harmon.htm
    1943 - King Victor Emmanuel III announced to Italy that he had accepted the “resignations” of Premier Benito Mussolini and his entire cabinet, leading to the end of Italy’s alliance with Nazi Germany in World War II.  Victor Emmanuel surprised the world by having Mussolini arrested and installing Marshal Pietro Badoglio as premier. The move failed to extricate Italy from the war or the King from his difficult position, and finally, on June 5, 1944, the day after the Allied liberation of Rome, he named his son, Crown Prince Umberto, lieutenant general of the realm, relinquishing all power for himself but retaining his title of king. His reign brought the end of the Italian monarchy.
    1944 – The first jet fighter used in combat was a German Messerschmitt 262.  Near the end of the war, Germany was not only producing rockets to bomb England, but building them to bomb the US.  They were also building larger and stronger tanks, working on an atomic bomb to be put on the rockets, and were now in production of jet air craft.
http://www.fighter-planes.com/info/me262.htm
http://www.users.bigpond.com/markltuc/me262a-1a.htm http://www.stormbirds.com/warbirds/sims/sims_swotl.html
    1945 - The Allies were able to break out of the Normandy beachhead. Having made a spectacularly successful landing on D-Day (June 6), Allied forces then secured and extended their position by landing more than a million men and 60,000 tons of supplies. Despite early success with Operation Overlord, the Allies were pinned down, and a breakout was necessary if France was to be retaken. Sustained air bombardment (carpet bombing) created gaps in the German lines, and, on this date, Allied forces penetrated the lines and outflanked and bypassed German units. The German forces were incredulous at the speed with which the Allies shook loose from them and advanced over the French countryside. Leading the advance was General George S. Patton, who not only shocked the Allied command at his divisions’ abilities, but overwhelmed the German high command and all the strategy and might that they could throw at Patton's tanks and infantry.
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mickay/patton.htm
http://www.nationalreview.com/weekend/history/history-
patton111001.shtml
    1946 - The first bikini is shown at a Paris fashion show.
http://www.bikiniatoll.com/Bikiniwaxing.html#anchor456238
http://www.247dreams.com/
    1946 – Operation Crossroads: An atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll.
    1947 - The National Security Act of 1947 was passed by Congress. The act unified the armed forces, including the newly formed US Air Force, the Navy and War Department to form the Department of Defense, and creating the cabinet position of Secretary of Defense to replace the Secretary of War. It also established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. The act was signed on July 26 by President Truman, who nominated Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal as the first Secretary of Defense. Forrestal was confirmed by Congress on July 27.
    1948 - Birthday of guitarist/songwriter Steve Goodman (d. 1984), Chicago, IL.
http://www.hepcat.com/goodman/good.html
http://www.hepcat.com/goodman/fcs.html
    1952 - Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States. Residents of Puerto Rico possess all the rights of U.S. citizens except that of voting in federal elections.
http://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml
http://americanhistory.si.edu/vidal/
http://www.puertorico.com/
http://escape.topuertorico.com/
    1953 - GUILLEN, AMBROSIO, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Songuch-on, Korea, 25 July 1953. Entered service at: El Paso, Tex. Born: 7 December 1929, La Junta, Colo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a platoon sergeant of Company F in action against enemy aggressor forces. Participating in the defense of an outpost forward of the main line of resistance, S/Sgt. Guillen maneuvered his platoon over unfamiliar terrain in the face of hostile fire and placed his men in fighting positions. With his unit pinned down when the outpost was attacked under cover of darkness by an estimated force of 2 enemy battalions supported by mortar and artillery fire, he deliberately exposed himself to the heavy barrage and attacks to direct his men in defending their positions and personally supervise the treatment and evacuation of the wounded. Inspired by his leadership, the platoon quickly rallied and engaged the enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Although critically wounded during the course of the battle, S/Sgt. Guillen refused medical aid and continued to direct his men throughout the remainder of the engagement until the enemy was defeated and thrown into disorderly retreat. Succumbing to his wounds within a few hours, S/Sgt. Guillen, by his outstanding courage and indomitable fighting spirit, was directly responsible for the success of his platoon in repelling a numerically superior enemy force. His personal valor reflects the highest credit upon himself and enhances the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1954 – Birthday of Chicago Bears RB and Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton (d. 1999), in Columbia, MS.   Payton holds numerous NFL records including rushing yards gained in one game [275] and career [16,726]; at his death he also had the most touchdowns scored [110].  “Sweetness” was one of the most beloved athletes to have played in Chicago.  He died Nov 1, 1999 of liver cancer.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/1999/11/01/payton_obit/
http://payton34.org/
    1956 - Forty-five miles south of Nantucket, the Italian ocean liner, SS Andrea Doria, collided with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
    1958 - Top Hits
“Hard Headed Woman” - Elvis Presley
“Poor Little Fool” - Ricky Nelson
“Little Star” - The Elegants
“Alone with You” - Faron Young
     1959 – Fidel Castro supporters, enjoying a raucous July 26th Celebration in La Gran Stadium in Havana, brought to a halt to the International League game between the Rochester Red Wings and Havana Sugar Kings with random gunshots from the stands.  Red Wings 3B coach Frank Verdi and Havana SS Leo Cardenas both suffered minor flesh wounds, which caused manager Cot Deal to pull his players from the field and retreat to their hotel. League officials canceled the remainder of the Havana team's homestand, and, with pressure on Commissioner Ford Frick from U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter, eventually relocated the franchise to Newark, NJ for the 1960 season.
    1960 - The Ventures "Walk Don't Run" enters the US Pop chart and introduces the instrumental Surf sound to Rock 'n' Roll. The song will peak at #2 a month later. 
    1960 - Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" debuted on Billboard's Pop music chart. The song was adapted from the Italian tune "O Sole Mio," written in 1899. 
    1961 – New York Yankees’ right fielder Roger Maris, on his way to 61 HRs, hits home runs 37, 38, 39 and 40 in a double header.  Maris moved 25 games ahead of Babe Ruth’s 1927 pace. The slugger finished the season with a record 61 round trippers. Teammate Mickey Mantle also homered in the first game, ending with 38.  Mantle finished the season with 54, still the best HR season by two teammates in Major League history.  
    1961 – President Kennedy declares that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
    1962 - The Elvis Presley film “Kid Galahad'' premieres.
    1964 - Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" album goes #1 and stays #1 for 14 weeks
    1964 - Race riot in Rochester NY
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/rbk/Raceriot.stm
    1965 - Bob Dylan, backed by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, horrified the audience at the Newport Folk Festival with his new electric sound. He was booed off stage after three tunes but returned with his acoustic guitar to play two songs -- "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue” and "Mr. Tambourine Man"-- signaling a major change in folk and rock music.
    1966 - In San Francisco, the Rolling Stones perform their last U.S. concert with Brian Jones.
    1966 - Top Hits
“Hanky Panky” - Tommy James & The Shondells
“Wild Thing” - The Troggs
“Lil’ Red Riding Hood” - Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
“Think of Me” - Buck Owens
    1966 - Trivia for followers of Al Davis:  Named commissioner of the American Football League just three and a half months earlier, he resigned this day and returned to his previous position, president of the general partner of the Oakland Raiders. Davis resigned two weeks after NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced a merger between the AFL and NFL.
    1966 – Supremes with Diana Ross release "You Can't Hurry Love"
http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0109117.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/12590/davisal.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0723
    1966 - New York Yankee manager Casey Stengel elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.  Prior to taking the helm of the Yankees in 1949, Stengel was widely regarded as a clown.  He did, however, hit the first World Series homer in Yankee Stadium.  He had largely unsuccessful stints managing the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers.  After leading the PCL Oakland Oaks to successive league championships, the Yankees hired him after failing to reach the World Series under Bucky Harris in 1948.  Stengel went on to manage the Yankees through 1960, winning either the World Series or American League pennant every year but 1954 and 1959.  The Yankees under Stengel won the World Series in five successive years (1949-53), a feat unequalled in Major League history, and a total of seven.  Fired after the Yanks lost the 1960 Series to the Pirates on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off HR in game 7…they didn’t call them walk-offs then…Stengel was heard to say, “I’ll never make the mistake of being 70 again.” He was the first manager of the newly-formed New York Mets, leading them through mostly mediocre seasons before retiring late in the 1965 season.  Casey died of cancer in Glendale, CA on September 29, 1975.
    1966 – Red Sox great Ted Williams was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Considered by many to be the greatest hitter who ever played the game, in his induction speech, the "Splendid Splinter" made a strong appeal for the inclusion of Negro League stars at Cooperstown. The Special Committee on the Negro Leagues was founded in 1971, chaired by Monte Irvin.   The first of the former Negro Leaguers to be inducted was Satchel Paige in 1971, followed by Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard a year later.  There are now more than 40 in the Hall.
    1967 - Construction begins on San Francisco Muni Metro (Market Street subway).
http://www.nycsubway.org/us/sf/metro/
http://www.transitinfo.org/Muni/
http://www.sfmuni.com/rider/visitors.htm
    1969 – President Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war.
    1969 - Toronto native Neil Young joined Crosby, Stills and Nash for the first time at a concert at the Fillmore East in New York. Young and Stephen Stills had worked together previously in Buffalo Springfield. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's second appearance was at the Woodstock Festival a month later. The quartet broke up in 1971.
http://www.neilyoung.com/
    1970 - Chicago's "25 or 6 to 4" is released.  The song is about trying to write a song in the middle of the night. The song's title is the time at which the song is set: 25 or 26 minutes before 4 AM. Because of the unique phrasing of the song's title, "25 or 6 to 4" has been incorrectly speculated to be a veiled reference to drug quantities, or a mystical allusion. 
    1970 - The Carpenters "Close To You" topped the Billboard Pop chart and became the first of many US hits for the brother and sister team. The song itself had been written in 1963 by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and was first offered to Herb Alpert, who said he didn't feel comfortable singing 'so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair.' 
    1971 - The Beach Boys make a return with the release of their album "Surf's Up." It hits #29 which is their highest charting at this time.
    1972 - The US admits that Blacks were used for 40 years as “guinea pigs” in the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.
http://www.thetalkingdrum.com/tus.html
http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_423.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0029166764/
inktomi-bkasin-20/103-4403830-8968645
    1974 - Top Hits
“Rock Your Baby” - George McCrae
“Annie’s Song” - John Denver
“Rock and Roll Heaven” - The Righteous Brothers
“Maria Laveau” - Bobby Bare
    1975 - The musical "A Chorus Line" opened at the Shubert Theatre in New York after a two-month run at a small theatre in the New York Shakespeare Festival complex in the East Village. "A Chorus Line" became Broadway's longest-running show, finally closing on April 28th, 1990, after 6,137 performances. More than six-and-a-half million people paid $150 million to see the show during its Broadway run. Productions of "A Chorus Line” were also mounted in more than 20 countries.
http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/albm56.html
    1978 – Louise Brown, the first test tube baby was born at Oldham General Hospital, Oldham, England, by planned Caesarean section, delivered by registrar John Webster.  She weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces.  In 2004, Brown married nightclub bouncer Wesley Mullinder. Their son Cameron, conceived naturally, was born on 20 December 2006.  Brown's second son, Aiden, was born in August, 2013.
    1979 - Tropical Storm Claudette produced phenomenal rainfall totals in southeast Texas. 30-40 inches fell in 24 hours around Alvin. Freeport reported a total of 30 inches. Total damage from flooding was over $400 million
    1980 - AC\DC releases "Back In Black," their first album with Brian Johnson as lead singer.
    1980 - Kiss introduces their new drummer, Eric Carr, at a concert at the Palladium in New York City. Carr, who wears fox make-up, replaces Peter Criss, who was made up as a cat.
    1981 - Air Supply becomes the first Australian band to top the Billboard Pop chart when "The One That You Love" reaches number one. They would go on to place seven consecutive singles in the top five.
    1981 - Walter Payton signed a contract to play with the Chicago Bears of the NFL on this, his 27th birthday. The famed running back earned almost $2 million over three years. “Sweetness,” as he was nicknamed because of his disposition, became the highest-paid player in the National Football League.
    1982 - Top Hits
“Eye of the Tiger” - Survivor
“Rosanna” - Toto
“Hurts So Good” - John Cougar
“Take Me Down” - Alabama
    1985 - Spokeswoman for movie star Rock Hudson confirmed he had AIDS
    1987 - Sixteen cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Beckley, WV, equaled their all-time record high of 91 degrees, established just the previous day. It marked their fourth day in a row of 90-degree heat, after hitting 90 degrees just twice in the previous 25 years of records. The water temperature of Lake Erie at Buffalo, NY, reached 79 degrees, the warmest reading in 52 years of records. 
    1990 - Roseanne Barr sings the National Anthem at San Diego Padres game.  Sports fans go nuts as she screeched more than sang and grabbed her crotch at the end.
    1990 - Top Hits
“She ain’t Worth It” - Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown
“Hold On” - En Vogue
“Cradle of Love” - Billy Idol
“The Dance” - Garth Brooks
    1990 - US Ambassador tells Iraq, “US won't take sides in Iraq-Kuwait dispute.”   Six months later, the US sent missiles into Iraq in a war that lasted all of six weeks.
    1997 - "Air Force One," with Harrison Ford. Rebel Russian hijackers capture the plane. It earned $37.13 million the first weekend.
    1997 - Dr. John D. Gearhart and a team of researchers at the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, announced they had cultured human stem cells in a laboratory, using tissue taken from aborted human embryos. Stem cells are the basic, unspecialized cells from which all other cells in the body develop during the growth of a baby in the womb.
    1999 - Lance Armstrong rode to victory in the Tour de France, capping an amazing comeback from cancer. He was only the second American to win cycling's showcase race. http://www.laf.org
    1999 - Nolan Ryan, Robin Yount, George Brett, Nestor Chylak, Orlando Cepeda, Frank Selee and 'Smokey' Joe Williams are enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
    2000 - Top Hits
“It’s Gonna Be Me” - N Sync 
“Bent” - matchbox twenty 
“Everything You Want” - Vertical Horizon 
“Try Again” - Aaliyah 
    2001 - E. Stanley O'Neil to become Merrill Lynch & Co chief executive, first African American to lead a major Wall Street securities firm.
    2004 - Paul Molitor, a member 3000 hit club, and Dennis Eckersley, who appeared in the most games of any Hall of Fame pitcher (1,071 games), are inducted into the Hall of Fame. Long time Bay Area (A's and Giants ) broadcaster Lon Simmons wins the Ford C. Frick Award and the J.G. Taylor Spink Award is won by New York Times' Murray Chass, enabling both to become members of the Hall for their outstanding reporting of the national pastime.
    2005 - Top Hits
“We Belong Together” - Mariah Carey 
“Pon de Replay” - Rihanna 
“SRP/Def Jam” - 004809* | IDJMG
“Hollaback Girl” - Gwen Stefani 
“Don't Cha” - The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Busta Rhymes
    2010 - The National Baseball Hall of Fame honors John Fogerty, for his classic song “Centerfield.” It is reported to be the second-most played song about baseball, after “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”  At the induction ceremonies, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer performs his 1985 hit, and then donates his baseball bat shaped-guitar to the Cooperstown museum.  Fogerty became the only musician to be so celebrated.
    2010 - Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the war in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.  WikiLeaks released “Afghan War Diary,” a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War not previously available to the public.  At the end of July, a 1.4 GB "insurance file" was added to the Afghan War Diary page, whose decryption details would be released if WikiLeaks or Assange were harmed.  About 15,000 of the documents have not yet been released by WikiLeaks, as the group is currently reviewing the documents to remove some of the sources of the information.
    2010 - Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner declares his interest in allowing the set of tax cuts in the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to expire at the end of 2010.
    2014 - Bose filed a lawsuit against Beats Electronics for violating various patents related to noise-cancellation technology.  Apple officially purchased Beats for $3 billion in late May.  The litigation was settled between the parties without further comment and Apple cleared all of its stores of Bose equipment immediately.