Position Wanted – Credit
Work Remotely or Relocate for Right Opportunity

Orlando, Florida - Will work remotely

As a Commercial Credit Analyst/Underwriter, I have evaluated transactions from sole proprietorships to listed companies, across a broad spectrum of industries, embracing a multitude of asset types. Sound understanding of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow dynamics which impact credit decisions. Strong appreciation for credit/asset risk.
rpsteiner21@aol.com
407 430-3917

 

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Leasing News Top Stories
November 19 - November 21

(Stories most opened by readers)

(1) Merchant Cash Advance Deemed Not to be a Loan— But Denies Summary Judgement Whether MCA ACH Debits Are a Preference in Bankruptcy
    By Tom McCurnin, Leasing News Legal Editor
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_21.htm#merchant

(2) New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
       and Related Industries
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_21.htm#hires

(3) Get Rid of Some Junk Cluttering Your House
          Photo
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_19.htm#get

(4) October, 2018 - The List
   "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_19.htm#oct_list

(5) Letters?  We get email!
  So. Cal Fire/Direct Capital/NACLB Conf.
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_19.htm#letters

(6) Review New tax law allowing small businesses
   to expense more, bonus depreciation expansion
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_19.htm#review

(7) How to Compete with Large Lenders on Pay–Per–Click
   FinTech #102 by Alex Vasilakos
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_21.htm#fintech

(8) Jamie Dimon Vindicated?
  Bitcoin’s Back to Where He Cried ‘Fraud’
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-20/jamie-dimon-vindicated-bitcoin-s-back-to-where-he-cried-fraud?srnd=premium

(9) ELFF Monthly Confidence Drops to 58.5
    Lowest Since November, 2016 54.6
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_19.htm#elff

(10) CEMC Roundtable Offers Exploration of New Possibilities
      Bringing the Equipment Finance Industry into the Digital Age
          By Susan Carol, APR
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Nov2018/11_21.htm#cemc

 

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Senators Rubio and Kennedy Introduce
“The Small Business Credit Protection Act”

By Thomas M. Cull, Esq.

Senators John Kennedy of Louisiana and Marco Rubio of Florida have introduced the Small Business Credit Protection Act. If passed, the legislation would require credit bureaus to notify small businesses of nonpublic personal data breaches within thirty days of a breach. The bill also mandates that credit bureaus must provide free credit reports to small businesses for 180 following a breach.

Unlike consumer credit scores, business credit reports are not free of charge. Small businesses are required to pay between $40 to $100 to view a single report from one of the three credit reporting agencies. The scores range from a 0-100, though there apparently is not an industry standard.

The proposed legislation marks a notable change for small businesses and business credit. Following the Equifax breach just over a year ago, Congress amended the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide additional protections for “consumers.” However, the legislation did not extend those protections to small businesses because the statutory term of “consumer” was defined to exclude business credit.

So far, the proposed legislation is only one page, as it appears Senators Kennedy and Rubio are looking for early support for their initiative from fellow Senators. Presumably, the Senate will release a formal draft of the proposed legislation in the coming months if they can wrangle support for their legislation. We also expect the bill to undergo amendments in Committee and on the floor before a final vote before it is brought to a final vote (if it advances that far(, Stay Tuned

The National Law Review

 Thomas M. Cull

As a member of the firm’s business litigation practice group, Thomas represents mid-market corporations, limited liability companies, and other business entities in commercial disputes involving claims for breach of contract, civil RICO, fraud, and breach of warranty, among others. He also frequently works on matters involving financial services and product liability litigation.

Thomas also works closely with clients throughout the appeals process. His corporate clients benefit from his experience working with the Innocence Project, a non-profit...

TCull@wbd-us.com
864-255-5442
www.womblebonddickinson.com/us 

 

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Sales Makes it Happen

Probing Questions for Equipment Leasing

By Terry Winders, CLP

(Terry retired a few years ago. He wrote for Leasing News for over 15 years. He worked for ELFA and others. He was a teacher, writer, as well as conducted lease training and provided consulting for banks and funders for 54 years, as well as being a broker, funder, and at one time, a bank officer. Recently he turned 76. To celebrate, I looked through his columns he wrote and found this one from 2007. Editor.)

Usually customers have a fairly conventional 36 month, 48 month, or 60 month term, with level payments, in mind when we first meet them about leasing terms.

To set yourself apart from the crowd you should ask some probing questions to determine what structure would better serve the lessee and help your proposal to look more competitive. Never launch into your sales pitch without first looking for the true needs of the customer.

The first question you should ask is “How long do you expect to use the equipment?"

Another may be: "Is there a better time during the year for the lease to terminate so the next exchange of equipment would be the least disruptive to normal business activity"

The answer may create a term in months not years and generally will not be just 36 or 48or 60 months. It may start in May and terminate in October creating a 41, or 53 month, lease. A term that follows the actual term of use is attractive to the lessee because the expense stops when the equipment does.

Next ask questions about the seasonally of the lessee's cash flow and their interest in arranging irregular payments that follows that seasonally.

They may prefer lease payments that follow the booking of revenue as opposed to the day they actually collect the cash. Or they may prefer to arrange lease payments when the cash is available. If rent expense follows revenue then the transaction helps the customer to see a true margin. A need of management is to control the timing of expenses to manage true margins. You rate may not be as important as their

control of cash flow. This expense is eliminated with properly structured irregular lease payments. It is another selling point to lease.

You should also ask if they have a budget and what they have placed in the budget for the lease payment. You are more successful arranging lease payments that fit their budget amount, which will most likely an odd number of months, than trying to sell them full year’s terms.

Ask about maintenance because when equipment is new it needs little if any maintenance but as it ages the cost of maintenance increases. A classic need for higher payments in the beginning and stepping them down in the future.

Ask if the equipment is a replacement or an addition. If it is an addition then maybe a lower payment for the first six months or so would allow them to use the equipment to generate cash flow prior to making full payments.

Ask as many questions about the firm and the equipment that you can before you begin selling them yourself or your leasing program. One, it will give your customer more confidence in your advice, and it gives them an opportunity to re-enforce whey they need the equipment.

And if you learn enough, the customer may sell himself on your leasing program without having to go into a full sales pitch.

Terry with his granddaughter

 

Joins Broker/Lessor List "A"

The company originally requested to join the “Funder list.” Agreeing to this notation: “Alliance Commercial Capital has their own money as well as investors.  We were unable to confirm that 50% of their business is full recourse as Sam Fallenbaum did not want us to contact their investors for confirmation.  It also should be noted they have their own specialties, including cannabis program with loan size from $25,000 to $10 Million.” Editor.

Third Column: YES - Year Company Started | YELB - Years in equipment Leasing Business

A - City Business License | B- State License | C - Certified Leasing Professional | 
D - State(s) sales/use tax license |
E - Named as "lessor" on 50% or more of lease contract signed. |

Name City, State  Contact Website Leasing Association	YCS YELB (see above for meaning)	# of Empl.	Geographic Area	Minimum Dollar Amount	Service Organization	A	B	C	D	E
Alliance Commercial Capital, Inc.    Chicago, Illinois Sam Fallenbaum sam@accleasing.com 888-727-9960 Ext. 6078  www.accleasing.com AACFB (more)	1982	12	Nationwide	$2,500		Y	N	N	N	Y

“We are equipment and industry agnostic with very few restrictions.”

Full Broker “A” list:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Brokers/broker_Lessor.htm

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Jim Grant with Odin
He is Available

Jim Grant with his male American Hunting Lab “Odin." Jim is former Vice President of Quick Bridge Funding, Portfolio Manager, and Vice President of LEAF Commercial Capital. He is located in Southern California and is available since he is no longer at Quick Bridge. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-grant-35aab049/

 

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October Monthly Finance Index Equals August $8.9 Billion
Reports ELFA, Up from September $8.5 Billion

(Chart: Leasing News)

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) reported "... overall new business volume for October was $8.9 billion, up 6 percent year-over-year from new business volume in October 2017. Volume was up 5 percent month-to-month from $8.5 billion in September. Year to date, cumulative new business volume was up 4 percent compared to 2017."

click to make larger
(Chart: ELFA)

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation November Confidence Index was 58.5, the Lowest Since November, 2016: 54.6

The ELFA also reported the following for October: "Receivables over 30 days were 1.70 percent, up from 1.60 the previous month and up from 1.40 percent the same period in 2017. Charge-offs were 0.37 percent, down from 0.40 percent the previous month, and down from 0.41 in the year-earlier period.

"Credit approvals totaled 76.5 percent in October, up from 75.7 percent in September. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was up 0.5 percent year over year. During 2017, headcount was elevated due to acquisition activity at an MLFI reporting company."

click to make larger

click image to make larger

click image to make larger

click image to make larger

(Charts: ELFA)

Full October ELFA MFLI Report:
https://www.elfaonline.org/data/mlfi-25-monthly-leasing-and-finance-index/view-mlfi/monthly-leasing-and-finance-index-november-2018

 

 

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Deb Reuben, CLFP Receives CLFP Foundation Award
Cindy Spurdle Award of Excellence

Deb Reuben, President of Reuben Creative, received the Certified Lease & Professional (CLFP) 2018 Cindy Spurdle Award of Excellence. The award was created to acknowledge the CLFP who has contributed the most to the industry and best represents the CLFP ideals for the year.

Reid Raykovich, CLFP Executive Director states, “Deb took on the huge task of rewriting The Certified Lease & Finance Professionals’ Handbook and did it within the timeframe, budget and produced a phenomenal piece of work.  The Board of Directors and I couldn’t be more pleased with her tenacity and unique way of incorporating the knowledge of over forty Subject Matter Experts and translating it into one fluid Handbook.”

Upon receipt of the award, Ms. Reuben added, “It is an honor to receive this recognition. This project was an adventure. A handbook such as this is not the work of a lone author, but a collaborative labor of love influenced by many. I am grateful to all of the talented and dedicated authors and contributors to past CLFP Handbook editions, your work made it possible for me to earn my CLFP designation and formed the solid foundation for creating this new edition.

"It was a privilege to work with diverse and brilliant team of subject matter experts and reviewers who generously shared their wisdom, depth of experience, and expertise to make this possible. Thank you to the CLFP Foundation for the project opportunity and to Reid Raykovich, whose vision, leadership, and red pen were essential to the completion of this project.”

The CLFP designation identifies you as a knowledgeable professional to employers, clients, customer, and peers in the leasing industry. There are currently 637 Certified Lease & Finance Professionals throughout the world. For more information, call (206) 535-6281 or visit www.CLFPFoundation.org

 

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CLFP Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals
  Best Christmas Gift---Attendance Sign-up

The Academy for Lease & Finance Professionals is an educational class offered by the CLFP Foundation, presented by professionals in the industry.. This three-day event is designed to prepare an individual to sit for and pass the Certified Leasing and Finance Professional exam.

The cost to attend the class is varies, but is primarily $750. The cost of the exam is $695. When purchased together, the total is discounted to $1400. Current CLFPs are offered a discounted price of $395 and class attendance satisfies the Recertification requirement.

Thursday, January 03, 2019 
Start: 8:00 AM (UTC-07:00) End: Sat., January 05, 2019 4:00 PM (UTC-07:00
Location: Hosted by Ascentium Capital LLC, 4141 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ
Spaces left: 12
Registered: 13 registrants

Hotel recommendation: 
Scottsdale Marriott Suites Old Town
7325 East 3rd Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Thursday, February 07, 2019
Start: 8:00(PST)  End: Sat., February 09, 2019 4:00pm (PST)
Location: Hosted by Financial Pacific Leasing, In. 3455 S.
344TH Way, Federal Way, WA 98001
Spaces Left: 5
Registered: 20

Hotel recommendations:
Marriott Courtyard – Federal Way, WA
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/seafw-courtyard-seattle-federal-way/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2
Hilton Hampton Inn – Federal Way, WA
https://hamptoninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/washington/hampton-inn-and-suites-seattle-federal-way-SEAFWHX/index.html

Thursday, March 21, 2019
Albany, Minnesota
Start: 8:00 AM (CDT) End: Sat. March 23, 2019 4:00pm
Location: Hosted by Stearns Bank,  500 13th Street
Albany, Minnesota 56307
Registered: For Sterns Employees only
(Note: You can reserve the academy
for your company/bank employees)

Thursday, April 18, 2019
Saint Cloud, Minnesota
Co-Hosted by Northland Capital/Oakmont Capital Services, LLC
Thursday, April 18, 2017
Start: 8:00AM (UTC-06:00  End: Saturday 5:00pm (UTC: 06:00)
333 33rd Avenue South
Suite 100, Saint Cloud, MN 54201
Spaces Left: 6
Registered: 8 Registrants

Hotel Recommendations:
Fairfield Inn & Suites
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/stcfi-fairfield-inn-and-suites-st-cloud/

Holiday Inn & Suites
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-cloud/stcmn/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=GoogleMaps-_-HI-_-US-_-STCMN

Homewood Suites by Hilton
https://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/minnesota/homewood-suites-by-hilton-st-cloud-STCMNHW/index.html

Thursday, May 9, 2019
Chicago, Illinois
Start: 8:00 AM (CDT) End: May 11, 2019 
Location: 3400 Dundee Rd, Suite 330
Northbrook, Illinois 60062
Hosted by: ECS Financial Services, Illinois
Spaces Left: 23
Register: 1
Hotel Recommendation:
Marriott Courtyard Chicago-Deerfield:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chidf-courtyard-chicago-deerfield/
.
For more information, call Executive Director Reid Raykovich, CLFP at (206) 535-6281 or Sandy Vigilia, Executive Administrator (206) 535 – 6281. Visit http://www.CLFPFoundatio

Mutt (Doberman Pinscher/Terrier/American Pit Bull
Golden Valley, Minnesota   Adopt a Dog

Roscoe
#39674019
Male
3.3 years old
51 pounds
Neutered
Adopt Fee: $309

“Hi, my name is Roscoe!
Another shelter was caring for me before I came to Animal Humane Society to find a home.

“I’ll be a loving companion, but it may take me a little longer to acclimate to new people and new environments. A quieter, low-activity home would give me the opportunity to get used to new things at my own pace.

“Affectionate dogs like me are cuddly and love snuggling and giving kisses. I might be a little shy or bashful as I adapt to a new environment, but that should be easy in a home with moderate activity.

“Help bring out the best in me so I can be an ambassador for pit bulls everywhere. Adopt me and you’ll get a free eight-week training pass to Animal Humane Society's dog training courses. If you have any questions, please see a staff member or volunteer.

“I would do best in a home without other pets.

“Young children make me a little nervous. I would be happiest in a home without kids under the age of eight years.”

Golden Valley
845 Meadow Lane N., Golden Valley, MN 55422
952-435-7738
info@animalhumanesociety.org

Adoption Hours
Weekdays Noon-8 p.m.,
Weekends 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

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

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The Finance Marketing Group
Alex Vasilakos, Director of Marketing

Alex works exclusively with financial services companies but his depth of knowledge and experience can help design and implement long-reaching strategies for businesses across all industries.
Alex entered advertising and marketing in 2003 as the industry landscape shifted from traditional print to digital media. In that time, he has worked with numerous large accounts .in both healthcare and financial services, and has helped small and medium-sized businesses grow and flourish in their respective digital markets. He has won countless awards for creative direction and strategy, and is certified by Google Partners in both AdWords and Analytics.

Alex@financemarketing.com 
Office: 518-591-4645x102 / Fax: 518-677-1071
90 State Street, Suite 1500, Albany, NY 12207

News Briefs----

Banks’ Balance Sheets:
  Strong Enough to Absorb a Credit Shock?
http://ww2.cfo.com/credit/2018/11/banks-balance-sheets-strong-enough-to-absorb-a-credit-shock/

 

 

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You May Have Missed---

How an obscure legal document turned New York’s court system into a debt-collection machine
 that’s chewing up small businesses across America.
https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-confessions-of-judgment/?srnd=premium

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THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL 

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

The mountain and the squirrel 
Had a quarrel, 
And the former called the latter “Little Prig”; 
Bun replied, 
“You are doubtless very big; 
But all sorts of things and weather 
Must be taken in together, 
To make up a year 
And a sphere. 
And I think it is no disgrace 
To occupy my place. 
If I'm not so large as you, 
You are not so small as I, 
And not half so spry. 
I'll not deny you make 
A very pretty squirrel track; 
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; 
If I cannot carry forests on my back, 
Neither can you crack a nut.”

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Sports Briefs---

49ers routed 27-9 by Buccaneers after Foster’s release
https://www.sfchronicle.com/49ers/article/49ers-routed-27-9-by-Buccaneers-after-Foster-s-13420087.php?src=hp_totn

Seahawks' strong finish sets them up for season's home stretch
http://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-seahawks/post/_/id/31931/seahawks-strong-finish-sets-them-up-for-seasons-home-stretc

Philip Rivers Ties Ryan Tannehill's NFL Record
    for Consecutive Completions
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2807755-philip-rivers-ties-ryan-tannehills-nfl-record-for-consecutive-completions

Giants’ playoff dreams end in second-half meltdown
https://nypost.com/2018/11/25/giants-playoff-dreams-end-in-second-half-meltdown/

Jets put up fight as Patriots’ dominance continues
https://nypost.com/2018/11/25/jets-put-up-fight-as-patriots-dominance-continues/

Raiders’ future rests on Gruden the CEO,
     not Gruden the coach
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/11/25/raiders-future-rests-on-gruden-the-ceo-not-gruden-the-coach/

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California Nuts Briefs---

Deadly Camp Fire In Northern California Fully Contained
https://patch.com/california/losgatos/s/gk779/deadly-camp-fire-in-northern-california-fully-contained

San Jose mayor pushes for 25 percent affordable housing
   mandate around Google development
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/20/san-jose-mayor-wants-affordable-housing-mandate-near-google-development/

First Look: Manresa Bread’s first all-day cafe opens in Campbell
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/11/21/first-look-in-campbell-manresa-breads-first-all-day-cafe/

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“Gimme that Wine”

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

Sonoma winery makes Wine Spectator's top 10 of 2018 list
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/wine/8980233-181/sonoma-winery-makes-wine-spectators

25 winners named for Wine Industry
 + Spirits Awards, WINnovation Awards of 2018
https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/events/8977138-181/north-coast-wine-spirits-beer-industry-awards

Feds shut down controversial Elouan wine labels
https://www.oregonlive.com/wine/index.ssf/2018/11/feds_lower_boom_on_controversi.html

Mike Thompson Formally Requests Disaster Aid Funding for Growers
https://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataId=206351

Farm Bureaus set up California disaster relief funds
http://www.capitalpress.com/California/20181120/farm-bureaus-set-up-california-disaster-relief-funds

NJ Department of Agriculture celebrates state's wine industry
https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2018/11/21/nj-department-agriculture-celebrates-states-wine-industry/2028347002/

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

    1716 – A lion is exhibited for the first time in the Colonies, in Boston.
    1774 - A congress of colonial leaders criticized British influence in the colonies and affirmed their right to “Life, liberty and property.”        
    1775 - The American Navy began using chaplains within its regular service.        
    1778 - British explorer Captain James Cook first discovers Maui, the islands (the Hawaiian Islands) and names them Sandwich Islands after Britain’s Earl of Sandwich. He dies in the islands with four of his men as the natives were continuing to steal fishing hooks and supplies from the ship.
http://www.mmbc.bc.ca/source/schoolnet/exploration/cookdeath.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/7557/page1.html
http://www.hallman.org/indian/cook.html
http://www.geocities.com/neil2bn/cook.htm
    1789 - President George Washington proclaimed November 26, 1789 to be Thanksgiving Day. It was the first holiday by presidential proclamation. Both Houses of Congress, by their joint committee, had requested him to recommend a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity to peaceably establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. Those opposed said it violated the states’ rights to proclaim the day of Thanksgiving in their own state and it should not be a national holiday. Proclamation issued Oct 3, 1789. It was next proclaimed by President Lincoln in 1863 for the last Thursday in November. In 1939, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the next to last Thursday.  On May 10, 1941, Pres. Roosevelt announced Thanksgiving would be moved forward again to the last Thursday of November, after the two-year experiment. Roosevelt had originally moved the holiday to stimulate business activity…and this was before anyone thought of Black Friday or Cyber Monday!
    1792 - Sarah Moore Grimke (d. 1873) birthday at Charleston, SC.  With her sister, American antislavery and women’s rights advocate.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASgrimkeS.htm
http://www.english.ilstu.edu/351/hypertext98/hankins/african/SGrimke.html
http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/grimke3.html
http://americanciv.uchicago.edu/Grimke.html
    1825 – The first college fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was founded at Union College, New York.
    1832 - Mary Edwards Walker (d. 1919) birthday at Oswego, NY. American physician and women's rights leader.  First female surgeon in US Army (Civil War). Spent four months in Confederate prison. First and only woman ever to receive Medal of Honor (Nov 11, 1865). Two years before her death, on June 3, 1916, a government review board asked that her award be revoked along with 908 others as they decided the award would be solely for those in combat. She continued to wear it, in spite of official revocation, until her death, Feb 21, 1919, at Oswego. On June 11, 1977, the Secretary of the Army posthumously restored the Medal of Honor to Dr. Walker.
    1832 - The first streetcar “John Mason,” a horse-drawn conveyance designed and constructed by John Stephenson in Philadelphia, PA, was placed in service in New York City by the New York and Harlem Railway. Named for the prominent New York banker who organized the railway company, the John Mason was equipped with iron wheels and was drawn over iron rails laid in the center of the pavement. Lank O’Dell was the first driver. The car was divided into three non-connecting compartments with 10 seats in each. The first of the three doors bore on its panel the name “New York,” the second “Yorkville,” and the third “Harlaem.” (sic). The fare was 12.5 cents. Tracks for the streetcar were laid along Fourth Avenue from Prince Street to 14th Street. In November 1835, a double track running north to Yorkville was completed.
    1853 – Bat Masterson was born William Barclay Masterson (d. 1921) at Henriville, Quebec.  He was a buffalo hunter, US Marshal, Army scout, fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, and Sports Editor for the New York Morning Telegraph.  He was Wyatt Earp’s deputy in Dodge City and became sheriff of Ford County, KS.  In 1881, in Tombstone, AZ, Earp called on Masterson to run one of his saloons but he returned to Dodge to help his brothers against some outlaws.  “The Dodge City War” ensued.  He spent his last years with the Morning Telegraph and died at age 67 on October 25, 1921, at his desk from a heart attack after penning what became his final column.  He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.
    1858 - Mother Mary Katharine Drexel’s (d. 1955) birthday at Philadelphia.  Founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People.   She inherited $14 million in 1880; she used her funds freely while directing her order's work, which ranged from a school for black girls in Virginia to schools for Indians in the West. In 1915, she endowed and began forming Xavier University in New Orleans, the only Catholic college for blacks in the U.S. 
http://www.katharinedrexel.org/history.htm. 
http://www47.homepage.villanova.edu/charlene.mires/tours/drexel.htm
    1861 - West Virginia was created as a result of a dispute over slavery with Virginia.  21 western counties, easternmost in what is now WV, did not want to secede from the Union and they were against slavery.
    1862 - On meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, President Abraham Lincoln comments: "So this is the little lady who made the big war.”
    1863 - Union General George Meade moves against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after months of inaction following the Battle of Gettysburg. Meade's troops found no weaknesses in Lee's lines, and the offensive was abandoned after only five days. Meade sent three corps against Lee's right flank around a small valley called Mine Run. Unfortunately for the Union, William French's Third Corps took the wrong road and did not cross the Rapidan River (just south of the Rappahannock) on time. Lee moved part of his army east to meet the threat. While French's corps wandered in the Virginia wilderness, Confederate General Edward Johnson moved to block their advance. French's men fought Johnson's at Payne's Farm; French suffered 950 men killed and wounded to Johnson's 545. The blunder cost the Union heavily. Lee's men took up strong positions along Mine Run, and Meade realized that to attack head on would be foolish. By December 1, Meade began pulling his men back across the Rappahannock River and into winter quarters. There would be no further activity between the two great armies until spring.
    1863 - The first of our modern annual Thanksgivings was held following the October 3 proclamation of President Lincoln to assign the last Thursday in November for this purpose.
    1864 - Colonel Kit Carson led the attack in the First Battle of Adobe Walls. Commanding the First Cavalry, New Mexico Volunteers, Carson was ordered to lead an expedition against the winter campgrounds of the Comanches and Kiowas, believed to be somewhere on the south side of the Canadian border. On November 10, he arrived at Fort Bascom with fourteen officers, 321 enlisted men, and seventy-five Ute and Jicarilla Apache scouts and fighters he had recruited from Lucien Maxwell's ranch near Cimarron, New México. The first eyewitness account of the battle other than Carson's military correspondence was published in 1877 by George Pettis, who had served as the expedition's artillery officer.
    1865 - "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll was published in US.
    1867 - J.B. Sutherland of Detroit, MI received a patent on the first refrigerated railroad car. It was for an insulted car constructed with ice bunkers in each end. Air came in at the top, was passed through the ice chambers, and circulated through the car by means of gravity, controlled by the use of hanging flaps that created differences in air temperature. The first refrigerated railroad car to carry a load of fresh fruit was constructed in 1866 by Parker Earle of Cobden, IL, who built and shipped chests of strawberries on the Illinois Central Railroad. The chests had three layers of board and were airtight and watertight. They held 100 pounds of ice and 200 quarts of strawberries, which brought $2 a quart. In 1872, Earle shipped a full carload from Anna, IL, to Chicago.
    1868 – Baseball was played on an enclosed diamond for the first time, at 25th and Folsom in San Francisco.
    1871 - Birthday of Texas Governor Pat Neff (d. 1952) at McGregor, Texas.   He pardoned “Leadbelly,” was anti-Ku Klux Klan, a man ahead of his time, and a champion of education and progress.
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/NN/fne5.html
http://www.baylor.edu/about/neff.asp
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40030/40030-P.html
    1872 - The San Francisco Evening Bulletin exposed one of the most notorious mining scandals in US history, The Great Diamond Hoax. Philip Arnold (1829-1878) was a confidence trickster from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who was the brains behind a legendary scam to fool people into investing in western diamond mining operations. He managed to walk away from the hoax with more than half a million dollars. Clarence King (1842-1901) was the geologist who uncovered the swindle.
"Arnold and Slack played their con perfectly. They arrived in San Francisco in 1872 and tried to deposit a bag of uncut diamonds at a bank. When questioned, the two men quickly disappeared, acting as if they were reluctant to talk about their discovery. Intrigued, a bank director named William Ralston tracked down the men. Assuming he was dealing with unsophisticated country bumpkins, he set out to take control of the diamond mine. The two cousins agreed to take a blindfolded mining expert to the site; the expert returned to report that the mine was indeed rich with diamonds and rubies ...
"Back in San Francisco, King exposed the fraud in the newspapers and the Great Diamond Hoax collapsed. Ralston returned $80,000 to each of his investors, but he was never able to recover the $600,000 given to the two cousins. Arnold lived out the few remaining years of his life in luxury in Kentucky before dying of pneumonia in 1878. Slack apparently squandered his share of the money, for he was last reported working as a coffin maker in New Mexico. King's role in exposing the fraud brought him national recognition as he became the first director of the United States Geological Survey." Source: Wilson’s book of days
    1883 - We don’t generally mention the passing of a person in American History, but this is the date Sojourner Truth left Earth. A former slave who had been sold four different times, Sojourner Truth became an evangelist who argued for abolition and women’s rights. After a troubled early life, she began her evangelical career in 1843, traveling through New England until she discovered the utopian colony called the Northampton Associations of Education and Industry. It was there she was exposed to, and became an advocate for, the cause of abolition, working with Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison and others. In 1850, she befriended Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other feminist leaders and actively began supporting calls for women’s rights. In 1870, she attempted to petition Congress to create a “Negro state” on public lands in the west. Born Isabella Van Wagener at Ulster County, NY, about 1790, she died November 26, 1883, at Battle Creek, MI. 
(Lower half of:  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov26.html)
    1885 – A meteor was photographed for the first time.
    1895 - National Negro Medical Association founded.
 (could not find current or successor organization)
    1895 – The Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association was formed.
    1896 – The first huddle in American football was deployed by legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.
    1899 – Bruno Richard Hauptman was born in Dresden, Germany.  He was convicted for the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old Lindbergh baby in 1932 in what became known as "The Crime of the Century."  He was executed in 1936 after a spectacular trial that would have been so even in today’s circus of media outlets.  Although he and his family always proclaimed his innocence, and there was some thought to that effect as he approached his electrocution, proponents have increased since, to the point that there is significant doubt about the conviction.
    1907 - Birthday of trumpeter Henry ”Hot Lips” Levine, born London, England.
http://64.33.34.112/.WWW/l1.html#HLevine
    1907 - Birthday of pianist Frank “Kansas City Frank” Melrose (d. 1941), Sumner, IL. 
http://www.redhotjazz.com/kcffootwarmers.html
http://www.doctorjazz2.freeserve.co.uk/page3.html
http://shopping.yahoo.com/shop?d=product&id=192
7007006&clink=dmmu.artist&a=b
http://www.redhotjazz.com/frankmelrose.html
    1908 - Birthday of Vernon “Lefty” Gomez (d. 1989) at Rodeo, CA., well-known San Francisco personality and restaurateur. Gomez was a star pitcher with the New York Yankees from 1930 to 1942. He won six World Series games without a defeat. A 20-game winner four times and an All-Star every year from 1933 to 1939, Gomez led the league twice each in wins, winning percentage, and ERA, and was a three-time league leader in shutouts and strikeouts. In the first Major League All-Star Game on July 6, 1933, Gomez was the winning pitcher for the American league and drove in first run of the game. Often overshadowed by great teammates Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, Gomez was on five World Series champions.  Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, one of very few to be so honored with fewer than 200 wins.
    1917 – The National Hockey League was formed.  The first teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas.
    1922 - Birthday of Charles Schulz (d. 2000), cartoonist, born at Minneapolis, MN. Created the “Peanuts” comic strip that debuted on Oct 2, 1950. The strip included Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, his dog Snoopy, friends Linus and Lucy and a variety of other characters. Stricken with colon cancer, Schulz’ last daily strip was published Jan 3, 2000, and his last Sunday strip was published Feb 13, 2000. The strip ran in more than 2,500 newspapers in many different countries. Schulz won the Reuben Award in both 1955 and 1964 and was named International Cartoonist of the Year in 1978. Several TV specials were spin-offs of the strip including “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” and “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.”   
    1922 – “The Toll of the Sea” debuted as the first general release film to use two-tone Technicolor. “The Gulf Between” was the first film to do so, but it was not widely distributed.
    1925 - After finishing his college football career oat the University of Illinois, Harold “Red” Grange, perhaps the most famous player of all time, played his first game as a professional. Wearing the uniform of the Chicago Bears, Grange was held to 35 yards rushing in a 0-0 tie against the Chicago Cardinals.
    1933 - Birthday of entertainer, actor, singer Robert Goulet (d. 2007), born Lawrence, MA.        
    1933 - Fifteen thousand people in San Jose, California, storm the jail where Thomas Thurmond and John Holmes are being held as suspects in the kidnapping and murder of Brooke Hart, the 22-year-old son of a local storeowner. The mob of angry citizens proceeded to lynch the accused men and then pose them for pictures. On November 9, Brooke Hart was abducted by men in a Studebaker. His family received a $40,000 ransom demand and, soon after, Hart's wallet was found on a tanker ship in a nearby bay. The investigative trail led to Holmes and Thurmond, who implicated each other in separate confessions. Both acknowledged, though, that Hart had been pistol-whipped and then thrown off the San Mateo Bridge. After Hart's body washed ashore on November 25, a vigilante mob began to form. Newspapers reported the possibility of a lynching and local radio stations broadcast the plan. Not only did Governor James Rolph reject the National Guard's offer to send assistance, he reportedly said he would pardon those involved in the lynching. On November 26, the angry mob converged at the jail and beat the guards, using a battering ram to break into the cells. Thurmond and Holmes were dragged out and hanged from large trees in a nearby park. The public seemed to welcome the gruesome act of vigilante violence. After the incident, pieces of the lynching ropes were sold to the public. Though the San Jose News declined to publish pictures of the lynching, it condoned the act in an editorial. Eighteen-year-old Anthony Cataldi bragged that he had been the leader of the mob but he was not held accountable for his participation. At Stanford University, a professor asked his students to stand and applaud the lynching. Perhaps most disturbing, Governor Rolph publicly praised the mob. "The best lesson ever given the country," said Governor Rolph. "I would like to parole all kidnappers in San Quentin to the fine, patriotic citizens of San Jose."
    1938 - Birthday of singer Tina Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, Nutbush, TN
http://www.tina-turner.com/
http://www.tinamania.com/tina/
http://www.askmen.com/women/singer/27_tina_turner.html
http://www.askmen.com/women/singer/27c_tina_turner.html
    1938 – Impressionist/Comedian Rich Little was born in Ottawa, Ontario.
    1941 - A Japanese fleet of six aircraft carriers, commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, left Hitokapu Bay under strict radio silence, headed east in what would become the attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the US into World War II.  The surprise attack was Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's idea. The Commander in Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet had been stewing over the idea since November 1940, two months after Japan signed the Tripartite Pact that aligned them with Germany and Italy. Yamamoto's Pearl Harbor idea was inspired by two things: a prophetic book and a historic attack. The book was “The Great Pacific War,” written in 1925 by Hector Bywater, a British naval authority. It was a realistic account of a clash between the United States and Japan that begins with the Japanese destruction of the U.S. fleet and proceeds to the Japanese attacks on Guam and the Philippines. To Yamamoto, the book's plot almost seemed like a blueprint for war. And when the Royal Air Force attacked and successfully debilitated the Italian fleet at Taranto on November 11, 1940, Yamamoto was convinced that Bywater's fiction could become reality. He started making plans at once. Yamamoto, who studied English at Harvard University, did not underestimate the Americans. He said that if "hostilities break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines . . . we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House." He understood this would be virtually impossible but also believed that waiting for the Americans to strike first would be playing into U.S. strengths. Planning the Pearl Harbor attack and organizing the First Air Fleet took up much of 1941. When the fleet finally sailed on November 26, the mood was tense. The director of the First Fleet, Vice Admiral Nagumo, not only lacked experience with naval aviation but openly opposed the attack. Yamamoto sat in his flagship headquarters in Japanese waters, anxiously awaiting the results of his Pearl Harbor brainchild.
    1942 - “Casablanca” premiered. Due to the landing of the Allies in North Africa on Nov 8, the premiere and release of the film were moved up from June 1943 to Nov 26, 1942, when it premiered at New York City on Thanksgiving Day. The general nationwide release followed on Jan 23, 1943, during the Roosevelt-Churchill conferences in Casablanca.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov26.html
    1944 - Birthday of singer Jean Terrell (of the Supremes), at Belzoni, MS.  Upon the departure of Diana Ross as lead singer, Terrell assumed that role in January, 1970.  She is also the sister of former heavyweight boxer Ernie Terrell.
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Jean%20Terrell.html
http://www.tonygreen.com/music/Supremes/Jean.htm
    1944 - SHERIDAN, CARL V., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company K, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Place and date: Frenzenberg Castle, Weisweiler, Germany, 26 November 1944. Entered service at: Baltimore, Md. Birth: Baltimore, Md. G.O. No.: 43, 30 May 1445. Citation: Attached to the 2d Battalion of the 47th Infantry on 26 November 1944, for the attack on Frenzenberg Castle, in the vicinity of Weisweiler, Germany, Company K, after an advance of 1,000 yards through a shattering barrage of enemy artillery and mortar fire, had captured 2 buildings in the courtyard of the castle but was left with an effective fighting strength of only 35 men. During the advance, Pfc. Sheridan, acting as a bazooka gunner, had braved the enemy fire to stop and procure the additional rockets carried by his ammunition bearer who was wounded. Upon rejoining his company in the captured buildings, he found it in a furious fight with approximately 70 enemy paratroopers occupying the castle gate house. This was a solidly built stone structure surrounded by a deep water-filled moat 20 feet wide. The only approach to the heavily defended position was across the courtyard and over a drawbridge leading to a barricaded oaken door. Pfc. Sheridan, realizing that his bazooka was the only available weapon with sufficient power to penetrate the heavy oak planking, with complete disregard for his own safety left the protection of the buildings and in the face of heavy and intense small-arms and grenade fire, crossed the courtyard to the drawbridge entrance where he could bring direct fire to bear against the door. Although handicapped by the lack of an assistant, and a constant target for the enemy fire that burst around him, he skillfully and effectively handled his awkward weapon to place two well-aimed rockets into the structure. Observing that the door was only weakened, and realizing that a gap must be made for a successful assault, he loaded his last rocket, took careful aim, and blasted a hole through the heavy planks. Turning to his company he shouted, "Come on, let's get them!" With his .45 pistol blazing, he charged into the gaping entrance and was killed by the withering fire that met him. The final assault on Frezenberg Castle was made through the gap which Pfc. Sheridan gave his life to create.
    1945 - Charlie Parker cuts “Billie’s Bounce,” “Now’s the Time,” “KoKo”
    1946 - Birthday of former Oakland Raiders football coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle, Arthur “Art” Shell, Charleston, SC.
    1949 - Top Hits
“Don’t Cry, Joe” - The Gordon Jenkins Orchestra (vocal: Betty Brewer)
“I Can Dream, Can’t I?” - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Jack Leonard)
“A Dreamer’s Holiday” - Perry Como
“Slipping Around” - Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely
    1949 - “Twenty Questions” premiered on TV. This game show was based on the old guessing game. A celebrity panel had to guess the identity of an object (at the start they were told only if it was animal, vegetable or mineral) by asking up to 20 questions. Bill Slater hosted two network versions of the show on NBC and Dumont. Jay Jackson took over when it switched from NBC to ABC. “Twenty Questions” first began on radio. Regular panelists included Fred Van Deventer, Florence Rinard, Herb Polesie and Johnny McPhee.      
    1950 - In some of the fiercest fighting of the Korean War, thousands of communist Chinese troops launch massive counterattacks against U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK) troops, driving the Allied forces before them and putting an end to any thoughts for a quick or conclusive U.S. victory.
    1950 - MITCHELL, FRANK N., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Near Hansan-ni, Korea, 26 November 1950. Entered service at: Roaring Springs, Tex. Born: 18 August 1921, Indian  Gap, Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as leader of a rifle platoon of Company A, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Leading his platoon in point position during a patrol by his company through a thickly wooded and snow-covered area in the vicinity of Hansan-ni, 1st Lt. Mitchell acted immediately when the enemy suddenly opened fire at pointblank range, pinning down his forward elements and inflicting numerous casualties in his ranks. Boldly dashing to the front under blistering fire from automatic weapons and small arms, he seized an automatic rifle from one of the wounded men and effectively trained it against the attackers and, when his ammunition was expended, picked up and hurled grenades with deadly accuracy, at the same time directing and encouraging his men in driving the outnumbering enemy from his position. Maneuvering to set up a defense when the enemy furiously counterattacked to the front and left flank, 1st Lt. Mitchell, despite wounds sustained early in the action, reorganized his platoon under the devastating fire, and spearheaded a fierce hand-to-hand struggle to repulse the onslaught. Asking for volunteers to assist in searching for and evacuating the wounded, he personally led a party of litter bearers through the hostile lines in growing darkness and, although suffering intense pain from multiple wounds, stormed ahead and waged a single-handed battle against the enemy, successfully covering the withdrawal of his men before he was fatally struck down by a burst of small-arms fire. Stouthearted and indomitable in the face of tremendous odds, 1st Lt. Mitchell, by his fortitude, great personal valor and extraordinary heroism, saved the lives of several marines and inflicted heavy casualties among the aggressors. His unyielding courage throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.   
    1950 - A great storm hit the Northern and Central Appalachians with snow and high winds. Winds reached hurricane force along eastern slopes of the Appalachians, with gusts to 100 mph at Hartford CT, 110 mph at Concord, NH, and 160 mph at Mount Washington, NH. Heavy rain also hit the eastern slopes, with eight inches reported at Slide Mountain, NY. The western slopes were buried under heavy snow. The storm produced record snowfall totals of 27.7 inches at Pittsburgh, PA, and 36.3 inches at Steubenville, OH. The snow, and record cold temperatures, resulted in 160 deaths.
   1951 - PITTMAN, JOHN A., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Kujangdong, Korea, 26   November 1950. Entered service at: Carrolton, Miss. Born: 15 October 1928, Carrolton, Miss. G.O. No.: 39, 4 June 1951. Citation: Sgt. Pittman, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. He volunteered to lead his squad in a counterattack to regain commanding terrain lost in an earlier engagement. Moving aggressively forward in the face of intense artillery, mortar, and small-arms fire he was wounded by mortar fragments. Disregarding his wounds he continued to lead and direct his men in a bold advance against the hostile standpoint. During this daring action, an enemy grenade was thrown in the midst of his squad endangering the lives of his comrades. Without hesitation, Sgt. Pittman threw himself on the grenade and absorbed its burst with his body. When a medical aid man reached him, his first request was to be informed as to how many of his men were hurt. This intrepid and selfless act saved several of his men from death or serious injury and was an inspiration to the entire command. Sgt. Pittman's extraordinary heroism reflects the highest credit upon himself and is in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the military service.
    1952 - Birthday of bass player Mark Dresser, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.mindspring.com/~gerryhem/dresser.html
http://www.blacksaint.com/bios/mdresser.html
    1954 - Elvis Presley, on tour, sends a telegram to his parents: "Hi babies, here's the money to pay the bills, don't tell no one how much I sent I will send more next week. There is a card in the mail. Love Elvis."
    1955 - Bill Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" reaches #1 in the UK and is considered to be the first Rock and Roll record to accomplish that feat.
    1955 - "Sixteen Tons" by Tennessee Ernie Ford tops the Billboard singles chart, becoming the fastest selling single in recording industry history up to that time.
    1955 - Johnny Cash's "Cry! Cry! Cry!" enters the country chart       
    1956 - “The Price is Right” premiers on television. This popular show is also TV's longest-running daily game show, surviving changes in format, networks, time slots and hosts. It began in 1956 with Bill Cullen as host, Don Pardo as announcer and a fairly rigid format: four contestants had to bid on an item and the one who bid closest to the manufacturer's suggested price without going over won the item. In 1972, after a seven-year hiatus, "The Price Is Right" came back in two versions. Bob Barker was the host of the network version, which expanded to an hour. Johnny Olsen was the announcer until his death in 1985. Rod Roddy took his place. Also on the show are attractive women who model the prizes to be won and give Bob Barker minimal assistance in setting up the price-guessing games. "Price" contestants are drawn from the studio audience. My father’s very good friend Bernie Gould was the chief writer on the show, coming up with the themes and dialogue.  The current host is comedian Drew Carey.
    1957 - Top Hits
“Jailhouse Rock” - Elvis Presley
“You Send Me” - Sam Cooke
“My Special Angel” - Bobby Helms
“Wake Up Little Susie” - The Everly Brothers
    1961 – Major League Baseball’s Rules committee rules 8-1 against legalizing the spitball.
    1962 - The Beatles re-record "Please Please Me" at EMI's Abbey Road Studios. Under the direction of producer George Martin, who told the band that their original ballad version was "too bloody boring for words", the song is re-arranged to an up-tempo rocker which would rise to #2 in the UK and #3 in the US.
    1963 – Navy QB Roger Staubach is awarded the Heisman Trophy.
    1965 - Top Hits
“I Hear a Symphony” - The Supremes
“1-2-3” - Len Barry
“Rescue Me” - Fontella Bass
“May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose” - "Little" Jimmy Dickens
    1966 - Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" enters the pop charts
    1966 - The Temptations "I'm Losing You" enters the R&B charts
    1967 - The new promotional video clip for the Beatles', new single, "Hello Goodbye," is aired on tonight's episode of CBS-TV's Ed Sullivan Show.
    1968 - S.I. Hayakawa made acting president, San Francisco State College.
    1968 - While returning to base from another mission, Air Force 1st Lt. James P. Fleming and four other Bell UH-1F helicopter pilots get an urgent message from an Army Special Forces team pinned down by enemy fire. Although several of the other helicopters had to leave the area because of low fuel, Lieutenant Fleming and another pilot pressed on with the rescue effort. The first attempt failed because of intense ground fire, but refusing to abandon the Army green berets, Fleming managed to land and pick up the team. When he safely arrived at his base near Duc Co, it was discovered that his aircraft was nearly out of fuel. Lieutenant Fleming was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions, detailed below.
    1968 - FLEMING, JAMES P., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Air Force, 20th Special Operations Squadron. Place and date: Near Duc Co, Republic of Vietnam, 26 November 1968. Entered service at: Pullman, Wash. Born: 12 March 1943, Sedalia, Mo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Fleming (then 1st Lt.) distinguished himself as the Aircraft Commander of a UH-1F transport Helicopter. Capt. Fleming went to the aid of a 6-man Special Forces long range reconnaissance patrol that was in danger of being overrun by a large, heavily armed hostile force. Despite the knowledge that 1 helicopter had been downed by intense hostile fire, Capt. Fleming descended, and balanced his helicopter on a river bank with the tail boom hanging over open water. The patrol could not penetrate to the landing site and he was forced to withdraw. Dangerously low on fuel, Capt. Fleming repeated his original landing maneuver. Disregarding his own safety, he remained in this exposed position. Hostile fire crashed through his windscreen as the patrol boarded his helicopter. Capt. Fleming made a successful takeoff through a barrage of hostile fire and recovered safely at a forward base. Capt. Fleming's profound concern for his fellowmen, and at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
    1968 - O.J. Simpson is named football's Heisman Trophy winner for 1968. A running back for the University of Southern California, Simpson ran for 3,187 yards in 18 games and 33 touchdowns in two seasons. He then played for the Buffalo Bills, for whom he became the first back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, and the San Francisco 49ers, became a sportscaster and actor. Simpson was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. In one of the more sensationalized trials of the 20th…or any…century, Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and an acquaintance, Ron Goldman, whose father sued in civil court and won a $33 million judgment for the wrongful death of his son.  In the process of liquidating assets to satisfy the judgment, Simpson sold his Heisman and other awards. In September 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, and in 2008, he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping when he went to a Vegas hotel room under the impression that his Heisman and other awards were there.  He was paroled in October, 2017 presumably to resume his search for his former wife’s killer.
    1969 - The Heisman Trophy was awarded to Steve Owens of Oklahoma as the nation’s outstanding college football player. Owens scored more touchdowns and gained more yardage than any previous player in collegiate history.
    1969 - John Lennon spends the afternoon in the Abbey Road studios, mixing the Beatles songs "What's The New Mary Jane" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)" for release as two sides of a Plastic Ono Band single. When this falls through, "Number" gets released as the B-side to the Beatles' "Let It Be" single, making this the last time John Lennon was in the studio working on a Beatles song.
    1970 - The temperature at Tallahassee, FL, dipped to 13 degrees, following a high of 40 degrees the previous day. The mercury then reached 67 degrees on the 26th, and highs were in the 70s the rest of the month.
    1970 - African-American Charles Gordone receives the Pulitzer Prize for his play, “No Place to be Somebody.” Died November 13, 1995.  http://www.africanpubs.com/Apps/bios/0097GordoneCharles.asp
http://www.rtis.com/reg/bcs/pol/touchstone/February96/costa.htm
http://www.thatplusmore.com/charles-gordone.html
    1972 – Kicker Pete Gogolak kicks 8 PATs, a NY Giants’ record.  (My Cornell Delta Upsilon fraternity brother-Ralph Mango).  Gogolak's 41-yard field goal during Cornell's 1961 season, the first by a soccer-style kicker, became a significant moment in the development of college football and a portent of the changes he would later bring to the professional game.  Upon graduation in 1964, he was signed by the Buffalo Bills of the AFL.  Bringing the then unorthodox style that had made Gogolak notable while in college now made him professional football's first "soccer style" kicker.  Finally, the Giants’ signing of Gogolak was a first shot in the bidding war for players between the NFL and AFL that led to the merger of the two leagues in 1970.  At his retirement, he was the Giants’ all-time leading scorer.
    1973 - Top Hits
“Photograph” - Ringo Starr
“Top of the World” - Carpenters
“Space Race” - Billy Preston
“Paper Roses” - Marie Osmond
    1973 - Rose Mary Woods, U.S. President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary, told a federal court she had accidentally erased over eighteen minutes of a ‘Watergate tape’ made June 20, 1972. The recording was of a crucial conversation at an Oval-Office meeting between Nixon and Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman just three days after the Watergate break-in.
    1974 - Elton John's "Greatest Hits" became his fifth consecutive number 1 album in the US. The record spent 10 weeks at the top and followed "Honky Chateau," "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Caribou."
    1975 - With New York City spiraling toward fiscal disaster, President Gerald Ford proposed a $2.3 billion aid package designed to address the city's "seasonal cash needs." The president's plan, passed a little less than a month later, made federal money available to New York in any of the ensuing three years. While Mayor Abraham D. Beame praised Ford's announcement, a few New Yorkers greeted the news with a Bronx cheer, grousing about the attendant tax hikes which threatened to further erode the city's private sector and drive away wealthy residents to tax havens in New Jersey. Whatever the merits of these complaints, the city, saddled with a multi-million-dollar deficit that threatened to balloon to $1.3 billion by March 1976, seemingly had little choice but to accept federal help.
    1975 - Red Sox center fielder Fred Lynn (.331 batting average, 21 HRs, 105 RBIs) becomes the first rookie ever to be named the league's MVP.
    1975 – A Federal jury finds Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme guilty of attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford.  She was sentenced to life imprisonment for the attempt, but was released on parole on August 14, 2009, after serving nearly 34 years.
    1981 - Top Hits 
“Physical” - Olivia Newton-John
“Waiting for a Girl like You” - Foreigner
“Here I Am (Just When I Thought I was Over You)” - Air Supply
“All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)” - Hank Williams, Jr.
    1982 - Miles Davis enters into his third marriage, this time with actress Cicely Tyson in New York City. Best man: Bill Cosby.
    1983 - The Great Thanksgiving Weekend Blizzard hit Denver, CO. The storm produced 21.5 inches of snow in 37 hours, closing Stapleton Airport for 24 hours. The snow and wind closed interstate highways around Denver. Visibility at Limon, CO was down to zero for 24 hours.
    1985 – Random House acquired Richard Nixon’s memoires for $3 million.
    1987 - An early morning thunderstorm in southeastern Texas produced high winds which rolled a mobile home east of Bay City killing two of the four occupants. Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains in central and eastern Texas, with nine inches reported at Huntsville, and 8.5 inches at Wimberly. Snow fell across northern and central Lower Michigan, with totals ranging up to nine inches at Cadillac.
    1988 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather in Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Texas during the day and into the night. Thunderstorms in Texas produced softball size hail at Alba, and wind gusts to 80 mph at Krum. Hail and high winds caused nearly five million dollars damage at Kaufman, TX, and strong downburst winds derailed twenty-eight freight cars at Fruitvale, TX.
    1989 - Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Willie "Flipper" Anderson makes 15 catches for an NFL record 336 yards and a touchdown as the Rams rally for a 20-17 overtime victory over New Orleans.
    1989 - Top Hits
“Blame It on the Rain” - Milli Vanilli
“Love Shack” - The B-52’s
“(It’s Just) The Way That You Love Me” - Paula Abdul
“Yellow Roses” - Dolly Parton
    1991 - The US Congress approved a bill renaming Custer Battlefield National Monument as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The bill also authorized the construction of a memorial to the Native Americans who fought and died at the battle known as Custer’s Last Stand. Introduced by then Representative Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the only Native American in Congress, the bill was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
    1991 – Condoms were distributed to thousands of New York students.
    1994 - The Eagles’ "Hell Freezes Over," signaling the band’s reunion after fourteen years, hit #1 (for two weeks) on U.S. album charts. The tracks: "Get Over It," "Love Will Keep Us Alive," "The Girl from Yesterday," "Learn to Be Still," "Tequila Sunrise," "Hotel California," "Wasted Time," "Pretty Maids All in a Row," "I Can’t Tell You Why,” "New York Minute," "The Last Resort," "Take It Easy," "In the City," "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Desperado."  For three years (2014-16), following the TV special of the same name, “The History of The Eagles” Tour has been a sellout worldwide.  The death of lead singer Glenn Frye brought the tour to an end.
    1995 – Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame QB Dan Marino set an NFL record with his 343d TD pass.  Peyton Manning holds the NFL record with 539.
    1996 – Major League Baseball owners agree to interleague play.
    1997 – The Washington Capitals play their final game at US Air Arena, leaving to play in the new Verizon Center for the 1998-99 season.  At halftime, the team retires Rod Langway’s #5.
    1998 - When Minnesota’s Randy Moss scored three receiving touchdowns of at least 50 yards vs. Dallas, he became the first player to do so in an NFL game since Raymond Berry in 1960.
     2000 – Republican George W. Bush is certified the winner of Florida's electoral votes by Katherine Harris, going on to win the US presidential election despite losing in the national popular vote.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/election2000/
     2000 - The Sunday SF Examiner and Chronicle became simply the SF Chronicle after 35 years of publishing with separate editorial visions.
     2004 - The last Po’ouli (Black-faced honeycreeper) dies of avian malaria in the Maui Bird Conservation Center in Olinda, Hawaii, before it could breed, making the species in all probability extinct.
    2008 - For the eighth straight year, revenue for North American terrestrial radio declined, with figures showing a seven percent drop from last year. The entire industry had its worst year financially since 1954.
    2010 - Authorities searching two homes near Escondido, California, find the largest cache of homemade explosives ever discovered in the U.S.
    2011 - NBA team owners and players reach an agreement, ending the 149-day NBA lockout.  The new NBA season will begin Christmas Day.
    2011 - The robotic Mars Science Laboratory, the largest rover ever sent to Mars, is launched by NASA.  The goal is to find evidence of past or present life on Mars.  
    2012 - Mikhail Korniyenko and Scott Kelly, veteran astronauts, are chosen to carry out the first year-long mission to the International Space Station in 2015.
    2013 - Journalist Lara Logan of CBS is suspended after admitting that portions of her '60 Minutes' Benghazi attack report covering the death of U.S Ambassador Christopher J. Stevens were false.
    2014 – The International Space Station announced that it has successfully installed and operated a 3D printer, to be used to reduce costs by manufacturing them at the station rather than transporting them from Earth; neither FedEx nor UPS delivers there.