ELFF Reports Confidence Continues Three Month Drop
October goes to 44.9 from September 48.7

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) releases the October 2022 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 45, a decrease from the September index of 48.7.

David Normandin, CLFP, President and CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance, when asked out the outlook for the future responded, “I am optimistic about our industry and our customers finding solutions to manage challenging economic conditions. As the rate of change increases, I think that our industry is well positioned to adapt and continue to find ways to win.”

Full Press Release:
https://www.leasefoundation.org/industry-resources/monthly-confidence-index/#results

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New Hires/Promotions in the Leasing Business
and Related Industries

Scott Arwood was hired as Senior Vice President, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Tysons Corner, Virginia. He is located in the Washington DC-Baltimore Area. Previously, he was at M&T Bank, starting July, 2018, Assistant Vice President, Business Banking, promoted July, 2021, Vice President, Middle Market Groups; Business Development Officer, Wells Fargo (June, 2017 - July, 2018):   Regional Manager, Balboa Capital (March, 2014 - June, 2017).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-arwood-9aa0b556/

Mark Brandt was hired as Director of Business Development, CIT, New York, New York. He is located in Lindale, Texas. Previously, he was Freelance (August, 2022 - October, 2022); Chief Financial Officer, Imperial Enterprises, LLC (November, 2021 - August, 2022); Equipment Finance Officer, BancorpSouth (January, 2020 – December, 2021); SVP, Equipment Finance Officer, Commerce Bank (September, 2018 - January, 2020); VP, Key Equipment Finance (June 2013 - September 2018); SVP, GE Capital (February, 2005 - May, 2013); District Manager, Citigroup (November, 2020 - February, 2005); District Manager. Associates Commercial Corporation (February, 1999 - November, 2000); Director, Credit Administration, Associates Leasing, Inc. (1999 - November, 2000); Director, Credit Administration, Associates Leasing (1990 - 1999); Credit Analyst, Heller Financial Factoring (1988 - 1990). Education: The University of Texas at Austin, BBA, Finance (1981 - 1986). https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbrandtmb/

Paulina Dyko was promoted to Operations Associate at TurnkeyZRG, New Rochelle, New Jersey. She is located at their Boston, Massachusetts office. She joined the firm August, 2018, Client Services.  Previously, she was Client Services, State Street (November, 2015 - January, 2018).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulina-dyko-b34849116/

Vince DePietro was hired as Senior Business Development Manager, Trio Capital, Mount Laurel, Pennsylvania He is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. He remains President Capital Solutions, Inc. (June, 2021 - Present). Previously, he was Vice President of Sales, Partners Capital Group (August, 2020 - June, 2021); Major Accounts Business Development, Marlin Capital Solutions (April, 2014 - August, 2020); Business Development Manager, De Lage Landen Finance Services (September, 2009 - April, 2004); Executive Vice President, Kelly and Thomas Associates (September, 2004 - September, 2009).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vince-depietro-737821132/

Bill King, ASBC, CLFP, CLBB, was hired as Market President, Now Capital Advisors, Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Previously, he was Accredit Small Business Consultant and Commercial Loan Broker, 4 Kings Capital (March, 2019 - October, 2022); Managing Director, EBB Group (December, 2021 - September, 2022); Market President, Frisco, Texas, Great Plains Bank (2018 - 2019). Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thebankingking/details/experience/

Patrick Niday was promoted to Vice President of Business Development, First Bank Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. He joined the bank September, 2018, AVP Lease Finance. Previously, he as AVP, First Bank of Highland Park (September, 2019).  Full Bio:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-niday-mba-9684a97/details/experience/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-niday-mba-9684a97/

Angelique Wargo was hired as Portfolio Manager, Jackson Cross Partners LLC,. Wayne, Pennsylvania. He is located in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. Previously, she was Leasing Administrator, Velocity Venture Partners (April, 2022 - September, 2022); National Account Specialist, Brixmor Property Group (May, 2021 - April, 2022). He joined BB&T as Senior Quality Control Specialist, promoted April, 2009; Risk Monitoring Specialist, BB&T. Prior, she was at DLL, starting August, 2007, Contract Administrator, promoted August, 2011, Delinquency Administrator/Senior Invoice Specialist, promoted March, 2014, Sales Support Specialist, Federal Manager; Lease Administrator, Kravco Company (May, 1999 - April, 2004); Sales Representative,, BSI (March, 1998 - April, 1999).
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelique-wargo-mba-clfp-21019ab1/

Leasing and Finance Industry Help Wanted
Excellent Compensation/Marketing Support/Work

 

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Working Niche Marketplaces
By Kit Menkin

Successful companies and sales originators find a following in niche markets. While the pandemic may have brought more people working from the telephone, niche markets can still be created.  Certainly attending a trade show is beneficial, given the number of manufacturers or distributors that are in one place.

While the major industries are hard to break into, there are lots of smaller markets that congregate in trade shows so, that if you look for gatherings in almost any industry you may be surprised by what you find.

When the weather is good, I liked to work auctions, especially machine shop auctions, where smaller companies could use the equipment for the smaller runs, always in demand. I always brought a lot of business cards and most often also put flyers of the parked car front windows.

I not only learned a lot about the machinery, and the people who owned and worked there, but also met the auctioneers. I even wound up leasing equipment and signs to them, as well as working out pre-approvals at auctions after my client won the bid.

One of Leasing News advisors'  company dominates the church market. They lease everything from organs to pews. His company has leased them school buses, PA systems, video equipment and computers. Once you are a member of the “pact,” you are not only respected, but get referrals for your specialty service.

Consider your hobbies or previous employment as giving you knowledge about a product.  Many leasing sales people started out selling a product, from copiers, office supplies, machinery, and they learned leasing sales and decided there was more money in it, specializing in products that they know. You can also find these products and other information (not only from the articles or announcements, but online from the advertising in trade magazines.)

Look online for local businesses and see if you can build a niche from an industry particular to where you live.

I also consider joining private clubs and organizations, like the chamber of commerce. Being a Kiwanis club member not only allowed me to make friends and meet and learn from speakers, but become a speaker myself at other local Kiwanis clubs.  I started leasing automobiles so had that as the top subject along with equipment leasing. Ironically, I didn’t get many vehicle leads, but I did many dental, doctor, and other member leases by being a speaker as a member of the club.

I considered joining a Niche as it leads to more sales and even bank relations where I also got leads, too. There are other clubs like Lions and Rotary. I suggest visiting them.  Google search for the clubs near you and first see if they will take you as a speaker, and if not, take the time for having breakfast or lunch with one as a guest. Not dinners, too much drinking, in my opinion. I found them a different bunch than breakfast or lunch.

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Residential Construction Falls 8.1% Month-Over-Month
Yet Remains Near All-time Highs

Data analyzed by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for September 2022 on the nation’s new residential construction statistics found privately‐owned housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,439,000, which is 8.1% below the revised August estimate of 1,566,000, and 7.7% below the September 2021 rate of 1,559,000. Single‐family housing starts in September were at a rate of 892,000–4.7% below the revised August figure of 936,000. The September rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 530,000.

First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi, said, “The number of single-family homes under construction remains near all-time highs, hampered by labor shortages and high construction material costs.

 “Single-family permits and starts are leading indicators of new housing inventory in the pipeline so, as they decline, builders will have the opportunity to chip away at the backlog of homes in the pipeline.”

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported that builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes dropped eight points in October to 38—half the level it was just six months ago—marking the lowest confidence reading since August of 2012 (with the exception of the onset of the pandemic in the spring of 2020).

Full Report  (7 pages)
https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/newresconst.pdf

 

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GreatAmerica Launches Employee Advised Fund
Now Accepting Applications from Non-Profits

 

(Cedar Rapids IA) – GreatAmerica Financial Services Corporation announced that it will double its charitable giving in the community by launching a new philanthropic fund directed by its employees. The new Employee Advised Fund is in addition to the GreatAmerica Donor Advised Fund which was established in 2001. The funds are expected to provide more than $1 Million to projects in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City each year.

Both funds will be managed by the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation for the benefit of greater Cedar Rapids area.

Martin Golobic, Co-Chief Executive Officer at GreatAmerica, said, “The Employee Advised Fund will bring increased awareness of the non-profit community to “GreatAmericans” who wish to learn more about and participate in community betterment efforts.

“It’s also an opportunity to understand their perspectives based on their personal beliefs, values and experiences.” 

The Employee Advised Fund will focus on four areas: Health and Human Services; Arts and Culture; Environment; and Public Projects. Non-profit organizations can visit GreatAmerica.com to apply to the fund. Applications will be voted on by all employees, then funded with the objective of exhausting the fund each year. The fund is expected to increase its giving amounts as profitability increases. 
Non-profits applying for funding must have a connection with a GreatAmerica employee and be a registered 501(c)(3) organization among other eligibility requirements. Applications for the first funding cycle will be accepted on the About Us section of GreatAmerica.com between October 20 and December 2, 2022.

About GreatAmerica
GreatAmerica is the largest independent, family-owned national commercial equipment finance company in the U.S. and is dedicated to helping manufacturers, distributors, and dealers be more successful and keep their customers for a lifetime. A $2.5 Billion company with life-to-date finance originations of over $14 Billion, GreatAmerica was established in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1992 and has a staff of over 600 employees with offices in Iowa, Georgia, Minnesota, and Illinois. In addition to financing, GreatAmerica offers innovative non-financial services to help our customers grow. www.greatamerica.com

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Tarry Shebesta Receives Clemens-Pender Award,
The National Vehicle Leasing Association’s Highest Honor

Shebesta is recognized for having the industry’s highest standards
 of professional conduct, dedication, hard work, and ethics.

Tarry Shebesta, was presented with the 2022 National Vehicle Leasing Association’s (NVLA) Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year Award during NVLA’s annual conference in Tucson Arizona.

The Clemens-Pender Lessor of the Year, given annually, was started in 1977 and is the highest honor to be awarded by NVLA. The award was established to memorialize two pioneers of the vehicle leasing industry that formed the early roots of NVLA. Frank Pender and Jack Clemens were dedicated, hard-working vehicle lessors who exemplified the highest standards of the industry.

The award is given to the NVLA member lessor who best exemplifies the highest standards of professional conduct, dedication to the association and industry, hard work, and ethics.

Mr. Shebesta joined NVLA in 2000 and by 2002 was nominated to the board. Five years later he took the reins as President for NVLA’s 40th anniversary year, the first time an Ohio member has become president.

Tarry is NVLA’s longest active serving board member at 20 years. He’s held multiple board positions, chaired many committees, written industry articles, taught seminars, and helped navigate the organization through the industry crash of 2008.

“I’m honored to receive this prestigious NVLA award and humbled to be in the same company as past honorees,” says Tarry Shebesta, CEO of ACS Financial & FinTech. “My passion for bringing innovative solutions to the leasing industry has only been possible with the collaborative efforts of colleagues and fellow board members.“
In a LinkedIn acknowledge, he posted:

“I've spent the last 33 years in the Digital and FinTech space of this industry as a Consumer Advocate, Independent Auto Dealer, Financing/Leasing Lender, Innovator, Advisor, Strategist, Author, Speaker, Investor, and last year initiated a strategic sale of a tech company.

“So what's next?

“What's next is an innovative and groundbreaking Digital Experience Platform (DXP) that's outside of the established systems most are operating in today.

“It requires new players and strategic partnerships but the end result will accomplish something many in the industry have been trying to achieve. It's a win-win-win for consumers, dealers, and lenders!

“The tech team is already in place and working at a record pace!

“As always I look forward to working & collaborating with the best & brightest in the industry!”

Shebesta is a 30+ year veteran, pioneer, and subject matter expert in the auto, powersports, RV, and marine industries with many technological firsts in online digital marketing, personalized shopping, and digital retailing.

In 2023 Tarry is in line again to take the helm as NVLA president.

About Tarry Shebesta
Tarry Shebesta is the CEO of Automobile Consumer Services, Inc. (ACS) a financial and FinTech company with deep roots in online marketing, personalized shopping, and digital retailing within the automotive, powersports, and RV industries. His 30+ year accomplishments include many industry FIRSTS: first in 1989 at selling cars online through dial-up BBSs and CompuServe; first in 2000 at leasing cars online through LeaseCompare.com; first in 2008 at powering the eBay Motors automotive finance portal; first in 2010 at launching DriveItNow®, the Shop-by-Payment and digital retailing solution on automotive dealer websites; first in 2018 at helping lenders and credit unions serve their customers with a better car shopping experience. He was also the key initiator of the strategic sale of truPayments LLC (DriveItNow®) to Pure Cars Technologies LLC in 2021.

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Watch at Home
by Fernando Croce, Leasing News Movie Reviewer

Special Halloween Edition, Part Two

In the second part of our seasonal frightfest, we continue with more choice Halloween pictures. So check in with Netflix and enjoy your own cinematic night of tricks and treats!

Diabolique (1955): No stranger to the most unsavory corners of human nature, French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (“The Wages of Fear”) paints a cunning canvas of cruelty and fear in this mordant drama. Set in a crumbling boarding school, it follows Christina (Vera Clouzot), the timid, much-abused wife of the brutal principal, Michel (Paul Meurisse). Together with Michel’s similarly mistreated lover, Nicole (Simone Signoret), Christina hatches a plan to murder him. Soon, however, their bond begins fraying in the face of inexplicable occurrences, including the disappearance of the husband’s corpse. As a tenacious inspector (Charles Vanel) haunts the grounds, Christina’s heart grows weaker and weaker. Often called “the French Hitchcock,” Clouzot envisions a world where malice is the norm, building to a memorably shocking conclusion. With subtitles.

Carnival of Souls (1962): A haunting gem whose ingenuity belies its low budget, Herk Harvey’s independent classic weaves a dark, lingering spell. Mary (Candace Hilligoss) is a young woman who, after mysteriously surviving a car accident, moves to Salt Lake City in hopes of starting a new life. She finds work playing the organ at the church, and meets the local boarding house’s other lodger, John (Sidney Berger). Her new life takes an abrupt turn, however, when she becomes fascinated with a vacant carnival that seems to be inhabited by lost souls. Along with visits from a creepy man (played by director Harvey), Mary becomes aware that she’s stuck in limbo between life and death. Dripping with uncanny atmosphere, the film is a precursor to “Night of the Living Dead.”

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971): The inimitable Vincent Price has the title role in this lurid revenge tale, which brims with stylish visuals and sardonic humor. Believed to have died in a car crash, famous concert organism Anton Phibes is actually alive but disfigured, and meticulously planning to punish those he believes are responsible for the death of his beloved wife. With the help of his lovely, mute assistant Vulvania (Virginia North), he organizes a string of murders inspired by the ten Biblical plagues that befell the Pharaoh of Egypt. With all the victims belonging to a medical team under Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten), can Scotland Yard detectives crack the case before it’s too late? Directed by Robert Fuest, this is a gruesome bonanza with a slight touch of camp.

An American Werewolf in London (1981): A diligent movie-buff turned filmmaker, John Landis (“Animal House”) brings just the right blend of cinephile appreciation and irreverence to this mischievous horror-comedy. David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are two American students who, while backpacking through the fog-filled roads of England, get a first-hand brush with local mythology. David survives a brutal werewolf attack, but soon finds that he’s been cursed to turn into a beast during full-moon nights. Helped by a nurse (Jenny Agutter) and Jack’s wisecracking ghost, he must come to terms with the terrible truth. Blending gruesome attacks and special effects with darkly comic moments (including a delightfully lunar soundtrack), the movie is a deft balancing act that still delivers bloody good entertainment decades after its original release.

Frankenweenie (2012): A specialist in Gothic flights of fancy, Tim Burton ("Edward Scissorhands") scores a magical blend of darkness and giddiness with this delightful stop-animation feature, featuring a style that harks back to "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Riffing on the Frankenstein legend, the movie centers on young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan), whose inclination towards weird science is balanced by his love for his family and, especially, for his beloved dog Sparky. When he loses Sparky to an accident, however, Victor becomes determined to bring his pet back to life in his homemade laboratory, with often hilariously monstrous consequences. Showcasing Burton's visual imagination and his love for inventive outcasts (along with a cast that includes Martin Short and Catherine O'Hara), this is a Halloween treat for all audiences.

Fernando Croce is a nationally recognized film reviewer and has been contributing to Leasing News since the summer of 2008. His reviews appear each Friday.

Fernando's Reviews: https://leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/Fer-Review.htm

Cute Young Female Hound
Des Moines, Iowa  Adopt-a-Dog

Scarlet

ID: 218912
Female
6 Months Old
Spayed
38 lbs.
Color: Tan
Site: ARL Main
Adoption Fee: $200

ARL Main
Adoptions, Pet Help Center, and Administration
5452 NE 22nd St.
Des Moines, IA 50313
https://www.arl-iowa.org/
Phone: (515) 262-9503
Send a Message:
https://www.arl-iowa.org/about/contact-us/

Adoption Hours
Monday through Friday
12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Adoption Process & Fees
https://www.arl-iowa.org/adopt/adoption-process/

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Leasing News Policy Statement

Fairness and unbiased reporting always.

We will question any information we think is suspicious. We will try to substantiate it by contacting at least two reliable and unbiased people.

It is the editor's sole discretion as to what is printed. If an opinion or viewpoint is expressed, the writer or writers will be named in the byline of the article, unless anonymity is requested. 

Major corrections will be posted in the next earliest edition at the beginning of the news edition, highlighted in bold, and in the current “online” news edition as early as possible. Typographical errors such as wrong dates and name corrections will be corrected online when noticed by the editor or reader(s), and if necessary, as determined by the editor, may be noted in the next edition as a “Clarification” or “Correction.”

All press releases will be marked proceeding and after with #### Press Release #### to note the article did not originate at Leasing News.

All articles from The Leasing News may be reprinted with proper attribution. Copyrighted cartoons and other content may not be reprinted if it is noted that they originated in another medium.  Permission to reprint those may come only from the copyright owner.

All advertising traded for writing or for support will be so noted below the advertising.

Leasing News follows “The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law” by Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Massachusetts. "The Chicago Manual of Style," by The University of Chicago Press,  and “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, MacMillan Publishing, Co., Inc.

To be added to the mailing list, you must request it. We do not share our mailing list with anyone.

We follow Internet Netiquette at all times. Our sole purpose is to provide communication to improve the industry.

Christopher Menkin, editor

News Briefs---

Pfizer Targets Covid Public Vaccine Price
    of at Least $110 a Dose
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-targets-covid-vaccine-price-of-at-least-110-a-dose-11666306202

Report: Elon Musk might lay off 75% of Twitter staff
after purchase. What does that mean for S.F.?
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Report-Elon-Musk-might-lay-off-75-of-Twitter-17523470.php

Chick-fil-A Operator Finds Magic with Three-Day Workweek
Leader retention100 percent/420 applicants for a single posting
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/exclusives/chick-fil-operator-finds-magic-three-day-workweek

U.S. Home Sales Drop for Eighth Straight Month
in September
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-home-sales-dropped-for-eighth-straight-month-in-september-11666274881

Allstate Loss Highlights Struggles Among Insurers
industry faces losses from Hurricane Ian
https://www.wsj.com/articles/allstate-loss-highlights-struggles-among-insurers-11666287036

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Rising Prices
  Keep Profits Ticking UP
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/business/consumer-nestle-procter-gamble.html

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Sports Briefs---

Rams Owner Stan Kroenke Agrees to Pay Most
     of $790 Million Settlement Over Move to L.A.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/nfl-stan-kroenke-settlement-st-louis-11666145942?mod=hp_major_pos1#cxrecs_s

NFL Week 7 picks: 49ers rebound against
Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/10/20/nfl-week-7-picks-49ers-rebound-against-chiefs-in-super-bowl-rematch/

49ers’ Jed York targets Dolphins’ Stephen Ross,
upsetting some NFL owners
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/michaelsilver/article/49ers-Jed-York-targets-Dolphins-Stephen-17523593.php

Tom Brady: "No retirement in my future"
https://www.theredzone.org/Blog-Description/EntryId/25775/Tom-Brady---No-retirement-in-my-future-

Qatar’s 12-year journey as World Cup host
has 1 month to go
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/sports/qatars-12-year-journey-as-world-cup-host-has-1-month-to-go/

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California Nuts Briefs---

San Francisco isn’t even close to being the U.S. dog capital.
      Here’s which areas outrank it
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/san-francisco-dogs-17518099.php

The S.F. public toilet that will cost as much as a home
https://link.sfchronicle.com/view/53b89947fdd5ac691f0005b9hinvi.1fyt/7784586

Bay Area sees ‘eviction tsunami’ as
pandemic renter protections end
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/20/bay-area-sees-eviction-tsunami-as-pandemic-renter-protections-end/

SF Bay Area college opens residence hall
for nearly 300 students
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/19/bay-area-college-opens-residence-hall-for-nearly-300-students/

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"Gimme that wine"

The best Napa and Sonoma wine tastings
     for $30 and under
https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/cheap-wine-tastings-17500172.php

Nicole Hitchcock of Healdsburg’s J Vineyards honored
as ‘Winemaker of the Year’ by Wine Enthusiast
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/nicole-hitchcock-of-healdsburgs-j-vineyards-tapped-as-winemaker-of-the-ye/

Wine of the week: Saini Vineyards, 2021 Sangiovese,
Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/lifestyle/wine-of-the-week-saini-vineyards-2021-sangiovese-dry-creek-valley-sonom/

“Gimme that Wine”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

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

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

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

This Day in History

      1520 - Magellan entered the strait which bears his name.
http://www.mariner.org/age/ma http://www.skittler.demon.co.uk/magellan.htm gellan.html
    1692 - William Penn was deposed as Governor of Pennsylvania. His overtures of gratitude to James II for permitting religious freedom for dissenters of the Church of England led William and Mary to charge Penn with being a papist: A Roman Catholic who adheres to the Church of Rome and the authority of the Pope; an offensive designation applied to Roman Catholics by their opponents. He was not.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnintro.html .
    1751 - The first Baptist association in the South was organized at Charleston, SC. It was formed under the initiative of Oliver Hart, who had left the Philadelphia area to become pastor of the Charleston Baptist Church in 1749.
    1774 - First display of the word "Liberty" appeared on a flag, raised by colonials in Taunton, MA in defiance of British rule in colonial America.
    1797 – The 44-gun, 204-foot U.S. Navy frigate USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides, was launched in Boston Harbor. It was never defeated in 42 battles. Constitution was the third of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794.  Retired from active service in 1881, Constitution was designated a museum ship in 1907. In 1934, she completed a three-year, 90-port tour of the nation. Constitution sailed under her own power for her 200th birthday in 1997, and again in August, 2012, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of her victory over Guerriere.  Usually berthed at Pier 1 of the former Charlestown Navy Yard, at one end of Boston's Freedom Trail, on May 18, 2015, Constitution entered Dry Dock 1 in Charlestown Navy Yard to begin a three-year restoration program.
    1805 – Battle of Trafalgar, where Lord Nelson defeats Spain and France, establishes British naval supremacy for the next century, including trying to re-take its colonies now united in North America.
http://www.nelsonsnavy.co.uk/battle-of-trafalgar.html 
    1808 - Birth of American Baptist clergyman Samuel Francis Smith (d. 1895) in Boston. Credited with writing over 100 hymns, Smith is best remembered as the author of "America" ("My Country, 'Tis of Thee"), written at age 23, while a student at Andover Seminary.
    1824 – Joseph Aspdin patented Portland cement, in England.
    1837 - Under a flag of truce during peace talks, U.S. troops seized the Seminole Chief Osceola in Florida. Osceola, who was sick with malaria, knew the Indians could fight no more. He went to the General's fort at St. Augustine with a white flag. When Osceola went to General Jesup, the General had his men surround Osceola. They threw the white flag to the ground and put chains on his hands and feet. The Seminoles were so angry with Osceola's capture that they continued to fight for the next five years.
    1845 - Birthday of Will Carleton (d. 1912), American poet, Hudson, Michigan. Michigan schools will honor his anniversary (by 1919 statute) by reading his poems on this day. Best known of his poems: “Over the Hill to the Poorhouse.”
    1861 - Union troops, under Gen. McClelland, suffered a devastating defeat in the second major engagement of the war. The Battle of Ball's Bluff produced the war's first martyr and led to the creation of a Congressional committee to monitor the conduct of the war. Union General Charles Stone was on watch at Leesburg, Virginia, while Union Gen. McCall's men were moving. Stone sent a detachment across the river on the night of October 20, and the inexperienced soldiers reported seeing a Rebel camp that turned out to be shadows. Stone decided to move more men over until a force of 1,600, under the command of Colonel Edward Baker, a US Senator, was poised for an attack the next morning. Baker was a close friend of President Lincoln, and Lincoln had named his second son after him. Baker placed his men in a dangerous position. They were in a clearing with their backs to the edge of Ball's Bluff, a 100-foot high cliff above the Potomac. They faced a wooded ridge that was rapidly filling with Southerners. The Confederates launched an attack at 3 p.m., and Baker's command was in trouble. Baker was killed and many of his men jumped from the bluff to their deaths or scrambled down a narrow trail only to find their boats swamped in the river. Less than half made it back to the other side of the Potomac. The Union suffered 49 killed, 158 wounded, and 714 missing and captured, while the Confederates suffered 33 killed, 115 wounded, and one missing. Lincoln was stunned by the loss of his friend Baker, who became a Northern martyr despite his ineptitude in conducting the battle. The political fallout was swift. Angry Republicans were highly suspicious of McClellan, a Democrat, and other generals. The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War was formed in December. This group was stacked with Radical Republicans who favored tougher treatment of the South and slaveholders. The committee's first investigation was the disaster at Ball's Bluff, and General Stone became the scapegoat. He was arrested for treason soon after and was jailed for six months.
    1864 - Battle of Westport, MO (Kansas City) was a major Union victory as after the loss of this battle, the rebels were in retreat in this area until the end of the Civil War. It is called the “last great rebel raid” and a popular song to the tune of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” was often sung at Confederate camps.
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/mo027.htm
http://bartonpara.com/civilwar/jw/rebraid.htm
    1867 – Manifest Destiny.  Near Medicine Lodge, KS, the Medicine Lodge Treaty was signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in western Oklahoma.
    1868 - Magnitude 7 earthquake at 7:53 AM, centered in Hayward, Calif.
http://www.seismo.berkeley.edu/seismo/faq/1868_0.html
    1879 - Thomas A. Edison demonstrated the first incandescent lamp that could be used economically for domestic purposes.  The prototype, developed at his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory, could burn for 13 ½ hours.
    1891 - Birthday of Ted Shawn (d. 1972), Kansas City, MO.  Partially paralyzed by diphtheria, Shawn was introduced to ballet for the therapeutic purposes and became a professional dancer by the age of 21. The Denishawn School of Dancing was established with the help of his wife, Ruth St. Denis, and became the epicenter of much innovation in 20th century dance and choreography. Among his many achievements is Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, which he inaugurated and directed for the remainder of his years, and such modern ballets as “Invocation to the Thunderbird,” “Osage-Pawnee,” “Labor Symphony” and “John Brown.”    
    1892 - Birthday of James L Kelso (d. 1978), Duluth, MN.  American Presbyterian archaeologist. He participated in digs at the biblical sites of Debir, Bethel and Jericho, and authored the text "Ceramic Vocabulary of the O.T.” 
http://members.tripod.com/~hardbop/byas.html
    1902 – A five-month strike by the United Mine Workers ended.
    1908 - The first two-sided vinyl record was offered for sale by the Columbia label in an ad running in this week's Saturday Evening Post.
    1912 - Tenor Saxophone player Don Byas (d. 1972) was born Muskogee, OK.
http://www.oklahomajazz.com/byas.htm
    1912 - Birthday of comedian Minnie Pearl, born Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (d. 1996) in Centerville, TN.  Destined to become a longtime fixture of Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, Pearl was famous for her comic monologues about hillbilly life and was featured on the long-running syndicated show “Hee Haw”from 1970 to 1990.
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/misc/9603/pearl_obit/index.html
http://www.150.si.edu/150trav/remember/r1117.htm
    1916 - Birthday of Floyd Clifford “Bill” Bevens (d. 1991) at Hubbard, OR. Bevens nearly pitched the first no-hitter in World Series history, pitching for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers. In Game 4 of the 1947 Series, in the bottom of the 9th with two out and two on, Cookie Lavagetto pinch-hit and doubled home both runners, spoiling the no-hitter and winning the game, 3-2.  Sportscaster Red Barber’s call:  “Wait a minute...Stanky is being called back from the plate and Lavagetto goes up to hit...Gionfriddo walks off second...Miksis off first...They're both ready to go on anything...Two men out, last of the ninth...the pitch...swung on, there's a drive hit out toward the right field corner. Henrich is going back. He can't get it! It's off the wall for a base hit! Here comes the tying run, and here comes the winning run!...Friends, they're killin' Lavagetto! His own teammates, they're beatin' him to pieces! And it's taking a police escort to get Lavagetto away from the Dodgers!...Well, I'll be a suck-egg mule!”  The hit was the last of Lavagetto's career as neither he nor Bevens would play in the Majors again.
    1917 - Birthday of John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (d. 1993) at Cheraw, SC. Trumpet player, composer, bandleader, presidential candidate (I voted for him as “start of stage, screen, and outer space” Mad Magazine), and one of the founding fathers of modern jazz.  In the early 1940s, Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie (Yardbird) Parker created be-bop. In the late 40s, he created a second music revolution by incorporating Afro-Cuban music into jazz. In 1953, someone fell on Gillespie's trumpet and bent it. Finding he could hear the sound better, he kept it that way; his puffed cheeks and bent trumpet became his trademarks. He won a Grammy in 1975 for “Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie” and again in 1991 for “Live at the Royal Festival Hall.”    
http://www.duke.edu/~jrw5/
http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo2/dizzy.htm
http://www.downbeat.com/artists/window.asp?aid=161&
aname=Dizzy+Gillespie
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/8446/
http://www.harlem.org/people/gillespie.html
    1921 - President Harding delivered the first speech by a sitting U.S. President against lynching in the deep South.
    1927 – Construction began on the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and New York across the Hudson River.
    1928 - Birthday of Edward Charles “Whitey” Ford, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, New York, NY.  “The Chairman of the Board” spent his entire 16-year career with the New York Yankees and he was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1974 with his buddy, Mickey Mantle, whose birthday is October 20!  Ford is a ten-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion. Ford won both the Cy Young Award and World Series MVP Award in 1961 when he also established, and still holds, the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings at 33 2/3, breaking Babe Ruth’s record of 29 2/3. He led the AL in wins three times and in ERA twice.  His career ERA of 2.75 is the second lowest in history.  He remains the Yankees career wins leader and the Major League leader in World Series games won with 10. 
    1934 – In what many regard as the impetus for baseball in Japan, a Major League All-Star team led by Babe Ruth and Connie Mack sailed on tour to Hawaii and Japan. Star players with wives included Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Charlie Gehringer, Lefty Gomez, Earl Averill, and Lefty O’Doul.
    1937 – Birthday of Norman Wright (d. 2010), lead singer with the Del-Vikings, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.destinationdoowop.com/delvikings.htm
    1938 - Jan Savitt records “Quaker City Jazz.”
    1940 - Birthday of Jimmy Beaumont (d. 2017), lead singer with the Skyliners, born Pittsburgh, PA.  The Skyliners were best known for their 1959 hit “Since I Don’t Have You” which remains an oldies staple at revivals.
http://www.vocalhalloffame.com/skyliners.htm
http://www.theskyliners.com/
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000EP1O/ref=ase_avsearch-musicasin-20/
103-0570268-6906239#product-details
    1940 – The first edition of Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” was published.
    1941 - Benny Goodman, the “King of Swing,” cuts “Clarinet Ala King.”
    1942 - Birthday of guitarist Elvin Bishop, Glendale, CA.
    1943 - Birthday of Brian Piccolo (d. 1970), Pittsfield, MA. He played running back at Wake Forest and with the Chicago Bears. His interracial friendship with Gale Sayers earned him certain fame, but at age 26, he was stricken with embryonal cell carcinoma, a virulent form of cancer that took his life seven months later.  His life became the subject of a book, “Brian Piccolo: A Short Season,” and a made-for television movie, “Brian's Song.”
    1944 - Organized Japanese resistance on Angaur, Palau Islands ends. A total of 1300 Japanese are killed and 45 are captured. American forces have suffered 265 dead and 1335 wounded. US heavy bombers are operating from the airfield. The Japanese garrisons on the remaining islands in the group are left isolated.  Also, the first kamikaze attacks occurred as a Japanese fighter plane carrying a 440 lb. bomb attacked an Australian ship off Leyte Island as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began in the Philippines.
    1944 – The first German city to fall to the Americans was Aachen after three weeks of battle.
    1944 - MOON, HAROLD H., JR., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private, U.S. Army, Company G, 34th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Pawig, Leyte, Philippine Islands, 21 October 1944. Entered service at: Gardena, Calif. Birth: Albuquerque, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 104, 15 November 1945. Citation: He fought with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity when powerful Japanese counterblows were being struck in a desperate effort to annihilate a newly won beachhead. In a forward position, armed with a submachinegun, he met the brunt of a strong, well-supported night attack which quickly enveloped his platoon's flanks. Many men in nearby positions were killed or injured, and Pvt. Moon was wounded as his foxhole became the immediate object of a concentration of mortar and machinegun fire. Nevertheless, he maintained his stand, poured deadly fire into the enemy, daringly exposed himself to hostile fire time after time to exhort and inspire what American troops were left in the immediate area. A Japanese officer, covered by machinegun fire and hidden by an embankment, attempted to knock out his position with grenades, but Pvt. Moon, after protracted and skillful maneuvering, killed him. When the enemy advanced a light machinegun to within 20 yards of the shattered perimeter and fired with telling effects on the remnants of the platoon, he stood up to locate the gun and remained exposed while calling back range corrections to friendly mortars which knocked out the weapon. A little later he killed 2 Japanese as they charged an aid man. By dawn his position, the focal point of the attack for more than 4 hours, was virtually surrounded. In a fanatical effort to reduce it and kill its defender, an entire platoon charged with fixed bayonets. Firing from a sitting position, Pvt. Moon calmly emptied his magazine into the advancing horde, killing 18 and repulsing the attack. In a final display of bravery, he stood up to throw a grenade at a machinegun which had opened fire on the right flank. He was hit and instantly killed, falling in the position from which he had not been driven by the fiercest enemy action. Nearly 200 dead Japanese were found within 100 yards of his foxhole. The continued tenacity, combat sagacity, and magnificent heroism with which Pvt. Moon fought on against overwhelming odds contributed in a large measure to breaking up a powerful enemy threat and did much to insure our initial successes during a most important operation. 
    1945 - Top Hits 
“I'll Buy That Dream” - The Pied Pipers 
“Till the End of Time” - Perry Como 
“On the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe” - Johnny Mercer 
“You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often” - Tex Ritter
    1948 - Birthday of William Ellis “Bill” Russell, former Dodgers manager and player, Pittsburg, KS.  Russell played his entire 18-year, 2,181-game career with the LA Dodgers as the starting shortstop for four NL pennant winners and one World Series champion. Russell was the shortstop for eleven years, anchoring an infield that included 3B Ron Cey, 2B Davey Lopes and 1B Steve Garvey. This infield has the distinction of being the longest intact unit in baseball history with eight and a half seasons together. He also served as the team's manager from 1996 to 1998.
    1950 - WILSON, RICHARD G., Medal of Honor.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Co. 1, Medical Company, 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Opari, Korea, 21 October 1950. Entered service at: Cape Girardeau Mo. Born: 19 August 1931, Marion, Ill. G.O. No.: 64, 2 August 1951. Citation: Pfc. Wilson distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. As medical aid man attached to Company I, he accompanied the unit during a reconnaissance in force through the hilly country near Opari. The main body of the company was passing through a narrow valley flanked on 3 sides by high hills when the enemy laid down a barrage of mortar, automatic-weapons and small-arms fire. The company suffered a large number of casualties from the intense hostile fire while fighting its way out of the ambush. Pfc. Wilson proceeded at once to move among the wounded and administered aid to them oblivious of the danger to himself, constantly exposing himself to hostile fire. The company commander ordered a withdrawal as the enemy threatened to encircle and isolate the company. As his unit withdrew Private Wilson assisted wounded men to safety and assured himself that none were left behind. After the company had pulled back he learned that a comrade previously thought dead had been seen to be moving and attempting to crawl to safety. Despite the protests of his comrades, unarmed and facing a merciless enemy, Pfc. Wilson returned to the dangerous position in search of his comrade. Two days later a patrol found him lying beside the man he returned to aid. He had been shot several times while trying to shield and administer aid to the wounded man. Pfc. Wilson's superb personal bravery, consummate courage and willing self-sacrifice for his comrades reflect untold glory upon himself and uphold the esteemed traditions of the military service. 
    1950 - Earl Lloyd, first NBA Black Assistant Coach and the first Black chief scout, becomes the first Black person to play in an NBA game, a day before Charles Cooper and Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton.
    1950 - “The Stu Erwin Show.” This often-imitated sitcom was one of the first of its kind and immensely popular. Stu Erwin starred as himself, a bumbling high school principal; June Collyer (his real-life wife) as his level-headed wife, June; Ann Todd and Merry Anders as their daughter, Joyce; Shelia James Kuehl as younger daughter, Jackie; Martin Milner as Joyce's boyfriend and alter husband, Jimmy Clark; and Willie Best as Willie, the handyman. The show was also called, “Life with the Erwins,” “The New Stu Erwin Show,” and “The Trouble with Father.”
    1953 - Top Hits 
“Vaya Con Dios” - Les Paul & Mary Ford 
“You, You, You” - The Ames Brothers 
“Crying in the Chapel” - June Valli 
“I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know “- The Davis Sisters
    1954 - Ian Fleming's aristocratic spy, James Bond, made his film debut when first portrayed by actor Barry Nelson in an episode of the television series “Climax,” titled "Casino Royale" in 1954. Peter Sellers and David Niven played the role in the 1967 movie, and David Craig, the current Bond, in the 2006 remake. 
http://www.all-reviews.com/videos-2/casino-royale.htm 
    1956 - Quarterback and place-kicker George Blanda of the Chicago Bears missed his first extra-point attempt after a record-setting 156 in a row. His kick sailed off to the left, but it hardly mattered as the Bears defeated the Baltimore Colts, 58-27.
    1956 - Elvis Presley visits his favorite local movie theater, the Memphian, and is beset by an adoring crowd who, in the ensuing melee, scratch his new Cadillac. Thus begins Elvis' new habit of renting the entire theater whenever he wants to watch a movie.
    1957 - "Jailhouse Rock" becomes Elvis Presley's ninth Billboard chart topper in the last year and a half.  The movie of the same title opened in U.S. theatres. The flick also starred Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor, Jennifer Holden, Dean Jones and Anne Neyland. Elvis Presley fans consider it to be his favorite. It was not Elvis's favorite, as he wanted to do “serious acting,” rather than just appear in “costumes and sing,” he said often.
    1957 – The first overture of the city of Minneapolis was rejected by Calvin Griffith, owner of the Washington Senators.  The team eventually moved there in 1960 and became the Minnesota Twins.
    1958 - Orchestral strings were used for the first time in a rock and roll tune. Buddy Holly recorded "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," written by Paul Anka. Sadly, it would be Holly's last studio session. The song wasn't released until after his death in February of 1959.
    1959 - President Eisenhower signed an executive order transferring Dr. Werner von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA. By the late 1960s, his rockets were taking men to the moon. At age 25, he had masterminded the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany.
    1959 - The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of modern and contemporary art, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened in New York City.
(lower half of: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct21.html )
    1959 – Branch Rickey, the man who signed Jackie Robinson to a Brooklyn Dodger contract, launched a third professional baseball league, the Continental League.  Rickey had resigned from the Pittsburgh Pirates to become league president. The five founding cities were New York, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Toronto, and Denver, then Atlanta, Buffalo, and Dallas.  When the National League expanded to include New York Metropolitans and Houston Colt 45s, and the Washington Senators agreed to move to Minneapolis, the Continental League folded.
    1960 - The fourth and last debate preceding the presidential election between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon was televised from New York City. Kennedy would go on to win with an electoral vote of 303; Nixon 219, and Sen. Harry F. Byrd, 15. Kennedy won 49.7% and Nixon 49.6% of the popular vote, making the election one of the closest in U.S. history at the time. In congressional elections, the Democrats took a 65-35 majority in the Senate. In the House, they lost 20 seats but kept a majority of 263-174. 
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/oct21.html 
    1960 - The Accutron, the world's first electronic watch, went on sale. The watch, produced by Bulova Watch Company in Jackson Heights, New York, used transistorized electronic circuits and a miniature power cell, instead of a spring and gears, to move the watch's hands.
    1961 - Top Hits 
“Hit the Road Jack” - Ray Charles 
“Runaround Sue” - Dion 
“Bristol Stomp” - The Dovells 
“Walk on By” - Leroy Van Dyke.
    1961 - Bob Dylan records his first album, "Bob Dylan," for Columbia Records. The album presents the 20-year old singer accompanied by his guitar and harmonica. The recording is done in a day and productions costs run $400. Filling out his income-tax form, Dylan gives his name as Blind Boy Grunt.
http://www.rockmine.music.co.uk/BobBooks.html
    1963 - Michigan Bell Telephone placed into service the first “trimline telephone.” The dial was mounted in the receiver midway between the mouth and the ear pierces, eliminating the need to reach for the base when dialing. It introduced the telephone to its entire territory on learning its popularly on August 2, 1965, at a monthly charge of $1.00.
    1964 - The Rolling Stones appear on Ed Sullivan's TV variety show. It was the first time American audiences had seen the Stones. Founding Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richards met during grade school and ran into each other when Jagger was studying at the London School of Economics and Richards was at art school. They formed the Rolling Stones in 1962 and were soon playing a steady series of nightclubs and bars in London. They released their first single in Britain in 1963. Before long, the Stones became known as the anti-Beatles: They were long-haired, grungy, and wild, while the Beatles seemed wholesome and safe. A string of drug-related arrests plagued various band members--Brian Jones' drug problems probably led to his death in 1969, and Keith Richards struggled with heroin addiction before getting clean in 1977. They are on another tour. I can personally testify they are still quite the performers. “I Can't Get No Satisfaction” has been voted by Billboard magazine as still the most popular rock and roll song.
    1966 - Grateful Dead, Lightnin' Hopkins & Loading Zone at the Fillmore, with dancing & strobe light show, San Francisco
    1967 - Over 250 protestors were arrested when thousands of the 50,000 participants in a rally against the Vietnam War at Washington, DC crossed the Potomac River and stormed the Pentagon. No shots were fired, but many demonstrators were struck with nightsticks and rifle butts.  Similar demonstrations occurred simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.
    1969 - Top Hits 
“I Can't Get Next to You” - The Temptations 
“Hot Fun in the Summertime” - Sly & The Family Stone 
“Suspicious Minds” - Elvis Presley 
“Since I Met You, Baby” - Sonny James
    1972 - John H. Conyers becomes the first African-American to enter the US Naval Academy.
    1972 - Chuck Berry's "My Ding-a-Ling" hit #1 in the U.S. It was number one for two weeks.
    1973 – The Oakland A’s clinched their second consecutive World Series with a 5-2 win over the New York Mets.
    1973 - Fred Dryer, defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams, and later, TV’s “Hunter,” became the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game in the Rams' 24-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
    1975 - Catcher Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox hit a home run in the 12th inning to defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6, in the sixth game of the World Series. Fisk's dramatic homer forced a seventh game in what is generally considered one of the best World Series ever and Fisk’s HR is among the greatest World Series moments.
    1975 - The city of Los Angeles declares this "Elton John Week" and awards the musician his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6915 Hollywood Blvd.
    1976 - The Cincinnati Reds sweep the New York Yankees in the World Series. In game four, played this day, with Johnny Bench slugging two home runs for five RBIs, the Reds rang up a 7-2 victory. It was the Big Red Machine's second straight World Series championship.
    1977 - Top Hits 
“You Light Up My Life” - Debby Boone 
“Nobody Does It Better” - Carly Simon 
“That's Rock 'n' Roll” - Shaun Cassidy 
“Heaven's Just a Sin Away” - The Kendalls
    1980 - After failing short in 1915 and 1950, the Phillies won their first World Series title. Mike Schmidt knocked in two runs and Tug McGraw stopped Kansas City's hitters, 4-1, in Philadelphia. The Phils won the Series, 4 games to 2.
    1983 - The United States sent a ten-ship task force to Grenada, one of the smallest independent nations in the Western Hemisphere and one of the southernmost Caribbean islands in the Windward chain. The Cuban government had decided to utilize the former British colony as a holding place for arms and military equipment, complete with a major airport. Eastern Caribbean nations fully understood the implication of the communist threat and called upon the United States for help. The response was Operation Urgent Fury, a multinational, multiservice effort. Commanding officers of the US Navy ships have not yet been told what the mission in Grenada--to evacuate U.S. citizens, neutralize any resistance, stabilize the situation and maintain the peace.
    1985 - William ‘The Refrigerator' Perry of the Chicago Bears led his team to a 23-7 win over the Green Bay Packers. Perry, weighing in at 325 pounds (more than some Frigidaires), became a folk hero as he cut a path for Walter Payton's two TDs. He then plodded over the goal line himself for another score.
    1985 - A television special called “The Carl Perkins and Friends Show,” marked the 30th anniversary of the song "Blue Suede Shoes." The event featured Carl Perkins, the song's writer, along with Dave Edmunds, Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
    1985 - Top Hits 
“Take on Me” - a-ha 
“Saving All My Love for You” - Whitney Houston 
“Part-Time Lover” - Stevie Wonder 
“You Make Me Want to Make You Mine” - Juice Newton
    1988 - Joan, the last hurricane of the season, neared the coast of Nicaragua packing 125 mph winds. Joan claimed more than 200 lives as she moved over Central America, and total damage approached 1.5 billion dollars. Crossing more than 40 degrees of longitude, Hurricane Joan never strayed even one degree from the 12 degree north parallel. 
    1989 - First black owners (Bertram Lee and Peter Bynoe) to own a major sports team, purchased the Denver Nuggets for $65 million.
http://www.piperrudnick.com/lawyers/AttorneyBio.asp?id=20881
http://www.geocities.com/~arthurh/Denver-Nuggets.html
http://www.nba.com/nuggets/
    1989 - Unseasonably cold weather continued to grip the south central and southeastern U.S. Twenty cities reported record low temperatures for the date, including Calico, AR with a reading of 26 degrees, and Daytona Beach, FL with a low of 41 degrees. Squalls in the Great Lakes Region finally came to an end, but not before leaving Marquette, MI buried under 12.7 inches of snow, a record 24 hour total for October. 
    1994 – Déjà vu all over again?  North Korea and the Clinton administration signed an agreement that required North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
    1995 - Mariah Carey's "Daydream" was the number one album in the U.S. The album featured the smash hits "Fantasy" and "One Sweet Day" (both debuted on the singles chart at #1).
    1997 - The Guinness Book of Records announced that Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" (Princess Diana version) was now the biggest selling single record of all time, with 31.8 million sales in the first 40 days after its release, eclipsing the previous record held by Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." The Crosby song sold an estimated 30 million copies worldwide -- in 55 years.
    1998 – “Patch Adams,” starring Robin Williams, opened in the United States. The film was based on the '70s true story of a man who wanted desperately to be a doctor and help people, but spurned the melancholy protocol of medical school in favor of clowning and making a personal connection with patients. Williams and the film were both nominated for Golden Globes.
    1998 - The invincible New York Yankees won their 24th World Series. They beat the San Diego Padres, 3-0, to sweep the Series. It was New York's second title in three years and its first sweep since 1950. Scott Brosius was MVP after finishing with a .471 batting average, eight hits, two home runs and six runs batted in. Mariano Rivera and Jeff Nelson both pitched in three Yankee games and both finished with a 0.00 ERA.  The Game 4 victory gives the Yankees 125 wins against 50 losses for a .714 winning percentage, the best in the Majors since their Murderers’ Row champions of 1927, as their AL record of 114 regular-season victories were the most ever.
    2000 - In the longest World Series game ever played, the Yankees take Game 1 of the Subway Series, thanks to Jose Vizcaino's 12th inning two-out single, defeating the Mets, 4-3 in four hours and fifty-one minutes. The victory surpasses the streak established by the Murderers' Row clubs as the present Bronx Bombers win their 13th consecutive World Series game.
    2002 - Florida team president David Samson, in an effort to get fans "falling back in love with the Marlins,'' announces plans which includes free hot dogs and a cozier atmosphere at Pro Player Stadium. The average crowd of 10,038 per home game, more than a third less than the previous season, was next-to-last in the Majors in attendance this year.
    2003 - Elton John signs the deal for the first of his famous "Red Piano" concerts at Las Vegas' Caesar’s Palace.
    2005 - Bob Seger sings the US national anthem before today's World Series game between the Detroit Tigers and the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
    2006 - After hosting Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in February, Detroit becomes just the second city to host both a Super Bowl and a World Series in the same calendar year. San Diego was the site of the NFL Championship game and Fall Classic in 1998.
    2013 – New Jersey became the 14th state to recognize same-sex marriages.
    2014 - Jeffrey Fowle, one of three Americans held in North Korea for crimes against the state, has been released.  Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible in a club for mariners.

World Series Champions
    1973 - Oakland Athletics
    1976 - Cincinnati Reds
    1980 - Philadelphia Phillies
    1998 – New York Yankees