New York Giants Quiz: 1) Points, career? 2) Touchdowns,
career? 3) Interceptions, career? 4) Receptions, career?
Rushing, season? 6) Rushing, game? [If you get this last one, go
directly to ‘Go’ and collect $400.] Answers below.
April 14, 1958
Continuing with our tale on the aftermath of Sputnik, the first
man-made satellite launched by the Soviets in October 1957, one
of the results was a huge surge in reports of flying saucers.
Supposedly, Kenneth Arnold of Boise, Idaho was the first to
actually see one, back in 1947 over Mount Ranier, Washington,
which set off a slew of sightings over the coming years. Then in
October 1955, the Air Force released a detailed study that laid all
of the reports following Arnold’s as being misinterpretations of
“conventional phenomena.” Believe it or not, by the end of
1955, basically, the subject was dead, that is until Sputnik was
launched.
Immediately, there was a proliferation in rocket clubs,
particularly with kids weaned on Buck Rogers and “Popular
Science.” But the clubs’ activities got so out of hand that the
state of Indiana banned them in Dec. ’57. [Must have been
some of the same folks who thought Elvis”s behavior was
subversive.]
Then something big happened on April 14, 1958. There were
reports of flying saucers up and down the East Coast, as well as
the Caribbean. This was no isolated case. According to
“Sputnik” author Paul Dickson, many of the sightings were in
Connecticut and on Long Island, and the accounts were eerily
similar.
“They reported a brilliant, bluish-white object moving high
across the sky at an incredible speed. According to reports, it
suddenly turned red, and several smaller objects detached
themselves from the main object and fell into formation behind
it.”
Down in the Caribbean, observers on 15 different ships had
similar sightings, that were later determined to be just minutes
after the Connecticut/Long Island reports. All relayed that up to
27 detached objects appeared to be trailing the main body.
Alas, guess what it was? Why nothing more than the flaming
death of Sputnik II…which you’ll recall contained the corpse of
our space dog hero, Laika. Sputnik II had been in orbit 162 days
before giving out.
In fact, the vast majority of flying saucer reports are probably
nothing more than space debris. But despite the claims in 1958
that what people were seeing was really a burning satellite, there
were others who claimed that the Sputniks served as mating calls
to aliens. ‘The Complete Book of UFOs’ relates that back on
November 18, 1957, a 27-year-old mother from Birmingham,
England, Cynthia Appleton, “heard a high-pitched whistling
noise, smelled something like ozone, and saw a rose pink hue
spread throughout her suburban home. Out of the hue
materialized a tall humanoid creature with elongated eyes, pale
skin, and long blond hair. He wore a silver one-piece suit with a
covered helmet. Cynthia had a telepathic chat with the alien,
who told her that he was from a planet called Gharnasvarn,
which wanted to make peaceful contact but hesitated because of
the Earth’s atomic weapons. He made eight more visits (ed. I’m
assuming she served crumpets)…and finally told her that she
would have a cosmic child.” [Source: Paul Dickson]
Actually, the above story goes even further, but I’ll cut it here.
Personally, I always thought these guys came from
Mandromadon.
Meanwhile, the United States did meet with success in its
competition with the Soviet Union, but in a most unexpected
fashion. In April 1958, a chap by the name of Harvey Lavan
Cliburn Jr., a 23-year-old Texan, won the first Tchaikovsky
Competition for pianists. Americans saw it as a victory over the
Russians at their own game – music – and in Moscow to boot.
Van Cliburn played 3 pieces*, all by Russian composers, and the
locals fell for him in a big way. He even visited with Premier
Nikita Khrushchev.
And this is hard to believe for anyone younger than 50, but Van
Cliburn received a hero’s welcome unlike any other in the U.S.
since Charles Lindbergh’s flight in 1927. Imagine, he even got a
ticker-tape parade in New York. Music critic Welton Jones,
writing in the San Diego Union Tribune, would later report, “For
that time and place he was bulletproof, a full set of Teflon-coated
attitudes and achievements politically correct decades before the
concept was labeled. After all, it was Van who paid back the
Russians for the insult of Sputnik.” [Source: Paul Dickson]
I’m going to drag this story out one more ‘chat,’ as we finish up
our tale of Sputnik.
*For you classical music buffs, Van Cliburn’s 3 tunes were
Tchaikovsky’s “First Concerto” (required of all contestants),
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto and a rondo by Dmitri
Kabalensky.
Stuff
–College Football Top Ten (ESPN/USA Today)
1. Miami
2. Oklahoma
3. Virginia Tech
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Notre Dame
8. Texas
9. Michigan
10. North Carolina State
–For those who caught the Miami-Florida State game (which I
figured would be a rout…ahem), what was FSU QB Chris Rix
thinking when he landed on his neck? Also, how ‘bout those
Dorsey girls?! [Goodness, gracious…these being groupies of
Miami QB Ken Dorsey.]
–Then there was Texas, your editor’s pick to go all the way.
Maybe the New York Times computer had it right after all, when
the week before the Longhorns’ showdown with Oklahoma, they
were ranked #20. Texas quarterback Chris Simms is now 0-5
with 15 interceptions in games against Top Ten clubs following
Oklahoma’s 35-24 victory. We now turn our attention to #23
Bowling Green. Bowl Championship Series, ba-by! And my
Wake Forest Demon Deacons are suddenly 4-3…plus the men’s
soccer team is still #2 in the country, my fellow alums.
–Congratulations to Phil Tataurangi for capturing his first PGA
Tour victory in Las Vegas this weekend. Meanwhile, another
regular tour stop is in jeopardy, as the Greater Hartford Open
needs a new sponsor or an injection of $2.7 million by mid-
November.
–And congrats to Jamie McMurray. What a story. This 26-year-
old captured his first Winston Cup race in just his 2nd start.
–Elsewhere in auto racing, for you Formula One fans, the great
Michael Schumacher capped off a spectacular, unprecedented
year as he won his 11th race of 2002 by capturing the Japanese
Grand Prix. In all 17 races this campaign, he finished in the top
three. Unbelievable stuff.
–I grew up a New York Knicks fan and expected that I would be
one the rest of my life, even after the Nets moved to my state of
New Jersey. But the Nets are a far more exciting franchise these
days, to say the least, and now an already lousy Knicks team was
dealt a devastating blow when the recently acquired Antonio
McDyess fractured his kneecap this weekend. He’s out for the
year and his career has to be in doubt, as this is the same knee
that has been operated on a slew of times. The Knicks knew he
was fragile when they got him…just another incredibly stupid
move. So we now look for the team to win 15 games, max,
while long-time fans should be wondering, where is Ken “The
Animal” Bannister when you need him?
–Chicago Bulls forward Marcus Fizer was pulled over this
weekend and found to have a suspended drivers license and a
loaded handgun. Very comforting.
–Mets fans are grateful they won’t have the opportunity to kick
Buck Showalter around. We are all praying that we can pry Lou
Piniella away…even if it costs Roberto Alomar, as one report
had it this weekend. Johnny Mac is hoping Seattle will take Mo
Vaughn and Jeremy Burnitz off our hands. In Mo’s case, that
would also impact the price of beef in the New York region.
–Aquaculture is booming in Texas. From the “High Plains
Journal” comes word that parts of Texas are better for catfish and
shrimp farming than Louisiana and Mississippi, for example,
because they have a two-month longer growing season. Did you
ever think of becoming a shrimp farmer? 20 such operators in
Texas collectively netted an estimated $19 million in profits last
year.
–Andy Rooney is in hot water over the following comment
concerning football sideline reporters, which he made on a local
sports show. “I’m not a sexist person, but a woman has no
business being down there trying to make some comments about
a football game.” Doh! Martha Burk, the chairwoman of the
National Council of Women’s Organizations, has now made
Rooney her latest target, following her previous assault on
Augusta. I saw an incredibly embarrassing interview with her
Friday night on Chris Matthews’ program (Mike Barnicle
subbing). To sum it up, I’m not sure Ms. Burk has ever watched
ANY kind of sporting event, let alone football. As for Rooney,
while he probably shouldn’t have made the comment (though he
was entitled to say it), let the man alone!
–We note the passing of Stephen Ambrose…a great American.
–Lastly, congratulations to the Anaheim Angels for advancing to
their first World Series in franchise history. The Angels debuted
in 1961, which means that only two clubs have gone longer
without appearing in the Fall Classic, that being the Chicago
White Sox (1959) and the Chicago Cubs (1945). The
Washington Senators/Texas Rangers haven’t made it since their
debut in 1961, while the Houston Colt 45s/Astros have a similar
record of failure since they came into the National League in ’62.
Top 3 songs for the week of 10/11/75: #1 “Bad Blood” (Neil
Sedaka #2 “Calypso” (John Denver) #3 “Fame” (David Bowie)
New York Giants Quiz Answers: 1) Career, points: Pete
Gogolak, 646 (1966-74) 2) Touchdowns, career: Frank Gifford,
78 (1952-64) 3) Interceptions, career: Emlen Tunnell, 74 (1948-
58) 4) Receptions, career: Joe Morrison, 395 (1959-72) 5)
Rushing, game: Joe Morris…1,516 (1986) 6) Rushing, game:
Gene “Choo Choo” Roberts…218 yards on 11/12/50, a season in
which he had 483 yards total. Roberts had 1,904 yards rushing
for his career, and in 1949 he scored 17 touchdowns (9 rushing
and 8 receiving). Not too shabby.
Next Bar Chat, Thursday.
