Events January 13 1906 - Hugh Gernsback of the Electro Importing Company advertised radio receivers for sale for the low, low price of just $7.50 in Scientific American magazine. The first ad selling the gizmos guaranteed reception of about one mile. We’ve worked at powerhouse radio stations that used to go that far... and less! 1910 - Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn were heard via a telephone transmitter; rigged by DeForest Radio-Telephone Company to broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 1922 - Buck Weaver, one of the eight Black Sox banned for life following the 1919 World Series, applies unsuccessfully for reinstatement. 1933 - Babe (Mildred) Didrikson made her first appearance in professional basketball as the Brooklyn Yankees beat the stew out of the Long Island Ducklings. 1938 - Singer Allan Jones recorded The Donkey Serenade. 1942 - Henry Ford patented the plastic automobile which, allowed for a 30% decrease in car weight. Of course, it didn’t cost any less to buy a plastic car. Just ask Corvette owners... 1957 - Elvis Presley recorded All Shook Up and That’s When Your Heartaches Begin for Victor Records in Hollywood. The former tune became Elvis’ ninth consecutive gold record. 1955 - Chase National Bank (founded in 1877) and the Bank of Manhattan Company (founded in 1799 as a water company) agreed to merge, becoming the second largest bank in the U.S. 1957 - The Wham-O Company developed the first plastic Frisbee. The most popular theory as to how this flying disc came to be dates back to the 1920s when Yale students invented a game of catch by tossing around metal pie tins from the Frisbee Baking Company in nearby Bridgeport, Connecticut. They would frequently shout “Frisbieeeee” to warn passersby of the oncoming pie plate. Building inspector Fred Morrison puttered with and refined a plastic flying disc that he sold to WHAM-O (for $1 million) on this day in 1955. The disc was introduced to the consumer market in 1957 as the Pluto Platter (the name inspired by the U.S. obsession with UFOs). Wham-O changed the name to Frisbee in 1958, upon hearing the Yale pie-tin story. (Mattel now owns the rights to Frisbee, which has become an American icon.) 1963 - Bob Dylan performed in a radio play for the BBC in London. The play was called The Madhouse of Castle Street and he played a folk singer. 1968 - The Box Tops performed Cry Like a Baby on American Bandstand. 1972 - Former umpire, now housewife, Bernice Gera wins her suit against baseball, initiated on March 15, 1971. Gera is slated to umpire in the New York-Pennsylvania League starting in June. 1974 - Super Bowl VIII (at Houston): Miami Dolphins 24, Minnesota Vikings 7. The Dolphins win their second straight Super Bowl. Fran Tarkenton and the Vikings are the victims. MVP: Dolphins’ RB Larry Csonka. Tickets: $15.00. 1979 - Peaches & Herb performed Reunited on American Bandstand. 1982 - Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737, attempted to take off from Washington’s National Airport in one of the worst blizzards in history. Ice had built up on the wings of the jetliner as it waited its turn to take off, preventing it from gaining altitude. After crashing into the 14th Street Bridge, the plane fell into the Potomac River. 74 of the 79 people on the aircraft were killed in the accident. Four people on the bridge were killed. 1984 - Wayne Gretzky extended his consecutive scoring streak to 45 games, but the Edmonton Oilers winning streak ended at an unlucky 13 when Gretzky and company lost to the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. 1998 - The 100th episode of NYPD Blue aired on ABC. 2000 - Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced that he would be stepping down as Microsoft chief executive and handing over the reins to longtime friend and company president Steve Ballmer. Gates assumed the title of ‘chief software architect’.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:51:38 +0000