Happy 50th Birthday to Hideki Matsui, aka “Godzilla”. The DH and outfielder was one of the best Japanese visitors to these shores who ever played in the Major Leagues. He enjoyed a 7-year career with the New York Yankees, during which he won the World Series in 2009 and was named the MVP. Playing his first 10 years with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball, Americans were treated to this outstanding player for a tragically short period of time. READ some excellent stats on Matsui-San… (1974)
In 10 seasons he hit a career 175 home runs and 760 RBIs, batting an average of .280
In 2003 at the Yankee Stadium season opener he hit a Grand Slam, the only player to ever do so on a home debut. In his second season, Matsui finished 2004 with a .298 average with 31 home runs and 108 RBIs. He was the American League All-Star Final Vote winner in 200.
Along with tremendous power and clutch performances in big games, Matsui boasted a playing streak of 519 consecutive games, a streak which included an incident whereby Matsui fractured his wrist at the start of a game but had played the minimum time required by MLB rules to count as a game played. He had surgery and returned the next day against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, had an RBI-single in his first at-bat back, and proceeded to go 4 for 4 with a walk and scored twice.
MORE Good News on this Day:
- Virginia’s colonial legislature became the first to adopt a Bill of Rights (1776)
- The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y. (1939)
- Anne Frank received a diary for her 13th birthday (1942)
- The Supremes became the first American group to score five consecutive U.S. No.1 singles when ‘Back In My Arms Again’, went to the top of the charts (1965)
- The U.S. Supreme Court voted unanimously that state laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional, a seminal moment for civil rights in more than a dozen states, and for the couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who filed the lawsuit against Virginia (1967)
- The first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the most popular movies ever made—directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by George Lucas—premiered (1981)
- In New York City’s Central Park, 750,000 people rallied against nuclear weapons with Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, and Linda Ronstadt (1982)
- Ronald Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall (1987)
- Queen Elizabeth reopened the Globe Theatre in London (1997)
- The Philippines on its Independence Day celebrated its centennial year of Independence from Spain (1998)
373 years ago today, Gian Lorenzo Bernini finished La Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, or the fountain of four rivers, in the Piazza Navona, in Rome. It depicts four representational rivers, the Danube, the Rio de la Plata, the Nile, and the Ganges, to celebrate riverinity. According to a report from the time, an event was organized to draw people to the Piazza Navona. Beforehand, wooden scaffolding overlaid with curtains had hidden the fountain, Once the public had been summoned to the Piazza, the report notes, the citizens of the city were overwhelmed by the massive fountain, mentioning “enraptured souls” of the population; the fountain, which “gushes out a wealth of silvery treasures” causing “no little wonder” in the onlookers.
This report also goes on to note that the wonder was replaced eventually with opposition after the citizenry learned that Pope Innocent X had paid for it with tax money.
Bernini the designer has been called the creator of Baroque-style sculpting, and the Four Rivers was his to be his 4th erected in Rome. The marriage of architectural stilts and sculpture made the Four Rivers revolutionary in its time.
The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river’s navigability. The Nile’s head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile’s source was. The Danube touches the Pope’s personal coat of arms, since it is the large river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America could offer to Europe (1651)
474 years ago today, the city of Helsinki was founded by King Gustav I of Sweden. Called Helsingfors originally, the town consolidated the zip codes of local bourgeois in an effort to counter the regional influence of another center which would become Tallinn, Estonia. Today, Helsinki is the only metropolis in Finland, with 1.1 million inhabitants, one-quarter of all the nation’s jobs, and sits as the northernmost EU capital.
An eclectic mix of architectural styles can be found in Helsinki. It was one of the hotspots of Europe for Functionalism, where building designs are based solely on their function. However, the rich presence of neo-classical-style buildings acted as a Russian backdrop for many Hollywood films at a time when filming in the USSR was impossible. These include Gorky Park, The Kremlin Letter, and Reds.
Helsinki has one of the highest standards of living, the happiest populations, and the greatest potential for cultural expansion. It’s the capital of what is repeatedly the happiest people in Europe. (1550)
On this day in 1929, Anne Frank, the Jewish Holocaust victim whose diary describes her family hiding from the Nazis during the World War II, was born. She received a blank book for her thirteenth birthday that became the now-famous account of her life in hiding for two years. Afterward her family was betrayed, and she died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Her father Otto Frank, who hid his family in the back of his office building, became the only family survivor, and he orchestrated the publishing of his daughter’s manuscripts. After being rejected by several publishers, Anne Frank’s diary was published in 1952—and is now published in over 60 languages with 30 million copies sold.
And on this day in 1923, Harry Houdini freed himself from a straight jacket while hung by his ankles upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above the ground in New York City. One of Houdini’s most popular publicity stunts, it began as a challenge from police, who applied the canvas and leather jacket themselves before he was hoisted up by a crane. He made his escape in full view of thousands of onlookers in about two minutes.
Also, 14 years ago today, a rookie baseball player, Daniel Nava, came to the plate on national television and hit the first pitch he ever saw in a Major League game for a grand slam—and was only the second player ever to do that (after Kevin Kouzmanoff in 2006). Nava drove in 4 runs at Fenway Park for the Boston fans, and was presented the ball from a Red Sox pitcher who caught it in the bullpen—“the souvenir of a lifetime.” Red Sox Radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione had told him before the game to swing as hard as he could on the first pitch because “that’s the only first pitch in the majors you’ll ever see,” and he did just that. Nava hit his second grand slam four years later. (2010)
And, Rachel Beckwith, although she only lived to her ninth birthday on this day in 2011, left a lasting legacy that helped to raise more than $1.26 million for clean water.
When she learned that people in the world are dying because they don’t have access to clean drinking water, she wanted to raise $300 for “charity:water,” by asking for donations instead of presents for her ninth birthday. When she died in a car crash weeks later, her memory inspired a flood of inspired action by adults and children worldwide. READ the full story of Rachel’s legacy and Watch a heartwarming video on Good News Network, here.
Today is Record Store Day, first held in 2008 by independent record store owners as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture spinning every day in 1400 vinyl shops in the US—and thousands worldwide on six continents.
Revving up sales and celebrations with in-store events, the staff, customers, and artists are coming together with more than a hundred special vinyl and CD releases being dropped exclusively for the Day. The 2021 Record Store Day Ambassador is Fred Armisen, a comedian, producer—and drummer—who will also release a new LP today.
Past ambassadors have included Josh Homme, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Jack White, Chuck D, Dave Grohl, Chuck D, St. Vincent, and Pearl Jam. Metallica wore the ambassador’s sash too, and they spent hours at Rasputin Music in San Francisco meeting their fans.
This year, among other goodies exclusively created for the Day, Crosley Radio has teamed up with Apple Corps Ltd to release a Beatles Yellow Submarine turntable—just 1,500 turntables available at stores, priced at $159.95. CHECK Out the turntable, new releases, and find a store…
Hundreds of artists will be flocking to record stores today (and again on July 17) for performances, signings, and meet-and-greets—and the needle will drop on new releases across all genres, with 60% of them coming from indie labels. See a complete list of the Record Store Day releases in alphabetic order, including rock bands like AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Beastie Boys, and Cold War Kids, HERE.
If you’re busy tomorrow, they are holding a second Record Store Day to help shore up money lost during the pandemic, with new releases and in-store appearances continuing on July 17. FIND a participating record store near you, check out the event’s online store locator…
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Love the positive stories. Thank you so much!