This day in history – August 9

Posted on August 9, 2013 by ScottC

1988 – After 4 consecutive Stanley Cups, 8 consecutive MVP awards, and a list of scoring records that would make Michael Jordan envious, the reigning champion Edmonton Oilers shock the hockey world by trading Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player ever to play the game, to the Los Angeles Kings for $15 million. As part of the trade Gretsky demands that teammates Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski be traded along with him. Marty McSorely – what a great name, and not just because of his namesake.

1976 – The USSR launches Luna 24, the last space craft to land on the moon to date, making the USSR responsible for both the first and last man-made crafts to land on the moon, both of which were unmanned. In the interim, however, the US managed a few successes of its own. And had more fun doing it.

1969 – Actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanksi), and 3 friends including Abigail Folger, heiress to the Folger Coffee fortune, are brutally murdered in Tate’s Benedict Canyon mansion. The murders are perpetrated by members of Charles Manson’s cultish “family” at his behest, in a bizarre attempt to spark a race war which, according to Manson, was prophesied in the songs of The Beatles. I first read about the murders as a young teenager in the book Helter Skelter by Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. I became totally fascinated with the story, and eventually with true crime stories in general.

1945 – U.S. drops the 2nd atomic bomb “Fat Man” on the city of Nagasaki, killing a reported 60,000 – 80,000 people. Following on the heels of the first use of an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima 3 days earlier, the bombing effectively puts an end to Japanese resistance, and within the week Japan surrenders unconditionally, finally ending WWII. Almost 70 years later debates continue to rage over whether the use of the bomb was justified.

1936 – Jesse Owens wins the last of his 4 gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, a well deserved poke in the eye of Adolf Hitler and his Aryan master race fantasies. Although apparently Owens did make good friends with one of his toughest German competitors.

1790 – The trading ship Columbia returns to Boston after a 3 year journey, the first ship to carry the U.S. flag around the world.

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