World War I Begins....

              Although the incident that sparked the beginning of World War I actually took place on June 28th, today, July 28th is the anniversary of the start of the Great War.  On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Bosnia.  This incident is often thought as the beginning of World War I.  While it sparked the Great War, the beginning of World War I could not have actually started until war was declared, which happened exactly one month later, on July 28, 1914, when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia , followed within the week by the five major powers in Europe - Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and Belgium .  It was 100 years ago today that the Great War began.  It is only fitting that we take a few moments today to remember this momentous event as it was one of the deadliest conflicts in world history, involving at least 27 countries (as that's how many were mentioned as associated with either the Allied or Associated Powers in the Treaty of Versailles), and causing the death of more than 16 million people globally. May we never again experience a global war and its devastating effects.

Honoring the Babe

Mostly remembered for his home run records as a New York Yankee outfielder, Babe Ruth's start was far from Yankee Stadium and, for that matter, far from the outfield.  Ruth actually started as a pitcher for the Yankee rivals.  100 years ago today, July 11, Babe Ruth made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox as a left-handed pitcher.  Babe's journey, though, was unexpected and, at the time, not even welcomed.  The Babe was comfortable in his role with his native Baltimore, pitching for a first-place Orioles team in the International League.  The team, however, sold the three best prospects to the American League, specifically to the Boston Red Sox, due to poor attendance at the Orioles' games.  Those players, Ruth, Ben Egan, and Ernie Shore, boarded an overnight train to Boston on the evening of July 10, 1914.  Ruth joined the Red Sox the next day and pitched seven innings earning a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Naps. But, his hitting debut was far from the legend we know today.  Ruth actually went hitless in his two at-bats, including a strike-out at his first major league plate appearance.  Hard to believe that the Babe was only 19 years old in his major league debut, but, he was certainly everything legends are made of, even if that legend built more slowly than the myth would allow us to believe.  In fact, Ruth was pulled from his second major league start after getting hit hard by the Tigers and, afterwards, sat on the bench for almost a month.  But, by July, he was pitching again, but his powerful batting career started even more slowly.  Ruth  did not hit his first major league home run until the following season, at the Polo Grounds off Yankee pitcher Jack Warhop on May 6, 1915.  Ruth was slowly transitioned to an outfielder after proving that he had a powerful bat so that the team would not have to wait for his turn in a pitching rotation, and in 1918, he tied the major league home-run record at 11, and, the following year set the single season home run record at 29.  Ruth was sold to the Yankees in December of 1919 and that is when his transition to  full-time outfielder was complete.  In 1920 he hit a staggering 54 home runs as a New York Yankee and a Yankees legend was born.  It was not until 1961 and Roger Maris that anyone threatened the Babe's home run record, proving how powerful Ruth really was.  It certainly is fitting that the Yankees deem their stadium "The House That Ruth Built."

On this Day in History.....The King of Rock -n- Roll Begins His Path to Superstardom

For Elvis fans, this is an important day in history.  Sixty years ago on July 5, an unknown 19-year-old boy recorded a song that changed his life.  In Memphis-based Sun Studios, Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right (Mama)," a bluesy song written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup.  Little did Elvis know that his quest to record a song in the summer of 1953 as a birthday gift for his mother would literally change his life.  Elvis came into Sun Studios and recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartache Begins."  A year later, Sun Records producer Sam Phillips remembered Elvis as a white singer who could sing "black" rhythm and blues and knew that this was the key to breaking through new trends in the music industry.  Phillips called Elvis in to a recording session, but the session did not go well. Phillips could not recapture the "magic" he heard in Elvis' voice during the first recording in the summer of 1953. During a break in recording, Elvis was messing around with the musicians and played a faster version of the familiar "That's All Right" and Phillips, overhearing the jam session, knew that was the sound he was looking for.  "That's All Right" was released to a Memphis radio station a few days later and sparked enough interest for a regional release a couple weeks later.  "That's All Right" did not become a national best-seller, but it put Elvis on the path to stardom.  After the regional success of "That's All Right," Elvis recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" which became the first of many number ones on Billboard's pop singles chart. Interestingly, Elvis' only intention was to give his mother a unique birthday gift, and that gesture unwittingly introduced the world to the smooth and effortless voice of Elvis Presley while changing the direction of the music trends and giving birth to rock -n- roll.