WAY BACK WHEN for Weds., September 4, 2023
1950 Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey comic strip debuted. It would eventually have a circulation of 1,800 newspapers in more than 50 countries for a combined readership of 200 million daily.
1972 Swimmer Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal in the 1972 Olympics. Seven was the most Olympic gold medals ever won by a single athlete in a single Olympiad up to that time. That record was broken by Michael Phelps in 2008.
1993 Despite being born missing his right hand, Jim Abbott pitched a no-hitter for the New York Yankees against Cleveland (4-0).
2006 Steve Irwin Australian naturalist and wildlife expert, known as “The Crocodile Hunter,” died after being fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray barb off Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. He was filming a shallow-water segment for the documentary Ocean’s Deadliest.
Music History:
n 1971, Paul and Linda McCartney topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey,” from their album Ram. Released only in the US, the track was McCartney’s first solo No.1 in the country. Paul would later explain that “Uncle Albert” was based on his real-life uncle: “He’s someone I recall fondly and when the song was coming, it was like a nostalgia thing.”
Notable Birthdays:
Michael Keyton 73
Golfer Tom Watson 75
Actress Mitzi Gaynor 93
Credit to:
Thisdayinmusic.com and Thisdaytrivia.com
