Events January 28 1808 - Messenger, America’s first trotting horse, was buried on this day. Admit it. There is no way you could have made it through the day without this knowledge.. 1878 - The first telephone switchboard was installed -- in New Haven, Connecticut. The phone company that owned the switchboard had 21 subscribers. “Is this the party to whom I am speaking? One moment pa-leeeeeeze.” 1878 - The Yale News was published for the very first time. It was the first daily collegiate newspaper in the United States. 1902 - The Carnegie Institution was established in Washington DC. It began with a gift of $10 million, compliments of Andrew Carnegie. 1904 - Enrico Caruso signed his first contract with Victor Records. He had debuted at the Metropolitan Opera just two months before. 1921 - The National Football League franchise in Decatur, Illinois was transferred this day to Chicago. The team took the name, Chicago Staleys for the 1921 season. The following year, it was decided that since the team was playing in the stadium of the Chicago Cubs, it should be named the Chicago Bears, or as they say in the Windy City, “Da Bears.” 1934 - As a result of a compliment paid on this day, by Walter Winchell, in his newspaper column; a local disc jockey began receiving several offers from talent scouts and producers. The DJ became known as the Redhead, adored by thousands in Washington, DC and, later, by millions across the country on CBS radio and TV. His trademark (strumming a ukulele and delivering down-home patter) endeared him to fans for many years. We remember the broadcasting legend, Arthur Godfrey. “I wanna go back to my little grass shack...” 1934 - Robert Royce’s famous invention was used for the first time in Woodstock, VT. Previously, snow skiers had no way to get to the top of the mountain conveniently. Remember the ski rope the next time you schuss the slopes and have to make it back to the top. 1942 - “Sighted Sub, Sank Same” was the message sent by enlisted pilot Donald Francis Mason on this day. Mason believed that he had sunk a German U-boat off Argentia, Newfoundland. 1956 - Elvis Presley made his first appearance on national television. No, he didn’t appear on some teenage dance show; but rather, The Dorsey Brothers Show, starring Tommy and Jimmy. Elvis sang Blue Suede Shoes and Heartbreak Hotel. He was backed by the instruments of the Dorsey band, believe it or not. 1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers (‘da Bums’) announced this day that circus clown Emmett Kelly had been hired to entertain fans at baseball games. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles the following year. Today, the only clowns in baseball are many of the highly paid ones out on the field. 1958 - One of the most respected players in baseball, Roy Campanella, was seriously injured in an auto accident in New York. ‘Campy’ would never return to play again; but would still be a part of the Dodgers organization for many years. The talented Dodger catcher’s career with the Dodgers lasted from 1948 to 1957. 1965 - General Motors reported the biggest profit of any U.S. company in history. Earnings for the #1 of the Big Three automakers in 1964 totaled $1.735 billion. That’s a lot of Corvettes, Chevrolets, Cadillacs, Buicks, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles, my friend. 1973 - CBS-TV presented the first program of Barnaby Jones (a Quinn Martin Production). Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955) played the detective’s lovely daughter-in-law assistant. Buddy Ebsen played the detective, Jones. Ebsen, who started in show biz back in the 1920s, was also selected to play the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, but had bowed out. And he shot the first film used in the animation tests for a Walt Disney character named Mortimer Mouse (aka Mickey Mouse). Ebsen is best known, however, for playing Jed Clampett on another CBS-TV series, The Beverly Hillbillies. “Weee doggies!” 1985 - 45 of the world’s top recording artists were invited to an all-night recording session at the A&M studios in Los Angeles. As each of the artists walked through the studio door, they were greeted by a hand-lettered sign -- put there by Lionel Richie. It simply said, “Check your ego at the door.” The session started at 10 p.m. with producer Quincy Jones conducting. At 8 o’clock the following morning, the project, USA for Africa, spearheaded by promoter, Ken Kragen, was recorded and mixed. The resulting song, We Are the World, featuring Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Sting, Harry Belafonte, Diana Ross, Paul Simon and many others became the top song in the U.S. on April 13, 1985. 1986 - 73 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral, the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts. After a flawless liftoff, the Challenger, traveling at a speed of 2900 feet per second, soared nine miles into space when suddenly the ship’s liquid hydrogen tank exploded. Millions watched the tragedy unfold on TV. This catastrophe took the lives of Commanders Francis ‘Dick’ Scobee and Michael J. Smith, Dr. Judith A. Resnik, Dr. Ronald E. McNair, Lt. Colonel Ellison S. Onizuka, Gregory B. Jarvis and school teacher Christa McAuliffe
