Kentucky Trivia
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Muhammad Ali
Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to John Jordan Crittenden, born in 1787. John represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate four different times in both classes. In addition, he served as the U.S. Attorney General in two separate terms, the 17th governor, and Kentucky’s 22nd Secretary of State.
September 10, 1905, Pete Browning passed away. A genuine pre-modern national baseball star, one of the major league game’s pioneers, and one of the sport’s most enduring and intriguing figures, Louis Rogers “Pete” Browning hailed from Louisville.
September 10, 1910, Knox County native James Black became the 8th president of Union College. His alma mater awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree the following year. He served as president of Union College until 1912 and then became Kentucky’s 39th governor in 1919.
September 10, 1930, the State Highway Commission took bids to construct eight bridges. Three bridges would span the Ohio River in Ashland, Maysville, and Carrollton. The inland bridges included:
1) North Fork over the Cumberland at Burnside
2) Cumberland River at Canton and Smithland
3) Kentucky River at Boonesboro and Tyrone
4) Tennessee River at Eggners Ferry and Paducah
5) Green River at Spotsville
September 10, 1950, Army PFC Ray L. Banks from Breathitt County, Army SGT Pearl G. Derossett from Floyd County and Army CPL Charles E. Jordan from Boyd County, died in the Korean War.
September 10, 1951, Army SFC Preston J. Proffitt from Montgomery County died in the Korean War.
September 10, 1955, the Louisville Methodist Conference of 100,000 parishioners in 52 Western and Central Kentucky counties, wanted to keep the Negro Methodist separate from the main church. Then they stated racial discrimination had no place in the Methodist Church.
On September 10, 1956, on the 1st day of public school, Louisville integrated peacefully, long before their counterparts in the Deep South. This calm received national attention and according to UofL History professor Tracy K’Meyer, only five whites protested.
September 10, 1960, Farmington native Adrian Howard “Odie” Smith won a gold medal in the Rome Olympics in basketball. Touted as the greatest basketball team in Olympic history, the 1960 U.S. squad was “the perfect team” no one player emerged as a dominant star.
September 10, 1965, the Kentucky State Fair opened.
September 10, 1966, Marine Corps CPL Thomas G. Richmond from Middlesboro died in the Vietnam War.
September 10, 1966, Muhammad Ali (26-0) fought Karl Mildenberger (49-2-3) in Wald Stadium, Frankfurt, West Germany during his European tour. Besides the foreign tour, he stressed over the continued fight against the military draft and was nowhere near his best. He cut Mildenberger in the 4th and dropped him in the 5th, but the German rallied to cause Ali discomfort as the champion worked to finish off the fight. In the 12th round, with Mildenberger on the ropes, referee Teddy Waltham stopped the fight. Ali must have been grateful. At the airport the next day, Waltham’s fee of 1,000 pounds was stolen. When Ali heard, he gave Waltham the money from his pocket.
September 10, 1968, Latonia Racetrack ushered in night racing for the 1st time in Kentucky. Over 7,600 fans showed up in the pouring rain, creating a handle of $400,258, which set two new records. The rain made seeing horses on the turn challenging, especially for the chart caller. However, the bright orange saddlecloths used instead of the traditional white cloths did help.
September 10, 1972, Jim Mattingly of Somerset caught a state record Rainbow Trout weighing 14 lbs., 6 ozs. on Cumberland River at the Lake Cumberland Tailwaters.
September 10, 1973, Muhammad Ali (42-2) fought Ken Norton (30-1) at The Forum, Inglewood, CA. They promoted the fight as The Revenge: Battle of Broken Jaw. Ali said of Norton, “I took a nobody and created a monster. Now I have to punish him bad.” Ali, who never lost a rematch to someone who had beaten him, overcame Norton’s awkward style and won the 12th and final round for the decision.
September 10, 1977, Alydar and Affirmed hooked up for Round Four, this time in the GI Futurity at Belmont Park, the closest finish in their ten meetings. For the 1st time, Affirmed went off as the favorite over Alydar at 6-5. The count before the race stood at 2-1 in favor of the winner.
September 10, 1985, downtown Corbin, looking south down North Main Street.
September 10, 1997, Kentucky’s engineer-governor, who designed his inauguration platform and office suite, unveiled the state’s new license plate, which he took a direct role in creating. Patton had rejected other designs before selecting the winner.
Patton’s PlateSeptember 10, 2005, Dreamworks Pictures released Dreamer. Directed by John Gatins in his directorial debut, the film told the story of an injured Thoroughbred racehorse named Mariah’s Storm. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, and Dakota Fanning.
September 10, 2007, Army PFC Sammie E. Phillips, 19, of Cecilia, died in Iraq owhile fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On September 10, 2014, President Obama announced he had dropped more bombs on Iraq and Syria. As a result, Obama became the 4th consecutive President to bomb Iraq. Syria became the 14th Islamic country the U.S. invaded, occupied, or bombed in modern times. Syria also made the 7th Muslim country Obama bombed during his presidency (that did not count Obama’s bombing of the Muslim minority in the Philippines).
September 10, 2016, Da Big Hoss, a Kentucky bred, won Kentucky Down’s GIII $594,180 Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup for three-year-olds and upward.
September 10, 2019, known for its specially waxed and colored bottles, Maker’s Mark announced a limited edition bottle named “The Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series 2019.” Although the company created special bottles for friends, it was the 1st bottle they did for themselves.
Kentucky Trivia: Margie Samuels created the bottle’s iconic red wax cap. The wife of T. William “Bill” Samuels Sr. baptized the 1st bottle in her kitchen in a deep fryer from wax-melted to 350˚F. The 1st wax-dipped bottle was essentially Kentucky deep-fried.
On September 10, 2020, on the day the Kentucky State Police honor guard placed a wreath in the Capitol Rotunda for the 1,000 people plus who died from coronavirus, the governor announced the largest single-day death toll at 22; all individuals were over 50 years of age.
Positives: 805 / 54,772
Deaths: 22 / 1,035 – 1st death March 16, 2020
50&over: 1,007 / 49-30: 27 / 29&under: 1
On September 10, 2021, a frustrated Governor A. Beshear chided the state legislature for removing the state’s mask mandate for public schools and banning any statewide mask mandate. The governor stated it was “wrong,” and it put him in a position of trying to fight the alarming spread of the coronavirus pandemic “with one hand tied behind my back.” If he had the authority, Beshear said, he would immediately implement a masking mandate for indoor settings and hoped more businesses would impose mask mandates.
11:07 a.m. September 10, 2022, @kysportsradio tweeted, “Here we go @KirkHerbstreit picks Kentucky as his “SuperDog” to beat Florida.” UK beat them 26-16 in Gainesville, making it back-to-back wins for the 1st time since 1976-77. Meanwhile, EKU upset Bowling Green in 7 OTs, on the road and without head coach Walt Wells, who recovered from a cardiac episode.