TODAY IN KENTUCKY HISTORY

Kentucky Trivia ● Kentucky Tweets

July 19, 1865, Louisville hosted the 1st baseball game west of the Alleghenies played under standard rules.  The Louisville Grays hosted and defeated the Nashville Cumberlands.  Baseball’s 1st major scandal led to the demise of the Grays, and four players banned for life.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Midway native Augustus Weisenberger, born in 1892.  Augustus played UK basketball for three years and scored four points.  He also owned and operated the Weisenberger Sanitary Flour Mill for 40 years.

July 19, 1897, Honus Wagner made his MLB debut for the Louisville Colonels.

Localtonians wish a Happy Birthday to Harrodsburg native Ralph G. Anderson, born in 1923.  Mr. Anderson founded Belcan, one of the nation’s largest engineering firms with annual sales of almost $500 million and more than 7,500 employees worldwide.

July 19, 1923, Patrolman William G. Johnson, Ashland Police Department, succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained 13 years earlier while attempting to arrest a man on a drunken rampage.

July 19, 1924, Raceland in Greenup County, nicked name the “Million Dollar Oval” opened to a crowd of 17,000.  They spared no costs in the design and construction of the track which had a lake in the infield.  The grandstand allowed a full view of the one-mile track, a Jockey Club house, horse stables, and a dining hall.  Black Gold, the Kentucky Derby winner in 1924 ran in the first race but finished third.

July 19, 1925, Deputy Sheriff Nathaniel Payton Meredith, Edmonson County Sheriff’s Office, died from a gunshot while attempting to arrest a man who had assaulted his wife earlier in the day at a picnic.

July 19, 1929, Town Marshal Harry Collins, Glasgow Police Department, died after a suspect had just murdered two other men.  Marshal Collins got shot once in the neck with a .32 caliber handgun.

On July 19, 1930, Governor R. Lafoon started to Washington to claim Kentucky’s share of the $3,330,000,000 in federal money to restart the nation’s economy.  One goal was to secure $15,000,000 for Kentucky roads.  Before he left, he announced a special session when he returned to deal with the new funds.

July 19, 1946, a new Monmouth Park opened in Oceanport.  The Monmouth Oaks, not contested since 1893, returned for the inaugural season.  Monmouth Park hosted the Breeders’ Cup in 2007.

July 19, 1950, Army PFC William T. Boyd from Henderson County and Army SFC John P. Little from Breathitt County, both died in the Korean War.

July 19, 1951, Air Force 1STLT Marion M. Jones from Magnolia in LaRue County died in the Korean War.

July 19, 1953, Army SGT Donald W. Gibson from Mercer County, Marine Corps PFC Ransom Pack from Louisa in Lawrence County, and Marine Corps PFC Dalton J. White from Ashland, died in the Korean War.

July 19, 1960, the Soviet Union gave the United States a blunt warning: “Don’t Touch Cuba.”

July 19, 1964, Louisville native Bobby Nichols won his only major PGA title, the 46th PGA Championship in Columbus, Ohio.  He beat runners-up Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer by three strokes to win $18,000.

July 19, 1972, Muhammad Ali (38-1) fought Alvin “Blue” Lewis (27-3) in Croke Park, Dublin.  Ali got a guaranteed $200,000 to fight Lewis, an ex-convict from Detroit.  He gave Ali trouble early, but Ali knocked down Lewis in the middle rounds.  Ali ended it in the 11th after telling Dundee he desperately had to urinate.  But after the fight, it took 25 minutes before Ali could get to a bathroom.

July 19, 1983, Snaafi Dancer became the world’s first eight-figure Thoroughbred sale yearling when Aston Upthorpe Stud spent $10.2 million at the Keeneland July Yearling Sale.  The bid board was not large enough to accommodate the price.  Consignor Crescent Farm appeared pleased.

On July 19, 1990, Pete Rose received a $50,000 fine and five months in prison for tax evasion in Cincinnati.  In Yorba Linda, CA, current President Bush, President Ford, and President Carter helped President Nixon dedicate his library.

July 19, 1996, Louisville native Muhammed Ali ended months of speculation and emerged as the last of 12,000 torch-bearing relay runners and lighted the Olympic Flame during the opening ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in Atlanta.

July 19, 2003, Seabiscuit premiered at the Kentucky Theatre, the national premiere was six days later.

July 19, 2006, the board of directors of Churchill Downs Inc. announced that Robert L. Evans, a horse owner and breeder who had a background in technology, manufacturing, and private equity capital, would succeed Tom Meeker as company president and chief executive officer.  Carl F. Pollard, CDI Chairman, made the announcement.

July 19, 2009, Red River George officials told the public the 700,000 acre forest is facing an “ecological crisis,” as native plant species are crowded out by invasive foreign plants, mainly groundcover.

July 19-22, 2018, the Barbasol Championship tournament was played in Kentucky for the 1st time at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville; this was the 1st PGA Tour event (excluding majors) in the state in 59 years since the Kentucky Derby Open in 1959.

On July 19, 2019, NYRA announced that Marylou Whitney died at age 93 in Saratoga Springs and called her “the Queen of Saratoga and racing’s most dedicated supporters and a tremendous ambassador for the industry.”  In 2015, Churchill Downs named her the 1st Lady of the Oaks for the 141st running.

July 19, 2020, corporate news outlets across the globe reported a rebound of the coronavirus as deaths topped 600,000.  The U.S. led with 140,000, followed by Brazil with 78,000.  The press started a new scare campaign about the Asian Needle Ants and their powerful sting.  The Lexington Herald-Leader had a front-page article telling people to beware.

On July 19, 2021, Governor A. Beshear adjusted his stance on masks and recommended that fully vaccinated people wear them indoors due to the Delta variant.