TOTALLY GEEKED!

In 432 A.D., Bishop Patrick left his home in England and returned to the country where he had once been enslaved. His purpose was to introduce Christianity to the Irish people. Many legends were told about Patrick, including the most famous, that he had charmed all the snakes into the sea, ridding Ireland of them. He was so loved that he was made the patron saint of all of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in Ireland on his feast day, March 17th, since the year 461. Today, Saint Patrick’s Day is still a legal, national holiday in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Irish people have traveled to all parts of the world bringing their holiday with them. In 1762, those who came to New York formed the first of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parades; an annual event ever since. This year, 125,000 marchers walk the two-mile green stripe down NYC’s famed Fifth Avenue, with another 2,000,000 watching them, the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade anywhere. Most of those New Yorkers will be wearing the three-leafed shamrock. It is said that St. Patrick used the green-leafed clover to illustrate the Trinity. We’ll be wearing green or we’ll be be pinched for sure, whether we’re Irish or not ... even though we don’t know how the pinch became part of the day’s traditions. Maybe it’s those leprechauns who started the pinching. When and how corned beef, boiled cabbage and potatoes became part of this day’s celebration are also a mystery. We can kinda figure this one out for ourselves; but green beer and green bagels are another story.

March 17
1897 - Motion pictures of a championship prize fight were taken for the first time as ‘Sunny’ Bob Fitzsimmons knocked out ‘Gentleman’ Jim Corbett for the world heavyweight title. Remember, too, that this was bareknuckle fighting. None of that fighting with gloves stuff...

1906 - President Theodore Roosevelt coined the word ‘muckrake’ in a speech that he delivered to the Gridiron Club in Washington, DC.

1907 - America’s first bowling tournament for ladies began in St. Louis, MO this day. Almost 100 women participated in the event.

1926 - The Girl Friend opened in New York City. The musical continued for a run of 301 performances.

1933 - Comedian Phil Baker was heard on network radio for the first time when The Armour Jester was heard on the old NBC Blue network. Baker rapidly rose to the top of the radio ratings.

1939 - Artie Shaw featured sidemen Tony Pastor and Buddy Rich on two classics. One Night Stand and One Foot in the Groovewere recorded for Bluebird Records.

1941 - The National Gallery of Art was officially opened by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.

1963 - Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics played his last regular season basketball game after 13 years in the National Basketball Association.

1967 - Snoopy and Charlie Brown, of the comic strip Peanuts, made the cover of LIFE magazine.

1969 - In baseball, the Atlanta Braves traded Joe Torre to the St. Louis Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda. After his playing days, Torre continued in baseball as a broadcaster and manager.

1969 - Golda Meir, a Milwaukee high school teacher, was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel.

1970 - Eddie Holman received a gold record for the single, Hey There Lonely Girl. This song was originally a hit for Ruby and the Romantics under the title, Hey There Lonely Boy in the 1960s. Holman has been an ordained Baptist minister since the early 1980s while continuing to sing and perform.

1978 - The movie, American Hot Wax, was drawing big crowds. Tim McIntire and Laraine Newman (of Saturday Night Live) starred in Hollywood’s salute to rock radio and music.

1985 - William Schroeder set a record for heart transplant patients as he reached his 113th day of life with the artificial organ.

1985 - Patrick Ewing accepted the Naismith Award during half-time of the DePaul-Syracuse basketball game. The award is annually given to basketball’s top collegiate player.

1985 - Elizabeth Taylor arrived in Charleston, SC to be greeted by large crowds as she stepped off a private jet to begin filming of the Civil War-era movie, North and South. La Liz played the part of a voluptuous, bordello madam. She had hoped for the role of Robert E. Lee, but it was already taken...