Today in History for Sept. 20, 2014

Confederate General Braxton Bragg.

Sept. 20-21, 1819 - The first general election in Alabama for governor, members of the U.S. Congress, legislators, court clerks, and sheriffs was held as specified by the Constitution of 1819. Held on the third Monday and following Tuesday of September, the voters elected William Wyatt Bibb as the state’s first governor.

  

Sept. 20, 1859 – William Rabb Sr., who settled in Conecuh County in 1819, died. He was one of Conecuh’s first store owners and farmers.

Sept. 20, 1876 – Curveball inventor Candy Cummings of Hartford (Conn.) Dark Blues pitched two complete games in one day. He won, 14-4, and, 8-4.

Sept. 20, 1861 - Union troops at Lexington surrendered to Confederate General Sterling Price.

Sept. 20, 1863 - At Chickamauga, Tenn., Union troops under Union General William Rosecrans retreated after fighting with troops under Confederate General Braxton Bragg the previous day.

Sept. 20, 1887 – Rube Burrow, who would rob a train near Flomaton and eventually get gunned down in Linden, and his gang committed their fourth train robbery at Mary’s Creek near Benbrook, Texas. They robbed the evening train bound for Fort Worth.

Sept. 20, 1897 – Quarantine was declared by the health officials of the town and county against Mobile on account of yellow fever. Later, train service between Flomaton and Repton was discontinued on account of sporadic cases of fever at or near Flomaton.

Sept. 20, 1902 - Jim Callaghan pitched the first no-hitter in Chicago White Sox history.

Sept. 20, 1922 – “Mr. Pugh” of the Fairfield community killed a five-foot-long rattlesnake with 21 rattles on Bankston Creek.

Sept. 20, 1927 - Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season. He beat his own record of 59 that he set in 1921.

Sept. 20, 1950 – Army Pvt. Dixie C. Pritchett of Clarke County was killed in action in Korea.

Sept. 20, 1951 – Excel High School beat Lyeffion, 20-0, in Monroeville.

Sept. 20, 1955 - Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs set a major league record with his fifth grand slam of the year.

Sept. 20, 1966 – On this night, the Castleberry Gin Co. caught fire, but Evergreen firefighters responded to the fire and quickly brought the blaze under control, holding the damage to a minimum.

Sept. 20, 1966 – The Evergreen City Council granted Harry Ellis and Charles Burt, the owners of Miller Trading Co., a building permit to construct a building next door to its main store building on Cooper Street for the handling of bulk fertilizer.

Sept. 20, 1968 - Denny McClain of the Detroit Tigers became the first player to achieve 31 wins in 37 years.

Sept. 20, 1970 - Jim Morrison was found guilty, in Miami, Fla. of indecent exposure and profanity. He was acquitted on charges of "lewd and lascivious" behavior. The charges were related to a performance by the Doors.

Sept. 20, 1973 - Willie Mays announced that he would retire at the end of the season.

Sept. 20, 1979 - The first episode of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" aired on NBC.

Sept. 20, 1981 - Marcus Allen of the University of Southern California rushed for 274 yards and scored two touchdowns in a 21-0 victory over Indiana.

Sept. 20, 1982 - The NFL Players Association announced that a strike would begin at the completion of the Packers-Giants game on Monday night. The strike would last for 57 days.

Sept. 20, 1984 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds recorded his 100th hit of the season. It was the 22nd consecutive season he had recorded at least 100 hits in a season.

Sept. 20, 1985 - Tommy Kramer of the Minnesota Vikings threw for 436 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-24 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Sept. 20, 1986 - Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres stole five bases in one game against Houston.

Sept. 20, 1987 - Walter Payton scored his 107th touchdown to break the NFL record held by Jim Brown.

Sept. 20, 1993 - John Carney of the San Diego Chargers kicked six field goals to extend his consecutive field goal streak to 29 straight games. The Chargers beat the Houston Oilers, 18-17.

Sept. 20, 1996 – Sparta Academy improved to 3-1 on the season with a 7-6 win over Fort Dale-South Butler in Greenville. Lyle Bell led Sparta’s offense with 88 yards on 21 carries.

Sept. 20, 1996 – Monroe County High School’s Bucky Busby kicked a 24-yard field goal with 1:12 left in the game to give Monroe a 17-16 win over Hillcrest-Evergreen in Monroeville.

Sept. 20, 1996 – Joe Hyde officially retired from The Evergreen Courant after 53 years. He was hired to work at the paper in 1943 by R.G. Bozeman Sr. and saw the paper go from hand set type to the computer era.

Sept. 20, 2002 - Tom Gamboa, coach of the Kansas City Royals, was attacked by a man and his son while he was standing near first base. The two fans were arrested and charged with battery.