Today in History for Dec. 10, 2014

Ambrose Bierce

Dec. 10, 1812 – Clarke County was created by the Mississippi Territorial Government from lands taken from Washington County. The county was named for Revolutionary War soldier and Georgia Governor John Clarke.

Dec. 10, 1817 - Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th American state.

Dec. 10, 1839 – Dr. James Thomas Searcy was born on Dec. 10, 1839 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He would serve as the first superintendent of the Mount Vernon Hospital, which was renamed Searcy Hospital in his honor in 1919.

Dec. 10, 1861 – The Confederate States of America accepted a rival state government's pronouncement that declared Kentucky to be the 13th state of the Confederacy.

Dec. 10, 1864 - Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman completed his "March to the Sea" as his Unior Army troops reached the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.

Dec. 10, 1868 – Escambia County formed by an act of the Alabama legislature from portions of Conecuh and Baldwin counties.

Dec. 10, 1884 – Mark Twain's “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was first published.

Dec. 10, 1897 – Dr. H.C. Bradley of River Ridge, Ala. passed away.

Dec. 10, 1919 - The National League voted to ban spitballs by all new pitchers. The Rules Committee officially worked out the ban the following February.

Dec. 10, 1927 - The Grand Old Opry made its first radio broadcast from Nashville, Tenn. and the phrase "Grand Ole Opry" was used for the first time on-air.

Dec. 10, 1929 – Paving equipment began to arrive for use in paving the Evergreen-Castleberry highway in Conecuh County, Ala. The Davis Construction Co. of Atlanta, Ga. was the contractor in charge of the project.

Dec. 10, 1938 – Filming on “Gone With the Wind” began with the “Burning of Atlanta” scene, although the role of Scarlett O’Hara still hadn't been cast.

Dec. 10, 1939 - The National Football League's attendance exceeded 1 million in a season for the first time.

Dec. 10, 1947 - A radio version of Alabama author Ambrose Bierce's story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is broadcast as part of the “Escape” series.

Dec. 10, 1953 - Hugh Hefner published the first "Playboy" magazine with an investment of $7,600.

Dec. 10, 1959 – The Evergreen Quarterback Club held its annual banquet at the Evergreen High School lunchroom at 7:30 p.m. University of Alabama assistant football coach Bob Ford was the featured speaker.

Dec. 10, 1962 - Frank Gifford of the New York Giants was on the cover of "Sports Illustrated."

Dec. 10, 1972 - The American League voted to adopt the designated-hitter rule in a three-year experiment. In December of 1975 the American League voted to permanently adopt the designated-hitter rule.

Dec. 10, 1972 - The longest non-scoring pass in NFL history was made when Jim Hart of the St. Louis Cardinals threw a pass from his own one yard-line to Bobby Moore (Ahmad Rashad). Moore was tackled on the Rams' one-yard line. The pass was officially 98 yards.

Dec. 10, 1978 - Ed Wood Jr., the creator of such "classics" as “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” passed away at the age of 54 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Dec. 10, 1983 – Evergreen High School’s Quarterback Club held its annual football banquet in the E.H.S. cafeteria, and Alabama offensive line coach Tom Goode was the guest speaker.

Dec. 10, 1993 – Episode No. 11 of “The X-Files” – entitled “Eve” – aired for the first time.

Dec. 10, 1994 - Art Monk of the New York Jets set an NFL record of 178 straight games with a reception.

Dec. 10, 1994 - Advertising executive Thomas Mosser of North Caldwell, N.J. was killed by a mail bomb that was blamed on the Unabomber.

Dec. 10, 2006 - The San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson racks up his 29th touchdown of the year, breaking the National Football League record for touchdowns scored during a single season.

Dec. 10, 2007 - Michael Vick was sentenced by a federal judge in Richmond, Va. to 23 months in prison for bankrolling a dogfighting operation and killing dogs that underperformed.