Today in History for Dec. 28, 2014

Dec. 28, 1732 - "The Pennsylvania Gazette," owned by Benjamin Franklin, ran an ad for the first issue of "Poor Richard’s Almanack."

Dec. 28, 1817 – Glorvina Johnston Rush was born. In 1860, she and her husband would donate the land where the Andrews Chapel was built in McIntosh, Ala.

Dec. 28, 1822 – In response to a petition submitted to the Alabama state legislature from the residents of Butler County’s Buttsville, the town’s name was officially changed to Greenville.

Dec. 28, 1822 - Confederate General William Booth Taliaferro was born in Gloucester County, Virginia. Taliaferro would go on to serve under General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the first part of the Civil War, and he spent the second half preparing coastal defenses in the lower South.

Dec. 28, 1835 – Osceola led his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.

Dec. 28, 1846 - Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted into the Union.

Dec. 28, 1865 – Confederate veteran Joseph R. Bass left his hometown of Evergreen, Ala. for Texas and arrived in Jefferson, Texas in January 1866. He lived near there for about 18 years before moving to Caddo Mills, Texas, where he is buried.

Dec. 28, 1893 – Desperadoes John Hipp and Charles Kelley, murderers of Butler County, Alabama Tax Collector C.J. Armstrong, were taken by a mob of 100 armed, masked men and lynched on the Butler County Courthouse lawn.

Dec. 28, 1902 – The Syracuse Athletic Club defeated the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.

Dec. 28, 1917 - The New York Evening Mail published a facetious essay by H.L. Mencken on the history of bathtubs in America.

Dec. 28, 1922 – Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee was born in New York City. He would go on to help create Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and the X-Men.

Dec. 28, 1947 – Major League Baseball third baseman Aurelio Rodriguez was born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico. He would go on to play for the California Angels, the Washington Senators, the Detroit Tigers, the San Diego Padres, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles.

Dec. 28, 1948 – In an incident attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, a chartered DC-3 airliner NC16002, en route from San Juan to Miami, disappeared 50 miles south of Miami with 36 passengers and crew. No probable cause for the loss was determined by the official investigation, and it remains unsolved.

Dec. 28, 1958 – In what’s known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played,” the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship Game defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium.

Dec. 28, 1961 – Evergreen High School and Auburn University football star Wayne Frazier was drafted in the 16th round (216th overall) in the NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.

Dec. 28, 1973 – In Lovecraftian fiction, Dr. Ambrose Dexter, a renowned physician of Providence, R.I. who maintained an interest in the occult, was killed by British Intelligence agents somewhere in the South Pacific. He first appeared in “The Haunter of the Dark” by H.P. Lovecraft.

Dec. 28, 1975 - The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC divisional playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings with a Hail Mary pass with only 24 seconds left.

Dec. 28, 1991 – Alabama (10-1) beat Colorado (8-2-1), 30-25, in the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Alabama wide receiver David Palmer was named the game’s MVP.

Dec. 28, 2000 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Conecuh County, Ala. school board member Willene Whatley had been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Alabama Risk Management for Schools.

Dec. 28, 2000 - U.S. District Court Judge Matsch held a hearing to ensure that confessed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh understood that he was dropping his appeals. McVeigh said that he wanted an execution date, set but wanted to reserve the right to seek presidential clemency.

Dec. 28, 2003 - New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was released from the hospital. The previous day he had fainted at a memorial service.

Dec. 28, 2003 - Jamal Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens became the fifth NFL player to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He ended the season with 2,029 yards.

Dec. 28, 2003 - Mike Vanderjagt of the Indianapolis Colts set a new NFL record when he kicked his 41st consecutive field goal.

Dec. 28, 2003 - James Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs set an NFL record with his 27th touchdown of the season.

Dec. 28, 2004 – Vredenburgh, Ala. native Mike Stewart’s fourth novel, “Perfect Life,” was released.

Dec. 28, 2007 - The movie “Honeydripper,” which starred Danny Glover, was released in the United States. Significant portions of this film were shot in Greenville, Georgiana and Forest Home in Butler County, Ala.