William World News William F. Yurasko's blog v.14 – Nats, Penn State, Redskins, greater DC , travel, more

Streetcars to return soon to the District | Gallery – The Post
The last street car in Washington, D.C. stop running 50 years ago this past Saturday. That system had been in decline following World War II. Street cars served the nation’s capital for a century. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s On the Move [...]

January 14, 1982 edition of The Post from the Millennium Milestones section on washingtonpost.com

I can only vaguely remember the Air Florida 90 crash into the 14th Street Bridge thirty years ago today (The Post). Mostly, I remember looking when we’d go over the bridge I’d ask where the plane crashed. A derailment of a Metro [...]

Every once in a while, I have recalled there being a ski resort somewhere off of Interstate 66 about 20 years ago. I never went there, but was curious if my memory was accurate. Recently, I was able to get the right search terms together and came up with this from DCSki.com: Mid-Atlantic Lost Ski [...]

DICK HELLER: The spirit of Griffith lingers 50 years later – The Wash. Times
On this day in 1961, the Washington Senators era at Griffith Stadium came to a close.
Contrary to the madness of the 1971 finale when rowdy fans caused a forfeit in advance of the Senators leaving to “some jerk town with a single [...]

The South’s Capital Dilemma – Disunion, The Times
One of my Penn State professors, Ford Risley, writes about the choice the Confederacy faced in deciding on their capital. Originally, sleepy Montgomery, Ala. was the capital but Richmond was the ultimate seat of rebel power. The ramifications, of course, were huge.
Despite being a resident of the [...]

Yesterday, Mr. Irrelevant linked to Unrealized Concepts section of StadiumPage.com prompting many of us to poke around. There is a treasure trove of information about ballparks that never were in this site that dates back to 1998 (and looks it).
Over at The Nats Blog, Will Yoder takes a look at the proposed Virginia stadiums and [...]

VIENNA, Va. — On June 17, 1861, “the first tactical use of of a train in warfare” occurred near what is now the current community center of my hometown. We learned about it in school but only upon seeing this story in the Sun Gazette about the upcoming sesquicentennial commemoration, did I decide to go [...]

I learned from USA Today (it was in the NBA briefs, can’t find a link) this morning that yesterday was the 60th anniversary of Earl Lloyd joining the Washington Capitols which integrated the NBA. Yes, there was a team called the Washington Capitols (with and “o”) in the league’s early days. Red Auerbach was the [...]

We are 3 days removed from the final 2010 Washington Nationals game of the season. The playoffs are starting up today and two franchises that used to call D.C. home are in. Here is why you should root against the Minnesota Twins (in D.C. 1901-1960) and the Texas Rangers (in D.C. 1961-1971). I’m also rooting [...]

A long time ago, I used to occasionally go to the 9:30 Club. The only thing missing from this Post article is the cigarette smoke the original location had — the air would be blue when you walked in and brown when you walked out. I only went to current one a couple of times. [...]