August 14th

Today is the birthday

… of Earl Weaver. The former Baltimore Orioles manager is 81.

Earl Weaver managed the Orioles with intensity, flair, and acerbic wit for 17 seasons. He fashioned an impressive .583 winning percentage bolstered by five 100-win seasons (1969-1971 and 1979-1980). Known for his innovative managerial style and his colorful confrontations with the men in blue, the Earl of Baltimore won 1,480 games, six American League East titles, four pennants and the 1970 World Series.

Baseball Hall of Fame

… of Dash Crofts. The Crofts of Seals and Crofts is 71.

… of David Crosby. The Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash is 70. Mama Cass introduced Crosby, Stills and Nash to one another in 1968. Before that, of course, Mr. Crosby was in another Hall of Fame group, The Byrds.

… of Steve Martin, born in Waco, Texas, but raised near Disneyland. He’s 66 today.

… of Susan St. James. The wife of McMillan and Wife is 65. McMillan was played by Rock Hudson. Ms. Saint James has been married to Dick Ebersol, formerly of NBC Sports, for 30 years. Her name at birth was Susan Jane Miller.

… of Danielle Steel. The novelist is 64.

… of Gary Larson. The Far Side cartoonist is 61.

… of Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Magic is 52, as is actress Marcia Gay Harden.

… of Susan Olsen. Cindy, of The Brady Bunch, is — wait — for — it — 50.

… of Halle Berry. The Academy Award winner is 45.

… of Tim Tebow. He’s 24.

… of Ernest Lawrence Thayer, the poet who wrote “Casey at the Bat,” born on this date in 1863.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2lXQQcXb8

Today is the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II; V-J[apan] Day or V-P[acific] Day. That’s Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous photo, “The Kiss.” The nurse has been identified as Edith Cullen Shain. She was 27 that day. No one knows who the sailor was.