JANUARY 28 — 1986 New of the Challenger explosion hit headlines; 1985 U.S.A. For Africa records We Are the World; SUPER BOWL: Joe Montanna wins 4th SB with most points scored (55), 1996 Steelers 1st SB defeat against Cowboys, 2001 Ray Lewis/Ravens beat Giants
JANUARY 28
1917 – US gives up on searching for Villa. Poncho Villa, not his real name, was a bandit, thief, bank robber, and murderer. And that was when he was young! Power struggles in Northern Mexico led to various alliances that would change over time. One strange alliance was between Villa and Hollywood, who would not only photograph him but film some of his revolutionary battles.
In 1914 his former revolutionary ally Venustiano Carranza fought Villa for control of Mexico. The United States backed Villa’s forces and President Woodrow Wilson supported him. However, Carranza won and the US recognized him as being in power. Wilson withdrew his support for Villa, so Villa sough revenge. He came into Columbus New Mexico and killed 17 Americans. With Carranza’s approval US troops, led by Brigadier General John J. Pershing went after Villa but couldn’t catch up to him. After eleven months of fruitless searching, the Mexicans began to resent US soldiers invading their lands and told America to go back home. Fine. Carranza was assassinated and replaced by Adolfo de la Huerta. Illa reached an agreement with Huerta and agreed to stop his revolutionary madness. In 1923 Villa was assassinated. In other Wilson news…
1916 Louis Braneis becomes the first Jewish judge on the Supreme Court. Appointed by President Wilson, Braneis tried to reconcile the developing powers of modern government and society with the work of individual liberties and opportunities for personal development, according to his website.
Among his achievements include the establishment of savings-bank life insurance in Massachusetts and securing minimum wages for women in the work force. He also came up with the Brandeis Brief, an appellate report that analyzed cases on economic and social evidence rather than relying solely on legal precedents. Wilson and Braneis encourage economic competition instead of government spending time and money to control monopolies. His commitments to justice, education, and Judaism were commemorated several years later in the founding of Brandeis University.
2007 – Battle of Najaf. Very controversial battle between Iraq, the US and the UK v soldiers of Heaven and possibly some tribesmen. When I say possibly, that’s the controversy. Depending on who you ask, a gathering or worshippers, who all happened to be armed by the way, got into it at a checkpoint with US and UK forces. The result was an Iraqi coalition victory.
1990 – Joe Montana does it again and wins the 4th Super Bowl for the 49ers, beating the Broncos 55-10 in what remains to be not only the most lobsided game in Super Bowl history, but the most amount of points scored by one team. Aaron Neville sung a commanding national anthem.
1996 – Dallas beats the Steelers in the Steelers; first Super Bowl defeat. Both teams were looking to tie the 49ers Super Bowl victories with five, and this was the fifth rematch between these two. Dallas scored first, and the Steelers would play catch up and almost did in the fourth quarter, but just couldn’t do it. Diana Ross performed the halftime show.
2001 – Ray Lewis beat the Giants. Baltimore ravens 34 , New York, 7. I don’t even play football and Ray Lewis scares me/. 3 solo tackles, 2 assists, and four blocked passes, Lewis was all over the place terrorizing Kerry Collins all afternoon. The Backstreet Boys played the star spangled banner and the halftime highlights were brought to us by Aerosmith, Nsync, Britney Spears, Nelly and Mary J. Blige.