September 18, 1961, 60 years ago: Dag Hammarskjöld (HAM-ar-SHOLD), Secretary General of the United Nations, is killed in a plane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). The native of Uppsala, Sweden was 56 years old, had held his post since 1953, and was trying to negotiate a cease-fire in the Congo crisis. There were 15 other people on the DC-6 who died with him. He became the 1st person to receive a posthumous Nobel Peace Prize.
President John F. Kennedy called him "the greatest statesman of our age." Former President Harry S Truman was sure that the plane had been shot down, although he didn’t say by whom. The CIA thought the KGB did it, since a cease-fire would be to the Soviet Union’s disadvantage. An investigation suggested pilot error.
A new junior high school had just opened in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and was named for him. I attended this school from September 1981 to June 1984. It is now a Middle School, with the original building torn down and replaced with a new one in 2011. There is also a middle school named for him in Wallingford, Connecticut; and a high school named for him in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
I did not enjoy my time at Hammarskjold JHS, for multiple reasons that I won't get into here. But I'm still proud to have attended a school named for him.
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September 18, 1961 was a Monday. The NBA and the NHL were several weeks away from starting new seasons. The NFL and the AFL were underway, but there was no Monday Night Football at the time. There were Major League Baseball games played, but only 3:
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-6 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Gibson took the loss against the defending World Champions. In relief of Gibson, Lindy McDaniel gave up a home run to Dick Stuart, the powerful but poor-fielding 1st baseman who would one day be known as "Dr. Strangeglove." Stuart and Dick Groat each had 3 hits. Roberto Clemente did not play. Gene Oliver and Carl Warwick homered for the Cards. Stan Musial went 1-for-3.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Don Cardwell went the distance for the Cubbies, while Ed Bouchee got 3 hits. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Orlando Cepeda homered for the Jints. Willie Mays went 1-for-4. Hank Aaron did the same for the Braves, and Joe Torre went 1-for-3 with an RBI.