This Day In History, 2005: Shirley Chisholm Dies - Updated

🇺🇸On January 1, 2005, Shirley Chisholm, the ‘unbossed’ pioneer in Congress, died at the age of 80 pic.twitter.com/teEeGexLgd

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 2, 2020

Other notable happenings on the first day of the year:

In 1818, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, was first published:

📚On January 1, 1818, Mary Shelley published her novel, ‘Frankenstein’ pic.twitter.com/W8vYDyedOa

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 1, 2020

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation: 

🇺🇸On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, calling for the liberation of all enslaved people in states still in rebellion pic.twitter.com/u5B79jDRM7

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 1, 2020

In  1958, Johnny Cash played San Quentin:

🎶On January 1, 1958, Johnny Cash played his first prison concert at San Quentin State Prison in California pic.twitter.com/6q0iLbD2ei

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 1, 2020

... and in 1962, Newsweek featured First Lady Jackie Kennedy on the cover: 

🇺🇸Newsweek Cover, January 1, 1962: First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy pic.twitter.com/zW6Qw1uoHe

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) January 1, 2020

And one more thing. 100 years ago, on January 1, 1920, the Oregon Ducks (apparently then called the Webfoots,) played Harvard in the 6th Rose Bowl game. Unfortunately they lost. The Ducks are playing again today, against Wisconsin; at halftime they were down 17-14.

Update: The Ducks beat the Badgers, 28-27, for an epic Rose Bowl win. 

A Fashion Statement

The Oregon Ducks will be making quite the fashion statement in their game against Montana Saturday night:

 

Read more here.

Go Ducks!

Ducking The Duck

If it looks like a Duck. Moves like a Duck. Must be a Duck. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/iKz5cOUdfF

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) September 22, 2016

How cool is this? For today's game, the Ducks' uniforms pay tribute to the actual Duck.

#QuackAttack

The Duck And Some Friends

I love this picture! Partly because, you know, The Duck. But also because of his friends. That's Oregon governor Kate Brown on the left and former governor Barbara Roberts on the right.

Because I've Missed The Duck

A Bet's A Bet

We didn't get to see Ohio's senators "throwing the O," but Oregon's senators paid up their end of the deal. I'm not sure this really spells Ohio, but who cares. A bet's a bet.

Other than the actual outcome, which broke the heart of Ducks fans everywhere, the first college football championship playoff was a big success, with ESPN getting the biggest cable ratings ever.

One last picture of the Duck then it's on to next year!

Duck Feathers

Mashable has a fun feature in which they rank all fifteen uniforms the Ducks wore this season, including the relatively subdued white and gray outfit planned for tonight. The black and yellow combo above is my fave.
Read the article here.

And for the record, I think I'm falling in love with the Duck. So much cuter than Brutus.

They left...so a grabbed a seat 😈😈 #goducks #quackthenuts pic.twitter.com/JXfXUrYrCH
— The Oregon Duck (@TheOregonDuck) January 12, 2015

Throwing The O And Mighty Oregon

The first-ever national college football championship game is just over 48 hours away and everyone's entering into the spirit of things. Oregon's senators have a friendly wager with Ohio's, as explained in this press release from Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley:

WASHINGTON, DC – The national championship game Monday night between Ohio State and Oregon has generated so much talk between the U.S. Senators from Oregon and Ohio that both sides have decided it’s time to back it up by putting up “very personal” stakes.

Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have settled on a bet with Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman that all parties have pledged to fulfill in public on the Capitol steps.

If Oregon beats Ohio State on Jan. 12, Senators Brown and Portman have agreed to learn how to “throw the O” sign with instructions from their Oregon colleagues and from the Oregon Duck if and when the Ducks visit Washington, DC as national champions.

If Ohio State defeats Oregon, Senators Wyden and Merkley have agreed to help their Ohio colleagues spell “O-H-I-O.”

“We make this wager in full confidence that Oregon will win Monday night with its high-octane offense led by Heisman winner Marcus Mariota and its swarming, ball-hawking defense,” Wyden and Merkley said. “And we of course look forward to showing our friends from Ohio how to make the universal symbol for Ducks’ dominance.”

No Pink For The Ducks

Here, from Nike, are the uniforms Oregon (on the left) and Ohio State will wear in the championship game on Jan. 12. I didn't really think the Ducks would be in pink, but still, all-white looks kinda boring to me. Oh well. Go Ducks!

Update: Here's a closer look. I guess they're officially called "special edition Mach Speed uniforms."

Go Ducks!

Sunday morning update: At first I thought the bobble-head in the video above was coach Mark Helfrich, but upon further reflection I've decided it's Phil Knight. To read about his importance in Duck-world, click here. And if you think the Ducks' beloved mascot bears a slight resemblance to Donald Duck, you're right. It's part of a marketing agreement with Disney; read some of the history here.

Original post:
Lots of fun with The Oregon Duck. For long-time Duck fans, or anyone who has a little Oregon in their heart, it's hard to explain how cool it is to see the U of O football team having so much success. In particular I'm enjoying the "character wins out over entitled cluelessness" narrative around the 59-20 trouncing of Florida State.

Now it's on to the National Championship on Monday, January 12. (Oh, no, it's on at the same time as episode 2 of The Bach. Tape the show, watch the game? Probably.)

I have a cousin who's a student at Alabama and all night Thursday during the Rose and Sugar Bowls, many family members were tweeting, texting and Facebooking up a storm about how much fun it would be to have an Oregon/Alabama final game. Alas, it wasn't to be and now it's the Ducks v. the Bucks. Go Ducks!

More fun with The Duck:



Final thought for now: what will they wear? I haven't seen any official info about what the championship game uniform will look like, so for now I'm hoping for pink and black with duck feathers on the shoulders.

 

College Football's Coolest Team

What a great picture, taken from a Wall Street Journal article about the Oregon Ducks, which declares that the Ducks are college football's coolest team. And yes, they beat Stanford yesterday, 45-16.