1. 1963: Pro Football Hall of Fame Opened
Photo: profootballhof
Photo: playbuzz
It was on this date in 1963 that the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened its doors in Canton, Ohio. It was built to “Honor the Heroes of the Game” and “Preserve its History, and Promote its Values” according to the hall’s mission statement. When it opened, there were only 13 members, but over the years that number has grown to over 300. The city of Canton was chosen for two main reasons, the first being that the National Football League was founded there. The other reason was back in the early days of the NFL, one of the more popular teams was the Canton Bulldogs. When the Hall of Fame was first constructed, it was a fairly small building at just 19,000 square feet. Over the years, it was remodeled and expanded multiple times, and in 1995 the square footage was increased to over 82,000. There are many interactive displays at the hall that pay homage to the greats. Visiting the Hall of Fame has become a bucket list item for football fans all over the world.
2. 1996: Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot in Las Vegas
Tupac alongside his mother Afeni Shakur
Photo: mirror
Hip Hop fans all over the world were struck with sadness on this date in 1996 when word got out that Tupac Shakur had been shot multiple times. The talented rapper attended a boxing match in Las Vegas, after which he got into a BMW owned by his friend and business associate “Suge” Knight. The two men were leaving the arena when a white Cadillac pulled up along side them and started firing. It was reported that Shakur had attempted to jump into the back seat but he was hit multiple times in the pelvis area, chest and hand. Knight, who was behind the wheel of the BMW, somehow received only minor injuries from a bullet that “grazed” him. Shakur passed away seven days later while in the hospital. Although there have been many different theories over the years, still to this day the murder remains unsolved.
3. 1776: World’s first documented submarine attack
Replica of the Turtle
Photo: wiki
Rendering of the complexity of the controls and tools
Photo: heiszwolf
The world’s first documented submarine attack started just before midnight on September 6th, 1776, and went into the morning hours of the 7th. The submersible went by the name “Turtle” and was designed to allow American soldiers to attach explosives underneath British ships that occupied New York Harbor. Unfortunately there was one major problem with the plan, the Turtle was apparently extremely difficult to pilot. A soldier named Ezra Lee took the Turtle out on this date in 1776 to take down the massive British warship Eagle that had 64 cannons onboard. Lee managed to get underneath the mighty ship unnoticed where the plan was to secure a time-bomb into the ship’s hull, but he had difficulty with the controls and was unable to bore a hole though the iron sheathing. He had to abort the plan and retreat before the bomb exploded nearby. Unfortunately, nothing happened to the Eagle, but luckily nothing happened to the Turtle. There were a few more attempts the following week but none of which was successful. It was determined that only the submersible’s inventor David Bushnell was able to work the complicated controls. However, Bushnell was not physically able to pilot the Turtle in any combat missions.