Today In History

Bonanza Premiered on September 12, 1959 Producer David Dortort sold NBC on the idea of creating Bonanza, as a contrast to the sitcoms and formula Westerns that filled the TV schedule at that time. Ben Cartwright, the strong patriarch, guided his three sons through both wise counsel and model behavior. Each son came from a different mother. Ben Cartwright was a widower three times. Adam was the intellectual and somewhat brooding oldest son, a man more likely to use brains rather than brawn. Hoss was the gentle giant, a man of incredible strength with a heart of gold. Little Joe was the irrepressible youngest son, impulsive and a romantic at heart. The setting for the Cartwright family was the sprawling Ponderosa ranch, an empire of cattle, timber and mining set in the mountains of Nevada, near Lake Tahoe

During his 22 season major league career, Harmon Killebrew amassed 573 career home runs, including 8 seasons of at least 40 round trippers. “Hammerin’ Harmon” led the league in home runs 6 times and was named as an all-star during 11 of his 22 seasons. Killebrew’s best season came in 1969 when he won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award while also leading the Twins to a divisional title. Killebrew was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1984 and has his uniform # 3 retired by the Twins. Best season: 1969: 49 Home Runs, 140 RBIs, 106 Runs, batting Average .276