Come and Take It
October 2, 1835 -
A company of Mexican soldiers sent to recover a canon from
the settlers of Gonzales, Texas, was defeated by a hastily assembled militia.
The canon had been given to the settlers four years earlier by the Mexican
authorities to help protect them from frequent raids by Comanche Indians. As
the political climate in Mexico
deteriorated and several states threatened revolt, the Mexican army thought it
wise to retrieve the canon. When the residents of Gonzales learned of the
army's intentions, they sent word to other settlements requesting assistance. A
militia of approximately 140 men gathered to defend the canon and the
settlement. While the Battle of Gonzales was little more than a skirmish (there
were only two casualties, both Mexican), it has historical significance as the
beginning of the Texas Revolution.
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Beltway Snipers
October 2, 2002 -
John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo murdered James Martin
outside a grocery store in Glenmont,
Maryland. Martin was the first victim in a shooting
spree in the Washington, D.C. area that left 10 dead and 3 critically
wounded over the course of a three-week period. Muhammed and Malvo killed their
victims by shooting from the back of a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice that had holes cut in
the trunk for the barrel and scope of their Bushmaster XM-15 rifle. The shooting
spree terrorized the region as the murderers selected victims at random and
shot them while doing ordinary tasks like fueling their cars or walking through
a parking lot. Muhammed and Malvo were arrested on October 24, 2002 when
someone reported a suspicious car outside Myersville,
Maryland. Both men were convicted
of murder in courts in Maryland and Virginia. Muhammed was
executed in Virginia
on November 10, 2009, while Malvo is currently serving six consecutive life
sentences without the possibility of parole.
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Curse of the Billy Goat
 October 6, 1945 -
Chicago
tavern owner Billy Sianis and his pet goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series. Sianis had bought two tickets to the
game, one for himself and one for his goat. Before the game began Sianis was allowed to parade with the goat on the
baseball field with the goat wearing a sign stating "We Got Detroit's Goat."
Sianis and his goat then watched the game from their seats until the fourth inning
at which time security personnel told Sianis that he and his goat had to leave
due to complaints about the goat's objectionable odor. Upon being ejected an enraged
Sianis cursed the Chicago Cubs, proclaiming that the team would lose the series and
never play in another World Series. Sianis' curse was eerily prophetic as the Cubs went on to lose that series to
the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3, and the team has not appeared in Major League
Baseball's championship series since. The last time the Chicago Cubs won a
World Series was in 1908.
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