Today is Thursday, January 3rd, the third day of the year. There are 362 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1888, the drinking straw was patented by Marvin C. Stone of Washington D.C.
In 1920, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold pitcher-outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for 125-thousand dollars and a 350-thousand dollar loan.
In 1938, "The Mothers March" was organized to fight infantile paralysis. It later became "The March of Dimes."
In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the Union.
In 1962, ground was broken for the Houston Astrodome.
In 1967, Jack Ruby died. He is famous for killing suspected President Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.
In 1973, CBS sold the New York Yankees baseball club to a 12-member group headed by George Steinbrenner. The team sold for ten-million dollars.
In 1997, Bryant Gumbel hosted NBC's "Today" show for the final time. He was replaced by Matt Lauer.
In 2014, singer Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers, passed away at the age of 74. Everly and his brother Don charted almost three dozen hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s with songs such as "Wake Up Little Suzie," "All I Have To Do Is Dream" and "Bye Bye Love."