“The Dog Days of Summer are observed July 3- August 11 particularly linked with hot, humid weather believed to be linked to the rising star Sirius, the Dog Star in Canis Major.”- The Old Farmer’s Almanac
It’s July 30th. On the back half of the “dog days of Summer” for 2025 and closing in on the cool nights of fall where we can talk about all the football we want. For now, let’s go somewhere else.
The air reeks of fresh cut grass, overcooked concrete, and melting asphalt shingles on this relentlessly sweltering day here in my pocket of suburbia. Dogs tippy toe across the blistering asphalt street to the safety of the shade trees of the park just behind my house. A/C condensers moan for a break. Sprinklers do their best to keep the postage stamp yards in front of each cookie cutter home green, while children artlessly jump through the feather thin strands of water rhythmically moving back and forth. Tiny Tykes run for touchdowns at flag football practice while parents aimlessly avoid the constant pouring of sweat from every possible crevice the body has. It’s hot. It’s Summer….The Dog days indeed.
While there isn’t anything sports related worth writing about from my vantage point on this July 30th, I thought it would be fun to research this specific day. What else may have happened on this day in history?
This may end up being short and sweet, but the options are open for rambling if a topic so happens to pique my interest.
To begin, and this required no research, Christopher Nolan is 55 today. Happy birthday you brilliant, beautiful bastard. Director of my #1 film of all time, “Interstellar” along with a plethora of other elite, influential flicks that have had an impact on me. Let’s rank them.
Top 5 Nolan Flicks:
- Interstellar (2014)
- Oppenheimer (2023)
- Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Dark Knight (2008)
- The Prestige (2006)
I have not seen “Tenet” or ” Man of Steel” although “Tenet” is on my current watchlist. “Insomnia” and “Memento” are highly underrated from his earlier years. Insomnia especially. RIP forever Robin Williams.
Nolan’s new film “The Odyssey” comes out in almost exactly one year–July 2026. Hey, at least there will be something to do during next year’s dog days. Damon, Holland, Zendaya, Pattinson, Hathaway, Charlize and Bernthal headline the cast. I’ll tell you one dude that’s excited–The one who has been reading portions of Homer’s Odyssey weekly since this movie was announced. This guy.
I’ll tell you, by the time it comes out, I’m sure I’ll be able to recite it like a Shakespearean stage performer. Maybe. But just in case, let’s all go see the movie next July.
The long and short is–on this July 30th, Happy Birthday Christopher.
So, what other July 30th happenings are there to explore?
Well, for starters, the city of Baltimore was founded on this day in 1729. Home of Elizabeth Patterson who infamously said in her final weeks alive, “I once had everything but money. Now I have nothing but money.” America’s first “self-made” female millionaire. She played the game well and one financially in the end. Although, she lost contact with her only son and was estranged and osticized from her entire family during the process. Her words in her final weeks that she uttered to her caretaker, carry heavy tones of regret. She lived her final days alone in a rented room that she called home.
Her grandson, Charles Bonaparte, went on to become U.S. Attorney General, Secretary of the Navy, and created the Bureau of Investigation which was later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI. I’ve got a screenplay that tells this fascinating story, but that’s for another day. Just a fun fact for now.
Speaking of July 30th and Baltimore, 225 years after it was founded, Bob Kennedy stepped up for the Baltimore Orioles and hit the first Grand Slam in team history. He went on to manage the AAA Salt Lake Bees for a spell and become Director of Player Personnel for the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 70’s.
And to stay on the baseball theme, in 1937 Philadelphia Phillies First Baseman Dolph Camilli played the entire game and did not register one single “putout.” That means for the entire game, not one ground ball was fielded and thrown to the first baseman for an out. Nearly a quarter of a million professional baseball games have been played since 1876 and that has only happened 19 times. This one just so happened exactly 71 years ago today.
The last of such instances took place in a game between the Cubs and the Astros on August 15, 2002. Fred McGriff played the entire game for the Cubs and did not record a putout or an assist. Sports remain interesting. Baseball needs to find its ‘fastball’ again, but that also is for another time.
Sticking with July 30 and backing up a bit, in 1869 the world’s first oil tanker, “The Charles,” set sail for Europe with 7,000 Barrels of oil on board. The Golden Spike had been drilled just two months prior in Northern Utah connecting the East and West U.S.
In 1935, the first Penguin Books published and started the affordable paperback revolution. ARIEL by Andre Maurois. No comment. Just a fun fact before the next much darker ‘happening.’
Exactly one decade after Penguin Books unleashed paperbacks on society, the U.S. decided to unleash the ultimate weapon on two Japanese cities. The boat that delivered THE atomic bomb to Japan, the USS Indianapolis, tragically sunk after it was struck by a torpedo by Japanese submarine I-58. 880 of the crew horrifically perished. Quint, captain of The Orca, reminisces to Hooper and Brody his own personal experience of the event in the iconic 1975 movie “Jaws.
In fact, many gnarly things in history come up if you research every recorded event on July 30th. Far more than I would ever write into this Sports Blog, but they happen, nonetheless. I love reading about history. My only hope is that we learn from it and not constantly repeat it as seems to be the case.
To end on a sports related high note–In 1966, England upset West Germany in the World Cup Final 4-2. Striker Geoff Hurst scored a Hat Trick.
On this July 30th, 2025, it’s been nice looking back for a few moments.
College Football in Dublin is 25 days away.
“Interstellar” pg 141-42
TARS
Cooper, they didn’t send us here to change the past
Cooper
Say that again.
TARS
They didn’t send us here to change the past.
Cooper
They didn’t send us here at all. We brought ourselves here…I thought they chose me bu they chose her.
TARS
For What?
Cooper
To save the world!—I can find Murph and find a way to tell her-like I found this moment.
TARS
How?
Cooper
Love, Tars. LOVE.-it’s just like Brand said-that’s how we find things here.
Thank you, Christopher, for being born and creating this masterpiece.
Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’
Whit W.