Secret Catholic Colleges

We all know that Notre Dame’s a Catholic school, right? 

Same goes with anything with a name like Sacred Heart, Assumption, Holy Cross, Incarnate Word …

And you can usually count on any place named after a saint – St. John’s, St. Bonaventure, St. Thomas, St. Norbert …

Did you know, though, that Georgetown’s a Catholic school? How about Boston College?

Whoops, wrong one

Now, if you’re a Catholic, or a big sports fan, or both, you probably did. Here’s a few, though, that might stump even you.

Saint-Adjacent

These are pretty clever. Instead of calling your school St. Catherine, try Siena instead. Instead of St. Aloysius, how about Gonzaga? St. Francis Xavier? Nah, Loyola!

Villanova – after St. Thomas of Villanova, a major advocate for the poor

LaSalle – after St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle, founder of the Christian Brothers

Seton Hall – after St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first saint born in the US

Chaminade – after St. Guillaume-Joseph Cahminade, founder of the Marianists

Iona – from Iona Island, in Scotland, a famous center of Gaelic monasticism in the Middle Ages

I also own a castle

Marquette – after Pere Marquette, an early Jesuit missionary to – and explorer of – the Midwest

DePaul – after St. Vincent De Paul, another advocate for the poor

Bellarmine – after St. Robert Bellarmine, Jesuit, cardinal, and doctor of the church 

Canisius – after St. Peter Canisius, a Dutch educator and early Jesuit

They’re the Golden Griffins

No Connection

As for these, there doesn’t seem to be any Catholic tie at all. And for a lot of them, it might just be a case of because it was available.

Manhattan – it’s actually in the Bronx

Providence (RI) 

Stonehill (MA) – from the name of the estate of the Ames family, who donated it to the church

Dayton – originally St. Mary’s College; changed when the school became a university, and “to reflect its close connection with the city of Dayton as well as to claim an American identity for its Catholic students” 

Niagara – originally The College and Seminary of Our Lady of Angels … maybe so it wouldn’t get confused with UCLA?

Fairfield (CT) – in the town of Fairfield; originally Fairfield Univ. of Robert Bellarmine (see above)

Fordham (NY) – founded as St. John’s College; changed to the town in which it was located

Creighton (NE) – after benefactor, businessman Edward Creighton

He built the first transcontinental telegraph

Seattle (WA) – the second college in Seattle after the Univ. of Washington 

San Francisco – originally St. Ignatius College; changed when the school became a university 

Santa Clara (CA) – heck, the city’s named after a saint anyway, right?

Portland (OR) – formerly a Methodist college, taken over by the Catholic church after it was abandoned (but without ever changing the name)

Dallas – originally Holy Trinity College

San Diego – founded in 1949

St. Louis – hey, this city’s named after a saint too

They’re called the Billikens
(whatever that is)

Forgotten Losing VP Candidates

 So, whose gonna be the next Tim Kaine?  Remember him?  He was Hillary Clinton’s running mate, a former governor and current senator from Virginia. Not sure what he’d be remembered for today.

There’s plenty of others as well. I’ll be listing them here, in reverse chronological order, with some random factoids throw in. Rest assured, though, unless you’re a presidential election scholar, you’ve probably never heard of any of them.

So, who will I be adding to this list next, Tim Walz or JD Vance?

William E Miller

Barry Goldwater got absolutely clobbered in the 1964 presidential election. And that’s probably why no one remembers his running mate.

• US rep from NY
• Helped prosecute Nazis in the Nuremberg trials
• The first Catholic on a Republican presidential ticket
• Chairman of the Republican National Committee
• Helped create the party’s Southern Strategy
• Butt of the following joke during the campaign: “Here's a riddle, it's a killer / Who the hell is William Miller?”
• Appeared in “Do you know me?” commercials for American Express

John W Bricker

John Dewey’s first running mate. He would drop him the 2nd time around for the better-known Earl Warren.

• Senator from & governor of Ohio
• Played baseball at Ohio State
• Chaplain in WWI
• Was 9 years older than Dewey
• As part of the campaign, made 28 speeches in a 6-day period
• Was once shot at in the subway that takes congressmen and staff between their offices and the capitol
• Passed away at age 92

Charles L McNary

Going up against FDR in his prime (1940), McNary and running mate Wendell Wilkie were doomed to failure.

• Senator from Oregon (and longest-serving Minority Leader)
• Supported many of FDR’s New Deal initiatives
• Orphan at the age of 9
• Justice on the Oregon supreme court
• Died in 1944, at the end of what would have been his term in office as VP
• Wilkie died the same year
• Developed the Imperial prune, on his ranch Fir Cone

Frank Knox

Knox’s running mate, Alf Landon, was just another Republican sacrifice to the very popular Franklin Roosevelt. Knox would, however, serve under FDR, as Secretary of the Navy.

• Supported military segregation and the internment of Japanese Americans
• Was a Rough Rider during the Spanish-American War
• Was a colonel in WWI
• Newspaper publisher & chairman of Ohio’s Republican Party
• Not to be confused with the English cricketer

Charles W Bryan

Ran with the equally obscure Charles W Davis, losing to Calvin Coolidge in 1924.

• Brother of William Jennings Bryan, 3-time loser at the top of the ticket
• Was probably picked solely for that association
• Governor of Nebraska & mayor of Lincoln
• Was also a tobacco broker, insurance salesman, farmer & publisher

Hiram Johnson

Our first 3rd-party candidate, Johnson was Teddy Roosevelt’s Bull Moose running mate.

• Senator from & governor of California
• Major isolationist – against US entry into WWI, Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations & UN
• A progressive, he originally supported FDR, but turned against him later
• Unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for prez in 1920 and 1924

John W Kern

Our first beardo, as well as our first running mate for perennial candidate William Jennings Bryan.

• Indiana senator
• First Senate Majority Leader (though only served 1 term)
• Personal friend of Bryan, who overcame Kern’s objections to be on the ticket
• Progressive ally of Woodrow Wilson while in office
• Spent 6 months in a TB asylum

Henry G Davis

Could it be possible to be any more obscure than running mate Alton B Parker?

• 80 at the time
• Was at the groundbreaking for the first RR; knew Daniel Webster, John C Calhoun & Henry Clay
• Was basically a fundraiser
• Senator from WV
• Banker, RR executive & coal company owner
• Passed away at age 92
• Middle name was Gassaway

And I think that’s enough obscurity for now. Let’s just stop this thing at 1900. Heck, those late 19th Century politicians are just too obscure – winners/losers, prez/VP – anyway.

Los Mejores – Spanish Mascots for MLB Team

30% of all MLBers are Latino. Only one team, though, has a Spanish-language mascot. Can you guess who that is? It’s the San Diego Padres, of course.

Now, how about if we take the other 29 mascots and translate them into Spanish. How many of those do you think you can guess?  

I’m going to go from easiest to hardest.  Write down your choices and see how many you get. No Spanish speakers, por favor.

Easy

1. Tigres
2. Yanquis
3. Marlines
4. Piratas
5. Angeles
6. Cardenales
7. Metropolitanos
8. Nacionales
9. Atleticos
10. Marineros
11. Guardianos
12. Rayas
13. Rojos

Medium

1. Gigantes
2. Valientes
3. Serpientes de Cascobel
4. Rocosos
5. Realeza
6. Medias Rojas
7. Medias Blancas
8. Cerveceros
9. Estrellas

Difficult

• Arrendajos Azules
• Guardabosques
• Oropendolas
• Mellizos
• Cachorros
• Potras
• Esquivos

Did you write them down? Now, scroll down a little and see how you did.

Easy

1. Tigres – Detroit Tigers
2. Yanquis – NY Yankees
3. Marlines – Miami Marlins
4. Piratas – Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Angeles – LA Angels
6. Cardenales – St Louis Cardinals
7. Metropolitanos – NY Mets
8. Nacionales – Washington Nationals
9. Atleticos – Oakland Athletics
10. Marineros – Seattle Mariners
11. Guardianos – Cleveland Guardians
12. Rayas – Tampa Rays
13. Rojos – Cincinnati Reds

Medium

1. Gigantes – SF Giants
2. Valientes – Atlanta Braves
3. Serpientes de Cascobel – Ariona Diamondbacks
4. Rocosos – Colorado Rockies
5. Realeza – Kansas City Royals
6. Medias Rojas – Boston Red Sox
7. Medias Blancas – Chicago White Sox
8. Cerveceros – Milwaukee Brewers
9. Estrellas – Houston Astros

Difficult

• Arrendajos Azules – Toronto Blue Jays
• Guardabosques – Texas Rangers
• Oropendolas – Baltimore Orioles
• Mellizos – Minnesota Twins
• Cachorros – Chicago Cubs
• Potras – Philadelphia Phillies (okay, Fillies)
• Esquivos – LA Dodgers

Singer Babe Faves

Just looking at my music collection the other day, I discovered that most of my favorite musicians were women, or bands with women in them – from Jefferson Airplane to Stevie Nicks to Kim Gordon to Wolf Alice. 

I also noticed that most of those musicians were also very attractive, but also with very strong characters. Anyhoo, here are some of my particular faves. Note that there’s a real emphasis on “particular” here:

• Rock/pop only – no country, R&B, hip-hop, Latin, jazz
• Nothing too poppy – J Lo, Britany, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne …
• Nothing too recent – Anastacia, Zara Larsson, Bebe Rexha, Ellie Goulding, Natalie Imbruglia …

#36 - Shirley Manson (Garbage) 

First performance at age 4

#35 - Chrissy Hynde (Pretenders)

Well, she was a model (for Malcolm McClaren’s boutique SEX)

#34 - Courtney Love (Hole)

Not her usual look …

#33 - Cindy Wilson (B-52s)

She and brother Ricky (who would pass away from AIDS) started the band

#32 - Melissa Auf Der Wahr (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins)

Talented photographer, with an exhibition at Sotheby’s and work appearing in American Photo, Nylon, and National Geographic

#31 - Neko Case (New Pornographers)

Her voice has been described as a “flamethrower," "powerhouse [which] seems like it might level buildings," "120-mph fastball," and "vocal tornado" (Wikipedia)

#30 - Bat for Lashes 

Born Natasha Kahn

#29 - Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday)

Til Tuesday was made up of former Berklee College of Music students 

#28 - Toni Halliday (Curve)

Hey, I love shoegaze

#27 - Dido 

Born Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong

#26 - Florence Welch (Florence & the Machine)

Harvard grad

#25 - Liz Phair 

Just released an autobiography, Horror Stories

#24 - Lana Del Rey 

Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant

#23 - Suzi Quatro 

From Detroit, she was much more popular in the UK and Europe

#22 - Miki Berenyi (Lush)

More shoegaze

#21 - Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star)

Dream pop too

#20 - Bilinda Butcher (My Bloody Valentine)

About as shoegaze as it gets

#19 - Rachel Goswell (Slowdive)

Final shoegaze, I promise

#18 - Sherryl Crow

Started out as an elementary school music teacher

#17 - Joan Baez 

Has recorded in 8 different languages

#16 - Nico (Velvet Underground)

Real name Christa Paffgen

#15 - Susanna Hoffs (Bangles)

Performed in the parody band Ming Tea (with comedian Mike Myers) as Gillian Shagwell

#14 - Jewell

Real last name is Kilcher

#13 - Cat Power

Well, she was a model

#12 - Francoise Hardy

Sacre bleu!  Une vraie francaise!

#11 - Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go’s)

The Go-Go’s are the only all-female band (who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments) to ever have a #1 album in the US

#10 - Michelle Phillips (Mamas & the Papas)

Well, she was a model

#9 - Linda Ronstadt

Has sung rock, pop, folk, country, Latin, mariachi, and light opera

#8 - Nancy & Ann Wilson (Heart)

Heart was the first hard rock band fronted by women

#7 - The Corrs

Forget the guy in the back (even though he is their brother)

#6 - Carly Simon

Had a serious stammer as a child

#5 - Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)

At 5’1’’, not quite a foot and a half shorter than bandmate Mick Fleetwood

#4 - Debbi Harry (Blondie)

Well, she was a Playboy bunny

#3 - Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane / Starship)

Well, she was a professional model

#2 - Ellie Rowsell (Wolf Alice)

The band has been described as folk-tinged pop, alternative rock, indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop, folk, grunge, pop, electronic, and “rocky pop.”

#1 - Kate Bush

Now Kate Bush CBE