1.
Tonawanda (city), New York
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Tonawanda is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census and it is located at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal from North Tonawanda, and north of Buffalo, New York. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area, post-Revolutionary War European-American settlement at Tonawanda began with Henry Anguish, who built a log home in 1808. He added to the hamlet in 1811 with a tavern, both on the side of Tonawanda Creek where it empties into the Niagara River. The hamlet grew slowly until the opening of the Erie Canal, the Town of Tonawanda was incorporated in 1836. The Erie Canal and the railroads that soon followed it provided economic opportunity, by the end of the 19th century, both sides of the canal were devoted to businesses as part of a leading lumber processing center. In the mid-19th century, the center of Tonawanda was incorporated as a village within the town. The village united in a corporation with North Tonawanda across the canal and this corporation fell apart, and in 1904 the village was incorporated as the City of Tonawanda. On September 26,1898, a tornado struck the City of Tonawanda, after crossing over the river from Grand Island, the tornado damaged the old Murray School as well as several homes along Franklin and Kohler streets. Its worst havoc was wreaked along Fuller Avenue, where a dozen homes were severely damaged, no one was killed by the fierce storm, but there were numerous injuries. From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century a section of Tonawanda existed that was known as Goose Island, Goose Island was a manmade island in the Niagara River formed by the Erie Canal. Goose Island was a piece of land bordered on one side by the Niagara River, on the second side by the Tonawanda Creek. It was then famous with seamen the world over as the terminus of the Erie Canal, the Goose Island Section of Tonawanda had numerous cheap boarding houses, cheap hotels, bars, and houses of ill repute. Canalers often wintered over on Goose Island, Goose Island was known as a bad section of Tonawanda, with drunkenness, brawling, and bawdy displays being commonplace. The gentrification of Goose Island began with the decline of the port business in Tonawanda. Then the canal was motorized, eliminating mules and many canal men, next the section of the canal from Tonawanda to Buffalo was abandoned in 1918. That section of the canal was filled in and Goose Island was no longer an island. The establishments in the Goose Island section of Tonawanda came under community pressure in the 1920s and 1930s and were closed, in the 1970s the boxboard mill closed and was razed along with many remaining Goose Island structures
2.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
3.
Buffalo, New York
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Buffalo is a city in western New York state and the county seat of Erie County, on the eastern shores of Lake Erie at the head of the Niagara River. As of 2014, Buffalo is New York states 2nd-most populous city after New York City, the metropolitan area has a population of 1.13 million. After an economic downturn in the half of the 20th century, Buffalos economy has transitioned to sectors that include financial services, technology, biomedical engineering. Residents of Buffalo are called Buffalonians, the citys nicknames include The Queen City, The Nickel City and The City of Good Neighbors. The city of Buffalo received its name from a creek called Buffalo Creek. British military engineer Captain John Montresor made reference to Buffalo Creek in his journal of 1764, there are several theories regarding how Buffalo Creek received its name. In 1804, as principal agent opening the area for the Holland Land Company, Joseph Ellicott, designed a radial street and grid system that branches out from downtown like bicycle spokes similar to the street system he used in the nations capital. Although Ellicott named the settlement New Amsterdam, the name did not catch on, during the War of 1812, on December 30,1813, Buffalo was burned by British forces. The George Coit House 1818 and Samuel Schenck House 1823 are currently the oldest houses within the limits of the City of Buffalo, on October 26,1825, the Erie Canal was completed with Buffalo a port-of-call for settlers heading westward. At the time, the population was about 2,400, the Erie Canal brought about a surge in population and commerce, which led Buffalo to incorporate as a city in 1832. In 1845, construction began on the Macedonia Baptist Church, an important meeting place for the abolitionist movement, Buffalo was a terminus point of the Underground Railroad with many fugitive slaves crossing the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario in search of freedom. During the 1840s, Buffalos port continued to develop, both passenger and commercial traffic expanded with some 93,000 passengers heading west from the port of Buffalo. Grain and commercial goods shipments led to repeated expansion of the harbor, in 1843, the worlds first steam-powered grain elevator was constructed by local merchant Joseph Dart and engineer Robert Dunbar. Darts Elevator enabled faster unloading of lake freighters along with the transshipment of grain in bulk from barges, canal boats, by 1850, the citys population was 81,000. At the dawn of the 20th century, local mills were among the first to benefit from hydroelectric power generated by the Niagara River, the city got the nickname City of Light at this time due to the widespread electric lighting. It was also part of the revolution, hosting the brass era car builders Pierce Arrow. President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on September 6,1901, McKinley died in the city eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion as the 26th President of the United States. The Great Depression of 1929–39 saw severe unemployment, especially working class men
4.
Syracuse Orange football
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The Syracuse Orange football program is a college football team that represents Syracuse University. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I conference that is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision, the program has one national championship, which was earned for play in the 1959 season. The Orange are coached by Dino Babers, who was hired on December 5,2015 to succeed Scott Shafer, home games are played at the Carrier Dome, located on the schools campus in Syracuse. Syracuse played its first football game on November 23,1889, with the construction of state-of-the-art Archbold Stadium in 1907, Syracuse rose to national prominence under College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Buck ONeill. The 1915 squad garnered a Rose Bowl invitation that the school declined, for 70 years, from 1891 to 1961, Colgate University was the schools biggest rival, with Colgate holding the edge, 31–26–5. From 1937-1945, Ossie Solem served as Syracuses head coach, compiling a 30–27–6 record, the late 1930s and 1940s saw a decline in fortunes that began to reverse when Ben Schwartzwalder took over as coach in 1949. Syracuse made its first bowl appearance in the 1953 Orange Bowl, followed by appearances in the 1957 Cotton Bowl, the 1957 Cotton Bowl Classic team featured Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown. In 1959, Syracuse earned its first National Championship following a season and Cotton Bowl Classic victory over Texas. Davis was slated to play for the Cleveland Browns in the backfield as Jim Brown. Syracuse remained competitive through the 1960s with a series of All American running backs, including Floyd Little, Schwartzwalder retired as Syracuses head coach following the 1973 season, which was Syracuses third consecutive losing season. Schwartzwalder left Syracuse with a 153–91–3 record, Michigan assistant coach Frank Maloney was hired as Schwartzwalders replacement. Maloneys tenure at Syracuse was marked by inconsistency, the fan base turned on him as the Orange failed to achieve the national status they had enjoyed under Schwartzwalder. Maloneys program was limited by archaic facilities. Archbold Stadium, Syracuses home field since 1907, was in need of replacement, nonetheless, Maloney did recruit a number of future NFL stars such as Joe Morris and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Art Monk. Maloney was the subject of criticism, not only from the fans and alumni, ironically enough, this call from program alumni came during the 1979 season, Maloneys best at Syracuse, when the Orangemen qualified for the Independence Bowl, beating McNeese State. After coaching the Orangemen for seven seasons and presiding over the opening of a new stadium, Dick MacPherson was hired as the head coach in 1981 and after several mediocre seasons, fans wanted MacPherson fired, coining the phrase, Sack Mac. However, the opinion of Coach MacPherson changed when the program returned suddenly to national prominence in 1987 with an undefeated 11–0 regular season record. The team featured Maxwell Award winning quarterback Don McPherson and fullback Daryl Johnston, instead, the team faced Southeastern Conference champion Auburn University in the Sugar Bowl
5.
Sperry Corporation
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Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Through a series of mergers it exists today as a part of Unisys, during World War I the company diversified into aircraft components including bomb sights and fire control systems. In their early decades, Sperry Gyroscope and related companies were concentrated on Long Island, New York, over the years, it diversified to other locations. In 1918, Lawrence Sperry split from his father to compete over aero-instruments with the Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company, in 1924, following the death of Lawrence on December 13,1923, the two firms were brought together. The company became Sperry Corporation in 1933, the new corporation was a holding company for a number of smaller entities such as the original Sperry Gyroscope, Ford Instrument Company, Intercontinental Aviation, Inc. and others. The company made advanced aircraft navigation equipment for the market, including the Sperry Gyroscope, the company prospered during World War II as military demand skyrocketed, ranking 19th among US corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. It specialized in high technology such as analog computer–controlled bomb sights, airborne radar systems. Postwar, the company expanded its interests in electronics and computing, producing the companys first digital computer, SPEEDAC, during the 1950s, a large part of Sperry Gyroscope moved to Phoenix, Arizona and soon became the Sperry Flight Systems Company. This was to preserve parts of this company in the event of a thermonuclear conflagration. The Gyroscope division remained headquartered in New York—in its massive Lake Success, Long Island, in 1955, Sperry acquired Remington Rand and renamed itself Sperry Rand. The company remained a military contractor. From 1967 to 1973 the corporation was involved in an acrimonious antitrust lawsuit with Honeywell, the company dropped Rand from its title and reverted to Sperry Corporation. At about the time as the Rand acquisition, Sperry Gyroscope decided to open a facility that would almost exclusively produce its marine instruments. After considerable searching and evaluation, a plant was built in Charlottesville, Virginia and it was later renamed Sperry Marine. Sperry also managed the operation from 1961 to 1975, of the large Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant near Minden, Sperry bought out and continued the RCA line of electronic digital computers, architectural cousins to the IBM System/360. In 1983, Sperry sold Vickers to Libbey Owens Ford, certain internal divisions of Sperry such as Sperry New Holland and Sperry Marine were sold off after the merger. This group is now part of Lockheed Martin, Sperry in Britain started with a factory in Pimlico, London in 1913, manufacturing gyroscopic compasses for the Royal Navy. It became the Sperry Gyroscope Co Ltd in 1915, in 1923, Lawrence Sperry was killed in an air crash near Rye, Sussex
6.
Unisys
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Unisys Corporation is an American global information technology company based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, that provides a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology. It is the proprietor of the Burroughs and UNIVAC line of computers. Unisys traces its roots back to the founding of American Arithmometer Company in 1886, Unisys predecessor companies also include the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation, which developed the worlds first commercial digital computers, the BINAC and the UNIVAC. In September 1986 Unisys was formed through the merger of the mainframe corporations Sperry and Burroughs, the name was chosen from over 31,000 submissions in an internal competition when Chuck Ayoub submitted the word Unisys which was composed of parts of the words united, information and systems. The merger was the largest in the industry at the time. At the time of the merger, Unisys had approximately 120,000 employees, michael Blumenthal became CEO and Chairman after the merger and resigned in 1990 after several years of losses. James Unruh, became the new CEO and Chairman after Blumenthals departure and continued in that role until 1997, by 1997, layoffs had reduced world-wide employee count to approximately 30,000. In addition to hardware, both Burroughs and Sperry had a history of working on U. S. government contracts, Unisys continues to provide hardware, software, and services to various government agencies. In 1988 the company acquired Convergent Technologies, makers of CTOS, joseph McGrath served as CEO and President from January,2005, until September,2008, he was never named chairman. On October 7,2008, J. Edward Coleman replaced J. McGrath as CEO and was named Chairman of the board as well. On November 10,2008, the company was removed from the S&P500 index as the market capitalization of the company had fallen below the S&P500 minimum of $4 billion. On October 6,2014, Unisys announced that Coleman would leave the company effective December 1,2014, Unisys share price immediately fell when this news became public. On January 1,2015, Unisys officially named Peter Altabef as its new president and CEO, paul Weaver, who was formerly Lead Independent Director, was named Chairman. Unisys promotes itself as an information technology company that solves complex IT challenges for some of the world’s largest companies. Including the CIA, FBI, INS, ICE, and the U. S. military, the company maintains a portfolio of over 1,500 U. S. and non-U. S. The companys mainframe line, Clearpath, is capable of running not only mainframe software, the Clearpath system is available in either a UNISYS 2200-based system or an MCP-based system. In 2014, Unisys phased out its CMOS processors, completing the migration of its ClearPath mainframes to Intel x86 chips, the company announced its new ClearPath Dorado 8380 and 8390 systems in May,2015, its most powerful Dorado systems ever. In 2014, CRN ranked Unisys Stealth on its list of Top 10 products for combatting advanced persistent threat, Platform among the Top 10 coolest servers of 2014
