On this date in ...
1919: Albany’s greatest war hero, Sgt. Henry Johnson of the nearly all-black 369th Infantry Regiment, finally made his way home, where he was greeted at Union Station by Gov. Alfred E. Smith, Mayor James R. Watt, other city officials, a committee from the Albany Chamber of Commerce and a delegation of leading black citizens. It was Johnson’s first time in Albany since enlisting in June 1917 and eventually singlehandedly fending off a German raid in France, killing and injuring dozens of enemy combatants, all while sustaining 21 wounds himself.
1969: “I can’t say I’ve ever had a sweeter victory,” said a beaming Bill Kalbaugh, RPI basketball coach. The college’s 50-47 win over rival Union College boosted RPI’S basketball record to 8-8 and gave the Engineers the championship of the Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “The kids wanted this game probably more than anything they have wanted in their life, and I’m just very happy for them,” he added. Meanwhile a dejected Chris Schmid sat next to Kalbaugh and called it the most difficult defeat he’s had to accept in seven years as a football assistant and basketball coach at Union. 1994: A study released by a consumer advocacy group said that New York state was not properly monitoring the billions of dollars paid annually to nursing homes and was letting nursing home operators reap excessive profits on Medicaid. According to the Nursing Home Community Coalition, the state spent $50,000 for each Medicaid nursing home resident, yet failed to monitor homes to make sure the money was spent properly.