December 31 in San Antonio history…

1917
Responding to a call, Fire Chief William P. Bishop is killed instantly when a pumping engine from Company No. 7 collides with his Locomobile auto, hurling it into Joske’s.  Lieut. Robert Koppelin is also killed.

1993
The Cal Golden Bears defeat the Iowa Hawkeyes, 37-3, in the first Builder’s Square Alamo Bowl.

2010
The Segovia Candy Company, located at Guadalupe and S. Sabinas streets, closes its doors after 62 years in business.
(Photo by John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News)

September 5 in San Antonio history…

1948
St. Gerard’s High School, at 1619 Iowa Street, is dedicated.

1993
George Strait chooses the Alamodome to host his First Annual George Strait Country Music Festival. It features superstar performers Brooks & Dunn, Lee Roy Parnell, Suzy Bogguss, McBride & the Ride, Delbert McClinton, Bobbie Cryner and, of course, George Strait.

2000
The mercury reaches 111 degrees – the hottest day in San Antonio history.

August 7 in San Antonio history…

1959
Paid parking goes into operation at the International Airport.  Prices are 10 cents for the first 30 minutes, 25 cents for three hours, 50 cents for up to 12 hours and $1 for up to 24 hours.

1985
“Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” starring Pee Wee Herman, debuts in San Antonio as a sneak preview at the Central Park Fox and Galaxy theaters.

1993
Kroger closes all 15 San Antonio grocery store locations.

August 6 in San Antonio history…

1914
Two juveniles confessed to Probation Officer J. Ross Boles a plot to lure him to an abandoned shack where he would be dropped into a trap, triggering a fatal shotgun blast. Investigating, Boles found the shack and rigged shotgun just as the youths described them.

1965
Former Spurs center, David Robinson, is born in Key West, Florida.

1993
Ground is broken for the new Central Library building at 600 Soledad Street.

July 23 in San Antonio history…

1981
KENS-TV Channel 5 breaks ground on new headquarters and studios at 5400 Fredericksburg Road.

1993
San Antonio welcomes the US Olympic Festival, which opens today.

1999
Emma Tenayuca, San Antonio labor leader, dies at age 82.

February 9 in San Antonio history…

1964
The Beatles make their American television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, broadcast on KENS Channel 5 at 7:00 p.m.  45.3% of U.S. TV households tune in, representing 73 million people — a record for an entertainment program up to that time.

1993
Sean Elliott is selected as a reserve for the NBA All-Star team and will join David Robinson in Salt Lake City on Feb. 21.  This is the first time since George Gervin and Artis Gilmore were selected in 1983 that two Spurs are selected for the game.

1995
Bernard Harris, Jr., a 1974 graduate of San Antonio’s Sam Houston High School, becomes the first African-American to perform an EVA (spacewalk) during the second of his two flights aboard the Space Shuttle.

January 28 in San Antonio history…

1975
The American Basketball Association’s eighth annual All-Star game is played in Convention Center Arena.  The East team defeats the West, 151-124.  Freddie Lewis of the Spirits of St. Louis is named the Most Valuable Player with 26 points, 11 assists and two steals.  His prize is $2,000 cash or a quarter horse named “Tough Julie.”  He chose the horse.  Unfortunately, “Tough Julie” died three weeks later.

1993
The Light goes out.  Unable to find a buyer, the San Antonio Light newspaper ceases publication after 112 years serving San Antonio.

1986
A small explosive blast, followed by a puff of brown smoke and a rousing round of applause signaled the official start of construction today of San Antonio’s new West Side Freeway.  Some 300 people gathered in Westover Hills just yards from Sea World of Texas’ Garden of Flags for the dedication of State Highway 151, its new official name.

January 14 in San Antonio history…

1965
Mrs. Christine Blundell, a 58 year-old telephone operator, is given the keys to a Chrysler Turbine Car ( right) for three months as part of Chrysler’s turbine market evaluation program. Mrs. Blundell is presented the car in a ceremony at the El Antonio Motel.

1993
Larry Benson announces the city’s newest professional football team, the CFL’s San Antonio Texans.  They were a re-branded San Antonio Riders which joined the CFL when the WLAF folded.  The Texans suffered the same fate, folding after Benson ran out of money, before ever playing a game.

2010
The Balcones Heights shopping mall built as Wonderland Mall in 1960, renamed Crossroads Mall in 1987, changes its name again to “Wonderland of the Americas.”

January 13 in San Antonio history…

1965
Joske’s buys out longtime department store rival Wolff & Marx.

1972
The Milwaukee Brewers take over the local Texas League baseball franchise and change the name from the San Antonio Missions to the San Antonio Brewers.  They have also signed a lease with V. J. Keefe field, which the Texas Leaguers have used since Mission Stadium was abandoned.

1993
A grave believed to hold the remains of Texas hero Col. Ben Milam is uncovered in the center of Milam Park by construction workers. The grave is located on the spot where the Friends of Milam Park had plans to put an 18th-century-style gazebo. A concrete footer where a gray stone monument used to stand also is uncovered.

January 9 in San Antonio history…

1900
San Antonio has at last been placed on the list of Andrew Carnegie and will get $50,000 for a new library.

1977
“The World of Star Trek” comes to the Convention Center Arena.  The convention features creator Gene Roddenberry, the original Star Trek pilot episode “The Cage” and the famous Star Trek blooper reels.

1993
Archaelogists this week unearthed hundreds of Native American and Alamo-era artifacts from the muck at the bottom of the San Antonio River, but the search for Mexican cannons has proved fruitless.