title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: He completed his primary education and joined High school in Kakinada, where he became a friend of Madduri Annapurnaiah (1899–1954), who later grew up to be another prominent Indian revolutionary. In his teens, Rama Raju, in accordance with his reticent and meditative nature, contemplated taking up Sannyasa. At age 15, he moved to his mother's home town of Visakhapatnam and enrolled at Mrs. A.V.N. College for the fourth form exam. While there, he often visited far flung areas in the Visakhapatnam district, and became familiar with the struggles of the tribal people there.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Around this time, he became a friend of a rich man and developed platonic love for his friend's sister named Sita, whose untimely demise left him heartbroken. To make her memory eternal, Rama Raju then prefixed her name to his, and came/to be popularly known as Sita Rama Raju. He eventually dropped out of college without completing his course. At this instance his uncle Rama Krishnam Raju, a tehsildar in Narsapur of the West Godavari district, under whose tutelage he grew up so far, brought him to Narasapur and admitted him to the local Taylor High School. He however later gave up his schooling, but privately mastered the literature of Telugu, Sanskrit, Hindi and English languages. Contemporary reports indicate that although he had an undistinguished education, he took a particular interest in astrology, herbalism, palmistry and equestrianism, before becoming a sannyasi at the age of 18.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Indicative of his future as a leader, Alluri in his high school days was often found riding his uncle's horses to distant hilly places, and familiarising himself with the various problems being faced by different tribes, who were then living under British colonial rule. He was particularly moved by seeing the hardships of the Koyas, people of a hill tribe. Fond of pilgrimage, in 1921 he visited Gangotri and Nashik, birthplaces of the holy rivers, Ganga and Godavari. During his travels in the country, he met revolutionaries in Chittagong, on seeing the socio-economic conditions of people, particularly those of the tribals, he was severely appalled and decided to build a movement for their independence from British rule. He then settled down in the Papi hills near Godavari District, an area with a high density of tribal populations.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Sitarama Raju initially practiced various spiritual disciplines to gain moral stature and spiritual power. During this time, the efforts of Christian missionaries to gain converts by any means amongst the hill tribes annoyed him, as he saw it as a tool to perpetuate imperialism. He continued living an austere life, with bare minimum needs amongst the tribal people. Taking only items like fruits and honey from them, he would return much of everything offered to him, with his blessings. Very soon his charismatic nature gained him a reputation among the tribals of being someone possessed with holy powers, even a messianic status, a reputation that was bolstered both by myths he created about himself, and by his acceptance of ones about him that were established by others, including those concerning his reputed invincibility.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Noting the grievances of the tribals, and finding solutions to their problems, he started to organise and educate them about their rights, and prepared them for a fight against the oppression and tyranny of the forest and revenue officials, missionaries and police. Touring the forest terrains, he gained extensive knowledge of the geographical features, which helped him in his future as a guerrilla warfare tactician. Around this time, when the British authorities confiscated their ancestral properties, the Koya tribal brothers, Gam Malludora and Gam Gantamdora, who were freedom fighters, joined the ranks of Rama Raju and became his lieutenants. As the oppressive practices of the British continued to become unbearable, and rebellion became the last option for people to live free, Rama Raju became their natural leader. The Government then did try to win him over by offering 60 acres of fertile land for his ashram, but he rejected it and stood by the people.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: After the passing of the 1882 Madras Forest Act, in an attempt to exploit the economic value of wooded areas, its restrictions on the free movement of tribal people in the forests prevented them from engaging in their traditional podu agricultural system, a form of subsistence economy which involved the system of shifting cultivation. The changes meant that they will face starvation, and their main means of avoiding it was to engage in the demeaning, arduous, foreign and exploitative coolie system, being used by the government and its contractors for such things as road construction.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Around the same time as the Act, the Raj authorities had also emasculated the traditional hereditary role of the muttadars, who had until then been the de facto rulers in the hills as tax collectors for the plains-living rajas. Those people were now reduced to the role of mere civil servants, with no overarching powers, no ability to levy taxes at will, and no right to inherit their position. Thus, the cultivators and the tax collectors, who once would have been in opposition to each other, were instead now broadly aligned in their disaffection with colonial power.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Rama Raju harnessed this discontent of the tribal people to support his anti-colonial zeal, whilst accommodating the grievances of those muttadars sympathetic to his cause, rather than those who were selfish in their pursuit of a revived status for themselves. This meant that most of his followers were from the tribal communities, but also included some significant people from the muttadar class, who at one time had exploited them, although many muttadars remained ambivalent about fighting for what he perceived to be the greater good.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Alluri adopted aspects from the Non-cooperation movement, such as promoting temperance, and the boycott of colonial courts in favour of local justice, administered by panchayat courts, to attract people's support. Although the movement died out in early 1922, it had reached the plains area by then, as he was involved in the propagation of some of its methods among the hill people, to raise their political consciousness, and desire for change. These actions caused him to be put under the surveillance of police, from around February of that year, although the fact that he was using them as a camouflage to foment armed uprising seems to have not been recognised by either the movement, or the political leadership of the British.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: With his supporters, he built strong and powerful troops of fighters. Sporting traditional weaponry like bow-and-arrow and spears, and employing tactics like using whistles and beating drums to exchange messages amongst themselves, the revolutionaries managed to achieve spectacular successes initially in their struggle against the British. Realising that traditional weaponry would be of not much use against the British, who were all well equipped with modern firearms, he thought the best way forward is to take them away from the enemy and started launching attacks on police stations.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Between 22 and 24 August 1922, Alluri led a troop of 500 people in the raid and plundering of police stations at Chintapalli, Krishnadevipeta and Rajavomangi. He gained possession of various weaponry from the seize including 26 muskets, 2,500 rounds of ammunition, six .303 Lee Enfield Rifles and one revolver. He subsequently toured the area, getting more recruits and killing a police officer who was part of a force sent to find him. A hallmark of these raids was that after each attack, he would sign a letter in the stations diary, giving details of the plunder from that station, and would write the date and time of his attack, daring police to stop him if they can.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: The British struggled in their pursuit of him, partly because of the unfamiliar terrain, and also because of the local people in the sparsely populated areas who were unwilling to help them, and were often outrightly keen to assist him, including with providing shelter and intelligence. While based in the hills, contemporary official reports suggested that the core group of rebels dwindled to between 80 and 100, but this figure rose dramatically whenever they moved to take action against the British because of the involvement of people from the villages.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: More deaths occurred on 23 September, when he ambushed a police party from a high position as they went through the Dammanapalli Ghat, killing two officers, cementing his reputation among the disaffected people. There were two additional successful attacks against the police during September. At this pointafter the British realised that Rama Raju's style of guerilla warfare would have to be matched with a similar response, and drafted in members from the Malabar Special Police who were trained for such purposes. Attempts to persuade local people to inform about or withdraw their support for Rama Raju, through both incentives and reprisals did not succeed. Later raids were carried out on the police stations at Annavaram, Addateegala, Narsipatnam and Rampachodavaram.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: During these raids, Rama Raju was ably supported by his trusted assistant named Aggi Raju, whose exploits were considered heroic. As the rebellion continued unabated, detachments of the Assam Rifles regiment were eventually brought in to quell it. The fight continued for about two years capturing the attention of common people, as well as powerful officials across the country. To end the rebellion and capture Alluri Sitarama Raju, the then district collectors, Bracken of East Godavari, and R.T. Rutherford of Visakhapatnam, having jurisdiction powers over the areas of rebellion employed all means possible, both fair and foul, from burning villages to destroying crops, killing cattle and violating women, all to no avail.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: The agency commissioner, J. R. Higgins announced a monetary reward of Rs 10,000 for the head of Rama Raju, and Rs 1,000 each for his lieutenants Ghantam Dora and Mallam Dora. In April 1924, to quell the ‘Manyam’ uprising, the British Government then deputed T. G. Rutherford, who resorted to employing extreme methods of violence and torture on people to know the whereabouts of Raju and his close followers.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: As Alluri was mostly garnering support from the plains areas, the British cordoned off the hills and limited his influence between the regions of Peddavalasa, Gudem and Darakonda. In spite of this, Alluri tried to court people to his side, particularly the Congressmen from the plains, but was unsuccessful as they were against Alluri on the ground that he was violating the Gandhian principle of Nonviolence.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: After putting up a massive effort for nearly two years, the British eventually managed to capture Alluri in the forests of Chintapalle, he was then tied to a tree, and summarily executed by shooting on 7 May 1924 in the village of Koyyuru. The tomb of Alluri currently lies in the village of Krishnadevipeta, near Visakhapatnam. His lieutenant, Ghantam Dora, was killed on 6 June 1924, and his brother Mallam Dora, was caught and imprisoned, who later after independence became a member of the Indian Lok Sabha.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: The efforts of Alluri in waging an armed conflict, without any state powers, against one of the most powerful empires have been recognised by all. The British government grudgingly acknowledged him as a powerful tactician of the Guerrilla warfare that lasted for nearly two years, the fact that over ₹4 million was spent in those days to defeat him speaks for itself.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: Historian David Arnold in his book "The Rebellious Hillmen: The Gudem-Rampa rising 1839–1924", noted that because of his name, the tribals used to evoke the image of the Hindu deity "Rama" in Alluri, an honorary which despite being a religious man he never asked for.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: The Independent Indian government released a postal stamp in his honour at the village of Mogallu, considered by many to be his birthplace. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, besides building memorials at places associated with his life, granted a political pension to his surviving brother. Mahatma Gandhi paid his tribute to Alluri's life, saying, "Though I do not approve of his armed rebellion, I pay my homage to his bravery and sacrifice." Jawaharlal Nehru commented that, "Raju was one of those few heroes that could be counted on fingers." Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose noted that Alluri was fierce in his determination, and his unparalleled courage and sacrifice for people will ensure him a place in history.


title: Alluri Sitarama Raju

text: In 2022, the Government of Andhra Pradesh carved out a new district named after Alluri from the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district, with Paderu as its headquarters.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company.


title: Disney Channel

text: Launched on April 18, 1983 under the name The Disney Channel as a premium channel on top of basic cable television systems, it originally showcased programming towards families due to availability of home television sets locally at the time. Since 1997, as just Disney Channel, its programming has shifted focus to target mainly children and adolescents, with a major focus on girls. The channel showcases original first-run children's television series, theatrically-released and original television films and other selected third-party programming.


title: Disney Channel

text: As of , Disney Channel is available on basic cable and satellite in over 190 million American and global homes. Original programming/content on/from the channel spans television, online, mobile, video on demand and mobile platforms, with the latter dominated by the DisneyNOW website-app hybrid product. There were 46 Disney Channels available in 33 languages worldwide, but some have either shut down or declined in viewership since 2016 in parts of Europe and most of the Asia-Pacific due to the rise of social media and streaming media platforms as well as the successful launch of Disney+ in certain countries/regions/territories from 2020 onward.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Channel launched nationally as a premium channel at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 18, 1983 under the name The Disney Channel. The channel's development with help from its founding president Alan Wagner, and formally announced the launch of its family-oriented cable channel in early 1983. The channel – which initially maintained a 16-hour-per-day programming schedule from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time – would become available on cable providers in all 50 U.S. states by September 1983, and accrue a base of more than 611,000 subscribers by December of that year. In October 1983, the channel debuted its first made-for-cable movie, "Tiger Town", which earned the channel a CableACE Award. The channel had reached profitability by January 1985, with its programming reaching 1.75 million subscribers by that point.


title: Disney Channel

text: In September 1990, TCI's Montgomery, Alabama, system became the first cable provider to carry the channel as a basic cable service. Between 1991 and 1996, a steadily increasing number of cable providers began shifting The Disney Channel from a premium add-on offering to their basic tiers, either experimentally or on a full-time basis; however, Walt Disney Company executives denied any plans to convert the channel into an ad-supported basic service, stating that the premium-to-basic shifts on some providers was part of a five-year "hybrid" strategy that allowed providers to offer the channel in either manner. On April 6, 1997, the channel officially rebranded as Disney Channel, although occasionally marketed as "Disney" from 1997 to 2002.


title: Disney Channel

text: Television films have also been produced for broadcast on Disney Channel since its launch under the banner of "Disney Channel Premiere Films" until October 1997 and "Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM)" thereafter.


title: Disney Channel

text: The most successful original film under the banner in terms of popularity and accolades is "High School Musical 2", which debuted on 17 August 2007 to 17.2 million viewers and set a current longstanding record for the highest-rated television premiere in the history of the channel. It also set a basic cable record for the single most-watched television program until December 3, 2007 when corporate sister channel, ESPN, surpassed it with the telecast of an NFL game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens on its "Monday Night Football" programme by 0.3 million viewers more (17.5 million viewers). "The Cheetah Girls" media franchise was also notably successful in terms of merchandise and sales for its concert tours and soundtrack albums. Its debut film from 2003, being the first Disney Channel original musical television film, premiered to over 84 million global viewers and its sequel premiered to 8.1 million American viewers and in the process became the most successful of the film series. An 86-date concert tour featuring the eponymous girl group was ranked as one of the top 10 concert tours of 2006, smashing the record at the Houston Rodeo previously set by Elvis Presley in 1973, selling out with 73,500 tickets in three minutes at one point.


title: Disney Channel

text: In addition to its original television films, Disney Channel has rights to theatrically released feature films, with some film rights shared with sister network, Freeform. Alongside films released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (mainly consisting of releases from Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar), the channel also maintains rights to films from other studios. Some films released by Bagdasarian Productions (such as "The Chipmunk Adventure" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein") have also aired on Disney Channel, although most of them are not currently owned by any of The Walt Disney Company's divisions.


title: Disney Channel

text: In between regularly scheduled programming and advertisement breaks, Disney Channel features bumpers. These bumpers have varied in content substantially throughout the history of the channel, created using a broad array of artistic methods such as traditional animation, digital animation, claymation, live action, and puppeteering. They have been praised for their high quality composition and ingenuity.


title: Disney Channel

text: However, they became especially iconic in late 2002, when Disney Channel underwent a major rebranding, including in its bumpers and logo. These bumpers highlighted the iconic 'mouse ears' logo throughout them, featuring various videos that culminated in both the appearance of the logo, alongside a newly introduced theme song, which is regarded as its most recognizable and is still used to this day. This theme song consists of a four-note mnemonic jingle composed by Alex Lasarenko, former executive of Tonal Sounds and creative director at Elias Arts.


title: Disney Channel

text: In addition to its logo and jingle, Disney Channel's most recognizable bumper format consists of a celebrity or figure from one of its programs holding a wand and drawing the then-current form of the Disney Channel logo on the screen. This celebrity will introduce their name, the program they're featured on, and finish with the line "And you're watching Disney Channel." Dubbed a 'Wand ID' by fans, this format typically ends in a variation of the mnemonic.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Junior is a daily morning program block aimed at preschoolers, spiritually succeeding Playhouse Disney which launched on April 6, 1997, as part of Disney Channel's morning lineup. On May 26, 2010, Disney-ABC Television Group (now "Walt Disney Television") announced the expansion of the block in to a 24/7 cable and satellite channel which debuted on March 23, 2012. The channel would be commercial-free channel and compete with other preschooler-skewing cable channels such as Nick Jr. and Sprout (now Universal Kids). The channel features programs from Disney Channel's existing preschool programming library and films/movies from the Walt Disney Pictures film library. On its launch, Disney Junior took over the channel space held by Soapnet – a Disney-owned cable channel featuring soap operas – due to that genre's decline in popularity on broadcast television and the growth of video on demand, online streaming, and digital video recorders negating the need for a linear channel devoted to the soap opera genre. After a period during which cable providers unwilling to drop the network immediately retained it to prevent subscriber cancellations, Soapnet ceased all operations on December 31, 2013. The former Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel rebranded as Disney Junior on February 14, 2011, along with the existing international channels. Disney-ABC Television Group once planned to launch a Playhouse Disney Channel in the United States in 2001, however it never happened despite launching internationally.


title: Disney Channel

text: Launched on February 13, 2009 as the successor to Toon Disney, Disney XD is a cable and satellite television channel which was originally aimed at young male audiences aged 6 to 14, but has since included girls in its programming. The channel showcases action and comedy programming from Disney Channel and the former Jetix block from Toon Disney, alongside some first-run original programming and off-network syndicated shows. Like its predecessor, Toon Disney, but unlike sister channels. Disney Channel and Disney Junior, Disney XD operates as an ad-supported service. The channel carries the same name as an unrelated mini-site and media player on Disney.com, which stood for Disney Xtreme Digital, though it is said that the "XD" in the channel's name does not have an actual meaning.


title: Disney Channel

text: Also known by its trade name, "Disney Channel Animation", it is the television animation production studio division of The Walt Disney Studios and based in Glendale, California, providing original animated programming for the 3 main Disney-branded children's channels.


title: Disney Channel

text: A live-action production studio based in Studio City, Los Angeles, California, that provides original sitcoms and comedy programs primary for Disney Channel. Despite being the prime production source of Disney Channel shows, many of its projects are still co-produced and financed by The Walt Disney Company.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Europe Animation is the network's European animation studio located in London, England, which provides other original programs within Europe.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Original Documentary is a banner from Disney Branded Television for documentary-based programs broadcast on Disney Channel and released on Disney+.


title: Disney Channel

text: In 2010, "Disney Channel All Star Party" was released for the Nintendo Wii. The four-player mascot party game, in which the stages resemble board games, features characters from Disney Channel programs such as "Sonny with a Chance", "Wizards of Waverly Place", and "JONAS L.A." Several video games based on the Disney Channel animated series "Phineas and Ferb" were released by Disney Interactive Studios. The Disney Channel website also features various Flash games incorporating characters from the channel's various program franchises. There have also been games based on "Kim Possible" and "Hannah Montana".


title: Disney Channel

text: In June 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would stop advertising or promoting food or beverage products that do not meet strict nutritional guidelines. Disney Channel purportedly became the first media company to take such a stance on stopping the marketing of junk food products to kids. Due to its commercial-free format, such advertising appears only in the form of underwriter sponsorships during promotional breaks.


title: Disney Channel

text: On July 1, 2012, Disney Channel began providing Descriptive Video Service audio in compliance with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, which required network owned-and-operated stations and affiliates in the 25 largest television markets as well as the five highest-rated cable and satellite channels (including Disney Channel) to offer audio descriptions for the blind. Since July 1, 2012, Disney Channel now presents an on-screen mark at the beginning of certain programming on their schedule to refer that the program has audio description for visually-impaired, in order to comply with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. Certain episodes of "Gravity Falls", "Austin and Ally", "Good Luck Charlie" and "Phineas and Ferb" show the AD))) mark and a 2-tone sound repeated 3 times at the beginning of the episode to notice the audio description track available through the SAP feed. Disney Junior airs the AD)) mark and the intended SAP track on newer episodes of "Little Einsteins". (ABC airs this mark of the bottom-left corner of the screen.)


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Channel has established presence in various regions and territories worldwide, including Canada, Latin America & Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Scandinavia, Greece, the Middle East, Africa, Israel, India and Japan. Channels for Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the UK & Ireland, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Turkey used to be available, but were shut down in the early 2020s with most content instead moving to Disney+.


title: Disney Channel

text: On December 14, 2022, Disney ceased its distribution of programs in Russia in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Disney Channel

text: Disney Channel also licenses its programming to air on certain other broadcast and cable channels outside the United States (formerly including Family Channel in Canada), regardless of whether or not a localized channel feed already exists in that country.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular performer, he also appeared as a guest on numerous talk shows and as a panelist on several game shows.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine's film career began in 1951 and included supporting roles in "China Corsair" (1951), "From Here to Eternity" (1953), "Vera Cruz" (1954), "Bad Day at Black Rock" (1955), and "The Wild Bunch" (1969). He also played the unconventional lead in many films, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1956, for "Marty" (1955), which also won the 1956 Academy Award for Best Picture. Borgnine achieved continuing success in the sitcom "McHale's Navy" (1962–1966), in which he played the title character, and co-starred as Dominic Santini in the action series "Airwolf" (1984–1986), in addition to a wide variety of other roles.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine earned his third Primetime Emmy Award nomination at age 92 for his work on the 2009 series finale of "ER". He was known as the original voice of Mermaid Man on "SpongeBob SquarePants" from 1999 until his death in 2012. He replaced the late Vic Tayback as the voice of the villainous Carface Caruthers in both "All Dogs Go to Heaven 2" (1996) and "" (1996–1998).


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine was born Ermes Effron Borgnino () on January 24, 1917, in Hamden, Connecticut, the son of Italian immigrants. His mother, Anna (; 1894– 1949), hailed from Carpi, near Modena, while his father Camillo Borgnino (1891–1975) was a native of Ottiglio near Alessandria. Borgnine's parents separated when he was two years old, and he then lived with his mother in Italy for about four and a half years. By 1923, his parents had reconciled, the family name was changed from Borgnino to Borgnine, and his father changed his first name to Charles. Borgnine had a younger sister, Evelyn Borgnine Velardi (1925–2013). The family settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where Borgnine graduated from James Hillhouse High School. He took to sports while growing up, but showed no interest in acting.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine joined the United States Navy in October 1935, after graduation from high school. He served aboard the destroyer/minesweeper and was honorably discharged from the Navy in October 1941. In January 1942, he reenlisted in the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he patrolled the Atlantic Coast on an antisubmarine warfare ship, the patrol yacht . In September 1945, he was once again honorably discharged from the Navy. He served a total of almost 10 years in the Navy and obtained the grade of gunner's mate first class. His military awards include the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal with " bronze star, and the World War II Victory Medal.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In October 2004, Borgnine received the honorary title of chief petty officer from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott. The ceremony for Borgnine's naval advancement was held at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, DC. He received the special honor for his naval service and support of naval personnel and their families worldwide.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine returned to his parents' house in Connecticut after his Navy discharge without a job to go back to and no direction. In a British Film Institute interview about his life and career, he said:


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: He took a local factory job, but was unwilling to settle down to that kind of work. His mother encouraged him to pursue a more glamorous profession, and suggested to him that his personality would be well suited for the stage. He surprised his mother by taking the suggestion to heart, although his father was far from enthusiastic. In 2011, Borgnine remembered,


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: He studied acting at the Randall School of Drama in Hartford, then moved to Virginia, where he became a member of the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. It had been named for the director's allowing audiences to barter produce for admission during the cash-lean years of the Great Depression. In 1947, Borgnine landed his first stage role in "State of the Union". Although it was a short role, he won over the audience. His next role was as the Gentleman Caller in Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1949, Borgnine went to New York, where he had his Broadway debut in the role of a nurse in the play "Harvey".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: An appearance as the villain on TV's "Captain Video" led to Borgnine's casting in the motion picture "The Whistle at Eaton Falls" (1951) for Columbia Pictures. That year, Borgnine moved to Los Angeles, California, where he eventually received his big break in Columbia's "From Here to Eternity" (1953), playing the sadistic Sergeant "Fatso" Judson, who beats a stockade prisoner in his charge, Angelo Maggio (played by Frank Sinatra). Borgnine built a reputation as a dependable character actor, and played villains in early films, including movies such as "Johnny Guitar", "Vera Cruz", and "Bad Day at Black Rock".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1955, the actor starred as a warmhearted butcher in "Marty", the film version of the television play of the same title. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor over Frank Sinatra, James Dean (who had died by the time of the ceremony), and former Best Actor winners Spencer Tracy and James Cagney.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine's film career flourished for the next three decades, including roles in "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) with Lee Marvin, "Ice Station Zebra" (1968), "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972), "Emperor of the North" (1973), "Convoy" (1978), "The Black Hole" (1979), and "Escape from New York" (1981).


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: One of his most famous roles was that of Dutch in the Western classic "The Wild Bunch" (1969) from director Sam Peckinpah. Of his role in "The Wild Bunch", Borgnine later said,


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine made his TV debut as a character actor in "Captain Video and His Video Rangers", beginning in 1951. These two episodes led to countless other television roles that Borgnine would gain in "Goodyear Television Playhouse", "The Ford Television Theatre", "Fireside Theatre", "Frontier Justice", "Laramie", "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre", "Run for Your Life", "Little House on the Prairie" (a two-part episode entitled "The Lord is My Shepherd"), "The Love Boat", "Magnum, P.I.", "Highway to Heaven", "Murder, She Wrote", "Walker, Texas Ranger", "Home Improvement", "Touched by an Angel", the final episodes of "ER", the first episode of "Wagon Train", and many others.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1962, Borgnine signed a contract with Universal Studios for the lead role as the gruff but lovable skipper, Quinton McHale, in what began as a serious one-hour 1962 episode called "Seven Against the Sea" for "Alcoa Premiere", and later reworked to a comedy called "McHale's Navy", a World War II sitcom, which also co-starred unfamiliar comedians Joe Flynn as Capt. Wally Binghamton and Tim Conway as Ens. Charles Parker. The insubordinate crew of PT-73 helped the show become an overnight success during its first season, landing in the top 30 in 1963.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: He thrived on the adulation from fans for their favorite navy man, and in 1963 received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. At the end of the fourth season, in 1966, low ratings and repetitive storylines brought "McHale's Navy" to an end.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: At the time "McHale's Navy" began production, Borgnine was married to actress Katy Jurado. Her death in 2002 drew Borgnine and Conway much closer, as Conway had heard so much of the actress's death. He knew that Borgnine had once referred to her as "beautiful, but a tiger." Conway thought Borgnine was more than likely to have died an Italian count, had it not been for Benito Mussolini: "I can't envision him as a count. But maybe as a king—certainly not a count." The last thing he said about his acting mentor's long career: "There were no limits to Ernie. When you look at his career—Fatso Judson to Marty, that's about as varied as you get in characters and he handled both of them with equal delicacy and got the most out of those characters."


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine returned to Universal Studios in 1983, for a co-starring role opposite Jan-Michael Vincent, on "Airwolf". After he was approached by producer Donald P. Bellisario, who had been impressed by Borgnine's guest role as a wrestler in a 1982 episode of "Magnum, P.I.", he immediately agreed. He played Dominic Santini, a helicopter pilot, in the series, which became an immediate hit. Borgnine's strong performances belied his exhaustion due to the grueling production schedule, and the challenges of working with his younger, troubled series lead. The show was cancelled by CBS in 1986.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: He appeared with Jonathan Silverman in "The Single Guy" as doorman Manny Cordoba, which lasted two seasons. According to Silverman, Borgnine came to work with more energy and passion than all other stars combined. He was the first person to arrive on the set every day and the last to leave.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1989, Borgnine went to Namibia to shoot the film "Laser Mission", starring Brandon Lee. It was released in 1990.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1996, Borgnine starred in the televised fantasy/thriller film "Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders" (partially adapted from the 1984 horror film "The Devil's Gift"). As narrator and storyteller, Borgnine recounts a string of related supernatural tales, his modern-day fables notably centering on an enchanted and malicious cymbal-banging monkey toy stolen from the wizard Merlin. The film was later featured in the parodical television series "Mystery Science Theater 3000", and has since gained a prominent cult following. Also in 1996, Borgnine toured the United States on a bus to meet his fans and see the country. The trip was the subject of a 1997 documentary, "Ernest Borgnine on the Bus". He also served one year as the chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, visiting patients in many Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1997, Borgnine appeared in the big-screen adaptation comedy film "McHale's Navy", where he played Rear Admiral Quinton McHale, who was also the father of Tom Arnold's character, Quinton McHale, Jr.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1998, Borgnine appeared in the Trey Parker and Matt Stone comedy "BASEketball" as entrepreneur Ted Denslow.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Starting in 1999, Borgnine provided his voice talent to the animated sitcom "SpongeBob SquarePants" as the elderly superhero Mermaid Man (where he was paired up with his "McHale's Navy" co-star Tim Conway as the voice of Mermaid Man's sidekick Barnacle Boy). He expressed affection for this role, in no small part for its popularity among children. After his death, Nickelodeon reaired all of the episodes in which Mermaid Man appeared, in memoriam. Borgnine also appeared as himself in "The Simpsons" episode "Boy-Scoutz 'n the Hood", in addition to a number of television commercials. In 2000, he was the executive producer of "Hoover", in which he was the only credited actor.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 2007, Borgnine starred in the Hallmark original film "A Grandpa for Christmas". He played a man who, after his estranged daughter ends up in the hospital because of a car accident, discovers that he has a granddaughter he never knew about. She is taken into his care, and they soon become great friends. Borgnine received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture made for Television for his performance. At 90, he was the oldest Golden Globe nominee ever. In 2010 he costarred in The Wishing Well.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine's autobiography "Ernie" was published by Citadel Press in July 2008. "Ernie" is a loose, conversational recollection of highlights from his acting career and notable events from his personal life.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: On April 2, 2009, he appeared in several episodes of the final season of the long-running medical series "ER". His role was that of a husband dealing with the decline of his wife, who would die in the final episode of the series. In his final scene, his character is in a hospital bed lying beside his just-deceased wife. His performance garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, his third nomination and his first in 29 years (since being nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special in 1980 for "All Quiet on the Western Front").


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 2009, at age 92, he starred as Frank, the main character of "Another Harvest Moon", directed by Greg Swartz and also starring Piper Laurie and Anne Meara. On October 2, 2010, Borgnine appeared as himself in a sketch with Morgan Freeman on "Saturday Night Live". On October 15, 2010, he appeared in "Red", which was filmed earlier that year. In late 2011, Borgnine completed what was his last film, playing Rex Page in "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine married five times. His first marriage, from 1949 to 1958, was to Rhoda Kemins, whom he met while serving in the Navy. They had one daughter, Nancee (born May 28, 1952). He was then married to actress Katy Jurado from 1959 to 1963. Borgnine's marriage to singer Ethel Merman in 1964 lasted only 42 days. Their time together was mostly spent hurling profane insults at each other, and both later admitted that the marriage was a colossal mistake (Merman's description of the marriage in her autobiography was a solitary blank page). Their divorce was finalized on May 25, 1965.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: From 1965 to 1972, Borgnine was married to Donna Rancourt, with whom he had a son, Cristopher (born August 9, 1969) and two daughters, Sharon (born August 5, 1965) and Diana (born December 29, 1970). His fifth and last marriage was to Tova Traesnaes, which lasted from February 24, 1973, until his death in July 2012.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 2000, Borgnine received his 50-year pin as a Freemason at Abingdon Lodge No. 48 in Abingdon, Virginia. He joined the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles in 1964, received the Knights Commander of the Court of Honor (KCCH) in 1979, was crowned a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1983, and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 1991.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: According to a friend of Tim Conway, who talked about their time shooting "McHale's Navy": "You know, we were all guys, it was about the war, and about men, so, there weren't many women working on the show, so we can spit, talk, swear, and everything—smoke? Gosh. So, it was male oriented." Conway once referred to Borgnine making new friends off of the Universal set, "It was the beginning of the trams, going through Universal. Ernie was probably one of the few people at Universal, who would stop the trams and say, 'Hello, how are you?' He would talk to everybody at the tram." While the show "McHale's Navy" was going strong, Tim had also said of Borgnine's short-lived marriage to Ethel Merman, "Ernie is volatile. I mean, there's no question about that; and Ethel was a very strong lady. So, you put two bombs in a room, something is going to explode, and I guess it probably did." He also said about the cancellation of "McHale's Navy" was, "We had gone from the South Pacific to Italy, and then, once in a while, we got to New York or something. The storylines were beginning to duplicate themselves. So, they actually said, 'Maybe, they had its run!. Conway kept in touch with Borgnine for more than 40 years, while living not too far from one another. In 1999, the duo reunited to lend their voices to several episodes of "SpongeBob SquarePants".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine died of kidney failure on July 8, 2012, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old. Borgnine was cremated. A bench dedicated to his memory was later installed at Forest Lawn Cemetery.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine's hometown of Hamden, Connecticut, where he enjoyed a large and vocal following, named a park and a small road in his honor. From 1972 to 2002, Borgnine marched in Milwaukee's annual Great Circus Parade as the "Grand Clown".


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1994, Borgnine received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1996, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 1997, Borgnine was the commencement speaker at Lakeland College, and received an honorary doctorate in humane letters in recognition of his distinguished acting career.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: Borgnine won the 1955 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Marty Piletti in the film "Marty". At the time of his death, he was the oldest living recipient of the Best Actor Oscar.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: For his contributions to the film industry, Borgnine received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. The star is located at 6324 Hollywood Boulevard.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: He was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards, held January 30, 2011.


title: Ernest Borgnine

text: In 2000, Borgnine received his 50-year pin as a Freemason in Abingdon Lodge No. 48, Abingdon, Virginia. He joined the Scottish Rite Valley of Los Angeles (in the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A) in 1964, received the KCCH in 1979, was crowned a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1983, and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour in 1991. He was also a member of the Loyal Order of Moose at that organization's Lodge in Junction City, Oregon. He volunteered to be Stories of Service National spokesman, urging his fellow World War II vets to come forward and share their stories.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series was the 111th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 27th season under IndyCar Series sanction. The showcase event was the 2022 Indianapolis 500. It was the third year under Penske management after they took over in late 2019.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Will Power, driving for Team Penske, won his second championship, and first since 2014, while Christian Lundgaard, driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, became Rookie of the year. Chevrolet won the engine manufacturer's championship for the first time since 2017.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Álex Palou entered the season as the reigning 2021 IndyCar Series champion. Palou won three races in 2021. Hélio Castroneves was the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, beginning his first full-time season in IndyCar since 2017.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The 2022 season was planned to be the final season for the 2.2-litre V6 twin-turbocharged engine package that debuted in 2012. A new 2.4-liter V6 twin-turbocharged hybrid engine formula is set to debut in the series. It was originally scheduled for 2023, however, it has been delayed until 2024.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: On April 22, 2022, Firestone announced the introduction of a new environmentally friendly tire for select events. The tire is manufactured from rubber harvested from guayule, a plant requiring less water resources than traditional natural rubber sources. The new tire debuted during the annual Pit Stop Challenge before the Indianapolis 500, and was later used as the softer compound "alternate" tire at the Music City Grand Prix.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The following teams, entries, and drivers competed in the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season. All teams used a spec Dallara DW12 chassis with and Firestone tires.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The 2022 season kicked off in late February with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Scott McLaughlin won his maiden pole in qualifying and led the field to green, holding off Colton Herta in second and Rinus VeeKay in third, who both got by Will Power at the start. The latter managed to repass the pair when their tires started to fade, before a caution came out as David Malukas hit the wall in turn three. This meant the majority of the field was able to pit. Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon, who had not done so, now led the race. As strategies played out, McLaughlin was shuffled back to the lead, before managing to defend an overcutting attempt by then-second man Álex Palou, who started tenth but had moved into net second by the first round of stops. This order held on until the finish; McLaughlin converting maiden pole into maiden victory, ahead of Palou and Power.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Next up was the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, where Felix Rosenqvist won his second series pole, but was overtaken by McLaughlin after less than a lap at the race start. Behind them, Power got by Takuma Sato for third, before Rossi had to retire his car and brought out a caution. After the restart, rookie Kyle Kirkwood used his fresh tires to climb from 23rd into the top ten and then into the lead as the top runners pitted. McLaughin was back in front once the pitstops had shook out. Cautions flew again when Sato made contact with teammate Malukas, and then later when Kirkwood hit the wall. The second restart only lasted for a single lap, before a heavy crash saw Helio Castroneves, Graham Rahal and Devlin DeFrancesco retire. After that, it was Power, McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden at the front, with the former running first before having to save fuel and letting the other two by. On the final lap, McLaughlin got stuck behind traffic, which allowed Newgarden to swoop by and take the win by 0.0669 seconds.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: It was then time for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, where Herta took pole with a new track record, and took off in front of Newgarden and Palou, remaining untroubled by a caution and a restart early on. Palou was the first of the frontrunners to pit, undercutting the leaders and running first for the next portion of the race. Palou was once again the first to pit a second time, but when Herta pushed on his inlap, he crashed into the wall at turn 9. The stewards delayed the caution, so Newgarden was able to pit before the pitlane closed, but Palou was not able to overtake him with warmed up tires as the caution was then thrown when Simon Pagenaud also went off track. At the restart, Marcus Ericsson spun, allowing Romain Grosjean into third. The latter then overtook Palou, but Newgarden held on to claim the second win in a row and with it also the championship lead.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was round four of the season, and it began with VeeKay taking pole position and he led ahead of Pato O'Ward, while McLaughlin overtook Palou for third. The field split strategies, with some coming in early and committing to a three-stop, and some staying out to try and run the race with two stops. However, when Callum Ilott beached his car shortly after the two-stoppers had pitted, he brought out a caution, effectively eliminating any advantages of a three-stop strategy. The leading trio stopped a second time, on the same lap, and a quick pitstop brought O'Ward very close to VeeKay, enabling him to take the lead into turn 5. Dixon stopped one lap later and managed to overtake McLaughlin for third, with Palou repeating this effort for second place one lap later. VeeKay was later able to regain third place, but O'Ward could not be stopped. Palou's second place was enough to hand him the championship lead, while Newgarden, who was 14th in the end, dropped to third.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: IndyCar then went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the GMR Grand Prix up first, arount the road course. Power led from pole on a damp track, getting passed by both Palou and Newgarden into turn 1, and Rosenqvist after running wide later in the lap. Herta and Sato were the first to pit for dry tires on lap 3, and the former was in the lead of the race by the time the caution came out for a spinning Palou. Herta and O'Ward remained first and second all throughout the next two cautions and restarts, before Rosenqvist jumped his teammate after the second round of stops. Those two then came together on the next restart, immediately bringing out the fifth caution. Two more followed, and by then the rain had started to fall again. Some drivers still elected to stay on slicks, but the track became wet very fast. Herta, Pagenaud and Power had pitted for rain tires at the right time, and led the race as Juan Pablo Montoya hit the wall and the race ended under the eighth and last caution.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The Month of May concluded with the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Dixon won his fifth Indy 500 pole, ahead of Palou and VeeKay. The two CGR teammates repeatedly swapped the lead, reducing their fuel consumption. This continued through the first round of pitstops, through VeeKay crashing out of third, and until Ilott also crashed out while the second round of stops was underway. Palou had to stop under yellow and dropped back. This phase propelled Conor Daly and O'Ward to the front behind Dixon. Through the next two rounds of stops O'Ward, Daly and Rosenqvist all led portions of the race, but Dixon always came back to grab the lead again. He looked to have the win secured, before being sent to the back with a speeding penalty when coming in for his final stop. Marcus Ericsson, who ran with the top group all race, passed O'Ward for the lead shortly before a red flag came out when Jimmie Johnson crashed. Ericsson held the lead on the restart and won, ahead of O'Ward and Tony Kanaan.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The season continued with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, where Newgarden led from pole and easily pulled away in the first portion of the race. The primary tire clearly was the tire to be on, with the primary runners all moving up in the early stages of the race. Power, Dixon and Palou all passed Newgarden to form the lead trio. Power had a five second lead by the time he pitted on his second set of primaries, and he was able to build the gap even further as the other two chose to pit to the alternate tire. Alexander Rossi, who had started on alternates, had already pitted on lap three, so was free to run primaries to the end. He used this advantage to slice through the field and was in second place by the time Power had to pit to make his mandatory run on the alternate tires. Rossi gained on the leader every lap, but in a grandstand finish, Power managed to hold off Rossi and won by just over a second, Dixon in a rather distant third place.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: At the next race, the Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America, Rossi continued his pace from Detroit to set pole position. The top three of him, Newgarden and Palou maintained position at the start, before the latter was hit by Ericsson on an early restart and had to retire. After two further restarts, the lead pair came into the pits, where Newgarden was able to overtake Rossi and come out ahead of him. The group was shuffled back to the front as the off-strategy runners came to pit lane, but by then Newgarden already had a gap of six seconds to Rossi. This continued over two rounds of pitstops and until the late stages of the race, when two cautions for O'Ward and then for Castroneves set up a three-lap shootout for the race win. But Newgarden got a good restart, pulled away from Rossi and secured the win, while Rossi was himself overtaken by Ericsson. Newgarden's third win promoted him to third in the standings, 32 points behind Indy 500 winner Ericsson.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Three weeks later, O'Ward claimed pole for the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and was able to keep McLaughlin behind him at the start. Rosenqvist got third from Herta, only for his car breaking down a few laps later. Dixon overtook Herta on the subsequent restart, and when it was time for pitstops, McLaughlin was able to move past O'Ward in pitlane. Palou, who had stopped four laps earlier, used the undercut to come out in second place. O'Ward's car then also had to fight an engine issue, which saw him drop out of contention, making way for VeeKay to become third. McLaughlin and Palou remained the leading duo, while Power, who spun at the start of the race, had risen from 27th to fourth, and then made quick work of VeeKay in third. In the final stages of the race, Palou amped up the pressure on the leader, but McLaughin remained faultless and held the lead to win the race. Power's charge to third helped him to close up to 20 points behind championship leader Ericsson.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Next up was IndyCar's long awaited return to Canada, for the Honda Indy Toronto, where Herta became the first driver to score more than one pole in 2022. He and Dixon held the front row at the start, before an early caution for Sato halted proceedings. Soon after, the leaders came to pit lane: Herta stopped a lap later than Dixon, who came out ahead in net first place. Newgarden in third place was trying to save fuel, holding up Rossi and Rosenqvist behind him. When the latter made a move to pass Rossi, he slid wide in turn 3, hitting the Andretti car that then crashed into the barrier. As drivers hurried into the narrow pitlane, Newgarden had a horribly slow stop, demoting him to eleventh. Up front, Herta could not use the restart nor the two cautions that followed to find a way past Dixon, and was more cautious in the final stages to not let Rosenqvist past him. Dixon took his 52nd win, drawing level with Mario Andretti in second place on the all-time IndyCar winners list.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Then came the third oval track of the year, a double-header starting with Power claiming a double pole position. He led the Hy-VeeDeals.com 250 presented by DoorDash to green ahead of Newgarden. The order at the front remained the same until a yellow was thrown for a spinning Johnson, and Newgarden overtook Power on the restart. He then built a gap to the field, untroubled by cautions, restarts and the strategic decisions of drivers behind him. Ericsson, Herta and O'Ward all managed to slice through the field during different stints, but only Ericsson managed to come close to Newgarden: The two made wheel-to-wheel contact on a restart, but Newgarden defended the attack. In the final stages of the race, when other drivers struggled with their old tires, Newgarden did not seem to have such problems: He pulled an even bigger gap and won over six seconds ahead of O'Ward and Power. This result sent him into second in the standings, now a mere 15 points behind Ericsson.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: A day later, the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google saw the same front row as the first race, and it started much the same: Power held the lead at the start, but this time he remained in the lead for slightly longer, with Newgarden passing him on lap 85. The race was caution-free until lap 120, when Kirkwood hit the wall. The leading quartet all pitted, their order remaining the same, before O'Ward in third then set off to try and pass Power. His attempts were fruitless, however, so he had to rely on pitting a lap earlier than Power and making the undercut work, which he did by the two-third mark of the race. Newgarden was in a world of his own once again and looked set to win a second race in as many days, before his right rear suspension suddenly failed on lap 235, sending him hard into the barriers. This meant O'Ward was in prime position to take the win, and he did so faultlessly, gapping Power at the restart and never looking back. McLaughlin was third after overtaking Dixon at the final restart.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: IndyCar returned to Indianapolis to hold the Gallagher Grand Prix in late July. Rosenqvist took pole and led Rossi, while Newgarden jumped from fifth to third at the start, before having to give those back because he breached track limits. Herta then got past the leading duo, before Rossi followed him through to form an Andretti 1-2. In third was rookie Christian Lundgaard. This order remained unchanged until after the first round of pitstops, when Herta suffered a transmission issue that forced him to retire from the lead. This left Rossi in the lead and promoted Power into a podium position. Rossi was attacked by Lundgaard in the latter stages of the race, but remained first. The same happened with Power in third, getting attacked by McLaughlin but managing to defend his podium. Rossi scored his first win in three years, and Lundgaard scored his maiden series podium. Power's podium allowed him to take the championship lead by nine points.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Just a week later, it was time for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. The weather was an issue all weekend: McLaughlin scored pole in a qualifying delayed by 90 minutes, and then converted pole into the lead in a race delayed by over 100 minutes. Grosjean was second and Palou pitted from third, shortly before a caution came out, which left him in front when the rest of the runners then also came in. On the restart, the tight section around turn 6 caused a multi-car crash that eliminated O'Ward, Rahal, Dalton Kellett and Simona de Silvestro. More collisions followed, and by the time the next caution was resolved, Palou led from Pagenaud and McLaughlin. Another caution came, at an extremely fortunate time for Dixon: He came through all the chaos left in second place, only behind Newgarden who had to make another stop. A late red flag made Dixon's race less straightforward, but he held on to win the race, beating McLaughlin and Palou. This also promoted Dixon to second in the championship, six points behind Power.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The last oval race of the season was next up. Power took pole for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 and once again weather played a part: This time, the race start was brought forward and Power led ahead of Ericsson and Newgarden. Teams were trying to stretch out the stints in expectation of a rain-shortened race. Ericsson dropped back after his first stop, allowing McLaughlin and O'Ward through. Shortly after the second round of stops, a caution came out, with some drivers staying out to gamble on the race being stopped. That stoppage only came on lap 217, though, too late to gain anything from this gamble. The race was restarted over two hours later, McLaughlin leading Newgarden and O'Ward. Malukas restarted in fifth and was flying on fresh tires, quickly dispersing fourth and third. Meanwhile, Newgarden had taken the lead from McLaughlin, who was then overtaken by Malukas for second on the last lap of the race. Newgarden's win moved him just three points behind Power in the championship.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: Seven drivers were still in championship contention heading into the penultimate round, and McLaughlin took pole for the Grand Prix of Portland. He was untroubled at the start, while Lundgaard got by Power into second. This order remained until the first pitstops, when Power had a strong outlap and Lundgaard a slight delay in pitlane, so the pair changed positions. On the next round of stops, Lundgaard once again lost out, this time to O'Ward. On their last stop, the leading group remained the same order. A caution was then thrown for Johnson crashing out, and O'Ward tried to pass Power on the restart. This attempt failed, he lost momentum and dropped back behind Dixon, who started 16th, was sixth by the restart and used it to climb into third. Power did not try any aggressive moves on McLaughlin, instead being content to finish behind him in second, thereby extending his championship lead. O'Ward's fourth place and Palou's twelfth place eliminated them from championship contention.


title: 2022 IndyCar Series

text: The closest championship fight since 2003 concluded at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. Five drivers were in title contention, and championship leader Power won pole position while his rivals struggled in qualifying. Ilott started second and dropped back at the start, allowing Rossi and O'Ward through. Behind them, Newgarden started 25th and immediately started climbing the ranks. He had started on alternate tires and elected to run long, ending up just behind Power, who had already stopped. Palou, who had pitted on fresh red tires, had the most pace through that stage and soon found himself leading. A caution came out in the second half of the race, bunching the field back up and committing Newgarden to push flatout and then stop once more. He pulled away and ended up second after his final stop, with Power just behind him and Palou in front, who was unstoppable all race and claimed the win and fifth in the standings. Power stayed third, knowing this was enough to secure his second IndyCar championship, while Newgarden's second place secured him the runner-up championship spot.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as "Demolition Man" (1993), "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), and "The River Wild" (1994). From 1995 to 1999, he starred as New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective Rey Curtis on the NBC drama series "Law & Order."


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In the 2000s, Bratt appeared in "Miss Congeniality" (2000), "Traffic" (2000), "Piñero" (2001), "Catwoman" (2004), and "Trucker" (2008), "Despicable Me 2" (2013), "Snitch" (2013), "Coco" (2017), among other films. On television, Bratt has portrayed Dr. Jake Reilly on ABC's "Private Practice" (2011–2013), Steve Navarro on "" (2014), and Jahil Rivera on "Star" (2016–2018). He has also done voice acting in animated feature films.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt produced the film "Dolores" (2017), which explores the life of Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist. The film received critical acclaim and several awards.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt has received a Screen Actors Guild Award and been nominated for two others. He has received four ALMA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. He is an activist in the American Indian Movement.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt was born on December 16, 1963, in San Francisco, California, the third of five children of Eldy (née Banda), a nurse and political activist, and Peter Bratt Sr., a sheet metal worker. His mother was born in Lima, Peru, and is of Quechua descent. She moved to the United States with her family at age 14. His father is an American of German and English ancestry. Bratt's paternal grandfather, George, was a Broadway actor.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: An activist for Native American rights, his mother took Bratt (age 6) and her other children to participate in the 1969 Native American occupation of Alcatraz. Led by young people from San Francisco, it raised national awareness of issues facing Native Americans, and attracted participants from across the country. Bratt attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, where he was a member of the Lowell Forensic Society. Bratt earned a B.F.A. at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1986, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he left before receiving his degree in order to star in the 1987 television film "Juarez".


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: He started his professional acting career at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, where he starred in the television film "Juarez" (1987). This received much critical acclaim, and he landed a supporting role in the television film "Police Story: Gladiator School" (1988). Also, he played his first film role as Esteban in "Lovers, Partners & Spies" (1988), which did not perform well at the box office. Bratt worked extensively in television, with roles in the "Knightwatch" and "Nasty Boys" series. In 1989, he starred in the film "Nasty Boys", based on the television series.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: After several low-budget films and television films, including "One Good Cop" and "Shadowhunter", in 1993, Bratt appeared in two Hollywood films. He portrayed a gang member turned LAPD officer named Paco Aguilar in "Blood In, Blood Out", and Officer Alfredo Garcia from the year 2032 in "Demolition Man".


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: The following year, he played supporting roles in the popular films of "The River Wild", "Clear and Present Danger", and "James A. Michener's Texas."


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Returning to television, he played Detective Reynaldo Curtis in the popular series "Law & Order" replacing Chris Noth, which gained him international recognition. Bratt appeared in 95 episodes over 5 seasons, 14 years, and 2 stints on the NBC show. For his role, in 1999 he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 1998 and 1999 he received ALMA awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series from American Latino Media Arts for this role on "Law & Order".


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 1999, Bratt decided to leave "Law & Order". "I've felt like it was time to get back home to my family," Bratt said, "How do you walk away from the best job in the world and a group of people that you've grown to love? It's not easy, and it was an extremely difficult decision that I had to make." On May 26, 1999, Bratt's final episode was aired. In 2009, Bratt returned as the now-retired Curtis on "Law & Order", where he was reunited with his former boss, Lt. Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson), in the episode that aired on December 11, 2009. He returned to his film career that same year.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 2000, Bratt co-starred with Madonna and Rupert Everett in "The Next Best Thing". That same year, he played opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy "Miss Congeniality" and had a small role in the ensemble work "Traffic", which included Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle and Catherine Zeta-Jones. In 2004, the actor co-starred in "Catwoman" with Halle Berry and Sharon Stone. Bratt often portrays Hispanic characters, especially in his later work. Bratt said, "I've played 'Latin-looking spiv, third from the right so many times I can't count." In 2001, he starred in the biopic film "Piñero", for which he received an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor. He played Puerto Rican actor and poet Miguel Piñero.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: He produced the 2009 film "La Mission", directed by his brother, Peter Bratt. Peter Bratt also directed "Follow Me Home", which Bratt produced and starred in.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 2017, Bratt served as a Consulting Producer for the documentary film "Dolores", directed by Peter Bratt; they supported the American Indian Movement. The film received critical acclaim and many awards. In 2009, Bratt performed in "The People Speak", a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." Bratt was passionate about his opportunity to play a Tlicho Indian in the film "The Lesser Blessed", which he valued because of his own Native background.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt has appeared in several television shows since 2000, including starring as Jahil Rivera on "Star" and William Banks in "The Cleaner". He played Dr. Jake Reilly in 36 episodes of "Private Practice". He also appeared in such notable series as "Frasier," "" and E-Ring. Bratt appeared in "" and "" as Rey Curtis, his role in "Law & Order". His later popular films include "The Woodsman", "Snitch, Trucker, Thumbsucker, The Great Raid, Ride Along 2," and "The Infiltrator."


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt has featured in five animated feature films, which include El Macho, the main antagonist, in "Despicable Me 2". He played Manny the cameraman in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and reprised his role in "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2". Also, in 2015, he voiced Superman in "." In the 2017 film "Coco", Bratt voiced Ernesto de la Cruz, the main antagonist who was a Mexican folk legend and main character Miguel's idol. Bratt sings "Remember Me", a popular song in the film that is sung by many other characters throughout. "Remember Me" won Best Original Song at the 2018 Academy Awards; "Coco" won Best Animated Feature.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 2016, Bratt played Jonathan Pangborn, a former paraplegic who uses magic to regain the full use of his body, in "Doctor Strange". Bratt starred opposite Nicolas Cage in the 2019 action-thriller film "A Score to Settle", directed by Shawn Ku.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: He has been active in the American Indian Movement and supports such causes as the American Indian College Fund.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: He narrated "We Shall Remain" (2009), a PBS mini-series about Native Americans, and part of its "American Experience".


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Bratt has for years supported and served as a board member of the San Francisco Bay Area's Friendship House Association of American Indians and the Native American Health Center. Bratt also has supported area organizations such as the Tribal Athletics Program, and United Indian Nations.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 2002, he and Priscilla López received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 1998, Bratt began dating actress Julia Roberts. In 2001, they announced they were no longer a couple.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: In 2002, he began dating actress and former Bond girl Talisa Soto; they married on April 13 in San Francisco. The two had met ten years earlier during a casting audition. During the filming of "Piñero" (2001) they began to develop a relationship. Their first child, daughter Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, was born on December 6, 2002; their second child, son Mateo Bravery Bratt, was born on October 3, 2005.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: His brother, Peter Bratt, wrote and directed the film "Follow Me Home" (1996), featuring Benjamin as Abel.


title: Benjamin Bratt

text: Additionally, Peter wrote and directed the independent film "La Mission" (2009), starring Benjamin as Che Rivera, an inhabitant of the Mission District.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. They play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football.


title: Watford F.C.

text: The club’s original foundation is 1881, aligned with that of its antecedent, Watford Rovers, and was established as Watford Football Club in 1898. After finishing the 1914–15 season as Southern League champions under the management of Harry Kent, Watford joined the Football League in 1920. The team played at several grounds in their early history, including what is now West Herts Sports Club, before moving to Vicarage Road in 1922. They have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Luton Town.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Graham Taylor's tenure as manager at the club between 1977 and 1987 saw Watford rise from the fourth tier to the first. The team finished second in the First Division in 1982–83, competed in the UEFA Cup in 1983–84, and reached the 1984 FA Cup Final. Watford declined between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as manager, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division to the Premier League for one season in 1999–2000. The club played again in the highest tier in 2006–07 under Aidy Boothroyd's management, and then again from 2015 to 2020, reaching the 2019 FA Cup Final, their second FA Cup final, but losing to a record-equalling 6–0 score line. In April 2021, Watford were promoted back into the Premier League having spent just one season in the Championship, but were relegated back to the Championship in May 2022.


title: Watford F.C.

text: The origins of the club can be traced back to 1881 when Watford Rovers were formed by Henry Grover, who went on to play for the club as a full back. Rovers, originally composed entirely of amateur players, held home games at several locations in the town of Watford. The team first competed in the FA Cup in the 1886–87 season, and in 1889 Watford won the County Cup for the first time. The team became the football section of "West Hertfordshire Club and Ground" in 1891, and consequently moved to a ground on Cassio Road. In 1893 Watford Rovers changed their name to "West Herts" and in 1896 they joined the Southern Football League. West Herts fortunes slumped at the start of the 1897–98 season and attendances were less than 200. They took the bold step of turning professional and their fortunes revived. Watford St. Mary's were runners up in the Hertfordshire Senior Cup of 1894–95 and attracted crowds of 400 to 500 even when West Herts were at home. The two clubs talked of an amalgamation, which ultimately occurred on 15 April 1898. This was reported by the "Watford Observer" of 7 May 1898. It was agreed that the two clubs should complete their remaining fixtures for the season. The new club was named Watford Football Club.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Following relegation to the Southern League Second Division in 1903, Watford appointed its first manager – former England international and First Division top scorer John Goodall. He led Watford to promotion, and kept the team in the division until his departure in 1910. Despite financial constraints, Watford won the Southern League title in the 1914–15 season under his successor, Harry Kent. Watford held the title for five years following the suspension of the Southern League during the First World War – after finishing the 1919–20 season runners-up on goal average, the club resigned from the Southern League to join the new Football League Third Division.


title: Watford F.C.

text: From 1921–22, the third tier of The Football League consisted of two parallel sections of 22 clubs, fighting both for promotion to the Second Division and also battling to hold on to their league status. There was a re-election system in place which meant the bottom two teams in each of the two divisions had to apply for re-election to the league. Watford finished outside the top six league positions in every season between 1922 and 1934. Following Kent's departure in 1926, they finished 21st out of 22 clubs in 1926–27, but were unanimously re-elected to the league after a ballot of clubs in the top two divisions of The Football League. By contrast, under Neil McBain and subsequently Bill Findlay, the team recorded five consecutive top six finishes between 1934–35 and 1938–39, and won the Football League Third Division South Cup in 1937. The Football League was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Football resumed in 1946, with Watford still in the Third Division South. A 23rd-placed finish in 1950–51 meant that the club had to apply for re-election to the league once more, but again teams in the First and Second Divisions unanimously voted for Watford to stay in the league. McBain returned in 1956, and the team remained in the division until 1958; the league was restructured into four national divisions for the 1958–59 season, and Watford were placed in the Fourth Division. Ron Burgess replaced McBain during that season, and in the following campaign Burgess presided over Watford's first Football League promotion. This team included Fourth Division top scorer Cliff Holton, who scored a club record 42 league goals in the season. Holton was sold to Northampton the following year after another 34 goals, to the anger of supporters. Burgess was succeeded by Bill McGarry, who bought new players such as Charlie Livesey and Ron Saunders, and in his only season at the club led the club to what was at the time its highest ever league position: third in the Third Division. Eighteen-year-old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings also featured under McGarry, and made his international debut despite being a Third Division player.


title: Watford F.C.

text: McGarry joined Ipswich in 1964, and was replaced by player-manager Ken Furphy, from Workington Furphy rebuilt the team around players such as Keith Eddy and Dennis Bond, but after holding Liverpool to a draw in the FA Cup and narrowly failing to win promotion in 1966–67, Bond was sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £30,000, Watford's record transfer receipt at the time. Furphy's rebuilding came to fruition in 1969 with the signing of Barry Endean, whose arrival marked the start of an unbeaten run after Christmas. Watford secured the Third Division title in April, at home to Plymouth Argyle. A year later Watford reached the FA Cup semi-final for the first time, defeating First Division teams Stoke City and Liverpool along the way. Hampered by a lack of funds, however, Furphy eventually joined Blackburn Rovers, to be succeeded by George Kirby. Forced to sell players to survive, Watford fell back into the Third Division in 1972. The team continued to struggle in the third tier, and despite a managerial change, Watford were relegated again in 1975.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Lifelong Watford supporter Elton John became club chairman in 1976. The singer declared an ambition to take the team into the First Division, and sacked Kirby's successor Mike Keen in April 1977. When Graham Taylor was named as Keen's successor, the club was still in the Fourth Division. Taylor achieved promotion in his first season; Watford won the Fourth Division title, recording the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division. Promotion to the Second Division followed in 1978–79, and Ross Jenkins finished the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals. Watford consolidated with 18th and 9th-placed finishes over the following two seasons, and secured promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1981–82, finishing second behind rivals Luton Town.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford started the 1982–83 season with four league wins from the opening five fixtures; in the space of seven years, the club had climbed from bottom place in the lowest division of The Football League to top position in the highest division. Watford were unable to maintain a title challenge, but eventually finished the season second behind Liverpool, which ensured UEFA Cup qualification for the following season. Luther Blissett finished the season as the First Division top scorer, before signing for Italian Serie A side Milan for £1 million at the end of the season. An FA Cup Final appearance followed in the 1984 fixture, where they lost to Everton. After guiding Watford to a ninth-place finish in 1986–87, Taylor left the club to manage Aston Villa.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Following Taylor's departure, Wimbledon manager Dave Bassett was appointed as his replacement, and England winger John Barnes was sold to Liverpool. After 4 wins from his opening 23 league fixtures, Bassett was sacked in January 1988. Watford were bottom of the First Division at the time of his departure, and Steve Harrison could not prevent relegation at the end of the season. In 1988–89, Harrison's Watford failed to return to the First Division, after defeat in the Second Division play-offs. The under-18 team won the FA Youth Cup, beating Manchester City 2–1 after extra time, with future England international David James in goal for the Hornets. Harrison departed in 1990, and over the next few years, the closest Watford came to promotion was a seventh-placed finish in Division One in the 1994–95 season. However, in the following season – Glenn Roeder's third as manager – Watford struggled. Despite the return of Graham Taylor as caretaker manager in February 1996, the club was relegated to Division Two.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Following the relegation, Taylor became director of football, with former Watford midfielder Kenny Jackett as manager. After a mid-table finish in Division Two in 1996–97, Jackett was demoted to the position of assistant manager. Taylor returned as manager, and won the Second Division title in 1997–98 – Watford's second league title under his management. A second successive promotion followed in 1998–99, thanks to a 2–0 play-off final victory over Bolton Wanderers. Watford's first Premiership season started with an early victory over Liverpool, but Watford's form soon faded, and the club were relegated after finishing bottom. Graham Taylor retired at the end of the 2000–01 season, and was replaced by Gianluca Vialli. Wage bills at the club rose by £4 million during Vialli's tenure, and the club finished 14th in the division in 2001–02. Vialli was sacked at the end of the season, following a dispute with the club's board over the wage bill. He was replaced by Ray Lewington, who had joined the club the previous summer as Vialli's reserve team manager.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford's weak financial position was exposed in 2002–03, following the collapse of ITV Digital. The club was facing administration, but an agreement by players and staff to a 12% wage deferral helped the club's cash flow, and a run to the FA Cup semi-final generated vital revenue. Financial constraints saw a large number of players released that summer. After consolidating in 2003–04, the following season started well, with the club in the upper half of the Championship at the end of September. Poor form, however, saw the club drop towards the relegation zone. Despite reaching the semi-final of the League Cup, Watford's league form did not improve, and Lewington was sacked in March 2005. His successor, Aidy Boothroyd, led the club to Championship survival.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford finished third in the league in Boothroyd's first full season, and defeated Leeds United 3–0 in the play-off final to gain promotion to the Premier League. But the team did not record a Premier League win until November, and Ashley Young was sold to Aston Villa for a club record fee of £9.65 million in January 2007. Watford finished bottom after only winning five league games, but did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Boothroyd continued as manager, and spent heavily on players, including a then-club record £3.25 million for Nathan Ellington. Watford led the Championship by several points early in 2007–08, but only finished sixth; Boothroyd's team were defeated 6–1 on aggregate by Hull City in the play-off semi-finals. Boothroyd left the club by mutual consent three months into the 2008–09 season, with Watford 21st in the Championship table.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Under Boothroyd's successor, Brendan Rodgers, Watford finished 13th. Rodgers left to manage Reading at the end of the season; Malky Mackay, who had previously served as caretaker manager, was his replacement. Amid the departures of several key players during Mackay's tenure, including Tommy Smith and Jay DeMerit, and the club coming close to administration, Watford finished 16th in 2009–10 and 14th the following season. Mackay left to manage Cardiff City in June 2011 and was replaced by Sean Dyche. Despite presiding over Watford's highest league position in four years by finishing 11th, Dyche was dismissed as Watford manager in July 2012.


title: Watford F.C.

text: In June 2012, Laurence Bassini completed the sale of the club to the Pozzo family (Gino Pozzo and his father). Following Dyche's sacking, the new owners brought in former Italy international Gianfranco Zola to take charge. In the 2012–13 season Watford finished third in the Championship, and reached the play-off final where they were defeated in the final by Crystal Palace 1–0 via an extra-time penalty by Kevin Phillips. The following season, Giuseppe Sannino replaced Zola, as their new manager and the team finished the season in 13th place. Sannino resigned at the start of the 2014–15 season and was replaced by Óscar García, who left shortly afterwards for "health reasons."


title: Watford F.C.

text: Billy McKinlay replaced him but, despite twinning 4 points out of a possible 6 under his stewardship, after just eight days he too was replaced, by Slaviša Jokanović. With Jokanović managing the team, Watford finished second in the Championship, after being edged out on the final day by champions AFC Bournemouth, and were promoted.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford did not renew Jokanović's contract and he was replaced by the Spaniard Quique Sánchez Flores ahead of the 2015-16 season. Under Sánchez Flores Watford finished 13th in the Premier League, and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, ending Arsenal's bid to win the competition for three successive times, but were beaten 2-1 by Crystal Palace. Near the end of the season, in May 2016, Sánchez Flores and the club enacted a break clause in his contract, he and was replaced by Italian coach Walter Mazzarri who signed a three-year contract. At the end of the next season, in May 2017, Watford finished 17th and Mazzari resigned, replaced by Marco Silva. The new coach was sacked after approximately six months, in January 2018, and the club hired Javi Gracia. In April 2019 Watford came back from 2–0 down to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers to reach the FA Cup Final for the second time in their history, with Gerard Deulofeu scoring twice and Troy Deeney scoring a penalty in the 94th minute to take it to extra time. They met Manchester City in the Final and were defeated 6-0, a joint record margin of victory for an FA Cup Final. In the league Watford finished 11th, with 50 points, both club records for the Premier League era.


title: Watford F.C.

text: After four games of being in charge in the 2019–20 season, Gracia was sacked due to poor form in the league. 30 minutes after he was sacked, former manager Quique Sánchez Flores was again appointed. He survived only until 1 December 2019 after getting only one win since his appointment in September. A caretaker manager was appointed for one game before Nigel Pearson came into management. Watford ended Liverpool's unbeaten run of 44 top-flight games in February 2020, but Pearson was sacked 2 games before the end of the season, and the club were relegated, finishing 19th out of 20.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford finished the 2020-21 Championship season in second place, gaining immediate promotion back to the Premier League, but again finished the following season 19th out of 20 and were relegated back to the Championship.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford's kit has changed considerably over the course of the club's history. The club's kit featured various combinations of red, green and yellow stripes, before a new colour scheme of black and white was adopted for the 1909–10 season. These colours were retained until the 1920s, when the club introduced an all-blue shirt. After a change of colours to gold shirts and black shorts for 1959–60, the team's nickname was changed to The Hornets, after a popular vote via the supporters club. These colours remained until 1976, when Watford's kits started featuring red, and the gold was changed to yellow. That colour scheme has continued into the 21st century.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford's initial nickname was "The Brewers", in reference to the Benskins Brewery, which owned the freehold of Vicarage Road. This nickname did not prove particularly popular, and upon the adoption of a blue-and-white colour scheme in the 1920s, the club became predominantly known as "The Blues". When Watford changed kit colours in 1959, supporters chose "The Hornets" as the team's new nickname, and the club later introduced a crest depicting a hornet. In 1974 the design was changed to depict Harry the Hornet, the club's mascot. The club's nickname remains, but in 1978 the hornet crest was replaced by a depiction of a hart – a male red fallow deer– on a yellow and black background. A hart represents the town's location in the county of Hertfordshire. Until Barnet and, later, Stevenage joined the Football League, Watford were Hertfordshire's only league club. Other nicknames have since been adopted, including "Yellow Army" and "The 'Orns".


title: Watford F.C.

text: Until April 2019, when Watford played at Vicarage Road their players traditionally entered the pitch at the start of the game to the "Z-Cars" theme tune. However, in mid-April 2019 the team changed their entrance song to Elton John's "I'm Still Standing". The club returned to Z Cars as the theme to welcome players to the pitch in August 2019 at the start of the 2019–20 Premier League season, following fan pressure and petitions.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford Rovers played at several grounds in the late 19th century, including Cassiobury Park, Vicarage Meadow and Market Street, Watford. In 1890, the team moved to a site on Cassio Road, and remained there for 32 years, before moving to Watford's current stadium at nearby Vicarage Road in 1922. The new stadium was initially owned by Benskins Brewery; the club rented the ground until 2001, when it purchased the freehold outright. However, the club's financial situation worsened following the purchase, and in 2002 Watford sold the ground for £6 million in a deal which entitled Watford to buy the stadium back for £7 million in future. Watford took up this option in 2004 using a campaign backed and funded by the fans called "Lets buy back the Vic".


title: Watford F.C.

text: Vicarage Road is a four-sided ground with a capacity of 21,577. The East Stand, part of which was constructed in 1922, was closed to the general public in 2008 for health and safety reasons, although it still hosted the dressing rooms and the matchday press area. In November 2013, the East Stand was demolished and in its place a new steel-framed, 3,500-seater stand was constructed. The stand opened fully on Boxing Day 2014 and was named The Elton John Stand after the club's longstanding chairman. The Graham Taylor Stand (previously the Rous Stand), built in 1986, has two tiers and runs the length of the pitch, with the upper section containing the club's corporate hospitality. At either end of the pitch, The Vicarage Road Stand is split between the club's family section and away supporters, while the Rookery Stand is for home supporters only. Both stands were built in the 1990s, financed by proceeds from player sales. In the summer of 2015, The Elton John Stand was revamped in order to accommodate an extra 700 seats. This number was revised a day later to around 1,000 extra seats following the announcement of an expansion in the north-east corner.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Between 1997 and early 2013, Watford shared Vicarage Road with rugby union side Saracens F.C. The stadium has hosted matches for the England under-21s, and senior international football between overseas teams. Elton John has also used Vicarage Road as a venue for concerts: He first played at the stadium in 1974 and returned in 2005 and 2010 to stage fundraising concerts for the club. Former events include horse and carriage shows and greyhound racing.


title: Watford F.C.

text: The Watford Training Ground is located on the University College London Union (UCLU) Shenley Sports grounds in St Albans, Hertfordshire.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford fans maintain a rivalry with those of Luton Town. The two sides met regularly in the Southern League between 1900 and 1920, and continued to do so in The Football League until 1937, when Luton gained promotion from Division Three South. Luton remained in a higher division than Watford until 1963.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Watford and Luton met sporadically. Despite this, the rivalry grew in significance, particularly following an ill-tempered match between the sides in 1969, in which three players were sent off. Both sides won promotion to the First Division in the 1981–82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford. They were also relegated together from the new Division 1 in 1995–96, with Watford finishing 23rd ahead of bottom-placed Luton. Watford's promotion from Division 2 in 1997–98 meant that the two sides did not meet again until Luton won promotion to the Championship for the 2005–06 season. The only meeting between those seasons – a League Cup tie in the 2002–03 season – was marred by violence inside Vicarage Road.


title: Watford F.C.

text: On 2 January 2006, Watford won 2–1 at Kenilworth Road in the Championship, followed by a 1–1 draw between the sides, on 9 April 2006, a point that secured Watford's place in the 2006 Championship play-offs, from which they eventually won promotion to the Premier League for the second time, beating Leeds United 3–0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Over a fourteen-season span, Watford have played in a higher division than Luton between 2006–07 and the 2019–20 season, with Luton dropping out of the football league altogether for six seasons between 2009–10 and 2014–15.


title: Watford F.C.

text: The rivalry between the two clubs resumed in the 2020–21 season. On 26 September 2020, Watford won the first league match of the season between the two clubs 1–0 at Vicarage Road. On 17 April 2021 in the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road, Luton won 1–0, so the spoils for the season were shared. With Watford's promotion back to the Premier League for season 2021–22, the rivalry did not commence that year; although it is set to resume for the 2022-23 season after Watford's immediate relegation from the Premier League, whilst Luton remained in the Championship.


title: Watford F.C.

text: The head-to-head record between the clubs, in competitions which currently exist, stands at Luton 39 wins, Watford 27 wins, with 23 draws. Watford have remained the higher ranked team at the end of every season since 1997 (and for 28 of the last 29 seasons, with only 1996–97 seeing Luton finish higher in the league than Watford) whilst Luton still have a many more years in a higher league throughout both teams history.


title: Watford F.C.

text: Watford's team was selected by committee until 1903, when former England international John Goodall was appointed player-manager. The impact was immediate, as Watford secured promotion to the Southern League First Division in 1903–04. Goodall retired as a player in 1907, and left the club in 1910. He was replaced by his former captain, Harry Kent, who become known for his financial management of the club; under Kent, Watford frequently made a profit in the transfer market. Kent led the club to the Southern League title in 1914–15, and missed out on a second title in 1919–20 on goal average, before resigning in 1926. His three immediate successors – Fred Pagnam, Neil McBain and Bill Findlay – all played for Watford before and during the early part of their managerial tenures. None were able to lead the team to promotion from the Third Division South, although Findlay did lead Watford to a Third Division South Cup win in 1937.