Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S., it is the 7th-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more. The state's capital is Columbus. The Anglicized name "Ohio" comes from the Iroquois word ''ohi-yo’'', meaning 'great river'. The state, originally partitioned from the Northwest Territory, was admitted to the Union as the 17th state (and the first under the Northwest Ordinance) on March 1, 1803. Although there are conflicting narratives regarding the origin of the nickname, Ohio is historically known as the "Buckeye State" (relating to the Ohio buckeye tree) and Ohioans are also known as "Buckeyes."

The government of Ohio is composed of the executive branch, led by the Governor; the legislative branch, which comprises the Ohio General Assembly; and the judicial branch, which is led by the Supreme Court. Currently, Ohio occupies 18 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections.

Geography

Ohio's geographic location has proven to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo and business traffic passes through its borders along its well-developed highways. Ohio has the nation's 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North America's population and 70% of North America's manufacturing capacity. To the north, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles (502 km) of coastline, which allows for numerous seaports. Ohio's southern border is defined by the Ohio River (with the border being at the 1793 low-water mark on the north side of the river), and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. Ohio's neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario Canada, to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, and West Virginia on the southeast. Ohio's borders were defined by metes and bounds in the Enabling Act of 1802 as follows: Note that Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, based on the wording of the cessation of territory by Virginia (which, at that time included what is now Kentucky and West Virginia), the boundary between Ohio and Kentucky (and by implication, West Virginia) is the northern low-water mark of the river as it existed in 1792. Ohio has only that portion of the river between the river's 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark.

The border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of the Toledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River.

Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with an exceptionally flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. This glaciated region in the northwest and central state is bordered to the east and southeast first by a belt known as the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and then by another belt known as the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills and forests.

The rugged southeastern quadrant of Ohio, stretching in an outward bow-like arc along the Ohio River from the West Virginia Panhandle to the outskirts of Cincinnati, forms a distinct socio-economic unit. Geologically similar to parts of West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state. In 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, at attempt to "address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region." This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia. While 1/3 of Ohio's land mass is part of the federally defined Appalachian region, only 12.8% of Ohioans live there (1.476 million people.) Significant rivers within the state include the Cuyahoga River, Great Miami River, Maumee River, Muskingum River, and Scioto River. The rivers in the northern part of the state drain into the northern Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River, and the rivers in the southern part of the state drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio River and then the Mississippi.

The worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the entire Miami River watershed flooded, including the downtown business district of Dayton. As a result, the Miami Conservancy District was created as the first major flood plain engineering project in Ohio and the United States.

Grand Lake St. Marys in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the canal-building era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles (52 km²), was the largest artificial lake in the world. It should be noted that Ohio's canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their industrial emergence to location on canals, and as late as 1910 interior canals carried much of the bulk freight of the state.

Climate

The climate of Ohio is a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification ''Dfa'') throughout most of the state except in the extreme southern counties of Ohio's Bluegrass region section which are located on the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate and Upland South region of the United States. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold. Precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round. Severe weather is not uncommon in the state, although there are typically fewer tornado reports in Ohio than in states located in what is known as the Tornado Alley. Severe lake effect snowstorms are also not uncommon on the southeast shore of Lake Erie, which is located in an area designated as the Snowbelt.

Although predominantly not in a subtropical climate, some warmer-climate flora and fauna does reach well into Ohio. For instance, a number of trees with more southern ranges, such as the blackjack oak, ''Quercus marilandica'', are found at their northernmost in Ohio just north of the Ohio River. Also evidencing this climatic transition from a subtropical to continental climate, several plants such as the Southern magnolia ''(Magnolia grandiflora)'', Albizia julibrissin (mimosa), Crape Myrtle, and even the occasional Needle Palm are hardy landscape materials regularly used as street, yard, and garden plantings in the Bluegrass region of Ohio; but these same plants will simply not thrive in much of the rest of the State. This interesting change may be observed while traveling through Ohio on Interstate 75 from Cincinnati to Toledo; the observant traveler of this diverse state may even catch a glimpse of Cincinnati's common wall lizard, one of the few examples of permanent "subtropical" fauna in Ohio.

Records

The highest recorded temperature was 113 °F (45 °C), near Gallipolis on July 21, 1934. The lowest recorded temperature was -39 °F (-39 °C), at Milligan on February 10, 1899.

Earthquakes

Although few have registered as noticeable to the average citizen, more than 30 earthquakes occurred in Ohio between 2002 and 2007, and more than 200 quakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher have occurred since 1776.

The most substantial known earthquake in Ohio history was the Anna (Shelby County) earthquake, which occurred on March 9, 1937. It was centered in western Ohio, and had a magnitude of 5.4, and was of intensity VIII.

Other significant earthquakes in Ohio include: one of magnitude 4.8 near Lima on September 19, 1884; one of magnitude 4.2 near Portsmouth on May 17, 1901; and one of 5.0 in LeRoy Township in Lake County on January 31, 1986, which continued to trigger 13 aftershocks of magnitude 0.5 to 2.4 for two months.

The most recent earthquake in Ohio of any appreciable magnitude occurred on January 8, 2008, at 8:34:46 PM local time. It had a magnitude of 3.1, and its epicenter was under Lake Erie, northeast of Cleveland, approximately west of Mentor-on-the-Lake.

The Ohio Seismic Network (OhioSeis), a group of seismograph stations at several colleges, universities, and other institutions, and coordinated by the Division of Geological Survey of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, maintains an extensive catalog of Ohio earthquakes from 1776 to the present day, as well as earthquakes located in other states whose effects were felt in Ohio.

^{Superscript text}===Major cities=== !2010 Metro Population |- | style="text-align:left;"|1 | style="text-align:left;"|Columbus |787,033 |1,836,540 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2 | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |396,815 |2,077,240 |- | style="text-align:left;"|3 | style="text-align:left;"|Cincinnati |296,943 |2,130,151 |- | style="text-align:left;"|4 | style="text-align:left;"|Toledo |287,208 |651,429 |- | style="text-align:left;"|5 | style="text-align:left;"|Akron |199,110 |703,200 |- | style="text-align:left;"|6 | style="text-align:left;"|Dayton |141,527 |841,502 |- | style="text-align:left;"|7 | style="text-align:left;"|Parma |81,601 |¹ |- | style="text-align:left;"|8 | style="text-align:left;"|Canton |73,007 |404,422 |- | style="text-align:left;"|9 | style="text-align:left;"|Youngstown |66,982 |565,773 |- | style="text-align:left;"|10 | style="text-align:left;"|Lorain |64,097 |¹ |- | style="text-align:left;"|11 | style="text-align:left;"|Hamilton |62,477 |² |- | style="text-align:left;"|12 | style="text-align:left;"|Springfield |60,608 |133,333 |- | style="text-align:left;"|13 | style="text-align:left;"|Kettering |56,163 |⁴ |- | style="text-align:left;"|14 | style="text-align:left;"|Elyria |54,533 |¹ |- | style="text-align:left;"|15 | style="text-align:left;"|Lakewood |52,131 |¹ |- | style="text-align:left;"|16 | style="text-align:left;"|Cuyahoga Falls |49,652 |⁵ |- | style="text-align:left;"|17 | style="text-align:left;"|Euclid |48,920 |¹ |- | style="text-align:left;"|18 | style="text-align:left;"|Middletown |48,694 |² |- | style="text-align:left;"|19 | style="text-align:left;"|Mansfield |47,821 |124,475 |- | style="text-align:left;"|20 | style="text-align:left;"|Newark |47,573 |³ |- | colspan = 4|

¹''Cleveland Metro'', ²''Cincinnati Metro'', ³''Columbus Metro'', ⁴''Dayton Metro'', ⁵''Akron Metro'' |}

Columbus (home of The Ohio State University, Franklin University, Capital University, and Ohio Dominican University) is the capital of Ohio, near the geographic center of the state.

Other Ohio cities functioning as centers of United States metropolitan areas include: :*Akron (home of University of Akron and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company) :*Canton (home of Pro Football Hall of Fame, Malone University, and The Timken Company) :*Cincinnati (home of University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Macy's Inc., Chiquita Brands International, and Fifth Third Bank) :*Cleveland (home of Cleveland State University, Playhouse Square Center, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Orchestra, Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Forest City Enterprises, and University Hospitals) :*Dayton (home of University of Dayton, Dayton Ballet, Wright State University, Premier Health Partners, and National Museum of the United States Air Force) :*Lima (home of University of Northwestern Ohio) :*Mansfield (home of North Central State College and Mansfield Motorsports Park) :*Sandusky (home of Cedar Point, and Kalahari Resort and Convention Center) :*Springfield (home of Wittenberg University) :*Steubenville (home of Franciscan University of Steubenville) :*Toledo (home of The University of Toledo, The Toledo Museum of Art, and Owens-Illinois) :*Youngstown (home of Youngstown State University and Butler Institute of American Art).

Note: The Cincinnati metropolitan area extends into Kentucky and Indiana, the Steubenville metropolitan area extends into West Virginia, and the Youngstown metropolitan area extends into Pennsylvania.

Ohio cities that function as centers of United States micropolitan areas include: :*Ashland (home of Ashland University) :*Ashtabula :*Athens (home of Ohio University) :*Bellefontaine :*Bucyrus :*Cambridge :*Celina :*Chillicothe (home of Ohio University-Chillicothe) :*Coshocton :*Defiance (home of Defiance College) :*East Liverpool-Salem :*Findlay (home of The University of Findlay) :*Fremont :*Greenville :*Marion (home of Marion Popcorn Festival) :*Mount Vernon (home of Mount Vernon Nazarene University) :*New Philadelphia-Dover :*Norwalk (home of the NHRA venue Summit Motorsports Park, headquarters of the International Hot Rod Association, and pioneer automobile company Fisher Body) :*Oxford (home of Miami University) :*Portsmouth (home of Shawnee State University) :*Sidney :*Tiffin (home of Heidelberg College and Tiffin University) :*Urbana (home of Urbana University) :*Van Wert :*Wapakoneta (birthplace of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong) :*Washington Court House :*Wilmington (home of Wilmington College) :*Wooster (home of The College of Wooster) :*Zanesville (home of Zane State College).

History

Native Americans

Archeological evidence suggests that the Ohio Valley was inhabited by nomadic people as early as 13,000 BC. These early nomads disappeared from Ohio by 1,000 BC, "but their material culture provided a base for those who followed them". Between 1,000 and 800 BC, the sedentary Adena culture emerged. As Ohio historian George W. Knepper notes, this sophisticated culture was "so named because evidences of their culture were excavated in 1902 on the grounds of Adena, Thomas Worthington's estate located near Chillicothe". The Adena were able to establish "semi-permanent" villages because they domesticated plants, which included squash, sunflowers, and perhaps corn. Cultivation of these in addition to hunting and gathering supported more settled, complex villages. The most spectacular remnant of the Adena culture is the Great Serpent Mound, located in Adams County, Ohio.

Around 100 BC, the Adena were joined in Ohio Country by the Hopewell people, who were named for the farm owned by Captain M. C. Hopewell, where evidence of their unique culture was discovered. Like the Adena, the Hopewell people participated in a mound-building culture. Their complex, large and technologically sophisticated earthworks can be found in modern-day Marietta, Newark, and Circleville. The Hopewell, however, disappeared from the Ohio Valley in about 600 AD. Little is known about the people who replaced them. Researchers have identified two additional, distinct prehistoric cultures: the Fort Ancient people and the Whittlesey Focus people. Both cultures apparently disappeared in the 17th century, perhaps decimated by infectious diseases spread in epidemics from early European contact. The Native Americans had no immunity to common European diseases. Some scholars believe that the Fort Ancient people "were ancestors of the historic Shawnee people, or that, at the very least, the historic Shawnees absorbed remnants of these older peoples."

American Indians in the Ohio Valley were greatly affected by the aggressive tactics of the Iroquois Confederation, based in central and western New York. After the so-called Beaver Wars in the mid-17th century, the Iroquois claimed much of the Ohio country as hunting and, more importantly, beaver-trapping ground. After the devastation of epidemics and war in the mid-17th century, which largely emptied the Ohio country of indigenous people by the mid-to-late 17th century, the land gradually became repopulated by the mostly Algonquian-speaking descendants of its ancient inhabitants, that is, descendants of the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian cultures. Many of these Ohio-country nations were multi-ethnic (sometimes multi-linguistic) societies born out of the earlier devastation brought about by disease, war, and subsequent social instability. They subsisted on agriculture (corn, sunflowers, beans, etc.) supplemented by seasonal hunts. By the 18th century, they were part of a larger global economy brought about by European entry into the fur trade.

The indigenous nations to inhabit Ohio in the historical period included the Miamis (a large confederation); Wyandots (made up of refugees, especially from the fractured Huron confederacy); Delawares (pushed west from their historic homeland in New Jersey); Shawnees (also pushed west, although they may have been descended from the Fort Ancient people of Ohio); Ottawas (more commonly associated with the upper Great Lakes region); Mingos (like the Wyandot, a group recently formed of refugees from Iroquois); and Eries (gradually absorbed into the new, multi-ethnic "republics," namely the Wyandot). Ohio country was also the site of Indian massacres, such as the Yellow Creek Massacre, Gnadenhutten and Pontiac's Rebellion school massacre.

Colonial and Revolutionary eras

During the 18th century, the French set up a system of trading posts to control the fur trade in the region. In 1754, France and Great Britain fought a war that was known in North America as the French and Indian War and in Europe as the Seven Years War. As a result of the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded control of Ohio and the remainder of the Old Northwest to Great Britain.

Pontiac's Rebellion in the 1760s, however, posed a challenge to British military control. This came to an end with the colonists' victory in the American Revolution. In the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain ceded all claims to Ohio country to the United States.

Northwest Territory: 1787–1803

The United States created the Northwest Territory under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Slavery was not permitted in the new territory. Settlement began with the founding of Marietta by the Ohio Company of Associates, which had been formed by a group of American Revolutionary War veterans. Following the Ohio Company, the Miami Company (also referred to as the "Symmes Purchase") claimed the southwestern section, and the Connecticut Land Company surveyed and settled the Connecticut Western Reserve in present-day Northeast Ohio.

The old Northwest Territory originally included areas previously known as Ohio Country and Illinois Country. As Ohio prepared for statehood, the Indiana Territory was created, reducing the Northwest Territory to approximately the size of present-day Ohio plus the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula.

Under the Northwest Ordinance, areas of the territory could be defined and admitted as states once their population reached 60,000. Although Ohio's population numbered only 45,000 in December 1801, Congress determined that the population was growing rapidly and Ohio could begin the path to statehood. The assumption was that it would exceed 60,000 residents by the time it was admitted as a state.

Statehood: 1803–present

On February 19, 1803, President Jefferson signed an act of Congress that approved Ohio's boundaries and constitution. However, Congress had never passed a resolution formally admitting Ohio as the 17th state. The current custom of Congress declaring an official date of statehood did not begin until 1812, with Louisiana's admission as the 18th state. Although no formal resolution of admission was required, when the oversight was discovered in 1953, Ohio congressman George H. Bender introduced a bill in Congress to admit Ohio to the Union retroactive to March 1, 1803. At a special session at the old state capital in Chillicothe, the Ohio state legislature approved a new petition for statehood that was delivered to Washington, D.C. on horseback. On August 7, 1953 (the year of Ohio's 150th anniversary), President Eisenhower signed an act that officially declared March 1, 1803 the date of Ohio's admittance into the Union.

Although many Native Americans had migrated west to evade American encroachment, others remained settled in the state, sometimes assimilating in part. In 1830 under President Andrew Jackson, the US government forced Indian Removal of most tribes to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

In 1835, Ohio fought with Michigan in the Toledo War, a mostly bloodless boundary war over the Toledo Strip. Congress intervened, making Michigan's admittance as a state conditional on ending the conflict. In exchange for giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip, Michigan was given the western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula, in addition to the eastern third that was already considered part of the state.

Ohio's central position and its population gave it an important place during the Civil War. The Ohio River was a vital artery for troop and supply movements, as were Ohio's railroads. Ohio contributed more soldiers per-capita than any other state in the Union. In 1862, the state's morale was badly shaken in the aftermath of the battle of Shiloh, a costly victory in which Ohio forces suffered 2,000 casualties. Later that year, when Confederate troops under the leadership of Stonewall Jackson threatened Washington, D.C., Ohio governor David Tod still could recruit 5,000 volunteers to provide three months of service. Ohio historian Andrew R. L. Cayton writes that almost 35,000 Ohioans died in the conflict, "and some thirty thousand carried battle scars with them for the rest of their lives." By the end of the Civil War, the Union's top three generals–Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan–were all from Ohio.

In 1912 a Constitutional Convention was held with Charles B. Galbreath as secretary. The result reflected the concerns of the Progressive Era. It introduced the initiative and the referendum. In addition, it allowed the General Assembly to put questions on the ballot for the people to ratify laws and constitutional amendments originating in the Legislature. Under the Jeffersonian principle that laws should be reviewed once a generation, the constitution provided for a recurring question to appear on Ohio's general election ballots every 20 years. The question asks whether a new convention is required. Although the question has appeared in 1932, 1952, 1972, and 1992, it has never been approved. Instead constitutional amendments have been proposed by petition to the legislature hundreds of times and adopted in a majority of cases.

Eight U.S. presidents hailed from Ohio at the time of their elections, giving rise to its nickname "Mother of Presidents", a sobriquet it shares with Virginia (also termed "Modern Mother of Presidents," in contrast to Virginia's status as the origin of presidents earlier in American history). Seven presidents were born in Ohio, making it second to Virginia's eight. Virginia-born William Henry Harrison lived most of his life in Ohio and is also buried there. Harrison conducted his political career while living on the family compound, founded by his father-in-law, John Cleves Symmes, in North Bend, Ohio. The seven presidents born in Ohio were Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison (grandson of William Henry Harrison), William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding.

Demographics

Population

From just over 45,000 residents in 1800, Ohio's population grew at rates of over 10% per decade until the census of 1970, which recorded just over 10.65 million Ohioans. Growth then slowed for the next three decades, and approximately 11.35 million people resided in Ohio in 2000. As of July 1, 2008, the state's population was estimated at 11,485,910 by the United States Census Bureau. Ohio's population growth lags that of the entire United States, and Caucasians are found in a greater density than the United States average. , Ohio's center of population is located in Morrow County, in the county seat of Mount Gilead. This is approximately south and west of Ohio's population center in 1990.

, 6.5% of Ohio's population is under 5 years of age, compared to a national rate of 6.9%. Also, 13.4% of Ohio's population is over 65 years of age, compared to a United States rate of 12.6%. Females comprise 51.3% of Ohio's population, compared to a national rate of 50.8%.

Race and ancestry

As of 2007, 3.6% of Ohio's total population is estimated to be foreign-born, compared to an estimated 12.5% of the United States population.

Ohio's five largest ancestry groups, as of 2007, are: # German (28.9%); # Irish (14.8%); # English (10.1%); # Polish (8.4%); # Italian (6.4%). The state's racial makeup in 2006 was:

82.8% White (non-Hispanic);

11.8% Black (non-Hispanic);

2.3% Hispanic, a category that includes people of many races;

1.5% Asian/Pacific Islander

1.3% mixed race

0.2% Native American/Alaskan Native

0.1% other races.

Religion

According to a Pew Forum poll, as of 2008, 76% of Ohioans identified as Christian. Specifically, 26% of Ohio's population identified as Evangelical Protestant, 22% identified as Mainline Protestant, and 21% identified as Roman Catholic. In addition, 17% of the population is unaffiliated with any religious body. There are also small minorities of Jehovah's Witnesses (1%), Jews (1%), Muslims (1%), Hindus (<0.5%), Buddhists (<0.5%), Mormons (<0.5%), and practitioners of other faiths (1-1.5%).

According to the same data, a majority of Ohioans, 55%, feel that religion is "very important," while 30% say that it is "somewhat important," and 15% responded that religion is "not too important/not important at all." Also, 36% of Ohioans indicate that they attend religious services at least once weekly, while 35% attend these services occasionally, and 27% seldom or never participate in these services.

Economy

In 2009, Ohio was ranked #4 in the country for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state has also won three consecutive Governor's Cup awards from the magazine, based on business growth and developments. , Ohio's gross domestic product (GDP) was $466 billion. This ranks Ohio's economy as the seventh-largest of all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranked the state #10 for best business-friendly tax systems in their Business Tax Index 2009, including a top corporate tax and capital gains rate that were both ranked #6 at 1.9%. Ohio was ranked #11 by the council for best friendly-policy states according to their Small Business Survival Index 2009. The Directorship's Boardroom Guide ranked the state #13 overall for best business climate, including #7 for best litigation climate. Forbes ranked the state #8 for best regulatory environment in 2009. Ohio has 5 of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2010 rankings, and was ranked #8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools.

Ohio's unemployment rate stood at 10.7 in May 2010, adding 17,000 new jobs that month. Ohio's per capita income stands at $34,874. Moody's is predicting a 1.3% increase in personal income in 2009 for Ohio, compared to the 2007 rate of 4.7%. , Ohio's median household income is $46,645, and 13.1% of the population is below the poverty line, slightly above the national rate of 13%. Ohio's employment base is expected to grow 5% from 2006 to 2016, a net gain of 290,700 jobs.

The manufacturing and financial activities sectors each compose 18.3% of Ohio's GDP, making them Ohio's largest industries by percentage of GDP. Ohio has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and is a national leader in the "green" economy. Ohio is the largest producer in the country of plastics, rubber, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, and appliances. 5,212,000 Ohioans are currently employed by wage or salary.

By employment, Ohio's largest sector is trade/transportation/utilities, which employs 1,010,000 Ohioans, or 19.4% of Ohio's workforce, while the health care and education sector employs 825,000 Ohioans (15.8%). Government employs 787,000 Ohioans (15.1%), manufacturing employs 669,000 Ohioans (12.9%), and professional and technical services employs 638,000 Ohioans (12.2%). Ohio's manufacturing sector is the third-largest of all fifty United States states in terms of gross domestic product. Fifty-nine of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies (by revenue in 2008) are headquartered in Ohio, including Procter & Gamble, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, AK Steel, Timken, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Wendy's.

Ohio is also one of 41 states with its own lottery, the Ohio Lottery. The Ohio Lottery has contributed over $15.5 billion to public education in its 34-year history.

Transportation

Ground Travel Many major east-west transportation corridors go through Ohio. One of those pioneer routes, known in the early 20th century as "Main Market Route 3", was chosen in 1913 to become part of the historic Lincoln Highway which was the first road across America, connecting New York City to San Francisco. In Ohio, the Lincoln Highway linked many towns and cities together, including Canton, Mansfield, Wooster, Lima, and Van Wert. The arrival of the Lincoln Highway to Ohio was a major influence on the development of the state. Upon the advent of the federal numbered highway system in 1926, the Lincoln Highway through Ohio became U.S. Highway 30.

Ohio also is home to of the Historic National Road, now U.S. Route 40.

Ohio has a highly developed network of roads and interstate highways. Major east-west through routes include the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/I-90) in the north, I-76 through Akron to Pennsylvania, I-70 through Columbus and Dayton, and the Appalachian Highway (Ohio 32) running from West Virginia to Cincinnati. Major north-south routes include I-75 in the west through Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati, I-71 through the middle of the state from Cleveland through Columbus and Cincinnati into Kentucky, and I-77 in the eastern part of the state from Cleveland through Akron, Canton, New Philadelphia and Marietta down into West Virginia. Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton is one of the heaviest traveled sections of interstate in Ohio.

Air Travel

Ohio has 5 international airports, 4 commercial and 2 military. The 5 international includes Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which is a major hub for Continental Airlines, Port Columbus International Airport, and Dayton International Airport, Ohio's third largest airport. Akron Fulton International Airport handles cargo and for private use. Rickenbacker International Airport is one of military which is also home to the 7th largest fed ex building in America. The other military airport is Wright Patterson Air Force Base which is one of the largest Air Force bases in the United States. Other major airports are located in Toledo and Akron.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is in Kentucky and therefore is not listed above.

Transportation lists

List of Ohio state highways

List of Ohio train stations

List of Ohio railroads

List of Ohio rivers

Historic Ohio Canals

Law and government

The state government of Ohio consists of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches.

Executive branch

The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Ohio. The current governor is John Kasich, a Republican elected in 2010. A lieutenant governor succeeds the governor in the event of any removal from office, and performs any duties assigned by the governor. The current lieutenant governor is Mary Taylor. The other elected constitutional offices in the executive branch are the secretary of state (Jon A. Husted), auditor (Dave Yost), treasurer (Josh Mandel), and attorney general (Mike DeWine).

Judicial branch

There are three levels of the Ohio state judiciary. The lowest level is the court of common pleas: each county maintains its own constitutionally-mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters." The intermediate-level court system is the district court system. Twelve courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in a set geographical area. A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.

The highest-ranking court, the Ohio Supreme Court, is Ohio's "court of last resort." A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters.

Legislative branch

The Ohio General Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 33 districts, each of which is represented by one senator. Each senator represents approximately 330,000 constituents. The House of Representatives is composed of 99 members.

National politics

+ Presidential elections results
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Ohio, nicknamed the "Mother of Presidents," has sent seven of its native sons (Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding) to the White House. All seven were Republicans. Virginia native William Henry Harrison, a Whig, resided in Ohio. Historian R. Douglas Hurt asserts that not since Virginia 'had a state made such a mark on national political affairs.' ''The Economist'' notes that "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American — part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb,"

, Ohio's voter demographic leans towards the Democratic Party. An estimated 2,408,178 Ohioans are registered to vote as Democrats, while 1,471,465 Ohioans are registered to vote as Republicans. These are changes from 2004 of 72% and 32%, respectively, and Democrats have registered over 1,000,000 new Ohioans since 2004. Unaffiliated voters have an attrition of 15% since 2004, losing an estimated 718,000 of their kind. The total now rests at 4,057,518 Ohioans. In total, there are 7,937,161 Ohioans registered to vote. In the United States presidential election of 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won 51.50% of Ohio's popular vote, 4.59% more than his nearest rival, Senator John McCain of Arizona. However, Obama won only 22 of Ohio's 88 counties.

Following the 2000 census, Ohio lost one congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, which leaves Ohio with 18 districts, and consequently, 18 representatives. The state is expected to lose two more seats following the 2010 Census. The 2008 elections, Democrats gained three seats in Ohio's delegation to the House of Representatives. This leaves eight Republican-controlled seats in the Ohio delegation. Ohio's U.S. Senators in the 112th Congress are Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown. Marcia Kaptur (D-9) is the dean, or most senior member, of the Ohio delegation to the United States House of Representatives.

Education

Ohio's system of public education is outlined in Article VI of the state constitution, and in Title XXXIII of the Ohio Revised Code. Substantively, Ohio's system is similar to those found in other states. At the State level, the Ohio Department of Education, which is overseen by the Ohio State Board of Education, governs primary and secondary educational institutions. At the municipal level, there are approximately 700 school districts statewide. The Ohio Board of Regents coordinates and assists with Ohio's institutions of higher education which have recently been reorganized into the University System of Ohio under Governor Strickland. The system averages an annual enrollment of over 400,000 students, making it one of the five largest state university systems in the U.S.

Colleges and universities

13 state universities

* The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

* Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio

* Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio

* University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

* Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio

* Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

* Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

* Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

* The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

* Shawnee State University, Portsmouth, Ohio

* University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio

* Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (Fairborn, Ohio)

* Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio

24 state university branch and regional campuses

46 private colleges and universities ^{a b}

6 free-standing state-assisted medical schools

* University of Toledo College of Medicine (formerly Medical University of Ohio)

* Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine

* The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health

* Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

* University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

* Boonshoft School of Medicine (formerly known as The Wright State University School of Medicine)

15 community colleges

8 technical colleges

24 independent non-profit colleges

:^a Included among these is the University of Dayton, which is the largest private university in Ohio.

:^b Two of these institutions are ranked among the top 40 in the nation by US News & World Report: Case Western Reserve University (private national university), and Oberlin College (private liberal arts college).

Libraries

Ohio is home to some of the nation's highest-ranking public libraries. The 2008 study by Thomas J. Hennen Jr. ranked Ohio as number one in a state-by-state comparison. For 2008, 31 of Ohio's library systems were all ranked in the top ten for American cities of their population category.

500,000 or more

* Columbus Metropolitan Library (First)

* Cuyahoga County Public Library (Second)

* Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Tenth)

The Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) is an organization that provides Ohio residents with internet access to their 251 public libraries. OPLIN also provides Ohioans with free home access to high-quality, subscription research databases.

Ohio also offers the OhioLINK program, allowing Ohio's libraries (particularly those from colleges and universities) access to materials in other libraries. The program is largely successful in allowing researchers access to books and other media that might not otherwise be available.

Sports

Professional sports

Ohio is home to major professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer. The state's major professional sporting teams include: Cincinnati Reds (Major League Baseball), Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball), Cincinnati Bengals (National Football League), Cleveland Browns (National Football League), Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association), Columbus Blue Jackets (National Hockey League), and the Columbus Crew (Major League Soccer). Baseball's first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, were organized in Ohio.

On a smaller scale, Ohio hosts minor league baseball, arena football, indoor football, mid-level hockey, and lower division soccer. The minor league baseball teams include: Akron Aeros (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Chillicothe Paints (independent), Columbus Clippers (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Dayton Dragons (affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds), Lake County Captains (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), Mahoning Valley Scrappers (affiliated with the Cleveland Indians), and Toledo Mud Hens (affiliated with the Detroit Tigers).

Ohio's minor professional football teams include: Canton Legends (American Indoor Football Association), Cincinnati Marshals (National Indoor Football League), Cincinnati Sizzle (National Women's Football Association), Cleveland Fusion (National Women's Football Association), Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League), Columbus Comets (National Women's Football Association), Columbus Destroyers (Arena Football League), Mahoning Valley Thunder (af2), Marion Mayhem (Continental Indoor Football League), and Miami Valley Silverbacks (Continental Indoor Football League).

Ohio's alternative professional hockey teams include: Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL), Dayton Bombers (ECHL), Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League), Dayton Gems (Central Hockey League), Mahoning Valley Phantoms (North American Hockey League), Toledo Walleye (ECHL), and Youngstown Steelhounds (Central Hockey League).

In lower division professional soccer, Ohio accommodates the Cincinnati Kings and Cleveland City Stars, both of the United Soccer League and the Dayton Dutch Lions of the USL Premier Development League.

Ohio is also home to the Akron Racers, a minor professional softball club, of National Pro Fastpitch.

Former major league teams:

Akron Pros (NFL) (1920–1925)

Canton Bulldogs (NFL) (1920–1923 and 1925–1926)

Portsmouth Spartans (NFL) (1930–1933)

Cincinnati Red Stockings (NL)(1876–1880)

Cleveland Blues (NL) (1879–1884)

Cleveland Spiders (AA-NL) (1887–1899)

Cleveland Rams (NFL) (1936–1945)

Cleveland Rebels (BAA) (1946–1947)

Cincinnati Royals (NBA) (1957–1972)

Cleveland Barons (NHL) (1976–1978)

Cleveland Crusaders (WHA)(1972–1976)

Cincinnati Stingers (WHA) (1975–1979).

Dayton Triangles (NFL) (1920–1929)

Cleveland Rockers (WNBA) (1997–2003)

College football

Ohio has eight NCAA Division I-A college football teams, divided among three different conferences. It has also experienced considerable success in the secondary and tertiary tiers of college football divisions.

In Division I-A, representing the Big Ten, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team ranks 5th among all-time winningest programs, with seven national championships and seven Heisman Trophy winners. Their rivals are the Michigan Wolverines. They typically play each other in their last game of the regular season. As of December 2010 the Buckeyes have won the last seven matchups.

Ohio has six teams represented in the MAC conference: the University of Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami University, Ohio University and the University of Toledo. The MAC Conference headquarters are based in Cleveland.

The University of Cincinnati Bearcats represent Ohio in the Big East Conference.

Division I-AA Youngstown State is a perennial power in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, having won four FBS National Championships under (now OSU Head Coach) Jim Tressel.

Division III Mount Union College boasts a record-setting ten National Championships and also hold the record for 110 consecutive game winning streak from 1994 until 2005. They have won two of the last three D-III National Championship games.

State symbols

Ohio's state symbols: State animal: White-tailed Deer (1987) State beverage: Tomato juice (1965) State bird: Cardinal (1933) State capital: Columbus (1816) State flower: Red carnation (1904) State fossil: ''Isotelus maximus'', a trilobite (1985) State herb capital: Gahanna (1972) State insect: Ladybug (1975) State motto: "With God all things are possible." (1959) State reptile: Black racer snake (1995) State rock song: "Hang On Sloopy" (1985) State song: "Beautiful Ohio" (1969) State stone: Ohio Flint (1965) State tree: Buckeye (1953) State wildflower: Large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) (1986)

See also

List of National Register of Historic Places in Ohio

List of people from Ohio

Notes

References

Cayton, Andrew R. L. (2002). ''Ohio: The History of a People''. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Press. ISBN 0-8142-0899-1

Knepper, George W. (1989). ''Ohio and Its People''. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. ISBN 978-0-87338-791-0

Mithun, Marianne (1999). ''Languages of Native North America''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Morris, Roy, Jr. (1992). ''Sheridan: The Life and Wars of General Phil Sheridan''. New York: Crown Publishing. ISBN 0-517-58070-5.

Holli, Melvin G. (1999). ''The American Mayor''. State College, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 0-271-01876-3

Roseboom, Eugene H.; Weisenburger, Francis P. (1967). ''A History of Ohio''. Columbus: The Ohio Historical Society.

External links

Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Ohio Earthquake Information

Ohio State Facts

State of Ohio Official Website

Ohio Sunshine Wiki

State of Ohio wiki

U.S. Census Bureau (Ohio Quick Facts)

USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Ohio

Category:States of the United States Category:Midwestern United States Category:States and territories established in 1803

af:Ohio ang:Ohio ar:أوهايو an:Ohio arc:ܐܘܗܐܝܘ frp:Ohio ast:Ohio gn:Ohio az:Ohayo bn:ওহাইও zh-min-nan:Ohio be:Штат Агаё be-x-old:Агаё bcl:Ohio bi:Ohio bo:ཨོ་ཧེའོ། bs:Ohio br:Ohio bg:Охайо ca:Ohio cv:Огайо (штат) cs:Ohio co:Ohio cy:Ohio da:Ohio pdc:Ohio de:Ohio nv:Oohááyoo Hahoodzo et:Ohio el:Οχάιο es:Ohio eo:Ohio eu:Ohio fa:اوهایو hif:Ohio fo:Ohio fr:Ohio fy:Ohio ga:Ohio gv:Ohio gag:Ohio gd:Ohio gl:Ohio hak:Ngò-hài-ngò xal:Өхәй ko:오하이오 주 haw:‘Ohaio hy:Օհայո hr:Ohio io:Ohio ig:Ohaïyo bpy:ওহাইও id:Ohio ie:Ohio iu:ᐅᓵᐃᐅ/uhaaiu ik:Ohio os:Огайо is:Ohio it:Ohio he:אוהיו jv:Ohio pam:Ohio ka:ოჰაიო (შტატი) kk:Огайо kw:Ohio sw:Ohio ht:Owayo (eta) ku:Ohio mrj:Огайо (штат) lad:Ohio la:Ohium lv:Ohaio lt:Ohajas lij:Ohio li:Ohio lmo:Ohio hu:Ohio mk:Охајо mg:Ohio ml:ഒഹായോ mi:Ohio mr:ओहायो arz:اوهايو ms:Ohio mn:Охайо nah:Ohio nl:Ohio (staat) ja:オハイオ州 frr:Ohio no:Ohio nn:Ohio oc:Ohio uz:Ogayo pnb:اوہائیو pap:Ohio pms:Ohio nds:Ohio pl:Ohio pt:Ohio ksh:Ohio (Bundesstaat) ro:Ohio rm:Ohio qu:Ohio suyu ru:Огайо sah:Оhайо sco:Ohio stq:Ohio sq:Ohio scn:Ohio simple:Ohio sk:Ohio sl:Ohio szl:Ohio ckb:چیۆ sr:Охајо (држава) sh:Ohio fi:Ohio sv:Ohio tl:Ohio ta:ஒகையோ tt:Огайо (штат) th:รัฐโอไฮโอ tg:Оҳаё tr:Ohio uk:Огайо ur:اوہائیو ug:Oxayo Shtati vi:Ohio vo:Ohio war:Ohio yi:אהאיא yo:Ohio zh-yue:俄亥俄州 diq:Ohio bat-smg:Ohajos zh:俄亥俄州

Name	Jonathan Winters
Birth name	Jonathan Harshman Winters III
Birth date	November 11, 1925
Birth place	Bellbrook, Ohio, US
Medium	Comedian, actor
Nationality	American
Active	1953–present
Influenced	George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, Richard Lewis, Conan O'Brien, Patton Oswalt, Frank Caliendo
Spouse	Eileen Schauder (1948–2009; her death; 2 children)

}} Jonathan Harshman Winters III (born November 11, 1925) is an American comedian and actor.

Early life

Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore (née Rodgers), a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio (now part of JPMorgan Chase). Of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry, Winters has described his father as an alcoholic who had trouble holding a job. When he was seven, his parents separated, and Winters' mother took him to Springfield, Ohio to live with his maternal grandmother.

At age 17, Winters quit high school and joined the United States Marine Corps and served two and a half years in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Upon his return he attended Kenyon College. He later studied cartooning at Dayton Art Institute, where he met Eileen Schauder, whom he married in 1948.

Winters is a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (Lambda chapter).

Career

His career began as a result of a lost wristwatch, about six or seven months after his marriage to Eileen. The newlyweds couldn’t afford to buy another one. Then Eileen read about a talent contest in which the first prize was a wristwatch, and encouraged Jonathan to “go down and win it.” She was certain he could…and he did. His performance led to a disk jockey job, where he was supposed to introduce songs and announce the temperature. Gradually his ad libs, personas and antics took over the show.

He began comedy routines and acting while studying at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He was also a local radio personality on WING (mornings, 6 to 8) in Dayton, Ohio and at WIZE in Springfield, Ohio. He performed as Johnny Winters on WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio for two and a half years, quitting the station in 1953 when they refused him a $5.00 raise. After promising his wife that he would return to Dayton if he did not make it in a year, and with $56.46 in his pocket, he moved to New York City, staying with friends in Greenwich Village. After obtaining Martin Goodman as his agent, he began stand-up routines in various New York nightclubs. His big break occurred (with the revised name of Jonathan) when he worked for Alistair Cooke on the CBS Sunday morning show Omnibus. In 1957, he performed in the first color television show, a 15-minute routine sponsored by Tums.

Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label, starting in 1960. Probably the best-known of his characters from this period is Maude Frickert, the seemingly sweet old lady with the barbed tongue. He was a favorite of Jack Paar and appeared frequently on his television programs, even going so far as to impersonate then-US President John F. Kennedy over the phone as a prank on Paar. In addition, he would often appear on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', usually in the guise of some character. Carson often did not know what Winters had planned and usually had to tease out the character's back story during a pretend interview. Carson invented a character called "Aunt Blabby" that was an impression of Maude Frickert.

Winters has appeared in nearly 50 movies and several television shows, including particularly notable roles in the film ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' and in the dual roles of Henry Glenworthy and his dark, scheming brother, the Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy, in the film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's ''The Loved One''. Fellow comedians who starred with him in "Mad World," such as Arnold Stang, claimed that in the long periods while they waited between scenes, Winters would entertain them for hours in their trailer by becoming any character that they would suggest to him. He also appeared in ''Viva Max!'' (1970) and ''The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming'' (1966).

He appeared as a regular (along with Woody Allen and Jo Anne Worley) on the Saturday morning children's television program ''Hot Dog'' in the late sixties. He also had a CBS nighttime show from 1967 to 1969, and had his own show, ''The Wacky World of Jonathan Winters'' during 1972–74. Winters did dramatic work in the ''The Twilight Zone'' episode "A Game of Pool" (episode #3.5, October 13, 1961). He recorded Ogden Nash's ''The Carnival of the Animals'' poems to Camille Saint-Saëns' classical opus. He appeared on ABC's ''The American Sportsman'', hosted by Grits Gresham, who took celebrities on hunting, fishing, and shooting trips to exotic places around the world. He appeared regularly as a panelist on ''The Hollywood Squares'' and made many very memorable appearances on both the Dean Martin Show and The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts.YouTube In the fourth and last season of the sci-fi-based TV comedy ''Mork & Mindy'', Jonathan Winters (one of Robin Williams' idols) was brought in as Mork & Mindy's child, Mearth. Due to the different Orkan physiology, Mork laid an egg, which grew and hatched into the much older Winters. It had been previously explained that Orkans aged "backwards," thus explaining Mearth's appearance and that of his teacher, Miss Geezba (portrayed by then-11-year-old actress Louanne Sirota). Mork's infant son Mearth in ''Mork & Mindy'' was created in hopes of improving ratings and as an attempt to capitalize on Williams' comedic talents. Winters had previously guest-starred in Season 3, Episode 18 as Dave McConnell, Mindy's uncle. However, after multiple scheduling and cast changes, ''Mork & Mindy'''s 4th season was already pretty low in the ratings and ended up being the show's last season.

He was a regular on ''Hee Haw'' during the 1983–84 season. Shortly after this, in 1987, Winters was featured in NFL Films' ''The NFL TV Follies''. He was the voice of Grandpa Smurf from 1986–1990 on the television series The Smurfs.

In 1991 and 1992, he was on ''Davis Rules'', a sitcom that lasted two seasons (25 episodes). He played Gunny Davis, an eccentric grandfather who was helping raise his grandchildren after his son lost his wife. In addition to his live action roles, he was also a guest star on ''The New Scooby-Doo Movies''and the narrator in ''Frosty Returns''. Winters appeared as himself on an episode of Scooby-Doo, where the Scooby Gang was looking forward to his promised performance as Maude Frickert. Along with numerous roles in Scooby-Doo, Winters also provided the voice for the thief in ''Arabian Knight''.

From 1959 to 1964, Winters' voice could be heard in a series of popular television commercials for Utica Club beer. In the ads, he provided the voices of talking beer steins, named "Shultz and Dooley." Later, he became a spokesman for Hefty brand trash bags, for whom he appeared as a dapper garbageman known for collecting "gahr-bahj," as well as Maude Frickert and other characters.

Later years

In 1999, Winters was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He now lives near Santa Barbara, California, and is often seen browsing and hamming for the crowd at the antique show on the Ventura County fairgrounds. He often entertains the tellers and other workers whenever he visits his local bank to make a deposit or withdrawal. He spends time painting, and has been presented in one-man shows of his art. In 1987, he published ''Winters' Tales: Stories and Observations for the Unusual''. Other writings have followed, and he is said to be working on his autobiography.

In June 2008, Winters was presented with the TV Land Pioneer Award by his friend Robin Williams.

On February 11, 2010 it was announced that Winters would provide the voice of Papa Smurf in the live-action Smurfs movie.

Personal life

In his "Archive of American Television Interviews," Winters reported that he suffered a nervous breakdown and spent eight months in a private mental hospital in the late 1950s. Although he was not given a diagnosis while in the hospital, he was later diagnosed with manic depression (known today as bipolar disorder). The comedian referred to this incident obliquely in his stand-up act, most famously on his 1960 comedy album ''The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters''. During his classic "flying saucer" routine, Winters casually mentions that if he wasn't careful, the authorities might put him back in the "rubber room," referring to the institution.

On January 11, 2009, Eileen, Jonathan's wife of 60 years, died at the age of 84 after a 20-year battle with breast cancer.

Discography

''Down to Earth'' (1960)

''The Wonderful World of Jonathan Winters'' (1960; reissued in 2003)

''Here's Jonathan'' (1961)

''Another Day, Another World'' (1962)

''Humor Seen through the Eyes of Jonathan Winters'' (1962)

''Jonathan Winters' Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963)

''Whistle Stopping with Jonathan Winters'' (1964)

''Movies Are Better Than Ever'' (1966)

''Jonathan Winters… Wings it!'' (1969)

''Stuff 'n Nonsense'' (1969)

''Answers Your Telephone'' (1988)

''Finally Captured'' (1988)

''Into the '90s'' (1990)

''Jonathan Winters is Terminator 3'' (1992)

''Crank(y) Calls'' (1995)

''Outpatients'' (2000)

''Paul Bunyan'' (2001)

''Old Folks'' (2006)

''The Underground Tapes'' (2007)

''Final Approach'' (2011)

Filmography

Features:

''Alakazam the Great'' (1960) (voice in English dubbed version)

''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963)

''The Loved One'' (1965)

''The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming'' (1966)

''Penelope'' (1966)

''Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad'' (1967)

''Eight on the Lam'' (1967)

''Viva Max!'' (1969)

''The New Scooby-Doo Movies'' (1972)

''The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh'' (1979)

''Pogo for President: I Go Pogo'' (1980) (voice)

''Mork and Mindy'' (1981)

''E. Nick: A Legend in His Own Mind'' (1984)

''The Little Troll Prince'' (1985)

''The Longshot'' (1986)

''Say Yes'' (1986)

''On The Ledge'' (1987)

''Moon over Parador'' (1988)

''Frosty Returns'' [Narrator] (1992)

''The Flintstones'' (1994)

''The Shadow'' (1994)

''Arabian Knight'' (Miramax 1995)

''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000)

''Swing'' (2003)

''Comic Book: The Movie'' (2004)

''Tell Them Who You Are'' (2004) (documentary)

''National Lampoon's Cattle Call'' (2006)

''Certifiably Jonathan'' (2011) ''The Smurfs'' (2011) Short Subjects:

''Sonic Boom'' (1974)

''Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big'' (2000) (voice)

''Santa vs. the Snowman 3D'' (2002) (voice)

References

External links

Jonathan Winters' Official Homepage

Archive of American Television interview with Jonathan Winters Part 4 of 5[dead link]

Archive of American Television Interview with Jonathan Winters — Index

Official Website of the Jonathan Winters film, Certifiably Jonathan

video: "Jonathan Winters roasts Ronald Reagan", on Dean Martin Roasts TV show, 3 minutes

Marc Maron interviews Jonathan Winters - WTF Podcast Episode 173 - May 2011

Category:1925 births Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Scotch-Irish descent Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kenyon College alumni Category:Living people Category:Mark Twain Prize recipients Category:People from Dayton, Ohio Category:People from Knox County, Ohio Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:United States Marines

de:Jonathan Winters fr:Jonathan Winters pl:Jonathan Winters ro:Jonathan Winters sh:Jonathan Winters fi:Jonathan Winters tl:Jonathan Winters

name	Ohio Players
background	group_or_band
alias	The Ohio Untouchables
origin	Dayton, Ohio, United States
genre	FunkR&BSoul
years active	1959–1997
label	Westbound, Mercury, Boardwalk
website	http://theofficialohioplayers.com/
past members	Cornelius JohnsonWalter "Junie" MorrisonLeroy BonnerMarshall "Rock" JonesRobert "Rumba" JonesBilly BeckWes BoatmanMervin PierceRalph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (deceased)Jimmy SampsonVincent ThomasJames "Diamond" WilliamsClarence WillisGreg WebsterBruce NapierAndrew NolandClarence "Satch" Satchell (deceased)Bobby Lee FearsDutch Robinson }}

The Ohio Players were an American funk and R&B band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their double #1 hit songs "Fire" and "Love Rollercoaster".

Biography

The band formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1959 as the Ohio Untouchables, and initially included members Robert Ward (vocals/guitar), Marshall "Rock" Jones (bass), Clarence "Satch" Satchell (saxophone/guitar), Cornelius Johnson (drums), and Ralph "Pee Wee" Middlebrooks (trumpet/trombone). They were best known at the time as a backing group for Detroit's The Falcons. The Ohio Untouchables broke up in 1963 with Ward leaving for a solo career, but the core members of the group returned to Dayton and the following year added Gregory Webster (drums) along with Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner (guitar), who would become the group's front man. The group added two more singers, Bobby Lee Fears and Dutch Robinson, and became the house band for the New York based Compass Records in 1967.

The group disbanded again in 1970. After again reforming with a line-up including Bonner, Satchell, Middlebrooks, Jones, Webster, trumpeter Bruce Napier, vocalist Charles Dale Allen, trombonist Marvin Pierce and keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison, the Players had a minor hit on the Detroit-based Westbound label in 1971 with "Pain," which reached the Top 40 of the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart. Dale Allen shared co-lead vocals on some of the early Westbound material, although he was not credited on their albums ''Pain'' and ''Pleasure''.

The band's first big hit single was "Funky Worm", which reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1973. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in May of that year. The band signed with Mercury Records in 1974. By this time, their line-up had changed again, with keyboardist Billy Beck instead of Morrison and Jimmy "Diamond" Williams on drums instead of Webster. On later album releases, they added second guitarist/vocalist Clarence 'Chet' Willis and conga player Robert "Rumba" Jones.

The band had seven Top 40 hits between 1973 and 1976. These included "Fire" (#1 on both the R&B and pop chart for two weeks and one week respectively in February 1975 and another million seller) and "Love Rollercoaster" (#1 on both the R&B and pop charts for one week in January 1976; another gold disc recipient). The group's last big hit was "Who'd She Coo?" a #1 R&B hit in August 1976. It was their only success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at #43 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1976.

Clarence Satchell (born April 15, 1940) died December 30, 1995 after suffering a brain aneurysm, Ralph Middlebrooks (born August 20, 1939) died in November 1997. and Robert Ward (born October 15, 1938) died at home December 25, 2008. Marshall Jones resides in Jamestown, Ohio.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Chart positions		Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—
	—	—	rowspan="1"
	align="left"	177	21	rowspan="3"
align="left"	63	4
	align="left"	70	19
		11	1	rowspan="1"
align="left"	102	24
align="left"	1	1
	align="left"	2	1
	61	8
	align="left"	12	1
	align="left"	41	9
align="left"	68	11
		69	15
		80	19	rowspan="1"
		165	49	rowspan="2"
	201	—
		—	—
		—	55

Live albums

Year	Album	Chart positions		Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	—
		—	—	rowspan="1"

Compilation albums

Year	Album	Chart positions		Record label
		! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	32	rowspan="1"
		92	22	rowspan="1"
	align="left"	31	10	rowspan="1"
		—	58
		—	—
		—	—
		—	—
		—	—	rowspan="1"

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		! width="40"	! width="40"
		—	50
		64	35
		—	45
	—	—
		15	1
	31	12
	—	—
		47	6
	13	2
align="left"	1	1
		44	6
	33	1
	1	1
		30	9
	90	69
	18	1
	—	26
		61	31
	—	19
	45	9
	—	77
	101	51
		—	93
	105	27
	—	53
		—	33
		—	40
	—	46
		—	83
		—	50
	—	33

Million sellers

Gold discs, due to records selling at least one million copies, were awarded to the singles "Funky Worm," "Skin Tight," "Fire," and "Love Rollercoaster;" plus to their albums ''Skin Tight,'' ''Fire,'' and ''Honey.''

See also

List of number-one hits (United States)

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

References

External links

Ohio Players Official website

Ohio Players at Wenig-LaMonica Associates

Category:Musical groups established in 1959 Category:American dance music groups Category:American funk musical groups Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Musical groups from Dayton, Ohio Category:Musical groups from Ohio

es:Ohio Players fr:The Ohio Players it:Ohio Players ja:オハイオ・プレイヤーズ no:Ohio Players pl:Ohio Players pt:Ohio Players fi:Ohio Players sv:Ohio Players

Name	Zakk Wylde
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt
Alias	Ghode, The Ghost of Rock Past, The Idol
Born	January 14, 1967Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S.
Instrument	Guitar, vocals, bass, banjo, piano, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica, organ, mellotron
Genre	Heavy metal, southern metal, groove metal, southern rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, actor, producer
Years active	1987–present
Label	Geffen, Spitfire, InsideOut Music, Artemis, Roadrunner, Epic, Sony
Associated acts	Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society, Pride & Glory, Steel Dragon, Britny Fox
Website	zakkwylde.com
Notable instruments	Zakk Wylde Signature Les Paul,Zakk Wylde Signature Gibson Flying V }}

Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt (born January 14, 1967), best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory, who released one self-titled album in 1994 before disbanding. As a solo artist he released ''Book of Shadows'' in 1996.

Early life

Wylde was born in Bayonne, New Jersey.

Personal life

Wylde currently lives with his wife, Barbaranne, and his three children: Hayley Rae, Hendrix, and Jesse—who is godson to Ozzy Osbourne. He was good friends with Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott before Dimebag was killed December 8, 2004. As of 2011, he is also in partnership with Blair's Sauces and Snacks to produce "Berserker" Hot Sauce and several variations thereof.

Health problems

Wylde's health has come under scrutiny for several years. Wylde was asked by Sharon Osbourne to attend rehab, but left very early on.

In August 2009, Wylde was hospitalized due to blood clots. He was forced to cancel his tour due to an embolism. He has been sober ever since, because alcohol and blood thinners cannot be used together.

Equipment

He is known for his use of Gibson Les Paul Custom model guitars with a "bulls-eye" graphic on them, a design he used to deliberately differentiate himself visually from Randy Rhoads - who was also frequently identified by his white Les Paul Custom. Interestingly, one of Wylde's favorite stage guitars of late is a replica of Rhoads' Flying V. The "bulls-eye" paint job was originally supposed to look like the spiral from the movie ''Vertigo'', but when it came back incorrect from the luthier, he liked the result and stuck with it. He was sometimes criticized by viewers and media for taking the idea of the "bulls-eye" from Eddie Ojeda from Twisted Sister, however, both Eddie and Zakk deny it and rather it be just pure coincidence.

Wylde's signature Les Pauls include a red flame-maple bulls-eye model, a black and antique-white bulls-eye model, an orange "buzz-saw" model, the pattern on which was inspired by a design on a Zippo lighter, and a "camo" bulls-eye model with mother of pearl neck inlays and a green camouflage paint scheme. His original bulls-eye Les Paul was purchased from one of the owners of Metaltronics Amplification. Metaltronics was building a one-off live rig for Wylde that was designed around one of the owner's guitars, a creamy white Les Paul Custom with EMG pickups, which would later become known as "The Grail". Zakk also has a Custom Dean Splittail With Mud Splatter Bulls-eye graphics, as well as a signature Splittail shaped Gibson model called the "ZV". Another Dean in his collection is a Dime series Razorback with custom Bulls-eye graphics ordered for him specially by Dimebag Darrell.

Practice: Zakk uses Marshall MG Series practice combos ranging in wattage levels from 10-30W during tour/private use especially in hotels and buses. Zakk also has an extensive relationship with Marshall Amplification due to his love for their amplifiers, both solid state and valve powered. Live: Zakk exclusively uses Marshall JCM 800's with twin 4 X 12 Cabinets loaded with EVM12L 300W Black Label Speakers.

His usual signal path consists of his guitar > (on stage pedal board) Dunlop Wylde Wah > Dunlop Rotovibe > MXR EVH Phase 90 (*Soon to be replaced by the new MXR Wylde Phase) > MXR Wylde Overdrive > MXR Carbon Copy Delay Delay > (to a back stage pedal board) > MXR EVH Flanger > MXR Black Label Chorus > split signals, one to each distorted amp into the High Gain input.

Appearances in media

Music

Wylde has made guest appearances on various albums, such as Damageplan's debut album, ''New Found Power'', as guest vocalist and guitarist on the tracks "Soul Bleed" and "Reborn".

He played guitar solos on Dope's single "Addiction" from their newest album, ''No Regrets''.

He plays a solo on Fozzy's 2005 release "All That Remains" on the song, Wanderlust.

He has also worked on five of Derek Sherinian's solo albums: ''Inertia'', ''Black Utopia'', ''Mythology'', ''Blood of the Snake'' and ''Molecular Heinosity'' alongside Yngwie Malmsteen and others.

Wylde was also a judge for the 8th annual Independent Music Awards. His contributions helped assist independent artists' careers. In 2010 he played lead guitar on My Darkest Days first single "Porn Star Dancing", along with guest singers Chad Kroeger and Ludacris.

In 1993 Ozzy Osbournes double album Live and Loud was released. Wylde is the guitarist.

In 2011 he featured in Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed's new project, "Jasta" in the song "The Fearless must Endure".

Live performances

On August 1, 1993, at Great Woods Amphitheatre in Mansfield, MA, Wylde appeared on stage with the Allman Brothers on lead guitar since Dickey Betts was unable to make the show, and they needed a guitarist at the last minute. This show is documented on the bootleg "Zakk Goes Wylde".

Wylde is a New York Yankees fan. He performed the National Anthem on the electric guitar during a New York Rangers game in October 2005. He has also played the anthem at Los Angeles Kings and Dodgers games. A video of a Kings performance is included as an extra feature, on the DVD ''Boozed, Broozed, and Broken-Boned''.

On February 1, 2007 Wylde and Nick Catanese began a tour of acoustic shows at the Hard Rock Cafe in various cities across North America. Although Catanese had to leave mid-tour due to unspecified personal reasons, Wylde continued to play shows alone. He performed several songs, on both the acoustic guitar and keyboard. The tour was eventually canceled due to unspecified reasons.

On April 13, 2011 he was the guitarist for James Durbin on American Idol, during Durbin's performance of "Heavy Metal", by Sammy Hagar.

On May 14, 2011 he performed the National Anthem at Rockfest in Kansas City, Missouri.

Film and television

On June 5, 2011, he appeared on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' and performed with ''The Roots''

Wylde's film credits include ''Rock Star'' (As "Ghode", guitarist of the fictitious band Steel Dragon)

Wylde also appeared on the TV show ''Angel'' in the season four episode "The Magic Bullet" where he plays acoustic on the song "Mandy" while Angel and Conner sing along.

Wylde has also appeared as a guest star on the TV show ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force''. In it, he plays guitar on a track produced by Master Shake that is supposed to become the next big birthday song, which is called "Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary." Wylde becomes irate when he finds out that Shake cannot pay him for his input on the project. Later in the show, Wylde is killed when caught between the crossfire of two robotic banjo-playing scorpions.

On September 26, 2003, Wylde appeared on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and sat in with the house band. During the course of the night he repeatedly made fun of and threatened to beat up Fred Durst, the front man for Limp Bizkit.

On January 30, 2007, Wylde, alongside Black Label Society, were the musical guests for MTV's Wrestling Society X debut episode. He worked the night as a guest commentator as well.

On February 2, 2007, Wylde guest hosted on Seattle's 99.9 KISW on the afternoon program ''The Men's Room''.

On the May 18 edition of ''WWE Smackdown!'', Wylde appeared with Ozzy Osbourne to perform the song "I Don't Wanna Stop", at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

Wylde performed alongside Osbourne on the 2007 ''VH1 Rock Honors'' broadcast.

On October 18, 2009, Zakk Wylde performed the National Anthem on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's biggest PPV, Bound for Glory, before the matches officially started.

He appears as a guest in ''Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage''.

He appears in the Pantera episode of ''Behind the Music''.

He appears as a music store worker in a scene from the TV show Californication on Showtime, Season 4 Episode 2.t

He was on tour with Black Label Society in 2010 on the Ozzfest Tour that also had Ozzy and Mötley Crüe, among many others.

He performed "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar with James Durbin during season 10 of American Idol.

Video games

Wylde recorded a guitar duel for the video game ''Guitar Hero: World Tour''. He also appears as a playable character performing the songs Stillborn and, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley.

Some of Wylde's signature guitars have been for sale to play with throughout the ''Guitar Hero'' series. These include "The Grail", "The Camo Grail", and "The Buzzsaw".

Wylde was featured in the first Guitar Hero with the studio version recording of Fire it Up.

He was the guitarist in the remix of "Bring The Noise" called "Bring The Noise 20XX" that appeared in Guitar Hero 5 as a playable track

Discography

;With Black Label Society

1999: ''Sonic Brew''

2000: ''Stronger Than Death''

2001: ''Alcohol Fueled Brewtality Live!! +5''

2002: ''1919 Eternal''

2003: ''The Blessed Hellride''

2004: ''Hangover Music Vol. VI''

2005: ''Mafia''

2006: ''Shot to Hell''

2009: ''Skullage''

2010: ''Order of the Black''

2011: ''The Song Remains Not The Same''

;With Ozzy Osbourne

1988: ''No Rest For The Wicked''

1990: ''Just Say Ozzy (live album)''

1991: ''No More Tears''

1993: ''Live & Loud (live album)''

1995: ''Ozzmosis''

2001: ''Down to Earth''

2002: ''Live At Budokan (live album)''

2007: ''Black Rain''

;Pride & Glory

1994: ''Pride & Glory''

;Zakk Wylde

1996: ''Book of Shadows''

References

External links

Black Label Society official website

Zakk Wylde's guitar gear

Zakk Wylde interview in Reverb Magazine (November 2010)

Zakk Wylde Video Workshop (Videos in engl.) Source: Bonedo.de

Zakk Wylde Interview Source: Bonedo.de

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American heavy metal guitarists Category:The Ozzy Osbourne Band members Category:People from Bayonne, New Jersey Category:People from Jackson Township, New Jersey Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:American musicians of Irish descent

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stadium name	Minute Maid Park
nickname	''The Juice Box''
location	501 Crawford Street, Houston, Texas 77002
coordinates
broke ground	November 1, 1997
opened	March 30, 2000 (Exhibition)April 7, 2000 (Regular Season)
renovated	2010 (Off season)
owner	Harris County-Houston Sports Authority
surface	Grass
construction cost	$250 million($}}

in dollars) | architect = HOK Sport (Populous since 2009) | former_names = The Ballpark at Union Station (2000)Enron Field (2000–2002)Astros Field (February 2002–July 2002) | tenants = Houston Astros (MLB) (2000–present) | seating_capacity = 40,967 with standing room at least43,836 2010 Houston Astros season | dimensions = Left Field - Left-Center - Left-Center (deep) - Center Field - Right-Center - Right Field - Backstop - | scoreboard = feet tall by feet wide }}

Minute Maid Park (also The Ballpark at Union Station, Enron Field, and Astros Field) is a ballpark in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Major League Baseball Houston Astros.

The ballpark was Houston's first retractable-roofed stadium, protecting fans and athletes from Houston's notoriously humid weather as did its predecessor, the Astrodome, but also allowing fans to enjoy outdoor baseball during favorable weather. The ballpark also features a grass field, compared to the Astrodome's artificial AstroTurf, which was generally disliked by professional baseball players. The largest entrance to the park is inside what was once Houston's Union Station, and the left-field side of the stadium features a train as homage to the site's history. The train moves along a track on top of the length of the exterior wall beyond left field whenever an Astros player hits a home run, or when the Astros win a game. The engine's tender, traditionally used to carry coal, is filled with giant oranges in tribute to Minute Maid's most famous product, orange juice. The ballpark has 4,774 club seats and 63 luxury suites.

Previous names

The ballpark was first christened as Enron Field on April 7, 2000, with naming rights sold to the Houston energy and financial trading company in a 30 year, $100 million deal. Astros management faced a public relations nightmare when the energy corporation went bankrupt in the midst of one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history in 2001, and they bought back the remainder of Enron's thirty years of naming rights for $2.1 million, rechristening the ballpark as Astros Field on February 7, 2002. The field was unofficially known as "The Field Formerly Known As Enron" by fans and critics alike, in wake of the Enron scandal. On June 5, 2002, Houston-based Minute Maid, the fruit-juice subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, acquired the naming rights to the stadium for 28 years at an estimated price of $170 million.

Based on its downtown location next to the old Union Station buildings, one of the suggested names (and nicknames) is the Ballpark at Union Station, or the BUS. During its days as Enron Field, it was also dubbed "Ten-Run" or "Home Run" Field due to its cozy left-field dimensions. In keeping with this theme while paying homage to its current sponsor, the nickname "The Juice Box" is colloquially used today. The dubbing of the park as an extreme hitter-friendly park has been called into question in recent years. In fact, the 2009 season saw the park ranked 24th out of 30 Major League parks in terms of runs scored in the park, meaning only six other stadiums saw fewer runs scored during the season, and ten other ballparks saw more home runs hit. The extremely deep center-field and left-center-field dimensions help to balance out the park significantly, and Minute Maid's Batting park factor is consistently very near average.

Features

In dramatic contrast to the Astrodome, the most pitching-oriented stadium in Major League Baseball for most of its existence, Minute Maid Park is known for being particularly hitter-friendly down the lines, especially in left field where it is only 315 ft (96 m) to the Crawford Boxes, though the wall there is 19 feet (5.8 m) tall. In a challenge to home run hitters, Drayton McLane's office windows, located in the old Union Station and directly above the Crawford Boxes, are made of glass and a sign below his window is marked 422 ft (135 m) from home plate.

In contrast to the ease of hitting a home run to the Crawford Boxes, it is quite difficult to hit a ball out in center field, as the dead-center wall is 436 ft (133 m) from home plate. Fielding is a challenge there as well, due to the wide center field incline known as Tal's Hill, for team president Tal Smith, an element taken from Crosley Field and other historic ballparks (in a bit of gallows humor, the hill is also known as the "Grassy Knoll"), and the flagpole in play, an element taken from Yankee Stadium before its remodeling in the mid-'70s and Tiger Stadium among others. Milwaukee Brewers player Richie Sexson once hit a ball off the flagpole. There was a mark there until the 2011 season, when they repainted the pole. While Crosley Field's infamous left field terrace, which was half as steep (only 15 degrees) as Tal's Hill (30 degrees), was a natural feature of the site on which the park was located, Tal's Hill is purely decorative. Both structures have been held in equal disdain by the respective outfielders who have had to patrol those areas. This hill has caused some of the most replayed catches in recent baseball history, and plenty of controversy as well. Lance Berkman said, "If the ball rolls onto the hill, it's not steep enough to roll back, so you have to go get it. Then there's the chance of running into the flagpole that's on it and getting hurt.” Fans started an online petition to remove the hill and flagpole, though the petition has since been discontinued.

A concourse above Tal's Hill features the "Conoco Home Run Porch" in left-center field that is actually over the field of play, and features a classic gasoline pump that displays the total number of Astros home runs hit since the park opened.

The electrification of Minute Maid Park's retractable roof was developed by VAHLE, Inc.

The stadium can also be fully air-conditioned when required.

2004

In 2004, the Astros launched Wi-Fi throughout the ballpark, allowing fans to use the Internet while attending a game for a fee. In addition, the ballpark is the first major sports facility to have a closed captioning board for the hearing impaired.

The visiting team's bullpen is housed entirely in the exterior left field wall, next to the Crawford Boxes, making it one of the few bullpens in Major League ballparks to be completely indoors. Although windows in the outfield fence offer a view into and from the bullpen, its entrance is actually built into the side of the Crawford Boxes.

2006

In 2006, the Chick-fil-A cows were unveiled on the foul poles, saying EAT MOR FOWL, and the cows have Astros caps on. Anytime an Astros player hits the pole, the fans in attendance get a free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A. Hunter Pence is the first and second Astro to hit the left field "Fowl Pole" when he did it twice in the 2007 season. Ty Wigginton became the third Astro to hit the left field pole on September 16, 2007. Kazuo Matsui hit the right field foul pole on August 3, 2009 with a 2 run homer in the 6th inning to beat the Giants. Carlos Lee hit the left field pole on July 28, 2010, giving the Astros a 8-1 win against the Cubs. 2 days later, Jeff Keppinger hit the Left Field pole to help the Astros win 5-0 against the Brewers.

2008

After the 2008 season, the Astros' groundskeepers began installing of a new turfgrass playing surface at Minute Maid Park. The new sod is called Platinum TE Paspalum. The Astros are the first sports organization in the world to use the product. The Astros also became one of the first to use the new Chemgrass, later known as AstroTurf after its first well-publicized use at the Houston Astrodome in 1966.

2011

For the 2011 season, the park added a large HD screen nicknamed "El Grande" replacing the original one in center field. At 54 feet high and 124 feet wide, it is the second largest scoreboard in Major League Baseball, behind Kaufmann Stadium (home of the Kansas City Royals). The old screen was taken out and replaced by billboards. Additionally they added a smaller HD screen on the far left field wall. The ring of advertisement screens around the park have also been replaced in favor of HD ribbon boards.

Major events

On July 13, 2004, Minute Maid Park hosted the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which the American League won 9–4.

On October 9, 2005, Minute Maid Park hosted the longest postseason game in Major League Baseball history, both in terms of time and number of innings. The Astros defeated the Atlanta Braves 7–6 in a game lasting eighteen innings, which took 5 hours and 50 minutes to play. On October 25, 2005, Minute Maid Park hosted the first World Series game ever played in Texas, and the longest World Series game ever played, which the Astros lost to the eventual World Series champion Chicago White Sox 7–5 in 14 innings; this game lasted 5 hours and 41 minutes. The following night, the White Sox won the World Series—first in 88 years—at Minute Maid Park.

On June 28, 2007, Craig Biggio hit his 3000th career hit, the first Astro to do so. The hit was a 2-out RBI-single against the Colorado Rockies.

On September 30, 2007, in Craig Biggio's last game of his career, Minute Maid Park hit the highest attendance in its eight-year history by selling 43,823 tickets, 107% of its capacity.

On April 5, 2010, Opening Day of 2010, Minute Maid Park surpassed its highest attendance total once again by selling 43,836 tickets, 13 more tickets that its previous record.

Ballpark firsts

{| | Statistic || Person(s) || Date |- | First Ceremonial First Pitch || Kenneth Lay || April 7, 2000 |- | First Hit || Doug Glanville (Philadelphia Phillies), single to right || April 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Hit || Craig Biggio, single to center|| April 7, 2000 |- | First Double || Rico Brogna (Philadelphia Phillies) || April 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Double || Craig Biggio || April 8, 2000 |- | First Triple || Tim Bogar || April 8, 2000 |- | First Home Run || Scott Rolen (Philadelphia Phillies) || April 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Home Run || Richard Hidalgo || April 7, 2000 |- | First Grand Slam || Thomas Howard (St. Louis Cardinals) || April 11, 2000 |- | First Astros Grand Slam || Ken Caminiti || May 9, 2000 |- | First Cycle || Luis Gonzalez (Arizona Diamondbacks) || July 5, 2000 |- | First Astros Cycle || Jeff Bagwell || July 18, 2001 |- | First Winning Pitcher || Randy Wolf (Philadelphia Phillies) || April 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Winning Pitcher || Mike Maddux || April 8, 2000 |- | First Save || Wayne Gomes (Philadelphia Phillies) || April 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Save || Billy Wagner || April 8, 2000 |- | First Shutout || Minnesota Twins 2-0 || June 7, 2000 |- | First Astros Shutout|| 3-0 over the Chicago Cubs || July 22, 2001 |- | First postseason game|| 7 - 4 loss to the Atlanta Braves || October 9, 2001 |}

Events other than baseball

While primarily a baseball venue, Minute Maid Park can adequately host sports such as American football, soccer, and both codes of rugby. The venue can also play host to large-scale rock concerts.

Its debut as a soccer venue happened during the 2006 edition of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The stadium hosted the first leg of the quarterfinal between Portmore United of Jamaica (the "home" team) and Club América of Mexico. Portmore United effectively sold the rights to their home leg (Portmore's usual home stadium is the 2,000 seat Ferdi Neita Sports Complex in Portmore, Jamaica) to an American sports marketing company who placed the tie in Houston hoping to attract Mexican-Americans to the match. 12,988 (a "home" record for Portmore) saw America run out 2-1 winners with goals from Christian Gimenez, and Aaron Padilla after Remeel Wolfe had given the CFU side a shock lead.

The stadium also is the host of the Houston College Classic college baseball, part of the winter fan festival held in February. The tournament features local schools the University of Houston and Rice University every year, a pair of Big 12 schools, alternating between the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University, and Texas A&M University and Baylor University, as well as two other teams from around the country.

Madonna performed a concert as part of her Sticky & Sweet Tour on November 16, 2008, marking her first Texas appearance in 18 years. The attendance for the concert was 41,498.

The nationally syndicated TV talk show ''Rachael Ray'' held a mass wedding at the park following Hurricane Ike for 40 couples who were unable to get married after a company they paid to hold the weddings went bankrupt. Comedian Jeffrey Ross served as best man for all 40 couples. The ceremony was aired as part of a special episode of the talk show on November 21, 2008.

Gallery

References

Minute Maid Park: Facts and Figures. Accessed May 24, 2006.

Ballpark Digest Visit to Minute Maid Park

Astros Daily - Your best source for news and information on the Houston Astros

Notes

}}

External links

Stadium site on astros.com

Levine, Zachary. "Astros looking at the bigger picture." ''Houston Chronicle''. October 8, 2010.

Category:Houston Astros stadiums Category:Major League Baseball venues Category:Retractable-roof stadiums Category:Event venues established in 2000 Category:Baseball venues in Houston, Texas Category:Baseball venues in Texas Category:Coca-Cola buildings and structures

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