Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

# Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn

## Abstract

Bedford–Stuyvesant (/ ˈ b ɛ d f ər d ˈ s t aɪ v ə s ən t /), colloquially known as Bed–Stuy, is a neighborhood in the northern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Bedford–Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg), Classon Avenue to the west (bordering Clinton Hill), Broadway to the east (bordering Bushwick and East New York), and Atlantic Avenue to the south (bordering Crown Heights and Brownsville). The main shopping street, Fulton Street, runs east–west the length of the neighborhood and intersects high-traffic north–south streets including Bedford Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and Stuyvesant Avenue. Bedford–Stuyvesant contains four smaller neighborhoods: Bedford, Stuyvesant Heights, Ocean Hill, and Weeksville (also part of Crown Heights). Part of Clinton Hill was once considered part of Bedford–Stuyvesant.

Bedford–Stuyvesant has the largest collection of intact and largely untouched Victorian architecture in the United States, with roughly 8,800 buildings built before 1900. Its building stock includes many historic brownstones. These homes were developed for the expanding upper-middle class from the 1890s to the late 1910s. These homes contain highly ornamental detailing throughout their interiors and have classical architectural elements, such as brackets, quoins, fluting, finials, and elaborate frieze and cornice banding.

Since the late 1930s, the neighborhood has been a major cultural center for Brooklyn's African American population. Following the construction of the Fulton Street subway line (A and C trains) in 1936, African Americans left an overcrowded Harlem for greater housing availability in Bedford–Stuyvesant. From Bedford–Stuyvesant, African Americans have since moved into the surrounding areas of Brooklyn, such as East New York, Crown Heights, Brownsville, and Fort Greene. Since the early 2000s, Bedford-Stuyvesant has undergone significant gentrification, resulting in a dramatic demographic shift combined with increasing rent and real estate prices.

Bedford–Stuyvesant is mostly part of Brooklyn Community District 3. Its primary ZIP Codes are 11205, 11206, 11216, 11221, 11233, and 11238. Bedford–Stuyvesant is patrolled by the 79th and 81st Precincts of the New York City Police Department. Politically it is represented by the New York City Council 's 36th District.

## History

### Founding

The neighborhood's name combines the names of what was the hamlet of Bedford, and the Stuyvesant Heights neighborhoods, initially separate neighborhoods which grew together. The 17th century hamlet of Bedford was named after the market town of Bedford in England. Stuyvesant Heights was named for Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor of the colony of New Netherland.

#### 17th and 18th centuries

In the second half of the 17th century, the lands which constitute the present neighborhood belonged to three Dutch settlers: Dirck Janse Hooghland, who operated a ferryboat on the East River, and farmers Jan Hansen, and Leffert Pietersen van Haughwout. In pre- revolutionary Kings County, Bedford was the first major settlement east of the Village of Brooklyn, on the ferry road to the town of Jamaica and eastern Long Island. Stuyvesant Heights, however, was farmland; the area became a community after the American Revolutionary War.

For most of its early history, Stuyvesant Heights was part of the outlying farm area of the small hamlet of Bedford, settled by the Dutch during the 17th century within the incorporated town of Breuckelen. The hamlet had its beginnings when a group of Breuckelen residents decided to improve their farm properties behind the Wallabout section, which gradually developed into an important produce center and market. The petition to form a new hamlet was approved by Governor Stuyvesant in 1663. Its leading signer was Thomas Lambertsen, a carpenter from Holland. A year later, the English capture of New Netherland signaled the end of Dutch rule. In Governor Nicolls' Charter of 1667 and in the Charter of 1686, Bedford is mentioned as a settlement within the Town of Brueckelen. Bedford hamlet had an inn as early as 1668, and, in 1670, the people of Breuckelen purchased from the Canarsie Indians an additional area for common lands in the surrounding region.

Bedford Corners, approximately located where the present Bedford Avenue meets Fulton Street, and only three blocks west of the present Historic District, was the intersection of several well traveled roads. The Brooklyn and Jamaica Turnpike, constructed by a corporation founded in 1809 and one of the oldest roads in Kings County, ran parallel to the present Fulton Street, from the East River ferry to the village of Brooklyn, thence to the hamlet of Bedford and on toward Jamaica via Bed–Stuy. Farmers from New Lots and Flatbush used this road on their way to Manhattan. Within the Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, the Turnpike ran along the approximate line of Decatur Street. Cripplebush Road to Newtown and the Clove Road to Flatbush also met at Bedford Corners. Hunterfly Road, which joined the Turnpike about a mile to the east of Clove Road, also served as a route for farmers and fishermen of the Canarsie and New Lots areas.

At the time of the Revolution, Leffert's son Jakop was a leading citizen of Bedford and the town clerk of Brooklyn. His neighbor, Lambert Suydam, was captain of the Kings County cavalry in 1776. An important part of the Battle of Long Island took place in and near the Historic District. In 1784, the people of the Town of Brooklyn held their first town meeting since 1776.

#### 19th century

In 1800, Bedford was designated one of the seven districts of the Town of Brooklyn, and, in 1834, it became part of the seventh and ninth wards of the newly incorporated City of Brooklyn. With the building of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad in 1833, along Atlantic Avenue, Bedford was established as a railroad station near the intersection of current Atlantic Avenue and Franklin Avenues. In 1836, the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad was taken over by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), which in 1878 would gain a connection to the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway 's northern terminal. The Weeksville subsection, founded in 1838, was recognized as one of the first, free African-American communities in the United States.

The present street grid was laid out in 1835, as shown by the Street Commissioners map of 1839, and the blocks were divided into lots. The new street grid led to the abandonment of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Turnpike in favor of a continuation of Brooklyn's Fulton Street, though the lands for the street grid were not sold to the City of Brooklyn until 1852. When Charles C. Betts purchased Maria Lott's tract of land the same year, this marked the end of two centuries of Dutch patrimonial holdings. Most of the streets were not opened until the 1860s, at which point Bedford–Stuyvesant's streets were named after prominent figures in American history.

The Dripps Map of 1869 shows that the area was still largely rural with a few freestanding houses mostly on MacDonough Street. The real development of the district began slowly at first, accelerating between 1885 and 1900, and gradually tapering off during the first two decades of the 20th century.

In 1857, the City of Brooklyn acquired part of the estate of Tunis Johnson (grandson of Jeremiah Johnson) to establish a public park. The park was opened in 1871, named Tompkins Park after Daniel D. Tompkins. In 1985 it was renamed Herbert Von King Park after the local community leader.

Construction of masonry row houses in the 1870s began to transform the rural district into an urban area. The first row of masonry houses in Stuyvesant Heights was built in 1872 on MacDonough Street for developer Curtis L. North. In the 1880s and 1890s, more rows were added, most of the Stuyvesant Heights north of Decatur Street looked much as it does today. Stuyvesant Heights was emerging as a neighborhood entity with its own distinctive characteristics. The houses had large rooms, high ceilings and large windows, and were built primarily by German immigrants. The people who bought these houses were generally upper-middle-class families, mostly lawyers, shopkeepers, and merchants of German and Irish descent, with a sprinkling of English people; there were also a few professionals. A contemporary description calls it a very well kept residential neighborhood, typical of the general description of Brooklyn as "a town of homes and churches".

Built in 1863, the Capitoline Grounds were the home of the Brooklyn Atlantics baseball team. The grounds were bordered by Nostrand Avenue, Halsey Street, Marcy Avenue, and Putnam Avenue. During the winters, the operators would flood the area and open an ice-skating arena. The grounds were demolished in 1880.

In 1890, the city of Brooklyn founded another subsection: Ocean Hill, a working-class predominantly Italian enclave. In the last decades of the 19th century, with the advent of electric trolleys and the Fulton Street Elevated, Bedford–Stuyvesant became a working-class and middle-class bedroom community for those working in downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan in New York City. At that time, most of the pre-existing wooden homes were destroyed and replaced with brownstone rowhouses.

### 20th century

#### 1900s to 1950s

In 1907, the completion of the Williamsburg Bridge facilitated the immigration of Jews and Italians from the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

During the 1930s, major changes took place due to the Great Depression years. Immigrants from the American South and the Caribbean brought the neighborhood's black population to around 30,000, making it the second largest Black community in the city at the time. During World War II, the Brooklyn Navy Yard attracted many black New Yorkers to the neighborhood as an opportunity for employment, while the relatively prosperous war economy enabled many of the Jewish and Italian residents to move to Queens and Long Island. By 1950, the number of black residents had risen to 155,000, comprising about 55 percent of the population of Bedford–Stuyvesant. In the 1950s, real estate agents and speculators employed blockbusting to turn a profit. As a result, formerly middle-class white homes were being turned over to poorer black families. By 1960, eighty-five percent of the population was black.

#### 1960s

Gang wars erupted in 1961 in Bedford–Stuyvesant, and Alfred E. Clark of The New York Times referred to it as "Brooklyn's Little Harlem ". One of the first urban riots of the era took place there due to social and racial divisions in the city contributed to the tensions. The relationship between the NYPD and the city's black community became strained due to perceptions of the NYPD as being oppressive and racially biased, and at that time, few black policemen were present on the force. Predominantly black neighborhoods received disproportionate rates of arrests and prosecutions for drug-related crimes, and the NYPD's 79th Precinct in Bedford–Stuyvesant had been one of the only three police precincts in the NYPD to which black police officers were assigned. Race riots followed in 1967 and 1968, as part of the political and racial tensions in the United States of the era, aggravated by continued high unemployment among blacks, continued de facto segregation in housing, and the failure to enforce civil rights laws.

With the help of local activists and politicians, such as Civil Court Judge Thomas Jones, grassroots organizations of community members and businesses willing to aid were formed and began the rebuilding of Bedford–Stuyvesant. In 1965, Andrew W. Cooper, a journalist from Bedford–Stuyvesant, brought suit under the Voting Rights Act against racial gerrymandering under the grounds that Bedford–Stuyvesant was divided among five congressional districts, each with a white representative. It resulted in the creation of New York's 12th Congressional District and the election in 1968 of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman and West Indian American ever elected to the US Congress.

In 1967, Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. senator for New York state, launched a study of problems facing the urban poor in Bedford–Stuyvesant, which received almost no federal aid and was the city's largest non-white community. Under Kennedy's leadership and with the help of activists, the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation was established as the United States' first community development corporation. The Manhattan-based Development and Services Corporation (D&S) was established with business, banking and professional leaders which advised and raised private funding for the BSRC's projects. The abandoned Sheffield Milk bottling plant on Fulton Street was turned into the BSRC offices in 1967, and the BSRC bought and renovated many housing units as well as administered a $73 million mortgage assistance program to encourage African-American homeownership. The BSRC also implemented a controversial plan by I.M. Pei to close off St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place, between Kingston and Albany Avenues, and convert these into community spaces.

#### 1970s and 1980s

In the late 1980s, resistance to illegal drug-dealing included, according to Rita Webb Smith, following police arrests with a civilian Sunni Muslim 40-day patrol of several blocks near a mosque, the same group having earlier evicted drug sellers at a landlord's request, although that also resulted in arrests of the Muslims for "burglary, menacing and possession of weapons", resulting in a probationary sentence.

### 2000s

Beginning in the 2000s, the neighborhood began to experience gentrification. The two significant reasons for this were the affordable housing stock consisting of brownstone rowhouses located on quiet tree-lined streets, as well as a significant decrease of crime in the neighborhood. Many properties were renovated after the start of the 21st century, and new retailers began moving to the neighborhood. Both the Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue commercial corridors became part of the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District, bringing along with it a beautification project. Through a series of "wallscapes" (large outdoor murals), the campaign honored famous community members, including community activist and poet June Jordan, activist Hattie Carthan, and rapper The Notorious B.I.G. The campaign sought to show off the area's positive accomplishments.

Several long-time residents and business owners expressed concern that they would be priced out by newcomers, whom they disparagingly characterize as " yuppies and buppies ", according to one neighborhood blog. They feared that the neighborhood's ethnic character would be lost. However, Bedford–Stuyvesant's population has experienced much less displacement of the black population than other areas of Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg and Cobble Hill. Bedford–Stuyvesant saw the influx of more upwardly mobile middle class African American families, as well as immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. Surrounding neighborhoods in northern and eastern Brooklyn have a combined population of about 940,000 and are roughly 82% black, making them the largest concentration of African Americans in the United States.

In July 2005, the NYPD designated the Fulton Street–Nostrand Avenue business district in Bedford–Stuyvesant as an "Impact Zone", which directed significantly increased levels of police protection and resources to the area for two consecutive 6-month periods, resulting in a 15% decrease in crime within one year. Despite the improvements and increasing stability of the community, Bedford–Stuyvesant has continued to be stigmatized in some circles. In March 2005 a campaign was launched to supplant the "Bed-Stuy, Do-or-Die" slogan with "Bed-Stuy, and Proud of It". Violent crime also remained a problem in the area, and the two precincts that cover Bedford–Stuyvesant reported a combined 37 murders in 2010.

#### 2010s to present

Despite the largest recession to hit the United States in the last 70 years, gentrification continued steadily, and the blocks west of the Nostrand Avenue/Fulton Street intersection and north of Fulton Street and Stuyvesant Avenue were particularly impacted. In 2011, Bedford–Stuyvesant listed three Zagat -rated restaurants for the first time; by 2014, there were over ten Zagat-rated establishments. Moreover, in June 2013, 7 Arlington Place, the setting for Spike Lee 's 1994 film Crooklyn, was sold for over its asking price, at $1.7 million.

A diverse mix of students, hipsters, artists, creative professionals, architects, and attorneys of all races continued to move to the neighborhood. A business improvement district was launched along the Fulton and Nostrand Corridor, with a redesigned streetscape planned to include new street trees, street furniture, pavers, and signage and improved cleanliness in an effort to attract more business investment. Major infrastructure upgrades have been performed or are in progress, such as Select Bus Service bus rapid transit on the B44 route along Nostrand and Bedford Avenues, which began operating in late 2013. Other infrastructure upgrades in the neighborhood included major sewer and water modernization projects, as well as fiber-optic and cable service upgrades. Improved natural and organic produce continued to become available at local delis and grocers, the farmer's market on Malcolm X Boulevard, and through the Bed-Stuy Farm Share. FreshDirect services the neighborhood, and a large member constituency of the adjacent Greene-Hill Food Coop are from Bedford–Stuyvesant.

#### 2020s

According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning on the neighborhood racial demographics, western Bedford-Stuyvesant now has an almost equal population of White and Black residents with each of their population residents at between 30,000 and 39,999 along with having between 10,000 and 19,999 Hispanic residents. Eastern Bedford-Stuvyvesant has 40,000+ Black residents, 20,000 to 29,000 White residents, and 10,000 to 19,999 Hispanic residents. The 2020 census data show Bedford-Stuyvesant with an increasing diverse racial community.

## Subsections

### Neighborhoods

Bedford is located toward the western end of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Before the American Revolutionary War times, it was the first settlement to the east of the Village of Brooklyn. It was originally part of the old village of Bedford, which was centered near today's Bedford Avenue–Fulton Street intersection. The area "extends from Monroe Street on the north to Macon Street and Verona Place on the south, and from just east of Bedford Avenue eastward to Tompkins Avenue," according to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Bedford is adjacent to Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Clinton Hill.

Stuyvesant Heights is located toward the southern-central section of Bedford-Stuyvesant. It has historically been an African-American enclave. It derives its name from Stuyvesant Avenue, its principal thoroughfare. It was originally part of the outlying farm area of Bedford for most of its early history. A low-rise residential district of three- and four-story masonry row houses and apartment buildings with commercial ground floors, it was developed mostly between 1870 and 1920, mainly between 1895 and 1900. The Stuyvesant Heights Historic District is located within the area bounded roughly by Tompkins Avenue on the west, Macon and Halsey Streets on the north, Malcolm X Boulevard on the east, and Fulton Street on the south.

Ocean Hill is located toward the eastern end Ocean Hill received its name in 1890 for being slightly hilly. Hence it was subdivided from the larger community of Stuyvesant Heights. From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960s Ocean Hill was an Italian enclave. By the late 1960s Ocean Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant proper together formed the largest African American community in the United States.

Weeksville is located toward the southeast. Weeksville was named after James Weeks, an ex-slave from Virginia, who in 1838 bought a plot of land and founded Weeksville.

### Historic districts

The Stuyvesant Heights Historic District in Bedford-Stuyvesant comprises 577 contributing residential buildings built between about 1870 and 1900. The district encompasses 17 individual blocks (13 identified in 1975 and four new in 1996). The buildings within the district primarily comprise two- and three-storey rowhouses with high basements, with a few multiple dwellings and institutional structures. The district includes the Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, the Romanesque Revival style Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, and St. Phillip's Episcopal Church. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and expanded in 1996.

There are several other historic districts in the neighborhood as of 2024, designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Bedford Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District was designated on April 16, 2013, and extended the Stuyvesant Heights district north to Jefferson Avenue, east to Malcolm X Boulevard, and west to Tompkins Avenue. The Bedford Historic District was created on December 8, 2015, and is roughly bounded by Fulton Street, Bedford Avenue, Monroe Street, and Tompkins Avenue. The Willoughby–Hart Historic District was designated on June 25, 2024, and includes about 50 buildings on Willoughby Avenue and Hart Street. Along Atlantic Avenue, on the border with Crown Heights, is the Alice and Agate Courts Historic District, a set of 36 Queen Anne row houses which were designated on February 10, 2009.

## Demographics

The entirety of Community Board 3 had 152,403 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 76.8 years. This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 24% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 33% between 25 and 44, and 22% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 10% and 11% respectively.

As of 2022, the median household income in Community Board 3 was $71,123. In 2018, an estimated 23% of Bedford–Stuyvesant residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eight residents (13%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 53% in Bedford–Stuyvesant, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. As of late 2021, Bedford–Stuyvesant is considered to be gentrifying.

### Demographic trends

The 1790 census records of Bedford lists 132 freemen and 72 slaves. Rapid population growth followed major improvements to public transportation. By 1873, Bed-Stuy's (predominantly white) population was 14,000. In the early 1900s, prosperous black families began buying up the mansions of Bed-Stuy, many of which were designed by prominent architects. The population was quick to grow, but it wasn't until the 1930s that Bed-Stuy's black population boomed. Following the introduction of the IND Fulton Street Line (a.k.a. the A/C line) in 1936, African-Americans left crowded Harlem in search of better housing opportunities. Bed-Stuy quickly became the second destination for black New Yorkers and the New York Times even dubbed it "Little Harlem" in 1961.

After a large decline during the 1970s (mirroring the citywide decline), the population in Bedford Stuyvesant grew by 34 percent between 1980 and 2015 (faster than the citywide growth rate of 21 percent) to reach 150,900 residents. The population increased by 25 percent between 2000 and 2015, more than three times faster than the citywide rate. The ethnic and racial mix of the population has undergone dramatic changes in the past 15 years as the neighborhood has attracted new residents. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, three-quarters of the residents identified as black or African-American in 2000, but this share had declined to less than half of the population by 2015. In 2015, one-quarter of the residents were white and nearly one-fifth were Hispanic. By comparison, in 2000, less than 3 percent of the population was white (the Hispanic share of the population has remained relatively unchanged). The Asian population has grown, but remains relatively small, making up less than 5 percent of the neighborhood. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2022 the population was 41% Black, 29% White, 18% Hispanic, 4% Asian, and 8% other or from two or more races.

## Politics

The neighborhood is part of New York's 8th congressional district, represented by Democrat Hakeem Jeffries as of 2013. It is also part of the 18th and 25th State Senate districts, represented respectively by Democrats Julia Salazar and Jabari Brisport, and the 54th, 55th, and 56th State Assembly districts, represented respectively by Democrats Erik Dilan, Latrice Walker, and Stefani Zinerman. Bed-Stuy is located in the New York City Council 's 36th and 41st districts, represented respectively by Democrats Chi Ossé and Darlene Mealy.

## Police and crime

Bedford–Stuyvesant is patrolled by two precincts of the NYPD. The 81st Precinct is located at 30 Ralph Avenue, serving the area east of Marcus Garvey Boulevard, and the 79th Precinct is located at 263 Tompkins Avenue, serving the area west of Marcus Garvey Boulevard.

## Fire safety

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) operates seven fire stations in Bedford–Stuyvesant.

## Health

As of 2018, preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in Bedford–Stuyvesant than in other places citywide. In Bedford–Stuyvesant, there were 95 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 26.9 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Bedford–Stuyvesant has a relatively low population of residents who are uninsured, or who receive healthcare through Medicaid. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, which is slightly lower than the citywide rate of 12%.

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Bedford–Stuyvesant is 0.0081 milligrams per cubic metre (8.1 × 10 oz/cu ft), higher than the citywide and boroughwide averages. Nineteen percent of Bedford–Stuyvesant residents are smokers, which is higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Bedford–Stuyvesant, 29% of residents are obese, 13% are diabetic, and 34% have high blood pressure —compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.

Eighty-four percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 76% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly less than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Bedford–Stuyvesant, there are 57 bodegas.

There are several hospitals in the Bed-Stuy area, including the Woodhull Medical Center and the Interfaith Medical Center.

## Post offices and ZIP Codes

Bedford–Stuyvesant is covered by four primary ZIP Codes (11206, 11216, 11221, 11233) and parts of three other ZIP Codes (11205, 11213, and 11233). The northern part of the neighborhood is covered by 11206; the central part, by 11221; the southwestern part, by 11216; and the southeastern part, by 11233. In addition, the ZIP Code 11205 covers several blocks in the northwestern corner of Bed-Stuy, and 11213 includes several blocks in the extreme southern portion of the neighborhood. The United States Postal Service operates four post offices nearby: the Restoration Plaza Station at 1360 Fulton Street, the Shirley A Chisholm Station at 1915 Fulton Street, the Bushwick Station at 1369 Broadway, and the Halsey Station at 805 MacDonough Street.

## Education

Bedford–Stuyvesant generally has a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018. While 35% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 21% have less than a high school education and 43% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Bedford–Stuyvesant students excelling in reading and math has been increasing, with reading achievement rising from 32 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2011, and math achievement rising from 23 percent to 47 percent within the same time period.

Bedford–Stuyvesant's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is higher than the rest of New York City. In Bedford–Stuyvesant, 30% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students. Additionally, 70% of high school students in Bedford–Stuyvesant graduate on time, lower than the citywide average of 75% of students.

### Schools

Several public schools serve Bedford-Stuyvesant. The zoned high school for the neighborhood is Boys and Girls High School on Fulton Street. The Brooklyn Brownstone School, a public elementary school located in the MS 35 campus on MacDonough Street, and was developed in 2008 by the Stuyvesant Heights Parents Association and the New York City Board of Education. At the eastern edge of the neighborhood is Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology.

Many public schools are named after prominent African-Americans and, as stated by Nikole Hannah-Jones in The New York Times, were "intended to evoke black uplift". Hannah-Jones wrote in 2016 that many wealthier residents choose to use magnet schools or private schools instead of neighborhood schools.

For the early grades Ember Charter School for Mindful Education and Success Academy Bed-Stuy 1 and 2 are charter schools. Bed-Stuy is also home to the Brooklyn Waldorf School, which moved to Claver Castle (at 11 Jefferson Avenue) in 2011.

Other institutions include:

- Boys High School

- Girl's High School

- Pratt Institute

- Brooklyn Brownstone Elementary School

- Weeksville Heritage Center

- Bedford Academy High School

By 2021 the interim location of the German School of Brooklyn (GSB) was the former Coop School in the Bedford Stuyvesant and Clinton Hill area. In 2021 the school moved all levels to its permanent site at 9 Hanover Place in Downtown Brooklyn.

### Libraries

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has four branches in Bedford-Stuyvesant:

- The Bedford branch and Bedford Learning Center, at 496 Franklin Avenue near Fulton Street. The branch opened in 1905.

- The Marcy branch, at 617 DeKalb Avenue near Nostrand Avenue.

- The Macon branch, at 361 Lewis Avenue near Macon Street. The branch is a Carnegie library that opened in 1907. It contains the Dionne Mack-Harvin Center, a collection dedicated to African American culture.

- The Saratoga branch, at 8 Thomas S. Boyland Street near Macon Street. The branch is a Carnegie library that opened in 1909.

## Transportation

Bedford–Stuyvesant is served by the New York City Subway 's IND Fulton Street Line (A and C trains), which opened in 1936. This underground line replaced the earlier, elevated BMT Fulton Street Line on May 31, 1940. The BMT Franklin Avenue Line has provided service and connections to southern Brooklyn since opening as an excursion railroad in 1878. The IND Crosstown Line (G train), running underneath Lafayette Avenue and Marcy Avenue, opened for service in 1937. The elevated BMT Jamaica Line (J, M, and Z trains) also serves the neighborhood, running alongside its northern boundary at Broadway. In the past, the elevated BMT Lexington Avenue Line served Lexington Avenue until 1950 and the elevated BMT Myrtle Avenue Line served Myrtle Avenue to the north until 1969.

Bedford–Stuyvesant is also served by the Nostrand Avenue station of the Long Island Rail Road.

Several bus routes, operated by MTA Regional Bus Operations, run through Bedford–Stuyvesant. The B7, B15, B43, B44, B44 SBS, B46, B46 SBS, B47, B48 and B49 routes run primarily north to south through the neighborhood, while the B25, B26, B38, B52, B54 and B57 run primarily west to east, and the Q24, B46, and B47 run northwest to southeast on Broadway.

## Notable people

- Aaliyah (1979–2001), Grammy-nominated singer.

- Aja (born 1994), drag queen and performer.

- Big Daddy Kane (born 1968), rapper.

- Memphis Bleek (born 1978), rapper.

- Kurt Boone (born 1959), author known for his work documenting street culture

- Mark Breland (born 1963), boxer

- Foxy Brown (born 1978), rapper

- Lil Cease (born 1977), rapper

- Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005), congresswoman

- Imani Coppola (born 1978), singer-songwriter

- Alan Dale (1925–2002), singer and star of The Alan Dale Show

- Tommy Davis (1939–2022),professional baseball player and coach, who played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder and third baseman from 1959 to 1976 for ten different teams, most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers

- Deemi (born 1980), singer

- Desiigner (born 1997), rapper

- Easy Mo Bee (born 1965), record producer

- Ansel Elgort (born 1994), actor

- Nelson Erazo (born 1977), professional wrestler better known by his ring name Homicide

- Fabolous (born 1977), rapper

- Bobby Fischer (1943–2008), eleventh World Chess Champion

- William Forsythe (born 1955), actor

- Jackie Gleason (1916–87), actor, comedian

- Carl Gordon (1932–2010), actor

- Kadeem Hardison (born 1965), actor, portrays Dwayne Wayne on A Different World

- Richie Havens (1941–2013), musician and poet

- Connie Hawkins (1942–2017), Basketball Hall of Fame player

- Lena Horne (1917–2010), actress and singer

- Jay-Z (born 1969), rapper and entrepreneur, who lived in the Marcy Housing Projects for most of his childhood

- Jaz-O (born 1964), rapper

- Joey Badass (born 1995), rapper

- Norah Jones (born 1979), singer

- June Jordan (1936–2002), Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and activist

- Wee Willie Keeler (1872–1923), Baseball Hall-of-Famer

- Brian Kokoska (born 1988), artist

- Talib Kweli (born 1975), emcee

- Lil' Kim (born 1974), rapper

- Maino (born 1973), rapper

- Masta Ace (born 1966), rapper

- Frank McCourt (1930–2009), a writer, and Malachy McCourt (born 1931), an actor, writer and politician. Frank's autobiographical bestseller Angela's Ashes describes their early childhood life in a working-class apartment building on Classon Avenue

- Ralph McDaniels (born 1962), music video director.

- Frank Mickens (1946–2009), educator

- Stephanie Mills (born 1957), singer

- Sauce Money (born 1969), rapper

- Dianne Morales (born 1967), non-profit executive, 2021 mayoral candidate for New York City

- Tracy Morgan (born 1968), comedian and actor

- Mos Def (aka Yasiin Bey) (born 1973), rapper

- Ali Shaheed Muhammad (born 1970), DJ, producer and member of A Tribe Called Quest

- Jack Newfield (1938–2004), journalist

- Harry Nilsson (1941–1994), musician, songwriter and author

- The Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace; also Biggie Smalls) (1972–1997), rapper, grew up near the Clinton Hill-Bed Stuy border.

- Oddisee (born 1985), rapper and producer

- Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), rapper

- Papoose (born 1978), rapper

- Floyd Patterson (1935–2006), boxer

- Martha M. Place (1849–1899), first woman to be put to death in the electric chair

- Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), professional baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers

- Chris Rock (born 1965), actor/comedian Also made a TV series about his early life, with much of it based in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

- Tony Rock (born 1974), comedian and younger brother of Chris Rock

- Susanna Russell (born c. 1844), first known female property developer in Brooklyn

- Gabourey Sidibe (born 1983), Academy Award -nominated actress

- Skyzoo (born 1982), rapper

- Brandon Stanton (born 1984), Humans of New York author and photographer

- Nelson Stevens (1938–2022), African-American painter and muralist

- Tek (born 1973), one half of Smif-N-Wessun

- Bill Thompson (born 1953), New York City 2013 Mayoral candidate

- Conrad Tillard (born 1964), politician, Baptist minister, radio host, author and civil rights activist

- Mike Tyson (born 1966), boxer, lived there with his family until the age of 10

- Martha Wainwright (born 1976), singer

- Dan Washburn (born 1973), author of The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream.

- Whodini, hip-hop group

- Lenny Wilkens (born 1937), Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach

- Juan Williams (born 1954), journalist and political analyst

- Ted Williams (born 1957), voiceover artist

- Vanessa A. Williams (born 1963), actress

## In popular culture

- Billy Joel 's 1980 song " You May Be Right ", from his album Glass Houses, includes "I walked through Bedford-Stuy alone" among the foolhardy things the song's narrator has done.

- In her 1980 one-woman film Gilda Live, Gilda Radner included a sketch featuring her Emily Litella character working as a substitute teacher in Bedford-Stuyvesant, filling in for a teacher who'd been stabbed by one of his students.

- Do the Right Thing, a movie by Spike Lee, takes place in Bed–Stuy. In 2015, the portion of Stuyvesant Street where the film was shot on was renamed "Do The Right Thing Way", marking the first time that a city street was given an honorary name for a movie filmed at a specific location.

- Notorious B.I.G., a rapper who included Bed–Stuy in his lyrics, he "publicly claim Bedford-Stuyvesant as his neighborhood". A 2009 film, Notorious, about life in Bed–Stuy in the 1990s, emphasized Notorious B.I.G.

- The period television sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris is set in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood (which is where series creator Chris Rock 's family lived in during the 1970s and 1980s). The show occasionally refers to the neighborhood by its often-used nickname "Bed-Stuy Do or Die".

- A selection from Black Enough; Stories of Being Young & Black in America, "The Ingredients" by Jason Reynolds, takes place in Bed-Stuy, involving a group of friends walking home from Kosciuszko Pool.

- Halsey, the American singer, mentions "Bed-Stuy" in her song " Hurricane ".


# List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders

## Abstract

In baseball, a hit is credited to a batter when he reaches first base – or any subsequent base – safely after hitting a fair ball, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice. One hundred eighteen different players have recorded at least six hits in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball game, the most recent being Luis García of the Washington Nationals on May 26, 2023. Five players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career; no player has ever recorded more than seven hits in a nine-inning game. Davy Force was the first player to collect six hits in a single game, doing so for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago White Stockings on June 27, 1876.

These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set in connection with the prodigious offensive performance. Shawn Green, for example, established a new major league record with 19 total bases and finished with a total of five extra-base hits, tying a National League record that was also achieved by Larry Twitchell during the latter's six-hit game. Four of Green's six hits were home runs, equaling the record for most home runs in one game. Jim Bottomley, Walker Cooper, Anthony Rendon, and Wilbert Robinson hit 10 or more runs batted in (RBI) to complement their six hits. Robinson proceeded to collect a seventh hit and an eleventh RBI to set single-game records in both categories. Although his record of 11 RBIs has since been broken, Robinson's seven hits in a nine-inning game has been matched only by Rennie Stennett.

Guy Hecker, the only pitcher to have accomplished the feat, also broke the single-game major league record for runs scored with seven. Cal McVey is the sole player to collect six hits in each of two consecutive games. Seven players hit for the cycle during their six-hit game. Zaza Harvey has the fewest career hits among players who have six hits in one game with 86, while Ty Cobb – with 4,189 – had more hits than any other player in this group and amassed the second most in major league history. Cobb, Cal Ripken Jr., and Paul Waner are also members of the 3,000 hit club.

Of the 75 players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have recorded six hits in a nine-inning game, eighteen have been elected, three on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 MLB seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months. These requirements leave six players ineligible who are active, six players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and twenty-six players ineligible who did not play in 10 seasons.

## Players

### Six hits in extra-inning games

As of 2019, 47 different players have recorded at least six hits in an extra-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game. Only Jimmie Foxx has accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever amassed more than nine hits in a game, with Johnny Burnett holding that distinction. Kirby Puckett is the only player to collect six hits in both a nine-inning and an extra-inning game.

The following list is kept separate from the above list of players who have six or more hits in a nine-inning game. This is due to the differing number of innings played during an extra-inning game, the lack of a definitive endpoint to the game that would otherwise allow for a fair comparison to be made, and the advantage of having more opportunities at bat during an extra-inning game as opposed to one lasting nine innings.


Lara Jill Miller

# Lara Jill Miller

## Abstract

Lara Jill Miller (born April 20, 1967) is an American actress. She rose to prominence when she played in roles like Samantha "Sam" Kanisky on the 1980s sitcom Gimme a Break! and Kathy on The Amanda Show.

She voices the title characters in Clifford's Puppy Days, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee and Henry Hugglemonster. She also voices Widget in Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, Lambie in Doc McStuffins, Fink in OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Lisa Loud in The Loud House, Libby Stein-Torres in The Ghost and Molly McGee, Izzie in SciGirls, Allie in Curious George, and Cat in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

## Early life and education

Miller was born April 20, 1967, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Lois (née Noll) and Stanley Miller. Her parents were both Jewish. Her mother, Lois Miller, founded the talent agency Star Talent Management. Her father, Stanley Miller, owned and operated a pajama factory. He was also well known for his participation in community theater, and he worked as an extra in the movie Hairspray.

Miller first started acting at a local dinner theater, which she tried out for after seeing its auditions advertised in a local newspaper and asking her father what the word "audition" meant. She graduated from Allentown's William Allen High School.

## Career

Miller's professional acting career began on Broadway, where she appeared as Amaryllis in a revival of The Music Man with Dick Van Dyke.

In 1981, after her appearance on Broadway, she joined the cast of Gimme a Break!, playing the role of the tomboyish Samantha "Sam" Kanisky opposite Nell Carter. When the series ended its six-year run on NBC in 1987, Miller returned to New York University, where she played on the university's women's varsity tennis team and continued performing on stage nationally. Four years later, she received her J.D. degree from Fordham University School of Law, leaving graduation early to portray Peter Pan in a production at the Pennsylvania Youth Theater. She subsequently was admitted to practice law in New Jersey, New York, and her native Pennsylvania.

In 1999, Miller resumed her on-camera acting career with recurring roles on the Nickelodeon series The Amanda Show and All That and on General Hospital. She also began working in animated series, lending her voice to various characters, including Kari in Digimon (both the series and the feature film), Koko in Zatch Bell!, Alejo in Astro Boy, and Scheris Adjani in s-CRY-ed. Miller also provided the singing voice of Dorothy Gale in the National Public Radio adaptation of L. Frank Baum 's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the voices of the title characters on Cartoon Network 's The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Disney Junior 's Henry Hugglemonster, and the PBS Kids Clifford's Puppy Days (prequel to Clifford the Big Red Dog).

Miller appears in the recurring roles of Pookie, Wiki, and Tini on Disney Channel 's Higglytown Heroes, Haruka of Daigunder, and the Nick Jr. series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! as Widget, the show's problem-solving pink creature resembling a rabbit, both PBS series Curious George as Allie and SciGirls as Izzie, and regular guest-starring roles on several other animated series.

For six seasons, she performed voice work on the Disney Channel/Disney Junior television series Doc McStuffins as the voice of Lambie and on the Nickelodeon television series The Loud House in which she voices Lisa Loud, Liam Hunnicutt, Becky, Persephone, and Nurse Patti.

In 2020, she voice acted for two cartoons, the episode "All About Zee" in DC Super Hero Girls and the English dub for Beastars as Haru. She continues to perform the role of Libby in the Disney production, The Ghost and Molly McGee.

## Filmography

## Personal life

In 2006, Miller's mother was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a progressive brain disease, which forced her to close her talent agency; Miller has since helped spread awareness of the disease.


Bernard Hogan-Howe, Baron Hogan-Howe

# Bernard Hogan-Howe, Baron Hogan-Howe

## Abstract

Bernard Hogan-Howe, Baron Hogan-Howe, QPM (born 25 October 1957) is an English former police officer and was the head of London's Metropolitan Police as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2011 until 2017.

Born in Sheffield, Hogan-Howe joined the South Yorkshire Police in 1979, becoming District Commander of the Doncaster West area, as well as obtaining university qualifications in law and criminology. In 1997, he transferred to Merseyside Police as Assistant Chief Constable for Community Affairs, moving on to area operations. He then joined the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner for personnel, before being appointed Chief Constable of Merseyside Police.

After two years as an Inspector of Constabulary, Hogan-Howe was briefly Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police before being appointed Commissioner in September 2011.

Hogan-Howe was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to policing.

## Early life and career

Bernard Howe was born in Sheffield, the son of Bernard Howe. He attended Hinde House Comprehensive School, where he completed his A-levels. He was brought up single-handedly by his mother, whose surname of Hogan he later added by deed poll. After leaving school, he spent four years working as a lab assistant in the National Health Service (NHS).

He began his police career in 1979 with South Yorkshire Police and rose to be District Commander of the Doncaster West area. In 1997, he transferred to Merseyside Police as Assistant Chief Constable for Community Affairs, moving onto area operations in 1999. Hogan-Howe then once again transferred this time to the Metropolitan Police as Assistant Commissioner for personnel, July 2001 – 2004. He was then appointed Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, 2005–9.

Whilst still with South Yorkshire Police, he was identified as a high-flier and selected to study for a MA degree in Law at Merton College, Oxford, which he began at the age of 28. He later went on to gain a postgraduate diploma in Applied Criminology from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and an MBA from the University of Sheffield.

On Merseyside, Hogan-Howe had called for a "total war on crime" and argued that the health and safety case which was successfully brought against the Metropolitan Police after the de Menezes shooting was restrictive of allowing the police to do their work. He had also called for a review of the decision to downgrade cannabis from a class B to a class C drug. He thereafter served as one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary, 2009–2011.

On 18 July 2011, the Home Secretary announced Hogan-Howe's temporary appointment as Acting Deputy Commissioner following the resignation of the Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, and the appointment of the incumbent Deputy Commissioner as Acting Commissioner. During that period, a decision was made within the department of professional standards to use the Official Secrets Act to compel The Guardian to reveal its sources regarding the News International phone hacking scandal. The order was swiftly rescinded five days prior to Hogan-Howe's formal term of office.

## Commissioner

Hogan-Howe applied for the position of Commissioner himself in August 2011 along with other candidates, and was successful in being selected for the post on 12 September 2011 after appearing before a panel of the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London and receiving the approval of the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, before he was formally appointed by the Queen, with effect from 26 September.

In 2013, Hogan-Howe was criticised for defending police officers who had, according to an appeal court ruling, used " inhuman and degrading treatment ", in breach of the Human Rights Act, when handling an autistic boy in a swimming pool. The criticism was specifically directed against the money spent on the appeal and his refusal to apologise and to improve training police officers for the humane treatment of disabled people. In September 2012, Hogan-Howe did ask an independent commission headed by Lord Adebowale to review cases where people with a mental illness died or were harmed after contact with police. The report arrived in May 2013 and contained severe criticism; Hogan-Howe responded to the commission's recommendations with a plan for change, announced in June 2014.

### The 'Total Policing' vision

Hogan-Howe outlined his vision for 'Total Policing' in 2011 shortly after becoming Commissioner. This vision sought to promote total professionalism from the workforce, a total war on crime and total care for victims. It was hoped that the 'Total Policing' vision would benefit from a commitment to 'total technology' – involving the roll-out of new technology across the Met, including tablet computers, body worn video and a major overhaul of the Met's existing IT systems. In a question and answer session following his valedictory speech at the Royal United Services Institute in February 2017, Hogan-Howe expressed regret at having not embarked upon the IT programme earlier.

### Historical sexual abuse cases

Hogan-Howe served as Commissioner in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal in 2012, after which more allegations of historic sexual abuse were made to police and police began a following a guidance by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary which said "the presumption that a victim should always be believed should be institutionalised". Operation Yewtree, which was set up by the Met following the Savile scandal, saw many celebrities arrested and repeatedly bailed without charge. As a result, then-Home Secretary Theresa May proposed that bail time be limited to 28 days and Hogan-Howe supported the proposal. The 28-day limit came into effect in April 2017. Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini was arrested by Operation Yewtree police and spent a year on bail before being told he would not face charges. Gambaccini described Hogan-Howe as "the villain of my life" and that he "attempted to destroy my life and end my career for their own public relations purposes in a 100 per cent fraud".

The Met launched Operation Midland in 2014 after Carl Beech, then known publicly under the pseudonym "Nick", alleged that several high-profile men had abused him and that he had witnessed them murder three boys. DS Kenny McDonald issued a statement in which he said that they believed Beech's allegations were "credible and true" but the probe was closed after 16 months when no evidence was found to corroborate the claims. Hogan-Howe initially refused to apologise to those wrongly accused by Beech, but did so after a report by Richard Henriques detailed numerous failings by the Met and found that those accused were victims of false allegations. After these failings, Hogan-Howe called for the Met to change their approach, and no longer automatically believe complainants. Beech was convicted of charges related to lying to the police in July 2019 and was sentenced to 18 years in jail.

### Position on ISIS supporters

Hogan-Howe was criticised in the wake of the 2015 Sousse attacks, after a father and his young daughter paraded at Parliament Square with the flag of ISIS (ISIL). Hogan-Howe supported his officers after they had refused to arrest the pair, and said that carrying an ISIS flag is 'not necessarily the worst thing in the world' and should not lead to an automatic arrest. This was contrary to an earlier statement by the then Prime Minister, who had written that "The position is clear. If people are walking around with ISIL flags or trying to recruit people to their terrorist cause, they will be arrested and their materials will be seized."

Hogan-Howe was later supported by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who said that 'we live in a free country' and that he did not support the banning of iconography associated with the extremist group.

### Staff confidence in senior leadership of the Metropolitan Police

In 2014, an internal staff survey was conducted. In response to the question "I have confidence in the leadership provided by the senior leaders in the Met" only 1 in 5 respondents agreed, whilst 3 in 5 disagreed with this statement.

### Stops interview to make arrest

In 2014, Hogan-Howe was taking part in an interview for the BBC when a taxi driver approached and said his passengers were refusing to pay and had stolen some money. Hogan-Howe and another police officer jumped into the taxi and chased the suspects. One of the suspects was located a short distance away and was arrested by Hogan-Howe.

### Institutional racism

In June 2015, Hogan-Howe said there was some justification in claims that the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist.

### Retirement

In September 2016, Hogan-Howe announced that he planned to retire in February 2017.

## Police Roll of Honour Trust

In November 2013, the then Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe took up the role of Patron of the national police charity the Police Roll of Honour Trust. He joined Sir Stephen House and Sir Hugh Orde as joint patrons.

## Honours and awards

Hogan-Howe was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2003 Birthday Honours

Hogan-Howe was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to policing, being invested with the honour on 21 May 2013.

Hogan-Howe's honours and decorations include:

On 14 November 2012, Hogan-Howe was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) by Sheffield Hallam University.

On 15 July 2013, Hogan-Howe was awarded an honorary doctorate of Laws (LLD) by the University of Sheffield. On 13 December 2022, Hogan-Howe was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate from Royal Holloway, University of London.

On 7 November 2017, Hogan-Howe was created a life peer. He took the title Baron Hogan-Howe, of Sheffield in the County of South Yorkshire.


Virgin Radio UK

# Virgin Radio UK

## Abstract

Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom and Tenerife that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by News Broadcasting which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp. It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK: the original station launched in 1993 before being rebranded as Absolute Radio in 2008.

As of September 2023, the station has a weekly audience of 1.4 million listeners according to RAJAR.

## History

The station launched at 11:00 on 30 March 2016 on a Virgin Trains service from Manchester to London by Edith Bowman and Matt Richardson and the first song played was a live cover version of David Bowie 's song " Changes " by Gavin James.

At launch, Virgin Radio UK broadcast to about 75% (now 83%) of the UK population via the Sound Digital DAB ensemble, and also broadcasts via online streaming to computers, mobile device applications and internet radios. It can be received outside the UK via the mobile app and website.

The broadcasts are presented live from 04:00 to 22:00 with overnight shows being automated. The playlist is varied focusing mainly on pop music ranging from the 80's through to current day.

On 3 September 2018, Chris Evans announced that from January 2019 he would be moving to Virgin Radio after 13 years of broadcasting on BBC Radio 2. He launched his new breakfast show on 21 January 2019.

On 7 January 2019, Virgin Radio joined the Sky and Freesat satellite platforms.

In January 2021 Graham Norton started a weekend show after 10 years at Radio 2. As with Chris Evans' show, it is distinguished by not having advertisements due to being wholly sponsored. Norton announced suddenly he’d leave the station on 24th Feb 2024, with his last show the following day on Sunday 25th Feb.

## Sister stations

Wireless launched two new Virgin-branded DAB+ spin-off stations on 21 December 2018. Virgin Radio Anthems plays guitar-based classics from the 1980s and 1990s. Virgin Radio Chilled features acoustic singer-songwriters and is designed to unwind and relax. Both stations broadcast The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. When Virgin Anthems launched in December 2018, the station changed its slogan to "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and Classic Tracks".

On 30 December 2019, Virgin Radio UK launched a third digital spin-off station – Virgin Radio Groove – on DAB+. It consisted of motown, soul and disco music and broadcasts The Chris Evans Breakfast Show at breakfast. The station closed in 2022.

In June 2021 a temporary station launched for the LGBTQ+ community, Virgin Radio Pride; It featured many different programmes and documentaries presented by a wide variety of presenters. Virgin Radio Pride returned for a second run during summer 2022.

On 1 September 2022, the sister station Virgin Radio 80s Plus was launched, which plays the artists of the 1980s, plus the best music from the late 1970s and early 1990s. Virgin Radio 80s Plus can be heard online, on smart speakers across the UK and on DAB in Greater London and the Central Belt of Scotland. It replaces Virgin Radio Pride on DAB radio.

## Presenters

### Current presenters

### Former presenters


The Mountain Minor

# The Mountain Minor

## Abstract

The Mountain Minor is a 2019 American drama film written, directed and co-produced by Dale Farmer, produced by Susan Pepper, and starring Dan Gellert, Elizabeth LaPrelle, Ma Crow, Asa Nelson, Hazel Pasley, Jonathan Bradshaw, Warren Waldron, Amy Cogan Clay, Judy Waldron, Trevor McKenzie and Mike Oberst. The film is noted for its on-screen performances of old-time music commonly associated with Appalachia.

## Plot

During the Great Depression, Vestal Abner, his wife Oza and their young son Charlie reluctantly move from their impoverished farm in Eastern Kentucky to Ohio, where Vestal has found a job. As Charlie grows up and eventually marries his childhood friend, Ruthie, he yearns to return to his boyhood home in the mountains, never losing his passion for the traditional mountain music of his ancestors.

## Cast

- Dan Gellert as Charlie Abner

- Ma Crow as Ruth Abner

- Asa Nelson as Young Charlie

- Hazel Pasley as Young Ruth

- Elizabeth LaPrelle as Oza Abner

- Jonathan Bradshaw as Vestal Abner

- Warren Waldron as Tom Abner

- Amy Cogan Clay as Dellie Abner

- Judy Waldron as Granny Whit

- Chuck Blackburn as Dan

- Mike Oberst as Willie Abner

- Trevor McKenzie as Ves Abner

- Susan Pepper as Sandra Abner

- Tracy Jarrell as Kim Abner

- Aaron Wolfe as Jimmie Abner

- Alison Moretz as Julie Abner

- Lucas Pasley as Hershel Abner

- Betty Wolfe as Hershel's Wife

- Wyatt Wolfe as Hershel's Grandson

- Naomi Jarrell as Willie Abner (baby)

- Rhoda Bradshaw as Sarah Abner

- Hubbard Bradshaw as Charlie Abner (toddler)

- James Moretz as Sandra Abner's Husband

- Josie Moretz as Sandra Abner's Daughter

- The Tillers (Mike Oberst, Sean Geal, Aaron Geal, Joe Macheret) as The Willie Abner Band

- Walton Conway as Man On Road

- Carolina Conway as Woman On Road

- Ed Pilkington as Elder Alton Radcliff

- Wade Wilmoth as Funeral Minister

- Gary Sampson as Ron

- Jean Pence as Jean

- Nick Schraub as Mark

- Cecil Gurganus as Square Dance Fiddler

- Dakota Phillips as Southgate House Audience

- Maria Carrelli as Southgate House Audience

- Brenton McMusiclover as Southgate House Audience

- Hannah Peacock as Southgate House Audience

- Zane Thompson as Southgate House Audience

## Background

Writer-director Dale Farmer made The Mountain Minor as a tribute to Appalachian culture and music, with the intention of portraying the characters realistically, not in the stereotypical manner in which mountain people are often depicted in film and television. Farmer, an old-time musician himself, loosely based the movie on the story of his grandparents, who migrated as children to Ohio from Jackson County, Kentucky during the 1930s. The title of the film refers to a banjo tuning often used in old-time music.

## Production

The Mountain Minor was a collaboration of Alt452 Productions, WonderlandWoods.tv and From the Heart Productions. The film spans several decades as it follows the characters Charlie Abner and Ruth Whit from childhood into adulthood, marriage and retirement. Though many scenes are set in Kentucky, they were filmed primarily at the historic Willet Ponds Farm in Todd, North Carolina for logistical and budget reasons. Other scenes were filmed in Newport, Kentucky; Oxford, Ohio; and Eaton, Ohio. Because of the film's emphasis on old-time music and Farmer's desire for authenticity, he decided to cast most of the main roles with experienced musicians, including Smithsonian Folkways recording artist Elizabeth LaPrelle (of the duo Anna & Elizabeth), Dan Gellert, Ma Crow and Mike Oberst of the band The Tillers. As Farmer told Bluegrass Today, “I figured that if I took professional musicians who are used to performing, that musicians would make better actors than actors make musicians.”

## Release and critical response

The Mountain Minor premiered at the Jukebox International Film Festival in Carson City, Nevada in 2018, where it received awards for Best of Festival and Best Picture-Runner Up. The film subsequently received awards in other festivals.

In addition to film festival awards, The Mountain Minor received positive reviews in several publications. Bill McGoun of the Asheville Citizen-Times called it "a powerful and true-to-life depiction of people doing what they needed to do to make their way in a sometimes difficult world". James Peterson for the Old-Time Central described the film as "highly entertaining, packed with beautiful scenery, and full of great tunes played masterfully by the actors themselves". Joel Wertman, president of The Heartland Network, said, "This film captures beautifully how the country music genre was born".

Following screenings at film festivals, The Mountain Minor had its commercial theatrical premiere at The Esquire Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 17 and October 20, 2019. Additional theatrical showings took place in other cities from November, 2019 until March, 2020. Subsequent theatrical showings were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic causing most movie theaters and other entertainment venues to shut down beginning in March, 2020.

With theaters closed, Alt452 Productions released The Mountain Minor on Blu-ray, DVD, Amazon and Vimeo on Demand in the spring of 2020. Several television entities also began showing, or making plans to show the film, including The Heartland Network, Kentucky Educational Television (KET) and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

A soundtrack album, The Mountain Minor Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released on October 16, 2020.


# List of NCAA Division I men's basketball players with 13 or more blocks in a game

## Abstract

In basketball, a block (short for blocked shot) occurs when a defender deflects or stops a field goal attempt without committing a foul. The National Collegiate Athletic Association 's (NCAA) Division I players on this list all accomplished the rare feat of blocking 13 shots in a single game. The 1985–86 season was the first that statistics on blocks were first compiled by the NCAA.

The highest single game block total by one player in NCAA Division I men's basketball history is 16, set by Mickell Gladness of Alabama A&M on February 24, 2007 against Texas Southern. Although Gladness holds the single-game record, it is Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State who claims the all-time career blocked shots record (564). Varnado never blocked 13 or more shots in a game, however. Through the 2015–16 season, only 18 different players have reached the 13-block mark. Among them, Gladness is the only player to have reached 16 blocks, nobody has blocked 15, five players have reached 14, and twelve players have hit 13 blocks.

David Robinson once blocked 14 shots in a game while playing for Navy, and is the only player on this list to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In the era before blocks were officially tracked by the entire NCAA, on December 3, 1983, Hakeem Olajuwon blocked 16 shots in a game while playing for the University of Houston against Biscayne. The blocks are a school record and would have tied the NCAA Division I record. Like Robinson, Olajuwon has also been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In the 1950s Bill Russell 's shot-blocking ability was touted in his junior and senior year, but there were no official statistics of blocks then and scant film of survives from his college career. However, film exists of his final game as a college player, in which his University of San Francisco team clinched the NCAA championship for the second year in a row to cap an undefeated season, and Russell is unofficially credited with 20 blocked shots in that game (to go with 26 points and 27 rebounds, a double- triple-double).

## Key


Élodie Woock

# Élodie Woock

## Abstract

Élodie Woock (born 13 January 1976) is a French former football midfielder. She played for Toulouse FC in the French First Division and 1.FFC Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga, and was a member of the France national team for most of her career, taking part in the 1997 and 2001 European Championships and the 2003 World Cup.

Now a manager, she currently coaches ES Saint-Simon in the French Third Division.

## Titles

- 4 French Leagues (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)

- 1 French Cup (2002)

- 1 German League (2003)

- 1 German Cup (2003)


Tsubasa Oozora

# Tsubasa Oozora

## Abstract

Tsubasa Oozora (Japanese: 大空 翼, Hepburn: Ōzora Tsubasa), is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series Captain Tsubasa written by Yōichi Takahashi. Tsubasa is a prodigious association football player who dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan one day. The series follows Tsubasa's growth from primary school life in Japan, to other teams in other countries as well as Japan's national team. Tsubasa's usual position is midfielder but he sometimes plays as a forward, normally wearing jersey #10. He has also appeared in the series' anime adaptations and video games based on the manga series.

Takahashi conceptualized Tsubasa as a strong player who would appear in multiple mangas as he grew up. To make the character's career stand out, Takahashi decided Tsubasa would never lose a match (though has lost once), stating that readers like strong characters. While there were no major influences in the making of the character, Takahashi linked Tsubasa with other real-life players including Kazuyoshi Miura. Multiple voice actors have played the character in animated adaptations of the series.

Tsubasa has become an iconic character in Japan and worldwide because of the impact he had on real-life events. Three statues of him have been placed in Katsushika, Japan, while readers from the manga and anime series have given him support in popularity polls. His image has been used by real players, some of whom have imitated the character's playing techniques. Critical reception has acknowledged how popular and appealing the character became because of his personality, playing talent and inspirational dreams.

## Creation and development

Manga author Yōichi Takahashi created Tsubasa Oozora as a part of a growth story intended to show the readers and viewers how characters are developed through the plot. He gave Tsubasa multiple rivals with differing traits to make his matches more challenging. Jun Misugi was at first a superior player to Tsubasa but Takahashi made Misugi suffer from heart problems to bring more conflict into the match between the two players. Fans had pointed out that Tsubasa's teams always tend to win or tie but never lose; Takahashi stated that to make the story longer, he had to make the protagonist's team participate in more matches and that readers want strong characters, which resulted in Tsubasa being a prodigy. Tsubasa's first team, the Nankatsu, was based on a team Takahashi took part in as child that aimed to become a first-category team despite being low-skilled at the time. In retrospect, Takahashi said Tsubasa was a less realistic character than other protagonists he had created; most notably the character Kyosuke Kano from the Hungry Heart: Wild Striker series was written to be more realistic and had to face family issues and relearn the rules of the sport. When he began writing the original series, Takahashi told readers Tsubasa was a football player whom the players could relate if they cared about the sport.

Takahashi said rumors claiming Tsubasa was based on Musashi Mizushima due to similarities between their lives were untrue; however, Mizushima's move to São Paulo as a ten-year-old boy was partly used in the manga. Takahashi said he had been influenced by Kazuyoshi Miura because he was the first Japanese player to play outside Japan. In World Youth, a new character named Shingo Aoi who trained in Italy joins Japan's team; he is an idol of Tsubasa. The relationship between the characters has been likened to that between Hidetoshi Nakata and Miura, though Tsubasa and Shingo are friendlier. In 2011, Takahashi had plans to finish Tsubasa's first year in Barcelona but also wanted to tell a story about the Japanese Olympic football team, from which Tsubasa was absent because the character Misaki Taro was taking the lead. Takahashi stated that he had no plans to end his story in 2012 because Tsubasa's dream is winning the FIFA World Cup.

Because Takahashi likes European football, he decided Tsubasa would leave São Paulo and join Spain's Barcelona at the age of 21. In 1998, Takahashi traveled to Barcelona and enjoyed its Camp Nou ground; he was inspired to make the Barcelona team Tsubasa's future team; he said Tsubasa would have joined Real Madrid if he had visited its pitch. Because of Tsubasa's inexperience, real-life player Rivaldo becomes his mentor during the manga Road to 2002. In 2016, Takahashi compared Tsubasa with Lionel Messi —another Barcelona player. Takahashi highly enjoyed drawing Tsubasa's life in the Barcelona team. Since the manga started, Takahashi has been inspired by the Barcelona team. Takahashi also linked Tsubasa to Andrés Iniesta, who inspired him during a fictional match between the Real Madrid and Barcelona from the manga Road to 2002. The rivalry between Tsubasa and another character Kojiro Hyuga was also linked with the rivalry between Messi and Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo due to their powerful clashes. When Japan women's national football team won its first FIFA Women's World Cup title in Germany, Takahashi drew comparisons between Tsubasa and Homare Sawa, the women's team's captain.

Several voice actors have portrayed Tsubasa; Akari Hibino, the character's first voice actor, played him in the first anime series and the original video animation sequel Shin Captain Tsubasa. As an adult in the anime Captain Tsubasa J, he is voiced by Nozomu Sasaki. In the anime Road to 2002, he was voiced by Kikuko Inoue as a teenager and by Tomokazu Seki as an adult. For the 2018 anime, Yūko Sanpei took the role of Tsubasa's Japanese voice; she commented, "I thought he was cheerful and a naturally talented soccer player at first, but now I know he actually practices diligently".

## Appearances

### Main manga

#### Captain Tsubasa

Tsubasa first appeared as the protagonist of the manga Captain Tsubasa, which Takahashi started writing in 1981. At the beginning of the series, Tsubasa is a lonely, soccer-obsessed, unembittered, elementary school pupil who has recently moved to the city of Nankatsu with his mother. Tsubasa 's life was saved by his football in a road-traffic accident when he was barely able to walk; Tsubasa held the football in front of him, which cushioned most of the impact. Immediately upon his arrival, Tsubasa challenges Shutetsu's genius goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi to a duel. The duel is observed by Roberto Hongo, a former member of the Brazil national football team and a friend of Tsubasa's father, who becomes his mentor. Joining Nankatsu school's soccer team, Tsubasa meets Taro Misaki with whom he forms a pairing that is later called "The Golden Duo" (ゴールデンコンビ, Gōruden Konbi), and chief supporter Sanae Nakazawa who soon develops a crush on him.

When Tsubasa is chosen as a member of the city's team for the national championship, he and his friends face opposition from Kojirou Hyuga, who becomes one of his biggest rivals. Tsubasa's team wins the tournament but Roberto breaks the promise of going to Brazil to train with Tsubasa, believing he is still too young. Nevertheless, he leaves Tsubasa a notebook with instructions to guide him. Tsubasa becomes a midfielder for Nakatsu and creates a shot known as Drive Shoot (ドライブシュート, Doraibu shūto) that can change the ball's reach. In the following years of training, Tsubasa perfects the Drive Shoot but is severely wounded in his left arm, causing Tsubasa to end his final game against Hyuga's Toho team with a tie. Following his recovery, many of his friends and rivals are selected by his coach as part of a team that wins the U-16 World Championships for Japan. He leaves Japan to follow his dream of becoming a professional soccer player in Brazil but periodically returns to play for the national team. Before leaving, Tsubasa tells Sanae he fell in love with her.

#### World Youth

In the manga World Youth, Tsubasa has become São Paulo 's captain and encounters a new rival named Carlos Santana who plays for CR Flamengo. Following their match, Tsubasa returns to Japan to help the young Japanese team pass the World Youth's Asian preliminaries. Japan enters the tournament, which the country hosts because of a war. Tsubasa once again leads the Japanese team into the tournament and encounters old enemies including Carlos Santana in the finals and Natureza —a teenager trained by Roberto. After Japan's victory, Tsubasa proposes to Sanae and they get married. In the aftermath, the Barcelona FC invites him to join them.

#### Road to 2002

In the manga series Road to 2002, Tsubasa says farewell to Roberto during his final match in São Paulo. Tsubasa and Sanae move to Spain, where Tsubasa intends to join the Barcelona team. There, he meets Rivaul, a highly skilled player who has surpassed Tsubasa. Because Tsubasa is not able to fit into the team, he is instead sent to the low-class division team FC Barcelona B. He scores 12 goals and 11 assists, and is sent back to the main Barcelona team. When Rivaul being wounded in a match, Tsubasa replaces him for a game between Barcelona and Real Madrid, during which Tsubasa faces Natureza once again but is unable to lead the team into victory until a wounded Rivaul rejoins the team.

#### Golden-23 —onwards

In the following series, Golden-23, Tsubasa debuts in the adult Japan team during a match against Germany. He continues playing for Barcelona because the Japanese coach decides not to seek help from international players in the Olympic Games' elimination stages. Tsubasa once again faces Carlos Santana, who is playing in the Valencia team while Misaki is leading Japan in the eliminatories. Tsubasa learns that Sanae is pregnant. Tsubasa, Hyuga and Aoi Shingo return for a match in Hiroshima. The one-shot La Liga depicts another match between the Barcelona team and other Spanish teams. At the beginning of Rising Sun, Tsubasa has become his team's most valuable player because he has made multiple hat tricks and has helped Barcelona become the champion of La Liga. Following this, Tsubasa joins Japan's team to participate in the Olympic Games. After a few matches, he collapses and is forced to leave the team until he recovers.

### Tecmo's game series continuity

Tsubasa has appeared in multiple video games based on the manga. The first game, titled Captain Tsubasa, altered Tsubasa's design and called him Robin Field. However, the video games starting from Super Striker follow an alternate life of Tsubasa. In Super Striker, Tsubasa is already playing for São Paulo Youth. He aims to defeat Carlos Santana and win the Rio Cup while also joining his fellow Japanese players for a cup. In Kotei no Chosen, Tsubasa aims for a second consecutive win in the Brazilian Rio Cup. Japan challenges the "World Youth". By Captain Tsubasa IV: Pro no Rival-tachi, Tsubasa still remains in São Paulo and can become a member of the Brazilian league selection. The final Tecmo game, Hasha no Shogo, has Tsubasa goes to Italy to play for the U.S. Lecce as a transfer from Brazil while later joining the Japanese team.

### Other media

In the film Captain Tsubasa: The Great European Showdown (1985), Tsubasa is selected as one of the Japanese members of an International Jr. Youth Tournament in which Japan faces multiple Western rivals. The film was followed by the sequel Captain Tsubasa: Danger! All Japan Jr. (1985), in which Japan faces an All Europe Jr. team despite lacking Hyuga and Wakabayashi. The third film, Captain Tsubasa: Run Towards Tomorrow (1986), follows Tsubasa as he leads a team from the All Japan Jr. Youth against another team while remembering how he met them. The fourth and most recent film, Captain Tsubasa: World Great Battle - Jr. World Cup (1986), involves a new tournament between multiple youth teams in which Tsubasa's All Japan Jr. faces South America Jr., a team trained by Roberto Hongo.

His first manga one-shot appearance was in Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Tokubetsu Hen - Saikyo no Teki! Holanda Youth, in which Tsubasa returns from Brazil to Japan to play a match against Holland's Youth Team. The one-shot was adapted into an original video animation (OVA), in which Tsubasa can only assist Japan during the game's second half due to his late arrival. In the one-shot Captain Tsubasa 2000: Millennium Dream, he appears as a playable video game character competing with Brazil's team for a gold medal. In the two-part story Captain Tsubasa: Golden Dream, Barcelona faces Japan's Júbilo Iwata, resulting in the first time Tsubasa faces Misaki. In the five-part story Captain Tsubasa 25th Anniversary, Japan's team plays against a team composed of famous international players. In the one-shot Captain Tsubasa: Golden-23 - Japan Dream 2006, Tsubasa is a part of a Japanese team that plays against a team from Germany.

In 2008, Takahashi wrote the one-shot Captain Tsubasa: Endless Dream that is set after the franchise's first story arc; Tsubasa is depressed because Roberto has left him. His friends and rivals cheer him up by telling him he still has comrades thanks to football. In the one-shot Captain Tsubasa Tokubetsu Hen: Live Together 2010, a test match between Japan and Argentina takes place. A trilogy of light novels written by Hitomi Wada based on Captain Tsubasa retell the events of Tsubasa's childhood depicted in the series' first story arc. Another one-shot, Captain Tsubasa Boyhood Arc, focuses on Tsubasa's teenage years. Outside the franchise, Tsubasa has been mentioned in Hungry Heart: Wild Striker, another manga by Takahashi.

## Reception

### Popularity

Tsubasa has been popular with Japanese readers of the series. In 1985, he topped the series' popularity poll with 11,740 votes. His rank fell in 2005 to fifth position with 1,123 votes. In a Newtype poll, Tsubasa was voted the 21st-most-popular male anime character from the 1980s. During the 2006 World Cup. Tsubasa was depicted on the new bottle design for Kirin Nuda, the official drink of Japan's soccer team. Tsubasa and Misaki appeared in a video promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics that was presented at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Several statues of Tsubasa have appeared in Katsushika, Tokyo; the first one was placed in a park in March 2013. By March 2014, two statues of Hyuga and Misaki were added; Takahashi said, "The captain must be happy to have his teammates around". The panel showing Tsubasa and Misaki simultaneously kicking a football— known as the "Twin Shot"—was depicted in a bronze statue that was created in 2018 and sited in Katsushika. In 2014, another statue of the Twin Shot was sponsored by Adidas and sited in displayed in Hysan Place to commemorate that year's World Cup in Brazil. In a match from Japan for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the Japanese fans held a tifo featuring an illustration from the manga with multiple message that supported the team.

Barcelona FC expressed delight at Tsubasa's joining of its fictional counterpart because of the impact the character had. The translator of the manga's Arabic edition, Kassoumah Mhd Obada, said he wanted its readers to be inspired by Tsubasa's hard work to live a healthy life despite their country's problems.

### Critical response

Tsubasa is one of the most popular manga and anime characters in Japan's history. According to the book American Soccer: History, Culture, Class, Tsubasa was an inspiration throughout the world due to his portrayal in the story. The book Sport, Literature, Society: Cultural Historical Studies calls him one of "Japan's greatest soccer heroes" because of his characterization and skills but because the series was not published in North America, few people from the United States are familiar with him, which led to Tsubasa being called a "tried-and-true, full-fledged fictional cartoon". According to Huffington Post, because Captain Tsubasa spawned multiple manga series, Tsubasa and Wakabayashi have been regarded as icons for multiple generations.

In The Imperial Sportive: Sporting Lives in the Service of Modern Japan, Sandra Collins stated the series was successful because of the lead character's intense discipline within social groups and his rivalries. Hobby Consolas enjoyed Tsubasa's struggle against the strongest players from Thailand during a PlayStation game. THEM Anime Reviews wrote that Tsubasa obtained an international reputation despite being better known in Western countries as "Oliver Atom". Tsubasa's debut in the 2018 anime was praised by Zona Freak because of the way he engaged Wakabayashi in a challenge involving kicking a ball under a truck. Mouse agreed the scene in which Tsubasa bonds with his football after he almost dies in a road accident is faithful to the first anime. While noting similarities between the lives of Tsubasa and Kazuyoshi Miura, the book The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue Twenty Seven noted a major contrast between them; while Tsubasa is usually cheerful and proves himself as a skilled player despite his move to Brazil, Miura's life was far more challenging in his early years and his life in Brazil. In a review of the New Captain Tsubasa OVAs, THEM Anime Reviews noted that while the voice actor Akari Hibino is using a high-pitched voice for Tsubasa, the voice sounded strange and comparing it with Goku, the main character of the anime Dragon Ball because both characters are played by women regardless of their growth.

According to David Martinez of Hobby Consolas, after Tsubasa's Barcelona debut, Tsubasa and his friends return to Japan to play for their country but their situation within the European clubs is more entertaining. A writer for Nippon said Tsubasa had become one of the most likable fictional characters because of his dream and career, which influenced others. Espinof wrote that one of series' most notable features is that Tsubasa's skills allow him to score goals and that his training with his teammates also appealed to readers. His passion for football and his relationship with Wakabayashi were also praised. The audience also found the character's search to become a champion appealing.

Several of Tsubasa's soccer techniques have been imitated by real-life players such as Julian Draxler and Abel Hernández. James Rodríguez said he related to the character when watching the television series, which he enjoyed because of Tsubasa's playing techniques and relationship with his father. On his Instagram account, André-Pierre Gignac also expressed a liking for Tsubasa, comparing him with himself. Japan's Hidetoshi Nakata, Italy's Alessandro Del Piero and Chile's Alexis Sánchez have also been influenced by Tsubasa. Spanish player Fernando Torres stated that he aspired to become a professional footballer because he had enjoyed seeing Tsubasa on television and wished to be like him. Tsubasa and Misaki's "ridiculous" yet appealing Twin Shot move inspired some children to try to emulate it according to EifSoccer.


Beck Bennett

# Beck Bennett

## Abstract

Beck Bennett (born October 1, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live for eight seasons, joining the show for its 39th season in 2013, and leaving at the end of its 46th season in 2021. Prior to SNL, he performed in AT&T 's "It's Not Complicated" commercials, in which he interviewed children, and produced sketch videos with the comedy group Good Neighbor.

## Early life

Bennett was born in Wilmette, Illinois, to Sarah and Andy Bennett. He performed in multiple shows at the Children's Theatre of Winnetka. He graduated from New Trier High School in 2003 where he played Jean Valjean in his school's production of Les Misérables. Bennett attended the USC School of Dramatic Arts in the B.F.A. Acting program.

## Career

In 2003, Bennett joined the improv/sketch group Commedus Interruptus along with fellow future SNL cast member Kyle Mooney and Nick Rutherford. In 2007, after graduation, Mooney, Rutherford, and Bennett joined with editor/director Dave McCary to form the sketch group Good Neighbor. The group received praise from comedian Louis C.K. and director Steven Spielberg, who sent Mooney, Bennett, Rutherford, and McCary a personal acknowledgement after being impressed with the Hook parody, Unbelievable Dinner. He complimented the sketch and encouraged the group to continue making funny movies.

In 2011, Bennett created the satirical political talk show Fresh Perspectives, which helped him land his AT&T commercials interviewing children. He also hosted the YouTube show Theatre of Life.

In 2012, he appeared in the film Kill Me Now, a film starring multiple Internet sketch-comedy groups, and filmed Beside Still Waters by writer/director Chris Lowell.

In March 2013, he appeared in an episode of Last Man Standing, and that August voiced a character for Axe Cop for Fox 's Animation Domination High-Def programming block. That year, Good Neighbor produced a pilot for Comedy Central with Adam McKay 's Gary Sanchez production company, though it was not picked up as a series, due to the move of three of the troupe's four members to New York City to star on Saturday Night Live. That same year, Bennett completed work on the independent film Balls Out and appeared in season 4 of Arrested Development.

Bennett voiced Launchpad McQuack in the DuckTales reboot which ran from 2017 to 2021, and Eric in the Sony Pictures Animation film The Mitchells vs. the Machines. He is currently the voice of Hamster in the Disney Channel animated series Hamster & Gretel, and is set to voice Sterling in Fixed.

Since 2023, Bennett has voiced Hank the Buffalo in Buffalo Wild Wings commercials.

### Saturday Night Live

Bennett debuted as a featured player on Saturday Night Live in its 39th season on September 28, 2013. He was promoted to repertory status for SNL ' s 41st season on October 2, 2015. He left the show following the finale of the 46th season on May 22, 2021. In an interview with Time magazine, Bennett stated he left the show so he could be with his wife in Los Angeles.

## Personal life

On May 13, 2016, Bennett posted a photograph of himself with his girlfriend Jessy Hodges, with a caption that stated that the couple were celebrating five years together. The couple married on August 25, 2018.

In March 2022, Hodges revealed via Instagram that she and Bennett had welcomed a son.

Bennett has been friends with fellow SNL cast member Kyle Mooney since they were students at the University of Southern California.

## Filmography