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Cross-check (chess)

In chess, a cross-check (or counter-check) is a tactic in which a check is played in response to a check, especially when the original check is blocked by a piece that itself either delivers check or reveals a discovered check from another piece. Sometimes the term is extended to cover cases in which the king moves out of check and reveals a discovered check from another piece (this is also known as a royal check); it does not generally apply to cases where the original checking piece is captured.

The cross-check is an essential tactic in winning some endgames such as those with two queens versus one, or a queen and pawn versus a queen. In these cases, the defense usually tries for a perpetual check and sometimes the stronger side can stop it only by a cross-check.

Examples
A cross-check occurs from time to time in games. It is an essential tactic in winning endgames such as two queens versus one queen, or queen and pawn versus queen, where it is used to stop a series of checks from the opponent and force the exchange of queens. It is also used in some chess problems.

Botvinnik vs. Minev game
Cross-checks are rare in actual play, though they do occur, and in some endgames, particularly queen endgames, they are very important. The position shown to the right is the final position in the famous queen endgame from the game between Mikhail Botvinnik and Nikolay Minev, Amsterdam Olympiad, 1954. In the position shown, after '''91. Kc5!!''', Black resigned because the promising looking checks 91...Qc7+, 91...Qg1+, 91...Qf2+ and 91...Qc2+ are answered by the cross-checks 92.Qc6+, 92.Qd4+, 92.Qd4+ and 92.Qc4+ respectively, forcing an exchange of queens in all cases, which will result in the promotion of the pawn and winning the game by a basic checkmate. This is an important theme in queen endgames: the weaker side often gives a series of checks, and it is frequently important for them to avoid simplifying cross-checks such as these in reply,. If the black queen attacks the pawn instead of checking it does no good since the promotion square of the pawn is protected by its queen.

Two queens versus one
In the position on the left from Botvinnik–Ravinsky, Black resigned. With best play according to the endgame tablebase, 126...Kb3 127.Qf7+ Ka4 128.g8=Q Qg4+ 129.Kh6 Qh4+ 130.Kg7 Qg3+ 131.Kf8 Qd6+ 132.Qe7 Qh6+ 133.Qgg7 Qf4+ 134.Qgf7 Qb8+ and the position on the right is reached. Then the cross-check 135.Qee8+ (or Qfe8+) forks the king and queen, forces an exchange, and wins the game.

Anderson problem, 1919
Cross-checks are relatively infrequent in actual play, but are popular in chess problems since they make for a relatively unobvious solution. In the problem shown to the right, White is to move and mate in two moves against any defence. It is by G.F. Anderson and was first published in Il Secolo in 1919. The key 1.Kd6, threatening 2.Qb7#, gives the black king two flight squares, and two of the variations exploit these: 1...Kb6 2.Bc2# and 1...Kb4 2.Kxc6#. The other two defences exploit the fact that the key exposes the white king to checks, and are answered by cross-checks: 1...Rg6+ 2.Be6# and 1...Rd3+ 2.Bd5#.

Anderson problem, 1961
The problem to the right, also by G. F. Anderson (first published in The Observer in 1961) and also a mate in two, features no fewer than five cross-checks. The key is 1.Qb6 (threat: 2.Ne4#), with the following variations:

 * 1...exf6+ 2.Nb7#
 * 1...exd6+ 2.Nd7#
 * 1...Nd4+ 2.Rf5#
 * 1...Nxd6+ 2.Nd3#
 * 1...Nf-other+ 2.Ne4#
 * 1...Kxf6 2.Qb2#
 * 1...Kxd6 2.Rd4#

title: Cross-check (chess)


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Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ian Bermeo

It's Friday night and not much going on in Victoria, BC. Hasta la vista, cereal eater.Ianb 22:31, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * it's not night in victoria...and ian is drunk
 * comment: breathe on your screen. If the words become foggy and blurred, you are not in a fit state to be handling the Internet. Ianb 23:07, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC) (just another Ian).
 * Ian should get a breathalyzer for his computer. Geogre is glad Ian likes to wear shoes.  Delete. Geogre 00:13, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Speedy Delete, patent nonsense. SWAdair | Talk  03:51, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I think he just likes to read the cereal boxes. Delete absurd vanity. -- Cyrius|✎ 04:35, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. User vanity, and from someone to eagar to clutter Wikipedia with silly junk. -- Infrogmation 01:00, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete. Mebbe we can just "knaw" on this article until it goes away.  I wonder if the author is a Jhonen Vasquez fan, based on the monkey comments.  Postdlf 03:57, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Delete, nonsense from an IP address with a history of vandalism. —Stormie 05:48, Jul 28, 2004 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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St. George Dragons

The St. George Dragons was an Australian rugby league football club from the St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until the 1997 ARL season, as well as the unified 1998 National Rugby League season. On 23 September 1998, the club formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers, creating the St. George Illawarra Dragons team which competed in the 1999 NRL season and continues to compete in the league today. As a stand-alone club, it fields teams in the NSWRL underage men's and women's competitions, Harold Matthews Cup, S.G. Ball, and Tarsha Gale Cup.

Entering the New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921, the St George club won 15 premierships including 11 in succession between 1956 and 1966, still an equal current world record for sporting competitions (shared with Bayern Munich). The Dragons thus are equal second along with the Sydney Roosters, to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in terms of total premierships won in the NSW Rugby Football League. Following the Super League war and formation of the NRL in 1998, the club still remains in a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers known as the St. George Illawarra Dragons.

Formative years

On Friday, 28 February 1908 at Rockdale Town Hall a meeting mainly instigated by St George rugby league pioneers, W. Munn and Joe McGraw, was attended by officials of the recently-formed New South Wales Rugby Football League and rugby players from the local district. NSWRFL president Henry Hoyle gave a convincing address and a St. George club appeared likely to form, However, the club's application was later rejected due to an insufficient number of players. Undeterred, the St George Rugby League Football Club took form in 1910 when a team played in the NSWRL 3rd Grade Competition. The club's first game took place against Newtown at Sans Souci and St George were victorious 36–0.

With the demise of Annandale Rugby League Club, St George was successful in November 1920 in petitioning the NSWRL for promotion. In February 1921 at the Kogarah School of Arts, the St George District Rugby League Club was founded. The first President was Arthur Yager, with Joe McGraw chosen as Secretary, Arthur Moymow named Treasurer and Allan Clark as the first club delegate to the NSWRFL. Baden Wales was delegate to the Juniors.

The club's inaugural captain was Dual-code rugby international, Herb Gilbert who joined the club at aged 33 as captain-coach. The club's inaugural first grade appearance was on St George's Day, 23 April 1921 against Glebe at the Sydney Sports Ground. The first St George team to take the field was: Lyall Wall, Norm Shadlow, Reg Fusedale, Herb Gilbert (c), George Carstairs, Frank Gray, Tommy Burns, Tony Redmond, Clarrie Tye, Sid Field, Roy Bossi, Ernie Lapham and Jack Clark. Glebe won the encounter 4–3. St George won only two matches in their first season and finished equal second last in the premiership. Before the start of the 1921 season, trial matches were played at Sans Souci and training took place at the Drill Hall in the Sydney suburb of Arncliffe. During the 1921 season games were played at Hurstville Oval. In 1925 the club started using Earl Park at Arncliffe as its headquarters and home ground. The club played at Earl Park until the end of the 1939 season. The new club struggled during the 1920s finishing last in 1926 and eight points behind the next placed team. The hiring of another 33-year-old veteran leader in Frank Burge saw a change in the club's fortunes. In 1927 under Burge, the "Dragon Slayers", as they were then known, qualified for their first final but were beaten by South Sydney. For each of the next three seasons the Dragons qualified for the semifinals and in 1930 they beat Wests in the final, only to suffer a return loss when Wests exercised their prerogative of the time as minor premiers to request a Grand final challenge rematch.

1930s
Harry Kadwell, the former South Sydney player and international half-back took over from Burge as captain-coach in 1931 and had four seasons with the club before his retirement. His leadership partner was the uncompromising hooker "Snowy" Justice who had been a Kangaroo tourist alongside Kadwell in 1929–30 and who took over as captain when Kadwell's 1932 season was ended with a broken leg. Justice would play eleven seasons with the club, followed by a long post-playing career with as Football Club secretary and League's Club secretary-manager through till the early 1970s.

In 1933 St George sneaked into the semifinals in fourth place and won their way into the final against minor premiers Newtown. They lost 18–5. That same year they won the first night competition conducted by the NSWRL, a six-club competition played on three Saturday nights at the Sydney Showground.

In 1935 St George defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 91–6, the biggest win in their history and still the biggest winning margin ever in the history of the League; every player scored during this match. In 1937 for the fourth time in the club's short history, the Dragon Slayers finished as competition runners-up. Their inaugural premiership had still not been achieved when at the end of the decade, following the 1939 season, the club moved its home ground back to Hurstville Oval. Former Lord Mayor of Sydney, Jack Mostyn became President of the club in 1937 and retained the role for the next eight years. In 1938, Clarrie Fahy became St. George's third secretary after the retirement of Reg Fusedale. Fahy remained as Club Secretary until 1944.

1940s
The long wait finally ended in 1941 when St George defeated Eastern Suburbs 31–14 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to take their inaugural First Grade premiership. They were captain-coached by Neville Smith. Brothers Jack and Herb Gilbert Jr., the sons of the club's first captain-coach Herb Gilbert both played in the match. The following year, 1942 all three grades reached the Grand final with the 3rd-grade side victorious. The first-grade side had routed Canterbury-Bankstown, the minor premiers, in a semi-final and then beat Easts in the final but as had happened in 1930, Canterbury exercised their right as minor premiers to issue a challenge and beat Saints in a Grand final. For season 1945, St. George obtained the services of a south sea islander called Walter Mussing. A prolific try scorer, Mussing was the top try scorer for the club in 1945 and was a crowd favourite for three seasons.

St George captained by Herb Narvo and starring the backline brothers Jack and Ray Lindwall were runners up again in 1946 losing to Balmain 12–13. Ray Lindwall missed four conversion attempts that day.

During the famous tour by the 1946 Great Britain team, Frank Whitcombe's performances on tour attracted the attention of St. George. Club official Jack Mogridge offered Whitcombe a two-year contract at £600 per season as player-coach plus costs of transport and a lucrative job, (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £59,340 in 2016). Whitcombe signed the two-year contract with St George, however on his return to Bradford the family decided to stay in Yorkshire.

In the 1949 NSWRFL season they were premiers for the second time, beating South Sydney 19–12 in a spirited win. They were captained by the Test five-eighth Johnny Hawke with Frank Facer as Vice Captain and contained a champion backline including Noel Pidding, Doug McRitchie, Matt McCoy and Ron Roberts.The Dragons had lost form in the back-end of the season but came home strongly beating minor premiers South Sydney in the semi, and Balmain in a final before meeting Souths again in the Grand final.

Some first grade players killed in World War 2 include Jack Lennox, Len Brennan, Jack Simpson and Spencer Walklate.

1950s
The St George Football Club came of age in the 1950s. A move from Hurstville Oval to Kogarah Oval saw St George take on Souths before a crowd of 12,500 fans in their inaugural match at the ground. Due to its close proximity to Kogarah Oval, the Carlton Hotel became the local watering hole for the players after training.

In 1953 the first St George Leagues Club was built on the corner of Princes Highway & Rocky Point Road. The building later became a High School, although the building was demolished in July 2015. This club was to become the site of many victory celebrations over the next 10 years. In 1956 St George began their reign as Premiers beating Balmain 18–12 in the decider. In the following year, they won in First grade, 3rd Grade and the Presidents Cup while being runners-up in Reserve grade. Their dominance had commenced and would last until 1966, covering an unprecedented 11 victories. In the early years players such as Kearney, Wilson, Clay, Provan, Lumsden and Bath forged the club's success. In 1959 they went through the season undefeated amassing 550 points (205 scored by Harry Bath) compared to their rivals total tally against them of just 90 points. That year the brilliant young lock Johnny Raper made his grand final debut at centre replacing the injured Reg Gasnier.

The writers Collis & Whitaker, Larry Writer and Heads & Middleton have all attributed the reign of success to three key factors:,
 * 1) Club administration – the run began the same year that Frank Facer came to power as the football club Secretary. Facer had an eye for talent, was a shrewd negotiator and along with President Len Kelly and Directors Alex Mackie, Glynn Price and Laurie Doust, the leadership group planned their recruitment policy to cover team gaps well ahead of time and worked to maintain an attractive family atmosphere and an environment that fostered success.
 * 2) Club funds – the successful Leagues Club generated revenue from poker machines and liquor sales and enabled funds to be poured into local talent development but also enabled star local and overseas players to be lured to the club to share in its success.
 * 3) Mastering the art of unlimited tackle football – firstly Ken Kearney and then Harry Bath came to the club after successful careers in English rugby league and brought with them the disciplines of resolute defence, superior ball skills and an uncompromising commitment to fitness. The Dragons' stone-wall defence and controlled and punishing forward play became renowned and resulted in statistics such as the 1959 side remaining unbeaten throughout the season (snatching 19 wins and a draw against Western Suburbs); being undefeated at their Jubilee Oval home ground in twelve seasons from 1954 to end 1965; while in the total eleven premiership deciding Grand finals played, the Dragons conceded just five tries.

1960s
By the early 1960s St George players were afforded movie star status in Sydney and names such as Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper were highly familiar as were later those of Graeme Langlands, Billy Smith and Johnny King.

1963 was a particularly notable year for the club. A new Leagues Club was opened on the Princes Highway at Carlton, and would become the hub of social life in the district and dubbed "the Taj Mahal". On the afternoon of 24 August 1963 Saints won the Grand Final in all three grades (First Grade 8–3 v Wests; Reserves 3-2 v Souths; 3rd Grade 12–2 v Canterbury) – this feat has not been achieved since. That same day saw the creation of an iconic image when Sydney Morning Herald photographer John O'Gready captured a photo which would become titled "The Gladiators" and which showed the essence of good sportsmanship as the Saints' captain Norm Provan and West's captain Arthur Summons embraced post-match in exhausted camaraderie while barely recognisable, covered head-to-toe in mud. Reserve try scorer was R O'Loughlin.

In 1965 another record was set when a crowd of 78,056 football supporters packed the SCG to see the Dragons triumph over Souths, and the tally reached ten consecutive premierships in Norm Provan's farewell match. Provan wrote the introduction to the Haddan book "The Finals – 100 Years" and reflected upon the dressing room mood before the match: It's 1965, St George and Souths in the grand final at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It's five minutes before we walk out. The boys are sitting around, very quiet now, just thinking about their own games. I have finished my last 10-minute talk to the team, just a summary of our general plan – no shouting or yelling or 'geeing' up. These players just don't need that. I have this terrible sick feeling in my gut. We have to lose a grand final sooner or later. The law of averages demands it. This one would make it 10. A nice round figure and I can retire happy. The linesman comes to the door, looks at me and nods. I nod back. We all stand up. The sick feeling is gone. 'Let's give it another go!'.

On 18 September 1966, under new captain Ian Walsh, St George won their world-record 11th straight premiership, defeating Balmain 23–4. The end of the reign came in a year which marked the retirement of one of their greatest stars in Reg Gasnier but which also marked the first season played under the limited tackle rule, replacing the previous era (since the code's 1908 inception) of unlimited tackles. Fitting perhaps in that the club's stronghold had been built on the back of a 1950s style of punishing forward dominance. The end came at the hands of Canterbury-Bankstown who beat St George in the 1967 preliminary final. That year's title, however, would go to the tough South Sydney campaigners many of whom had been on the losing end of the 1965 Grand final against the Dragons but who learnt from their experience and who would go on themselves to their enjoy own brief golden period making five successive grand finals from 1967–1971, winning four.

1970s
While shaded by the spectacular success of the previous decade, the Dragons remained competitive throughout most of the 1970s winning premierships in 1977 and 1979, being runner-up Grand Finalists in 1971 and 1975 and finishing the regular season in 3rd place or better in all years excepting 1974 and 1978. In the late 60s and into the early 70s St George got their best value out of Billy Smith and Graeme Langlands after all the other stars of the long reign had gone. It was largely due to their combined class and the apparent on-field intuitive understanding of each other's kicking and positional game that the club showed consistency of form through to the mid-1970s.

During 1970, St George became the first club in any code of Football to provide three Kangaroo Captains in the same season in Graeme Langlands, Billy Smith and rugby-union convert Phil Hawthorne. Other stars in the early 1970s were Barry Beath, Ken Maddison, Rod Reddy, Steve Edge and Ted Goodwin.

In 1971 St George made it through to the Grand final against an experienced Souths side with a battle-hardened pack. Saints were the underdogs but looked well-positioned when the half-time score was 1–0. Souths then raced ahead in the second half to 11–0 lead. The Dragons fought back with tries to Barry Beath and Ted Walton, while Langlands converted both including a magnificent sideline kick giving the Saints fans great hope of an upset. However a match-winning try from Souths' Bob McCarthy showed the experience of the Rabbitohs and South Sydney took their fourth title in a five-year period.

A year of injuries in 1974 saw St George win only ten of the season's twenty-two matches and miss the semi-finals for the first time in 23 years. In 1975 Langlands wore white boots, novel at the time, in the Grand final against Easts. Langlands had problems with a groin injury and, partially because he battled-on relying strongly on painkillers, St George was defeated 38–0. This was a record loss in a Grand Final until 2008 when Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles defeated Melbourne Storm 40–0 however that was accumulated on the four-point try system. The 1975 score on that basis would be 46-0.

In the latter half of the decade Steve Edge, Rocket Reddy, Steve Morris, Mark Shulman, Robert Stone, Bruce Starkey, John Jansen and Craig Young provided the playing leadership at the club. In 1977, enjoying a resurgence under new coach Harry Bath, St George met Parramatta in a thrilling Grand Final, which went into 20 minutes of extra time. Reddy ever the enforcer in his career, had played a brutal defensive first half resulting in post-match comments that Parramatta's Ray Price finished the game looking like he'd been used as a punching bag. Reddy's questionable tactics, targeting Price and Higgs in the 2nd half saw a number of penalties with successful goal results go Parramatta's way. A try with ten minutes to run saw the Eels tie up the match and in spite of missed goal attempts by both kickers and some desperate field-goal shots from the Dragons, the match finished at 9–9 with tension high amongst players, officials and supporters. It was the first time Australian rugby league had experienced a drawn Grand final and a rematch was scheduled for the next week. In the rematch St George proved too strong, defeating Parramatta 22–0. It was a fitting farewell for the stalwart Dragons second rower Barry Beath, the last Dragon to retire who'd been involved as a player in the eleven-year run. Beath is credited with the unusual statistic of winning a premiership in his first season (1966) and his last (1977), but none in ten seasons between.

Administratively, 1977 was the Saints' best-ever year financially. The crowd average was over 19,000 enabling funds for Kogarah Oval to be updated. The following year Frank Facer, the football club Secretary who had masterminded the successes of the 1950s and 1960s died of cancer. It was Facer who brought Harry Bath back to the club in 1977. Bath had coached Balmain and Newtown and had success as the national coach and Facer's masterstroke in bringing Bath back into the Dragons' fold paid off, enabling the old campaigner "Fearless Frank" to see one last premiership victory before his death.

In the 1979 season, still under Bath, Saints got back into the swing of things and won the Grand Final against Canterbury 17–13. By now Edge and Young were experienced leaders and Reddy, as he'd done in the 1st 1977 Grand final, came into his own in the 1979 decider punishing the opposition forwards with his ruthless defence. As it turned out this would be the last premiership St George would win in first grade before the merger in 1999.

1980s
Harry Bath coached the 1980 and 1981 seasons, then from 1982 to 1987 the Dragons were coached by the articulate and tactically brilliant Roy Masters. Though he had not himself played the game at the top level he had a keen interest in team psychology and had achieved excellent results at Wests from 1978–81 and helped that struggling club to produce consistent on-field results. Under Masters, in 1985 St George were minor-premiers, runaway club champions and made it to the Grand final in all three Grades. After winning both the lower grades, the Dragons first grade team were beaten by Canterbury 7–6. At the end of this year, plans to build a new stand were deferred. A decision to move from Kogarah to the SCG had supporters and even some officials disheartened.

In 1986, with the SCG as their new home ground, St George missed the semi-finals in all three grades for the first time in 50 years. A decision was made at the end of 1987 to move St George from the SCG to the Belmore Sports Ground in 1988 with the hope of returning to Jubilee Oval Kogarah at a later stage.

Ted Glossop coached for a single season in 1988, tasting success when the Dragons won the mid-week 1988 Panasonic Cup competition. In front of 22,000 spectators at Parramatta Stadium, with millions more watching the game on television, the Dragons defeated the Balmain Tigers 16–8 with prizemoney totalling $150,000. Tries were scored by Ricky Walford, Steve Robinson and an unforgettable intercept try by Bert Gordon that "brought the house down". Later, lock forward Peter Gill was awarded the Panasonic Cup Player of the Series for 1988.

In 1989, former premiership winning captain Craig Young had two seasons at the helm (1989 & 1990) but left under unhappy circumstances. In 1989, Saints appointed former player Geoff Carr as secretary of club and also returned home to upgraded facilities at Kogarah Jubilee Oval but the season would end and along with it the first decade since the 1930s in which the club failed to win a premiership.

1990s
The '90s saw St George on a roller-coaster ride. Between 1991 and 1995, St George played one home game per year at the Adelaide Oval in South Australia in a deal with longtime major sponsor, the Adelaide based Penfolds Winery. The first game in the "City of Churches" in 1991 saw the Dragons defeat Balmain 16-2 in front of 28,884 fans which was in fact the NSWRL's highest non-finals attendance for the season. Saints would go on to host Brisbane (1992, L 18-20), Canberra (1993, L 2-30), Wests (1994, W 32-16), and finally Newcastle (1995, L 13-24). In total the Dragons attracted 89,883 fans to their five home games in Adelaide. St. George would play one more game in Adelaide when they played the short-lived Adelaide Rams at the famous oval in 1998, losing a close encounter 20-22 in front of 8,506 fans. In a podcast with former NRL star Denan Kemp in 2023, former St George forward Gorden Tallis revealed the club almost moved to Adelaide in 1996 at the height of the Super League war to maintain their sponsorship with Penfolds and play as the St George Adelaide Dragons.

Saints made the Grand Final in 1992, 1993 and 1996, but were unable to win the premiership. In 1992 and 1993, coached by the former Illawarra Steelers coach Brian Smith, the Dragons met the Brisbane Broncos in successive deciders. On the first occasion St George were captained by centre Michael Beattie, but Brisbane was too classy, running away with the game in the 2nd half to win 28–8, including a 95-metre try to Broncos centre Steve Renouf in which he just outpaced Ricky Walford to score.

Twelve months later in 1993, there were high expectations for the Dragons having comfortably accounted for Canberra 31–10 and Canterbury 27–12 in the semi-finals, and with the Broncos having scraped into the finals in fifth place. The sides for the grand final replay were largely unchanged between the two years. Only one Bronco (Peter Ryan), and four of the Dragons (Jason Stevens, Nathan Brown, Gorden Tallis and Phil Blake) had not played in the 1992 Grand Final. forward Steven's game turned sour in only the second tackle of the game when he suffered a thumb injury that required him leaving the field and being taken to hospital for surgery. Brisbane withstood an early Dragons barrage which brought much hope but no points. Then two tries to Brisbane sent them to the break with a 10–2. Saints winger Ian "Chook" Herron kept the Dragons in touch with three penalty goals to make it 10–6, but the title stayed north of the border when Broncos winger Willie Carne scored two minutes from full-time.

In 1995, after exploring the possibility of a merger with the Roosters in an attempt to match the turnover of the all-conquering Brisbane Broncos, chief executive Geoff Carr was sacked by his board.

St George played in their last Grand Final as a single club when they faced off against Manly-Warringah in the 1996 decider, with the Sea Eagles winning 20-8 in front of 40,985 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium. The David Waite coached Dragons had finished the season in 7th position and won their way through to the Grand Final with wins over Canberra (16-14), Sydney City (36-16), and North Sydney (29-12) in the semi-finals. St George's last Grand Final captain was Queensland State of Origin and Australian test centre Mark Coyne.

The Dragons' first points of the Grand Final came in the 37th minute when Wayne Bartrim kicked a penalty awarded after Manly forward Owen Cunningham was penalised for stripping the ball. From the ensuing kick-off just before half-time came the game's controversial moment and a hotly disputed try. Manly fullback Matthew Ridge made a spectacular short kick-off and regathered, catching the Dragons unaware. St George hooker Nathan Brown appeared to tackle Ridge, albeit one-handedly and by the collar. Ridge got up and ran when Brown and the rest of the Dragons were expecting him to stop and play the ball. Referee David Manson ruled that Brown had not completed the tackle. This caught the Dragons napping and Ridge was eventually tackled just a few metres from the line. Manly back-rower Steve Menzies then broke his way through Saints' defence to score next to the posts, giving Ridge an easy conversion kick. The controversial ruling by referee Manson gave Manly a 14–2 half time lead.

At the conclusion of the 1998 season, the formation of the competition's first joint venture team occurred when St George joint ventured with the Illawarra Steelers to form the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Post joint-venture
The joint venture first fielded a side in the NRL competition in 1999 and reached the Grand final that year. They would later win its first premiership as a joint venture in 2010, and in 2018 a women's side operating under the same club name was formed ahead of the inaugural NRL Women's Premiership commencing the same year.

St. George fielded a NSW Cup team from 1921-2000, before forming a St. George Illawarra side which lasted from 2001 to 2007. The Dragons still field stand alone sides in the SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions, last winning an SG Ball title in 1992 and have yet to taste premiership success in the under 16s Harold Mathews Cup. In 2018, the Dragons entered the Tarsha Gale Cup, a women's Under 18's competition, for the first time.

Club

 * Biggest wins: St George def. Canterbury 91–6 at Earl Park, 11 May 1935 (Premiership record)
 * Worst defeat: Manly def. St George 61–0 at Brookvale Oval 3 July 1994
 * Longest winning streak: 12 matches from 6 June 1958 – 24, May 1959 (St George went through the 1959 season undefeated, however they drew one game. During this period, the Saints played 23 matches without loss)
 * Longest Losing Streak: 8 matches from 3 July – 28 August 1926
 * Largest Home Crowd: 23,582 v South Sydney Rabbitohs at Kogarah Jubilee Oval 4 May 1975

Individual

 * Most Tries in a Match: 6 by Jack Lindwall v Manly-Warringah at Hurstville Oval on 3 May 1947
 * Most Goals in a Match: 15 by Les Griffin v Canterbury-Bankston at Earl Park on 11 May 1935
 * Most Points in a Match: 36 by:
 * Les Griffin (2 tries, 15 goals) v Canterbury-Bankstown at Earl Park, Arncliffe on 11 May 1935
 * Jack Lindwall (6 tries, 9 goals) v Manly-Warringah at Hurstville Oval on 3 May 1947
 * Most Tries in a Season: 26 by Tommy Ryan in NSWRFL season 1957
 * Most Goals in a Season: 108 by Harry Bath in NSWRFL season 1958
 * Most Points in a Season: 225 (3 tries, 108 goals) by Harry Bath in NSWRFL season 1958
 * Most Goals in Club History: 648 by Graeme Langlands from 1963 to 1976

Most First Grade Games

 * 256, Norm Provan (1951–1965)
 * 234, Billy Smith (1963–1977)
 * 234, Craig Young (1977–1988)
 * 227, Graeme Langlands (1963–1976)
 * 211, Michael Beattie (1980–1992)
 * 207, Ricky Walford (1985–1996)
 * 207, Mark Coyne (1989–1998)
 * 204, Rod Reddy (1972–1983)
 * 199, Graeme Wynn (1979–1990)
 * 191, Johnny King (1960–1971)

Most Tries For Club

 * 143, Johnny King (1960–1971)
 * 136, Eddie Lumsden (1957–1966)
 * 127, Reg Gasnier (1959–1967)
 * 110, Jack Lindwall (1938–1949)
 * 104, Ricky Walford (1985–1996)
 * 102, Steve Morris (1979–1986)
 * 86, Graeme Langlands (1963–1976)
 * 79, Tommy Ryan (1951–1953, 1955–1958)
 * 65, Rod Reddy (1972–1983)
 * 64, Norm Provan (1951–1965)

Most Points For Club

 * 1,554 (86 tries, 648 goals), Graeme Langlands (1963–1976)
 * 874 (104 tries, 229 goals), Ricky Walford (1985–1996)
 * 634 (20 tries, 287 goals), Brian Graham (1955–1964)
 * 598 (34 tries, 248 goals), Noel Pidding (1947–1953)
 * 596 (12 tries, 278 goals, 2 field goals), Doug Fleming (1949–1957)
 * 560 (19 tries, 242 goals), Wayne Bartrim (1995–1998)

Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century

 * Frank Burge (1927)
 * Norm Provan (1951–1965)
 * Reg Gasnier (1959–1967)
 * Johnny Raper (1959–1969)
 * Graeme Langlands (1963–1976)

Australian Rugby League's 100 greatest players

 * Harry Bath
 * Frank Burge
 * Brian Clay
 * Ken Kearney
 * Johnny King

 * Eddie Lumsden
 * Herb Narvo
 * Billy Smith
 * Ian Walsh

Internationals while at St George

 * Wayne Bartrim
 * Barry Beath
 * Tony Branson
 * Bob Bugden
 * George Carstairs
 * Brian Clay
 * Mark Coyne
 * Percy Fairall
 * Wally Fullerton Smith
 * Fred Gardner
 * Reg Gasnier
 * Ted Goodwin
 * Scott Gourley
 * Norman Hawke
 * Phil Hawthorne
 * Jack Holland
 * Pat Jarvis
 * Albert "Rick" Johnston
 * Brian Johnston
 * Arthur Justice
 * Ken Kearney
 * Johnny King
 * Ross Kite
 * Graeme Langlands
 * Eddie Lumsden

 * Brad Mackay
 * Steve Morris
 * Noel Mulligan
 * Matt McCoy
 * Doug McRitchie
 * Kevin O'Brien
 * Michael O'Connor
 * Bryan Orrock
 * Noel Pidding
 * Norm Provan
 * Graham Quinn
 * Johnny Raper
 * Elton Rasmussen
 * Rod Reddy
 * Johnny Riley
 * Ron Roberts
 * Kevin Ryan
 * Tommy Ryan
 * Billy Smith
 * Ian Walsh
 * Billy Wilson
 * John Wittenberg
 * Graeme Wynn
 * Craig Young

Stadium
St. George began their home-ground stadium at Hurstville Oval in 1921 until 1924. In 1925, they went to Earl Park, Arncliffe, where they remained until 1939. They returned to Hurstville in 1940, where they remained until 1949.

In 1950, the team moved to Kogarah Oval. They stayed at the venue until 1985. From 1986 until 1988 while the ground was being renovated, the Dragons moved to Sydney Cricket Ground (1986–1987) and to Belmore Oval (1988). In 1989, the team returned to Kogarah Oval where they remained until the joint-venture with the Illawarra Steelers at the end of the 1998 NRL season.

St. George's home game crowd record was in 1975, where a crowd of 23,582 attended the game against South Sydney at Kogarah Oval.

Presently, the St. George Dragons play the bulk of home games in the SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions at WIN Jubilee Oval, and in recent years have also hosted games at Hurstville Oval.

District Juniors
The St. George District JRL covers an area of southern Sydney from Cooks River and the M5 Motorway in the north, Botany Bay to the east, Salt Pan Creek to the west, and the Georges River to the south.

Current St. George junior clubs are:

 * Renown United
 * Arncliffe Scots
 * Hurstville United
 * Brighton Seagulls
 * Riverwood Legion
 * Earlwood Saints

 * Penshurst RSL
 * Kingsgrove Colts
 * Kogarah Cougars

Defunct clubs:

 * Peakhurst Inn
 * Kingshead Cowboys
 * ICC (Illawarra Catholic Club)
 * Marist Brothers Kogarah
 * De La Salle Kingsgrove
 * Oatley RSL
 * Lugarno
 * The Grove
 * Rockdale Bulls
 * Peakhurst Hawks
 * South Hurstville Diggers
 * Sans Souci
 * Hurstville Old Boys
 * Ramsgate United

 * Sutherland Grave Diggers (1935 prior to formation of Cronulla-Sutherland in 1967)
 * Allawah
 * Intersection Tavern
 * Kyeemagh Stingrays
 * St George Rowers
 * Narwee Colts
 * Riverwood United
 * Bexley-Kingsgrove
 * Bexley RSL

Notable NRL players who were St. George juniors:

 * Len Kelly – Sutherland Grave Diggers
 * Jack Lindwall – Marist Brothers Kogarah
 * Reg Gasnier – Renown United
 * Billy Smith – Renown United
 * John Stathers – Renown United
 * Mark Gasnier – Renown United
 * Jason Nightingale – Renown United
 * Daryl Millard – Renown United
 * Anthony Mundine – Hurstville United
 * Lance Thompson – Hurstville United
 * Brad Mackay – Brighton Seagulls
 * Jason Stevens – Brighton Seagulls
 * Johnny King – Arncliffe Scots
 * Matthew Dufty – Penshurst RSL
 * Ross Kite – Arncliffe Scots
 * Michael Beattie – Bexley-Kingsgrove
 * Jeff Hardy – Brighton Seagulls
 * Robert Stone – Marist Brothers Kogarah
 * Ross Strudwick – Renown United
 * Randall Barge – Brighton Seagulls
 * Jacob Host – Renown United

 * Arthur Justice – Club unknown
 * Ray Lindwall – Marist Brothers Kogarah
 * Percy Fairall - Ramsgate (later became Ramsgate United)
 * Bruce Starkey – Arncliffe Scots
 * Pat Jarvis – Arncliffe Scots
 * Wes Naiqama – Arncliffe Scots
 * Kevin Naiqama – Arncliffe Scots
 * George Ndaira – Arncliffe Scots
 * Chris Johns – Penshurst RSL
 * Adam Peek – Peakhurst Hawks
 * Joseph Leilua – Hurstville United
 * Steve Edge – St George Rowers
 * Tiger Black – Arncliffe Scots
 * Luciano Leilua – Hurstville United
 * Blake Ferguson – Earlwood Saints
 * Josh Addo-Carr – Earlwood Saints
 * Keith Galloway – Marist Brothers Kogarah
 * Michael Sorridimi – Kingsgrove Colts
 * Billy Wilson – club unknown
 * Noel Goldthorpe – Kyeemagh Stingrays
 * Mark Shulman – Ramsgate United

Team of the century
On 20 July 2022, the St. George Dragons District Rugby League Club announced their team of the century.

title: St. George Dragons


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title: User talk:80.44.138.176


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House of Mystery

The House of Mystery is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, The House of Secrets. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.

Genesis
The House of Mystery began as a horror anthology, featuring tales of the supernatural as well as supernatural-themed mystery stories. Issue #1 was cover dated December 1950-January 1951. With the growing backlash against American horror comics in the mid-1950s, as well as the advent of the Comics Code Authority and its restrictions on horror-themed storylines (banning stories dealing with such supernatural fare as vampires and werewolves), the series was quietly revamped into dealing with science fiction-type monsters and other mystery/suspense-type tales that were permitted by the Comics Code.

Superheroes
In the mid-1960s, the series was revamped to include superhero stories. From The House of Mystery #143 (June 1964) to 155 (December 1966), "J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars" headlined the book, as his back-up feature from Detective Comics was moved to The House of Mystery. This was followed with the introduction of "Dial H for Hero" in issue #156 (January 1966), which took over as headliner until issue #173 (March–April 1968). The Martian Manhunter was again relegated to back-up status during this time.

Return of horror

With issue #174, EC Comics veteran Joe Orlando was hired by DC to take over as editor of The House of Mystery. As the Comics Code Authority was now being challenged by both DC and Marvel over content restrictions, the series returned to its overt horror themes. The first issue under Orlando would be a reprint issue of old horror/suspense stories, as the new direction would truly begin with #175 (July–August 1968). The issue would introduce a new figure to the series, Cain, the "able care taker" of the House of Mystery who would introduce nearly all stories that would run in the series before its cancellation. Cain would also host the spin-off humor series Plop! and later become a recurring character in Blue Devil and The Sandman.

Artist Bernie Wrightson's first professional comic work was the story "The Man Who Murdered Himself" which appeared in issue #179 (March–April 1969).

Under Orlando's stewardship, the series won a good deal of recognition in the comics industry, including the "Shazam Award for Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic)" in 1972 for "The Demon Within" in issue #201 by John Albano and Jim Aparo, and the "Shazam Award for Best Humor Story" in 1972 for "The Poster Plague" by Steve Skeates and Sergio Aragonés. Limited Collectors' Edition #C-23 (Winter 1973) featured reprints of House of Mystery stories. House of Mystery #224 (April–May 1974) to 229 (Feb.–March 1975) were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format.

The series was in the Dollar Comics format for issues #251 (March–April 1977) to 259 (July–August 1978). House of Mystery featured stories by writers T. Casey Brennan (issues #260, 267, 268 and 274) and Scott Edelman (issues #257, 258, 260, 264, 266, 270, 272, 273). Orlando's tenure as editor ended with issue #257 (March–April 1978). Karen Berger became editor of the series with issue #292 (May 1981), her first for DC Comics. Under Berger, the series experimented with long-form storylines in the popular I...Vampire serial created by writer J. M. DeMatteis. "I... Vampire" revolved around the heroic vampire, Andrew Bennett, who sought to defeat his nemesis and former lover Mary Seward, the Queen of Blood. This serial began in issue #290 (March 1981) and would last until issue #319 (August 1983), two issues before the title ended with issue #321 (October 1983).

Since 2006, DC Comics has reprinted stories from the original run: three black and white Showcase Presents volumes have been published, reprinting the series from #174 - 194, #195 - 211 and #212 - 226, respectively. A one-shot reprint in color, Welcome Back to the House of Mystery, featured 10 of the most highly regarded stories as selected by Alisa Kwitney in a Cain wraparound by Neil Gaiman and Sergio Aragonés under the Vertigo Comics imprint. The first issue from 1951 was reissued as a Millennium Edition bearing the Vertigo imprint.

Elvira's House of Mystery
In 1986–1987, DC comics published a new series, Elvira's House of Mystery. It lasted 11 issues, plus a special Christmas issue. The series was a quasi-follow-up of the original series, with famed horror movie hostess Elvira, Mistress of the Dark tasked by the House with finding Cain, though she spent much of her time making fun of him and introducing horror stories similar to the original series. One issue of this series, issue #3, was released without Comics Code Approval and contained significant implied nudity, but subsequent editorial comments in later issues stated that the experiment in releasing an unapproved issue was not considered successful.

2008 series
DC's Vertigo imprint began a new ongoing series in May 2008, written by Lilah Sturges and Bill Willingham. It features at least one different story each issue, told by people trapped in a "purgatory-like house". The series ended in October 2011 with issue #42. Two Annuals were also published.

The House
The House of Mystery exists north of Louisville, Kentucky, where it was built and abandoned by Colonel Braitwaithe before the American Civil War, and in the Dreaming. Little is known about the House of Mystery in general. Its exterior and interior change periodically, meaning that one never enters the same room twice. The House of Mystery lies in the same graveyard as the House of Secrets, its companion. Cain lives in the House of Mystery, whereas Abel resides in the House of Secrets.

Cain is not the only person to have resided within the House; in addition to boarders, including Mister Mxyzptlk, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark took shelter within the House. Her brief stay in the House of Mystery is notable for two reasons: first, the House of Mystery is established as being the same House throughout its publication history. Three distinct personalities of the House are shown: the original horror House of Mystery, a dark humor "House of Weirdness"-style which harkened back to Cain's stint in Plop!, and the current version of the House of Mystery in Kentucky. The second reason is the timing of Elvira's stay. She took up residence during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Elvira, tasked by the House of Mystery to find Cain, took over his role of host for a brief period, while Cain was relegated to being the butt of her jokes during occasional cameos.

The House of Mystery possesses sentience, along with mystic powers. It has possessed someone before and merged with the House of Secrets briefly. It was destroyed in The House of Mystery #321 before being restored during "Crisis on Infinite Earths".

Batman entered the house in The Brave and the Bold #93, tripped on a floorboard, and would have been shot had his pursuer's gun not jammed. He never actually met Cain, who instead narrates a story about him occurring in Scotland, which climaxes in a castle he describes as "a house of mystery" rather than "the House of Mystery". Superman teamed with Cain against Mxyzptlk, who was attempting to take over the House, in DC Comics Presents #53.

The House of Mystery appears mainly in various Vertigo titles, especially those tied into Neil Gaiman's Sandman; it has appeared briefly in Resurrection Man. Something called the House of Mystery appeared in 52 #18, where it seems to have been used for some time as a base for a team of detectives called the Croatoan Society, which counts both Detective Chimp and Ralph Dibny among its members. It is unclear if the Croatoan's House of Mystery is meant to be the same as the original House of Mystery, a post-Infinite Crisis version of the original House of Mystery, or simply a different location with the same name. Cain's name appeared on this house's mailbox, implying a connection to the original House.

In The New 52's rebooted DC continuity (launched in 2011), the House reappeared in the pages of Justice League Dark, being used as a base for the team. The House is shown to currently belong to John Constantine, who claims to have won the key to the House in a poker game against Doctor Occult and Father Time. Constantine takes his time to adjust to the House of Mystery due to the changing rooms and feels that the House has to play tricks on those who enter it.

Collected editions

 * Showcase Presents Martian Manhunter Volume 2 collects the Martian Manhunter stories from The House of Mystery #143–173, 592 pages, May 2009, ISBN 978-1401222567
 * Showcase Presents Dial H for Hero Volume 1 collects the Dial H for Hero stories from The House of Mystery #156–173, 288 pages, April 2010, ISBN 978-1401226480
 * Showcase Presents The House of Mystery
 * Volume 1 collects The House of Mystery #174–194, 552 pages, February 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0786-3
 * Volume 2 collects The House of Mystery #195–211, 552 pages, March 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1238-7
 * Volume 3 collects The House of Mystery #212–226, 552 pages, January 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2183-1
 * The Steve Ditko Omnibus Volume 1 includes stories from The House of Mystery #236, 247, 254, 258, and 276, 480 pages, September 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3111-X
 * DC Through the 80s: The End of Eras includes stories from The House of Mystery #286, 290, 294-295, 300, 308, and 321; 520 pages, December 2020, ISBN 978-1779500878
 * I...Vampire collects the "I...Vampire" stories from The House of Mystery #290–291, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302, and 304–319, 320 pages, April 2012, ISBN 978-1401233716

Novels
Two novels were written by Jack Oleck and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, both published by Warner Books:
 * Tales From The House of Mystery #1 (ISBN 978-0446752268)
 * Tales From The House of Mystery #2 (ISBN 978-0446752565)

In other media

 * The House of Mystery appears in the DC Animated Movie Universe franchise:
 * First appearing in Justice League Dark, this version is owned by John Constantine and serves as the base of operations for the eponymous group.
 * The House appears in Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, where it was revealed that, shortly before the titular war, it had thrown Constantine out. Black Orchid later uses the House to destroy one of Darkseid's planet killers before being killed by a Parademon.
 * The House appears in Constantine: The House of Mystery, which takes place after the events of Apokolips War. Spectre traps Constantine in an attempt to protect him from being punished for changing the timeline. However, he is unaware of this and ultimately escapes.
 * The House of Mystery appears in Justice League Action.
 * The House of Mystery and House of Secrets, as well as Cain and Abel, appear in The Sandman.

title: House of Mystery


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title: User talk:67.109.98.34


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House of Secrets (DC Comics)

The House of Secrets is the name of several mystery, fantasy, and horror comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It is notable for being the title that introduced the character the Swamp Thing. It had a companion series titled The House of Mystery.

First series
The original Silver Age series ran 80 issues, from November/December 1956 to September/October 1966. In addition to short "one-off" stories, several issues featured the adventures of modern-dress sorcerer Mark Merlin, who first appeared in issue #23 (August 1959). The dual-personality supervillain Eclipso ("Hero and Villain in One Man!") was created by Bob Haney and Lee Elias and was introduced in issue #61 (August 1963) and continued to the series' end. Prince Ra-Man the Mind-Master bowed in #73 (July - August 1965) and was a Doctor Strange-style "replacement" for Mark Merlin. Prince Ra-Man twice battled Eclipso. The "Prince Ra-Man" feature ended in House of Secrets #80 (September - October 1966), the final issue of the series. Other, lesser continuing features included "Peter Puptent, Explorer"; "Dolly and the Professor"; "Doctor Rocket"; and "Moolah the Mystic".

Revival (second run)

The series was revived three years later with a definite article as The House of Secrets, beginning with issue #81 (August - Sept. 1969). Now its horror and suspense tales were introduced by a host named Abel, who would also host the satirical comic Plop!. His brother, Cain, hosted The House of Mystery.

The title had an early breakthrough for the mainstream part of the medium: issue #83 had a story, "The Stuff that Dreams are Made of", written by Marv Wolfman. As part of the framing story, Abel introduces the story by telling a tale told to him by a "wandering Wolfman". Upon examination, the censor bureau, the Comics Code Authority refused to give the issue its seal of approval since it mentions a wolfman, which was specifically forbidden along with other classic monsters. The series' editor, Gerry Conway explained that the writer's actual surname was Wolfman, and the CCA conceded on the condition that the distinction be made obvious with an explicit writer's credit in the story. That directive was complied with and suddenly the editorship of DC was inundated with complaints from other writers because of Wolfman's special consideration of a printed credit. In response, the editorship made writers credits standard practice for future publications.

The Swamp Thing first appeared in The House of Secrets #92 (July 1971) in a stand-alone horror story set in the early 20th century written by Len Wein and drawn by Bernie Wrightson. The woman appearing on the cover of this issue was modeled after future comics writer Louise Simonson. The Patchwork Man, a character from the Swamp Thing ongoing series, was to have become an ongoing feature in the series, but only appeared in one issue.

The revival of The House of Secrets, sporting many covers by Neal Adams, Bernie Wrightson and Michael Kaluta, ran through issue #154 (Nov. 1978), with six months passing between issues #140 (February - March 1976) and 141 (August - September 1976). Cancelled as a result of the DC Implosion, it was then "merged" into The Unexpected with issue #189 through issue #199. The series was 68 ad-free pages, allowing all three portions to be full-length issues.

The House of Secrets also came to be the name of the actual edifice in which Abel lives. Writer Mike Friedrich and artist Jerry Grandenetti introduced the house and explained its origins. The building itself was constructed for a Senator Sanderson using only materials from Kentucky, and went under the enchantment that only pure-blood Kentuckians would be able to live there. Later, Sanderson's wife went insane in the upper floors, leading the Senator to sell the house. The next four owners, none of them pure Kentuckians, found themselves driven away for various reasons. The following owner attempted to move the home from its original location, but the house tore itself free from its trailer, ran its owner over a cliff to his death and settled less than 200 yards from the Kentucky state line in a graveyard. Whether by fate or some mystical alignment, the companion House of Mystery stands at the other end of the graveyard. Shortly after this, Abel was driven to the house and entrusted as its caretaker by a man who revealed himself to be an aspect of the House's existence, but making vague references to an employer. Abel was showing living in the House of Mystery in the quarterly DC Special #4, published one month earlier (July - Sept. 1969).

In the 1980s and 1990s, The Sandman series revealed that the House of Secrets edifice exists both in the real world of the DC Universe and in the Dreaming, as a repository for secrets of all kinds. The character of Abel would later become a recurring character in The Sandman (vol. 2) and related series such as The Dreaming.

Second series
DC's Vertigo imprint revived the name House of Secrets as a new title and concept. Here the House of Secrets was a mobile manor, appearing in different places. The building itself is haunted by the Juris, a group of ghosts who summon those with secrets in order to judge them and pass sentence. To the Juris, all offenses carry the same weight, from rape and murder to simply lying at a crucial moment. A runaway named Rain Harper stumbled upon the House of Secrets and took up a position as an unwilling witness to the Juris trials, validating the judgments and either condemning the tried souls to imprisonment in the basement, or setting them free to live their life purged of their secret.

Starting fresh with a new #1 (October 1996), this series ran 25 issues, plus a two-part special House of Secrets: Facade. This House of Secrets series was creator-owned, except for its title which was "licensed" by DC to the series' creators. The letters column in issue #6 indicates that, for legal reasons, they could not include Cain and Abel in the stories. This series was used for the framing story in the first Vertigo Winter's Edge special, featuring Rain happening upon an art gallery in the House whose paintings allow her to see stories from The Sandman (vol. 2), The Dreaming, John Constantine, Hellblazer, The Invisibles, The Books of Magic, The Minx, Sandman Mystery Theatre and Nevada.

Secret Six headquarters
In the mid-2000s, the Secret Six made their headquarters in the House of Secrets. Scandal stated in issue #5 of Villains United that the House would not show up on technological scans or mystical surveillance. She also said that Mockingbird claimed the House was a "house of victims".

In other media
The House of Secrets appeared in the Young Justice episode "Secrets". In the series, it is a magic shop across the street from the house of Greta and Billy Hayes.

Collected editions

 * The Jack Kirby Omnibus includes stories from House of Secrets #3–4, 8, and 12, 304 pages, August 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3107-1
 * Showcase Presents Eclipso collects the Eclipso stories from House of Secrets #61–80, 296 pages, August 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2315-X
 * Showcase Presents House of Secrets
 * Volume 1 collects The House of Secrets #81–98, 544 pages, August 2008, ISBN 978-1-4012-1818-8
 * Volume 2 collects The House of Secrets #99–119, 496 pages, October 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2523-3
 * The Steve Ditko Omnibus Volume 1 includes The House of Secrets #139: "The Devil's Daughter" and The House of Secrets #148: "Sorcerer's Apprentice", both by Jack Oleck and Steve Ditko, 480 pages, September 2011, ISBN 1-4012-3111-X
 * House of Secrets: The Bronze Age Omnibus
 * Volume 1 collects The House of Secrets #81–111, 864 pages, February 13, 2018, ISBN 978-1-4012-7684-3
 * Volume 2 collects The House of Secrets #112–154, 872 pages, December 31, 2019, ISBN 978-1-4012-9465-6
 * House of Secrets Omnibus collects House of Secrets (vol. 2) #1–25, 752 pages, April 2013, ISBN 978-1-4012-3673-1

title: House of Secrets (DC Comics)


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Cross check

Cross check may refer to:
 * CrossCheck (project), a coalition set up to support truth and verification in media
 * Cross-checking, an infraction in the sport of ice hockey and lacrosse.
 * Cross-check (chess), a chess tactic of blocking a check with a check to force the exchange of pieces
 * The Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program, a former voter registration list maintenance program in the United States
 * Crossed cheque, a cheque (monetary instrument) that has been marked to specify an instruction about the way it is to be redeemed

title: Cross check


text:
1990s United Kingdom local government reform

The structure of local government in the United Kingdom underwent large changes in the 1990s. The system of two-tier local government introduced in the 1970s by the Local Government Act 1972 and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 was abolished in Scotland and Wales on 1 April 1996 and replaced with single-tier authorities. In England, some areas remained two-tier but many single-tier authorities (designated as Unitary Authorities in England) were created. No changes were made to local government in Northern Ireland.

Background
Prior to the 1970s, the UK had had a mixed system of local government, with some areas being covered by a county council and a more local district council, while large towns had only a single tier of authority (in England and Wales these were termed county boroughs, and in Scotland 'counties of cities'). The Acts abolished the existing county boroughs or counties of cities, and created a uniform two-tier system of government with regions or counties, and districts.

In 1986, Margaret Thatcher's government abolished the county councils of the six metropolitan counties that had been created in 1974, along with the Greater London Council, effectively creating 68 new single-tier authorities: 32 London boroughs and 36 metropolitan boroughs.

In 1990, Thatcher's government introduced the Community Charge, popularly known as the Poll Tax, a new way of funding local councils based on a fixed per-head fee. This proved very unpopular, and led to riots. Eventually, Thatcher was ousted by her own party, and the new Conservative leader and Prime Minister, John Major, pledged to abolish the Community Charge.

Legislation for the Council Tax was introduced and passed in the 1991/1992 session. Also at this time the government took the opportunity to review the structure of local government throughout Great Britain.

England
The Local Government Commission for England was established under the Local Government Act 1992, allowing the Secretary of State to order the commission to undertake 'structural reviews' in specified areas, to create unitary authorities in the two-tier shire counties. After much political debate, the commission's proposals resulted in:
 * The abolition of the counties of Avon, Cleveland, Hereford and Worcester and Humberside, created in 1974
 * The replacement of the county council of Berkshire with six unitary authorities
 * New unitary authorities covering many of the larger urban districts of England.

Scotland
The previous system in Scotland had been the regions and districts. These were quite unbalanced in terms of population – the Strathclyde region had nineteen districts and over two million people, whereas the Borders region had four districts and only 100,000 people.

The Act established 29 new 'council areas', and retained the three Island Councils. Variance in population was much less in the council areas, with just over half a million in the largest council area, Glasgow City, compared to 50,000 in the smallest on the mainland, Clackmannanshire. These are however outliers, and only six are outside the range 75,000 to 250,000.

In some cases the names of traditional counties were revived as administrative areas, although often with vastly different borders.

Wales
In Wales the existing system was replaced with a new single-tier system, of counties and county boroughs, the only difference between them now being the name (and the councils of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport are styled as cities).

The 1974 reform in Wales had abandoned use of the names of the historic counties of Wales as local government areas. This was partially reversed in 1996, with Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Monmouthshire and Pembrokeshire all reappearing as local government areas, although not necessarily with their traditional borders.

The names and areas of the administrative counties abolished in 1996 remained in use (with modifications) as the preserved counties of Wales for purposes such as Lieutenancy.


text:
Brisbane Transit Centre

The Brisbane Transit Centre, at 151–171 Roma Street, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was a long-distance bus station. It was closed and demolished in 2020 along with its three office towers. It was commonly regarded as the ugliest building in Brisbane.

Opened in 1986, the Brisbane Transit Centre was between the Queensland Police Service headquarters and the Roma Street Parkland. The complex included a number of shops, cafes and restaurants, and two office towers. It also included the Travelodge Hotel which was positioned above the station, which opened in 1986. Access to the centre was from the ground floor on Roma Street or from the Roma Street Parkland. In March 2016, GPT sold its half share in the property to co-owner the Australian Prime Property Fund.

Long distance coach travel
The coach terminal was located on the top floor of the Brisbane Transit Centre and used by:
 * Crisps Coaches to Tenterfield and Moree
 * Greyhound Australia intrastate within Queensland and interstate services to Byron Bay and Sydney
 * Murrays to Toowoomba and Chinchilla
 * NSW TrainLink to Casino, connecting with train services to Sydney
 * Premier Motor Service to Cairns, Lismore and Sydney
 * Bus Queensland to Mount Isa and Charleville

Train travel
Roma Street railway station was accessed from the ground floor level of the Brisbane Transit Centre. Long distance Traveltrain services depart for destinations within Queensland. NSW TrainLink operate an XPT service to Sydney. It is also part of the Queensland Rail City network.

Translink buses
Roma Street busway station is served by Transport for Brisbane buses.

Demolition
The Cross River Rail Authority demolished the whole of the Brisbane Transit Centre including the East and West Tower and Hotel Jen from March 2018 to make way for Cross River Rail platforms at Roma Street.

title: Brisbane Transit Centre


text:
Patrimonialism

Patrimonialism is a form of governance in which all power flows directly from the ruler. There is no distinction between the public and private domains. These regimes are autocratic or oligarchic and exclude the lower, middle and upper classes from power. The leaders of these countries typically enjoy absolute personal power. Usually, the armies of these countries are loyal to the leader, not the nation.

Max Weber
Julia Adams, states: "In Weber's Economy and Society, patrimonialism mainly refers to forms of government that are based on rulers' family-households. The ruler's authority is personal-familial, and the mechanics of the household are the model for political administration. The concept of patrimonialism captures a distinctive style of regulation and administration that contrasts with Weber's ideal-typical rational-legal bureaucracy". She states that Weber has used patrimonialism to describe, among other systems, "estatist and absolutist politics of early modern Europe". For Weber, patriarchy is at the centre of patrimonalism and is its model and origin.

Nathan Quimpo
Nathan Quimpo defines patrimonialism as "a type of rule in which the ruler does not distinguish between personal and public patrimony and treats matters and resources of state as his personal affair."

Richard Pipes
Richard Pipes, a historian and Professor Emeritus of Russian history at Harvard University defines patrimonial as "a regime where the rights of sovereignty and those of ownership blend to the point of being indistinguishable, and political power is exercised in the same manner as economic power."

J. I. Bakker
J. I. Bakker, a sociologist at the University of Guelph, states:

"The key focus in the model [patrimonialism] is the extent to which legitimate authority is based primarily on personal power exercised by the ruler, either directly or indirectly. The ruler may act alone or as a member of a powerful elite group or oligarchy. The ruler is not viewed as a tyrant. The structure of the Roman Catholic Church today is still patrimonial. Direct rule involves the ruler and a few key members of the ruler's household or staff maintaining personal control over every aspect of governance. If rule is indirect, there may be an intellectual or moral elite of priests or office holders as well as a military. The priestly group may invoke deity for the leader. The king, sultan, maharaja or other ruler is able to make independent decisions on an ad hoc basis, with little if any checks and balances. No individual or group is powerful enough to oppose the ruler consistently without, in turn, becoming the new patrimonial ruler. The ruler is recognized as the chief landholder and, in the extreme case, all of the land and its people are his domain. The legal authority of the ruler is largely unchallenged; there is no recognized body of case law or formal law, but there may be notions of etiquette and honor."

Francis Fukuyama
In his The Origins of Political Order, Francis Fukuyama states on the matter: "Natural human sociability is built around two principles, kin selection and reciprocal altruism. The principle of kin selection or inclusive fitness states that human beings will act altruistically toward genetic relatives (or individuals believed to be genetic relatives) in rough proportion to their shared genes. The principle of reciprocal altruism says that human beings will tend to develop relationships of mutual benefit or mutual harm as they interact with other individuals over time. Reciprocal altruism, unlike kin selection, does not depend on genetic relatedness; it does, however, depend on repeated, direct personal interaction and the trust relationships generated out of such interactions. These forms of social cooperation are the default ways human beings interact in the absence of incentives to adhere to other, more impersonal institutions. When impersonal institutions decay, these are the forms of cooperation that always reemerge because they are natural to human beings. What I have labeled patrimonialism is political recruitment based on either of these two principles. Thus, when bureaucratic offices were filled with the kinsmen of rulers at the end of the Han Dynasty in China, when the Janissaries wanted their sons to enter the corps, or when offices were sold as heritable property in ancien regime France, a natural patrimonial principle was simply reasserting itself."

Examples
Richard Pipes cited the Egyptian Ptolemies and the Attalids of Pergamon as early patrimonial monarchies, both successor states to Alexander the Great's empire.

Pipes argues that the Russian Empire between the twelfth and seventeenth century, and with certain modifications until 1917, was a patrimonial system.

Jean Bodin described seigneurial monarchies in the Six Books of the Commonwealth (1576–1586), where the monarch owns all the land. He claimed that Turkey and Muscovy were the only European examples.

Indonesia, before and during the Suharto administration, is often cited as being patrimonial in its political-economy.

title: Patrimonialism


text:
José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco

José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, Baron of Rio Branco (in Portuguese: Barão do Rio Branco) (20 April 1845 – 10 February 1912) was a Brazilian noble, diplomat, geographer, historian, politician and professor, considered to be the "father of Brazilian diplomacy". He was the son of statesman José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco. The Baron of Rio Branco was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, occupying its 34th chair from 1898 until his death in 1912. As a representative of Brazil, he managed to peacefully resolve all Brazil's border disputes with its South American neighbours and incorporate 900 thousand square kilometers (roughly 10% of Brazil's territory) through his diplomacy alone.

Early life
José Paranhos Júnior was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1845, as son of José Maria da Silva Paranhos Sr, Viscount of Rio Branco, future Prime Minister of Brazil and famous statesman and his wife, Teresa de Figueiredo Faria. He began his work in the letters in 1863, in the pages of the Popular magazine, with a biography on Luís Barroso Pereira, commander of the frigate Imperatriz. Later, in 1866, in the magazine L'Illustration, he drew and wrote about the Paraguayan War, defending the point of view of Brazil. In 1868, he replaced for three months Joaquim Manuel de Macedo as lecturer of Chorography and History of Brazil, in Colégio Pedro II.

Diplomacy
He began his political career as a promoter and deputy, still in the Empire. In 1871 he was editor in the newspaper A Nação, having collaborated, from 1891, in Jornal do Brasil.

He became Consul General in Liverpool from 1876, was accredited minister in Germany in 1900, taking over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 3 December 1902 until his death in 1912. He held the position throughout the term of four presidents of the republic - the governments of Rodrigues Alves, Afonso Pena, Nilo Peçanha and Hermes da Fonseca - forming a national unanimity in their time.

He received the title of Baron of Rio Branco on the eve of the end of the imperial period, but continued to use the title in his signature even after the proclamation of the republic in 1889. This was due to being a convinced monarchist and to honor his late father, the senator and diplomat José Maria da Silva Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco.

Nobleman
In 1889, Emperor Pedro II of Brazil ennobled him as the Baron of Rio Branco (Barão do Rio Branco), a few days before the proclamation of the republic. Rio Branco continued to use the title throughout his life, despite governmental prohibition, because of his monarchist beliefs. Being a monarchist, however, was no impediment for his success as a diplomat: the Baron of Rio Branco reached the heights of his career during the Republic, when he acted as Minister of Foreign Affairs for 10 years and settled all of Brazil's remaining border disputes by peaceful means.

Last years
Suffering from kidney problems, he offered his resignation, which was refused by President Hermes da Fonseca. In his last moments of life, he lamented the bombing of the capital of Bahia, Salvador, motivated by a political crisis and which occurred on 10 January 1912.

His death, during the carnival of 1912, altered the calendar of the popular feast that year due to official mourning and great tributes in his honor in the city of Rio de Janeiro. He was buried along his father, in the Caju Cemetery in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio Branco is considered the patron of Brazilian diplomacy.

Career history and legacy
Rio Branco began his political career as a congressman in the House of Commons. From 1876 on, he was the Brazilian Consul General in Liverpool, England. He was also the Brazilian Ambassador in Berlin in the beginning of the 20th century.

Rio Branco's most important legacy to Brazil was his successful effort, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in defining the country's borders with all of its neighbours. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1902 and retained office until 1912, under four different Presidents, a feat unequalled in Brazilian history.

Before and during his term, he negotiated territorial disputes between Brazil and some of its neighbours and consolidated the borders of modern Brazil. He is considered one of the most prominent Brazilian statesmen ever, as his proverbial work capacity, knowledge and skills were essential for the successful outcome of difficult boundary disputes, some of which submitted to international arbitration – such as with Argentina and France –, as well as for incorporating new territory (the state of Acre, originally Bolivian).

As a mediator he negotiated and settled disputes between the United States and many European countries. On those occasions, he never abandoned his belief in diplomacy as the means to handle international matters, thus helping establish Brazil's reputation as a peace-loving nation.

Border question with France
Rio Branco obtained a victory over France on the border of Amapá with French Guiana, cause won by Brazil in 1900 in an arbitration of the Swiss government. The border was defined in the river Oiapoque.

Treaty of Petrópolis with Bolivia
In 1903 Rio Branco signed the Treaty of Petrópolis with Bolivia, putting an end to the dispute involving the present Brazilian state of Acre. The region was settled mostly by native Brazilians, but the Bolivian government had come close to leasing this rubber-rich area to American private entrepreneurs. Today, the state's capital bears the name Rio Branco in his honor.

Tobar-Rio Branco Treaty with Ecuador
The representative of Brazil, Don José Maria da Silva Paranhos, who was Baron of Rio Branco met the representative of Ecuador, Dr. Carlos R. Tobar, in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, to peacefully discuss a final border between their countries. On May 6, 1904, an agreement was reached and the two representatives signed the Tobar-Rio Branco Treaty, in which Ecuador renounced its claims to the disputed area between the Caquetá River and the Amazon River in favour of Brazil, in return Brazil recognized Ecuador as its neighbour. The border would be a straight line that starts midpoint between the cities of Tabatinga, Brazil and Leticia, Colombia, on the Amazon River and runs north until it reaches the Caquetá River, also known as the Japurá River.

Other success
Rio Branco has negotiated with Uruguay the condominium on the Rio Jaguarão and Lagoon Mirim, essentially a voluntary concession from Brazil to a neighbor who needed those channels. For this reason, he was honored by the government of Uruguay, and his name was given to the old Pueblo Artigas, now the city of Río Branco, in the department of Cerro Largo, near the Brazilian Jaguarão.

The municipality of Paranhos, in Mato Grosso do Sul, located on the border with Paraguay was baptized in his honor. In 1908, then in Rio de Janeiro, he invited the engineer Augusto Ferreira Ramos to design a cable car system that would facilitate access to the summit of Morro da Urca, known worldwide as the Sugar Loaf. In 1909, his name was suggested for the presidential succession of the following year. Rio Branco preferred to decline any candidacy that was not of national unanimity.

He was president of the Brazilian Historic and Geographic Institute (1907-1912) and wrote two books.

His son, Paulo do Rio Branco, was a prominent French-born Brazilian rugby player.

Popularity
In 1909, Rio Branco was encouraged to run for the Presidency, but he declined, as he could not envisage consensus around his name. He was very popular, however, among the people; at the time of his death, to the point of paralysing Carnival – another unparalleled feat in Brazilian history – on the day he died (February 10), when official mourning was declared. The first recorded instance of an official moment of silence dedicated to a person's death took place in Portugal on February 13, 1912. The Portuguese Senate dedicated 10 minutes of silence to the baron. This moment of silence was registered in the Senate's records of that day.

As a writer he wrote many books, dealing mostly with the history of Brazil, and was awarded prizes and occupied the 34th seat of the Brazilian Academy of Literature.

Brazil's diplomacy academy (Instituto Rio Branco) is named after the Baron. Rio Branco is portrayed on the fifty centavos coin of the Brazilian real currency.

Honours

 * Empire of Brazil:
 * Knight of the Order of the Southern Cross
 * Knight of the Order of the Rose
 * Russian Empire:
 * Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus

title: José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco


text:
24 Squadron SAAF

24 Squadron SAAF is a disbanded squadron of the South African Air Force. Its last role was as an attack aircraft squadron. The squadron was first formed during World War II on 5 March 1941 by renumbering 14 Squadron SAAF in Egypt. It later carried out bombing operations in Kenya and North Africa, before taking part in the Italian campaign before disbanding in late 1945 at the conclusion of hostilities. The squadron was later re-raised and operated jet aircraft in an attack role during the Border War. It was finally disbanded in early 1991.

History
On 5 March 1941 24 Squadron SAAF was formed when No.14 Squadron SAAF and its Maryland bombers were moved from Kenya to Egypt, and renumbered as No.24 Squadron. The squadron then operated alongside No. 39 Squadron RAF as a daytime tactical bomber unit carrying out bombing sorties against targets in the Mediterranean theatre. 24 Squadron was later in the year re-equipped with Bostons.

In December 1943, the squadron was relocated to Algeria and re-equipped with the B-26 Marauders and in 1944 flew to a new base at Pescara, Italy, before later advancing to Jesi, Italy. At the end of the war the squadron used its Marauders as transport aircraft, before moving to Egypt in October 1945 and disbanding on 6 November 1945.

The Buccaneer entered SAAF service in 1965. SAAF Buccaneers saw active service during the Border War in South-West Africa, notably at Cassinga in 1978. They flew over Angola and Namibia in the 1970s and 1980s, and attacked SWAPO guerrilla camps with rockets and bombs.

The squadron was disbanded in March 1991 at AFB Waterkloof, Pretoria.

title: 24 Squadron SAAF


text:
Impulse (comics)

Impulse, in comics, may refer to:

 * Impulse (DC Comics)
 * Kent Shakespeare
 * Bart Allen
 * Kid Flash (Iris West)
 * Impulse (Marvel Comics), currently known as Pulsar

title: Impulse (comics)


text:
Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Standing orders/Anthony

 * In effect

In order to avoid Arbitration on the matter of Anthony DiPierro's actions, Raul654 and Anthony DiPierro have come to the following agreement:

If Anthony should, for any reason, make a provocative edit (that is, an edit which is "trolling", "disruptive", and/or "antisocial" as interpreted by an admin) or engage in an edit war, an admin, may at his discretion, block Anthony for a period of 24 hours, not subject to the normal warnings and protections afforded other users.

At six month intervals, three members of the Mediation Committee (enumerated below) should vote on whether or not Anthony has reformed. If two or more of those members should agree that Anthony has reformed, this agreement is considered fullfilled and over. Otherwise, the agreement should be renewed for another six months. Should one of those members leave, Anthony and Raul654 must agree on a replacement (who must be a member of the Mediation Commitee).

If Anthony should attempt to evade a ban or block (for any reason), he is considered in breach of this agreement and subject to immediate Arbitration.

If at any time Anthony feels that this agreement is unduly restrictive of his ability to make clearly legitimate edits, he may withdraw from the agreement and go directly to Arbitration.

Mediation members

 * Angela
 * Bcorr
 * Cimon Avaro

Signed

 * Raul654:
 * →Raul654 15:55, Jul 26, 2004 (UTC)

 * Anthony DiPierro:
 * anthony (see warning) 19:33, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC)

 * The Arbitration Committee (4 members needed):
 * James F. (talk) 23:43, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC) A reasonable step.
 * the Epopt 06:43, 24 Jul 2004 (UTC) Works for me!
 * Martin 22:33, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * Fred Bauder 00:25, Jul 30, 2004 (UTC)

Withdrawn
I have withdrawn from this agreement effective immediately. anthony 警告 16:52, 26 Feb 2005 (UTC)