( 1 9 October 2 0 0 5 , Wednesday )



Eighteen years ago - - the Nineteenth of October 1 9 8 7 , a Monday - - the

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE descended 5 0 8 points , at that

time a twenty - three per cent drop in net - asset - value . ( The Dow reached

a high that year of 2 , 7 2 2 , and the " Correction " of 1 9 October left

the D . J . I . A . at a mere 1 , 7 0 0 . )



PETER LYNCH , manager of the largest and most successful Mutual

Fund ever , the FIDELITY MAGELLAN , was in Ireland at the time the

Market imploded . Responding to a desperate call from his employers at

Fidelity , Lynch left the golf course and flew back to Fidelity headquarters

in Boston , to personally oversee some manner of salvage . Lynch has said

of the experience that it taught him , ( 1 ) to keep more assets in " liquid "

form , i . e . , cash , so it won ' t be so difficult to pay out panicky investors ;

AND , ( 2 ) , that market corrections of this magnitude produce bargain

prices on a number of securities .



Therein lies a lesson for investors , as well : " Buy Low / Sell High " is

more than a slogan . It is a strategy for investors who have some daring .

So - called " Bottom Feeders " await corrections , at which time they

enlarge and enrich their portfolios with stocks whose share prices have

taken a significant hit . Some of us - - this typist , for one - - invest

regularly butt passively , that is to say , We purchase stocks in the form

of Mutual Fund Shares at regular intervals , and invest the SAME

DOLLAR AMOUNT every time .



Called ' Dollar Cost Averaging " in the industry vernacular , this method

yields fewer shares when Stocks are pricey - - AND , more importantly ,

MORE shares when Stocks are underpriced . Don ' t take MY word for

the effectiveness of D . C . A . ; You can read Peter Lynch himself , whose

books include ONE UP ON WALL STREET .



I , mindful that the book BARBARIANS AT THE GATE ( about the merger

of R . J . REYNOLDS and NABISCO ) became a film starring JAMES GARNER ,

find it lamentable that the Dow ' s free - fall of 1 9 October 1 9 8 7 has never been

adapted for film or television . ED BEGLEY JR . might be a fitting choice to

portray Peter Lynch . ADDENDA : the Dow was unusually volatile over four

trading sessions that month of October 1 9 8 7 . First came a 1 5 6 - point decline

on Friday , the Sixteenth ; 5 0 8 points the following Monday ; a 1 2 0 - point

RISE on Tuesday , the Twentieth ; lastly , a 1 8 0 - point surge , at the time a

record , on Wednesday the Twenty - First . Despite the pillaging of " Black

Monday " , the D . J . I . A . was up for the year on 3 1 December some two points .

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With Major League Baseball ' s League Playoffs complete , it is instructive for

this Typist to recall the Most Recent , and most DISTANT , Pennant winning teams :



AMERICAN LEAGUE



2 0 0 5 CHICAGO WHITE SOX

2 0 0 4 BOSTON RED SOX

2 0 0 3 NEW YORK YANKEES

2 0 0 2 LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM

1 9 9 7 CLEVELAND INDIANS

1 9 9 3 TORONTO BLUE JAYS

1 9 9 1 MINNESOTA TWINS

1 9 9 0 OAKLAND ATHLETICS

1 9 8 5 KANSAS CITY ROYALS

1 9 8 2 **** MILWAUKEE BREWERS **** ( See Below )

1 9 8 4 DETROIT TIGERS

1 9 8 3 BALTIMORE ORIOLES



Three American League teams - - the SEATTLE MARINERS ( founded 1 9 7 7 ) ,

the TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS ( 1 9 9 8 ) and the TEXAS RANGERS ( formerly

the WASHINGTON SENATORS , founded 1 9 6 1 ) - - have never been to the

World Series , although Washington has been represented in the Series as

recently as 1 9 3 3 , by the original Senators franchise . ( One Senators

team relocated to MINNESOTA in 1 9 6 0 , while the second Senators

franchise left for TEXAS in 1 9 7 2 . )



The MILWAUKEE BREWERS , formerly the SEATTLE PILOTS for one

season ( 1 9 6 9 ) , represented the American League in the 1 9 8 2 World

Series butt switched leagues in 1 9 9 8 . The Brewers have never represented

the National League in the World Series , and will be listed below as one of

three " Senior Circuit " teams that have yet to do so even though the Milwaukee

franchise has a World Series appearance to its credit .



NATIONAL LEAGUE



2 0 0 5 HOUSTON ASTROS

2 0 0 4 ST . LOUIS CARDINALS

2 0 0 3 FLORIDA MARLINS

2 0 0 2 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

2 0 0 1 ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

2 0 0 0 NEW YORK METS

1 9 9 9 ATLANTA BRAVES

1 9 9 8 SAN DIEGO PADRES

1 9 9 3 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

1 9 9 0 CINCINNATI REDS

1 9 8 8 LOS ANGELES DODGERS

1 9 7 9 PITTSBURGH PIRATES

1 9 4 5 CHICAGO CUBS



Three National League teams - - the COLORADO ROCKIES ( founded

1 9 9 3 ) , the MILWAUKEE BREWERS ( see above ) and the WASHINGTON

NATIONALS ( formerly the MONTREAL EXPOS , founded 1 9 6 9 / relocated

to Washington in 2 0 0 5 ) - - have yet to represent the Senior Circuit in the

World Series . Tonight ' s 5 to 1 victory by the HOUSTON ASTROS over the

ST . LOUIS CARDINALS gives Houston its first National League

championship , following forty - three seasons without ( previously the

HOUSTON COLT . 4 5 ' S , the team ' s inaugural season was 1 9 6 2 . )



The State of TEXAS has never hosted a World Series game , which figures

to change on Tuesday of next week ( 2 5 October 2 0 0 5 ) . The City of

CHICAGO last hosted a World Series game in 1 9 5 9 ; having eliminated

the LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM this past Sunday night

( 1 6 October 2 0 0 5 ) , the CHICAGO WHITE SOX return to the

World Series after a forty - six year hiatus , their first since 1 9 5 9 .



Chicago ' s skien of disappointment is astounding . The two Chicago

teams , alomg with their LONG - suffering fans , have waited the longest

for their teams to win the World Series . Last year ' s World Series victory

for the BOSTON RED SOX ended eighty - six years of futility , butt is

nevertheless just the THIRD - most prolonged wait for Glory .



WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS , Most - Recent / Most - Distant :



BOSTON RED SOX ( 2 0 0 4 )

FLORIDA MARLINS ( 2 0 0 3 )

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM ( 2 0 0 2 )

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS ( 2 0 0 1 )

NEW YORK YANKEES ( 2 0 0 0 )

ATLANTA BRAVES ( 1 9 9 5 )

TORONTO BLUE JAYS ( 1 9 9 3 )

MINNESOTA TWINS ( 1 9 9 1 )

CINCINNATI REDS ( 1 9 9 0 )

OAKLAND ATHLETICS ( 1 9 8 9 )

LOS ANGELES DODGERS ( 1 9 8 8 )

NEW YORK METS ( 1 9 8 6 )

KANSAS CITY ROYALS ( 1 9 8 5 )

DETROIT TIGERS ( 1 9 8 4 )

BALTIMORE ORIOLES ( 1 9 8 3 )

ST . LOUIS CARDINALS ( 1 9 8 2 )

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES ( 1 9 8 0 )

PITTSBURGH PIRATES ( 1 9 7 9 )

" NEW YORK BASEBALL GIANTS " ( 1 9 5 4 ) / See Explanation Below

CLEVELAND INDIANS ( 1 9 4 8 )

CHICAGO WHITE SOX ( 1 9 1 7 )

CHICAGO CUBS ( 1 9 0 8 )



NOTE : The NEW YORK " BASEBALL " GIANTS departed New York

following the 1 9 5 7 season and settled in SAN FRANCISCO .



TWENTY - TWO MAJOR LEAGUE FRANCHISES have won at least

one World Series . Eight teams - - the COLORADO ROCKIES , the

HOUSTON ASTROS , the MILWAUKEE BREWERS , the

SAN DIEGO PADRES , the SEATTLE MARINERS , the

TAMPA BAY DEVIL RAYS , the TEXAS RANGERS and the

WASHINGTON NATIONALS - - await their first .



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