Author Archives: B.P.

“The Catch” By Willie Mays An Alternate View

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Willie Mays 1954 World Series Catch As Seen From Center Field

Willie Mays died June 18, 2024 at the age of 93. The accolades and remembrances will pour in over the next few days. We’ll let two photos and a video serve as a microcosm of a brilliant career that writers will try to summarize but will undoubtedly fall short.

Mays was that good.

If Willie Mays was not the all around best baseball player of all-time he certainly ranks as one of the top five.

The above view of Mays’ 1954 World Series catch was taken by United Press photographer Sid Birns.

The original news slug says: Continue reading →

Books About The General Slocum Disaster

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June 15, 1904: The Steamer General Slocum Is Consumed By Fire At Hell Gate Killing Over 1,000 People, Mostly Women and Children

Crowd gathered around the recovered body of a child from the General Slocum, North Brother Island, New York City, June 1904 photo George Ehler Stonebridge / NY Historical Society

This year marks the 120th anniversary of a tragedy that has been mostly forgotten, the General Slocum Disaster.

If you are unfamiliar with the General Slocum and the inferno that killed over 1,000 people, we  previously wrote about it here.

Delving deeper into full length accounts of the General Slocum, you have several choices.

A total of eight books and two government reports are solely devoted to the tragedy and encapsulate the story thoroughly. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #168 – New York’s Waterfront 1898

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New York City Skyline, Waterfront & Staten Island Ferry 1898

From an approaching boat we see a busy waterfront and the budding skyline of lower Manhattan. Our photo comes from the Detroit Publishing Company archive.

The ship the photographer is aboard is pulling in, and the ferry Stapleton is about to head to Staten Island. Other boats with passengers are docked at their moorings.

The most notable building Continue reading →

Yankees Billy Martin & Browns Clint Courtney Get Into A Brawl

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Billy Martin And Clint Courtney Fight At Yankee Stadium 1952

Yankees second baseman Alfred Manuel “Billy” Martin had a tough childhood growing up in Berkeley, California. A small boy with a large nose, Billy was picked on by the other kids. Billy learned to fight back and hit hard and never back down. But it would cost Martin. He was thrown off his high school basketball and baseball teams for fighting.

Martin’s toughness carried over to the major leagues, fighting players such as Cubs pitcher Jim Brewer, Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall and others who he felt had  provoked him. Martin’s most famous fights were with Clint Courtney, a fiery scrapper and the first major league catcher to wear eyeglasses.

This photo above shows their first confrontation, as the news slug describes:

Cut-Up On The Diamond
New York: After a heated exchange of punches, Clint Courtney (right) and Billy Martin of the Yanks continue their brawl in close-quarter action as Joe Collins (41) rushes to break up the fracas. The Brownie catcher, claiming he had been tagged hard on the head, charged at Martin after being thrown out at second base on an attempted steal in the 8th inning of the July 12th game at the stadium. Courtney was ejected from the game after the fight was broken up, but Martin was allowed to remain. Yanks scored a 5-4 victory. photo: Arthur Rickerby United Press International 7-12-1952

Though it’s not mentioned in the news slug, Yankees starting pitcher Allie Reynolds knocked Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #163 – Peter Sellers & Ringo Starr

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Peter Sellers & Ringo Celebrate Completion Of “The Magic Christian” 1969

Ringo & Sellers At A Party
Peter Sellers and Beatle drummer Ringo Starr are seen playing roulette at a party at Les Ambassadeurs in London. The party was to celebrate the completion of the film  “The Magic Christian” in which they co-star. Among other guests at the party were Beatle John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono who have just bought a 72 acre estate and mansion at Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot, Berks. photo:Syndication International (Daily Mirror) May 5, 1969

One does not necessarily associate Peter Sellers with The Beatles. But strange casting for a strange film brought the two stars of different genres together. Continue reading →

Old New York In Photos #167 – Madison Square

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Madison Square Garden & Park circa 1900

This magic lantern slide shows Madison Square Park looking north and east from 23rd Street. All the vehicles seen in the photo are horse drawn and the surrounding buildings give us a clue to a date of 1900. Continue reading →

Ronald Reagan Talks About Getting A Pitching Lesson From Bob Lemon

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Cleveland Indians Star Bob Lemon Teaches Pitching To Ronald Reagan – 1952

Bob Lemon And Ronald Reagan Reminisce 30 Years After Making A Movie Together

Pitching For Pictures
Hollywood, Calif. – Bob Lemon, (left) star hurler of the Cleveland Indians, goes through some mound paces with actor Ronald Reagan, who’ll play the famed Grover Cleveland Alexander in a film now in production. Lemon, who also has a part in the film, was hired to give Reagan a few tips on pitching style. credit: United Press (1/28/52)

The subject has the makings of a fine dramatic movie. The Winning Team (1952) starring future President Ronald Reagan along with Doris Day is Continue reading →

The Terrible Truth – Marijuana Use Leads To Being A Junkie 1951

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73 Years Ago American Teens Were Warned About The Dangers Of Pot

In the pantheon of anti-drug films The Terrible Truth (1951), a ten minute short, holds a special place in my heart.

Not because of its low production values. Not because its message is totally alarmist. But akin to many stag films of the same period, Continue reading →

National Lampoon’s 1970s Funky Advertisers

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In The 1970s, National Lampoon Magazine Took Any & All Advertisers

Model demonstrating the proper facial use of a vibrator. From National Lampoon, January 1977

Matty Simmons the CEO of National Lampoon and author of If You Don’t Buy This Book We’ll Kill This Dog (Barricade Books), describes in his 1994 memoir the challenges of getting traditional advertisers during National Lampoon magazine’s first decade. Continue reading →

He Wrote ALL These Pop Rock Hit Songs For Different Artists

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“He” Is Mike Chapman, Writer, Producer Extraordinaire

Mike Chapman (wearing sunglasses) in the studio with Blondie photo: GEMS/Redferns

From age 18 to 80 the fact that even novices of melody will recognize many of Mike Chapman’s songs, says a lot about his talent.

Mike Chapman (born in Queensland, Australia, April 13, 1947) is not just a record producer, but also a songwriter of major importance.

He has written and / or produced music with The Sweet, Suzi Quatro, The Knack, Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Divinyls, Nick Gilder, Scandal, Billy Squier, Agnetha from ABBA, Lita Ford, Smokie and arguably most successfully, Blondie.

But it’s Chapman’s skill at songwriting that will remain his legacy. Continue reading →