Author Archives: B.P.

Old New York In Photos #28 – New York City Early Color Photos

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New York City In Old Color Photographs At The Turn Of The Century

Mulberry Street Detroit Publishing Company

Mulberry Street in color New York City 1900

Life was colorful in turn of the century New York City. But because almost all the photographs we see from that era are in black and white, it is hard to imagine what the city looked like in its full color glory.

The Library of Congress holds the incredible collection of The Detroit Publishing Company who manufactured postcards and chronicled the world with their photographs from 1880-1920.

One of the processes used to achieve color was called the photochrom. Photochrom’s are color photo lithographs created from a black and white photographic negative. Color impressions are achieved through the application of multiple lithograph stones, one per color. In 1897, the Detroit Publishing Company brought the process over from Switzerland where it was first developed.

The images presented here were eventually used for postcards. Here is a look at New York circa 1900 in high resolution color photographs. Click on any image to vastly enlarge.

South Street Brooklyn Bridge 1900 Detroit Publishing

South Street and Brooklyn Bridge 1900

Looking north along South Street with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background. This was still the age when shipping and boats crowded the harbor.

City Hall 1900 Detroit Publishing

City Hall New York City 1900

City Hall looking northwest with a sliver of City Hall Park on the bottom extreme left. Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #21 – Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis

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Carol Hughes, Marie Wilson and June Travis Take A Stroll On The Beach Circa 1938

Carol Hughes Marie Wilson June Travis

Warner Bros. young stars in training, Carol Hughes (1910-1995), Marie Wilson (1916-1972) and June Travis (1914-2008) take a walk on the shore in this studio publicity photograph. Continue reading →

Clive Burr, Iron Maiden Drummer Dies At 56

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Clive Burr – Iron Maiden’s Masterful And Highly Underrated Drummer Passes Away

Clive Burr Drumming 1982Clive Burr, who was Iron Maiden’s drummer from 1979-1982, died in his sleep at his home in London, England on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. He had been in ill-health for a number of years.

Burr played on the first three Iron Maiden albums, Iron Maiden, Killers and The Number of the Beast. With Iron Maiden on the verge of worldwide stardom, Burr was replaced under circumstances which remain murky to this day by Nicko McBrain for 1983’s Piece of Mind album. The official reason given was personal problems and difficulties in dealing with the heavy touring schedule.

Clive Burr Interview 1982Burr played with a string of other bands for the next dozen years, but never achieved the success he had with Iron Maiden. In the early 1990’s Burr’s musical career came to an abrupt end when he noticed tingling in his hands. He received a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1994.

His former band mates held several charity events during the last decade which they called “Clive-Aid” to raise money to help Burr with his medical expenses which had left him in debt.

Iron Maiden Cliveaid 2007

Steve Harris, Dave Murray and Clive Burr at 2007’s CliveAid Concert

Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood said in 2002 at the first benefit, “Maiden has always been a family and even after all these years, we still consider Clive to be part of the family and as such we feel we should help him in any way possible.”

There has been a long simmering debate among hardcore Maiden fans about who was the better drummer, Burr or McBrain?

They were so different in style that a comparison is very difficult, but I always preferred Burr’s lucid, free jazz-style drumming. Burr though, was not a jazz drummer. McBrain is the one who had learned through funk and groove. Continue reading →

Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion Gets Angry – 1967

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How To Get A Three Game Suspension

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion cross-checking linesman Walter Atanas February 8 , 1967

Bernie Geoffrion was one of the all-time hockey greats. In 1960-61 he became the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, following his teammate Maurice “Rocket” Richard who had accomplished the feat in 1944-45. Geoffrion, who was one tough player, broke his nose six times and received over 400 stitches playing hockey. The “Boom Boom” nickname however came from his hard slap shot not from pounding other players. After playing his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens from 1950-1964, Geoffrion retired. But two years later Geoffrion came out of retirement to play with the New York Rangers during the 1966-67 season.

On February 8, 1967 Geoffrion lost his cool during a game at the Boston Garden. In the closing seconds of a game that the Bruins would end up winning 2-1, angry Ranger fans littered the ice with debris over a perceived missed penalty call.

After a ten minute delay to clear the ice play resumed with two seconds remaining on the clock. There were three false starts that linesman Walter Atanas claimed were caused by Geoffrion going offside. Atanas and Geoffrion started yelling at one another and Geoffrion then allegedly slapped an empty beer can in Atanas’ direction.

Atanas skated over to referee John Ashley to have Geoffrion assessed a ten minute misconduct penalty. Geoffrion followed Atanas across the ice, cross-checking him twice. Geoffrion later claimed he never cross-checked Atanas, but had merely tripped on an empty beer can. The photographic evidence proved otherwise.

One week later, NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended Geoffrion for three games. Campbell said, “I consider his actions in cross-checking official Walter Atanas to be completely inexcusable and a product of his own temperament, which has gotten him into similar trouble on at least two other occasions.”  Geoffrion was also fined $25 and $50 for the misconduct and game misconduct penalties.

The previous two times that Geoffrion was suspended was when he was with the Montreal Canadiens. Both incidents also involved altercations with officials.

Geoffrion finished the season with 17 goals and 25 assists in 58 games. After the 1967-68 season Geoffrion retired for good. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Old New York In Photos #27 – Fifth Avenue Looking North From 51st Street – 1913

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Fifth Avenue Looking North From 51st Street – 1913

Fifth Avenue 51st Street 1913

In this one hundred year old view of Fifth Avenue, we see some of the many methods of transportation that New Yorker’s took to get around the city.

A double-decker Fifth Avenue bus ambles to its terminus at 22nd Street and is packed with riders on the top deck taking in the sights. There are horse drawn carriages and many types of automobiles traveling both north and south as Fifth Avenue was a two way street until 1966.

And of course pedestrians crowd the sidewalks on this brisk sunny day.

A couple of things to take note of: Continue reading →

Jack Harshman, New York Giants…Slugger?

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Pick A Bat, Any Bat

Jack Harshman NY Giants 3 16 1950

Jack Harshman first came up to the major leagues with the New York Giants for five games in 1948 at the age of 20, with a reputation as a slugging first baseman. In 1949 he spent the entire season at the Giants top AAA farm club in Minneapolis where he clouted 40 home runs and knocked in 111 RBI’s while batting a respectable .270. The Giants had expectations that Harshman was going to be able to translate his minor league success into the majors. This March 16, 1950 photograph’s caption says:

Simply “Bats” About The Game

Phoenix, Ariz: New York Giants’ first baseman Jack Harshman, who has been slamming the ball with great style during exhibition games, might well wind up being “Rookie of the Year.” Here, Harshman selects a bat prior to displaying his “diamond” skill in a game. Credit (Acme) 3/16/50

Harshman ended up playing only nine games with the Giants in 1950. He played all season in the minors in 1951 hitting 47 home runs. He was called up again by the Giants in 1952 for three games and was sent down again to the minors for the entire 1953 season. Harshman had been in the Giants organization for six years and played a grand total of 17 games in the big leagues. His low minor league batting averages (.218, .230 etc.) was a major contributor to preventing his progress with the Giants. On September 19, 1953 Harshman was sold to the Chicago White Sox.

I’ve Got An Idea – Make Him A Pitcher

Jack Harshman 1956 ToppsThe White Sox converted Harshman to a pitcher. In his first season with Chicago in 1954, Harshman struck out 16 Red Sox in one game and pitched a 16 inning complete game 1-0 shut-out against the Tigers. In that game, it is estimated that Harshman threw 245 pitches. Thank goodness there were no modern day pitch counts! From 1954 to 1957 with the White Sox, Harshman won 48 games while losing only 34 with a 3.33 ERA.

I never saw Jack Harshman play, but I have a few of his baseball cards, and he always looks happy in them. Maybe it was because he had found success as a pitcher rather than a hitter.

Harahman went on to play for Baltimore, Boston and Cleveland before being released by the Indians in October of 1960 at the young age of 32. His career won and lost record was 69-65. His hitting, which was so hyped when he was breaking into the game, was not a factor in his career. In 521 career at bats, Harshman hit 21 home runs (not bad for a pitcher) drove in 65 runs and batted .179.

As far as the news publicity photo, maybe one bat would have been sufficient instead of nine.

UPDATE: Jack Harshman passed away August 17, 2013 at age 86.

Florida Stadium Sells Naming Rights To Prison Company

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Stupid Stadium Naming Rights – Where Does It Stop?

Viagra Stadium ML

A future potential stadium name? Why not? Viagra has money.

The fact that Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL, sold their stadium naming rights to The GEO Group should not really surprise anyone. The Geo Group is a private prison corporation that will have its name emblazoned on Florida Atlantic’s stadium from 2013 until 2025.

The rights for Geo Group Stadium cost $6 million for 12 years and was paid for by Florida Atlantic University alumnus George Zoley, the CEO of The Geo Group.

Obviously the money will help to run Florida Atlantic University’s athletic programs. Some people are upset over the association of prison with academics.

The question is why? As we pointed out in a previous article, if companies are stupid enough to pay millions of dollars to market their product (uselessly), and the teams, cities and owners are willing to take that money regardless of what the new arena or stadium name represents, what’s the harm? Continue reading →

The Pride Of The Yankees – Was The Film Really Reversed?

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Gary Cooper, Lou Gehrig and The Mystery of Reversing The Film

The New York Times published an article on February 9, 2013 based off of research conducted by Tom Shieber that he posted on his web site, that disputes a long held belief about the classic Lou Gehrig film, The Pride of The Yankees (1942).

Gary Cooper Pride Swinging Left Handed

Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig (note the signature on the bat)

It had been reported for many years that the filming of the baseball action scenes were for the most part printed in reverse to accommodate righty Gary Cooper, who could not convincingly portray the left-handed Lou Gehrig.

We reported how the film was reversed in a previous post. But now Shieber has seemingly proven that Cooper did most of the scenes left-handed, without a reversal of the film when it was printed.

Interestingly Gary Cooper himself said in a 1956 Saturday Evening Post print interview that he could not do the action scenes left-handed, and the film had been reversed.

After you read Shieber’s full article, which makes a lot of sense, and watch the film, will you be convinced that Cooper did most of the film left-handed? I am.

Ty Cobb In Chicago At Southside Park – 1907 And 1908

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The “Georgia Peach” Ty Cobb, Plays In The Windy City

Ty Cobb 1907 Southside Park Chicago Daily News

I wonder if baseball fans recognize greatness early on in a player’s career? Ty Cobb started his major league career with the Detroit Tigers in 1905 and had his first breakout season in 1907 at the age of 20 when he led the American League in hits, stolen bases, RBI’s and a .350 batting average.  The photograph above is from 1907, taken at Southside Park in Chicago, home to the White Sox from 1900-1910. So did the fans in Chicago realize they were watching a player who would electrify baseball for the next twenty years?

One thing you notice by looking at Ty Cobb is that he had a unique batting stance. His legs and feet would many times be planted way ahead of home plate and his hands spread apart on the bat. It enabled him to spray balls all over the field and get to the pitch before it could do what the pitcher wanted it to. He hit .366, the highest career batting average ever by a major leaguer.

Ty Cobb 1908 Southside Park Chicago Daily News

Here Cobb plays against the White Sox in 1908 at Southside Park in front of a packed house.  Once again notice how far ahead Cobb is standing in front of the plate. One criticism of Cobb besides his nasty disposition, was that he didn’t hit a lot of home runs like Babe Ruth. Cobb bristled at that comparison, saying anyone could hit home runs, it took talent to be a spray hitter like he was.

On May 5, 1925 visiting St. Louis against the Browns, Cobb told a reporter in the dugout that “today for the first time my career I’m going to go for home runs.” The comment is apocryphal, but that day Cobb went six for six.  Home runs? He hit three.