Author Archives: B.P.

Marty Springstead Demonstrates How To Eject A Manager

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Marty Springstead, Former American League Umpire, Dies At 74 (January 17, 2012)

Major league baseball umpires are beloved by their families and friends, but are generally not appreciated by the fans. When longtime umpire Marty Springstead died after suffering a heart attack on January 17th in Sarasota Florida, I felt sad that one of the more memorable baseball names that I heard throughout my childhood was gone. As a fan, I appreciated Marty Springstead’s umpiring skills  and not just because he would consistently eject Orioles manager and longtime Yankee nemesis Earl Weaver from ballgames during the 1970’s and 1980’s, but because he was from the old school of umpiring and was not flamboyant.

Springstead umpired in the American League from 1966-1985. He went on to become an executive and supervisor of umpires from 1986-2009. He worked in three All-Star Games and three World Series. He also got to be behind the plate for two no-hitters, but missed the chance for a third. He would have been calling balls and strikes on June 1, 1975 when Nolan Ryan pitched his fourth no-hitter, but he took off to be with his wife who was having a baby.  People who knew Springstead said Marty was funny and a great storyteller.

But managers who got under his skin would not see that side of him while he was on the field. Springstead was a very good umpire who took his job seriously and didn’t take flak from players, coaches or managers.  Twice during his career Springstead led the league in manager ejections.

I was among the 10,670 long suffering Yankee fans who attended the ballgame shown in the photo below.

At Yankee Stadium on Saturday, August 26, 1972, the Kansas City Royals had already scored two unearned runs in the third inning, and were leading two to one. There were two outs and Yankees pitcher Rob Gardner had a 1-2 count on Kansas City Royals slugger John Mayberry with two men on base. It looked like Gardner would get out of the inning. Continue reading →

Old New York in Postcards #4 – Early Bronx School Buildings

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Public Schools In The Bronx In The Early 20th Century

Most of these postcards are from between 1905 -1925.  Some public schools were quaint schoolhouses as the Bronx was rural in most areas.

Click on any image to enlarge

PS 7 in Kingsbridge or referred to here as Kings Bridge.

PS 44 Prospect Avenue and East 176th Street Continue reading →

Life In 1909 – Random News And Advertising

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What Was Happening On January 21, 1909

I picked a random day 103 years ago to see what was in the news. I read the entire New York Times newspaper for Thursday, January 21, 1909 to come up with the some interesting stories and unusual items.  The paper was only 18 pages! The major differences compared to current newspapers: few photographs accompany any story and  articles of different types are interspersed on the same page, so the news is not sectioned by category.  I have put the article summary in blue and my comments are in black italics.

Crowds flocked to the Auto Show at Madison Square Garden. Lots of famous people showed up including Colonel John Jacob Astor and Mr. & Mrs. George J. Gould. There was a selection in gasoline powered and electric cars on display.

Not many people realize that in the early days of automobile manufacturing gasoline and electric cars were battling for market share. Steam cars were also an option, but were left unmentioned in the article.  Before 1909 over 600 companies in the United States had at one time started manufacturing automobiles and half of them had already run out of business.  An estimated 200,000 automobiles were in use in the United States according to the  Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers. What would our current energy situation be like today had the electric car won the battle for vehicular supremacy over the gasoline powered engine?

An advertisement for Renault showed they led all automobile companies in US imports with 214 in 1907 and 244 in 1908.

The runner-up for sales in each year (by half as much) were in order: Mercedes, Fiat and Panhard?!

The Conference Committee of the Independent Telephone Officers to meet the following week on plans to build a long distance telephone line from Boston to Omaha. The cost: $5,000,000 immediate expenditure and $30,000,000 over the next four years! Continue reading →

Classic Hollywood #10 – Gary Cooper & Babe Ruth

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Babe Ruth Shows Gary Cooper The Finer Points of Gripping A Baseball Bat

In the 1942 film The Pride of The Yankees which tells the life story of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth took his role of playing himself very seriously.  He also wanted to make sure Gary Cooper got it right as well.

Babe shows Cooper where the trademark should be when holding a bat so it won’t shatter should he make contact. Continue reading →

50th Anniversary Of the Death Of Ernie Kovacs

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Ernie Kovacs Is Killed In A Car Accident January 13, 1962

Ernie Kovacs would have turned 93 on January 23 and today I’ll be remembering him.

Kovacs was a brilliant comedian who was killed in a car crash 50 years ago today on January 13, 1962 at the age of 42.

Kovacs was an author, radio, television and movie star.  Most of all he was a true genius in an industry that bandies about that word rather loosely. Had Kovacs lived he would have surely gone on to greater heights.

Because he died at a relatively young age and most of his TV work is gone forever, many people unfortunately have never heard of, or seen Ernie Kovacs. Continue reading →

January 9, 1912 The Equitable Fire

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The Equitable Assurance Building Is Destroyed By Fire 100 Years Ago Today

Equitable Building Jan. 10, 1912 – View From The Singer Building © Library of Congress

David Dunlap’s excellent story in The New York Times about the Equitable Assurance Building fire is merely a reminder about how great disasters are eventually forgotten over time. The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911 took 146 lives and was remembered in various ceremonies on its 100th anniversary.

No such commemorations will be held this year for the Equitable fire which killed six people, including Battalion Chief William Walsh.

The fire took place on a brutally cold day and the water froze quickly and left macabre ruins resembling an ice palace. Continue reading →

30 Vintage Advertisements From The New Yorker Part 2

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Ads From the November 3, 1951 New Yorker, continued

We continue our look at some of the advertisements from this issue of The New Yorker.  To put the prices of goods and services in perspective: in 1951, a first class postage stamp cost three cents; a loaf of bread cost sixteen cents; the minimum wage was seventy five cents per hour and the average salary was $4,200 per year.

For The Men

Of course The New Yorker appealed to the well heeled man as well as the elegantly outfitted woman. (click on any ad to enlarge)

Freeman Shoes –  Men’s shoes have not changed much in sixty years. If the Freeman Shoe is the footwear of the successful man, what is the footwear of the man who fails? Continue reading →

30 Vintage Advertisements From The New Yorker Part 1

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Ads From The November 3, 1951 New Yorker Magazine

I really enjoy looking at old magazines. Those old issues of Life, Look, Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post and especially The New Yorker uniquely capture the 1920’s-1960’s.

I like the articles, the cartoons and especially the ads.  You read the copy, look at the typography and study the images.  The salesmanship is very direct. Some ads are wordy and try and convince you of the merits of the product. Others let the product stand on its own with few or no words.

I picked a random issue of The New Yorker Magazine from over 60 years ago to look over and picked 30 ads that were indicative of the time.  There are over 100 advertisements in this issue: some are very small, some are full page, some black and white others are in color.

Then, probably more than now, The New Yorker was read by and appealed to the upper crust of society and the ads definitely reflect that.

Here are the first fifteen ads. Click on any image to enlarge.

They Liked To Drink

Those post-war years meant if you were going out, coming home or even at the office you should have an alcoholic drink.

Booth’s House Of Lords Finest Distilled Dry Gin – Probably better than Booth’s House of Commons Gin Continue reading →

Book Review: A Penny From Heaven

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A Penny From Heaven by Max Winkler  (Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc 1951)

Anyone suffering through the trepidation of an uncertain job market and being out of work with no savings, would find comfort and inspiration by reading Max Winkler’s, 1951 autobiography and ode to America,  A Penny From Heaven.

Even for those not being in the same circumstances, Winkler’s book is a page-turning, lively recreation of the United States at the dawn of the twentieth century.  Achieving the American Dream and leaving behind the “old country” forever, was the goal of millions of ignorant, poor and helpless European immigrants and Winkler conveys the struggle as well as any writer ever has. Continue reading →