This news photograph is captioned “Doberman tends bar, operates cash register.” June 10, 1947.
Somehow I don’t think the animal rights groups would allow this today, let alone the department of health. Though I’ll bet he was a good listener. Continue reading
The Most Exciting Play in Baseball Was Accomplished by Rod Carew Seven Times in 1969
Rod Carew’s 2nd steal of home in 1969 – April 19, 3rd inning vs. California Angels. Harmon Killebrew is #3.
It’s a play you hardly see anymore- the pure stealing of home plate. Not part of a double steal or a failed suicide squeeze attempt.
At the urging of Minnesota Twins manager Billy Martin in 1969, second baseman Rod Carew swiped home an astonishing seven times in one season, tying the major league record of Pete Reiser of the Brooklyn Dodgers set back in 1946.
You’d think that Carew must have stolen a lot of bases that year considering his constant stealing of home. Amazingly, Carew stole a total of only 19 bases that year!
Carew, the future Hall of Famer, told the story of how he perfected the steal of home in his 1979 autobiography Carew by Rod Carew with Ira Berkow (Simon and Schuster ,1979) which is excerpted here.
Carew stole home his record tying seventh time on July 16, 1969 in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a double header at the Twins home park, Metropolitan Stadium. The Twins ended up winning the game 9-8. Continue reading
Who is this gentleman? No it is not a sketch from Monty Python, such as a man with a tape recorder up his nose. Continue reading
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Mansion (above) circa 1886 at the corner of 72nd Street and Madison Avenue designed by McKim, Mead & White.
The Joseph Pulitzer Mansion (below) 1903 at 7 East 73rd Street (just off of Fifth Avenue) designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White.
Louis Tiffany’s home was built starting in 1882 by his father Charles Tiffany, but the elder Tiffany never lived there. The 57 room mansion took three years to complete.
Right around the corner, Joseph Pulitzer, owner of The New York World newspaper also hired the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White in 1900 to build his home which was completed in 1903.
Pulitzer lived in the house Continue reading
Looking North up Fifth Avenue from 52nd Street.
Church steeples are among the tallest structures in the photo. The closest steeple belongs to the original St. Thomas Episcopal Church on Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, which was destroyed by fire in 1905. Continue reading
Jackie Gleason, known as The Great One, was the star of one of the funniest television shows ever, The Honeymooners.
Beneath the Pavement
1st Avenue and 61st Street – August 11, 2010
Cobblestone streets.
Every so often New York scrapes away its layers and you can get a glimpse into the past. There was a time when many of New York City’s streets were paved with what are popularly called cobblestones, but in actuality is Belgian Block.
Last summer, the city repaved a twelve block section of First Avenue and huge swaths of Belgian Block were uncovered for a few days by the road milling machine. These vestiges of the past could be seen for the first time in decades. Within a week, they were covered again.
For the short time they were exposed, late at night, if you listened very hard, I bet you could hear the horses hoofbeats.
Trolleys, horse drawn wagons and no cars, dominate this view of 42nd street. The building on the right is Grand Central Terminal before being completely renovated by the architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore. The tall building on the right past the trolley is the Hotel Manhattan (demolished c. 1962 and replaced by Sperry Hutchinson Building in 1964). In the far background in the center is The New York Times Tower Building which was opened in 1906. Continue reading
A Reflection on The Late, Great Yankee Stadium With Vintage Photographs
I visited the new Yankee Stadium once in 2009 when it first opened. The feeling was a bit surreal. It was like being in Yankee Stadium, but it wasn’t. The main difference for me was the surrounding neighborhood and looking out past the right-center field bleachers and not seeing the apartment buildings and the Bronx County Court House.
The new Yankee Stadium is a glorified mall.
The old Yankee Stadium that existed from 1923 – 1973 was where the storied history of the Yankees took place. Even after the renovation of Yankee Stadium from 1974-1975 which included taking out the old wooden seats and the removal of the beams that could block your view from many of those seats, the stadium still retained some of the old charm, even though it lost a bit of its character. From 1976 -2008 the Yankees played in the same spot where Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Red Ruffing, Hank Bauer, Whitey Ford Joe DiMaggio and Bill Dickey saw action.
The Yankees of the last 35 years; Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, Ron Guidry, Mel Stottlemyre, Paul O’Neill, Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter could look around and seep in the history of this altered palace of baseball, even if there were heavy cosmetic changes to the outside and inside of the stadium itself.
There was no more “Death Valley” Continue reading
Marilyn Monroe would have been 85 on June 1, 2011
An 85-year-old Marilyn would be difficult to imagine. She died at age 36 under mysterious circumstances during the evening of August 4 or early morning August 5, 1962, depending upon what version of her death you are apt to believe.
If she were alive today, I think she might look somewhat like her mother Gladys did at a similar age. Gladys died at the age of 81 in 1984.
The New York Post reported on May 31 that unseen Marilyn photos found at a garage sale in 1980 may soon be put up for sale. If they are, they will fetch a lot of money.
Marilyn was one of the most photographed people of all-time so there are always going to be “new’ photos of her popping up.
Random trivia: Andy Griffith was also born June 1, 1926.
For Marilyn’s birthday here are some photo’s that have not been seen as much as the standard shots you are used to. Forever young.
