At The Beverly Wilshire Hotel
Howard Hughes and Marian Marsh December 12, 1934 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for the “Mayfair Ball” (click photo to enlarge)
The Mayfair Ball was the largest social gathering in Los Angeles in the 1930’s. The dashing Howard Hughes was a Hollywood producer at the time. Marian Marsh had appeared Continue reading
Intersection of Canal & Chrystie Street, 1928. Note the humpback street sign and the policeman who is not directing traffic because there is none.
We are looking north along Central Park West then (known as Eighth Avenue), from 81st Street. Continue reading
Jayne Mansfield Has A Press Conference 1957
Rome – November 8, 1957
Jayne Mansfield certainly knew how to get the media’s attention.
Who Is This Man?
At my local library there is a used book store. Sometimes they get unusual items donated. This is one of them.
It is a framed, large format photograph of apparently someone famous from the literary world. The staff at the library book store has put a sign above the photo saying “Who is this literary man?” Four years have gone by and still no answer.
I got out my cell phone and took a photograph of the photo (hence the glare from the glass covering it.)
So I pose it to you the readers, is there anyone who recognizes this man? Please feel free to forward, so we can solve this literary mystery.
Nicknamed The “Hitless Wonders”: The 1906 Chicago White Sox.
Portrait White Sox catcher Billy Sullivan 1909 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
This dour looking man shared the team lead for the Chicago White Sox in home runs in 1906. His name was Billy Sullivan. He was the team’s catcher. He batted .218.
Billy Sullivan in 1910 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Billy Sullivan and Joe Sugden in 1901 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
The other slugger to lead the team in home runs was outfielder / playing manager Fielder Jones. He batted .230.
fielder Jones at South Side Park 1905 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Fielder Jones & Frank Isbell 1907 Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Fielder Jones Base Hit vs. Cubs Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
Sullivan and Jones each had two home runs. This is the shared record with the 1907 Cubs for fewest amount of home runs for an individual team leader on a modern (post 1903) world championship team. Let’s give the 1907 Cubs some credit they walloped nearly double the number the White Sox did in 1906 by hitting 13 home runs.
The White Sox hit a total of seven home runs in 1906. Count them, seven.
The White Sox batted collectively .230. They did not have one .300 hitter who had more than ten at bats. Pitcher Frank Smith had a higher batting average (.293) than any other regular starter. They did finish in first place with a 93-58 record.
In the 1906 World Series against the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs the Sox hit even lower, batting a collective .198.
1906 World Series West Side Grounds Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
1906 World Series fans Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Courtesy of Chicago History Museum
The Cubs had won a record 116 games, which is still the modern National League record for victories.
Yet the White Sox whipped the heavily favored Cubs four games to two and even managed to score eight runs in each of the last two games!
What is in the sky in this photograph?
Is this one of the earliest UFO photographs?
Catalina Island Circa 1900
I saw this magic lantern slide photograph for sale on eBay about 5 years ago and thought it was interesting enough to copy on to my computer, but not to bid on. It was identified as Santa Catalina Island at the turn-of-the-century and that was pretty much all there was to the description. The person selling it did mention there is a strange object in the photograph.
There certainly is.
First I do believe there are UFO’s. But let’s be clear – Unidentified Flying Objects. Not necessarily spacemen from other galaxies or strange visitors from other planets in flying saucers. I won’t eliminate the possibility, but I need better evidence.
There definitely is something in the right hand corner of the photo. For some strange reason I do not believe this photo is a hoax. It appears to be in the air. But, is it flying? Is it a blemish to the photo itself? Is it a reflection? Somebody threw their hat in the air? A cloud? Sunspot? Optical illusion? Or is it some sort of saucer-like spacecraft? Click on the photo and then click again to get an enlarged closer view.
Larger Image of Catalina Island UFO
I checked the newspaper archives from the Los Angeles Times from 1890-1915 and can find no mention of this event on Catalina Island where the photograph was supposedly taken. Continue reading
Anniversaries of older, tragic events are usually the only time those events play into the public consciousness. Other than that, they are rarely thought about, discussed or even remembered.
This week a vast amount of attention has been devoted by newspapers, PBS, HBO and news stations in New York that are marking the 100th anniversary of The
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in which 146 people, mostly young immigrant girls, perished.
The details of the March 25th, 1911 conflagration which are summed up best by Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School web site are heartbreaking. Many of these girls Continue reading
A Close-up Look At Hidden New York: No People, But Lots Of Abandoned Buildings, Neglected Structures And A Safe Haven To Birds.
Having lived in New York City my whole life, there are places that I have never visited by choice and others that I have never been to because they are off-limits. One of those off-limits places is North Brother Island, which is a small island just off the southern coast of the Bronx near the entrance to Long Island sound.
North Brother Island, if known by the general public at all, is famous for two reasons:
1- In 1904 the excursion boat General Slocum caught fire and was beached near the island. The fire took the lives of over 1,000 people, mostly women and children going on a church outing to Long Island. Heroic rescuers who worked on North Brother brought many of the victims to the shores of the island.
2- Mary Mallon a.k.a. Typhoid Mary who was a carrier of typhoid and spread disease and death in turn of the century New York. She was quarantined there until she died in 1938.
I am fascinated by abandoned structures. 
North Brother Island is chock full of history. Presented here is the link to the fabulous web site The Kingston Lounge which has done a phenomenal history and photo essay of the decaying remains on this forgotten section of New York City.
The 19.3 acre island is now controlled by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and since its human abandonment in the 1970’s has become a bird sanctuary.
Ask people to visualize Babe Ruth and some standard images of the Sultan of Swat might come to mind and look something like…
Have you ever seen Babe Ruth doing any of the following things?
The Babe practicing his bunting –
Babe Ruth practicing his right-handed hitting–
The Bambino sliding into home plate-
The Babe about to field a fly ball in the outfield-
Babe Ruth Pitching for the Yankees 1933 –
Babe Ruth smokes in the dugout-
