Not Just Another Pretty Face
Putting a large black mask over a woman’s face is supposed to block out the rest of her features so that only her legs can be judged? I don’t think so. Continue reading
Best Legs Beauty Contest 1948
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Old New York In Photos #27 – Fifth Avenue Looking North From 51st Street – 1913
Fifth Avenue Looking North From 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?
Pick A Bat, Any Bat
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
The 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.
Bikini Clad Paris Models Shock Their Minds And Bodies – 1949
French Models Get Minds And Bodies In Shape
This must have been taken for one of those slow news days when a photo editor thought a cheesecake photograph might be better than a boring news story. Even though it is slightly bizarre, I imagine this did not run in too many newspapers. It shows two French models in bikinis and is dated May 22, 1949. The caption says: “Paris – To shock the body and nervous system into shape they pick up great buckets of ice water and dash each other with the frigid contents. Acme News Photo.”
It looks as if the models are actually in a sauna, so what might seem to be a cruel way to “shock the body and nervous system” is quite apropos.
Baseball In A Blizzard – The Detroit Tigers 1911 Snow Game
Snow Doesn’t Stop A Tiger Victory
In the old days of baseball when there were fewer games and no playoff rounds, the baseball season started in mid-April. In part, the later start date was to try and prevent what happened to the Tigers on Saturday, April 15, 1911. The Tigers were playing their third game of the year at their home field, Bennett Park, against the Chicago White Sox on what started out as a cold and raw day.
One sportswriter said the game was played in “conditions that were unprecedented.”
Patsy Dougherty triples for the White Sox.
The snow started to fall in the top of the sixth. The White Sox had an opportunity to break a scoreless tie when Patsy Dougherty led off the sixth inning with a solid triple. Continue reading
Florida Stadium Sells Naming Rights To Prison Company
Stupid Stadium Naming Rights – Where Does It Stop?
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
Old New York in Postcards #5 – Broadway & Fifth Avenue
Postcards of Old New York – Featuring Broadway and Fifth Avenue
These postcards generally depict New York from 1900 – 1920. We are concentrating this batch on the well traveled areas of Broadway and Fifth Avenue.
As the brief description on the card says we are looking south and east along Broadway from Warren Street. The trees on the left belong to City Hall Park. The wide building with the large central rotunda is the main branch of the General Post Office, which was demolished in 1938. Behind the Post Office stands The Park Row Building, which at 391 feet was the tallest office building in the world when completed in 1899. The Singer Building surpassed the height of The Park Row Building in 1908. To the right of The Park Row Building stands the 26 story St. Paul Building built in 1896 and demolished in 1958.
Interesting to note: the flags are at half-staff on the Postal Telegraph and Cable Company Building on the right. Continue reading
The Pride Of The Yankees – Was The Film Really Reversed?
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 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
The “Georgia Peach” Ty Cobb, Plays In The Windy City
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.
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.
Beauties Of The Past – Maude Fealy
Stage and Silent Star Maude Fealy
A new feature of our web site: photos and short biographies of glamor girls of the past.
These are women that were more than just beautiful, they were talented and were able to cut out successful careers for themselves during an era when men dominated the entertainment industry. Of course with the passage of time, many of these stars have dimmed and are now distant memories. We hope to bring them to light again to a wider audience.
Maude at age 8 with mother Margaret Fealy.
Maude Fealy (born Maude Hawk) in Memphis, Tennessee, started her career at the age of 3 in the legitimate theater with her mother, actress Margaret Fealy. Margaret divorced Maude’s father, James Hawk and then went by her maiden name of Fealy and Maude also adopted her mother’s maiden name.
Fealy’s exact birth date was never clearly established and contemporary reports range from March 4, 1881 to 1886. The Social Security Death Index lists her birthday as March 3, 1882
Fealy hit the big time just before the turn of the century when theatre impresario Augustin Daly discovered her playing Juliet and signed her to a five year contract. Daly died in 1899, effectively canceling the contract and Fealy was then courted by all the major playwrights to appear in their productions. Fealy quickly became a star in many Broadway and London productions. Among the many plays she appeared in were: Quo Vadis, Sherlock Holmes, The Professor’s Love Story, Heart’s Courageous, The Truth Tellers and On the Quiet. She cemented her reputation as a fine actress by playing the female lead in several of the first British actor ever knighted, Sir Henry Irving’s plays including, Becket, The Lyons Mail, Waterloo and Louis XI. Continue reading