New York City Post Office December 9, 1931
This photograph shows a mountain of gifts awaiting sorting and delivery in the New York City Post Office on December 9, 1931.
There was a time when there was no Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL or other real competitor to shipping most parcels. Continue reading
Hamilton Fish Armstrong was the longtime editor of the magazine Foreign Affairs. His charming memoir, Those Days published in 1963 by Harper and Row is a wonderfully evocative description of an upper middle class boyhood spent in New York City, the Hudson Valley and Quebec. The book’s dust jacket description states that it is: “A lively, spontaneous re-creation of the childhood of a famous editor and writer at the turn of the century – an unforgettable picture of a vanished New York.”
It’s one of those out of print, forgotten books that deserve to be read by a new generation. I highly recommend it.
Here is an excerpt from pages 68-69 where Armstrong describes getting uptown to school from his home on 10th street via the Fifth Avenue coach which was pulled by horses.
When I was nine the time came for me to go to a “real” school uptown, and unless it was pouring pouring rain or snowing I went of course, on skates. When the weather ruled this out I used the Fifth Avenue stage or the Sixth Avenue El.
On the stage I rode by choice on the outside, either perched up behind the driver or, if I was lucky, along side him. Continue reading
Dave Ricketts, St. Louis Cardinals, Topps Baseball Cards 1968 & 1969
It is an unfair characterization to say Dave Ricketts could have easily been mistaken for a high school biology teacher rather than a major league catcher. Players who wore eyeglasses in the 1960’s were still very much a rare breed. When I was a kid, every time I looked at these two baseball cards, I thought that Dave Ricketts never really got to play, but just posed for the card.
Ricketts did play sporadically, appearing in 130 total games for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1963-1969 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1970 and ended up with a .249 career batting average and one home run.
After his playing career ended, Ricketts became a fixture in the Cardinals organization mostly as the bullpen coach and minor league manager. Ricketts by all accounts was an excellent coach and had a large influence upon other players. Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote about Ricketts after he passed away:
“I’m here because of him,” Yadier Molina said. “He made me into a catcher. I wasn’t a catcher when I got here. I learned a lot from him. He was like my dad, there for me since I was 17. He meant so much to me.”
“I’ve never seen a coach who has worked harder for whatever team he’s involved with than Dave Ricketts. Ever,” former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Steve Blass said. “Totally dedicated. … He had a zest for life that was part of his personal life, and, thank goodness, we are better because it spilled over into his professional life.”
“Sometimes the word ‘great’ gets overused, and it’s a shame,” manager Tony La Russa said. “There have been some truly great Cardinals who have come through the organization, but I don’t know anyone greater or more beloved than Dave Ricketts.”
Dave Ricketts died in St. Louis at the age of 73 on July 13, 2008 of renal cancer.
Film director Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke is mostly forgotten today to many movie fans. He was a good director, and known in the film industry for working quickly, shooting many scenes in one take. This earned him the nickname “One Take Woody” and “One Take Van Dyke.” Continue reading
Jackie Kennedy Judo Flips A Photographer – 1969
Former first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis didn’t take kindly to being hounded by photographers. You think the modern celebrities get angry with paparazzi? Not as mad as Jackie got on October 5, 1969 when she demonstrated her displeasure to New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein by taking him down unexpectedly.
As photographers were clicking away as Jackie was exiting a movie, she walked up to Finkelstein and without warning, judo flipped him. Finkelstein, who was of average height and weight, later said he was completely caught off guard. If a celebrity did this today to a photographer, you know there would be a major lawsuit. Jackie claimed he slipped! Finkelstein did not pursue the matter in court.
The news caption photo reads:
10/5/69 New York – New York Daily News photographer Mel Finkelstein sprawls on pavement as Mrs. Jacqueline Onassis walks pass (sic) after flipping the photographer with a judo trick upon leaving a local screening of the film “I am Curious (Yellow)” here 10/5. Finkelstein’s opinion of Mrs. Onassis afterwards was “That girl can handle herself.” Copyright 1969 by News Syndicate Co. Inc. UPI Telephoto
While the MTA is currently striving to build the new Second Avenue subway without disturbing businesses along the route, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) had no such compunction about hampering businesses as demonstrated by this photograph taken on November 26, 1901.
We are looking north along Broadway towards 49th Street. The J.B. Brewster Carriage Continue reading
Karras, Famous For Stellar NFL Career, Will Always Have A Place in Movie Comedy History
Alex Karras died in Los Angeles at the age of 77 on October 10, 2012 due to kidney failure and other health complications.
The Detroit Lions All-Pro defensive tackle will be remembered by many as a great football player who played from 1958-1970. But I, along with many other people, will remember his acting career which stretched from 1968 -1998. Mel Brooks comedy fans especially loved Karras’ portrayal as the monosyllabic ruffian cowboy, Mongo, in Brooks brilliant 1974 western satire Blazing Saddles.
Karras did not have many scenes in the movie, but they were all very funny.
This scene below is the one that shocked audiences: Karras’ one punch knockout of a horse. As an fyi -Karras did not actually hurt the horse and people would later come up to him and ask how he could do such a horrible thing. “I thought it was hilarious, but I didn’t want to hurt that horse at all, believe me,” Karras said in a 2011 interview with the “Sports and Torts” Internet radio show. “I’m not the type of person to do that.”
This photograph shows Bobby Orr wearing number 27, (left) at his first practice at the Boston Garden on Monday, October 10, 1966. Next to Orr is the youngest coach in the NHL, 34-year-old Harry Sinden and defenseman Gilles Marotte.
The Bruins had practiced for a month at their training facility in London, Ontario and came to Boston on October 9, 1966 to prepare for the coming season with some exhibition games. Since the 1959-60 season the Bruins had posted seven consecutive losing seasons. Continue reading
Smiley Lewis
There are controversies over what song marks the birth of rock’ roll. Rather than engage in a protracted debate or discussion, I thought it would be good to just take a look at one under-appreciated classic R&B song that seems to qualify as one of the first rock songs. I Hear You Knocking was written by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King in 1955 and performed the same year by New Orleans musician Smiley Lewis.
It is definitely a lesser known progenitor of what sort of music would become popular during the magical year of 1955 with artists such as Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard and Elvis Presley all emerging onto a national stage performing early rock n’ roll.
Click here to listen to Smiley Lewis’ version of I Hear You Knockin’.
Few people are familiar with Smiley Lewis’ version of the song, as it was popular during a time when radio was segregated and R&B artists did not get their songs played on many stations. However the song did make it to number two on the Billboard R&B charts.
There are at least thirty other versions of the song by other popular artists, but I Hear You Knocking was really rescued from oblivion by the great Dave Edmunds when he covered the song in 1970 and it became a number one hit in the United States and England. Edmunds version is still played regularly on many classic rock stations, perpetuating the popularity of this catchy, R&B/early rock classic. Below is a video of an uncharacteristically wasted-looking Edmunds, lip-synching his hit in 1971 in front of a freaky looking audience that one youtube commenter noted, “I didn’t know the Manson Family had a variety show.”
UPDATE 2022 Unfortunately in the intervening years since this story was first written, Warner Music has pulled the video. Below is Edmunds live version, unfortunately without the 1971 stoned audience.
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Cover Daily News Oct 5 1955
The Brooklyn Dodgers had appeared in seven World Series previous to 1955. They had lost all of them. But on Tuesday, October 4, 1955, a magical afternoon (yes the World Series was always played in the daytime until 1971) occurred at Yankee Stadium in front of 62,485 fans. Amazingly the game was not sold out.
Johnny Podres, after winning game three of the World Series, was matched up in game seven against Yankee veteran Tommy Byrne. An interesting side note: Byrne rode the IND subway from 59th Street to Yankee Stadium unrecognized by anyone. Podres ended up pitching the game of his life – an eight hit, 2-0 shutout. The Dodgers had finally vanquished the Yankees who had beaten them in five previous World Series.
The Dodgers played without Jackie Robinson who was nursing a strained Achilles tendon. And the Yankees were equally handicapped without Mickey Mantle, who, even though he pinch hit in this game, missed most of the Series with a torn leg muscle. Other Yankees and Dodgers stars like Duke Snider and Hank Bauer played despite being injured.
First pitch of Game 7, 1955 World Series Yankee Stadium. Tommy Byrne throws a strike past Jim Gilliam
The Dodgers scored one run in the fourth when Roy Campanella doubled and a single by Gil Hodges drove him home. The Dodgers added a run in the sixth with Hodges hitting a sacrifice fly to drive in Pee Wee Reese.
The acknowledged defensive play of the game was made by Dodgers left fielder Sandy Amoros.