This is not part of some government secret test program to see how many cigarettes you need to smoke before you develop cancer. Testing cigarettes was part of Sol C. Korn’s job as the director of various cigarette and cigar company’s from the 1920’s until the 1960’s. In 1945 when this picture was taken he was president of the Fleming-Hall Tobacco Company.
The caption reads: Continue reading
Before The Internet, The Quickest Way To Get Photos Back To The Newspaper- Via Pigeon
Walker Cooper, Phil Rizzuto and Private Harry Myers and carrier pigeons, October 4, 1942 photo: New York Journal-American
You would have thought by 1942 there was a quicker way for a newspaper to get photos from one place to another than using a carrier pigeon. Apparently not.
Before game four of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, Private Harry Myers, the Journal-American’s pigeon specialist, shows the Cardinal’s Walker Cooper and the Yankee’s Phil Rizzuto how photographic negatives of the World Series game are sent by pigeon from the ballpark to the newspaper’s offices for same-day publication of the photos.
Amazing.
Maybe it was just the New York Journal-American’s method, as I cannot imagine all the newspapers releasing pigeons during a baseball game.
Henry McChesney Wins An Unusual Contest
Bet you didn’t know there was once a pancake flipping champ in New York? Well there was in 1947.
Note the concentration in young Henry McChesney’s face. The rules and how many other entrants there were in this contest is anyone’s guess. The caption for this Acme news photo reads as follows:
Fancy Flapjack Flipper
New York: When Henry McChesney end-over-ended a flapjack five times, he became champion flapjack flipper of the Madison Square Garden Club. Judging the contest, held August 28th, is Legionnaire John M. Lewis, who awarded the wise old owl emblem to the club, one of the Boys’ Clubs in which the National Americanism Commission of the American Legion is interested. credit: (Acme) 8-28-47
New York Yankees All-Stars Of Yesteryear
In 2014, the struggling New York Yankees have three players that were named to the All-Star team: Derek Jeter, Dellin Betances and Masahiro Tanaka, who will not play because of an elbow injury.
In 1949 the Yankees had five players play on the All-Star team. Seen in this photo from left to right are Vic Raschi, Tommy Henrich, Joe DiMaggio, Allie Reynolds and Yogi Berra.
There were 32,577 fans in attendance in what turned out to be a slugfest at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, as the American League topped the National League 11-7. Joe DiMaggio drove in three runs and Vic Raschi pitched three scoreless innings to get the save.
$2.40 For An All-Star Game Box Seat?
$2.40 for a box seat is not the crazy price we are talking about. Those days are long gone.
The scene above is Fenway Park where the 1946 All-Star Game was played. As fans lined up for tickets the night before the game at the box office (what a novel idea), they had the choice of purchasing box seats for $2.40 or reserved seats for $1.80.
Please direct your attention to the kids, wearing suits no less, neatly lined up waiting for tickets. Yes, even kids could save up $1.80 by delivering newspapers, mowing lawns or doing chores in 1946.
The crazy prices we are talking about are for the current baseball All-Star game.
According to a May 9 Forbes Magazine story, the 2014 baseball All Star Game in Minneapolis is the second most expensive ticket in All-Star game history. The article points out that according to a ticket broker who owns hundreds of MLB All-Star tickets the average ticket price for the 2014 All-Star Game is significantly higher than the previous four All-Star games, with a current average ticket price of $1,096. Continue reading
The caption for this International News Photo reads:
Three Cops and A Woman In Life and Death Drama
New York – Four of the five principal characters in today’s (March 19) life or death drama staged in a Brooklyn residential district. Mrs. Edna Egbert, 50, is shown on the 2nd story ledge of her apartment while three policemen flank her trying to talk her out of her threat to jump in a suicide attempt. Failing to dissuade the woman, the policemen pushed her from the ledge– into a large emergency net that had been rigged below. The fifth hero in this drama is the first policeman on the scene, who kept Mrs. Egbert on her ledge for 25 minutes while the net was being rigged. (credit: International News Photo 3-19-42)
What the slug does not mention is what caused Mrs. Edna M. Egbert such distress.
In the past year Mrs. Egbert’s son Fred had gotten married, joined the army and had not written to her once in that time.
Apparently Fred was starting his own life, sans mother.
Logically Mrs. Egbert came to the conclusion that Fred must be dead.
Mrs Egbert climbed onto a window ledge at her home at 497 Dean St., Brooklyn and screamed: “I’m going to jump.” Continue reading
Willie “Puddin Head” Jones Safe At The Plate 1949
Did anyone ever call “Puddin’ Head” Jones, Willie? Jones even signed his baseball card with his nickname.
1959 Topps Puddin’ Head Jones baseball card
“Puddin’ Head” Jones, had a lifetime .258 batting average with 190 career home runs and 812 RBI’s. Known for his defensive prowess around the hot corner, “Puddin’ Head” played most of his fifteen seasons in the majors as the starting third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1947-1959.
“Puddin’ Head” was traded by the Phillies to Cleveland for a short eleven game stint and was then sold to the Cincinnati Reds for the remainder of the 1959 season. He remained there until he was released in 1961 at the age of 35.
“Puddin’ Head’s” best offensive output was during the Phillies 1950 pennant winning season in which he batted .267 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI’s with 100 runs scored.
So just how did “Puddin’ Head” get his unique nickname? He received it as a child after a song that was popular in the 1930’s called Wooden Head, Puddin’ Head Jones.
In the action photograph shown above, “Puddin’ Head” Jones is safe at home plate as Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola awaits the throw.
Here is the original caption:
July 16, 1949 – Philadelphia Phillies – St. Louis baseball. Willie Jones of Phils safe at home in third inning. Del Ennis hit to third baseman Kazak of Cards who threw him out at first. First sackman Nelson of the Cards then threw home to Garagiola (catcher) but it was too late. Jones was safe (credit ACME Telephoto)
“Puddin’ Head” Jones died from cancer of the lymph glands at the age of 58 in Cincinnati, OH on October 18, 1983.
Burt Lancaster (1913 -1994) appeared in over 80 feature films. His first was The Killers (1946) and it made him a star. Continue reading
Ballplayer, Broadcaster, World War II and Korean War Combat Hero, Jerry Coleman Passes Away
Vaudeville Tactics
New York: Jerry Coleman, second baseman for the Yanks does a nip-up like a vaudevillian to get the ball down to first after putting out Bobby Dillinger of the Browns in the first inning of the game at Yankee Stadium on August 6. The throw was not fast enough to get to first before George Elder who had grounded out to Bobby Brown at third. Yankees won, 9-8. That’s Phil Rizzuto, Yankees shortstop lurking in the background. Credit: (ACME) 8-6-49
Jerry Coleman died at Scripps Hospital in San Diego, CA January 5, 2014 of complications from head injuries he suffered in a fall last month.
In his major league baseball career he hit only 16 home runs and batted just .263, but the slick fielding Jerry Coleman was a beloved baseball legend by fans on both coasts.
Coleman played his entire career for the New York Yankees from 1949 -1957. He appeared in six World Series, was the MVP of the 1950 World Series and appeared in one All Star game.
After his playing career ended Coleman worked in the Yankees front office. In 1960 he became an announcer, first with CBS television on the Game of the Week, then in 1963 he rejoined the Yankees and stayed with their broadcast team for the next seven years. Continue reading
February 27, 1941 – the Oscars are awarded at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. This was the first time sealed envelopes were used to keep the winners names secret. Continue reading