ON THIS DAY IN 1928, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “St. Louis, Mo., April 30 (AP) – Col. Charles A. Lindbergh took the Spirit of St. Louis on its last flight today. He left Lambert-St. Louis Field at 9 a.m. for Washington, where the monoplane which spanned the Atlantic will be placed in the Smithsonian Institution as an exhibit along with other history-making airplanes.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “The infinite patience of a St. Albans youth is today demonstrated by the fact that when the silken cord is snipped at 11 a.m., officially opening the World’s Fair to the public for the first time, 20-year-old George Horn will have completed 39 hours waiting at the North Gate to be the first person admitted. Come what may, George’s determination has not been dampened despite the Fair folks who can’t see the humor of the situation and occasionally chase him away. Since 8 o’clock Friday night, young Horn has been camped at the North Gate to the exposition grounds on the Flushing Meadows. Fair police or no Fair police, his claim has been staked, he declares. They may chase him, but the moment the coast is clear he trots back to take up his vigil.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Steeplechase Park, the oldest and largest amusement park in Coney Island, will begin its 45th season on Sunday at 1 p.m. Founded in 1896, the giant fun center is expected to have its greatest season as the park has acquired the gem of the late World’s Fair midway, the parachute jump.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Paris, April 30 (U.P.) – The notorious Dachau concentration camp seven miles north of Munich – the first and blackest of the political death camps established in the early days of the Hitler regime – was overrun by the 7th Army yesterday. There the Yanks killed or captured 300 SS guards and liberated 32,000 political and religious prisoners who greeted their rescuers with hysterical joy. For hundreds and perhaps thousands of Dachau’s other inmates the Americans came too late. Fifty boxcars were found on a nearby railroad siding, loaded with bodies, torture chambers, gas boxes and other paraphernalia of terror that the Nazi guards were attempting to remove.”
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “Joe Pignatano, of 2612 W. 15th St., an 18-year-old catcher, has been signed by the Dodgers to a contract with the Cairo, Ill., club of the Kitty League by scout Art Dede. Pignatano is a graduate of Westinghouse Vocational High School.” Pignatano made his major league debut for the Dodgers in 1957, went west with the team when it moved to Los Angeles and was a member of the 1959 World Champions. He played for the Mets in 1962 and served as the bullpen coach for the 1969 championship team. He will celebrate his 90th birthday on Aug. 4.
***
ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Whitey Ford finally convinced his kids he’s almost as good as Warren Spahn. Any time someone asked Ford’s two boys, Eddie, 9, and Tommy, 8, who their favorite ballplayer was they’d always chorus: ‘Warren Spahn.’ The Yankee southpaw’s sons didn’t think much of their father’s hitting. As a matter of fact, they felt he was a lousy hitter. But Whitey made things right with them by walloping a homer in a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The boys weren’t impressed by Ford’s two-hit pitching during the seven innings he worked. What made their eyes pop out was his 350-foot homer off Jim (Mudcat) Grant in the fourth inning. ‘Soon as I came out of the game, I was gonna call them at home and give them a little heat,’ Whitey grinned. ‘Then I remembered they were out playing ball themselves in a Little League game.’ Ford’s homer was his third in the majors and the first by a Yankee pitcher in three years.”
