ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jack Dempsey will not be permitted to fight in defense of his heavyweight title at the new Municipal Stadium during the Sesquicentennial Exposition. This was announced by Mayor Kendrick after a conference with Taylor and Gunnis, local promoters, who had been seeking to arrange a championship match between Dempsey and Harry Wills in this city, preferably at the new stadium, which will have a seating capacity of 100,000. ‘There will be no Dempsey-Wills championship at the stadium, nor any other heavyweight championship between Dempsey and any other challenger,’ declared the Mayor. Mr. Kendrick said a heavyweight title bout in the stadium would attract too much attention and detract from the primary purpose for which the structure was built — a program of events arranged purely for the entertainment of Sesquicentennial visitors. He made it plain that he had no objection to the holding of such a fight elsewhere in the city.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “Jack Baker is the icicle-maker at the Warner Brothers studio in Hollywood. For nearly 20 years he has made almost all of the icicles that have appeared in his company’s pictures as well as the occasional mushrooms and barnacles that are required. Icicle-making changes just as every business changes through the years. There was a time, six or eight years ago, when Jack made his icicles out of fiber and plaster of Paris. Those served the purpose fairly well, he admits, but they were heavy and, if one became detached and fell on the head of the director or the leading man, said director or leading man didn’t like it. Jack’s new icicles are made of cellophane and silicate of soda, shaped and then dipped in alcohol. The alcohol makes them brittle — as a self-respecting icicle should be. A plaster of Paris icicle was brittle, too, but it was not transparent or even translucent as real ice is. The cellophane sort is much better. Baker thought he would have a big icicle order for the Winter scenes on top of the city hall in Frank Capra’s ‘Meet John Doe,’ but Capra fooled him. He had the set built in an abandoned ice-storage house and his icicles were real.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “WEST PALM BEACH, FLA., MARCH 1 (U.P.) — A. B. (Happy) Chandler, watching Connie Mack’s Athletics go through their first practice of the season today, took the occasion to announce that no taint of gambling had been found anywhere in baseball. The baseball commissioner, who is starting a tour of the Spring training camps, said that his office investigated ‘hundreds’ of reports and rumors concerning players alleged to have ‘trafficked with gamblers,’ but had found no truth in any of them.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “TEHRAN (U.P.) — Communist mobs screaming ‘Yankee Go Home’ stoned three American military jeeps today in the third day of riots in a struggle for political power between Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi and Premier Mohammed Mossadegh. The windshields of three U.S. mission jeeps were smashed, but no Americans were injured. Earlier today troops and police cleared Parliament Square in Tehran with tear gas after a Communist allegedly knifed a Mossadegh follower, student Ahmed Taleghani. The Nationalists tried to carry the 30-year-old student’s body into the Parliament building. The American jeeps, en route from military mission headquarters to Iranian Army installations, were surrounded by a crowd of shouting Communists in the center of Tehran today. The American occupants of the jeeps fled when the Communists blocked their progress. The Reds heaved rocks and paving stones through the vehicles’ windshields. The attacks on the jeeps came as heavily armed Iranian troops were rushed to American Point Four — Foreign Aid — headquarters, the U.S. Army Enlisted Men’s Club here, the U.S. Government’s information headquarters and other American installations. Iranian authorities feared the Communists would turn the struggle of Mossadegh for supremacy over the Shah into anti-Western demonstrations.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Robert Duvall has taken a six-week leave from the off-Broadway hit, ‘The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker,’ in which he plays the Arkansas hillbilly, to join Tony Curtis and Gregory Peck in the new film ‘Capt. Newman, M.D.,’ now in production at Universal-International Studios in Hollywood. His role in ‘BeeBee’ will be played by John Pearce. Duval made his film debut as Boo Radley, the recluse, in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ also with Gregory Peck.”
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Method Man. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Northern Exposure” star John Cullum, who was born in 1930; “The World According to Garp” author John Irving, who was born in 1942; original “Saturday Night Live” star Laraine Newman, who was born in 1952; Missing Persons singer Dale Bozzio, who was born in 1955; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jon Bon Jovi, who was born in 1962; former Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant, who was born in 1965; rapper and actor Method Man, who was born in 1971; “Pitch Perfect” star Rebel Wilson, who was born in 1980; “Jurassic World” star Bryce Dallas Howard, who was born in 1981; N.Y. Rangers legend and Hockey Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist, who was born in 1982; singer-songwriter Becky G, who
Jon Bon Jovi. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
was born in 1997; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was born in 1998; and Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, who was born in 1999.
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TAKE ME OUT TO THE SPY GAME: Moe Berg was born on this day in 1902. The New York native, who graduated from Princeton University and Columbia Law School, spent 15 seasons as a catcher in the major leagues, making his debut with the Brooklyn Robins in 1923. During World War II, he worked as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services, a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. He died in 1972.
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Laraine Newman. Chris Pizzello/AP
A TALL ORDER: Wilt Chamberlain hit triple digits on this day in 1962. The Philadelphia Warriors center scored 100 points in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa. It was and still is the single-game scoring record. The second-highest total is 81, recorded by the late Kobe Bryant in 2006.
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STILL SOUNDS GOOD: “The Sound of Music” premiered on this day in 1965. The perennially popular family film musical, starring Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).
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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.
Quotable:
“The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That’s not true with non-fiction.” — author Tom Wolfe, who was born on this day in 1930.
SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.
ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.
