September 30: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 30, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “The third warship to bear the name of Brooklyn was today ready to play her part in upholding the traditions of the American Navy. In the presence of several hundred prominent local officials and representatives of patriotic and civic societies, the formal commissioning of the new cruiser took place at 2:30 this afternoon in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. When the colors, jack and commission pennant had been hoisted as the guard presented arms and the bugler sounded ‘colors,’ the Navy Department orders for the commissioning were read and actual command of the ship was given to Capt. William D. Brereton. In charge of the ceremony — which was brief and formal in accordance with time-honored custom — was Rear Admiral Harris Laning, commandant of the 3rd Naval District, which includes the Navy Yard. This was the last important official act of Admiral Laning as he retires tomorrow after 45 years of distinguished service. He will reach the statutory age limit of 64 on Oct. 18.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “The 1947 edition of baseball’s annual blue ribbon classic — the 44th in history — is scheduled to get under way in the Bronx at 1:30 p.m. when the first ball will be pitched in the duel between the Dodgers of our town and the New York Yankees for the championship of the world. Weather permitting, this World Series game will draw a crowd of about 72,000 customers into the elegant mass of masonry that Col. Larry MacPhail operates on the northeast bank of the Harlem River. This struggle for the championship, which, of course, will follow the traditional pattern of continuing until one club or the other shall have won four games, finds the Yankees, champions of the American League, heavily favored over Brooklyn’s champions of the National League. Odds today favored the Yankees to win the Series at the equivalent of 9 to 5 in man-to-man betting.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “UNITED NATIONS HALL, FLUSHING (U.P.) — The United Nations, in a life or death struggle provoked by the East versus West division of the world, will initiate two new members today, bringing its roster to 57 nations. Pakistan, the new Moslem state of India, and the tiny kingdom of Yemen will take their seats at a day of plenary sessions which will also include elections for the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council for next year. The two new members arrived in the midst of a bitter wrangle, parliamentary maneuvering, and alleged attempted ‘horse trading’ by the East and West over the admission of five other applicants — Italy, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Finland. The United States wants only Italy and Finland admitted and has the votes to blackball Hitler’s former Balkan satellites who are now within the Soviet orbit and with whom U.S. relations are all but broken. Russia insists that all or none of the former satellites must be admitted, and has threatened to veto Italy’s bid if her Balkan satellites are denied membership.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “The city’s Democratic high command girded itself today for an all-out legal attack on the validity of the petitions filed by Mayor [Vincent] Impellitteri in his independent bid for re-election. With 7,500 valid signatures required, Impellitteri hit more than three times that number. His chief backer, Walter T. Shirley, personally filed petitions bearing 22,001 names at the Board of Elections yesterday and said some 3,000 more were in the mail. Proceeding under the theory that Impellitteri’s candidacy under the Experience party banner — a highly successful move in 1950 — seriously imperils the chances of Robert F. Wagner Jr., who defeated the mayor in the Democratic primary, the party leaders were prepared to give the petitions close scrutiny. Under the law, the Impellitteri signatures must be those of persons who neither signed any other designating petitions or who voted in the primary election Sept. 15. In announcing his decision to run, the mayor also pinpointed Republican fears that his candidacy would harm the chances of Harold Riegelman, the GOP candidate.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Police Woman” star Angie Dickinson, who was born in 1931; soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston, who was born in 1933; “Chances Are” singer Johnny Mathis, who was born in 1935; “Blue Bloods” star Len Cariou, who was born in 1939; “Solid Gold” host Marilyn McCoo, who was born in 1943; “All of Me” star Victoria Tennant, who was born in 1950; “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, who was born in 1957; “Some Kind of Wonderful” star Eric Stoltz, who was born in 1961; “The Matrix Reloaded” star Monica Bellucci, who was born in 1964; “Dharma & Greg” star Jenna Elfman, who was born in 1971; Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, who was born in 1975; International Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Hingis, who was born in 1980; “Mean Girls” star Lacey Chabert, who was born in 1982; and rapper and actor T-Pain, who was born in 1984.

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SHOOTING STAR: James Dean died on this day in 1955. The rising film actor died in a car accident near Cholame, California, two hours after getting a speeding ticket. He was 24. His final films, “Rebel Without a Cause” and “East of Eden,” were released posthumously in 1956.

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EARLY ROCK: “The Flintstones” premiered on ABC on this day in 1960. The Hanna-Barbera comedy was the first animated series to air during prime time. Set in pre-historic times in the town of Bedrock, it followed the adventures of two Stone Age families: Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.

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Special thanks to “Chase’s Calendar of Events” and Brooklyn Public Library.

Quotable:

“My mother was against me being an actress — until I introduced her to Frank Sinatra.”

— Angie Dickinson, who was born on this day in 1931