October 4, ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
ON THIS DAY IN 1909, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Merely as an appetizer before undertaking his heavy work late in the afternoon, Wilbur Wright drove his aeroplane on a twenty-one mile flight above the Hudson River to Grant’s Tomb and beyond, encircling that monument and returning to his starting point on Governor’s Island in 33 minutes and 33 seconds. The running was unofficial in the sense that it was not officially timed or officially announced by the Hudson-Fulton aeronautic committee, but Mr. Wright says it fulfills every condition of his contract that requires only an extended flight of half an hour’s duration. This afternoon’s flight will be official, and will be announced by signal flags and bombs. It will take place about 3 or 4 o’clock. Mr. Wright announces that it will take place anyhow, but says he will be governed by weather conditions in making his start. If the wind appears to be dropping at 3 o’clock, he will wait, but if it appears to be increasing, he will start on scheduled time.”
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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “The World Series starts today. The baseball championship of this green footstool opens up in the Bronx at 1 p.m. as the Giants and the Yankees clash. The Dodgers are shut out, beaten in a real heartbreaker in the sudden-death third game of the playoff series at the Polo Grounds that decided the National League pennant winner. This was the first pennant for the Giants in 14 years. The Yankees, winners of the American League championship for the third straight time, have been sitting back since Sunday night, waiting for the two teams that tied over the National League schedule to finish their incredible feud. It was certainly one of the great sports stories of all time that was climaxed with one out in the last half of the ninth inning when Bobby Thomson, the Scottish-born third baseman of the Giants, slugged a home run into the left field stands at the Polo Grounds off Ralph Branca. The blow converted a 4 to 2 deficit against the Giants into a 5 to 4 victory for the club that had come back after having trailed at one stage of the race by 13 1/2 games … The Yankees, shooting for their third consecutive world championship, are quoted as 8 to 5 favorites to win the first game and 9 to 5 to win the Series.”
Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.