November 17: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 17, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1863, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — The President will leave here at noon on Wednesday for Gettysburg, so as to enable him to be there on Thursday morning early, without fail. While there he will be the guest of D. Wills, Esq. He will be accompanied by his accomplished private secretary, J.G. Nicolay, Esq. It is requested by the Marshal-in-Chief of the Gettysburg demonstration on the 19th instant, that the Governors of the several States will recommend that on that day the American flag be hoisted on all the public buildings in the States. It is hoped that the General Government will take action in the matter.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — Wireless telegraphy, its conquests and achievements during the war, will be one of the alluring chapters soon to be unfolded before the public, now that the veil of secrecy imposed by the universal censorship is being removed. It will be a record of performances that will be equaled, or rather exceeded, only by the plans of development that are in prospect for the world-wide political and commercial expansion of the immediate future. Since the outbreak of the war, and more particularly since the United States entered it, the wireless has developed a universality of uses that outrun the imagination, and the plans that are in contemplation, it is felt, will go far in educating the people all over the world as to the League [of Nations] to enforce peace and the new order which the league will represent. It is impossible to estimate the great part the wireless played in bringing about the downfall of the Central Empires, and its value as an instrument for commercial intercourse, for disseminating information and for keeping down misunderstandings that have fed on lack of proper communications heretofore will be even greater.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1929, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON — Confronting President [Herbert] Hoover in the United States Senate is a group of 14 Republicans who are combining with the 39 Democrats to rob the administration of its majority, to thwart the president’s program on important policies, and to project a condition of revolt and confusion which promises to have serious consequences in the 1932 campaign. The Republican party, as today exemplified in the United States, is a minority party. The principal cause of the rift is the determination of Western Progressives to force high tariff rates on the products of agriculture and at the same time to lower rates on manufactured articles. It is the historic antagonism of East and West, finding its latest and most vehement expression in a spectacular fight with the Republican president who occupies the White House and with the large Republican majority which wrote the House tariff bill.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, an Eagle editorial said, “Few Brooklynites, at least, will argue with us when we say we believe that Brooklyn was, and still is, the greatest baseball town in the U.S. That’s why we feel perfectly justified in proposing that the New York Mets change its team name to, of course, the Brooklyn Mets, when the team moves to Flushing Meadows next spring. And, while we’re at it, we’d like to suggest that the name of the Mets’ new ballpark be changed to Shea Stadium in honor of Bill Shea, the tireless New York attorney who, against terrific opposition in other cities, did the most to bring National League baseball back to the city. With apologies to our friends and fellow baseball fans in Queens and on Long Island, we’re convinced that Brooklyn fans, because of their love for baseball, will travel by the thousands to the new stadium to become one of the largest and most enthusiastic groups of Mets supporters, no matter where the club stands in the won-and-lost column. Brooklyn Dodger fans — and Brooklyn is still full of them — proved their support of their ‘beloved Bums’ for years by flocking to an old and decrepit Ebbets Field whether the Dodgers were in first or last place. They’ll go to ball games in even greater numbers to a new stadium occupied by the Brooklyn Mets.”

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Rachel McAdams
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Martin Scorsese
John Furniss/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Songwriters Hall of Famer Gordon Lightfoot, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bob Gaudio (the Four Seasons), who was born in 1942; Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese, who was born in 1942; actress and model Lauren Hutton, who was born in 1943; Basketball Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, who was born in 1944; “Taxi” star Danny DeVito, who was born in 1944; “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, who was born in 1944; Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, who was born in 1946; former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who was born in 1949; “NewsRadio” star Stephen Root, who was born in 1951; “Scarface” star Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who was born in 1958; “Falcon Crest” star William R. Moses, who was born in 1959; actress and model Daisy Fuentes, who was born in 1966; “Popular” star Leslie Bibb, who was born in 1974; “Eurovision Song Contest” star Rachel McAdams, who was born in 1978; and former NFL wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who was born in 1978.

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KING OF THE HILL: Tom Seaver was born on this day in 1944. Known as “The Franchise,” he debuted with the New York Mets in 1967 and became the team’s first pitching star, leading them to the championship in 1969. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, but returned to Queens in 1983 and later pitched for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992 and died in 2020.

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HAVE A NICE LIFE: Today is National Unfriend Day. Inspired by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, it’s the day on which Facebook users take an honest inventory of their friends list and eliminate all those who aren’t true friends. By making cuts, they will be able to devote more time and energy to the people who really matter in their lives.

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

Quotable:

“There are only two places in the league — first place and no place.”

— Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Seaver, who was born on this day in 1944