December 8: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

December 8, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Congress today proclaimed existence of a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire 33 minutes after the dramatic moment when President [Franklin] Roosevelt stood before a joint session to pledge that we will triumph — ‘so help us, God.’ The Senate acted first, adopting the resolution by a unanimous roll call vote of 82 to 0, within 21 minutes after the President had concluded his speech. The House voted immediately afterward and by 1:13 p.m. a majority of the House had voted ‘Aye.’ The final House vote was announced as 388 to 1. The lone negative vote was cast by Representative Jeannette Rankin (R., Mont.), who also voted against entry into World War I. The resolution now has to be signed by Speaker Sam Rayburn and Vice President [Henry] Wallace before it is sent to the President at the White House. His signature will place the United States formally at war against the Japanese Empire, already an accomplished fact. The resolutions were before both Houses within 15 minutes of the time Mr. Roosevelt ended his seven-minute, 500-word extraordinary message.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported, “MINNEAPOLIS — The experiment of attempting to convert Gil Hodges into a first baseman is about over and the youngster will return to his catching chores. It might cause the revamping of the right side of the Dodger infield. Moreover, [Branch] Rickey doesn’t want to carry three receivers in Hodges, Bruce Edwards and Roy Campanella. He may trade one of his backstops, either here at the minor league gatherings or when baseball’s winter cavalcade moves into Chicago next week. It leaves first base wide open at Ebbets Field. The Dodgers own some fine prospects for the bag down on their farms. Dee Fondy at Fort Worth, Bud Gorman at Pueblo and Irving Noren, also a Fort Worth chattel, while an outfielder, has had some experience at first … Hodges was a disappointment as a long ball hitter when he played every day and he hasn’t been able to overcome his hesitation on balls hit to his right.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “President Walter O’Malley of the Brooklyn Dodgers returned here today by air from the winter baseball meetings at Phoenix, disappointed that his club didn’t come up with a starting pitcher but confident it will win the pennant again in 1953. He also revealed that first baseman Gil Hodges, a World Series bust, definitely was not on the market. ‘I wanted to get a good pitcher, but I couldn’t,’ O’Malley said. ‘But we’ll still win the 1953 pennant — at least, we’ll give it a hell of a try.’ Discussing Brooklyn’s attempt to trade for left-handed pitcher Warren Spahn of the Braves, O’Malley denied that Hodges was one of the Brooklyn players offered in the deal. ‘We are not giving up Hodges for anybody,’ he said. ‘We are not giving up the best first baseman in the National League.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1962, the Eagle reported, “The State Housing Finance Agency borrowed $16,890,000 from two banks yesterday to advance funds for building Trump Village in Coney Island. Of the money, $4 million was immediately turned over to the builder. The first section of Trump Village, already under construction, will cost a total of $20,944,500. Of this sum, the state will provide the housing company with $18,767,000. The remaining $2,177,500 has been advanced as cooperative-ownership down payments by future tenants. ‘Construction was started on May 14,’ the HFA announced, ‘and these down payments have been used to finance construction thus far. Now, however, the agency’s funds are required, and we are making them available.’ Trump Village is being built under the state’s limited-profit housing program. To encourage building of middle-income apartments, the city contracts to set real estate taxes at a reduced rate while the state puts up mortgage money at very reasonable interest rates, usually 3.5 percent. In return, the builder or owner of the buildings promises to maintain rents at a level producing a 6 percent profit. Trump Village will have 441 rental apartments, while the other 2,820 apartments will be cooperatives purchased by tenants.”

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AnnaSophia Robb
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jerry Butler (The Impressions), who was born in 1939; Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger, who was born in 1953; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Phil Collen (Def Leppard), who was born in 1957; political commentator Ann Coulter, who was born in 1961; “Desperate Housewives” star Teri Hatcher, who was born in 1964; “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer Sinead O’Connor, who was born in 1966; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher and Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Mussina, who was born in 1968; “Lost” star Dominic Monaghan, who was born in 1976; “Lost” star Ian Somerhalder, who was born in 1978; singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, who was born in 1979; former NFL quarterback Philip Rivers, who was born in 1981; rapper and actress Nicki Minaj, who was born in 1982; eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard, who was born in 1985; and “Soul Surfer” star AnnaSophia Robb, who was born in 1993.

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WILD CHILD: Jim Morrison was born on this day in 1943. As the lead singer of the Doors, he is considered one of the fathers of contemporary rock. Known as “the Lizard King,” he brought avant-garde theatrics to his musical performances and mystical influences to his songs. He died of a drug overdose on July 3, 1971.

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THE END: John Lennon died on this day in 1980. The rock and roll legend was murdered outside his Manhattan apartment building by deranged gunman Mark David Chapman. The death of the international peace activist and former Beatle shocked the world. In 1985, New York City dedicated an area of Central Park frequented by Lennon as “Strawberry Fields.”

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THE ASH HEAP OF HISTORY: The Soviet Union ceased to exist on this day in 1991 when the republics of Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine signed an agreement creating the Commonwealth of Independent States. The remaining republics, with the exception of Georgia, joined in the new commonwealth as it began the slow and arduous process of removing the yoke of Communism and dealing with strong separatist and nationalistic movements within the various republics.

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

Quotable:

“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”

— Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Lennon, who died on this day in 1980