July 6: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 6, 2022 Brooklyn Eagle History

Share this:

ON THIS DAY IN 1867, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Half a dozen fires and twice as many accidents represent the damage done in this city by the indiscriminate use of firearms and firecrackers on the Fourth of July. Superintendent Kennedy’s order, it seems, was not enforced in Brooklyn, but the belief that it would be operated in favor of a quiet Fourth. We trust we have had the last of the noisy folly, and that next year Mr. Kennedy, encouraged by the result of his order in New York, and by the general approval it met with from the public, will take steps next year to prevent the use of firearms altogether on the Fourth of July in the two cities. During the day there is no excuse whatever for the explosion of gunpowder. We can imagine no more ridiculous sight than an overgrown boy parading the streets with his gun or pistol, loading and firing on his march, and bringing terror and unrest wherever he goes. … After nightfall fireworks may be in order, and display enough can be made to arouse the patriotism of juveniles. To the nervous and the sick the day is one anticipated with terror. We may be thankful for escaping so well under all the circumstances, but we look for a quiet Fourth as one of the reforms we shall be grateful to the police authorities for.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1880, the Eagle reported, “The practice of dumping offal too near our shores is having the very undesirable effect of attracting sharks to the waters of the bay in unusual numbers. Several have been seen recently near the seashore watering places, and have greatly frightened the bathers. This morning, Dr. Nagle, the Registrar of Vital Statistics for New York, returning from Long Branch in the steamer St. John, saw a shark fully ten feet long. Its large fin projected above the water and first attracted attention to the fish that followed the boat close under its side for a considerable distance. It was watched curiously by the passengers on the steamer, who tried to frighten it away by shouts and gestures, but the fish kept lazily on its course, apparently unconcerned.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1913, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn yesterday lost the third straight game to New York. The score was 3 to 2. Bill Fischer, the rising young catcher and batter, had his thumb knocked into a modified pretzel shape by a foul tip from [Fred] Merkle’s bat in the sixth inning. Bob Fisher, well and favorably known as a shortstop, slid too vehemently into first base in the seventh inning and twisted his foot so grievously he had to leave the game. Combining our regrets, we will mention in passing that Brooklyn has now lost six out of the last seven games at home. … As a diverting preliminary, the weather man furnished a furious storm around noontime. The rains came and floods descended, but Ebbets Field was not built upon sand, but upon a rock, and after the clouds had rolled by a hasty notice was sent out to as many points in Manhattan and Brooklyn as was possible that the game would take place at 3:30 p.m.”

***

ON THIS DAY IN 1952, the Eagle reported, “DENVER, JULY 5 (U.P.) — Four Florida pilots, three of them World War II veterans, today told of seeing a ‘flying saucer’ hovering over the Hanford atomic plant at Richlands, Wash. Capt. John Baldwin, an Air Force pilot in the Pacific during World War II who has 7,000 hours of airline pilot experience, said the object he and his companions reported seeing early today was a ‘perfectly round disc, white in color and almost transparent, with small vapor trails off it like the tentacles of an octopus.’ He said he was flying at about 9,000 feet and saw the object ‘just below a deck of wispy clouds about 10,000 to 15,000 feet directly above us.’ ‘All of us have been flying a number of years and we’ve seen all kinds of clouds and formations, but none of us had ever seen anything like this before,’ Baldwin said. ‘It was perfectly round and still at first. Then it seemed to back away from us and change shape. It became flat, gained speed and then disappeared quickly.’”

***

Sylvester Stallone
Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Duke of Earl” singer Gene Chandler, who was born in 1937; former President George W. Bush, who was born in 1946; “Hunter” star Fred Dryer, who was born in 1946; “Rocky” and “Rambo” star Sylvester Stallone, who was born in 1946; Hockey Hall of Famer and former N.Y. Ranger Brad Park, who was born in 1948; Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush, who was born in 1951; “Moonlighting” star Allyce Beasley, who was born in Brooklyn in 1954; former N.Y. Yankees co-captain and Mets manager Willie Randolph, who was born in Brooklyn in 1954; “Absolutely Fabulous” star Jennifer Saunders, who was born in 1958; rapper and actor 50 Cent, who was born in 1975; “Sister, Sister” stars Tamera and Tia Mowry, who were born in 1978; former N.Y. Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, who was born in 1982; and “GLOW” star Kate Nash, who was born in 1987.

***

SEEING STARS: Major League Baseball held its first All-Star Game on this day in 1933. The game took place in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. Babe Ruth homered to lead the American League to a 4-2 victory over the National League. Prior to 1933, All-Star contests consisted of pre- and post-season exhibitions that often found teams made up of a few stars playing beside journeymen and minor leaguers.

***

MEET THE BEATLES: John Lennon and Paul McCartney met on this day in 1957. In Liverpool, England, 15-year-old McCartney watched a band called the Quarrymen, led by 16-year-old Lennon. The two teens met later that day and before long created one of the most popular rock groups in history.

***

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

Quotable:

“Everywhere that freedom stirs, let tyrants fear.”

— former President George W. Bush, who was born on this day in 1946