April 29: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 29, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1937, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “LOUISVILLE, KY. (U.P.) — The arrival of War Admiral, Court Scandal and Fairy Hill, three of the East’s outstanding candidates for the Kentucky Derby, brought the total of Derby horses on the scene of the 63rd running of the three-year-old classic to 11 today. War Admiral, Samuel D. Riddle’s Chesapeake Stakes winner, is co-favorite with Pompoon to win the $50,000 special at Churchill Downs May 8. Court Scandal, racing for Townsend B. Martin, was runner-up to War Admiral in the Chesapeake event after winning the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah. William Dupont Jr. owns Fairy Hill, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “Fred Boysen, 25, or 323 Pearl St., war veteran and confirmed Dodger fan, was in Sydenham Hospital, Manhattan, today, suffering from abdominal bruises and possible internal injuries. And the baseball career of stormy-tempered Leo Durocher, Giants manager, hung in the balance. Boysen charged, and eyewitnesses in whole or in part agreed, that Durocher hit and kicked him at the Polo Grounds yesterday afternoon following a game which the Dodgers turned into a shambles, winning over the hapless Giants by 15 to 2. It was an ideal kind of game for Dodger rooters, including Boysen. There was a parade of five pitchers trying, in vain, to halt the Flock’s onslaught. And as one succeeded another, the heckling Boysen gave long razz-berries, waved a handkerchief in Durocher’s direction and generally expressed his contempt for the Giants and their chief. After the game, Boysen said, he rushed across the field to congratulate Jackie Robinson, the Dodger second baseman. He was pushing through the crowd when, he said, ‘Durocher hit me from behind and kicked me in the groin while I was down.’ He was positive it was Durocher, and the manager himself confirmed that he had some difficulty with somebody. But he denied any assault. Said he: ‘All I know is somebody grabbed my cap. I grabbed it back and kept going to the clubhouse. That’s all. I didn’t hit him.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1960, the Bay Ridge Home Reporter said, “Nobody knows — other than in vague extrapolations based on ethnic considerations — what Magda, Queen of Sheba, looked like. But mere eyesight, rather than any kind of fancy extrapolation, is all that is needed to prove that Gina Lollobrigida is beautiful enough to be convincing as one of the greatest temptresses in history. Indeed, Sheba might have done a great deal worse than look like the ravishing Gina. Yul Brenner plays King Solomon to Gina’s Queen of Sheba in ‘Solomon and Sheba.’” On the same page, the Home Reporter also said, “Sophia Loren is one actress who refuses to be type-cast, although she has heard it said that the public likes to identify a star with a certain kind of role. But, she argues, if this were so, ‘Why do they keep changing the wrappers on soap and breakfast food?’ Because people want something new, something exciting — that’s why.’ And she’s the gal who can deliver. The glamorous Sophia, who boasts that she has never played the same kind of role twice, is currently blazing another trail — this time through the old West as a ravishing Continental actress is Paramount’s Technicolor saga of a traveling theatrical troupe, ‘Heller in Pink Tights.’ Not only is this Sophia’s first Western for which she had to learn to ride a horse Western saddle, side saddle and bareback, but for the first time she will be seen as a blonde. She also wears six wigs ranging from silver to flaming red.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “Assemblyman Alfred A. Lama, D-Brooklyn, will sponsor legislation to require a minimum jail term of 20 years for dope pushers who sell their wares to youths under 18. Lama declared that stiff penalties for dope sellers ‘offer a positive solution to rampant drug addiction. If we can prevent youths from falling prey to crafty pushers we can make significant inroads into the problem.’ The lawmaker said his bill also would ask that in all cases, convicted pushers would not be able to gain a suspended sentence. ‘This would further demonstrate that their activities will not be tolerated by society.’”

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Jerry Seinfeld
Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include country music legend Willie Nelson, who was born in 1933; Baseball Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio, who was born in 1934; conductor Zubin Mehta, who was born in 1936; Oak Ridge Boys singer Duane Allen, who was born in 1943; The Shondells founder Tommy James, who was born in 1947; World Golf Hall of Famer Johnny Miller, who was born in 1947; comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld, who was born in Brooklyn in 1954; “Star Trek: Voyager” star Kate Mulgrew, who was born in 1955; Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who was born in 1957; “The Witches of Eastwick” star Michelle Pfeiffer, who was born in 1958; “The Brady Bunch” star Eve Plumb, who was born in 1958; N.Y. Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen, who was born in 1958; “Kill Bill” star Uma Thurman, who was born in 1970; and political commentator Candace Owens, who was born in 1989.

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A LIVING HELL: Dachau was liberated on this day in 1945. The first concentration camp to be opened in Nazi Germany (1933), it housed more than 200,000 prisoners throughout the course of World War II. An estimated 35,000 people died there and more than 32,000 were liberated when American troops arrived.

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HIPPIE HIGH POINT: “Hair” opened on Broadway on this day in 1968. The controversial rock musical, which debuted off-Broadway six months earlier, was a defining piece of work for those who opposed the Vietnam War and the “Establishment.” Memorable songs include “Aquarius” and “Let the Sunshine In.” A film version directed by Milos Forman was released in 1979.

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

Quotable:

“Gray skies are just clouds passing over.”

— composer Duke Ellington, who was born on this day in 1899