July 23: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

July 23, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Traffic was disrupted on the Brooklyn Bridge for half an hour and automobiles were diverted to the Manhattan Bridge when a trolley wire broke off near the Manhattan end of the bridge. The storm was believed to be responsible.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1936, the Eagle reported, “A series of raids by the Narcotics Squad of the Police Department in co-operation with Department of Health inspectors culminated this morning in the discovery of two vacant lots in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn devoted to the cultivation of marijuana, used for the manufacture of dope cigarettes. The lots were discovered as the result of a campaign instituted last Spring by Capt. Joseph J. Mooney, in charge of the Narcotics Squad, in Manhattan, who placed samples of the weed on exhibition in every police station in the city to aid in its identification by officers … Within the last three days, raids on marijuana gardens have resulted in the confiscation of more than $35,000 worth of the dope.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1943, the Eagle reported, “ALLIED HEADQUARTERS, NORTH AFRICA — A lightning thrust to the north coast by the American Seventh Army captured intact Palermo, capital of Sicily, cut the island in two and swept disorganized Axis forces back today toward the northeastern tip of the island, flanked by Mount Etna. With four-fifths of Sicily already in Allied hands, the speed of advance by Americans and Canadians on the central and western fronts was so swift that the Italians had no time to destroy any of the military and naval installations at the great port of Palermo, which may soon be used for blows aimed at the Italian mainland.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1950, the Eagle reported, “The entertainment world’s biggest, best, least expensive ‘buy’ — which is it? The three-ringed circus? The rodeo? The Golden Gloves? None of these. With those who really know, it’s the annual Brooklyn-Cleveland arclight baseball game at Ebbets Field, a double-barreled classic that pits just about the tops in baseball talent with top-flight entertainment from Broadway and Hollywood. And the payoff is that all of the proceeds go to a worthy cause, the Brooklyn Amateur Baseball Foundation, which pays the freight for baseball-starved kids in the borough and on Long Island … Barring a World Series date, Cleveland comes to Flatbush for its only game of the year, toting such baseball greats as Lou Boudreau, Bob Lemon, Al Rosen, Luke Easter and Larry Doby … There’s a lighter side to the program, too. Billy Mills, baseball’s newest comedian, a youngster who is as sharp in his improvisations as he is in his rehearsed acts, will put on a one-man show … Also on the lighter side, a charming young lady — Judy Lynn — will drop her Broadway engagements for the night to carol some heart-warming songs. Tony Bennett will lend a tenor note and Tony Burrell’s orchestra will provide music.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, an Eagle editorial said, “There must be an awful lot of people in New York who are going to be kicking themselves next Monday. Why? Well, up to this morning only 300,000 of the new 15-cent subway tokens were purchased. Some 6,000,000 riders a day use the transit system. On Saturday, only tokens will be received by the turnstiles and there’s going to be a terrible jam — especially during the back-to-work rush Monday — if practically everybody waits until then to buy his tokens. It won’t do any good to ignore the new price of transportation. The fare won’t go down just because you didn’t buy your tokens in advance. But your blood pressure will go up. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

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Michelle Williams
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Daniel Radcliffe
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was born in 1936; “Beverly Hills Cop” star Ronny Cox, who was born in 1938; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dino Danelli (The Young Rascals), who was born in 1944; “Rock On” singer David Essex, who was born in 1947; Manhattan Transfer singer Janis Siegel, who was born in Brooklyn in 1952; “Cheers” star Woody Harrelson, who was born in 1961; “ER” star Eriq La Salle, who was born in 1962; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Slash (Guns N’ Roses), who was born in 1965; model and actress Stephanie Seymour, who was born in 1968; “Angel” star Charisma Carpenter, who was born in 1970; “In Living Color” star Marlon Wayans, who was born in 1972; Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams, who was born in 1980; and “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe, who was born in 1989.