April 29: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

April 29, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1852, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Passengers can now leave New York in the Hudson river railroad, at 6 o’clock in the morning, and reach Buffalo, on the same day, at twelve o’clock at night ― distance 450 miles. From Buffalo to New York with the like rapidity.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1919, the Eagle reported, “A bill legalizing Sunday baseball in New York City was passed by the Board of Aldermen this afternoon by a vote of 64 to 0. The passage was expected since the signing of the State law by Governor Smith. Leading the opposition, which was granted a hearing before a vote was taken, were the Baptist Tabernacle Church of Brooklyn, the Methodist Ministers Association, the Presbyterian Ministers Association and the Long Island Ministers Association. The bill was brought up for hearing last week but was laid aside until today.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Throughout Brooklyn — and most of the United States — V-E Day was celebrated prematurely for about an hour and a half yesterday. The celebration in this area began shortly after 8 p.m. when several radio stations broadcast an Associated Press report that ‘a high Allied official has just announced that Germany has surrendered unconditionally.’ On the streets, at social gatherings in homes and hotels, in restaurants and bars, wherever people had gathered within hearing of a radio or contact of persons who had heard the broadcast, the celebration was spontaneous and sometimes boisterous. Hands were shaken, backs slapped, congratulatory toasts drunk and cheers roared. The jubilation was general. Except that here and there a mother, sweetheart, wife, father, sister or other relative quietly withdrew into himself and deplored that the war in Europe had not ended before their recent bereavement. Telephone operators of the Brooklyn Eagle and other newspapers of the Metropolitan district were driven frantic answering the calls of persons seeking elaboration of the broadcast report. They could only respond that no confirmation of the rumor was available. Then, some 90 minutes after the broadcast, President Truman in Washington announced that the rumor was just a rumor, without any basis in fact.”

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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 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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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “CAPE CANAVERAL (UPI) ― Dr. Wernher von Braun became America’s most famous space scientist by his penchant for strolling out on technological limbs with a unique flair for showmanship. In 1955, he startled the nation’s scientific inner circle by suggesting he had the equipment to put up the world’s first earth satellite ― a fight he, and in the long run the United States, lost to some appalling blunders and bad guess work. Today, Von Braun is still at it. In an interview with United Press International, he staunchly defended the nation’s controversial decision to spend $20 billion-plus to send men to the moon this decade. ‘Even should we find out the moon is soft and is made of green cheese, it will have been worth every cent of it.’ This is typical von Braun defiance, in stark contrast to the watery half-answers and excuses that seem to be the party line among numerous lesser scientific lights in the United States over the same issue.”

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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.