May 4: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

May 4, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1913, Brooklyn Daily Eagle columnist Frederick Boyd Stevenson said, “You doubtless have heard and read a great deal about the ‘Skyline Commission’ — that is the commission to investigate the best methods of regulating the construction of buildings in New York City. That terms has made a ‘catchy’ newspaper headline, but in reality it is a misnomer for it does not fit the case. The commission was really appointed to regulate the height, size and arrangement of buildings erected within the limits of the city, in order to arrest the seriously increasing evil of the shutting off of light and air from other buildings and from the public streets, to prevent unwholesome and dangerous congestion both in living conditions and in street and transit traffic, and to reduce the hazards of fire and peril to life. The situation was summed up for me the other afternoon by George McAneny, President of the Borough of Manhattan, who, as the originator of the movement, introduced the resolutions creating the committee which were adopted by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and who appointed the advisory commission which has the matter in charge. ‘The present proposal to regulate the height of buildings in New York City is the result of no hasty decision on the part of the city authorities,’ said President McAneny. ‘The congestion, the possible danger in case of fire or panic, and the cutting off of light and air from the streets as well as nearby buildings, which have been brought about by the erection of ‘skyscrapers,’ have long been recognized as evils by those who have studied this problem, but there has naturally been a disinclination to interfere with the liberty of land owners to use their land as they chose. In the last few years, however, the situation has become so serious that not only the students of civic development, but the general public as well, realize that something must be done.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1932, the Eagle reported, “SAVANNAH, GA. (AP) — Joe Jackson balanced a 24-year-old bat in his hands today as he stared through a window of his pressing shop here and wondered how many hits he could have got with the old bludgeon if the Majors had used the lively ball when he was the shoeless wonder of the White Sox. The years have been kind to ‘Shoeless Joe,’ who has mellowed after the bitter experience of banishment from organized baseball for his part in the 1919 World Series scandals. He has settled near the Savannah River where life unfolds itself gently and without excitement. A pressing shop furnishes his daily bread and a memory of the days of his baseball heroism gives him a happy topic for conversation. ‘Some stick, eh?’ he said as he looked at the old war club. ‘It’s 24 years old. The wood was given me by a friend near Greenville, S.C., and the bat was made to order.’ In 1911, Joe got 246 hits for an average of .408 in 146 games with the stick. It is warped and is so heavy it seems loaded. ‘I wonder how many hits I could have got if I had been hitting the lively ball?’ he said. ‘I don’t see how they could have got us out.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1941, the Eagle reported, “LOUISVILLE, KY., MAY 3 (U.P.) — Whirlaway, a picture-book horse with a streak of madness in his blood and a touch of greatness in his brown legs, turned the biggest and richest Kentucky Derby into the fastest one as well today with an eight-length triumph that stamped his name among the immortals of the turf. In exactly 1:21 2-5 seconds — the fastest time any thoroughbred has ever run the mile and a quarter strip in all the 67 years of America’s favorite race — the copper-colored colt from Calumet Farm wiped out the heartbreaks of a dozen previous disappointments with a performance that will linger as long as horses are bred. For Kentucky, the homecoming was one that the hard-boots will never forget. Beaten by 20 different horses, defeated at seven different racetracks and ridden by eight different jockeys before a rider who could hold his wild temper in check climbed on his bronze back today, Whirlaway won as only a champion can.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1963, the Eagle reported, “’The Birds,’ famed suspense master Alfred Hitchcock’s latest thriller, enters the sixth week of its world premiere engagement at the RKO Palace and Sutton Theatres on Thursday. The new Universal release, in Technicolor, has been enjoying record-breaking box office business following generally enthusiastic endorsements by New York’s newspaper critics. In addition, ‘The Birds’ has established an equally fast box office pace in many important ‘perimeter’ theaters in the New York area. With a starring cast including Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy and Suzanne Pleshette, ‘The Birds’ introduces screen audiences to Alfred Hitchcock’s latest star discovery, the beautiful ‘Tippi’ Hedren. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, ‘The Birds’ brings a highly unique story to the screen. Evan Hunter’s screenplay, based upon Daphne du Maurier’s gripping suspense novel, tells the tale of a savage, mysterious warfare which the birds of the world suddenly wage upon mankind.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include Jackson family matriarch Katherine Jackson, who was born in 1930; “Outbreak” author Robin Cook, who was born in Brooklyn in 1940; Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George Will, who was born in 1941; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Jackie Jackson (Jackson 5), who was born in 1951; actress and singer Pia Zadora, who was born in 1954; Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis, who was born in 1959; “Saturday Night Live” star Ana Gasteyer, who was born in 1967; “Arrested Development” star Will Arnett, who was born in 1970; sportscaster Erin Andrews, who was born in 1978; NSYNC member Lance Bass, who was born in 1979; former Panic! at the Disco bassist Dallon Weekes, who was born in 1981; and four-time major golf champion Rory McIlroy, who was born in 1989.