August 20: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 20, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1924, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “No European athlete gave American track fans a greater shock at the Olympics than did Harold Abrahams — England’s phenomenal sprinter who took the measure of Paddock, Scholz, Murchison and Bowman in the 100 meter sprint. Dubbed ‘daddy long legs’ because of his abnormally elongated stride, Abrahams nonplussed those who had reckoned both sprints as in ‘the bag’ for the Americans. Paavo Nurmi’s victories were taken more or less for granted, since it was realized that the Phantom Finn was a veritable superman, but few Americans looked for Abrahams to pull anything sensational. Wherefore, the intense interest in Abrahams on this side of the pond, as exemplified by the efforts being made to secure his appearance during the American indoor season.” (Editor’s note: Harold Abrahams was immortalized in the 1981 feature film “Chariots of Fire,” which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Score. He died in 1978.)

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — The nation’s consumers will know tonight whether prices on meat, milk, butter and some other market basket items will be pegged by OPA at approximate levels in force on June 30. The important decision is scheduled to be handed down at 7 p.m. by the three-man price control board. It will rule on whether meat, dairy products, grains, soy beans and cotton seed products will be under price curbs or allowed to remain uncontrolled. OPA disclosed last night that if the board flashes the go-ahead sign for controlling prices on the commodities, its verdict will not take place until 12:01 a.m. Friday. In explaining the two-day time lag, OPA Chief Paul Porter said: ‘We do not know what the board’s decision will be. A little time, therefore, is necessary for business to adjust itself to such recontrol as the board may order and to permit the administrator to determine what specific changes in the regulations may be required.’ Porter has indicated that the price agency has adequate powers to restore approximate prices on the commodities that were in effect June 30. The decontrol board, under the revised OPA act, has authority only to direct OPA to take price action. Pending disclosure of its decision, the board barricaded itself to prevent premature leaks of information on the important economic ruling.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “Mayor O’Dwyer and Borough President Cashmore wielded pick and shovel today in ground-breaking ceremonies for the first postwar construction on the $25,000,000 Brooklyn-Queens Connecting Highway. The ceremonies took place shortly after noon at Amity and Hicks Sts., launching construction on Contract 1 for the first section of the long-proposed cross-Brooklyn traffic artery. No homes are to be affected by construction of the first section, Mr. Cashmore pointed out. All structures were removed in 1941 when Hicks St. was widened to 160 feet from Hamilton Ave. to Atlantic Ave. A luncheon for the officials who took part in the ceremonies followed at the Hotel Bossert. Eventually the highway will run from the end of Gowanus Parkway at Hamilton Ave. along Hicks St. to Atlantic Ave., then swing toward the waterfront and run along a three-level structure overhanging Furman St. After skirting the Brooklyn Heights area, it will connect with Park Ave., curve through Williamsburg to Meeker Ave., and then, by viaduct, to the Kosciusko Bridge over Newtown Creek to Queens.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1949, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — Air Force investigators who turned up two tattered disk-type airplanes in an abandoned Maryland tobacco shed hinted today the discovery may ‘break’ the flying saucer mystery. They were searching for a missing inventor who built the two craft and reportedly got one of them into the air before disappearing with his wife and child about 10 years ago. ‘It is apparent that both ships would give the appearance of flying disks,’ said a spokesman for Air Force investigators who have worked on the flying saucer mystery for two years with little or no tangible result. ‘They could well be the prototype of what have been reported as flying saucers,’ he said. The investigators hoped to find Jonathan E. Caldwell, whose attempt to sell stock to finance production of the disk planes he invented reportedly was blocked at the time by Maryland authorities.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (UP) — Official confirmation that Russia has exploded an H-bomb today swept the world into a deadly new lap of the atomic arms race and brought Congressional demands for stepped up U.S. defenses. Chairman Lewis L. Strauss of the Atomic Energy Commission announced shortly after midnight that the United States detected an atomic explosion in Russia on Aug. 12. He said ‘subsequent information’ indicated the Russians had tested an H-bomb. His statement followed by less than two hours a Moscow communique which said that ‘one of the types of the hydrogen bomb was exploded’ in the Soviet Union ‘a few days ago … for experimental purposes.’ Strauss made it clear that the United States was far ahead of Russia in developing the awesome H-bomb, which may release up to 1,000 times as much destructive force as an atomic bomb.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former N.Y. Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles, who was born in 1944; journalist Connie Chung, who was born in 1946; “Reaper” star Ray Wise, who was born in 1947; “Fringe” star John Noble, who was born in 1948; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), who was born in 1948; “Perfectly Good Guitar” singer John Hiatt, who was born in 1952; “Thirtysomething” star Peter Horton, who was born in 1953; weather forecaster Al Roker, who was born in 1954; “Pleasantville” star Joan Allen, who was born in 1956; “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star James Marsters, who was born in 1962; Limp Bizkit founder Fred Durst, who was born in 1970; “Arrival” star Amy Adams, who was born in 1974; “Supernatural” star Misha Collins, who was born in 1974; N.Y. Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury, who was born in 1976; wrestling commentator Byron Saxton, who was born in 1981; “Hacksaw Ridge” star Andrew Garfield, who was born in 1983; and “Skyscraper” singer Demi Lovato, who was born in 1992.

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CLASSICAL THUNDER: Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” premiered on this day in 1882. Commemorating the Russian defense against Napoleon’s Grand Armee, it debuted near the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The piece is famous for its finale, which features chimes and cannon fire, and is among Tchaikovsky’s most popular works alongside “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker.”

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A NEW FORMATION: The American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton, Ohio, on this day in 1920. Teams had such obscure names as the Canton Bulldogs, Decatur Staleys, Muncie Flyers and Rochester Independents. In 1922, the league changed its name to the National Football League. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world.

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

Quotable:

“Some kids dream of joining the circus, others of becoming a major league baseball player. I have been doubly blessed. As a member of the New York Yankees, I have gotten to do both.”

— former N.Y. Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles, who was born on this day in 1944