August 28: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

August 28, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Eastern colleges will keep a close watch on the University of Pennsylvania this year because of the change in coaches. John. W. Heisman has come up from the South with a new system, and it’s a cinch he will use it. Heisman believes in shift plays, and before the season is over is likely to have 11 men hopping around before the ball is put into play. He uses the single and double shift and it will be difficult to have all of the men come to a complete stop before the pigskin is passed. The ‘both feet on the ground’ rule will have its test at Franklin Field.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc., has submitted to the N.Y. Public Service Commission definitive proposals for reducing local electric rates at a savings of $6,352,600 annually to system customers, President Ralph H. Tapscott announced today. The P.S.C. will hold a hearing Sept. 12 on the proposals, which were submitted as stipulated in the proceedings bringing about the merger of Brooklyn Edison Co. and New York and Queens Electric Light and Power Co. into the parent company. The proposed changes would make reductions in service classification No. 1 (residential), No. 3 (religious), No. 4 (charitable hospital, low-cost housing), and service classification No. 2, which covers general business and professional users of electricity. Certain other rate classifications for business users not uniformly applicable in the city’s four boroughs served by Consolidated would be withdrawn and customers now taking service under them would be transferred to the new No. 2 classification with its reduced rates, or other appropriate classifications.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “WASHINGTON (U.P.) — OPA today removed price controls from a long list of additional items, including lizard and snake skin shoes, doeskin gloves, shoe polish and baby food. Other commodities exempted from controls were floor polish, furniture polish, automobile polish and industrial wax finishes and dressings. Precooked dry cereals were included in the order exempting baby and junior foods from control. OPA also announced that white potatoes will remain free of controls, and raised retail price ceilings on all canned tomatoes to spur production. This increase is in addition to the 2 cents a can boost that resulted from removal of subsidies.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1947, the Eagle reported, “Bugs Bunny, Warner Bros.’ well-known cartoon character, will march with an ace marine drum and trumpet corps and color guard in the huge American Legion parade along 5th Avenue on Sunday. Bunny, who recently was promoted to the rank of master sergeant in the corps, is being featured in marine posters and other recruiting material.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1953, the Eagle reported, “TOKYO (U.P.) — The Communists have sent ‘more than 20 teams’ of North Korean spies across the demilitarized buffer zone in Korea to get information on United Nations positions, it was learned today. The spies posed as civilians fleeing from Communist rule in North Korea, reliable United Nations sources said. Most of them took orders from woman leaders. United Nations troops saw through their scheme and captured them. ‘Many of them confessed,’ the sources said. Each spy team told the same story, that the North Koreans expect the UN ‘to violate the truce and resume military operations in October.’ Some even gave a specific date for the expected ‘UN violation.’ They said it would occur on Oct. 27, on the eve of the deadline for the convening of the Korean political conference. Intelligence sources already had been considering October as a danger month because South Koreans returning to freedom from Red prison camps have sung songs with words to the effect that ‘we’ll see you in October when the snow is flying.’ As far as can be determined, the United Nations command has made no formal protests to the Communists against the infiltrators, unless the matter has been brought up secretly before the joint military armistice commission. ‘If we caught 20 of these spy teams,’ one UN officer said, ‘there must have been others who got over and back without being detected. It’s an obvious violation of the armistice agreement.’ These sources said the spies disguised themselves as husband and wife, although most have not been married.”

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Shania Twain
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include former N.Y. Yankees outfielder and manager Lou Piniella, who was born in 1943; former N.Y. Yankees pitcher and 1978 A.L. Cy Young winner Ron Guidry, who was born in 1950; Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove, who was born in 1952; “Home Alone” star Daniel Stern who was born in 1957; figure skater and Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, who was born in 1958; “American Pie” star Jennifer Coolidge, who was born in 1961; “From This Moment On” singer Shania Twain, who was born in 1965; “School of Rock” star Jack Black, who was born in 1969; former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who was born in 1969; “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Jason Priestley, who was born in 1969; “Angel” star J. August Richards, who was born in 1973; “How Do I Live” singer LeAnn Rimes, who was born in 1982; “Shake it Out” singer Florence Welch, who was born in 1986; and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” star Quvenzhane Wallis, who was born in 2003.

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A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: The first radio commercial was broadcast on this day in 1922. WEAF in New York ran a spot which was sponsored by the Queensboro Realty Corporation of Jackson Heights to promote Hawthorne Court, a group of apartment buildings. The commercial rate was $100 for 10 minutes.

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

“The gate of heaven is very low; only the humble can enter it.”

— Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was born on this day in 1774