September 28: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

September 28, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1920, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “President [Charles] Ebbets of the Brooklyn Baseball Club, when he heard of the indictment of the White Sox players charged with throwing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in 1919, said: ‘The indictments have come as such a shock that I do not know what to say. On the whole I am inclined to think that if the Chicago White Sox win the American League pennant the Brooklyn Club will not care to play them for the world’s championship. Still, an indictment is merely a charge, and is not a conviction. I will have to think it over first before deciding.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1926, the Eagle reported, “CONVENTION HALL, SYRACUSE, SEPT. 27 — Gov. Alfred E Smith, at 12:42 p.m. today, was nominated for the fifth time to be the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York State. As his name was put in nomination by Mayor John B. Thatcher of Albany, the 1,800 convention delegates — waiting for two dull days for this one moment — went wildly enthusiastic. For 18 minutes they cheered ‘Al’ Smith. Horns tooted, cowbells rang, paper streamers hurtled through the air and this ancient, sawdust-covered riding ring — the Arena — was filled with milling men and women singing ‘Tammany’ and ‘The Sidewalks of New York.’ Finally Mayor James J. Walker, the convention’s permanent chairman, succeeded in out-pounding the shouting delegates.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1935, the Eagle reported, “Brooklyn, Long Island and Jersey boatmen have finally realized that a guardian angel has been watching them for weeks. Accordingly, they have written Kenneth Behr, acting manager of Floyd Bennett Field, requesting him to try to keep the ‘angel’ from going away. The angel referred to is a twin-motored Douglass amphibian Coast Guard plane manned by Lt. Perry S. Lyons and a crew of four. The plane and crew have been at the Brooklyn airport since July 15, but no one seemingly has been aware of the fact. The plane has located lost ships, captured smugglers, removed ill persons from liners to hospitals and has just returned from the hurricane area in Florida, where it aided in locating lost communities, missing persons and dead bodies. And not a word appeared in any of the papers! This service, according to present plans, is to be discontinued Oct. 15. Word of this reached the numerous yacht clubs which have been protected by the plane and, as a result, Mr. Behr has received a large number of letters requesting him to ask Washington officials to permit the service to continue throughout the year. Interviewed at the airport yesterday, Lieutenant Lyons asked that the public be informed of the work done by the plane so that more people could avail themselves of the service.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1939, the Eagle reported, “The election machinery for County Judge William O’Dwyer — Democratic D.A. candidate — officially got under way the other day when the judge conferred with Aaron Jacoby, his campaign manager.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1951, the Eagle reported, “New precedents were expected to be set in the Police Departmental trial today of 34 suspended officers on charges of protecting Harry Gross’ bookmaking empire, with the jobs and pensions of the men at stake. Scheduled to get under way in Brooklyn Police Headquarters and open to the public, there was a possibility that the trial would reveal for the first time the names of the men named in grand jury testimony by Gross as his protectors. The rules of evidence in a departmental trial are not the same as a trial in County Court, where the case was thrown out when Gross clammed up. There was a question today as to whether Gross’ ‘live’ testimony would be necessary to determine the guilt or innocence of the men. District Attorney Miles McDonald has made available to the trial judge, 3rd Deputy Police Commissioner Aaron Frank, all the witnesses scheduled to be called in the recent trial in County Court, at which Gross refused to testify. Gross got five years in jail for his balk in County Court and an additional 12 years when he showed up for sentencing in Special Sessions Court yesterday on his plea of guilty to 65 bookmaking counts and one of conspiracy. It was at this session that District Attorney McDonald read excerpts of Gross’ testimony about how he bought police protection for $1,000,000 a year. The names were deleted at the last moment by County Judge Samuel Leibowitz, who intimated that they may be brought out in the departmental trial starting today.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “And God Created Woman” star Brigitte Bardot, who was born in 1934; “Eight Men Out” director John Sayles, who was born in 1950; “Supreme Courtship” author Christopher Buckley, who was born in 1952; Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Largent, who was born in 1954; Dokken guitarist George Lynch, who was born in 1954; “Reality Bites” star Janeane Garofalo, who was born in 1964; Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino, who was born in 1967; “The Ring” star Naomi Watts, who was born in 1968; former N.Y. Knicks point guard Jose Calderon, who was born in 1981; former NBA player Emeka Okafor, who was born in 1982; “Lizzie McGuire” star Hilary Duff, who was born in 1987; and “The Babysitter” star Hana Mae Lee, who was born in 1988.

Janeane Garofalo
Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP

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QUEEN OF THE COURT: Alice Marble was born on this day in 1913. The California native won 18 Grand Slam tennis titles from 1936 to 1940 and was the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1939 and 1940. During World War II, she was a spy for U.S. intelligence and was shot in the back. In 1950, she contributed to the desegregation of tennis when she voiced support for Althea Gibson. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964 and died in 1990.

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KING OF THE DIAMOND: On this day in 1941, Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams had a batting average of .400. Rather than sit out a doubleheader to protect the milestone on the season’s last day, he played both games against the Philadelphia Athletics. He went 4-for-5 in the first game and 2-for-3 in the second to finish at .406. He is the last player to hit .400 or higher in a season.

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

Quotable:

“In public relations, you live with the reality that not every disaster can be made to look like a misunderstood triumph.”

— author Christopher Buckley, who was born on this day in 1952