November 29: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

November 29, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1924, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “BRUSSELS, NOV. 29 (AP) — Giacomo Puccini, famous operatic composer, died at noon today from a throat infection following an operation. The death of the composer was due directly to a heart attack … Puccini was one of the few composers of recent times whose opera successes were both numerous and lasting. As to numbers, he is matched only by Massenet, but so far as frequency of performances is concerned, the Italian composer far surpasses the Frenchman, in America, at least. Giulio Gatti-Cassazza, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera House, once said Puccini was the most popular composer with Americans.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1934, the Eagle reported, “Army and Navy commandeer the attention of the football world next Saturday, for theirs is the most colorful of all American sports spectacles. Theirs is the game which is crackled out, play by play, over the air, to be relayed by short wave to China Station, to the Canal Zone, to Pearl Harbor and to embassies and ministries all over the world. They put on the smart, wooden soldier marching before the game on the sod of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field and their cadenced roars, howls and yells are by all odds the most ear-splitting and awe-begetting of the thunders uttered by any American institutions of the higher learning. Generals and admirals for two and a half hours forget military decorum and behave like run-of-the-mine old grads. Even the age-old quibble which is the senior service is ignored in the overpowering urge to root on the one side to beat the other.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1944, the Eagle said, “The people who, if today is anything like yesterday, are at this moment straining against the ropes that are keeping them from overpopulating the Astor Theater won’t be disappointed when they finally do get in to see M-G-M’s ‘Meet Me in St. Louis.’ It’s a jolly film, rich in the flavor of the hearty home life of the year 1903 and its problems concern the amount of vinegar to be put into homemade ketchup and Judy Garland’s chances of getting the boy next door to kiss her good-night. In Technicolor, and ending in a flurry of Christmas, it’s a natural for popularity, particularly at this season.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1946, the Eagle reported, “Turkey — the fowl, that is — was carved up like a wartime map of Europe as thousands of Brooklynites celebrated another peaceful Thanksgiving yesterday, aided in great measure by perfect weather and a plentiful supply of traditional foods. In private homes and hospitals, prisons and public institutions, tables were loaded heavily with holiday dinners as the average American and the less fortunate celebrated the oldest of American customs — giving thanks for a harvest which helped to feed a band of pioneers and which today helps feed much of the world. The process of Thanksgiving also was observed at church services held throughout the borough for members of all the faiths. Many churches held individual services but a number of others combined their congregations for the holiday rites. While the military uniform has virtually disappeared from the borough streets, the valiant sons and daughters confined to local service hospitals were not forgotten in the general round of feasting and partying.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1968, the Brooklyn Spectator reported, “Radarman Seaman Apprentice Frederick D. McDonald, USN, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred McDonald of 42nd St., is serving aboard the anti-submarine warfare support aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in the Pacific. The entire NBC-TV ‘Get Smart’ crew was aboard the carrier for a two-day filming session. Scheduled to be ‘aired’ in early December, the story centers around the two-week active duty tours of the ‘chief’ and ’86.’ During the episode, ‘Out of Control,’ many Yorktown crewmen are seen at their jobs. The carrier is back to normal now, conducting the highly technical job of qualifying Navy pilots in aircraft carrier landings.”

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include “Rambling Rose” star Diane Ladd, who was born in 1935; trumpeter and composer Chuck Mangione, who was born in 1940; Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals), who was born in 1942; National Ski Hall of Famer Suzy Chaffee, who was born in 1946; “Lost” star Jeff Fahey, who was born in 1952; writer and activist Chirlane McCray, who was born in 1954; “St. Elsewhere” star Howie Mandel, who was born in 1955; former N.Y. Mets third baseman Howard Johnson, who was born in 1960; “Raging Bull” star Cathy Moriarty, who was born in 1960; “NYPD Blue” star Kim Delaney, who was born in 1961; “St. Elmo’s Fire” star Andrew McCarthy, who was born in 1962; “Iron Man” star Don Cheadle, who was born in 1964; former “Saturday Night Live” star Ellen Cleghorne, who was born in 1965; Baseball Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, who was born in 1969; “Scary Movie” star Anna Faris, who was born in 1976; and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, who was born in 1988.

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FOR THE RECORD: Charles Thomson was born on this day in 1729. The Ireland native was America’s first official record keeper and was chosen as secretary of the First Continental Congress on Sept. 5, 1774. Thomson recorded proceedings for 15 years and delivered his journals together with tens of thousands of records to the federal government in 1789. It was Thomson who notified George Washington of his election as president. He died in 1824.

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FIELD OF BATTLE: The first Army-Navy football game took place on this day in 1890. Navy won 24-0. Red Emrich scored four touchdowns (worth four points each) and kicked two field goals (worth two points each), and Moulton Johnson added the other touchdown to account for all the scoring.

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

Quotable:

“Losing feels worse than winning feels good.”

— former Brooklyn Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, who was born on this day in 1927