1904 - The St. Regis Hotel in New York City opened this day. It was the first hotel to have individual air conditioning and heating in every room. Colonel John Jacob Astor IV also introduced other ‘modern’ conveniences at the St. Regis: telephones in every room, a fire alarm system, mail chutes on each floor, and one of the first central vacuum systems -- all the maids had to do was plug their vacuum cleaner’s hose into sockets situated throughout the hotel.
1927 - Lloyd Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a short fly ball that hit inside the foul line and bounced into the stands. It was a home run, according to the rules at the time. Ironically, Waner’s brother, Paul, came to bat next and did the same thing -- for another home run. Today, a similar hit would be called a ground rule double. (Lloyd and Paul are both in the Baseball Hall of Fame.)
1928 - An endurance test got underway for the Boston Braves. The team started a stretch that saw them playing nine doubleheaders in a row. It is doubtful that the person in charge of scheduling games lasted very long after that.
1928 - Wingy Manone recorded Downright Disgusted for Vocalion Records. Playing drums for Wingy was a young sideman named Gene Krupa.
1941 - The New York Yankees won their 12th American League baseball pennant. This was the earliest any American League team had clinched the title.
1945 - The American flag was raised on Wake Island after surrender ceremonies there. The Japanese garrison consisted of 1,200 men, all of whom returned to Japan in November 1945. During the Japanese occupation of Wake Island, Japanese casualties were over 2,700 (725 killed in action, 1,000 deaths from sickness or malnutrition, and 1000 sick and wounded who were evacuated during July 1945).
1949 - The longest pro tennis match in history was played. Pancho Gonzales and Ted Schroeder played 67 games in five sets.
1950 - Mort Walker’s comic strip Beetle Bailey first appeared in a just a few newspapers. The feature was soon bought and syndicated by King Features and is noted as the last strip personally approved by William Randolph Hearst. Beetle debuted as a college cutup, but with the U.S. entry into the Korean conflict, Beetle enlisted in the Army, and the rest is comic-strip history. "Beetle Bailey" went on to become the third most widely distributed comic strip of all time. His error proved a blessing in disguise, as readers of more than 1,800 newspapers around the world can attest today.
Chris Long Haired Wolf in his regalia
No comments:
Post a Comment