Retro holiday gift -- Yankees vs. Tigers, 1934

Of course, you could buy this broadcast, but it's free on archive.org. Listening to a 74-year-old baseball game may not be everybody's idea of entertainment, but it's fun to hear the announcer talk about Hank Greenberg and Lou Gehrig and speculate on whether Babe Ruth is going to play.

   

Flying saucer found in man's garage

After 38 years, a "lost" Hollywood artifact with a truly cosmic history has resurfaced and, no surprise, it's headed straight for the auction block. This Thursday, Dec. 11, the iconic flying saucer from the 1956 MGM classic "Forbidden Planet" will be auctioned off in Calabasas Hills and is expected to fetch anywhere between $80,000 and $120,000, which would be a nice, tidy payday for its owner, a North Carolina man who had the prop stored in his garage and didn't realize its market value. The silver saucer is 82 inches in diameter and constructed of wood, steel and fiberglass and, according to the Profiles in History auction house, it is "a marvel of 1950s engineering." That's because "the central landing base extends from the bottom of the craft by internal movement mechanisms with electric motor drive, as does the ladder and two conveyor-loading ramps." Read more by my colleague Geoff Boucher >>>

Dodgers' move pays off at the gate, December 10, 1958

Wow! Luger cuff links and matching tie clip. I mean ... wow!--lrh At left, a pair from an old EBay auction. I'll see if any more turn up. Just for the heck of it.

The Dodgers' move to Los Angeles made money for most of the National League. Frank Finch has a dry but telling story in The Times, breaking down how much each team benefited from the Dodgers' first season in the Coliseum. Overall Dodger attendance increased from 1,028,258 at Ebbets Field in 1957 to 1,845,556 at the Coliseum in 1958. Only the Phillies and the Reds didn't make more money going to Los Angeles, so the Dodgers paid the clubs to meet guarantees for their added travel expenses. "We took the average attendance of each club at Ebbets Field over the last five years and guaranteed them that much in the Coliseum," the Dodgers' Buzzie Bavasi told Finch. They had to pay Philadelphia about $9,000 and Cincinnati about $1,950. The trip to L.A. certainly increased travel budgets. Finch said some teams spent up to $30,000 more than the previous season. But revenues were way up too. What teams were popular? The Cardinals drew 280,563 in eight games which earned them $77,154.82, Finch said. And the Milwaukee Braves drew 376,760 and earned $103,609 for their games in Los Angeles. The Giants earned the biggest share from the Los Angeles receipts, $105,330.22 for drawing 383, 019 to their games in the Coliseum. --Keith Thursby

   

Cult leader killed in bombing of religious compound, December 10, 1958

American history presented as a lavish pageant, the only film directed by Anthony Quinn, who took over from the ailing  Cecil B. DeMille. With a great score by Elmer Bernstein.

View Larger Map

An ad published in The Times shortly before the explosion. Gardena OKs 7th poker parlor. Krishna Venta, seven of his followers and two former members are killed in a suicide bombing at the Fountain of the World compound in Box Canyon near Chatsworth. "Bits of flesh were found scattered through the area. The remains of the victims were virtually unidentifiable." A Ventura County sheriff's official says Ralph J.S. Muller and Peter Dumas Kamenoff left two rambling, hourlong tape recordings in which they promised to "bring Krishna to justice." The blast was so powerful that a woman who lived a mile away was knocked out of bed, The Times said. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn announces plans to build an art museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Hancock Park.  As one of its last acts, the Pacific Coast Conference lifts sanctions against the UCLA athletic program. UCLA was put on athletic probation in 1956 after revelations that athletes were receiving illegal payments.

Found on EBay -- Florentine Gardens

Here's one of the souvenir photos from the Florentine Gardens that occasionally turns up on EBay. It's listed as Buy It Now for $15.99.

Found on EBay -- Bullocks Wilshire

Here's still another Irene Lentz outfit from Bullocks Wilshire listed on EBay. It's listed as Buy It Now for $698.

Arsonists set fire to university offices, Colts win over Rams, December 9, 1968

The Rams were supposed to beat the Chicago Bears and then face the Baltimore Colts to determine the division championship. But a series of mistakes -- and the Bears -- got in the way as the Rams lost, 17-16. The most controversial error was made by the officials, who lost a down when the Rams were trying to drive for a winning field goal with less than a minute to play. The Rams were called for holding on a first-down pass play that fell incomplete. The Times' Mal Florence picks up the action: "Seemingly the Rams had a first down on their own 47, but the yard marker unaccountably read second down. You don't lose a down on such an infraction after the defense accepts the penalty." But the Rams did. "We have no excuses, no alibis," Coach George Allen said. According to Florence's story, Allen wasn't aware at the time that the Rams had lost a down. Commissioner Pete Rozelle suspended the officials, taking them out of contention for post-season games. Made sense, since the loss did the same thing to the Rams. -- Keith Thursby

Mayor refuses to give Senate committee secret files on LAPD funds, December 9, 1938

Los Angeles sizzles at 92 degrees and thousands of beach-goers went into the ocean, even though it was 64 degrees. The Soviet weather bureau says the North Pole has been warming up for the last 10 years.

Octopus saves student from drowning and ends up preserved in alcohol. Above, Mayor Fletcher Bowron and City Atty. Ray Chesbro refuse requests by the Senate Civil Rights Committee to turn over information on a secret police fund. The fund, which received $30,000 to $90,000 annually from the city budget, was originally used to fight bootlegging and drugs, but since the repeal of Prohibition, the money had been spent on secret investigations, The Times says. At left, police vice squads arrest 16 people in raids on bookmaking operations across the city. And Goodwill industries repairs dolls for Christmas presents. Goodwill repairs 5,000 dolls a year, The Times says.  Early Oscar buzz: An ad for "A Man to Remember" by Dalton Trumbo predicts an Academy Award! The Hollywood Stars are sold to a syndicate headed by Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurants, and Victor Ford Collins. I could say that under Cobb, the Stars were in their salad days--but it would be wrong.

Nuestro Pueblo -- 1st and Broadway

View Larger Map

Found on EBay -- Batchelder tile

	An EBay vendor is selling the two marked pieces of Batchelder tile at left, which appear to be part of the same design. Both are listed at $9.99, although there is a reserve. The top piece is listed here. The bottom piece is listed here. I suspect that they might be in the same design as the piece below, offered by a second dealer:

Senator, 66, to marry beauty queen, 22; baseball commissioner fired, December 8, 1968

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) plans to marry Miss South Carolina, 1965, Nancy Moore.

The Times ran a United Press International story predicting big changes for baseball in the wake of owners firing the commissioner, William D. Eckert. Possibilities included: -- Letting relief pitchers come in and out and back in games. -- Making intentional walks automatic. -- Having specialists who run for slow players or hit for pitchers. The only thing to see reality was the designated hitter rule, which started a few years later in the American League. They didn't ask me, but I would have voted for the automatic walks. A three-member committee was formed to come up with a plan. With baseball's speed, the group might still be meeting. -- Keith Thursby

L.A.'s confusing freeways, December 8, 1958

Beverly and La Cienega, home of pony rides for two generations of children. I believe Gales was on a different corner.

Note the Bible verse and the puzzling editorial cartoon. What was on the minds of Times' readers in 1958? It's all too familiar: Healthcare costs, confusing freeways and poor city planning. "Politicians have good reasons for kissing babies. These are the little angels who will be taxed to pay for the local and foreign aid programs, the public power and housing projects and the other endless giveaways and handouts used by politicians to snag votes and bring victory at the polls."