Movie star kisses 1-millionth visitor to park, October 20, 1958

Pacific Ocean Park, 1958 - 1975

 

Civil Service chief arrested, card players held in vice crackdown, October 13, 1938

At left,  the general manager of the city's Civil Service Commis- sion is arrested on charges of tampering with the final results of employment tests. Police Chief James Davis calls a meeting to tell captains  to focus on serious vice and gambling cases after 14 elderly men are arrested for playing rummy in Westlake (MacArthur) Park. And the San Francisco Mint begins making Jefferson nickels.

In sports, former shortstop Leo Durocher is signed to manage the Brooklyn Dodgers, succeeding Burleigh Grimes. Durocher says that had it not been for the recent death of his father it would be the happiest moment of his life. On a somber note, Durocher adds that Babe Ruth had not "been available" for a coaching job. "Dad always said he would like to see me a big league manager, but he didn't." --Leo Durocher And wrestler Bronko Nagurski defeats Sandor Szabo at the Olympic ...

LA turns 157, September 5, 1938

Capt. Eugene Plummer is featured in a story about Plummer Park in West Hollywood. According to the caption, the revolver he's holding belonged to Joaquin Murietta. View Larger Map

At left, Mayor Frank Shaw and actor Leo Carrillo help celebrate Los Angeles' 157th birthday. The activities include a 28-mile marathon around the perimeter of the original settlement as well as a national radio broadcast from the Avila Adobe. Speaking of Frank Shaw, you would never know from The Times that he was facing a recall election. The only mention is on the editorial page: "The recall fight has to stoop to get under the subway."  Take a look at Joaquin Murietta's revolver. It appears to be a 12-shot. In sports, Times columnist Bill Henry files a report from the 1938 Davis Cup in Philadelphia. Henry writes about the bad luck of Pomona's Joan Bigler, who injured her eye with a curling iron on the eve of her semifinal match with Helen Bernhard ... Ben Hogan and Vic Ghezzi take the Hershey tournament with Paul Runyan and Sam Snead finishing second. It's the first of Hogan's 64 career tournaments. Aviator Douglas "Wrong Way" Corringan takes an at-bat from Charlie Root during a game between the Cubs and the Reds at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, hits a foul ball--and runs to third base.

US relaxes immigration law for Jewish refugees, Greenberg leads Babe Ruth, August 29, 1938

I've never made a scientific survey, but it wouldn't surprise me if Eugene Biscailuz were the most photographed sheriff in the history of Los Angeles County. The man certainly knew how to get his picture in the paper. The trophy is being held by USC low-hurdle star Earl Vickery, left, and pole valuter Kenny Dills.

At left, the U.S. is accepting Jewish refugees from Europe at the rate of 100 a day. The AP story notes that the refugees have no money but are being assisted by Jewish aid groups. Also note: Germany's Catholic bishops denounce the Nazis, though not by name. The bishops say all Catholic books are censored, banned or confiscated.  Above, if you look hard enough you really can find African Americans in The Times. In sports, the Angels beat the Stars in the final double-header of the "Civil War series" ... Hank Greenberg hits his 45th homer of the season as Detroit wins against Boston, 4-3 ... Greenberg's run in the Tigers' 118th/119th game puts him ahead of Babe Ruth's 1927 season, when Ruth had hit 39 runs in 118 games.

Police kill man, rock 'n' roll, Dodgers win, August 21, 1958

 

Hula Hoops and Dick Clark at the Hollywood Bowl (with Rod McKuen!) Jan and Arnie ("Jennie Lee," "The Beat That Can't Be Beat")? The Six Teens ("A Casual Look")? These are not names that are familiar to me. Hey Sheb Wooley! "Purple People Eater!"

Here's a story that's particularly curious. Police officers kill an ex-convict identified as Nathaniel Calvin Spates during a robbery. We run it on Page 1 with a big headline and the next day--nothing. In fact, not a word ever appears as a follow-up. Very suspicious. I would have to look at the other papers to be sure, but I wonder whether he was African American. As usual, only the front page got into the microfilmed edition. The jump is missing so we don't have most of the story. It would be interesting to see what the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel did with this story. The 10 Arab nations in the U.N. announce that they have a peace plan for the Middle East ... A 10-day-old Teamsters strike shuts down trucking throughout the West ... President Eisenhower announces that he will enforce desegregation orders. In sports, the Dodgers beat the Braves ... The Cubs and the Pirates split a double-header. After losing, 4-2, the Cubs take the second half, 5-1, when the game is called in the fifth inning on account of rain and darkness. Times Sports Editor Paul Zimmerman writes a tribute to the late columnist Ned Cronin, imitating his stuttering: "III'm the orororatorical eeqquivalent ttto ttthe bbblocked pppunt."

Engineer Bill plays 'Red Light, Green Light'

Return to the days of the "Get Well Bell" with a clip of the late William "Engineer Bill" Stulla. Pour yourself a glass of milk and be careful not to spill! And be sure to close the refrigerator door, engineers. "On the green light, you go. On the red light, you stop. For no engineer will ever run on a red light." Below, a story about a 1976 reunion of Sheriff John Rovick, Engineer Bill Stulla, Jimmy "Webster Webfoot" Weldon, Skipper Frank Herman, Vance Colvig and Walker Edmiston.

Marines leave Lebanon, president seeks Middle East peace, August 13, 1958

e lead the nation in alcoholism, according to The Times' Harry Nelson. You can just call California "the intoxicated state." But 25.73 gallons of alcohol for every resident age 15 and older? Wow. President Eisenhower will address the U.N. General Assembly with a plan for peace in the Middle East. Sources say Eisenhower is going to request a permanent U.N. peacekeeping force in the Mideast. Meanwhile, 1,700 Marines leave Lebanon, but 13,000 Marines and Army troops remain, The Times says ... The mushroom cloud from the test of an atomic warhead over Johnston Island is visible more than 700 miles away in Hawaii ... And 31 juveniles are arrested on charges of curfew violations after officers raid a drag race set up at 5th Avenue and the Anaheim-Puente Road in San Dimas. The officers hoped to catch the racers in action, but were seen by lookouts, The Times says. In sports, the Cubs beat the Dodgers, 9-3, at the Coliseum ... Defensive end Paul Miller is diagnosed with a slipped disc, ending his season with the Rams.  The Times' Cal Whorton says Miller may never play football again. In fact, Miller returned in 1960 to play for two years for the American Football League's Dallas Texans, who traded him to the New York Titans.

Dog IQ test, August 10, 1958

How smart is your dog? Read the Gettysburg Address to your faithful friend and find out. No, I mean it! Answers below. No cheating, Princess!

       

US sub sails under polar ice cap, Dodgers win over Giants, August 9, 1958

 

he nuclear submarine Nautilus crosses beneath the polar ice cap and surfaces near Greenland ... The U.S. plans to withdrawn 2,000 Marines from Lebanon ... And U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold proposes a peace plan for the Middle East ...  On the runover, Cmdr. W.R. Anderson describes the ice cap: "At that point the ice, on the average, is in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 feet thick..... "During the summer months it will have wasted away on the average of 2 to 3 feet by this time of year. In the winter that amount will grow back. Now, ice in the Arctic Basin is in motion. Frequently it is under pressure due to winds and currents. It piles up on each other and forms pressure ridges. You see many, many pressure ridges from the projections down from the ice. Those will measure 50 feet in draft. On some occasions they will measure considerably more." Below, the Dodgers beat the Giants 6-3 in the Coliseum as umpire Shag (or "Swag" as we called him in this story) Crawford throws Walter Alston out of the game ... and the Rams play the Eagle Rock Athletic Club and the Orange County Rhinos in a benefit game at the Rose Bowl.

Movie executive hurt in crash; Cards beat Dodgers, August 5, 1958

 

The Dodgers lose to the Cardinals, 3-2 ... Willie Mays hits a home run to help the Giants beat the Cubs ... Producer Jack L. Warner is badly hurt when his car hits a truck in France ... Syria seals its border with Jordan. Film executive Jack L. Warner, 66, is hospitalized in Cannes after his Alfa Romeo hits a truck ... King Hussein of Jordan breaks off relations with the United Arab Republic and seals Jordan's border with Syria ... Officials begin inquiries into a rise in crime ... And a Teamsters business agent who had been called to testify in a crime investigation is soaked with a flammable liquid and set on fire.

The Redskins scrimmage at Occidental ... Pittsburgh beats the Braves with a home run by Roberto Clemente ... The Floyd Patterson-Roy Harris fight won't be broadcast on radio or TV because the bout is being filmed for closed-circuit viewing in movie theaters.

Giants win over Cubs, August 4, 1938

 

The Giants beat the Cubs, 8-3 ... Pittsburgh wins against Boston ... Bronko Nagurski flattens Gus Sonnenberg in wrestling ... beautifying downtown Los Angeles ... and Mayor Frank Shaw dismisses the upcoming recall recall election. Imagine this: There was a time when the north side of 1st Street between Spring and Broadway wasn't a bombed-out moonscape. Fit only for renegade skateboarders, the moldering foundations and remnants of pavement are the one place in downtown Los Angeles that makes Pershing Square look like Yosemite.

Bronko Nagurski wrestled? Who knew? King Kong Kashey? Dr. Patrick O'Callahan? These names are unfamiliar to me ... And Maxie Rosenbloom is in training for a "ten-round boxing ballet" against Broadway Bob Pastor.

July 15, 1938

From The Times' editorial page, July 16, 1938. Note the Bible passage.

e can add this to The Times' editorials against a federal anti-lynching law (not necessary) and offering refuge to people fleeing Nazi persecution (they would just go on welfare and take jobs away from Americans): What's all the fuss with a recall election? One thing that's evident about The Times' editorial pages in this era is that they were staunchly in favor of the status quo. Meanwhile, we seem to be in favor of a ballot initiative on working women that I don't entirely understand. Looks like some digging is in order.   At left, petitions are filed seeking to recall Mayor Frank Shaw. He says his opponents are a "disgruntled, discredited, hypocritical handful of politicians, racketeers and misguided zealots...." Los Angeles? Why it's the "white spot" of the nation! And we'd be willing to host the 1940 summer Olympics after Tokio was forced to withdraw because of the war between Japan and China.  Also ... Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes? Let me say that again: Katharine Hepburn and Howard Hughes? Email me Note to Jaded: It's not such a bargain. Adjusted for inflation, $13.33 is $190.61 USD 2007.