Ike Rides Wave of Popularity; Dodgers Call Up Reinforcements

Sept. 2, 1959: A story about President Eisenhower's European trip marking the 20th anniversary of Hitler's invasion of Poland notes that he remains popular. But look at what's happening in the country as Ike prepares to leave office: The prime rises half a point to 5%, the highest rate in 28 years (1931) ... and a deficit, though small, is forecast for the national budget.

The Times spent a lot of space covering the sentencing of two women convicted on misdemeanor charges stemming from the eviction of Chavez Ravine residents to clear way for the Dodgers' new ballpark. Here's my problem with that. This is a story The Times covered (I believe) only because it became a huge television story. You couldn't ignore the pictures. Covering the judge's lecture was an obvious way to paint two Chavez Ravine residents as villains in the drama. This from a paper that had spent years ignoring the Chavez Ravine neighborhood and its residents while taking every opportunity to push reasons why a ballpark should be built Makes me wonder how many other misdemeanor cases were covered so thoroughly. I think I know the answer. -- Keith Thursby Should I see "North by Northwest" at the Picwood or the Panorama in Van Nuys? Never mind, let's go see Robert Mitchum and Linda Darnell in "Second Chance." It's interesting to note that the original display ads featured Cary Grant and the crop duster, one of the classic sequences in film.

Meet Ho Chi Minh, communist leader of North Viet-Nam. You'll be hearing more about him. Troubling economic news -- and wedding bells for Ernest Borgnine and Katy Jurado.   Isn't Mr. Pilsnerhead great? I particularly like the little bow tie.

The Gallup Poll surveys America's attitudes on gun control. Remember that this is before the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the resulting Gun Control Act, which took effect in December 1968. Note the attitudes toward gun ownership in the South compared with the rest of the country. Rep. Williams, a Mississippi Democrat, takes a stand against Khrushchev's visit. The jukebox and bongo drums at the Gas House in Venice aren't culture! "She Will! You Can Be Sure of That!"

The Dodgers called up some minor league reinforcements who turned out to have staying power. Frank Howard, Norm Sherry and Bob Lillis were among the September call-ups. The Times' Frank Finch reported that team officials also were considering elevating Tommy Davis, who was leading the Pacific Coast League in hitting. Now that's some farm system. -- Keith Thursby

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy

"Love is not an easy feeling to put into words. Nor is loyalty, or trust, or joy. But he was all of these. He loved life completely and lived it intensely."

June 9, 1968: The Times' obituary of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) describes him delivering the eulogy for his brother Robert. Above is the full text.

State Tax Plan; Dodger Breaks Ankle, April 9, 1969

Tommy Davis was a star with the Dodgers, a two-time National League batting champion. Then everything changed with one slide. Davis was headed toward second in a 1965 game at Dodger Stadium, a routine play that forever slowed his career. Davis broke his ankle trying to slide into second and although he played again, the batting champion became a well-traveled hitter with a promising past. Davis said he "didn't know how it happened. I thought there was going to be a play on me and I came up with a new kind of slide. When I looked down, I thought my ankle was in right field." He won consecutive batting titles by hitting .346 in 1962 and .326 in '63. But the Dodgers traded him to the Mets after the 1966 season. By 1969, Davis was starting over again with the first-year Seattle Pilots. The Times' Mitch Chortkoff visited with the former Dodger, who still had good things to say about his old team. "I've been with four teams but the Dodgers are still special to me," he said. "I think they have a chance to be real good this year. When I heard they had won their opener I was happy for them." His new manager, Joe Schulz, planned to play him regularly. But by August he was on the move again, to Houston. There would be more stops, including a brief stint with the Angels in 1976. --Keith Thursby

The Rosey Grier Show, March 16, 1969

Los Angeles Times file photo The Fearsome Foursome: Merlin Olsen, David "Deacon" Jones, Lamar Lundy and Rosey Grier make their singing debut on "Shindig," 1965.

Rosey Grier is no one-dimensional ex-football player. He's well known as a singer, needlepoint enthusiast and sometime actor who became an associate of Robert F. Kennedy during the late senator's run for the presidency in 1968. In 1969, Grier had become the star of a weekly show on Channel 7, which The Times' Ray Loynd said was "designed as a personal showcase and the obligatory look of today ... framed by Grier's random efforts 'to reach all the kids I can. I dig kids. I really dig 'em.' " Grier had been a defensive lineman for the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams, and a member of the Rams' Fearsome Foursome that included Hall of Famers Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen. Grier certainly was not the first Los Angeles athlete to find his way into television or movies, but Grier might have been the most talented. Duke Snider on "The Rifleman" he was not. "I started singing gospels when I was 5 in Benevolence, Ga.," he told Loynd. "When I left I took my whole roots with me. I haven't been back." Grier briefly recounted his relationship with Kennedy. "We've forgotten the great need of a man like Kennedy," Grier said. "We should care more, not wait for tragedy to bring up our need to love one another." -- Keith Thursby

James Earl Ray Gets 99 Years for Killing King; Angels Want Ex-Dodger, March 11, 1969

Black militants shut down two schools in protests over police brutality ... and gold is selling for $48.41 an ounce or $270.94 USD 2007.

"It was the first time I ever killed a man in hand-to-hand combat," Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Joe Hooper says. Sirhan B. Sirhan deteriorates under stress, psychologist testifies.

Photograph by Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times Frank Howard, Oct. 19. 1963

The Angels tried to pull off a blockbuster trade for a big hitter. A very big hitter. Former Dodger Frank Howard was holding out for a new deal after leading the American League in home runs. So new Angels general manager Dick Walsh, also a former Dodger, put together a package of players for the Washington Senators to consider. He even added $100,000 to his offer of catcher Tom Satriano, outfielder Vic Davalillo, pitcher Clyde Wright and a choice of Roger Repoz, Chuck Hinton or Chuck Cottier. Howard, who was listed at 6-7, obviously was a towering presence at the plate. He came up with the Dodgers at the start of their Los Angeles years and was the National League's rookie of the year in 1960, but was traded to Washington in 1964. Pitcher Claude Osteen was the key player sent to the Dodgers. What kind of deal was Howard looking for after hitting 44 home runs in 1968? According to The Times, Howard wanted a three-year contract for $100,000 a year but would settle for one year at $125,000. There was speculation that new Washington Manager Ted Williams would want Howard to change his batting stance despite leading the league in home runs. Asked what he would do with Howard on the Angels, Manager Bill Rigney told The Times' Ross Newhan, "If I were to say anything now it would be construed as tampering. No, indeed, there is no reason ever, anywhere, to tamper with Howard." The trade to the Angels never happened -- Howard hit 48 home runs for the Senators in 1969 and 44 in 1970. Walsh eventually acquired another former Dodger from the Senators, Ken McMullen, who had been one of the Dodgers traded with Howard to Washington in 1964. Howard might not have been a big difference -- pun intended -- for the Angels and he might not have hit as many home runs in Anaheim. But he certainly would have brought some excitement to Angels teams that were pretty miserable in the pre-Nolan Ryan years. Just ask the few of us who regularly attended Anaheim Stadium in the late 1960s. -- Keith Thursby

Outbursts in Sirhan Trial; Dodgers Promote Lasorda, February 27, 1969

Now those are some bell bottoms. If you don't remember them, ask your mom.

Nixon to address West German parliament. At left, more oil washes ashore near Santa Barbara, but it's unclear whether this is from the original spill or a new one. General Motors announces the largest recall in U.S. auto history. A defense attorney and Judge Herbert V. Walker warn Sirhan B. Sirhan to control his outbursts. Walker says that if Sirhan doesn't calm down he might be physically restrained in court. And officials release the names of five people who were killed by a mudslide that crashed onto a firehouse in Silverado Canyon where Orange County residents had sought shelter.

Kevin Thomas interviews Fritz Lang about Dr. Mabuse for a showing at UCLA. Inscribed on Lang's bar: "Takes a long freight train with a red caboose to carry my blues away." "When I invented 'The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse' it gave the chance to put all the Nazi slogans in the mouth of an insane criminal and kill him off."

The Dodgers' new Triple-A manager was a real fighter. "We had about eight real good brawls at Ogden last year," Tom Lasorda told The Times' Mitch Chortkoff. "I like a good scrapping team. ... We led the league in wins, fights and police escorts." Lasorda was headed to Spokane to take over the Dodgers' Pacific Coast League team, expected to be filled with such prospects as Bill Buckner, Steve Garvey (still considered a third baseman) and Bobby Valentine. Lasorda was no stranger to the PCL, having played in the league back when the Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars were feuding. Lasorda told Chortkoff about an incident pitching for the Angels against the Stars' Forrest Jacobs. "He was sore at me and he laid a bunt down the first-base line, " he said. "You've seen it so many times. The pitcher comes over to field the ball and the bunter runs him down. Only I played it a little different. Instead of going for the ball I threw a body block at Jacobs. All hell broke loose after that." Chortkoff had an interesting line about Lasoda's future: "There are some baseball people who believe that Lasorda will be the successor to Walter Alston as the Dodger manager--if, that is, he can control his temper." Lasorda's response? "I only know that I have to be myself. ... I want my team to develop a dislike for the opponents. That's the only way they'll play to their potential." --Keith Thursby

Arabs on Alert, Baseball Strike? February 20, 1969

Nancy Sinatra ... in WAX!

To simulate prejudice, brunet students eat at a table designed "No Blondes." At left, Arab countries prepare for retaliation for a terrorist attack on an El Al airliner at Zurich. Also... Take the time to read Robert Kistler's excellent nondupe on a police officer's view of the changing culture within the LAPD after the Watts Riots. We evidently didn't use his actual name, but called him "Paul Anderson." The article explores what Chief Tom Reddin called "the terrible tightrope." "The tightrope stretches between the 'hard-nosed' policing of minorities of the pre-1965 era [the William Parker years--lrh] and efforts to open channels of communication between police and minorities today," Kistler says.

"The old ways aren't going to be continued, and as an officer you either 'get with it' or get off." "Don't get the wrong impression. None of us is going to be namby- pamby out there."

Scientists study oil spill. After he shot Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan B. Sirhan was "enormously composed." "Amid this hurricane of sound and feeling, he seemed like the eye of the hurricane.... He seemed purged," according to George Plimpton, testifying for the prosecution in Sirhan's trial. Gov. Ronald Reagan reveals the source of his statement that a dean at San Francisco State was forced at knifepoint to admit a group of black students.  Pueblo crewman Lt. (jg) Timothy Harris describes his treatment by  North Korean captors.

Ro$ale$? Oh you sports guys! Rayco eight-track stereo, $49.95! Spring training or strike? Players and owners were battling over how much money should be contributed to the pension fund. Most of the player representatives had rejected the owners' latest offer, but several current or future high-profile players were reporting for workouts. "I expect there will be some resentment that I'm going to work out, but I need the work," Nolan Ryan told United Press International. Ryan was coming off a 6-9 season with the Mets and weighed 210 pounds, compared with 195 at the end of the season. "I suppose the other players will be clipping my remarks and putting them on the wall and throwing darts at them, but I am ready to go and I might have eight practice fields all to myself," said the Braves' Pat Jarvis. George Scott of the Red Sox hadn't reported yet but would be in camp next week. "Some of the players can afford to go without a salary, but the majority can't and I'm one of them," he said. "I'm supporting my wife and my mother, two households, really." The Angels' player representative, second baseman Bobby Knoop, tried to put the potential labor dispute in perspective. Knoop told The Times' Ross Newhan on Feb. 2: "Perhaps some of this seems insignificant to the public. But we are not talking about a job that lasts for 20 or 30 years. The average player goes from day to day. At 32 or 33, he's looking for something else." -- Keith Thursby

Sirhan Trial, February 15, 1969

A Navy inquiry into the Pueblo incident, Gabby Hayes dies, a landslide closes the Pomona Freeway and the State Board of Education decides that a school is racially imbalanced if there's a 15% difference from the racial makeup of youngsters in the surrounding neighborhood.

Opening Statements in Sirhan Trial; Injured Angel Makes Comeback, February 14, 1969

The prosecution makes opening statements in the trial of Sirhan B. Sirhan in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Out of curiosity, how many Daily Mirror readers would be interested in following his trial? I hadn't planned on it, but it's possible.

"Kennedy must be assassinated before June 5." And the May Co. opens a Carlsbad store. A Democratic group supports Councilman Tom Bradley in his race against Mayor Sam Yorty.

Michael Sarne's "Joanna" at the Fox Village in Westswood. At left, Kevin Thomas interviews Vincent Minnelli, who is directing "On a Clear Day" with Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand. Above, a clip from "Bullitt," playing at the Pix Theatre, Hollywood near Vine. Love the sound of those engines!

Jim Murray and Mormon golfer Bill Casper visit the Joseph Smith farm in New York.

Baseball's expansion years are perfect times for comeback stories. Former Angel third baseman Paul Schaal was one of those players hoping for a fresh start. Schaal, a promising young player on some bad Angel teams, had been beaned in 1968 by Boston's Jose Santiago and spent 12 days in the hospital and months trying to get his balance back. The Times' Mitch Chortkoff visited with Schaal as he worked out at Huntington Beach High, readying for the Kansas City Royals' first spring training. "The count was 0-2. Both pitches were outside curves, but I had swung at one," Schaal said. "I had looked pretty bad. I thought [Santiago] would throw me another one." Schaal said he leaned out over the plate and Santiago threw a fastball. Schaal's 1968 season actually ended as a pinch-hitter against Boston. "I hit a fly ball to right field and as I ran down the baseline I tried to look at the ball," Schaal said. "Suddenly I began wobbling. That kind of scared me." The Angels let him go in the expansion draft. His best season in Kansas City statistically was 1971 with 11 home runs and a .274 average. He finished his career in 1974 with the Angels. "I'm sorry to leave the Angels, but expansion brings a lot of opportunities for ballplayers," he told Chortkoff. "I'm happy to be getting another chance." -- Keith Thursby

RFK-postscripts

Los Angeles Times file photo Antiwar demonstrators fight with Chicago police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
	At left, former Vice President Richard M. Nixon wins the Republican nomination for the 1968 presidential race. He selects Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew as his running mate.
Los Angeles Times file photo The 1968 Democratic ticket: Vice President Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota and Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine.
	Humphrey wins the nomination, provoking boos and catcalls when he mentions President Lyndon Johnson. Humphrey says of the violence in Chicago: "We do not want a police state, but we do need a state of law and order. Neither mob violence nor police brutality have any place in America."
	Los Angeles Times file photo Richard Nixon is elected president, Nov. 9, 1968, promising peace with honor in Vietnam.
	Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is convicted and sentenced to the gas chamber May 21, 1969. His sentence is commuted to life in prison when the California Supreme Court overturns the death penalty in 1972.
Los Angeles Times file photo Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and President Richard M. Nixon are reelected in 1972. Agnew is charged with income tax evasion and resigns Oct. 10, 1973, to be replaced by Rep. Gerald R. Ford. Nixon resigns Aug. 8, 1974, over the Watergate scandal, making Ford president. On April 23, 1975, Ford declares the Vietnam War over. Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese on April 30, 1975.
Los Angeles Times Photograph	In 2006, the Los Angeles Unified School District finishes demolition of the Ambassador Hotel despite efforts by the Los Angeles Conservancy to save the landmark. A $4-million settlement with the Conservancy clears the way for destruction  of the Cocoanut Grove. Email me