Tuesday-Wednesday, October 4-5, 2005

"Who's a bum ?...

That was the New York Daily News headline in one of the greatest front page headlines of all-time. It appeared along with a sketch of a bum (used frequently in those days) that signified the Brooklyn Dodgers or the Bums when they lost. On October 4th, 1955 the Dodgers were no longer bums, winning their first World Series. Beating the perennial cross-town rival Yankees made it that much sweeter for Dodger fans...

Riza Vettor of Boynton Beach, Florida reminds us of a time when "baseball was as important as breathing", an apt description of New York City baseball in the 50s. As I told my sister yesterday, you'll like today's blog a lot better than 'The Shot Heard Round The World" of October 3rd. Am I right, Sis ?...

For the record, The Dodgers beat the Yankees in 7 games with 23-year old lefty Johnny Podres pitching a brilliant 2-0 shutout in game 7 played at Yankee Stadium. As good as Podres was, the hero of the game was little known outfielder Sandy Amoros who made a great catch of a Yogi Berra line drive down the leftfield line with 2 on and no one out. Racing at top speed Amoros stuck out his glove spearing the ball and then firing it back to the infield to double up Gil McDougald trying to get back to first base. That play broke the back of the Yankee rally and essentially put the Dodgers in the driver's seat as they cruised to their first world championship...

The 1955 World Series title was the only one the Brooklyn Dodgers every won. They lost to the Yankees in 1956 and in 1957, seeking a new park with plenty of parking in a better neighborhood, team owner Walter O'Malley announced that he had found that about 3,000 miles away in Chavez Ravine, California. Brooklyn would never forgive him for that...

More October 4 Memories...

1931) "Dick Tracy" makes its debut in the Detroit Daily Mirror...

1956) "Playhouse 90" premieres on CBS-TV...

1957) "Leave It To Beaver" debuts on CBS-TV...

1957) Russia launches "Sputnik I", the first manmade satellite to orbit the earth...

1959) Bobby Darin takes "Mack The Knife" to the top of the charts...

1963) The Los Angeles Dodgers sweep the Yankees in 4 games behind the brilliant pitching of Sandy Koufax...

1964) Patriot kicker Gino Cappelletti is 6 for 6 in field goals against the Broncos...

1965) The Beatles are #1 with "Yesterday"...

1965) Pope Paul VI becomes the first reigning pontiff to travel to North America when he flies to New York for an address to the U.N. General Assembly...

1967) For the first time in 21 years, the Red Sox are in the World Series but they lose game I, 2-1 to the Cardinals at Fenway Park...

1969) Crosby, Stills & Nash release their tribute to Judy Collins, "Suite:Judy Blue Eyes"...

1970) Janis Joplin's body is found in a Hollywood hotel room. "Pearl" dies of a heroin overdose at 27...

1976) Barbara Walters joins Harry Reasoner at the anchor desk of the "ABC Evening News"...

1980) "Another One Bites The Dust" is #1 for Queen...

1986) "What's the frequency Kenneth" is the question posed to Dan Rather as he's mugged in New York City...

1991) The Rangers receive Mark Messier in a trade with Edmonton...

1994) South African President Nelson Mandela is welcomed to the White House by President Clinton...

2001) A photo editor at The Sun inhales anthrax and dies the following day...

2002) John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban" receives a 20-year sentence...

2002) Richard Reid pleads quilty in Boston to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with his shoe bomb...

Happy Birthday to...

1917) Comedian Jan Murray...

1923) Charlton Heston...

1944) LaBelle member Nona Hendryx...

1944) Patti LaBelle...

1946) Susan Sarandon...

1976) Alicia Silverstone...

Wednesday, October 5, 2005...

"Hooray for Captain Spaulding"...

If you ever wondered what the name of the theme song for 50s quiz show "You Bet Your Life" was, you don't have to wonder anymore. "Captain Spaulding" taken from one of the Marx Brothers' movies was the name of the tune that opened and closed every show...

"You Bet Your Life" debuted on October 5, 1950 as a vehicle for Groucho Marx's immense comic talent and it proved to be just that. Each weekly show would feature a "secret word", "a common word, something you see everyday" as Groucho and the drop-down image of the Marx brother as a stuffed duck would tell us. A contestant would win $100 if they somehow mentioned the word in their many times, hilarious conversation with Groucho. If a contestant failed to win any money in the quiz, a consolation prize was awarded for questions like "Who's buried in Grant's Tomb ?"...

"You Bet Your Life" gave us laughs for 11 years, ending in 1961. Groucho, the quick-witted master of comedy, would live till the age of 86, passing away in 1977...

More October 5 Memories...

1967) Carl Yastrzemski hits 2 home runs leading the 'Impossible Dream' Red Sox to a 5-0 shutout victory for Jim Lonborg to even the World Series with the Cardinals at 1-1...

1968) "White Room" by Cream is released...

1968) Steppenwolf releases "Magic Carpet Ride"...

1969) The Who appear on "The Ed Sullivan Show"...

1970) Anwar Sadat replaces Gamal Abdel Nasser as President of Egypt...

1975) Harry Chapin releases "Cats in the Cradle"...

1982) The Devils tie the Penguins in their first game in the Meadowlands...

1983) Lech Walesa wins the Nobel Peace Prize...

1985) Grambling's Eddie Robinson becomes the winningest coach in college football history with his 324th win...

1988) In a vice-presidential debate, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen tells Republican Dan Quayle, "you're no Jack Kennedy"...

1989) Jim Bakker is convicted of using his television show to defraud his viewers...

1999) MCI and Sprint announce plans to merge...

2001) Barry Bonds sets a new mark for home runs by hitting #71 and 72 in a loss to the Dodgers...

Happy Birthday to...

1924) Bill Dana...

1941) Chantels lead singer Arlene Smith...

1943) Steve Miller...

1951) Karen Allen...

1954) Bob Geldof...

1957) Bernie Mac...

1975) Kate Winslet...

Commentary...

What stands out to me most about the Dodgers beating the Yankees in the 1955 World Series was feeling so bad about the team I rooted for in my youth losing to the team that represented the borough I was born and raised in. How's that for mixed-up loyalty ?

The other thing that comes to mind is watching parts of the 7th and final game in color in an appliance store window. It was the first time I had seen color tv and I was mesmerized by it. I was lucky or unlucky enough depending on how you felt about it, to see the Sandy Amoros catch in the 6th inning that would destroy any chances of the Yankees winning that game, another first for me for it was the first time I saw the Yankees lose the World Series...