Category Archives: 1961

Jim Murray, May 31, 1961

            May 31, 1961: Emile Griffith is a slashing boxer from the Virgin Islands whose waist is so narrow and shoulders so wide that he would have to go to a tailor for his suits … Continue reading

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Vote for Poulson!

    May 31, 1961: The Times publishes a Page 1 editorial urging readers to reelect Mayor Norris Poulson because Sam Yorty would “ruin good government.” Despite The Times’ aggressive endorsement of Poulson, voters elected Yorty, who was mayor until … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, City Hall, Politics | Comments Off on Vote for Poulson!

Jim Murray, May 28, 1961

          May 28, 1961: On the battlefields of baseball this year it has become quite evident that the Los Angeles Angels are the Serbs of the American League. They do not have the firepower to win … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 26, 1961

            May 26, 1961: There was in our midst this week a young man whom the pressures of baseball exploded like a too-tightly wound clock. Jim Piersall has lived out his baseball career on the … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 25, 1961

            May 25, 1961: Baseball fans may be a superstitious lot, but they’re nothing compared to the players and their mystic rites. Jim Murray says: “You can always tell a ball team on a winning … Continue reading

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Vice President Predicts ‘Long, Costly’ Struggle in Southeast Asia

May 24, 1961: Radio and TV comedy star Joan Davis dies of a heart attack and gets a Page 1 obituary with a jump. Raymond Chandler got an six-paragraph obituary on Page 4.  Davis was 48 when she died.

Posted in 1961, broadcasting, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Politics, Raymond Chandler, Television | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 24, 1961

        May 24, 1961: Donald George Bragg is depressed. In the first place, some young upstart had just broken his listed world record in the pole vault. In the second place, the upstart had done it using … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 23, 1961

        May 23, 1961: The Angels, who have a clear track to 10th place at the moment, are even ready for desperate measures. They are encouraging people to come out and root AGAINST them. I tested this … Continue reading

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Freedom Rider: ‘We Were All Prepared to Die’

        May 22, 1961:  Susan Herrmann, 20, an exchange student from Whittier College at Fisk University, Nashville, majoring in psychology, was one of two white girl "freedom riders" mobbed in Montgomery's race riot. Here is her account … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, Countdown to Watts | 5 Comments

Jim Murray, May 22, 1961

        May 22, 1961: A horse, left to his own devices, would no more run a race for his daily oats than you would wrestle the butcher two out of three for a pork chop. It's that … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 21, 1961

           May 21, 1961: Henry "Chip" Chafetz has put on the market a book titled "Play the Devil" — a history of gambling in this country which sets out to prove that the urge to gamble … Continue reading

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From the Drawing Board — Jack Clark

       May 20, 1960: Jim Murray has the day off, but I couldn’t pass up this artwork by Jack Clark. I can’t find anything about him in The Times' clips, but I’ll keep looking.

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Jim Murray, May 19, 1961

            May 19, 1961: Jim Murray revisits the 1960 crash of a chartered plane carrying the Cal Poly football team, killing 22 people.  As always, he does a terrific job.

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Jim Murray, May 17, 1961

        May 17, 1961: John F. "Pep" Lemon, an old-time catcher, is superintendent of parks in the city of Fullerton and his job is trees and shrubs and lawns. But it's also kids. Pep never had a … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 16, 1961

        May 16, 1961: A batter who has only to tell a real curve from a slider has an easy job compared to the general manager who has to straighten out the curve balls thrown at him … Continue reading

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MTA Plans Rapid Transit Route From Century City to El Monte!!

            May 15, 1961: The Metropolitan Transit Authority announces plans for a rapid transit system from Century City to El Monte!  The proposed line, including 12 miles of subway, would extend from the downtown area … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, art and artists, Comics, Freeways, Transportation | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 15, 1961

            May 15, 1961: Norman G. Dyhrenfurth, an old friend and a perfect dynamo of human energy, is a man who not only thinks Mt. Everest is a place to be but a place for … Continue reading

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Jim Murray, May 14, 1961

            May 14, 1961: Rinold George Duren, is the victim — or the beneficiary, if you want to look at it that way — of the most monumental case of nearsightedness in the annals of … Continue reading

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, Baseball, broadcasting, Columnists, Dodgers, Sports | 1 Comment

Gary Cooper Dies of Cancer at 60

           May 14, 1961: Gary Cooper dies of cancer at his home, 200 Baroda Drive, Holmby Hills. He was 60. “Cooper, Hollywood's homespun hero, was another product of its big star era — the same era … Continue reading

Posted in 1961, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries | 1 Comment

Jim Murray, May 12, 1961

        May 12, 1961: Paul Pender is not really a prizefighter at all. He has retired from the game more times than Jackie Jensen. He is a fireman by trade and he still reaches out instinctively to … Continue reading

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