Category Archives: Sports

Black L.A. 1947: Heavyweight Fighter George Godfrey, ‘The Black Shadow of Leiperville,’ Dies at 50

Posted on August 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 21, 1947: George Godfrey, a fighter known as the Black Shadow of Leiperville, dies in poverty in Los Angeles at the age of 50. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory takes a look at the career of Black skating star Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 8, 2024 by lmharnisch

The Retro Holiday Shopping Guide: Melba Levick’s “The Big Picture: Murals of Los Angeles.” Wonderful paintings, most of them lost. One of my favorite’s is Kent Twitchell’s “Old Woman of the Freeway” featuring actress Lillian Bronson. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 5, 2024 by lmharnisch

Mabel Fairbanks in the California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945. Note: This is an encore post from 2022. Knockout African American ice skater Mabel Fairbanks wowed audiences from the 1940s through the 1960s. A true natural, she exuded joy and happiness … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: ‘Crazylegs’ Salutes Elroy Hirsch and the Los Angeles Rams

Posted on February 13, 2023 by lmharnisch

An image of Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch, scanned from a negative listed on EBay at $24.99. Note: This is an encore post from 2016. Los Angeles is currently experiencing the second coming of its professional football team, the Los Angeles Rams, … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Mabel Fairbanks, Wonder Girl of the Ice

Posted on February 21, 2022 by lmharnisch

Mabel Fairbanks in the California Eagle, Nov. 8, 1945. Knockout African American ice skater Mabel Fairbanks wowed audiences from the 1940s through the 1960s. A true natural, she exuded joy and happiness twirling and gliding upon the ice. While extremely … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 22, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights – Brazil Touches Off Riot at 1932 L.A. Olympics

Posted on August 2, 2021 by lmharnisch

The Xth Olympiad hosted by Los Angeles from July 31 through August 14, 1932, overflowed with drama and intrigue in everything from finances to competition. None was as striking as the Brazilian team’s adventure in making it to California, using … Continue reading →

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Saluting Marilyn Thomas — Miss Muscle Beach 1953

Posted on July 19, 2021 by lmharnisch

Marilyn Thomas in an undated photo on Muscle Beach. In 2005, I did a blog post for the 1947project on Miss Muscle Beach of 1947. Back then, only the Los Angeles Times was online, so when I listed the winners, … Continue reading →

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Nov. 15, 1981: Still Unsolved — Aspiring Screenwriter Killed in Hit-Run Staged to Look Like Rape

Posted on May 18, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This post has been getting a lot of traffic recently and I couldn’t figure out why. The answer:  A biking blog linked to the post a few days ago because Pat Hines, one of the victim’s friends, has been … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Halifax Apartments at Crossroads of Boxing and Film

Posted on April 5, 2021 by lmharnisch

6376 Yucca Ave., via Google Street View. More than 98 years old, the Halifax Apartments at 6376 Yucca Ave. exists due to boxing and the movies. Built by Leach Cross, known as the “boxing dentist,” the apartment house served as … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 15, 2020 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2011. I picked up “The Big Picture,” Melba Levick and Stanley Young’s 1988 book about Los Angeles murals, not realizing what a terribly sad book it would be. As Young notes: “Most artists … Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – Horse Racing and Can’t Wait

Posted on August 3, 2020 by lmharnisch

Feb. 15, 1938: Stagehand noses out Can’t Wait. Note: This is an encore post from 2012. Horse racing has always been considered the sport of kings, because it requires so much money for housing, training, feeding, and transporting horses.  In … Continue reading →

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May 7, 1959: Dodgers Honor Roy Campanella as Coliseum Crowd Sets Record

Posted on May 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby has the story of Roy Campanella being honored in a ceremony during an exhibition game at the Coliseum between the Dodgers and Yankees. The game raised nearly $60,000 for the former Dodger catcher, who was partially paralyzed in … Continue reading →

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March 16, 1969: The Rosey Grier Show

Posted on April 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

March 16, 1969: Rosey Grier, seen in the “Fearsome Foursome” making their debut on Shindig, is the star of a weekly TV show on Channel 7. Keith Thursby has the story.  This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and … Continue reading →

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March 1977: Body of Boxing Manager Howard Steindler Found on Ventura Freeway

Posted on April 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: I’m still catching up with posts from the blog when it was at latimes.com. This post about the unsolved killing of Howard Steindler originally appeared in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.  

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Feb. 4, 1959: Airliner With 72 Aboard Plunges Into East River; Dodgers Sign Contracts

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 4, 1959: Plane crashes were much more common 60 years ago. The late Eric Malnic, who specialized in covering them for the L.A. Times, once noted that “we haven’t had a big plane crash in years.” In sports, Wally … Continue reading →

Posted in Dodgers, Keith Thursby, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feb. 1, 1959: Art Aragon Suspected of Fixing Fight

Posted on February 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1959: Art Aragon was suspected of winning a fight too easily, and Keith Thursby has the story.. This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is available via Archive.org.

Posted in 1959, Keith Thursby, Sports | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 24, 1969: Ghosts of Wrigley Field

Posted on January 24, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby says: John Hall wrote a couple of columns bidding farewell to Los Angeles’ Wrigley Field. “It was another time, another place. It was Wrigley Field, 1925-1969, may it rest in peace. The demolition crews are at work and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1969, Baseball, Keith Thursby, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Jan. 22, 1969: Musial and Campanella Elected to Hall of Fame

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 22, 1969: Stan Musial and Roy Campanella are voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Campanella became only the second black player in the Hall of Fame, after Jackie Robinson. This post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is … Continue reading →

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