Category Archives: Sports

Los Angeles Prepares to Celebrate a Wartime Christmas

Posted on December 19, 2013 by lmharnisch

Dec. 19, 1943: Los Angeles prepares to celebrate Christmas with a focus on service members, while U.S. troops fight the Nazis in hand-to-hand combat for the Italian town of San Pietro.  The Times story by James Warnack (d. 1958) begins:  … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Books and Authors, Film, History, Hollywood, Religion, Sports, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Los Angeles Prepares to Celebrate a Wartime Christmas

Jerry Lewis – The Day the Clown Played Baseball

Posted on September 16, 2013 by lmharnisch

I was fairly certain that I had written about this uniform – or at least a uniform – for Jerry Lewis’ baseball team, the Clowns, but I can’t seem to locate the post anywhere. In any event, a uniform for … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Sports | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Moment: Prison Escapee Slaughters Family

Posted on August 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 2, 1983: Terry Atkinson reviews the L.A. debut of the Eurythmics at the Palace, saying: “Move over, Chrissie Hynde and Martha Davis, and make room for Annie Lennox.” Kevin Cooper is arraigned in an attack that killed four people … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Comics, Crime and Courts, Millennial Moments, Music, Sports | 1 Comment

Movieland Mystery Photo – Baseball Edition [Updated]

Posted on March 11, 2012 by lmharnisch

I was watching this movie recently and got to wondering what ballparks were used as locations. In some scenes, the movie intercuts stock footage with shots that were presumably done in Los Angeles (and no, they don’t match at all. … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Mystery Photo, Photography, Sports | Tagged , | 19 Comments

Bowling for Victory! Keglers vs. the Axis!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by lmharnisch

Feb. 16, 1942: America’s 16 million bowlers are being asked to help promote physical fitness and mental alertness for the nation’s fighting men in their war against the Axis, and to provide relaxation for defense workers!  No effort will be … Continue reading →

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Angry Butcher Cuts Wife’s Throat

Posted on February 2, 2012 by lmharnisch

Betty Rowland at the Follies! Photo: 6152 Agra St. Credit: Google Street View. Feb. 2, 1942: Lewis Buell Chase dialed the sheriff’s substation in Firestone Park and told a deputy: “I have just murdered a woman.” He had gone to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, Sports, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Found on EBay – Witzel Photo of Sid Ziff

Posted on December 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

A Witzel photo of Sid Ziff, the Mirror’s sports editor from 1950 to 1962 and a sports columnist at The Times until his retirement in 1967, has been listed on EBay. Ziff was “one of the most controversial and opinionated … Continue reading →

Posted in 1991, Columnists, Found on EBay, Obituaries, Photography, Sports, Witzel | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on November 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 1997 Cadillac hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $3,800. Queen of the Dead—dateline November 14, 2011 •  Family Circus has long been one of those legacy comics you love to hate. But I was sad when creator … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Eve Golden, Fashion, Film, Found on EBay, Hollywood, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Sports | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

Posted on September 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: 2003 Cadillac Superior Hearse for sale on EBay. Bidding starts at $12,100 with a reserve. Queen of the Dead – dateline September 26, 2011 •  Last week I announced the last Black Knight of Glin, this week it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics, Eve Golden, Film, Hollywood, Obituaries, Queen of the Dead, Sports | Tagged , | Comments Off on Eve Golden: Queen of the Dead

#history

Posted on June 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

A summary of history-related posts on the Web: Chicago Tribune The Trib has an item on the Children’s Museum remaining at Navy Pier rather than moving to Grant Park as the facility is transferred to private management. Here’s the Trib’s … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Baseball, Chicago, Film, History, Hollywood, Museums, Music, Native Americans, Photography, Sports | Tagged , , | Comments Off on #history

From the Stacks: ‘The Big Picture’

Posted on June 29, 2011 by lmharnisch

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 are aware that, exposed as it is to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1988, Architecture, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Downtown, From the Stacks, Hollywood, Latinos, Photography, Preservation, San Fernando Valley, Sports, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Coming Attractions: Society for American Baseball Research Convention

Posted on June 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

 A post by Baseball Toaster alum Bob Timmermann (in private life he’s a librarian at LAPL) alerted me to the upcoming convention of the Society for American Baseball Research, July 6-10 at the Long Beach Hilton. The group plans a … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, June 8, 1961

Posted on June 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

            June 8, 1961: Danny Murtaugh is like the Pirates. Tough, blue-bearded, underslung jaw, he looks like a sulfurous-tempered truck driver. Actually, he is shy and modest and the kind of worrier whose biggest fear … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, June 2, 1961

Posted on June 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

            June 2, 1961: Parry O’Brien at the age of 29 will be a chief drawing card at the Compton Invitational tonight. He is one of the most durable and remarkable athletes of our time. … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, June 1, 1961

Posted on June 1, 2011 by lmharnisch

           June 1, 1961: Among those celebrating the convictions of Blinky Palermo and Frankie Carbo is a Boyle Heights prizefight manager named Harry Shall. Harry gave the government a chance to throw the book at Blinky … Continue reading →

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Jim Murray, May 31, 1961

Posted on May 31, 2011 by lmharnisch

            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 →

Posted in #Jim Murray, 1961, boxing, Columnists, Sports | 2 Comments

Jim Murray, May 26, 1961

Posted on May 26, 2011 by lmharnisch

            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

Posted on May 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

            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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Jim Murray, May 24, 1961

Posted on May 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

        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

Posted on May 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

        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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