Tag Archives: sports

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

Posted on November 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 15, 1981: The mysterious death of Sue Latham, a cyclist who was hit by a car while unjamming the gears on her bike, but dragged to a construction site and partially undressed to make it look like she was raped. Continue reading →

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November 1, 1947: UCLA Ruffians Kidnap USC’s George Tirebiter!

Posted on November 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 1, 1947: Ruffians from UCLA kidnap USC mascot George Tirebiter and shave “UCLA” into his coat. Continue reading →

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October 17, 1907: All-White USC Football Team Starts Race Riot Over Tackle by Black Player From Whittier

Posted on October 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 17, 1907: A Black player from Whittier State tackles a player for USC’s all-white team, setting off a fight between the teams. Continue reading →

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September 25, 1907: The Melancholy Prizefighter

Posted on September 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 25, 1907: Meet Joe Gans, a boxer whose name once echoed among fans of the ring now buried in the dusts of sporting history. Gans may well have been one of the finest fighters whoever lived. Continue reading →

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September 2, 1947: Miss Muscle Beach of 1947

Posted on September 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 2, 1947: Vivian Crockett is chosen as Miss Muscle Beach of 1947 in the annual Labor Day contest in Santa Monica. Continue reading →

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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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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: 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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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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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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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.

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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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Jan. 22, 1959: Rams Draft Rafer Johnson

Posted on January 22, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby writes: The Rams picked a real winner in the NFL annual draft. Rafer Johnson would become world famous in 1960 by winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the Rome Olympics. He already held the world record … Continue reading →

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Jan. 17, 1959: Lakers Back Elgin Baylor in Refusing to Stay at Segregated Hotel

Posted on January 17, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 17, 1959: Keith Thursby has the story of the Minneapolis Lakers moving out of a hotel in Charleston, W.Va., after operators refused to give a room to rookie Elgin Baylor and two other black players. Baylor boycotted the game, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 14, 1959: State Supreme Court Upholds L.A.’s Deal for Dodger Stadium

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby writes: The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Dodgers and City Hall, moving plans for a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine one huge step closer to reality. The Times’ coverage was breathless, no surprise since … Continue reading →

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Voices: Recalling Times Sports Columnist Ned Cronin

Posted on January 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby writes: Ned Cronin was a columnist at The Times until his death in 1958 and his work has been featured often in the Daily Mirror. His son, Jerry, recently discovered the blog and we started an e-mail conversation. … Continue reading →

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Jan. 13, 1969: Jets and Broadway Joe Namath Win Super Bowl

Posted on January 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

    Jan. 13, 1969: The first Super Bowl – and it doesn’t make Page 1 of the Los Angeles Times. Kicked back to sports. I would love to have been sitting in the news meeting that day… Jim Murray … Continue reading →

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Jan. 12, 1959: East Wins Pro Bowl 28-21 in L.A.

Posted on January 12, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby says of the 1959 game: The Pro Bowl in its current format has been held in Hawaii since 1971, so that must mean at some point Los Angeles was considered an exotic getaway to lure the players for … Continue reading →

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