Tag Archives: sports

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    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.

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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Jan. 10, 1959: Dodgers Move Outfield Fence

Jan. 10, 1959: The Dodgers are playing in the Coliseum and decide to cut the distance to the outfield fence. It was a victory for Duke Snider, Keith Thursby writes. The post originally appeared on latimes.com in 2009 and is … Continue reading

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Jan. 7, 1969: Stocks suffer worst day in 19 months; Rams rehire Allen

Jan. 7, 1969: A 15-point drop in the Dow is Page 1 news in 1969. I wonder what they would think of today’s economic meltdowns.. Also: Gordon Lightfoot makes his debut in Los Angeles and Keith Thursby on the Rams … Continue reading

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Jan. 6, 1959: Errol Flynn Wounded in Cuba!

Jan. 6, 1959: Here’s a busy news day in 1959. Errol Flynn is wounded in the leg while “campaigning” with Fidel Castro. On the jump, Keith Thursby takes a look at The Times’ interview by Jeane Hoffman with Eleanor Gehrig. The … Continue reading

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Jan. 4, 1959: Grocermat – The Supermarket of Tomorrow!

I love “futurism” stories like this one, featuring a 7-Eleven for the Jetsons.  In sports, football coach Earl “Curly” Lambeau says the split-T offense is dead. He also thinks college ball should put the goal posts back on the goal … Continue reading

Posted in 1959, 2009, Futurism, Sports | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Jan. 3, 1959: Russia Winning Space Race! Bulla Leads L.A. Open!

The Soviets are winning the space race! Moral Re-Armament stages “Turning of the Tide” and “The New American!” French Foreign Legion rifles, only $9.88!  Johnny Bulla leads the L.A. Open! The entire post from the 2009 Daily Mirror via Archive.org.

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Jan. 3, 1949: Tom Harmon on the Future of Televised Sports

Here’s a nice piece from Keith Thursby, now of ESPN. The complete post from the Daily Mirror, Jan. 3, 2009, is at Archive.org.. Story, Part 1 | Story, Part 2

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News Quiz, 1947: How Many Stories of the Year Do You Know?

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I think of it as a report card from the past. For the last few months, the 47P has explored stories that seemed important or unusual, … Continue reading

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

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Sue was 29, tall, blond and athletic with dimples every time she smiled—her big, clunky glasses the only thing that might betray a degree in … Continue reading

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