Giants played Dodgers 80 years ago
Pearl Harbor attack announced during NFL game at Polo Grounds
Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.
Today is Pearl Harbor Day in the United States. It was 80 years ago that Japan engineered a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, with approval of the U.S. Congress, declared war on Japan, marking the U.S. entry into World War II in both the Pacific and Europe.
The attack occurred on a Sunday morning, making it early afternoon on the east coast. The announcement broke during the NFL football game at the Polo Grounds, between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. In this piece seen on You Tube, venerable New York Times columnist Arthur Daley, who served as public address announcer for the game, explained how he informed the Polo Grounds’ crowd about the attack.
Another interesting fact: the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers NFL franchise was Dan Topping. After the war, he joined Larry MacPhail and Del Webb to purchase the iconic New York Yankees. The temperamental MacPhail sold his portion of the club in 1947 and Topping and Webb owned the Yankees, during their phenomenal championship run of 1947 through 1964. In 1964 the partners sold 80 percent of the franchise to CBS. Webb sold his remaining 10 percent to CBS in 1965 and Topping unloaded his 10 percent to the network one year later. Topping died in 1974 at the age of 61.
MacPhail’s son, Lee, was a long time baseball executive, who for a time served as the Yankees General Manager, during the CBS ownership years. Lee’s son Andy has also had a notable career as an MLB executive.
The Jets are kidding, right?
So the New York Jets were embarrassed again on Sunday, losing at home to the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-18. After the game, Jets’ linebacker C.J. Mosley sounded off that the Jets are not being respected by the opposition.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about respect,” Mosley noted. “And right now, teams are not respecting us. That’s well-deserved, whether it’s by self-inflicted wounds or the history of the Jets.”
No kidding. In sports as in life, one must earn respect. At 3-9 the Jets are a laughingstock. It would be one thing if the club was enduring a down year but the team has languished near the bottom for years. As I have written previously, the same can be said for one of the league’s cornerstone franchises, the New York Giants. In the nation’s number one media market, the two NFL teams are, to put it mildly, a disgrace.
Where are the ties and jackets?
Have you noticed these days how coaches are dressing on the sidelines? In the NBA, the coaches are wearing the pullover fleece tops, as are many college coaches. NFL coaches are dressed in hoodies, pullovers and sweat pants. Gone are the days of coaches roaming the sidelines dressed in jackets and ties and in the case of the late Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry or Alabama coach Bear Bryant a snappy fedora. Bryant’s hat had a houndstooth pattern.
The NFL has a strict dress code. The league actually employees people to patrol the sideline before the game to police how the players and other personnel are dressed, being sure they adhere to NFL policy, i.e. length of socks, etc. Dress accordingly or risk being fined. Just once, however, I would love to see a coach outfitted in jacket and tie, with a fedora atop his head. Would a coach dressing in this manner be fined? Imagine the headline? Coach fined for wearing jacket and tie!
Well, that is it for today. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a wonderful week.
SPORTSCASTER DAN