October 15th in New York City's History - Many firsts and some important leavings
Posted: Oct 15, 2012 | 3:59 PM
1920: Mario Puzo author and screenwriter for the Godfather born.
1923: The Yankees win their first World Series 4-2 against the Giant at the Polo Grounds. This avenged losing the first two Subway Series against the Giants in 1921 and 1922.
1930: Duke Ellington records "Mood Indigo," his first big hit .
1939: Mayor LaGuardia dedicated New York Municipal Airport, later renamed for him, in North Beach, Queens on 558 acres of
garbage landfill.
It started with a tantrum: "My ticket says New York, and Newark isn't New York!"
In 1934 Mayor LaGuardia took a commercial flight to New York.
As scheduled, the plane actually landed in Newark, NJ. NYC had no
commercial airports. A furious LaGuardia refused to disembark until the
plane took him to New York City, a postal airfield in Brooklyn.
In its day, LGA was very modern. After World War 2, Jet travel and larger airplanes became the norm. LGA's now short runways makes flying especially difficult, especially in conditions that are even less than perfect. Even rain can delay LGA flights which impact a big portion of America's flight traffic.
1951: The sit com "I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS. Lucy, Desi and their friends the Mertzes lived on 623 East 68th Street, which is actually just east of Manhattan's Upper East Side.
1964: Cole Porter, Broadway's great hit-maker, died at 73 on this date.
1969: The first U.S. war resistor burned his draft card. Catholic Conscientious Objector David Miller was in direct violation of a new law against what he did. The FBI arrested him and was sentenced to prison for two years.
1976: Number one national crime family boss Carlo Gambino died at age 74.
2007: The New York Yankees and third baseman Alex Rodriguez sign a record 10-year, $275 million contract, the highest in sports history.