Baseball

  • The story of Eiji Sawamura is both a tale of extraordinary talent and a poignant reminder of the human cost of war. Known as one of Japan’s greatest baseball players, Sawamura’s life was a trajectory of brilliance interrupted by history. His journey from prodigious athlete to soldier aboard the ill-fated SS Hawaii Maru is emblematic

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  • The first television commercial aired in the United States on July 1, 1941. This 9-second spot was for Bulova watches and was broadcast on NBC’s WNBT station before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The commercial featured a simple visual of a Bulova clock superimposed on a map of the

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  • Christie Pits riot

    There is a misconception that most people were appalled about Hitler coming to power in 1933, and that it was only the Germans who endorsed the Nazi policies. But that would be far from the truth. Hitler’s rise to power was celebrated in many parts of the world, even in Canada. It’s not hard to

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  • Joe DiMaggio in WWII

    ” Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, Our Nation turns its lonely eyes to you”  lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson. When I first heard the song as a kid I had no idea who this Joe DiMaggio was. Now I know of course,he was a great baseball player but by all accounts he

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  • Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball second baseman who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.Robinson broke the baseball color line when the Brooklyn Dodgers started him at first base on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers, by signing Robinson, heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to

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  • In January 1942, Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866-1944), the national commissioner of baseball, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in which he asked if professional baseball should shut down for the duration of the war. In what came to be known as the “green light” letter, Roosevelt responded that professional baseball should continue operations, as it

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