Snapshot 1969… Gaylord Perry and The Man on the Moon…
August 13, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Every collector has seen this famous headline from 1969, or one of the thousands like it which appeared on every newspaper at the time: “MEN WALK ON THE MOON” (see DAILY NEWS, New York City, July 21, 1969). But an interesting quirk in coincidental history is inconspicuously buried inside, perhaps only of interest to baseball fans–and every collector of historic newspapers.
The story is best told by Major League Baseball in their piece titled: “The Story of Gaylord Perry, the Moon Landing, and a Most Unlikely Home Run”.
An excerpt reads: “…One day during the ’64 season, Dark [manager of the S. F. Giants] and San Francisco Examiner reporter Harry Jupiter looked on as Perry smacked some home runs during batting practice. Jupiter told Dark that Perry looked pretty good with a bat in his hands and remarked that the pitcher might even hit a home run one of these days. Dark’s response set in motion one of the weirdest coincidences in baseball history: “Mark my words,” he said, “a man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run.”
Jump ahead five years to July 20, 1969. Perry, now 30 and clearly established as one of the best arms in the game, was scheduled to start against the rival Dodgers. But there was something else happening that afternoon: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were about to become the first men to set foot on the moon. You can probably see where this is going.
At 1:17 p.m. PT, Apollo 11 landed. Some 238,900 miles away at Candlestick Park, Perry stepped to the plate in the top of the third inning — and, wouldn’t you know it, he hit the first home run of his Major League career. As the righty told MLB.com back in 2009:
“Well, about the top of the third, over the loudspeaker, they were telling everybody to stand and give a moment of silent thanks for the astronauts who landed on the moon. And I’d say 30 minutes later, Claude Osteen grooved me a fastball, and I hit it out of the park.”
Alas, by 1969 Dark had moved on to managing the Cleveland Indians, denying him the chance to say, “Hey, technically speaking, we did put a man on the moon before you hit a home run.”
A fascinating piece of history, verified with both reports in this issue of the Daily News.
The Village Voice… Greenwich Village, New York…
July 19, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Nat Hentoff, John Wilcock, Norman Mailer, Ezra Pound, Lynda Barry, Robert Christgau, Andrew Sarris, J. Hoberman, James Baldwin, E.E. Cummings, Ted Hoagland… Broadway and Off-Broadway theater reviews, the annual Obie Awards, upstart musicians and actors, progressive and left-leaning journalism… the beatnik, hippie , and Bohemian cultures…
Although we rarely use this space to announce new inventory, we’ve recently taken in a collection which is unique enough to warrant an exception. As many know, The Village Voice, the iconic newspaper from Greenwich Village, recently stopped printing new issues. However, over the years they had saved samples of a majority of their issues for the purpose of eventually creating a digital archive, and once done, we were able to procure the lion’s-share of their own collection. What a treat! Although I personally am unable to endorse portions of their content, their impact on culture as far as newspapers are concerned may very well be second to none. Over the next year or so collectors will begin to see listings appear through our website and our eBay store. In the meantime, if there are specific issues you would like to add to your collection, and can appreciate their provenance, please be in touch at guy@rarenewspapers.com. Our holdings include most issues from 1956 through close to the final publication.
Snapshot 1969… Teddy Kennedy in hot water…
April 7, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The following snapshot comes from the July 26, 1969 issue of the Springfield Republican, Springfield, Massachusetts…
Snapshot 1969… Teddy Kennedy (was) in cold water…
April 4, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The following snapshot comes from the July 20, 1969 issue of the Springfield Republican, Springfield, Massachusetts…
Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Yet others… The Manson Murders…
May 9, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over the past few years we have listed a series of posts titled: “Great Headlines Speak For Themselves,” with the first line being: “The best headlines need no commentary.” However, in some instances history would prove other headlines to be grossly understated. Such is the case of the headline on one of the most desirable newspapers reporting the horrific murders which would eventually be attributed to Charles Manson and some of his followers. While still dramatic, the initial (false) implication of the house pool boy, relative to the actual truth regarding the murders, deflates the historical impact of many “1st-report” headlines as illustrated in The Herald Examiner, Los Angeles, August 10, 1969.