#Yankees History

[newyorkthegoldenage]

The Yankees of the 1950s were as well-known for their high-octane partying as their feats on the field. One infamous incident happened on May 16, 1957.

To celebrate Billy Martin's 29th birthday, a group of six Yankees, including Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, and Hank Bauer, and their wives, went to the Copacabana. They had already been to two other clubs, and were pretty buzzed.

A bowling team from Washington Heights, carousing above their station in life (that is a JOKE, no nasty notes please) was also present—and similarly sloshed. The headliner that night was Sammy Davis, Jr. Shortly after the Yanks entered, the bowlers began to heckle Davis, hurling racial epithets. The ballplayers asked the bowlers to cool it, and matters quickly went downhill.

What exactly happened was a mystery for decades. At any rate, a fight ensued. One of the bowling team, Edwin Jones, a 42-year old delicatessen owner, claimed that the big and beefy Bauer had socked him. He did go to Roosevelt Hospital with a concussion, a fractured jaw and a broken nose.

"Whitey or Yogi grabbed me and said, 'Get out of here,'" Bauer said later. "So I did, and we go back to the hotel. It's 2 or 2:30 in the morning by then, and around 4:30 the phone rings, and a writer tells me, 'Some guy claims you hit him.' I was booked, fingerprinted and walked down the street with a detective, and it made me feel like a criminal."

"Nobody did nothin' to nobody" was how Yogi summed it all up. But the Yankees were fined and Jones brought a lawsuit against Bauer, which was later dismissed. And later that season, Martin was traded (the team's owner thought he was a bad influence on Mantle, who was clearly the future of the franchise), causing much bitterness and leading to his slide as a player.

Above: Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Hank Bauer, and Charlene Friede Bauer after a grand jury cleared Bauer of assault charges from the fight at the Copa. Photo: Harry Harris for the AP via the NY Times

It wasn't until three years ago that another version of events came to light. Joey Silvestri, a bouncer at the Copa, told the New York Times that "[t]here were no Yankees involved in the fight. Nobody threw a punch but me." He said he'd socked Jones twice, and the victim's head had hit a wall. "Hank Bauer and Billy Martin have always been maligned, when they're really the good guys. They were protecting Sammy Davis that night. If that happened today, they'd build a monument to them."

Whether Silvestri was telling the truth or just protecting his pals, we'll never know. Everyone involved is now dead.

[dinosaurwithablog]

The rookie, Ben Rice, just hit his 3rd home run off the day, driving in 7 RBIs in total!!! WOW!!! He's the first rookie in Yankees history to hit 3 home runs in one game!! He's the first Yankee with 7+ RBIs in the leadoff spot. 4th MLB player with 3+ home runs and 7+RBIs in leadoff spot since 1920. He's doing sooooooo well! And he's only just begun. What a great addition to my team. I love this guy!! He looks so very, very happy 😊 I'm happy for him. Let's go Yankees!!!!!

[menandwomanofhistory]

George Herman Ruth ("Babe" Ruth)

[corecustom]

[queer-cinephile]

30 Days of Classic Queer Hollywood

Day 6: Tab Hunter (1931 - 2018)

Tab Hunter was one of Hollywood's 1950s golden boys, as well as a chart-topping singer. He appeared in over 40 films and was known for his All-American public persona.

Despite rumors that he was in relationships with actresses like Debbie Reynolds and Natalie Wood, these were actually studio-designed publicity stories to cover up the fact that Hunter was a closeted gay man.

His notable gay relationships included ones with Psycho actor Anthony "Tony" Perkins, professional figure skater Ronnie Robertson, and film producer Allan Glazer (Hunter's partner of 35 years). Hunter was plagued by rumors about his sexuality early in his career, but did not come out publicly until 2005.

[cleopatragirlie]

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐚𝐛 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟔𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 🕊️

[clove-pinks]

It was a clear and cloudless night, and the wind blew steady and strong,

As gaily over the sparkling deep our good ship bowled along;

With the foaming seas beneath her bow the fiery waves she spread,

And bending low her bosom of snow, she buried her lee cathead.

— "The Yankee Man-O-War" in Ships and Sailors: being a collection of songs of the sea as sung by the men who sail it by James Barnes, with illustration by R.F. Zogbaum.

[coolthingsguyslike]

[covenofthearticulate]

sometimes i remember that george washington was still alive while louis and lestat were in louisiana and it knocks me out for a little bit

[takiki16]

Miami nation…they are making THEEEEEE Lionel Messi, greatest of all time and most decorated athlete to ever kick a ball, play in a BASEBALL STADIUM

[gerritcole-coded]

Hal better not fumble the chance to re-sign Soto

[rebelyells]

Stand Watie was A Native American Brig General for the CSA. He was the last general to surrender. He remembered the treatment of the Federals during the trail of tears and he vowed to punish them.

[dinosaurwithablog]

On this day in baseball history, Mickey Mantle came back up from the minors after a 6 week stretch. When he went down to the minors, his number was 6, but when he came back, number 6 had been given to Bobby Brown so Mickey got his famous number 7 that hangs in left field in Yankees Stadium. Apparently, Mickey didn't like being sent down to the minors because when he came back, he never left the majors again.

Let's go Yankees!!!!!

[emotionally-charged-arson]

Best bonus material of the “Transitus is Set in New England” theory is the knowledge that Daniel (among others) almost definitely has an early form of the transatlantic accent.

And Abby totally makes fun of it.

[chiropteracupola]

pondering up some jerseys for @baronetcoins's baseball au

[sweaterkittensahoy]

The greatest thing about this scene is Gwen Verdon. No question.

The second greatest thing is Tab Hunter playing a bumpkin country boy who doesn't know he's being hit on. Which was super easy for him because he was very, very gay.

(There's a documentary--"Tab Hunter: Confidential"--that includes Tab discussing in-depth being gay and closeted in 1950s Hollywood. It's an interesting watch but also a lovely watch because here he was, out and proud and happily partnered at the time of filming.)