Category: Holidays

TR And Flag Day And Baseball

By Joe Guzzardi

In 1904, the United States was booming under President Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.’s dynamic leadership. Roosevelt took over as president after a Polish anarchist assassinated President William McKinley in Buffalo. The populace loved Roosevelt who had been the Rough Riders’ leader, an author, an outdoorsman, a rancher and the New York governor. No city was thriving more than New York with its immigrant-fueled population growth and its flourishing economy. New York was big enough to support three professional baseball teams, the National League’s Giants, the American League’s Highlanders, and Brooklyn’s Superbas. The Highlanders and the Superbas eventually became the Yankees and the Dodgers. Immigrants loved baseball, in part because some of their fellow first- and second-generation immigrants excelled on the diamond. Among the most outstanding were Pittsburgh Pirates’ shortstop Honus Wagner, an eight-time batting champion and the Baltimore Orioles’ third baseman John J. McGraw, who ranks third in career on base percentage, .466, just behind Ted Williams, .481 and Babe Ruth, .474.

Opening Day 1904 at Hilltop Park, a single-deck, wooden structure also known as “The Rockpile,” matched the Highlanders against the Boston Americans, the Red Sox forerunners. Hilltop, built in Manhattan’s Washington Heights section, had a spectacular view. To the northwest lay the Hudson River and the Palisades; look in the opposite direction and the Long Island Sound and the Westchester Hills were visible.

Heavy snow fell during April 14’s morning hours but when the 3:30 game time rolled around, the weather was dry and bitterly cold. The nasty weather did not deter the 69^th Armory Band from entertaining the spectators which included former National League star Cap Anson, .331 career average and injured Giants catcher, Roger Bresnahan, the catcher who designed shin guards and the batting helmet.

 As the 15,842 fans filed in, attendants issued each of them a small American flag which they waved enthusiastically at the game’s most dramatic moments. When a bouquet of American red roses was presented to Highlanders’ manager Clark Griffith, the flags came out in unison, a reflection of the nation’s love for baseball and the patriotism Roosevelt instilled in citizens and new immigrants alike. When Americans’ leadoff hitter Patsy Dougherty stepped into the batter’s box, the band struck up “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and fans jumped to their feet to excitedly wave their flags again. Although “The Star-Spangled Banner” was a popular tune, playing the song at a baseball game was highly unusual. Not until 1931 did a congressional act make the song officially the National Anthem.

The bugs, 1900s baseball-speak for fans, saw an entertaining game, marked by memorable performances by all-time greats. New York bested Boston, 8-2. But the 37-year-old Americans’ losing hurler Denton True “Cy” Young went the distance. By the time Young hung up his spikes, he notched 511 career wins, a record that no pitcher will ever equal. And neither will any pitcher ever match winning hurler “Happy Jack” Chesbro’s 1904 season—51 games started, forty-eight completed, and forty-one victories. Wagner, McGraw, Bresnahan, Griffith, Anson, Young and Chesbro are in the Hall of Fame. 1904 was the first 154-game season, a standard that lasted until 1961 when the leagues expanded into divisional play. When the season ended, the Americans edged out the Highlanders by 1-1/2 games.

Roosevelt’s term ended in 1909 but still a youthful forty-nine, he remained active politically and advocated for “New Nationalism,” a program that promoted labor over capital and banned corporate political contributions. Although defeated in his 1912 effort to regain the White House, Roosevelt remained a staunch patriot and promoted the American flag’s significance until his 1919 death. Nine months before his passing, Roosevelt wrote to economist and American Defense Society board member Richard Hurd. With World War I over, Roosevelt wrote, a continued fight to protect “Americanism” and the U.S. flag should forever remain the U.S.’s top priority.

Happy Flag Day.

Joe Guzzardi is a Society for American Baseball Research and Internet Baseball Writers’ Association member. Contact him at guzzjoe@yahoo.com

TR And Flag Day And Baseball

And Even More Photos From Ardmore Memorial Day Parade 2024 –Here are even more photos of the Ardmore Memorial Day Parade from the perspective of the Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore sent to us by Marikate Venuto.

And Some More Photos From Ardmore Memorial Day Parade 2024 –Here are even more photos of the Ardmore Memorial Day Parade from the perspective of the Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore sent to us by Marikate Venuto.

More Photos From Ardmore Memorial Day Parade 2024 –Here are some more photos of the Ardmore Memorial Day Parade from the perspective of the Merion Fire Co. of Ardmore sent to us by Marikate Venuto.

Ardmore Remembers The Fallen — Some of the participants of the Ardmore Memorial Day Parade which started at 10:30 a.m. on Greenfield Avenue in Lower Merion.

Thank you all for your service and we will never forget the fallen.

Photo by Sharon Devaney

Origin Of Memorial Day Courtesy of Patricia Keevil from here

On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic established Memorial Day or Decoration Day as the national day to decorate the graves of the Civil War soldiers with flowers. Major General John A. Logan appointed May 30 as the day to be observed. Arlington National Cemetery had the first observance of the day on a grand scale. The place was appropriate as it already housed graves of over 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead. Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant presided the meeting and the center point of these Memorial Day ceremonies was the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion. Speeches were followed by a march of soldiers’ children and orphans and members of the GAR through the cemetery strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves. They also recited prayers and sang hymns for the dead.

Even before this declaration, local observances for these war dead were being held at various places. In Columbus, Miss., a group of women visited a cemetery on April 25 1866, to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers and the Union soldiers whop fell at the battle of Shiloh. Many cities in the North and the South claim to be the first to celebrate Memorial Day in 1866 but Congress and President Lyndon Johnson officially declared Waterloo in New York as the ‘birthplace’ of Memorial Day in 1966. It was said that on May 5, 1866, a ceremony was held hereto honor local soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War,businesses were closed for the day and residents furled flags at half-staff. It was said to be the first formal, community-wide and regular event.

In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by the Congress,who designated the last Monday in May as the day for its observance. Many states observe separate Confederate Memorial Days. Mississippi observes it on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, North and South Carolina on May 10 and Tennessee on June 3. In Tennessee, the day is named as’Confederate Decorations Day’ while Texas observes ‘Confederate Heroes Day’ on January 19.

Origin Of Memorial Day

Happy  Mother’s Day

 

A mother’s love means a life’s devotion – and sometimes a life’s sacrifice – with but one thought, one hope and one feeling, that her children will grow up healthy and strong, free from evil habits and able to provide for themselves. Her sole wish is that they may do their part like men and women, avoid dangers and pitfalls, and when dark hours come, trust in Providence to give them strength, patience and courage to bear up bravely.

Happy is the mother when her heart’s wish is answered, and happy are sons and daughters when they can feel that they have contributed to her noble purpose, and in some measure, repaid her unceasing, unwavering love and devotion.

–Anonymous

 

A letter to all the Mothers are alone today:

You know who you are and you know you risked everything to try to give your children a better life .

To all the mothers whose children were called back to heaven , my heart goes out to you.

To all the mothers whose children won’t speak to them, my heart goes out to you.

To all the single Mothers, I am with you ..

To all the Mothers in controlling , narcissistic relationships , I pray for you ..

To all the Moms who are being or were abused by husbands or family members God loves you and you will get through this.

To all the Moms who are blessed to be with your family on Mothers Day make sure you thank God!

To all the Moms and Grandmom’s who are alone today , buy yourself some flowers.

Put on your armor of God and put one foot in front of the other .

I am Praying for all of us.

Happy Mothers Day

Sharon Devaney

Christos Voskrese 2024 — Christos voskrese, which means Christ has Risen, is the Easter greeting in Church Slavonic which brings the response Voistinu voskrese or Indeed, He has risen.

Easter, of course, celebrates the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the salvation of Man.  The date for Easter is the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, which is always reckoned, regardless of astronomical observations, to be March 21 as per the Western churches that use the Gregorian calendar, so Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.

The dating for Easter correlates with the means the Jews once used to set the date for Passover, which correlates with Scripture since Scripture indicates that the Crucifixion of the Lord occurred as the lambs were being slaughtered for the celebration of that holiday. In fact, in most Western languages the name for the day is a cognate of the Pesach which is the Hebrew name for Passover. In Latin it would be Pascha so Paschal lamb would be Passover lamb.

In English and German, the word comes from Eostre month, which was basically April, and which the pagans who spoke Germanic languages had named for the goddess Eostre much as our own March and April are named for the Greek god and goddess Mars and Aphrodite, respectively. In Slavic, the holiday is called “Great Night” (Velikonoce in Slovak) or “Great Day” (Velikden in Ukrainian). There are some caveats regarding the date. The Eastern churches that use the Julian calendar set the equinox  at April 3, and, of course, the spring equinox is based on that of the Northern Hemisphere.

Christos Voskrese 2024