Ec's north island recreation league

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1953
EC's Full of Glee in '53

Well, howdy doo, all you buckaroos and little darlin's, too.
The 7th-grade year is winding down at Annapolis Avenue Junior High in Sheffield, Alabama... just a few more weeks and EC will wrap up another glorious school year... 7 down and just 5 mo to go... my Mama told me that we would be moving to Mobile fairly soon after school is out... so EC will be returning to Mobile where I went to the first grade, part of the second grade and part of the third grade... and I will be entering the 8th grade in September.

Television was in its infancy in 1953... only the big cities had TV stations... Florence and Sheffield did not get a local station until 1957... that was WOWL-TV... in the early 50's if you had a TV in Florence and Sheffield, you had to watch Birmingham stations with an outside antenna... I didn't know anybody that had a TV in Florence and Sheffield when I lived there... I only knew one person that had a TV and that was in New Orleans in 1952... that was my next door neighbors on Downman Road, the Maiers... Mr. Maier was a mean, old grouch... but his wife was a lovely lady that let me read her newspaper, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, each morning... and of course, EC only read the sports pages... Mrs. Maier would also let me watch Tulane University basketball games on her TV... and wrestling on Saturday night... can't believe it, but it is true, EC really hates to admit it, but I did watch wrestling shows every week on WDSU-TV from Municipal Auditorium and really enjoyed it... I would pull for the good guy to win and whip the heck out of the villains... on occasion, the famous Gorgeous George, the wrestler, would come to town... he had beautiful blond hair, wore lavender-colored trunks and robes and sprayed expensive perfume when he entered the ring... wow, what a show!... Gorgeous George was known for his outrageous and exaggerated self-promotion.

(Thanks to Wikipedia)
All three of them, Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali and James Brown, the Rhythm and Blues superstar, acknowledged that their own approach to flamboyant self-promotion was influenced by Gorgeous George. A 19-year-old Ali met a 46-year-old Gorgeous George at a Las Vegas radio station. During Gorgeous George's radio interview, the wrestler's promo caught the attention of the future heavyweight champion. If Gorgeous George lost to Classy Freddie Blassie, Gorgeous George exclaimed, "I'll crawl across the ring and cut my hair off! But that's not gonna happen because I'm the greatest wrestler in the world!" Ali, who later echoed that very promo when taunting opponent Sonny Liston, recalled, "I saw 15,000 people comin' to see this man get beat. And his talking did it. I said, 'This is a gooood idea!'" In the locker room afterward, the seasoned wrestler gave the future legend some invaluable advice: "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous."

[Eugene Church]

And you might ask yourself, why did no one have TVs in the early 50's?... it was three things... most towns didn't have a TV station... and if they did, the TV sets cost too much money... and as you can see by the TV Guide, there wasn't many shows worth watching.

About the only thing I would have watched on this TV schedule was Captain Video, Renfrew of the Mounted Police and I Love Lucy.

[Eugene Church]

I dearly love good advertising slogans... note the one above.

"THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES"

That was the wonderful department store on Canal Street in New Orleans,
D. H. Holmes.

We also had another great department store just down the street from D. H. Holmes... that was Maison Blanche (White House in French).

Sadly, both of them are have gone out of business and are no more...but they were great for many decades in the "Crescent City", that's New Orleans -- "The City That Care Forgot".

New Orleans is free and easy...they don't worry 'bout nothin'.

Roulez les Bon Temps..."Let the good times roll".

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 18, 1953

NIRL FIRST JAMMED UP AND JELLY TIGHT
Parity Par Excellence!
The North Island Recreational League First Division is certainly a horse race this season... from first place New Yerby (7-5) to sixth place Dutton (5-7) is just two games with four other challengers jammed between them, just one game back... the New Yerby Yankees are still on top of the league despite four consecutive defeats... the Yanks were beaten again, this time by the Joliet Green Giants 5-3... The Jackson Jackalopes drubbed Dutton 8-2... and the Wafford Eagles flew by Stockdale 8-7 in 11 innings... Joliet, Jackson, Wafford and Stockdale are all tied for the runner-up spot with 6-6 records.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[StLee]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I dearly love good advertising slogans... note the one above.

"THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES"

That was the wonderful department store on Canal Street in New Orleans,
D. H. Holmes.

We also had another great department store just down the street from D. H. Holmes... that was Maison Blanche (White House in French).

Sadly, both of them are have gone out of business and are no more...but they were great for many decades in the "Crescent City", that's New Orleans -- "The City That Care Forgot".

New Orleans is free and easy...they don't worry 'bout nothin'.

Roulez les Bon Temps..."Let the good times roll".

I remember both D.H. Holmes and Maison Blanche! There's a lot of businesses that "ain't dere no mo'" -- Benny Grunch and the Bunch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOXVEcXftj4

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by StLee

I remember both D.H. Holmes and Maison Blanche! There's a lot of businesses that "ain't dere no mo'" -- Benny Grunch and the Bunch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOXVEcXftj4

StLee, thanks for the great link!
You made my day, my friend!
The song "Ain't Dere No Mo" is a cachy little ditty... it was real kick to watch the video by Benny Grunch and the Bunch... they are typical "Noo Awlins' folks" through and through.

my, oh, my, that's brings back memories of the Crescent City... it was great to see all of the great old institutions that ain't there no more... DH Holmes and Maison Blanche were great department stores... as good as you'll find anyplace in the World...McKenzie was a very good bakery with 15 stores all over town... they had wonderful cinnamon rolls, cream pies, fruit pies, cakes, specialty pastries and doughnuts... K & B Drug Store, where everything was purple in the store and in their newspaper ads, was really fine... even had a good lunch counter where you could get a good, cheap meal... according to my wife K & B had the best chocolate ice cream in the world... sorry, EC ain't no chocolate guy... I go into Baskins and Robbins Ice Cream Store, taste all 31 flavors... and walk out with a double dip of just plain ole vanilla... always have and always will.

EC is just a plain vanilla guy.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 18, 1953

BOBCATS BOP KINGS, GET A LITTLE BREATHING ROOM IN NIRL 2ND DIVISION
In the top game of the weekend in the North Island Recreational League Second Division, the first place Theodore Bobcats (9-3) put a little space between them and second place Kofa (7-5) by skimming by the Kings 7-6... the other runner-up team, the Union Heights Hackers (7-5), also bit the dust, falling to the West Chester Comets 5-3... and in a clash of bottom-rung ballclubs, Kinston clubbed Avalon 8-2.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 18, 1953

GUEDON TAKES OVER 1ST PLACE IN SIFL
In a big showdown game Sunday at Guedon, the Gators socked it to the St. Dominic Saints and gained undisputed possession of first place in the South Island First League... Guedon rallied late and defeated St. Dominic 6-3 to move a game in front of the Saints... in other action Opelousas lost again, this time falling to the Claiborne Cardinals 7-3... and Labadieville outbanged Des Allemands 9-8.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, May 18, 1953

AHOY, MATES, DELACROIX SAILING HIGH IN SISL
The Delacroix Cubs are cruising along and sailing high in South Island Second League circles... it's a tightly-knitted league with only three games separating the also-rans and the contenders... Delacroix stunned Bar Harbor yesterday with a late-inning rally to top the Acadians 8-6 and gain the top spot in the standings, but they needed some help from the Chitamaca Moccasins, who upended Meraux 11-8, sending the Tigers to the second spot, a game behind the Cubs... and rounding out the weekend play, Mystic nicked Bayou Bleu 2-1 in a sparkling pitcher's duel... three clubs are bunched up in last place.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]