July 17 1903 Construction began on The Pike, the area of the Worlds Fair set aside for amusements. Visitors could see a recreation of the Boer War, a naval battle fought with real shells and miniature ships, meet the people in the “Eskimo Village “or “Mysterious Asia” and see infants in incubators. It gave us the expression “What’s coming down the Pike” to refer to something new or unusual. After the fair, there were plans to make The Pike a permanent amusement area. But opposition from Washington University officials killed the plan. 1917 Phyliss Ada Driver was born. In 1961, she changed her name to Phyliss Diller and moved to Webster Groves. She became a regular at the Crystal Palace in Gaslight Square before beginning her rise to national fame. She co-starred with her friend Bob Hope in three films: Boy! Did I Get A Wrong Number, Eight on the Lam, and The Private Navy of Sergeant O’Farrell. She also accompanied him to Vietnam and appeared on 22 of his specials. 1951 Legendary pitcher Satchel Paige joined the Browns and pitched six innings of shutout baseball against the Washington Senators before giving up three runs. He was believed to have been 51 years old at the time. Paige had pitched for Browns owner Bill Veeck in Cleveland in 1948. He ended the season with an ERA of 4.79 and a 3-7 record. 1974 Bob Gibson recorded his 3,000th career strike out. Cesar Geronimo of the Reds was the player who fanned to give Gibson 3,000. Six years later, Geronimo would become the victim of Nolan Ryan’s 3,000th strikeout. 1974 The great Dizzy Dean died at the age of 63. Dean starred with the Cardinals Gashouse Gang World Champions in 1934. He led the National League in strikeouts four straight times. In 1934, he won 30 games and lost only seven. He is also remembered for his colorful language while broadcasting games on WIL. 1993 President Clinton came to St. Louis for a flood summit of Midwestern governors. Before the meeting at Fox High School in Arnold, the president flew over the devastation in St. Charles County. By this time, the Mississippi was 15 miles wide there, and cresting at 36.7 feet. Downtown, the river was 2/3 of the way up the Arch steps. A levee gave way in St. Louis County, rejoining Creve Coeur Lake with the river. 1994 The Blues stunned the hockey world as they announced the hiring of Mike Keenan to become the new Blues coach and general manager. St. Louis fans were elated, as Keenan had just led the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup. 2011 U2 played at Busch Stadium in front of 50,000 people and in the midst of an excessive heat warning. The performance was the first for U2 in St. Louis since 2005 and ended with “Moment of Surrender,” dedicated to the tornado victims in Joplin.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 10:15:00 +0000
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