The biggest news of September 22-24 1955 was Hurricane Janet, which killed over 500 people in the Caribbean. On the 22nd, commercial television was introduced in the UK (the first commercial was for toothpaste). In response, on that day BBC radio killed off Grace Archer on The Archers, one of the most controversial moves in British radio history. On the 23rd, an all-white jury in Mississippi acquitted the two men who murdered teenager Emmett Till. On the 24th, President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack which caused him to spend several weeks in the hospital.
Meanwhile, the P.A.T.D. Convention was going on at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Pennsylvania, and Universal Match Books representatives were there.The Pennsylvania Association of Tobacco Distributors was founded in 1946 and lasted until the 1970s or 1980s. The Bellevue Stratford was one of Philadelphia's finest hotels until the Legionnaire's Disease outbreak following an American Legion convention in July 1976. The hotel closed in November of that year, was later restored and now operates as a mixed-use building.
Perhaps due to rain, the local Phillies only played once during the three-day convention, Friday the 23rd at the Polo Grounds. Saul Rogovin pitched a complete game as the Phils knocked off the defending world champion Giants, 5-1.
'57 cards always look great. I've been thinking of that Emmett Till case recently.
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with The Archers(I'm more familiar with Archer lol) was the Grace character killed off for ratings to compete with TV?
This has to be one of the more eventful couple of days to be featured in this series.
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