The First Time News Was Fit To Print, XVII: New York Edition

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Every Monday, mental_floss wanders into the archives of The New York Times "“ and wanders out with first mentions worth mentioning. This week, we're focusing on New York City. If you have a suggestion for next week's edition, leave us a comment.

Candace Bushnell

August 5, 1986

Bowling is Luring New Fans Bankers, lawyers, actors and musicians are the kinds of people crowding New York's bowling alleys these days, knocking down pins along with the notion that bowling is a sport reserved for blue-collar workers. * * * * * "It's America," said Candace Bushnell, a writer, who scored a six, danced a jig of triumph and added: "It's like eating TV dinners and sitting around the house with your hair in rollers. Living in New York, you can lose touch with that." * * * * * "You bring your friends along and it becomes an event," said David Rieth, the lead singer and guitarist for a rock band called the Sub Dudes, who was keeping score and singing along with the music. "It's better than a bar because the beer is cheaper. And you can bowl."

Donald Trump

January 28, 1973

A Builder Looks Back "“ And Moves Forward The big change in Fred Trump's operations in recent years is the advent of his son, Donald"¦.Donald, who was graduated first in his class from the Wharton School of Finance of the University of Pennsylvania in 1968, joined his father about five years ago. He has what his father calls "drive." He also possesses, in his father's judgment, business acumen. "Donald is the smartest person I know," he remarked admirably. "Everything he touches turns to gold."

Metropolitan Museum of Art

January 16, 1870

The New Art Museum The Committee of fifty, appointed Nov. 23, to draft a Constitution for the Metropolitan Art Museum to be erected in this City, have adopted the following: Constitution of The Metropolitan Museum of ArtArticle 1. The Committee of fifty...shall constitute an Association to be called the "Metropolitan Museum of Art," whose object shall be to secure the establishment, in the City of New York, of an institution in which our whole people shall be freely provided with ample facilities for the study of select examples in every department of the fine arts, and for the cultivation of pure taste in the application of art to manufactures and to practical life.

Michael Bloomberg

November 9, 1975

Spotlight: Block Trader at Salomon When two Salomon Brothers partners said to be in often bitter competition for the same job were "reassigned" to other duties in late July, 33-year-old Michael R. Bloomberg came up with the plum they were both seeking "“ control over Salomon's prestigious block trading operations in stocks. * * * * * Mr. Bloomberg, an intense personable Harvard M.B.A., now finds himself working 12-to-15-hour days "“ one man doing the work formerly done by three partners. But that is not to say that Mr. Bloomberg is unhappy with his lot, for block trading remains one of the headiest areas in the brokerage business. * * * * * For Mr. Bloomberg, who "loves the business," lives modestly and claims he doesn't really have the time to spend what he does draw down, the real rewards are thus far clearly psychic.

Keep reading for Yankee Stadium, Woody Allen, Times Square, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Dylan and many more Gotham-themed topics.

Yankee Stadium

December 18, 1921

Yankee Stadium to Seat 80,000 FansThe structure will represent the most recent "“ in fact, the up-to-the-minute "“ discoveries and developments in stadium construction, with drawbacks noted in other stadia eliminated. Particular attention will be given to looking after the convenience of women patrons and making them as comfortable as possible. The tribe of female fans is expected to increase speedily as soon as the new park is thrown open. * * * * * All around the outside of "Yankee Stadium," which is to be the official name of the place, an areaway seven feet in width will be left in order to provide for future development of stores and storage places. This is a novel feature in such plants.

Times Square

March 23, 1904

Times Triangle, Times Square: New Names for Long Acre Square Suggested by a Reader of This NewspaperTo the Editor of The New York Times: When the new building of The New York Times shall be completed and become a thing of art and beauty in that section of the city in which it is to stand, why would it not be fitting that the space about the edifice be called "Times Triangle" or "Times Square," though perhaps it may not be a square? It is, it seems, more euphonious than "Long Acre Square," and very soon would become as well known as "Printing House Square" or "Herald Square." No doubt the Board of Aldermen would take up such a suggestion at the proper time and act upon it favorably. Can it not be entertained? -J.W.C. Corbusier

Woody Allen

March 19, 1962

Young Men's Hebrew Association Presents 2nd Jazz Concert On the bill were two well-established jazz groups...and a relatively unknown comedian, Woody Allen. It was the comedian who walked off with the honors for the evening. Mr. Allen, who describes himself as "short and unloved," looks like a somewhat unkempt Wally Cox. A monologuist in the Mort Sahl style who ranges over almost every area except politics...he wandered off into what he apparently found to be more diverting topics...[for example] the problem of getting a divorce in New York ("The Ten Commandments say 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' but New York State says you have to"). Mr. Allen's quiet, underplayed style enabled him to get laughs with what might otherwise have been little more than casual remarks.

Bob Dylan

September 29, 1961

20-Year-Old Singer Is Bright New Face At Gerde's Club Resembling a cross between a choir boy and a beatnik, Mr. Dylan has a cherubic look and a mop of tousled hair he partly covers with a Huck Finn black corduroy cap. His clothes may need a bit of tailoring, but when he works his guitar, harmonica or piano and composes new songs faster than he can remember them, there is no doubt that he is bursting at the seams with talent. * * * * * But if not for every taste, his music-making has the mark of originality and inspiration, all the more noteworthy for his youth. Mr. Dylan is vague about his antecedents and birthplace, but it matters less where he has been than where he is going, and that would seem to be straight up.

Jerry Seinfeld

March 30, 1979

Funny Finalists Stand Up For Laughs "The Big Laff Off," 40 stand-up comedians, some of them professionals only in the sense that they had had a few small club dates, most of them amateurs, some of them walk-on novices, performing over six nights in the last two weeks at the city's comedy cabarets, the Comic Strip, Catch a Rising Star, and the Improvisation. * * * * * The Comic Strip's regular master of ceremonies, Jerry Seinfeld, will be there Monday discussing the complexities of "those little hangers they have for socks" and how embarrassed he is when he has to go to Disneyland, "because all those movable dolls know more than me."

New York Jets

April 16, 1963

Titans Get A New Coach (Ewbank) And A New Name (Jets) Wilbur (Weeb) Ewbank, as expected, was appointed yesterday as coach and general manager of New York's American Football League team for three years. But the name he will be expected to cover with gridiron glory was, unexpectedly, announced as the Jets. It used to be the Titans. The Jets, which rhymes with Mets, was selected from more than 300 possible names submitted by friends, enemies and advertising agencies. * * * * * The Jets symbolizes the site of Shea Stadium (where the Jets think they'll play this fall) between two major airports, the spirit of modern times and the speed and eagerness of all concerned. Gothams, Borros and Dodgers were other leading contenders. Dodgers was discarded because the baseball people were not in favor. Borros (a pun on boroughs) was discarded because there was fear the team would be called the jackasses, and Gothams was dismissed because someone said that it would be shortened to Goths "“ "and you know they weren't such nice people."

The View

August 10, 1997

Barbara Walters's Foursome "How many parties have their own rainbow?" Barbara Walters asked at the celebration Tuesday night for her new daytime show, The View. As if on cue, a brilliant rainbow had appeared in the sky just in time to be glimpsed from a room with a wraparound view on the 22nd floor of ABC on West 66th Street. Actually, it's not really "The Barbara Walters Show"; Ms. Walters has recruited a multigenerational cast of three ladies-who-power-lunch and one rookie to dish each day for a live audience on topics ranging from affirmative action to plastic surgery. The show, which begins tomorrow at 11 A.M. on ABC, is a kind of consciousness-raising group for the millennium. (There will also be chats with celebrities.) * * * * * As usual, Ms. Walters got the last word. "If this show works," she said, "you're going to see shows with four dogs, four men and four grandmothers." Then again, it only takes one Rosie O'Donnell.

Taxicab

April 9, 1899

The Taxicabs One taxicab company, in spite of all the popular clamor for cheaper fares, has raised its rates, so that a ride of two miles, if the meter works properly and the chauffeur is honest, will cost $1.30. We fear it will turn out to be like advertised hotel rates, $1.30 "and up." The chauffeur's fee is still to be considered. * * * * * It would be better for the companies to practice economies; to secure honest chauffeurs, to guard against taximeter errors; than to raise the rate of fares. We have all been dreaming of the establishment of a cheap cab system. We still have nothing cheaper than a livery stable horse coupe.

Don Mattingly

September 2, 1980

Yankee Hopefuls Face Crossroad At GreensboroDon Mattingly, a 19-year-old outfielder from Evansville, Ind., hit in the vicinity of .370. He has a knack for turning fastballs into line drives. Mattingly's fielding has been questionable, but he improved after working with Ken Berry, the two-time Gold Glove winner who is now a Hornet coach. * * * * * Kim Mattingly, 17, left high school to marry Don....Being married to a minor league player is lonely, Kim says. There are so many bus trips and so many days with nothing to do. Some of the wives look forward to the games as much as the players do. Kim Mattingly likes to get out and walk around the stadium and talk to fans and the wives and girlfriends of other players. She says she realizes that hers is strictly a supporting role to her husband. "When he's happy, I'm happy," she says. "When he goes 0 for 8, then he gets grumpy and he's grumpy to me too."

Lincoln Tunnel

April 17, 1937

39th Street Tube Gets Name Of Lincoln The new vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River between West Thirty-ninth Street, Manhattan, and Weehawken, N.J., will hereafter be known as the Lincoln Tunnel, the Port Authority announced yesterday. The tunnel, now under construction, has thus far been called the Midtown Hudson Tunnel....Use of the name Midtown Hudson Tunnel, the Port Authority explained, has now become inadvisable because of confusion arising from the fact that work is now under way on a Queens-Midtown tunnel and plans are being pushed for a Midtown Manhattan Crosstown tube.

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"¢ Volume V: Walkman, Osama bin Laden, Iowa Caucuses
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"¢ Volume VIII: Bob Dylan, New York Jets, War on Terror
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"¢ November 3, 2007: Appearance on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday

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