St. Louis People 365

Musial wins on salary; Rams win on field

A couple of sports notes highlighted historical happenings in Januarys past in the St. Louis area. Stan Musial had to get approval of a federal agency in 1951 get a pay raise to $85,000. The St. Louis Rams won their Super Bowl victory in 2000.

Among other historical highlights in January include the famous Lindbergh baby trial of Bruno Hauptman and the christening of the U.S. battleship Missouri.

These items are just some of the historic people and events listed in the January chapter of "St. Louis People 365." It is a trivia book written and published by St. Louis author Joe Sonderman.

(Sonderman has given permission to Young Saint Louis.com to quote selected items from the book. If you'd like a copy of the book, check local book stores or go to www.booksonstlouis.com.)

Here are 10 of the 124 items listed in the January chapter:

Jan. 1, 1867: Charles Udell Turpin was born. Turpin owned the Booker T. Washington Theater at 2248 Market Street. It was one of the first theaters in the country built and operated by African-Americans. In 1910, he was elected as constable, the first black to be elected to a St. Louis political office. Charles Turpin was re-elected twice. His brother, Thomas, was an early ragtime musician and composer known as the "Father of St. Louis Ragtime."

Jan. 2, 1935: The "trial of the century" was underway in Flemington, N.J. Bruno Richard Hauptman, an illegal German immigrant, was charged with the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. Hauptman would be convicted largely on circumstantial evidence. He went to the electric chair on April 3, 1936.

Jan. 4, 1937: Grace Bumbry was born in St. Louis. The opera diva attended Sumner High School. Bumbry won a KMOX talent show in 1954 and went on to appear on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts." She debuted with the Paris Opera in 1960. Her appearance at the Bayreuth Festival in 1961 marked the first performance given by a black artist there. She also won the Richard Wagner medal.

Jan. 6, 1963: Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" made its debut. St. Louis Zoo Director Marlon Perkins hosted the television show, which developed many of now-familiar nature show concepts. Field correspondent Jim Fowler usually ended up facing the dangerous creatures. The show ran in prime time until 1971, when it went into syndication. Original episodes were produced for another 19 years.

Jan. 10, 1862: Both U.S. Senators from Missouri were kicked out. Trusten Polk and Waldo P. Johnson were expelled for their pro-southern sympathies. Missouri was without representation in Congress for 46 days during the most critical period in U.S. history. Polk's family was banished from St. Louis. He went on to serve with Sterling Price in the Missouri State Guard.

Jan. 12, 1951: Rush Limbaugh III was born in Cape Girardeau. His father was a well-respected judge who heard the custody case stemming from the Nellie Muench scandal in the 1930s. The young Rush shined shoes before working at the Top 40 station in Cape. After he became a successful host in Sacramento, Rush applied for a position at KMOX. He was not hired. In August, 1988, he launched his syndicated show on 58 stations. Today he is heard on over 660 stations, including KMOX.

Jan. 16, 1951: The U.S. Standardization Board relaxed the rules so Stan Musial could get a pay raise to $85,000. There was a wage freeze in effect because of the Korean War. The board allowed teams to raise salaries within a complicated formula based on salaries over the past four years, plus 10 per cent.

Jan. 18, 1909: George H. Rawlings died. In 1887, George and his brother Alfred opened a sporting goods store in downtown St. Louis. In 1919, Cardinal spitball pitcher Bill Doak asked the firm to manufacture a glove with a leather web between the thumb and forefinger. The Bill Doak model revolutionized glove design. Today, the Rawlings plant at Ava, Missouri, is one of two major glove manufacturers left in the U.S.

Jan. 29, 1944: Vice President Harry S. Truman spoke at ceremonies marking the launch of the battleship Missouri. Truman's daughter Margaret christened the "Mighty Mo" with a bottle of champagne. General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender aboard the Missouri on September 2, 1945. She fired her last shot during Desert Storm in 1991 and is now a tourist attraction at Pearl Harbor.

Jan. 30, 2000: The Rams clinched the first Super Bowl Championship in St. Louis history, by just one yard. Kurt Warner fired a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce to give the Rams a 23-16 lead with 1:54 left in Super Bowl XXXIV. But, the Tennessee Titans fought back. On the final play of the game, Mike Jones of the Rams pulled down Kevin Dyson just short of the goal line to preserve the win.