St. Louis People 365

Almost a Disneyland, Bob Gibson and more

After Walt Disney ran into opposition to his plan to build an alcohol-free tourist attraction in St. Louis, he began buying land in Florida for what is now Disney World. Another November highlight was Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson winning the Cy Young award in 1968.

On the unusual side, a past November also marked the death of a St. Louis woman who took arsenic to maintain her lily-white complexion.

These are some of the historic happenings in St. Louis that are included in the book, "St. Louis People 365." The book was one of historic trivia written by author Joe Sonderman.

(Sonderman has given permission to Young Saint Louis.com to quote selected items from his 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 130 items in the November chapter of the book:

Nov. 3, 1968: Bob Gibson was named the National League Cy Young Award winner for 1968, the "Year of the Pitcher." All Gibby had done that year was go 22 and nine, with 28 complete games and 13 shutouts. His earned run average was an astounding 1.12.

Nov. 4, 1804: Lewis and Clark hired Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian trapper who was living among the Indians, as an interpreter. He was married to a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea. The Hidatsa tribe had kidnapped her and another Shoshone girl and sold them to Charbonneau. Lewis and Clark expected Sacagawea to help them when they reached Shoshone territory.

Nov. 6, 1888: John George Taylor Spink was born. His uncle had founded the Sporting News just two years earlier and his father joined as manager of the paper. Spink started out as an office boy and took over the paper in 1914. He ran the Sporting News for the next 48 years, making it the "Bible of Baseball." In 1962, the Baseball Hall of Fame established the writer's award in Taylor Spink's honor and named him the first recipient.

Nov. 10, 1871: John Rowlands Stanley uttered his famous words "Doctor Livingstone, I presume" as he met the missing Scottish missionary on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Stanley was a former reporter for the Globe-Democrat. It was there he earned the reputation that got him hired by the New York Herald, which sent him to Africa.

Nov. 11, 1957: The Mark C. Steinberg skating rink in Forest Park opened for the first time. About 2,000 skaters came out on opening day. Steinberg was an investment broker who died in 1951. His widow founded a charitable trust and decided a skating rink would be a good memorial to her husband, who loved sports and children.

Nov. 13, 1934: The first penalty shot ever scored in the National Hockey League occurred at The Arena. Ralph Bowman of the St. Louis Eagles scored on his shot against Montreal Maroons goaltender Alex Connell. It was the second penalty shot attempted. The first one had failed three days earlier. In those days, penalty shots were taken from a 10-foot circle, 38 feet in front of the goal.

Nov. 19, 1968: Benjamin Goins became the first black man to hold the office of city-wide license collector. Governor Warren Hearnes appointed him to fill out the unexpired term of the late Joseph T. Hayden. Goins would be elected in his own right in 1970. He would fight a memorable battle for power with Representative William Clay and the machine of the Steamfitters Local 562.

Nov. 20, 1885: Kate Brewington Bennett died suddenly at the age of 37. She was the toast of society and considered the most beautiful woman in St. Louis. Other women envied her lily-white complexion. It turned out she had been taking small doses of arsenic in order to keep her pale complexion. She didn't know that arsenic is a poison that accumulates in the bloodstream. She is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Nov. 21, 1963: "Gussie" threw a major roadblock in front of plans by Walt Disney to build a family-oriented attraction in St. Louis. Disney wouldn't allow liquor to be sold at the proposed "Riverfront Square." At a meeting attended by Disney, August Busch Jr. loudly said, "Any man who thinks he can design an attraction that is going to be a success in this city and not serve beer or liquor ought to have his head examined." Within a few months, the deeply offended Disney began buying up land in Florida.

Nov. 25, 1820: Governor Alexander McNair signed a bill making St. Charles the capitol of Missouri upon admission to the Union. On June 4, 1821, legislators met for the first time on the second flood of adjoining buildings at 206 Main. Charles and Ruluff Peck ran a dry goods store on the first floor of one building. Chancy Shepard ran a carpentry shop on the first floor of the other. The capitol moved to Jefferson City in 1826.