VF1 6-30-2015

Bruce Springsteen & Clarence Clemons

Born to Run was released on August 25, 1975 and was a critical and commercial success, becoming
Springsteen’s breakthrough album. It peaked at number three on the Billboard charts within a month.
Two singles were released from the album; Born to Run and Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and two songs
Thunder Road and Jungleland became radio staples and concert highlights for the band. Time and
Newsweek magazines put Springsteen on the cover in the same week - October 27, 1975.

James Taylor

The five-time Grammy winner
has produced chart -topping
hits since 1970 with Fire And Rain,
You’ve Got a Friend, and
Carolina In My Mind. He
collaborated with then wife,
Carly Simon on several songs
including Mockingbird, which
was a top 5 hit in 1974. Taylor was
inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall
of Fame in 2000.

The Grateful Dead
Jerry Garcia 1972



NOSTALGICAMERICA | 53

Welcome to Ellis Island

The Gateway for millions of immigrants to enter the
United States from 1892–1954

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

Southwest Airlines aka Air Southwest withstood a battle from
Braniff and Continental Airlines to keep them grounded, and in
1971 they prevailed and serviced cities in Texas. Co-Founder
Herb Kelleher and a committee of individuals that included the
same person who had selected the hostess for Hugh Hefner’s
Playboy jet, designed their female flight attendants to look like
long-legged dancers, majorettes, and cheerleaders with ‘unique
personalities’ and dressed in hot pants and go-go boots.

THE CORVETTE ARRIVES!

On June 30, 1953 the Corvette went into full production at
the GM facility in Flint, Michigan. Each of the 300 Corvettes
produced that year were convertibles, white exterior, red interior,
black canvas tops, and were built by hand. The base price was
$ 3,498.00 (AM Radio was $ 145.15 extra)



Atlantic City, NJ 1957

The Soap Box Derby

Myron E. “Scottie” Scott a Dayton, Ohio Daily
News Photographer encountered three boys racing
homemade, engineless cars down an inclined brick
street. In a split second, he had one of the best
ideas of his life. His boss approved a princely sum
of $200 to finance a race. The event was held on
Saturday, August 19, 1933, and an amazing crowd
of 362 kids showed up with homemade cars built
of orange crates, sheet tin, wagon and baby-buggy
wheels and almost everything of “junk value”. The
police and the Daily News estimated that there
were 40,000 watchers along the hill. The Soap Box
Derby was official.



Route 66 Golden Gate
Bridge Opens
An estimated 210,000 people migrated to California to escape
the despair of the dust bowl and Route 66 symbolized the On May 27, 1937 —200,000 people came to
road to opportunity. The road is 2,400 miles long. walk on the special Pedestrian Day. Autos were
allowed the next day.

AMERICANA

Las Vegas

Freemont Street 1953

NOSTALGICAMERICA | 61

NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC
MOMENT

Golden Gate Bridge
1956



A GLIMPSE OF LIFE IN SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 1946

64 | NOSTALGICAMERICA



PEACHTREE STREET IN ATLANTA 1944

NOSTALGICAMERICA | 67

Babe Ruth with his fans in New York 1922

Spring Training at Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida

NOSTALGICAMERICA | 69















NOSTALGICAMERICA | 77

CLASSIC BALLPARKS

WRIGLEY FIELD

Oldest known photograph of what is now known as
Wrigley Field in Chicago (before it was named Wrigley)
Date of the image is unknown

YANKEE STADIUM OPENS TO LARGEST CROWD EVER

April 18, 1923 • The Bronx in New York

An announced crowd of 74,217 included commissioner Kennesaw Landis, NY Governor Al Smith, and
Colonel Jacob Ruppert. The dominant sounds of the music, played by the Seventh Regiment Band,
directed by John Philip Sousa, highlighted the opening of the first ever Baseball Stadium. Babe Ruth’s
wish that he would trade in a year of his life if he could hit a home run in his first game here, came true.
In the third inning his three run blast soared in to the right field bleachers. Ruth, not fooled by Howard
Ehmke’s slow pitch, rounded the bases, removed his cap as he crossed home plate, and waved to the
ecstatic assemblage. The Yankees prevailed with strong pitching from “Sailor Bob” Shawkey in their 4 - 1
win over archrival the Boston Red Sox. Originally named, The Yankee Stadium, it was built in nine months
at a cost of $2.5 million dollars. The massive ballpark stretched from 157th to 161st and from River St.
to Doughty Ave. in the Bronx. A copper frieze facade was designed to give it a regal look.

GREATEST SEASONS EVER!

Babe Ruth Wayne Gretzky

New York Yankees Edmonton Oilers

1921 Season 1981 – 82 Season
GAMES AB RUNS HITS 2B 3B HR RBI AVG. SB OBP GOALS ASSISTS POINTS
152 540 177 204 44 16 59 168 .378 17 .512
92 120 212

Wilt Chamberlain

Philadelphia Warriors

1961 - 1962 Season

GAMES POINTS REBOUNDS MINUTES PLAYED
PER GAME
PER GAME PER GAME 48 (plus OT minutes)

80 50.4 25.65



Joe DiMaggio
Extends Streak to 46 Games

On July 5, 1941 Joe DiMaggio belted a home run against the
Philadelphia A’s to extend The Streak to 46 straight games.
DiMaggio’s streak of a hit in 56 consecutive games in 1941 began
on May 15th and ended on July 17th. He hit .408 during that time
with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.

NOSTALGICAMERICA | 83

BASEBALL

“Our National Pastime”

LOU GEHRIG

Lou Gehrig was overshadowed by Babe Ruth for as long as they played together. Ruth was larger than life, but Gehrig was
consistent and a hero to all of us. Lou owns the AL season record for RBIs, with 184 in 1931, and hit a MLB record 23 grand
slams lifetime. He hit four homers in a nine-inning game, and hit for the cycle twice. Lou had at least 100 RBIs and scored
100 runs every full season of his career, 13 straight years. In fact, he topped 150 RBIs seven times, also a MLB record, and
when he retired, only Ruth had hit more home runs… and he played in 2,130 consecutive games!!!

84 | NOSTALGICAMERICA

The Shot Heard Round The World

The NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers, cross-town rivals, had tied for
first place at the end of the 1951 season and were now knotted at one
game apiece in their best of three tiebreaker series to determine the NL
pennant. The Dodgers led the deciding game 4-1 entering the bottom
of the ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, three of the first four
Giants got base hits off Dodgers’ pitcher Don Newcombe, cutting the
Dodgers’ lead to 4-2. With one out and runners on 2nd and 3rd base,
the Dodgers were just two outs from the pennant when Ralph Branca
relieved Newcombe to face the Giants’ Bobby Thomson. Thomson had
hit a career-best 32 home runs that season with 101 RBIs, and had two
hits already in this game. Should the Dodgers walk him to set up a
possible game-ending double play with twenty year-old rookie
Willie Mays on deck? …or should they follow standard baseball strategy
and not intentionally put the winning run on base? Dodger manager
Chuck Dressen elected to pitch to Thomson, and on the 0-1 pitch from
Branca, Thomson hit a dramatic pennant-winning 3-run home run,
forever known as the Shot Heard Around the World. As Bobby Thomson
jubilantly circled the bases, Giants’ play-by-play radio announcer
Russ Hodges gleefully and repeatedly proclaimed “The Giants Win
The Pennant! The Giants Win The Pennant!”

MAYS ROBS WERTZ

September 29, 1954

Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, played in the Polo Grounds, was
tied at 2-2 in the top of the 8th inning and the Cleveland Indians were
threatening to take the lead. With runners on first and second base and
no outs, Indians 1B Vic Wertz, who already had 3 hits in the game came
to the plate. With the count at 2-1, He smashed the next pitch over
400 feet to deep centerfield. Giants’ centerfielder Willie Mays, who was
playing shallow, raced back at full speed with his back to the infield and
made a miraculous over-the-shoulder catch as he neared the centerfield
wall. He then spun and immediately threw the ball back to the infield to
make sure that Larry Doby, who returned to 2nd base to tag up, couldn’t
advance further than 3rd base. The Giants would go on to win the game
and sweep the World Series.

DON LARSON

Hurls Perfect Game

For the first time in World Series
history, Don Larsen, threw a perfect
game for the New York Yankees in
Game 5 of the 1956 World Series
against the Brooklyn Dodgers
winning 2-0. He needed just 97
pitches, and Mickey Mantle’s home
run was all the offense needed
for the victory.

OLYMPIC HIGHLIGHTS

BOB
BEAMON
SOARS

At the 1968 Summer Olympic
Games in Mexico City,
Bob Beamon of the United
States made headlines
with what Sports Illustrated
Magazine claims as one of the
five greatest sports moments
of the 20th century. Known
as an erratic jumper, Beamon
tore down the runway, and
jumped 29 ft. 2-1/2 in.
shattering the existing record
by 21-3/4 in. and becoming
the first person to reach both
28 and 29 feet.

Mark Spitz Wins 7 Gold Medals

Mark Spitz won a gold medal and set a world record in every one of the 7 swimming events he
competed in during the 1972 Summer Olympics. These feats were particularly meaningful as
Spitz, who is Jewish, won these medals in West Germany during the same Olympic Games that
were marred by Palestinian terrorists. Combined with the 1968 Olympic Games, Mark Spitz won
a total of 9 gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze medal.

1972 OLYMPIC USA BASKETBALL
GOLD MEDAL STOLEN

The 1972 USA Olympic Men’s basketball team lost their very first Olympic Game since Olympic play
began in 1936. It was the most controversial moment in Olympic history. In the final game against the
Soviet Union and the US trailing, Doug Collins was fouled driving to the basket with three seconds
left to play. He sank the first free throw to tie the game and made the second as an inadvertent horn
blew. With the US in the lead by one point the Soviets quickly inbounded the ball and with one second
to play and the ball at midcourt the referees stopped play again to discuss a bizarre complaint that
the Soviets had called a timeout before the second free throw. Once the timeout was disallowed, the
Soviets were allowed another three seconds and the ball out of bounds again. They threw the ball
inbounds and the horn sounded sending the USA team in to jubilation. The referees stopped the
celebration and said the horn sounded inadvertently again and awarded the Soviets a third chance to
inbound the ball. On the third time, the USA defender was illegally ordered by the referee to move back
allowing the Soviets a clear pass down court. The pass to Aleksandr Belov was successful and with a
fake he laid the ball in uncontested for a one-point victory. At the end of the game one of the referees
refused to sign the official scoring sheet in protest and the US team boycotted the medal ceremony
and refused to accept their Silver Medal.

Mary Lou Retton

Mary Lou Retton wins five medals including the Gold
Medal in the individual All-Around Gymnastics competition
at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles

PRO FOOTBALL

FIRST AFL-NFL CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE

Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California
January 15, 1967 Attendance: 61,946

The Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL
World Championship game. Green Bay broke open the game with three second-half touchdowns.
QB Bart Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns and was chosen
the games MVP. The Packers collected $15,000 per man and the Chiefs $7,500, the largest
single-game shares in the history of team sports.

JOE NAMATH

Joe Namath leads the Jets to victory 16-7 over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
The Game was played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
75,389 were in attendance.

THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION

There are moments that defy explanation, and Pittsburgh Steelers star Franco Harris
was the key player in professional football’s most famous play, ‘The Immaculate
Reception.’ Trailing the Oakland Raiders 7-6, facing fourth-and-10 on their own
40-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the game and no time-outs, it appeared
that the Steelers had no chance to win this game. Head coach Chuck Noll called a
pass play, 66 Circle Option. Raiders safety Jack Tatum collided with ‘Frenchy’ Fuqua
just as the ball arrived sending the ball sailing in to the air backward several yards,
end over end… Steelers running back Franco Harris, running downfield scooped up
the ball inches before it hit the ground, and ran downfield to score
the touchdown that gave the Steelers the victory 12-7.

1972 Miami Dolphins
“Perfection”

The 1972 Miami Dolphins coached by Don Shula
completed a perfect season (17-0 record) by defeating the
Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII 14-7. Larry Csonka
and Mercury Morris became the first teammates to each
rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, and the
No-Name Defense was led by linebacker Nick Buoniconti,
Bill Stanfill, and safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

HERSCHEL WALKER

As a freshman Herschel Walker led the University of Georgia to the National
Championship and two years later, as a junior he won the Heisman Trophy.

JOE MONTANA
LEADS NOTRE DAME TO
1977 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Quarterback Joe Montana earned the starting job and earned a reputation as
“the comeback kid”, with two come from behind victories in the 4th quarter
against Purdue and Clemson. The Irish routed Southern Cal 49-19 to earn
them a Cotton Bowl Classic berth, where they defeated No. 1 and unbeaten
Texas by 38-10 to capture Notre Dame’s tenth national title.

ARCHIE GRIFFIN WINS THE
HEISMAN… TWICE!

Over his four-year collegiate career at Ohio State, Griffin rushed for at least 100 yards
an NCAA record 31 consecutive games. He won the Heisman Trophy in his Junior and
Senior seasons, the only player ever to have accomplished that feat twice.

DOUG FLUTIE SHOCKS MIAMI
AND THE COUNTRY!

It’s November 23, 1984, and the sold-out crowd at the Orange Bowl has been
witnessing an electrifying shootout. Each team played the entire game like a two-
minute drill. There were 15 scoring drives, all for more than than 55 yards including
five drives of 80 or more, and 1,273 total yards produced by both teams combined.
In the last minute, Miami scored to take the lead 45-41. The Hurricanes went wild on
their sideline, celebrating what they believed is a landmark victory. Only 28 seconds
remain. The Eagles roar back up field, and on the last play from scrimmage, Doug
Flutie takes his last snap and darts backward. The defense chases him out of the
pocket, and staring straight into a 30-mile-per-hour wind, he heaves a bomb from
his own 37 yard, that sails mightily 67 yards through the evening sky softly landing in
to the hands of Gerard Phelan for the winning score.

THE NBA

WALT FRAZIER

Walt “Clyde” Frazier the ultimate team leader of the New York Knicks led them
to two Championships in 1970 and 1973.

BILL RUSSELL

Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Celtics dynasty, leading them to 11
Championships in his 13 seasons. In his last season, he was the player-coach
and led the team to a championship that they were not favored to win.
He averaged over 22 rebounds per game over his entire career.

JERRY WEST

For starters, the NBA logo is
that of Jerry West’s silhouette.
“Mr. Outside” was unstoppable.
There was no three-point
arc during his career, yet he
averaged 27 points per game.
In the 1964-1965 Playoffs he
averaged 40.6 points per game.

DR. J

“Dr. J” was the most dominant player of his
era. He starred in the ABA and the NBA, and
continually performed feats fans as well as
players had never seen before. His mid-air
spins and whirls were punctuated by powerful
slam-dunks.

Michael Jordan

UNC Tar Heel

Michael Jordan enrolled at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981
and led his team to the NCAA Division I
championship in 1982 scoring the winning
basket to defeat Georgetown University.
He was awarded the NCAA College Player
of the Year in 1983 and in 1984.

MAGIC vs. BIRD 1979 NCAA
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The 1979 NCAA Basketball
Championship Game was the
first installment of many historical
head-to-head battles between
Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Bird was college basketball’s player
of the year as he led the Indiana
State Sycamores to a top ranking
and a 33-0 record entering the
final game. So, Magic and the
Michigan State Spartans were the
underdogs. But Magic outplayed
Bird in the final, scoring 24 points
(to Bird’s 19), while adding 7
rebounds and 5 assists as the
Spartans won the championship
75-64. Magic Johnson was named
the tournament’s MVP.

Pistol Pete’ Maravich- LSU

He is remembered as one of the all-time great college basketball players. In
three seasons at LSU, he averaged 44.2 points per game. His 3,667 career
points are the most all-time in NCAA Division I history, which incredibly, he
accomplished despite not being allowed to play as a freshman and in the
years before the implementation of the 3-point arc.

Jim Valvano – Coach of North Carolina State

Underdog NC State, won the 1983 NCAA Championship as Dereck
Whittenburg heaved a last second shot that fell short of the rim and was
caught and dunked by teammate Lorenzo Charles as time ran out. The 54-52
final score over the top seeded University of Houston and their two future
Hall of Fame players Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon is what many
consider the greatest upset in a championship game. Most fans remember
Jim Valvano’s famous reaction of running around on the court looking for
somebody to hug in the immediate moments after the Wolfpack victory.

NY ISLANDERS WIN
FOUR STANLEY CUPS

On May 24, 1980 in the Nassau Veterans Memorial
Coliseum on Long Island, Bobby Nystrom scored 7:11 into
overtime of Game 6 of the NHL Finals vs. the Philadelphia
Flyers to give the New York Islanders their first ever
Stanley Cup Championship, just eight years after the team
was founded. Nystrom’s dramatic goal not only won the
Stanley Cup, but also started one of the most memorable
dynasties in sports history. Led by Hall of Fame Head
Coach Al Arbour, the Islanders won four consecutive
Stanley Cups from 1980-1983. Hockey fans will fondly
remember that this team included Hall of Famers Mike
Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, and many
other talented players.

THE BROAD
STREET BULLIES

Known for their tough hard-nosed hockey style, the
Philadelphia Flyers challenged the original 6 in the 1973-
1974 season. Goaltender Bernie Parent was at the top of
his game, Dave Schultz enforced, and Bobby Clark led
the team. They won the Western Division, and swept
the Atlanta Flames in the first round. They defeated the
NY Rangers in the semi-finals and in the process made
history by becoming the first expansion team to win a
playoff series over an original six team. Their opponent
in the finals was Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins. A
tough 6 game series ended with Parent shutting out the
Bruins at home and the Stanley Cup was hoisted at the
Spectrum for the first time.

THE NHL

MR. HOCKEY… GORDIE HOWE

He was signed by the Detroit Red Wings when he was 16, and was soon teamed up with
Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel in what would be called the “Production Line”, one of the all-
time great NHL combinations. He was an effortless skater with deceptive speed, tremen-
dous strength and a powerful shot. He scored 20 goals a year for 22 consecutive years.
He won six Hart Memorial Trophies as the league MVP, and at the age of 41, he scored 44
goals and added 59 assists for a career high 103 points. In 1979 he returned to the NHL
with the Hartford Whalers as a 51 year old, appearing in all 80 games.

BOBBY ORR’S CUP WINNING GOAL

On May 10, 1970 in the Boston Garden, Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals was tied at 3-3
and in overtime as the Boston Bruins, leading the series 3-0, was a goal away from their
first Stanley Cup championship since 1941. Only forty seconds into the overtime period, 21
year-old Bruins’ defenseman Bobby Orr completed a perfect “give and go” with teammate
Derek Sanderson, receiving the puck and slipping it past Blues’ goaltender Glenn Hall just
as Orr is tripped by Blues’ defenseman Noel Picard. The trip sent Orr flying through the air
with his arms outstretched triumphantly resulting in one of the most memorable photo-
graphs in sports history.

NOSTALGICAMERICA | 97