Photograph taken a few minutes before takeoff
at Roosevelt Field
May 21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh lands his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris, France, becoming the 1st person to fly from the North American continent to the European continent. And he did it alone: Previous attempts had been two-man teams, and the 1st true transatlantic flight had been 8 years earlier, between much-closer islands, Newfoundland (then a British colony, in 1949 made a Province of Canada) and the west coast of Ireland.
Lindbergh, a 25-year-old airmail pilot from Minnesota, son of a Republican Congressman, had taken off from Roosevelt Field in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. He took off at 7:52 AM U.S. Eastern Time, and landed at 10:22 PM Western Europe Time (4:22 PM U.S. Eastern), flying for 33 hours and 30 minutes.
A shopping mall named Westbury Plaza is now on the site of Roosevelt Field. To the west, across the Meadowbrook Parkway, is the indoor mall named Roosevelt Field. To the south, also across the curving Meadowbrook, are the Cradle of Aviation Museum, Hofstra University, and the Nassau Coliseum.
Lindbergh became the biggest hero in the world. He received a massive ticker-tape parade on his return to New York. He married Anne Morrow, the daughter of his financial adviser. They had 6 children, and settled in a farmhouse in East Amwell, New Jersey.
In 1932, their 1st child, Charles Jr., was kidnapped from the farmhouse, and a national panic ensued. The boy was found dead 2 months later. Bruno Hauptmann was arrested for "The Crime of the Century." While the Lindberghs' mailing address was Hopewell, which is in Mercer County, the house was in East Amwell, which is in Hunterdon County, and so "The Trial of the Century" was at the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Flemington. In 1935, Hauptmann was convicted, and executed a year later. His guilt is still debated.
Lindbergh decided America wasn't safe for his family, and moved to Europe, where he fell enamored of Nazi Germany. Upon returning to America, he told people the country should stay out of World War II, and blamed Jews for agitating for war. His anti-Semitism and association with the Nazis ruined his public reputation, and it never recovered. When he died in 1974, it was barely even news.
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May 21, 1927 was a Saturday. It was in football's off-season. There was no NBA yet. And the NHL had completed its season. But there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at League Park in Cleveland. The Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 1st inning, and Emil "Dutch" Levsen was almost immediately replaced by Willis Hudlin. But they blew it, as Yankee starter Walter "Dutch" Ruether didn't have good stuff, and Hudlin pitched 11 1/3rd innings in relief. Wilcy Moore blew the lead in the 8th inning, partly due to an error by Babe Ruth, and walked Charlie Jamieson with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th.
This would be an unusual occurrence: With Ruth hitting 60 home runs, the Yankees won 110 games, setting a new American League record, and lost just 44.
"Dutch" was then a common nickname for men of German descent. Note the difference in spelling: The Yankees' Walter Ruether was no relation to the famed union executive Walter Reuther.
* The Brooklyn Robins -- the once and future Dodgers so named because their manager was Wilbert Robinson -- dropped both ends of a doubleheader to the Chicago Cubs at Ebbets Field. The Cubs won the 1st game 6-4, and the 2nd game 11-6.
* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. So the New York teams went 0-4 on the day.
* The St. Louis Cardinals swept a doubleheader from the Boston Braves at Braves Field. The Cards won the 1st game 5-3, and the 2nd game 6-2.
* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Reds won the 1st game 6-5, and the 2nd game 5-2.
* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.