January 17, 1953: Chevrolet Introduces the Corvette

January 17, 1953: The General Motors Motorama is held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. GM takes this opportunity to introduce a new car: The Chevrolet Corvette.

The Chevy Corvette, or the 'Vette for short, has become known as "America's Sports Car," particularly in its cherry-red color. It's one of those cars that is immediately identifiable.

It's also worked its way into popular culture. In 1958, a doo-wop group named themselves The Corvettes, and had a minor hit with a song titled, of course, "Corvette." In 1960, the TV show Route 66 premiered, with Martin Milner and George Maharis driving the eponymous highway in a Corvette convertible.

In 1963, the Beach Boys mentioned a Corvette Stingray in their song "Shut Down." In 1964, fellow surfing/hotrodding singers Jan & Dean mentioned a Stingray in their disaster song "Dead Man's Curve."

1964 Chevy Corvette Stingray

In 1982, the TV show Cheers premiered, in which bar owner and former major league pitcher Sam Malone (played by Ted Danson) owned a 1964 Corvette. In 1983, Prince hit the Top 10 for the 1st time, with "Little Red Corvette." And in 1985, George Jones released "The One I Loved Back Then." It's not about a woman: It's about a car, a 1963 Corvette.

2022 Chevy Corvette

*

January 17, 1953 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 84-76 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Indianapolis Olympians, 82-66 at the Baltimore Coliseum.

* And the Rochester Royals beat the Minneapolis Lakers 109-101 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester, New York.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 1-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings played to a 1-1 tie at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

Also, Arsenal defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, 5-3 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.