May 25, 1955: "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" Premieres

May 25, 1955: Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier premieres, produced by Walt Disney Productions. It is an edited and recut compilation of the 1st 3 episodes of the TV series Davy Crockett, which aired on ABC from December 15, 1954, to December 14, 1955.

The story is pure baloney. For starters, while David Crockett was a real person, and a hero of the War of 1812 and the concurrent Creek War against Native American tribes in the South, most of the stories about him, including the ones he himself told, were exaggerations. He was the Chuck Norris of his time. Also, he never called himself "Davy" or "Davey," only "David."

David Crockett

He served in the Tennessee General Assembly from 1821 to 1825, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1826 and 1828, defeated in 1830, won again in 1832, but lost again in 1834, in part due to his opposition to the one man in Tennessee more popular than he was: President Andrew Jackson. He headed out to Texas, and died at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, at the age of 49.

Fess Parker played Crockett in the series and in the film. At the very least, they got his clothes right, showing him wearing buckskins and a coonskin cap. That cap became ubiquitous: Because of its association with Disney and TV, every boy had to have one.

The caps were written into The Honeymooners, as Jackie Gleason's Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden and Art Carney's sewer worker Ed Norton were members of a lodge, the Friendly Order of Raccoons, wearing "Admiral Dewey" jackets and coonskin caps. "The Friendly Raccoon Hello" and "the Friendly Raccoon Goodbye" consisted of lifting the tail on the back of the cap and going, "Whoo!" In one episode, where Ralph finds out that his wife, Alice (Audrey Meadows) is making side money babysitting, the kid she's sitting comes out, sees Ralph in his lodge uniform, and says, "I didn't know Davy Crockett was so fat!"

Even Tennessee's present-day Senator, Estes Kefauver, with designs on the Presidency for 1956, was seen in public wearing a coonskin cap. It didn't help, although he was nominated for Vice President by the Democrats, under Adlai Stevenson, but the ticket lost. Kefauver's cap didn't help: By the time of the election, the fad was over.

The film and show proved so popular that the theme song that had been written by George Bruns (not "Burns") and Thomas W. Blackburn was covered by multiple performers. Bill Hayes recorded one that hit Number 1 in the Spring of 1955. Even Fess Parker recorded a version, and had a minor hit with it.

From 1964 to 1970, Parker returned to the early American West, starring in the NBC series Daniel Boone. This series was no closer to the historical figure it portrayed: Basically, it was Parker reprising his Crockett character. The real Boone (1734-1820) never wore a coonskin cap. It is possible that Boone and Crockett could have met, but no such meeting was ever recorded. Parker lived until 2010.

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May 25, 1955 was a Wednesday. Actress Connie Sellecca was born on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Bob Turley went the distance for the win. Yogi Berra hit a home run, and Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4.

* The New York Giants were swept in a doubleheader by the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-3 and 5-2 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Willie Mays went 3-for-7 with a home run, a walk and an RBI over the 2 games.

* A doubleheader was split at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Baltimore Orioles won the opener, 6-2. The Boston Red Sox won the nightcap, 5-2. Ted Williams was injured, and did not make his season debut until May 28.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0 and 3-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Paul Minner pitched a 4-hit shutout in the 1st game. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 2-for-5 with 2 walks, while Stan Musial went 2-for-7 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1954 to 1958) beat the Milwaukee Braves, 13-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI, on his way to becoming the American League's youngest batting champion.

* The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians were rained out at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Pale Hose won the 1st game, 3-1. The Tribe won the 2nd game, 10-9.

* And the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 6. The Dodgers won the 1st game, 10-5. Carl Erskine outpitched Roy Face, who would be converted into one of the game's top relief pitchers. Sandy Amoros hit a home run.

The Pirates won the 2nd game, 4-1. Vern Law went the distance for the win. Sandy Koufax made only his 3rd major league appearance, starting the game pitching into the 5th inning, although it would be Ed Roebuck who was the losing pitcher. Over the 2 games, Roberto Clemente went 2-for-9 with a walk. Jackie Robinson did not play in either game.