May 29, 1942: “Yankee Doodle Dandy” Premieres

May 29, 1942: Yankee Doodle Dandy premieres, starring James Cagney as George M. Cohan. Biographies of composers were a trend in the 1940s, both during and after World War II. Cohan lived long enough to see this film, but died 5 months later.

As "The Man Who Owned Broadway" -- he is the only actor to have a statue in the Theater District -- Cohan developed friendships with other New York celebrities in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, including New York Giants manager John McGraw.

But it was another team that, sort of, was named for his work. When the American League put a team in New York in 1903, it was named the Highlanders. Too long a name to fit into a headline, so they looked for something shorter. In 1904, Cohan's musical Little Johnny Jones included the songs "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Give My Regards to Broadway." The word "Yankee" stuck in New Yorkers' minds, and, since all teams in the AL were unofficially nicknamed "the Americans," it fit, and it fit headlines, too: "Yankees" or "Yanks." The ballclub finally made it official in 1903.

Cohan was a Giants fan, but Cagney was a Yankee Fan, and, in one of his last public appearances, threw out the ceremonial first ball at Yankee Stadium before a 1981 World Series game.

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May 29, 1942 was a Friday. This was also the day that actor John Barrymore died. I have a separate entry for that event. And hockey player Pierre Bourque and actor Kevin Conway were born.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 16-1 at Yankee Stadium. Lefty Gomez went the distance for the win. Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Buddy Hassett hit home runs.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1 at Ebbets Field. Babe Young batted in the top of the 10th inning, hitting a ground ball to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who makes a bad throw, allowing 2 runs to score.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 14-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Ted Williams went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, a walk, and 7 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 14-3 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Beggs walked Dom Dallesandro with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-8 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.