May 3, 1963: A "Children's Crusade" of over 5,000 school students marches from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church into downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Organized by Rev. James Bevel, they intended to see the Mayor, Albert Boutwell, to talk to him about segregation in the city.
Boutwell had been elected the previous November, as a relative moderate on the issue of race. His election was considered a rebuke to the man he defeated, the city's Commissioner of Public Safety, Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor.
They never got that far. Connor still had his job, and ordered the police to let trained attack dogs, German shepherds, loose on the demonstrators. And he ordered the fire department to turn on their fire hoses -- on high pressure, so they could legitimately be called "water cannons" -- and blast them at the demonstrators, inflicting great pain. Connor's men ended up arresting 7,000 people. Given that Birmingham was then home to about 340,000 people, this was like arresting 180,000 New Yorkers.
This was too much for Mayor Boutwell. On May 21, he fired Connor. The dogs and the hoses were also too much for President John F. Kennedy. On June 11, he announced that a civil rights bill would be presented to Congress.
On August 28, a March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held in Washington, with 300,000 people attending. Among the speakers was Dr. Martin Luther King, who spoke of a dream of integration and racial harmony.
On September 15, a bomb was set off at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Four girls were killed. One of them was only 11 years old, the other three were 14.
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated. As far as is known, it had nothing to do with his stance on civil rights. Vice President Lyndon Johnson became President.
On June 3, 1964, Connor was elected President of the Alabama Public Service Commission.
On June 19 -- Juneteenth, with some appropriateness -- the U.S. Senate passed the civil rights bill. On July 2, the U.S. House of Representatives passed it. That same day, Johnson signed it into law, and gave one of the pens he used to Dr. King.
On December 7, 1966, Connor suffered a stroke, and remained in a wheelchair until his death on March 10, 1973.
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May 3, 1963 was a Friday. Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harry Bright and Clete Boyer hit home runs, and Boyer's homer in the top of the 10th inning made a winning pitcher out of Jim Bouton. Mickey Mantle was injured and did not play, and Roger Maris went 0-for-4. Harmon Killebrew didn't play, either.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 5-3 at the Polo Grounds. Willie Mays went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Colt .45s, 4-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Bailey hit 2 home runs, Roberto Clemente went 2-for-5, and Willie Stargell went 1-for-4.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Joe Nuxhall pitched a 5-hit shutout. Frank Robinson went 1-for-5, and rookie Pete Rose hit a home run. Stan Musial did not play.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with 1 RBI.
* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Braves, 10-7 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ron Santo, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks all hit home runs, while Len Gabrielson and Hank Aaron hit home runs in vain support of Warren Spahn.
* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (When the Angels played home games there from 1962 to 1965, it was listed on the tickets and game programs as "Chavez Ravine.")
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