June 25, 1966: The Brooklyn Navy Yard Closes

A recent photo of the Navy Yard,

which has been redeveloped for residential and retail use.

The Williamsburg Bridge is in the background.

June 25, 1966: The Brooklyn Navy Yard is closed, emblematic of New York City's loss of industry.

At the height of World War II production, what was officially named the New York Naval Shipyard had 75,000 people working there. In 1947, it was down to 10,000 workers. It doubled back up to 20,000 by the end of the Korean War in 1953, but after that war ended, it was back to 10,000 again.

In 1960, with the Yard's workforce 11,000 strong, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation was being built there, and an accident caused a fire that killed 49 people. The investigation showed that, although this fact was not responsible for the fire, the Yard was obsolete, especially since it was determined that, in order to reach the open sea, ships built there had to pass under the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge; and ships going there for repairs also had to pass under those bridges -- and most new ones were too big.

And so, on June 25, 1966, a closing ceremony was held at the Yard, with work stopping for good on June 30, and the last 9,500 workers were laid off.

This was symbolic of the loss of industry in New York City. The loss of jobs crushed the Borough economically, and was much more damaging to the communities of Brooklyn than the so-often-cited move of baseball's Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 had been.

Indeed, it was crushing to the City as a whole. It wasn't the first time industry had been phased out: The Gashouse District, between 1st Avenue and the Hudson River, from 14th to 23rd Street, its name already appropriated for baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, "the Gashouse Gang," was torn down in World War II, to build the housing projects Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.

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June 25, 1966 was a Saturday. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dikembe Mutombo was born.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. Gary Peters outpitched Mel Stottlemyre. The Sox' runs came on home runs by usually light-hitting players, Lee Elia and Ken Berry. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ed Kranepool hit a 2-run home run, and Eddie Bressoud a 3-run homer. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Rico Petrocelli hit 2 home runs, and Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4, but it wasn't enough.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-4 with an RBI, but it wasn't enough. Willie Stargell went 0-for-3.

* The Atlanta Braves swept a doubleheader from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Stadium (renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975), 5-4 and 4-3. In the opener, Ken Johnson outpitched rookie Don Sutton. Johnson helped his own cause with a home run, and also got homers from Joe Torre and Rico Carty. In the nightcap, Tony Cloninger outpitched Don Drysdale. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with 3 walks and an RBI, but no homers, over the 2 games.

* The Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Tony Pérez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Juan Marichal pitched 9 innings, allowing only 2 runs, 1 earned, to no avail. Pete Rose went 0-for-4. Willie Mays went 0-for-5.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Denny McLain pitched 7 shutout innings, but it was Larry Sherry who became the winning pitcher when Al Kaline hit a home run in the 8th inning, off Garry Roggenburk in relief of Jim "Mudcat" Grant. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-4.

* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 1-0 at Anaheim Stadium (renamed Edison International Field in 1997 and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004). Sam Bowens hit a home run in the top of the 9th inning. Frank Robinson went 2-for-4, and Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.