July 4, 1963: "The Great Escape" Premieres

July 4, 1963: The film The Great Escape premieres, based on the 1950 non-fiction book by Paul Brickell, itself based on an actual event during World War II.

The real story: Stalag Luft III was a prisoner-of-war camp set up by Nazi Germany in Sagan, Lower Silesia, within German borders. Due to the changing borders after the war, the town is now in Poland, and named Żagań. The name "Luft," meaning "Air," indicates that all the prisoners were survivors of Allied planes that had been shot down.

On March 25, 1944, having dug 3 tunnels, codenamed Tom, Dick and Harry, 76 Allied prisoners escaped. All but 3 were quickly recaptured: Bram van der Stok of the Netherlands, and Norwegians Per Bergsland and Jens Müller. van der Stok, due to his language skills and contacts with the French resistance, found safety with the British consulate in neutral Spain. The 2 Norwegians made it to neutral Sweden by train and boat, with the help of friendly sailors. But of the 73 men captured, the Nazis executed 50. Bergsland lived until 1992, van der Stock until 1993, Müller until 1999.

Only 3 of the real escapees were Americans. But, given the nature of Hollywood, Americans were given starring roles in the film, some as foreigners. Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn were veterans of the 1960 Western film The Magnificent Seven.

Bronson, of Lithuanian descent, played a Polish pilot who had volunteered for Britain's Royal Air Force, and stands in for one of the successfully escaped Swedes. Coburn played an Australian. And James Garner played an American who had volunteered for the RAF. Among the British actors, not yet widely known among American audiences, were Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Donald Pleasance and David McCallum. McQueen's character, despite his famed motorcycle jump, was one of those recaptured. But, since McQueen was a big Hollywood hero, his character could not be among the executed, so the film ends with him planning his next escape.

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July 4, 1963 was a Thursday. This was also the day that the English Football League's maximum wage and retain-and-transfer clauses were abolished. I have a separate entry for that.

Baseball player José Oquendo was born. Obviously, the 4th of July is not a holiday in Britain, but it is one in America, traditionally one on which baseball teams played doubleheaders:

* The New York Yankees split with the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 9-1. Whitey Ford, who would have won the American League's Cy Young Award had it not then been a both-Leagues award, outpitched Gary Peters, who went on to be named the AL's Rookie of the Year. Roger Maris and Elston Howard hit home runs.

The White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2. Juan Pizarro outpitched Bill Stafford. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play in either game. Nor did Yogi Berra, who was in his last full season as a player.

* The New York Mets were swept by the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 and 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The only Met run in the 1st game came on a home run by Jim Hickman, who would be a part of the Cubs' 1969 "September Swoon." Other than that, Glen Hobbie allowed only 1 hit, a single by Ron Hunt. Paul Toth pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 1-for-6 with a walk.

* The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 and 5-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Demeter singled pitcher Art Mahaffey home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the 1st game. Mahaffey allowed only 2 hits over 10 innings, a triple to Roberto Clemente and a single to Donn Clendenon. He outpitched Bob Friend, who also went the extra distance.

In the 2nd game, Ryne Duren, previously known as a star Yankee reliever, went the distance for the win. The only run the Pirates scored was on a home run by Clemente.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels in a single game, 7-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5.

* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 2-1 and 3-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Cleveland Indians swept the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 and 7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jerry Kindall won the 1st game with a home run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4 with 2 walks, then came back in the 2nd game to go 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 and 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 3-for-8, and Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5 with a walk.

* The Houston Colt .45s swept the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 and 6-2 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose, who was named National League Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-9. But Frank Robinson did not play. (The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.)

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Stan Musial, in his last season, went 2-for-5.

* And the Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 4-for-5, and Willie McCovey hit a home run.