August 6, 1932: The 1st Autobahn Is Opened

Autobahn A5 near Frankfurt, Germany

August 6, 1932: The 1st Autobahn is opened, running from Cologne to Bonn. Presiding over the opening is the Lord Mayor of Cologne, Konrad Adenauer, who would become the 1st postwar Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Today, that road is labeled Bundesautobahn 555.

So when people say the Nazis built the Autobahn, that's not completely true: They built some, but didn't start it. Indeed, the autobahn finished them: American soldiers driving on it called it "Hitler's tombstone."

The one fact everyone knows about the Autobahn is you can drive really fast on it. That’s true, but not for the whole thing. There are unrestricted speed sections of the Autobahn, as well as areas with speed limits.

For an episode of the History Channel series Modern Marvels, someone decided to see just how fast someone could go on the Autobahn. They got all the necessary permits, and found what is believed to be the fastest car sold at a mainstream car dealer -- of course, a German car, a Porsche. Top speed turned out to be 211 miles per hour. Speeds of 125 MPH are considerably more common. (Since Germany uses the metric system, that would be more lie 200 kilometers per hour.)

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August 6, 1932 was a Saturday. Journalist David Hartman was born. And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The White Sox won the opener, 10-5. Former Yankee "Sad" Sam Jones went the distance for the win. George Pipgras didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Luke Appling went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

The Yankees won the nightcap, 4-1. Johnny Allen went the distance, outpitching Hall-of-Famer Urban "Red" Faber. Appling went 0-for-4. Over the 2 games, Babe Ruth went 2-for-8 with a walk, and Lou Gehrig went 4-for-8 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* A doubleheader was split at the Polo Grounds. The New York Giants won the 1st game, 5-1. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 2nd game, 10-2. Dizzy Dean went the distance for the win. Over the 2 games, Giants player-manager Bill Terry went 3-for-6 with a solo home run and 2 walks. Mel Ott went 0-for-3 with a walk in each game.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Ebbets Field. In the bottom of the 3rd, former Cubs slugger Lewis "Hack" Wilson hit a ground ball to the normally sure-handed Joseph "Arky" Vaughan, who mishandled it, and 2 runs scored. Paul Waner went 2-for-3, and Lloyd Waner drove in the Pirates' only run with an 8th-inning triple.

* A doubleheader was split at Braves Field in Boston. The Boston Braves won the 1st game, 4-3. The Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game, 3-0. Ray Kolp allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs swept the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-9 and 10-8 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Riggs Stephenson singled home the winning run of the 2nd game in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Wes Ferrell allowed just 1 hit, a single to Dale Alexander in the top of the 4th.

* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-4 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* And the Philadelphia Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns, 4-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Al Simmons hit a home run. Mickey Cochrane went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Jimmie Foxx went 0-for-4.