October 27, 1948: The Donora Smog

October 27, 1948: The zinc works in Donora, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, combine with the rest of the pollution in the area to form a smog so thick and noxious that it ends up killing about 70 people.

The zinc works had 10 smelters. There was also a steel mill that used the zinc to galvanize its products. While the zinc works provided thousands of residents with good-paying jobs, there was a major downside. Workers were paid a full day's wage for just a few hours of work, because too much exposure to the zinc could make them ill. The layman's term was "the zinc shakes."

The plant also continuously released billowing emissions into the local sky, laden with a soup of pollutants that included hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, multiple sulfur compounds, and heavy metals within fine particulate matter.

In the last week of October 1948, the Monongahela-Ohio valley experienced an unusually severe temperature inversion, a weather phenomenon that in Donora trapped smoke from the plants at ground level.

President Harry S Truman ordered the creation of a government committee to study the air pollution problem. It was the start of a research effort that ultimately led to passage of the Clean Air Acts of 1963 and 1970.

The Donora zinc works was closed in 1957, not so much because of the backlash -- they settled a lawsuit for $200,000, not much when divided among the victims' families -- but because advancing technology made the plant obsolete. The steel mill closed 10 years later, and the town never recovered. But the town still proudly claims, "Clean Air Started Here."

One of the people killed was Lukasz Musial, age 58. His son, Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, has just put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, batting .376, hitting a career-high 39 home runs, with 131 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 200 -- meaning that he was 100 percent better at producing runs than the average hitter was that season. He was awarded his 3rd National League Most Valuable Player award.

In Donora, Stan had a black friend, George Kenneth Griffey, a.k.a. Buddy Griffey, whose son Ken would become a major league star. Ken's son, Ken Griffey Jr., became, like Stan, a Hall-of-Famer whose birthday was November 21. And Junior's son, George Kenneth Griffey III, a.k.a. Trey Griffey, was a wide receiver for the University of Arizona, although he never played in the NFL.

Although Stan never lived in Donora after making it to the major leagues, he frequently visited, supported local charities, and gave free meals at his St. Louis restaurant to anyone with a valid Pennsylvania ID proving they were from Donora.

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October 27, 1948 was a Wednesday. Telma Hopkins was born. She and Joyce Vincent Wilson formed singer Tony Orlando's backing duo, Dawn. Telma went on to become one of the stars of the ABC sitcom Family Matters.

Baseball season had ended 16 days earlier, with the Cleveland Indians beating the Boston Braves in the World Series. Football was in midweek. Basketball season started 5 days later.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.