November 14, 1927: Three Equitable Gas storage tanks in the North Side of Pittsburgh explode, killing 28 people, and causing damage estimated between $4 million and $5 million.
A huge cylindrical gasometer, the largest in the world at that time at 5 million cubic feet, developed a leak, and repairmen were sent to fix it. The exact cause of the explosion is not known, but some of those repairing the leak were using acetylene torches.
There was a loud explosion, and three gasometers at the site exploded. A "dense mass of dust and smoke" rose from the ruins before igniting into a ball of fire reported as 100 feet in diameter, which rose further before burning out at a height of 1,000 feet.
Most buildings within a radius of half a mile were damaged, with windows being broken a mile away. It was reported that the explosion "caused lofty downtown skyscrapers to tremble and sway as if hit by an earthquake."
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November 14, 1927 was a Monday. Actor McLean Stevenson was born. He was a cousin of political figure Adlai Stevenson.
Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season began the next week. So there were no scores on this historic day.
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