February 4, 1962: The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Opens

February 4, 1962: The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital opens in Memphis, Tennessee. It becomes the nation's foremost children's hospital.

Danny Thomas, a comedian of Lebanese descent and a Maronite Catholic, was struggling to make it in show business in 1937, when his 1st child, daughter Marlo, was about to be born. He went to Mass in his hometown of Detroit, and put $7.00 in the offering bin. He prayed for intercession to Saint Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of lost causes, promising that, if the Saint interceded for his success, he would build him a shrine.

About a week later, Thomas obtained a gig that paid 10 times what he had put in the offering bin. He never forgot this. By 1957, he was a major television star, and had founded the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), to raise money for research into childhood illnesses. By 1960, there was enough money to build a hospital -- of which St. Jude is also the patron saint. The hospital was founded on the premise that "No child should die in the dawn of life."

Danny Thomas

Memphis was chosen at the suggestion of Catholic Cardinal Samuel Stritch, a Tennessee native who had been a spiritual advisor to Thomas since he presided at Thomas's confirmation. Although it was named after Thomas's patron saint, St. Jude is not a Catholic hospital: It is a secular institution, not affiliated with any religious organization.

Thomas also had a sports connection, as he was one of the original owners of pro football's Miami Dolphins in 1966, but sold his share to majority owner Joe Robbie before the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He died in 1991, 2 days after filming a commercial for the Hospital, which aired posthumously.

His daughter Marlo became a sitcom star like her father, and is now the Hospital's main spokesperson. Daughter Terre became a singer, and son Tony a major TV producer, producing sitcoms like Soap, Benson, and the Golden Girls franchise.

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February 4, 1962 was a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 130-114 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Syracuse Nationals, 128-117 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. Wilt Chamberlain scored 50 points and had 26 rebounds. Just 26 days later, he would score 100 points against the Knicks. But after the season, the Warriors were sold, and moved to San Francisco. For the 1962-63 season, Philadelphia was without an NBA team. Then the Nationals moved there, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the St. Louis Hawks, 121-113 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Packers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-105 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago. Yes, the Chicago Packers. The 1st-year expansion team had the same name as the football team that Chicagoans hate the most, in Green Bay. Attendance was low, and the team was terrible. For the 1962-63 season, their name was changed to the Chicago Zephyrs. It didn't help, and, in 1963, they were moved, becoming the Baltimore Bullets. They became the Capital Bullets in 1973, the Washington Bullets in 1974, and the Washington Wizards in 1997.

And the NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:

* The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 6-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Chicago Stadium.