September 12, 1940: The Hercules Munitions Plant in Roxbury, Morris County, New Jersey explodes, killing 51 people. The site is 44 miles west of Times Square.
Hercules Powder Company was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company, based in Wilmington, Delaware, incorporated in 1912 following the court-ordered breakup of the DuPont explosives monopoly.
News reports at the time estimated at least 15 buildings were destroyed, along with 25 tons of explosives. Beyond the 51 deaths, perhaps 200 hundred were injured. The site may have been jinxed: It exploded twice in 1934, and would again in 1989.
Hercules Powder Company became Hercules, Inc. in 1966, operating under this name until 2008, when it was merged into Ashland Inc.
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September 12, 1940 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. This turned out to be a key win for the Tigers, as they ended up beating the Cleveland Indians for the American League Pennant by 1 game, with the Yankees 2 games back. Lynwood "Schoolboy" Rowe outpitched Atley Donald. Hank Greenberg hit a home run. Joe DiMaggio went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs.
* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 9-4 at the Polo Grounds. Mel Ott hit a home run. The Reds went on to beat the Tigers in the World Series.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-0 and 7-4 at Ebbets Field. Hugh Casey, who would become better known as a reliever, pitched a 3-hit shutout in the opener. Gus Mancuso went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Dolph Camilli hit a home run in the nightcap.
* The Boston Bees swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals, 17-7 and 6-1 at National League Park, a.k.a. The Bee Hive, in Boston. This was the last of 5 seasons of a "rebrand" following a horrible 1935 season for the Boston franchise of the National League. In 1941, they switched back to calling themselves the Boston Braves, and their ballpark Braves Field.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Mel Harder went the distance for the win. Ted Williams went 0-for-3, but drove in the Sox' only run with a sacrifice fly.
The Chicago White Sox swept the Philadelphia Athletics, 1-0 and 4-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Bill Dietrich pitched a 4-hit shutout in the 1st game.
* And the Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 7-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.
