June 3, 1943: The Zoot Suit Riots

June 3, 1943: Riots break out in Los Angeles, between servicemen stationed there and Mexican-American residents of the city.

Some of the Mexicans, calling themselves "Chicanos," had begun wearing fancy suits, or "zoots" in their accent. The term got doubled up, as "zoot suit." They had high baggy pants, jackets with long tails, wide-brimmed hats with feathers, and ties that were wide, often wild, to match the suits' colors. Some of them wore belts, others chose suspenders. Like some of the big cars of the time, the suits were a way of striking back against a culture of brown and gray tenements, and the black & white pop culture of the Great Depression and World War II years.

Thankfully, we have cosplayers showing us

what these suits looked like in color.

The servicemen, famously getting, in the words of Tony Pastor and His Orchestra, "Twenty-one dollars a day, once a month" (in other words, $21 a month, about $351 in 2022 money, although being in the service, they had free housing, food and clothing, such as they were), were jealous of these outfits, and angry that these were young men not fighting for their country. So they attacked the Chicanos, and the fighting became known as "The Zoot Suit Riots."

The Los Angeles Police Department took the side of the servicemen. Many of the cops were "immigrants" as well, from the Dust Bowl of the American South, coming West in the 1930s. They took their prejudices with them, and put the "Southern" in "Southern California." Some of them lasted long enough to be guilty of the kind of police brutality that led to the Watts Riot of 1965, and passed their beliefs down to the younger cops, leading to the Rodney King beating of 1991 and the South Central Riot of 1992.

There is no record of anyone dying as a result of these riots, but 150 people were admitted to hospitals, and over 500 were arrested.

The wearing of Zoot Suits spread to African-American and Asian-American teenage boys and young men. Black jazz bandleader Cab Calloway became known for wearing them.

Mexican-American women, known as Pachucas, had their own variations on the outfits: High hairdos, heavy makeup, large earrings, tight sweaters and flared skirts. White people looking to peg the Mexican-Americans as troublemakers spread the rumor that the Pachucas hid knives in their hair.

Like most fads, zoot suits didn't last long. By the time The War ended, they had been played out. But not forgotten: Writers Luis Valdez, Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright, and civil rights activists Cesar Chavez and Malcolm X remembered that wearing zoot suits help cement in their minds the identities they would like to have, distinct from the dominant white society and what it expected of black and Hispanic people. Malcolm X took to wearing dark suits with a bowtie, as did most Nation of Islam officials; but, inspired by his zoot suit days, he wore the best suits money could buy.

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June 3, 1943 was a Thursday. Billy Cunningham was born on this day. The Philadelphia 76ers have never won an NBA Championship without him: He was a reserve player on their 1967 title team, and he was the head coach of their 1983 title team.

These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. Ernest "Tiny" Bonham went the distance.

* The New York Giants lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-6 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mel Ott went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs, 8-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 8-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves, 7-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

May 17, 1974: The UVF and the SLA

May 17, 1974: A violent day, on both sides of the Atlantic. The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force, when they explode four car bombs in counties Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.

The UVF were a Protestant paramilitary group, who committed terrorist attacks targeting Catholics in Ireland, both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland. On this day, their attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300, the highest number of casualties in any single event during "The Troubles."

The UVF declared a ceasefire in 1994, accepted the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and officially disbanded in 007.

Meanwhile, in Compton, California, a shootout broke out between members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist group. The firing of tear gas canisters into the residence was followed by a fire that killed six of the SLA members.

The shootout and fire were broadcast on live television in Los Angeles, preempting national news programming. Three SLA members escaped: William and Emily Harris, and the 20-year-old socialite they had kidnapped, Patty Hearst.

The Harrises were eventually arrested, convicted of their part in the Hearst kidnapping, and served eight years in prison.

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May 17, 1974 was a Friday. Elsewhere in Ireland that day, in Dundalk, County Leith, Andrea Corr was born. She and her siblings formed music group The Corrs, and she was the lead singer.

The European Cup Final was held that day. Bayern Munich won the European Cup for the first time, defeating Atlético Madrid, 4-0, at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. (The same stadium that hosted the 1985 Final, when it shouldn't have.) Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller each scored 2 goals for Bayern. They subsequently made West Germany's team for the World Cup on home soil, along with Bayern teammates Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and Jupp Kapellman. I have a separate entry for this event.

Game 3 of the World Hockey Association Finals was played. The Houston Aeros, led by Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty, beat the Chicago Cougars, 7-4 at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston. They completed the sweep 2 days later.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 5 and 6. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in Game 6, to win the Cup. The NBA Finals ended 5 days earlier, with the Boston Celtics beating the Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games. The ABA Finals ended 2 days before that, with the New York Nets beating the Utah Stars in 5 games.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. George "Doc" Medich outpitched Clyde Wright. Rookie Rick Dempsey caught for the Yankees instead of Thurman Munson. Rookie Robin Yount had a single and a sacrifice bunt before being pinch-hit for.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver pitched a 5-hit shutout, walking none, striking out 13. Rusty Staub hit a home run.

* The Baltimore Orioles led the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 after 6 innings at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, when the umpires called the game due to rain. Mike Cuellar had a 6-hit shutout going. Tommy Davis hit 2 home runs for the O's. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3. For the Sox, Carl Yastrzemski also went 1-for-3.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline, in his last year as a player, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Reggie Jackson did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew each went 1-for-3 with a walk. Frank Robinson, then with the Angels, did not play in the game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 9-8 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Rookie George Brett went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Pete Rose went 2-for-5. Johnny Bench went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Lum doubled home the winning runs in the top of the 11th inning. Hank Aaron, then with 720 career home runs, went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Nate Colbert hit a grand slam. Rookie Dave Winfield went 0-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. For the Giants, Bobby Bonds went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game was made up 2 days later, as part of a Sunday doubleheader. The Phils won the opener, 3-2. Jim Lonborg outpitched Dock Ellis. The Bucs won the nightcap, 2-1. Jerry Reuss outpitched Dick Ruthven. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 0-for-8, and Willie Stargell went 2-for-8 with an RBI.