November 13, 1927: The Holland Tunnel Opens

November 13, 1927: The Holland Tunnel opens to traffic. It connects Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, with 12th Street in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey.

It was the 1st road crossing of the Hudson River between The City and New Jersey. Previously, there had only been ferry boats and, with the addition of the Hudson Tubes (now the PATH system) in 1908 and the construction of New York's Pennsylvania Station in 1913, railroads.

The Outerbridge Crossing and the original version of the Goethals Bridge opened the next year, and the Bayonne Bridge opened in 1931, all connecting New Jersey with Staten Island. Manhattan would again be connected to New Jersey by the George Washington Bridge in 1931 and the Lincoln Tunnel in 1937.

The name of the Holland Tunnel has nothing to do with the Netherlands' 1614 founding of the colony of New Netherland, which would include present-day New York State and northern New Jersey. Rather, it was named for its chief engineer, Clifford Milburn Holland.

On April 1, 1922 -- having already supervised the construction of the 14th Street, 60th Street, Clark Street and Montague Street Tunnels for New York's Subway system -- he drove a ceremonial pick into the ground at Canal and West Streets, on the Manhattan side of the Hudson.

But the stress of the project of building what was then the longest vehicular tunnel in the Western Hemisphere, and the 5th-longest in the world, wrecked his health. He went to a sanatorium in Battle Creek, Michigan, hoping to recover. He did not: On October 27, 1924, 20 years to the day after the Subway opened, and one day before the final charge of dynamite connected the tunneling, by air if not yet by road, Cliff Holland died of a heart attack. He was only 41 years old.

As a commuter from New Jersey to New York City, one of my pet peeves is a bus driver hearing his radio dispatcher tell him that there's a lot of traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel, so he decides to detour off the New Jersey Turnpike, onto the Newark Bay Bridge, and take the Holland Tunnel.

This never works. Every time it's been tried with me on the bus, and it must be half a dozen times by now, the traffic at the Holland Tunnel is every bit as bad. And then, once you get out onto Canal Street, you still have to go 50 blocks up the West Side Highway to get to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It always takes at least 15 minutes longer than if you'd just stuck with the Lincoln Tunnel. It's just not worth it.

*

November 13, 1927 was a Sunday. It was the off-season for baseball. The NHL season hadn't started yet. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. But these NFL games were played that day:

* Yes, there was then an NFL team named the New York Yankees. On this day, they beat the Chicago Cardinals, 20-6 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Providence Steam Roller beat the Duluth Eskimos, 13-7 at the Cycledrome in Providence.

* The Cleveland Bulldogs beat the Frankford Yellow Jackets, the NFL's Philadelphia team at the time, 37-0 at Luna Park in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Pottsville Maroons, 30-12 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Dayton Triangles, 6-0 at City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

* The New York Giants had the week off. They went 11-1-1 that season, the only blemishes on their record  both coming at the hands of the Cleveland Bulldogs: An October 2 tie, 0-0 at Luna Park; and an October 16 loss, 6-0 at the Polo Grounds. But the Giants closed the season by defeating the Yankees, 14-0 on December 4 at the Polo Grounds, and 13-0 on December 11 at Yankee Stadium. This enabled the Giants to edge the 7-2-1 Packers for their 1st NFL Championship, in their 3rd season of play.

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge

Dane Richards (left) and Wayne Bridge

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge begins at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. As Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn would say, "And by football, I mean futbol!"

The host New York Red Bulls, with newly-signed superstar Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend, took on Arsenal's arch-rivals, fellow North London team Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs."

In 1961, Spurs won the Football League and the FA Cup tournament, becoming the first English team in the 20th Century to "win The Double" or "do The Double." They also won the FA Cup in 1962, 1967, 1981 and 1991 -- but that's it for major trophies. They've since won the League Cup in 1999 and 2008, but teams that consider the League Cup a "major trophy" can hardly be called a "big club."

Spurs fans also like to talk about their hooliganism. But there was no way they were going to be able to pull any of their usual stuff at Red Bull Arena: The home team has a great security system, searching for weapons and tossing out anyone outside the designated supporters-club sections (in other words, anyone inside the "family sections") that gets out of line. Besides, do they really think London is tougher (or "harder" as they would say) than New York and New Jersey? It is not.

Anyway, both teams went through the 1st half with most of their starters, including the newly-signed Henry, who scored his first goal for his new team. It wasn't a vintage "Henry... What a goal! What a goal!" shot, but it counted just the same. A lot of Tri-State Area converts to the Arsenal cause (a.k.a. Gooners, from the team's nickname the Gunners, from the cannon on their crest) went mental, watching the greatest player in team history (some would still say that's Dennis Bergkamp) score for their real home team.

Henry had already been embraced by the Metro fans, and he embraced them in return. He told reporters that he even took the PATH train from Manhattan to Harrison. I wonder how many people recognized him? He did do a Gillette razor commercial with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, although for most U.S. broadcasts, that ad was Federer, Woods and Derek Jeter.

Anyway, Metro's Number 14 didn't get the treatment Pelé got when he came to play for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to '77, but Henry did have the advantage of the increased TV coverage from the NASL's time, being that, aside from the '70 World Cup where he led Brazil to victory, most Americans hadn't really seen Pelé up until '75.

In contrast, with Premier League action from England, La Liga action from Spain, Serie A action from Italy, and Bundesliga action from Germany now available via satellite, and Henry's appearances in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups for France (winning the former as a substitute and reaching the Final of the latter as an already huge star), most Americans who care about sports know who he is, having seen him play on TV, first for Arsenal and then for Barcelona.

In the 2nd half, Red Bulls manager Hans Backe took out Henry, and some other starters, including the goalkeeper, the Senegalese wizard Bouna Condoul, replacing him with Greg Sutton.

Two big mistakes. Not only did those substitutions take out our best offensive player, but switching goalies was a bonehead move. Sutton may have been Canada's Number 1 -- that is, the starting goalkeeper on their national soccer team -- but he was no match for Spurs, whose manager Harry Redknapp left in his starters, including Robbie Keane, Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić. Keane and Bale both scored in the 2nd half to give Spurs a 2-1 win.

Needless to say, the Spurs fans were their usual selves, thinking they were "taking the piss on our manor." Dimwits, they were losing against the starting lineup of an MLS team! An MLS team! This, after they managed only a scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in their last game, and the Quakes, at the time, were only 5th in the MLS West! At least the Red Bulls were 2nd in the MLS East!

Most Europeans who observe the MLS say that it's about as good as England's second division, "The Championship." (No, I don't know who named it that, or what drugs he was on at the time. Nor do I know who named their third and fourth divisions "League One" and "League Two.") So, last night, Spurs were losing against MLS starters, and only beat MLS scrubs. In an exhibition, or, as soccer fans would say, a "friendly."

And they took the piss? They're lucky there wasn't a fight: The New Yorkers and New Jerseyans would have mussed 'em up but good, the dirty chumps. Wait, sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: The locals would have given them a right hiding, the bloody bastards!

The Challenge continued the next night, as another English club, Manchester City, takes on Sporting Clube de Portugal, a.k.a. "Sporting Lisbon." With Red Bull Arena being right across the Passaic River from the Portuguese-heavy (and Brazilian-laden as well, due to the language) Ironbound section of Newark (it's a 15-minute walk from Market Street and Ferry Street bars across the Jackson Street Bridge to the Arena), Sporting were a natural for this weekend, led by Portugal national-team stars, striker Liédson and goalie Tiago.

Man City, also stuck with Second Team Syndrome behind Manchester United (which barely beat MLS expansion team Philadelphia Union 1-0 the preceding Saturday), had recently been bought by Arab investors, making it the richest sports team on the planet. In the 2010-11 season that was about to begin, City won the FA Cup for the 1st time since 1969. The next season, they won the League for the 1st time since 1968, and went on to become English soccer's next great dynasty. But all that was yet to come.

In 2010, they featured 2 former Arsenal stars, the much-admired Senegalese/French midfielder Patrick Vieira, and the formerly-cheered, now lustily-booed-with-good-reason, Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor. But in this game, City lost 2-0 to Sporting, as Yannick Djaló scored both goals.

And on Sunday, July 25, there was a doubleheader, which I attended. Sporting and Spurs drew 2-2, while the Red Bulls beat Man City 2-1.

The standings for the Challenge worked like this: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 1 point for each goal scored. With 2 losses and 1 goal, Man City got 1 point. For a win, a draw, and 3 goals, the Red Bulls got 6. With a win, a draw, and 4 goals, Sporting and Spurs each got 8 points. But Sporting had the superior goal difference, +2 to +1, and so Sporting were declared the winners and were awarded the trophy. No Player of the Tournament was named. Attendance for the doubleheader was 23,228, probably a sellout when freebies were counted. (Red Bull Arena officially seats 25,000 even.)

*

July 22, 2010 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit home runs. A-Rod had 4 RBIs, and he and Mark Teixeira each had 3 hits, supporting CC Sabathia.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, supported by a home run from Matt Kemp.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Carl Pavano -- yes, Yankee Fans, that Carl Pavano -- pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 8-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Ronny Paulino's singled drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Over 11 innings, Phillies pitchers, including Cole Hamels over the 1st 8, allowed just 1 hit. Placido Polanco won it with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Matt Cain pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-6 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. The Mariners scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, but an RBI double by Eric Patterson won it for the Sox in the top of the 13th.

* And the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays were not scheduled to play.

February 26, 1908: The Hudson Tubes (PATH System) Open

February 26, 1908: The Hudson Tubes open, providing a subway link between New York City and the New Jersey cities of Hoboken, Jersey City, Harrison and Newark. 

Construction had begun in 1873, but it was a long process, with many accidents, including one in 1880 that killed 20 workers. In 1883, the project was abandoned.

The Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company bought the rights to resume construction in 1902. It was run by William Gibbs McAdoo, who would later marry Eleanor Wilson, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, and serve as his Secretary of the Treasury. They built a tunnel under 6th Avenue from 33rd Street in Midtown, just south of Herald Square, to 9th Street in Greenwich Village, then turned right under Christopher Street, then crossed the Hudson River.

From there, the tubes turned in 2 different directions. The northward tube went to Hoboken, and connected with the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad Terminal, now the Hoboken Terminal of New Jersey Transit. The southward tube opened in 1912, going to Jersey City, with stops at Newport-Pavonia, Grove Street, and Journal Square.

The H&M's plans to link the system to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, the Communipaw Terminal of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Jersey City, and through Newark all the way to Montclair were abandoned. But in 1937, the line was extended to Harrison, and then across the Passaic River to Newark's Pennsylvania Station.

By 1962, the H&M was bankrupt, and was bought out by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Hudson Tubes were rebranded as the Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH, system, although there are still a few tiled signs in the system mentioning "HUDSON TUBES" or "H&M."

In 1971, with the World Trade Center under construction, PATH extended the system to Exchange Place in Jersey City and to the World Trade Center. A plan to extend the Newark portion of the line to Newark International Airport and all the way to Plainfield was abandoned, paving the way for the creation of New Jersey Transit, which took over a Jersey Central line and turned it into the Raritan Valley Line, which included 2 stations in Plainfield, and going further into Somerset and Hunterdon Counties, terminating at High Bridge.

There have been 4 fatal incidents aboard the system:

• On July 22, 1923, a collision near Manhattan Transfer killed one person and injured 15 others.
• On April 26, 1942, a six-car H&M train derailed at Exchange Place. Five people were killed and 222 more were injured. A subsequent investigation found that the motorman was intoxicated.
• On December 17, 1945, a seven-car H&M train collided with a steel barrier on the Dock Bridge west of Harrison, killing the motorman and injuring 67 passengers.
• On July 23, 1963, a PATH train collided with a Pennsylvania Railroad engine east of Harrison, killing two passengers and injuring 28 more.

In 2017, the PATH system was used as a film substitute for the New York Subway for a scene in the film John Wick: Chapter 2.

The idea of extending the line to Newark Airport was renewed in the 2000s, and was approved in 2017, with construction set to begin in 2020, with service to be inaugurated in 2025. Then the COVID epidemic hit in March 2020, putting everything on hold. As of February 26, 2022, it's not clear when construction will begin.

UPDATE: The Port Authority announced in March 2023 that it was deferring funding for the Newark Airport extension to a future capital plan. In 2025, the Hoboken station was closed for a month, so that repairs left over from the 2012 Hurricane Sandy could be made all at once, instead of one weekend at a time over the course of an entire year.

*

February 26, 1908 was a Wednesday. Tex Avery, the animator who helped developed the cartoons of both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Brothers, was born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. Even hockey was not fully professional. So there were no games on this historic day.

There were challenges for the Stanley Cup that Winter. On January 9 and 13, the Montreal Wanderers, "the Little Men of Iron," featuring later NHL team bosses Lester Patrick of New York and Art Ross of Boston, beat the Ottawa Victorias -- not to be confused with the Ottawa Hockey Club/Silver Seven/Senators. On March 10 and 12, they beat the Winnipeg Maple Leafs -- not to be confused with the later Toronto team of that name. And on March 14, they beat the Toronto Professional Hockey Club, keeping the Cup for another year.