November 7, 1904: "Little Johnny Jones" Opens On Broadway

November 7, 1904: Little Johnny Jones opens at the Liberty Theatre at 236 West 42nd Street in New York. It is the 1st play staged there. George M. Cohan is the writer, director and star, playing an American jockey who goes to London to race in the famed Epsom Derby, loses, is accused of throwing the race, and must clear his name.

The show contains 2 of Cohan's legendary songs: "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Give My Regards to Broadway." The former not only becomes the title of the 1942 film biography of Cohan, starring James Cagney, but also helps to popularize "Yankees" as an alternative name for the New York Highlanders of baseball's American League.

Ironically, because New York Giants manager John McGraw cultivated Broadway performers as friends, Cohan became a Giants fan, despite being from Providence, Rhode Island. Cagney, however, was a Yankee Fan, and even threw out the ceremonial first ball at a 1981 World Series game. It was one of his last public appearances.

Cohan is best remembered for his patriotic songs, like "Grand Old Flag" and what became known as the theme song of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, "Over There." Of all the stars that Broadway has ever had, he's the only one with a statue on the street, at the northern end of Times Square.

But, contrary to what the song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" says, he was not born on the 4th of July. He was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence. Close enough, he probably thought. He died of cancer on November 5, 1942, at 64, 5 months after the premiere of Yankee Doodle Dandy the film. (Film biographies of classical composers, and of writers of more recent popular songs, were big in the 1930s and '40s.)

The Liberty Theatre still stands, but has been converted into retail space, including a Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and a Famous Dave's restaurant. With some appropriateness, a Yankees Clubhouse Store is almost right across the street, at 236 West 42nd.

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November 7, 1904 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Saturday had been standardized as the day for football. And the NBA and the NHL hadn't been founded yet. So there were no scores on this historic day.

May 29, 1942: “Yankee Doodle Dandy” Premieres

May 29, 1942: Yankee Doodle Dandy premieres, starring James Cagney as George M. Cohan. Biographies of composers were a trend in the 1940s, both during and after World War II. Cohan lived long enough to see this film, but died 5 months later.

As "The Man Who Owned Broadway" -- he is the only actor to have a statue in the Theater District -- Cohan developed friendships with other New York celebrities in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, including New York Giants manager John McGraw.

But it was another team that, sort of, was named for his work. When the American League put a team in New York in 1903, it was named the Highlanders. Too long a name to fit into a headline, so they looked for something shorter. In 1904, Cohan's musical Little Johnny Jones included the songs "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Give My Regards to Broadway." The word "Yankee" stuck in New Yorkers' minds, and, since all teams in the AL were unofficially nicknamed "the Americans," it fit, and it fit headlines, too: "Yankees" or "Yanks." The ballclub finally made it official in 1903.

Cohan was a Giants fan, but Cagney was a Yankee Fan, and, in one of his last public appearances, threw out the ceremonial first ball at Yankee Stadium before a 1981 World Series game.

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May 29, 1942 was a Friday. This was also the day that actor John Barrymore died. I have a separate entry for that event. And hockey player Pierre Bourque and actor Kevin Conway were born.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 16-1 at Yankee Stadium. Lefty Gomez went the distance for the win. Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Buddy Hassett hit home runs.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1 at Ebbets Field. Babe Young batted in the top of the 10th inning, hitting a ground ball to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who makes a bad throw, allowing 2 runs to score.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 14-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Ted Williams went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, a walk, and 7 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 14-3 at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Joe Beggs walked Dom Dallesandro with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-8 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.