Real Time 1960s

This KPIX-TV documentary covers the life and career of Max Baer, the American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion from June 14, 1934 to June 13, 1935. Two of his fights (a 1933 win over Max Schmeling and a 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) were rated Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee and had occasional roles in film and television. The film features clips from Baer's fights and interviews with contemporaries. This documentary was written and produced by Caryl Coleman and directed by Dick Williams. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

May 1, 1964 - Alabama Governor George Wallace spoke tonight at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie, Indiana. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

May 2, 1964 - Northern Dancer won the 90th running of the Kentucky Derby today at Churchill Downs. The Windfield Farm's colt completed the 1¼ miles in 2 minutes to break the record of 2:00⅖ set by Decidedly in the 1962 Derby. Second in the $156,800 race was Hill Rise, the heavy favorite, who surged to within a neck of Northern Dancer at the wire. Northern Dancer, ridden by Bill Hartack, returned $8.80 for $2 to win among his backers in the crowd of 100,000. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

May 1, 1964 - Don Drysdale pitched a five-hitter and Tommy Davis drove in four runs tonight to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 7-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants before 52,773 at Dodger Stadium. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 26, 1964 - The Rolling Stones were among a galaxy of pop music stars who drew 20,000 screaming fans to the huge Empire Pool at Wembley, England today. The event was staged by the International Publishing Corporation’s New Musical Express (NME). The concerts featured the NME annual poll winners. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

In this episode, we review our top-ranked film of 1963, “Hud,” directed by Martin Ritt and featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by Paul Newman and Oscar-winning performances by Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Six Americans are killed in Vietnam; Mississippi Freedom Summer is announced; two Senators want U.S. out of Vietnam; Jack Ruby is doomed; Malcolm X speaks out; Cassius Clay has a new name and is rejected by the Army. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 23, 1964 - At today’s press conference, President Johnson was asked Defense Secretary Robert McNamara as a possible running mate. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 23, 1964 - At today’s press conference, President Johnson expressed a desire to keep foreign policy from becoming a “knock-down, drag-out” affair between Democrats and Republicans this election year. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Robert McNamara briefs LBJ on Vietnam; Barry Goldwater speaks out; Robert Kennedy goes on the Jack Paar Show; Malcolm X defects from the Nation of Islam; the Celtics set another record; Casey Stengel interviewed. Newscaster: Joe Rubenstein. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 30, 1964 - The Beatles gave two concerts at the Odeon Cinema in Glasgow, Scotland, this evening. Prior to the concerts, they were interviewed at the Roman Camp hotel in Callander, Perthshire, where they had stayed last night, by a BBC Scotland camera crew. The interviewer was Evelyn Elliot, and the report was shown this evening on the BBC 1 news show "Six Ten." Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 26, 1964 - The Beatles topped the bill at the New Musical Express 1963-64 Annual Poll-Winners' All-Star Concert tonight, playing before an audience of 10,000 at the Empire Pool in Wembley, London. This was the group's first live performance in 15 weeks. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 26, 1964 - Yankee manager Yogi Berra was the mystery guest on tonight's edition of "What's My Line." Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 26, 1964 - The Celtics, long the power of the NBA, extended their domination to record proportions tonight at Boston Garden. They gained their sixth consecutive championship with a 105-99 victory over the San Francisco Warriors in the fifth game of the final playoffs and took the series, 4-1. No other major professional team had won its championship more than five times in a row. The Celtics had been tied with the Yankees and the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL, who had won the World Series and the Stanley Cup, respectively, five straight times. In a game with many moments of sloppy play, the Celtics had let a big lead slip away and then held on just long enough as time ran out on the Warriors. With 15 seconds to go, Bill Russell dunked a rebound with the authority of a man trying to drive the ball through the floor. That made the score 103-99 for Boston and settled the issue. The crowd of 13,909 went wild with joy. Not waiting for the game to finish, some fans charged to the side court, raised coach Red Auerbach of the Celtics to their shoulders, and tore his jacket in the process. Order of sorts was restored for the last seconds, and then Auerbach and the Celtic players rode the shoulders of happy fans after the final buzzer signaled the Celtics’ seventh NBA crown in the last eight years. Russell did his usual fine job defending against Wilt Chamberlain, giant of this sport of giants. Wilt didn’t score for the first six minutes. Although he produced a 30-point effort, Wilt usually must do better for San Francisco to win. Tom Heinsohn was the scoring hero for the champions with 19 points, but it was Sam Jones who got the Celtics off and winging to a big lead as the second half started. Trailing 100-92 with a couple of minutes to go, San Francisco poured in five straight points to trim the lead to 3. Then it got only 2 points away before Russell slammed the ball through the hoop after Heinsohn had missed a layup. Russell, Heinsohn, K.C. Jones, Frank Ramsey, and Jim Loscutoff have been on all of the championship Boston teams. The road to great success began in the spring of 1957, when Auerbach’s forces won their first NBA title. With the exception of 1958, when the St. Louis Hawks beat the Celtics in a six-game final, Boston has won ever since. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 25, 1964 - Tom Tresh drove in three runs with a two-run homer and a single today as the New York Yankees downed Baltimore, 4-1, on a four-hitter by Jim Bouton and Steve Hamilton. It was the first victory for Bouton, who was the Yanks' first major holdout in over 15 years this spring until he finally capitulated to threats of a $100-a-day penalty. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 22, 1964 - President Johnson, facing down unruly civil rights demonstrators who chanted and struggled with police as he spoke, opened the New York World's Fair today with a call to Americans to "move forward to a world in which all men are equal, in which all people are free, in which all of us can live in peace." Mr. Johnson, his face set, looked straight ahead and raised his voice to a near-shout to be heard over the cries of the Negro and white demonstrators. "This pavilion is an effort to convey the spirit of America to all the world," he said. "It tells where we came from, it tells where we are, and it tries to show where we are going." Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 22, 1964 - The New York World's Fair opened today with a prophecy by President Johnson of peace within this generation. A cold rain cut deeply into attendance and plans for a massive traffic stall-in collapsed. In the late afternoon, trains were running almost empty to the fair. Attendance mounted slowly to a total of 90,025 -- far below the anticipated 250,000 to 500,000 opening-day visitors. Inside the fair, civil rights demonstrators marched by the hundreds. The threat of racial disorders undoubtedly contributed also to the small attendance. There were frequent clashes between police and pickets, and some 290 persons were arrested. Some Negro and white demonstrators -- those arrested were about equally divided -- were lifted from the ground and borne away in police vans. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 20, 1964 - President Johnson disclosed today that he has ordered further "substantial" cuts in production of nuclear war materials and announced that the Soviet Union has promised "simultaneous" similar action. His disclosure was made in a major foreign policy address at the annual luncheon of the Associated Press in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 18, 1964 - On tonight's episode of "The Lieutenant," Lieut. Rice (Gary Lockwood), is traveling to Han Ang in South Vietnam to deliver classified papers, when his helicopter goes down in hostile territory. 7:30 p.m. on NBC. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 23, 1964 - The Detroit Red Wings have been underdogs since the start -- an injury-riddled season, a fourth-place finish, the upset of star-loaded Chicago in the semifinals, and now one victory away from the NHL championship. The Wings closed in on it Tuesday night, beating the defending champion Maple Leafs for the second time in Toronto, 2-1. They can win it all in the sixth game of the finals tonight at Olympia Stadium. If they fail, it's back to Toronto for the last game Saturday. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 16, 1964 - President Johnson spoke out today against violent civil rights demonstrations and pleaded for “moderation” among whites and Negroes. The President told his press conference that as long as Negroes are discriminated against, they have a right to protest. But he warned that actions which take the law into an individual’s hands or threaten public safety and health jeopardize the cause of civil rights. “We do not think the violation of one right or the denial of one right should permit the violation of another right,” he said. He appealed to Congress to pass the filibuster-stalled civil rights bill promptly. The President spoke against a background of new incidents or threats of incidents that could lead to racial violence. Among these are the plan of the suspended Brooklyn chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality to jam traffic to the opening of the New York World’s Fair next Wednesday by stalling cars on the main roads. This same group threatened and then withdrew the threat to urge New York Negroes to turn on water faucets to diminish the city’s water supply. An hour before the President’s press conference, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, speaking at the convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, appealed for compliance with the civil rights bill after it has become law. Both he and President Johnson predicted that it would pass. The Attorney General warned that “trouble and violence” would follow if non-compliance is preached, as it was in places in the South after the Supreme Court’s decision outlawing racial discrimination in public schools. Mr. Kennedy was followed by a group of Negro leaders who issued a statement denouncing the Brooklyn plan for “stall-ins” on the roads to the far. The statement was ready to the editors by Whitney Young, director of the National Urban League. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 18, 1964 - Frank Howard's infield single with two out in the ninth inning tonight robbed Jim Maloney and John Tsitouris of a combined no-hitter as the Cincinnati Reds downed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-0, at Dodger Stadium. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s

Apr. 17, 1964 - Shea Stadium, the newest major league baseball park, opened for business today with appropriate festivities and colossal traffic jams. A crowd of 50,312 radiated enthusiasm under sunny skies as the New York Mets fought their way to a typical 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s