Early Americana

In 1920, the Dayton Triangles were founding members of the American Professional Football Association (APFA). The team played in the very first game between two league teams when they met the Columbus Panhandles on October 3, 1920 in Dayton's Triangle Park. They played their...

America's past time is enjoyed around the world, particularly in Japan, where it's that country's top sport. It was introduced to the island nation in 1872 with professional leagues emerging in the 1920s.

Jos?? de la Caridad M??ndez??was a??Cuban manager and right-handed pitcher in the Negro leagues, he was known as the Black Diamond or Diamonte Negro and??was one of the first group of players elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.????He was elected...

The Pittsburgh Shamrocks played in the International Hockey League for one season, 1935-36. The Duquesne Gardens was their home ice. After the team folded, the Detroit Olympics relocated to Pittsburgh. The new owners merged that club with the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the Eastern...

Built in 1912 as Redland Field, the Cincinnati Reds home ballpark was renamed Crosley Field, in honor of the team's new owner, in 1934. It was the home of the Reds until 1970 when they moved into??Riverfront Stadium. CHECKOUT MORE VINTAGE STADIUMS AND BASEBALL...

The??East???West All-Star Game??was an annual game for??Negro league baseball??players and held toward the end of the season. The game was created by Gus Greenlee, owner of the??Pittsburgh Crawfords. In??1933, he decided to match the??Major League Baseball All-Star Game??with??Negro league version. Newspaper balloting was set...

Tusko, build as "The World's Meanest Elephant," arrived in the U.S. from Thialand in 1898. After touring the country, his keepr George "Slim" Lewis, tried to get him into a circus but none wanted him. Tusko lived out his final years at the Seattle...

The??East???West League??was a Negro baseball league organized by Cum Posey in 1932. The league did not last the full season and folded in June of that year. It did, though,?? feature one of the strongest teams in the history of Negro league baseball, the??Detroit...

"I thought Cincinnati was in Ohio?" The Greater Cincinnati Airport opened in 1947 in Boone County, Kentucky. In the 1990s, the name was changed to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Cincinnati has the distinction of being the only major U.S. city whose main commercial...

Shooting Star was the signature roller coaster at Old Coney. Opened in 1937 as the Clipper, it became Shooting Star after a redesign in 1947. It climbed to a height of 88n feet and reached a top speed 43 MPH. It gave it's final...

In 1946, at an industry convention in California, Cincinnati restaurant owner Dave Frisch met Bob Wian who introduced him to a double-decker hamburger called the ???????????????????????????Big Boy.???????????????????????? Dave secured permission to adopt the concept but personalized the Big Boy by dressing it with a...

In 1946, at an industry convention in California, Cincinnati restaurant owner Dave Frisch met Bob Wian who introduced him to a double-decker hamburger called the ???????????????????????????Big Boy.???????????????????????? Dave secured permission to adopt the concept but personalized the Big Boy by dressing it with a...

The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was founded in 1946 and featured teams such as the Toronto Huskies, New York Knickerbockers, Chicago Stag, and more. Following its third season, 1948-49, the BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) merged to create the National Basketball...

Waddles Restaurant was opened in 1945 by Gene and Nathan Waddle. A family-style restaurant, it served delicious meals for 60 years. In the early days of the landmark flagship location of Waddles restaurant, it was known as Waddle's Coffee Shop and offered drive-in-style food...

Jackie Robinson best known for breaking the color barrier in the modern era of baseball, but fans of the sport also recognize his extra ordinary talent. After playing for the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs in 1945, he was signed by Brooklyn and...

Opened in 1945, The Wishing Well became one of the most beloved restaurants in Chicago.

Established in 1942 as W83C, this legendary Chicago radio station changed its call letters several times before becoming WLUP "The Loop 97.9" in 1977. For the next 41 years it was one of the most popular and influential radio station's in America. It is...

The Coral Court Motel??opened in 1942 on historic U.S. Route 66??in the St. Louis suburb of Marlborough. In 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places??being cited as a valuable example of Art Deco architecture. OS2770

The Indianapolis ABCs of the Negro National League became The Cleveland Buckeyes in 1927 and halfway through the season changed their name to the Cleveland Hornets. They only lasted one season though. An unrelated Cleveland Buckeyes team joined the Negro American League in 1942.

Tales of man who can shapeshift into a wolf-like creature date back as far as 27 A.D. In modern pop culture, the Wolf Man first appeared in a 1935 film called The Werewolf of London. A more popular film titled simply??The Wolf Man, debuted...

The Columbus Bullies football team was established in 1939. They played in the American Professional Football League a semi-pro circuit bases in the Midwest. In 1940, the joined the third iteration of the American Football League.

Totem House was a Seattle, Washington restaurant known for it's fish-and-chips, totem poles, and Northwestern art. It opened in the 1940s and closed in 2021.

The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena opened on July 4, 1959 and sat next to the Coliseum. The first event was held four days later, a boxing match between??Jos?? Becerra??and??Alphonse Halimi. During its 57 year history it hosted not only boxing matches and concerts...

Eliot Ness was a federal agent mostly widely known from the fictionalized portrayals of his life in the TV series the Untouchables??(1959-1963) and the 1987 movie of the same name. He became Safety Director of Cleveland in 1935 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in...

More commonly known as the Playoff Bowl, this post season game determined the third place winner in the NFL. It was played between 1960 and 1969 in Miami's Orange Bowl and was named after NFL commissioner Bert Bell who passed away in 1959. The...

Little Kings??was first brewed in 1958 by Cincinnati's own Schoenling Brewing Co. and is now owned by Christian Moerlein Brewing Co.

Opened in 1954 at 10543 Memphis Ave. in Brooklyn, just outside of Cleveland, this drive-in movie theater entertained moviegoers for over 50 years.

WAKR, Channel 23, was established in 1953. It was Akron's only commercial TV station. IN 1986, it changed it's call letters to WAKC and later to WVPX.

WBUF-TV hit the airwaves on August 17, 1953. Using the then new UHF ban, the station was an affiliate for all for major networks of the day: ABC, NBC, CBS, and DuMont. Unfortunately, most TV sets sold during that time did not have the...

The Dallas Texans played in the Arena Football League from 1990 to 1993. After failing to meet league financial obligations, they folded. Indoor football returned to the area in 2002 in the form of the Desperados, who played until 2008. The Dallas Texans was also...