World War II Chronicle: June 18, 1941
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Tonight is the “Fight of the Century.” The Pittsburgh Kid — Billy Conn — takes on Joe Louis at the Polo Grounds. Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field has installed loudspeakers and the ballgame against the Giants will be paused so fans can listen to the fight. The Nationals are hosting the Browns under the lights in Griffith Stadium in the “Battle of the Basements,” but the fight won’t interrupt the game (see page 41)…
Conn gave up his world light-heavyweight title for the fight, and the champ outweighs him by 25.5 pounds… Page four reports that a U.S. Navy officer has gone missing in Iraq. Lt. Cmdr. George W. Grove was in the Middle East to observe British anti-submarine operations and had talked his way into a ride to Basra with the Royal Air Force… Britain breaks the silence on radar, asking for a massive corps of volunteers to produce and operate their new “plane locator…”
Sports begin on page 40 and reports that Billy Conn’s plans to elope with 18-year-old Mary Louise Smith after the fight are off. The father of his fiancee is Jimmy Smith, a former baseball player who is opposed to the marriage… Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-3 with an intentional walk against Chicago White Sox pitcher Thornton Lee as he extended his hitting streak to 31 games.
| AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | |
| DiMaggio’s Streak | 121 | 30 | 44 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 13 | 5 | .364 | .421 | .669 |
The only pitchers to strike out Joe so far are Elden Auker and Bob Muncrief of St. Louis, Detroit’s Dizzy Trout, Boston’s Mickey Harris, and Washington’s Steve Sundra.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 18 June 1941. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1941-06-18/ed-1/