On this date in 1939

Commodore Henry Harwood's Force G, consisting of the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, and the light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMNZS Achilles engage the German panzerschiff Admiral Graf Spee off the coast of Uruguay. In the two hour running gun fight, Exeter is heavily damaged, Ajax and Achilles are also damaged. Graf Spee's fuel oil purification plant and evaporators are knocked out, as is the crews galley facility. Spee heads for the harbor in neutral Montevideo. Repairs will take two weeks, but by rules of the Hague convention she can remain in port for 72 hours before being interned by the Uruguayan Govt. British intelligence is sending false information that that a Carrier and a battle cruiser will be off the harbor entrance in 48 hours. Admiral Graf Spee's Captain Langsdorf determines not to sacrifice his crew in a pointless battle with superior British forces, and orders the Graf Spee scuttled in Montevide Harbor. Afterward, Captain Langsdorf commits suicide while draped in the flag of the old Imperial German Navy.

The previous Saturday, December 9 (the calendar in 1939 reads the same as 2017), the USC Trojans, who had not lost a game since November, 1938 played the UCLA Bruins to a 0-0 tie in the Coliseum. The Bruins came away still winless against USC while the Trojans, hungry for a national championship, were looking forward to kicking off the new decade in the Rose Bowl, where they would face the Tennessee Volunteers.

The Bruin team included Jackie Robinson, a freshman from Pasadena who also played for UCLA on their baseball, basketball and track and field teams. The Trojan squad's captain was Joe Shell, who would rise to prominence within the conservative wing of the California Republican Party and run a strong primary campaign in the 1962 gubernatorial race against Richard Nixon.

Meanwhile, Trojan and Bruin fans alike were listening to these tunes:

Scatterbrain--Freddy Martin

The Jitterbug--Betty Hutton

My Prayer--The Ink Spots

Over the Rainbow--Larry Clinton & His Orchestra

South of the Border--Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra

Of those, I remember MY PRAYER ... plain as day.

... well, “... to the end of the day ...” ... then it gets a little hazy.

Just listened to it on You Tube, so thanks for the reminder ... 1939! ( Well before my day, of course. )

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