[C210N]

Winston Churchill - The Sinking Of The Graf Spee (December 18, 1939) (inglorious end)

[KC_Lion]

Some videos on The Battle of the River Plate.

https://youtu.be/XVsgkYB4yFE?t=3m5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYmV_b6TtEE

[Fiji Hill]

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

[dfwgator]

Also on this date in 1981, Martial Law was imposed in Poland.

[Fiji Hill]

1939--the year of one Orson Welles, two Thanksgivings and Three Little Fishies!

Way Back in 1939 AD--Kay Kyser & His Orchestra