Who Knew #13 The Origins of Black Friday

Today as I opened a yahoo browser to go over my old email, I realized there was a countdown clock in black bold letters just like this.  In bold black letters I was being informed the countdown of the days before black Friday.  So I wondered, what's the history behind this day and who coined the term black Friday.

 So after a few hours (not really a few minutes) of researching a who knew moment post came to mind. I am not running out ideas, I am serious, I just thought, it was really a who knew type of thing... 

The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960's to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a holiday season.

In the 1960's, police in Philadelphia  complained about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.” This was due to the traditional Army vs. Navy football game and a busy shopping mall with deals that people could not resist. 

 The term took off in a big way, but not for the reasons the cops hoped. By the 1980's the idea of black Friday became a national phenomenon and a great marketing strategy 

So there you go the origin to the term Black Friday  came in the 1960's, and the really good deals started since the establishment of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. 

Historical Landmark #13 El Campo Santo Cemetary in Old Town San Diego

2410 San Diego Ave
San Diego, CA92110
 
California Historical Landmark #68

 

El Campo Santo Cemetery is San Diego's second oldest cemetery, and dates back to 1849 with the burial of its first resident, Juan Adams. Burials in this Catholic Cemetery continued through 1880, welcoming San Diego dead of all different backgrounds, including, founders of San Diego like the Estudillo family and even notorious criminal Yankee Jim Robinson who was hung at the site of the Whaley House as is said to be one of the popular ghost of the town.

Photo from www.weirdca.com. When I went I could not find it, but it might of been one of the grave sites that no longer had a name other than the rocks indicating that there was a grave,

Between 1849 and 1897, 477 persons were buried in these grounds.


Residents of El Campo Santo have been repeatedly disturbed as the growing city moved the graves to make room for the living. In 1889, the community built a horse-drawn street car line through the cemetery, right over 18 existing graves. This line eventually became a road, San Diego Blvd, and, in 1942, was paved and turned into a modern street. As you walk to this location, the paved down street says that you are currently stepping on old graves.  Most of the graves are not well kept and some are fenced.

This Cemetery does not bring good vibes, as it looks abandoned and a spot for witchcraft and other  practices. As we went in we saw many lighted  candles that were meant for either separation from a lover or other romance with someone. It is not something to be surprise about as this place is not gated and can accessed it any time of the day by jumping over a 3 foot cement fence. 

Who Knew #12 Brooklyn Dodgers Football Teams

When you hear the word Dodgers, you quickly associate it to baseball --the Los Angeles Dodgers. Anyone who is a fan of the game or pop culture might know that the Dodgers were once the Brooklyn Dodgers before moving to Los Angeles. So here comes the big who knew. Who knew there has been multiple professional football teams named after this storied franchise?

There has been three different football teams named after the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball club

The Brooklyn Dodgers who were part of the NFL from 1930-1943
The Brooklyn Dodgers who were part of the AAFC (All-American Football Conference) from 1946-1948
The Brooklyn Dodgers of the Continental Football League of 1966


NFL Brooklyn Dodgers from 1930-1943

As told by a few historical sports sites this team was highly associated with the Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball team. Like the NY Giants baseball and football teams, Brooklyn shared the name Dodgers for baseball and football. It was a much more profitable recognition and it was better for business. Both  Brooklyn Dodgers  team shared Ebbets field, as they would not overlap due to football being a winter sport.

The team played for 13 years and only had 2 winning seasons in which they landed in 2nd place. The franchise all time record was 60-100.

The Dodgers made NFL history on October 22, 1939. That day, at Ebbets Field, the Dodgers played the Philadelphia Eagles in the first NFL game shown on television. The Dodgers won the game 23–14.

Another interesting tidbit is that this franchise has indirect ties with the Indianapolis Colts, as the franchise folded in New York, the NFL moved the team to Texas and became the Texans. After another disaster team all the players were moved to an expansion team in Baltimore the now Indianapolis Colts.

 AAFC Brooklyn Dodgers 1946-1948
The reason why the NFL Dodgers folded was because owner thought the AAFC would offer more incentives thus moved the franchise to All-American Football League. During the 1940's the AAFC had better players and was challenging the National Football League.

As for the AAFC Dodgers, they had three horrible seasons and decided fold and merge with the AAFC Yankees renaming the team to the Brooklyn-New York Yankees

Brooklyn Dodgers Continental Football League 1966
This team actually had no relations to the Dodgers baseball team, to the extent that the reason why the team only lasted for one season was because the Dodgers actually sued this team for copyright infringement.

The team tried to gain viewers and fans in Brooklyn as the baseball team was getting ready to move to Los Angeles that even hired and named Jackie Robinson as their general manager.