On Sunday, July 25, 1948, American folk singer-songwriter Steve Goodman was born in Chicago, Illinois. In sports, Italian cyclist Gino Bartali won the 35th Tour de France, while in NYC, a ban on pinball machines took effect. This weekend fell immediately before President Truman convened a special session of Congress.
Key highlights from that day and period include:
- Births: Steve Goodman, creator of “City of New Orleans”, as well as British sci-fi author Brian Stableford and boxer Claude Noel.
- Sports: Gino Bartali secured both general and mountain classifications in the Tour de France. In Negro League baseball, the Kansas City Monarchs defeated the Clowns 4-0.
- 1948 Context: The period was dominated by the start of the Berlin Airlift, the Marshall Plan, and, just a day later on July 26, 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the US military