POLICE BRUTALITY

The Police Gazette’s graphic boxing covers were some of the best in the magazine’s long history.

Rocky Graziano is one angry man in this stunner of a photo-illustration from The National Police Gazette. Graziano was near the end of his run when this cover appeared in January 1951, but he was one of greats, knocking out fifty-two opponents during a brief five year professional career. The Gazette, published originally way back in 1845, weathered many changes in American society and yet managed to keep on chugging along. Sometime during the 1940s they seemed to have hit on a new formula—sports covers. The magazine had always covered sports, but now they put it front and center with super-saturated action shots and lots of blood. They mainly produced boxing covers—and these were some of the most striking (heh heh) in the magazine’s history. They also occasionally featured football and hockey. This lasted for about ten years, then the Gazette changed its cover style to try and keep pace with the many Hollywood tabloids that had crowded the newsstands. It was at that point that editors adopted the motif you’ve seen in posts like this one and this one. We have more Police Gazette pages below, and we’ll have more sports issues down the line.

Police Gazette, Rocky Graziano, boxing, tabloid

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

December 10

1935—Downtown Athletic Club Awards First Trophy

The Downtown Athletic Club in New York City awards its first trophy for athletic achievement to University of Chicago halfback Jay Berwanger. The prize is later renamed the Heisman Trophy, and becomes the most prestigious award in college athletics.

December 10

1968—Japan's Biggest Heist Occurs

300 million yen is stolen from four employees of the Nihon Shintaku Ginko bank in Tokyo when a man dressed as a police officer blocks traffic due to a bomb threat, makes them exit their bank car while he checks it for a bomb, and then drives away in it. Under Japanese statute of limitations laws, the thief could come forward today with no repercussions, but nobody has ever taken credit for the crime.

December 9

1965—UFO Reported by Thousands of Witnesses

A large, brilliant fireball is seen by thousands in at least six U.S. states and Ontario, Canada as it streaks across the sky, reportedly dropping hot metal debris, starting grass fires, and causing sonic booms. It is generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor, however some witnesses claim to have approached the fallen object and seen an alien craft.

December 8

1980—John Lennon Killed

Ex-Beatle John Lennon is shot four times in the back and killed by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman had been stalking Lennon since October, and earlier that evening Lennon had autographed a copy of his album Double Fantasy for him.

December 7

1941—Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor

The Imperial Japanese Navy sends aircraft to attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet and its defending air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. While the U.S. lost battleships and other vessels, its aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor and survived intact, robbing the Japanese of the total destruction of the Pacific Fleet they had hoped to achieve.