1953

1953 was the 82nd year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

• January 6: The Red Gap Branch of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad between Hedona and Irondale was abandoned.
• March 4: "Confederate Flag Day" was recognized by the Alabama State Legislature.
• April 18: The 1953 Siluria tornado killed eight people and caused damage to the Buck Creek Mill.
• April 19: The Birmingham Transit Company's last streetcar trip was completed on the No. 27 Ensley No. 38 South East Lake streetcar line.
• Birmingham Transit Company sold its remaining fleet of nearly-new streetcars to the Toronto Transit Commission and replaced all lines with buses.
• September 17: Actress Gloria Swanson made special appearances at the downtown Loveman's store.
• September 17: The Crestwood Civic Club was organized.
• October 5-10: The 1953 Alabama State Fair was held.
• The Birmingham Festival of Arts was held as a "Festival of the Seven Arts".
• The first of the Coleman Lakes opened to public use.
• The Crestwood Civic Club was founded.
• Fountain Heights Methodist Church purchased the former Weather Forecast Office Birmingham on 13th Street North.
• Richard Howard donated his collection of Japanese prints to the Birmingham Museum of Art.
• "Birmingham Bop" swept across the city's dance floors.
• Mel Torme performed at the Lotus Supper Club.

Business

Woodward Mine No. 3 closed in 1953

• January: The Federal Communications Commission granted WAFM-TV a permit to increase its transmitter power for around-the-clock broadcasting.
• Alabama Gas Corporation was spun off from Southern Natural Gas Company.
• Storer Broadcasting of Toledo, Ohio purchased WBRC-TV for $2.3 million and switched it from Channel 4 to Channel 6.
• The Birmingham News Company purchased WAFM-TV, WAPI-AM and WAPI-FM and moved their studios to Red Mountain.
• Riverbend Farm in Ragland ceased bottling and distribution of its dairy products.
• Marino's grocery moved to its present location on Avenue E Ensley.
• Development of the Crestwood Shopping Center was first announced, but delayed due to opposition.
• Brown-Service Funeral Homes was merged into Ridout's Brown Service.
• The Vulcan Motor Lodge was purchased by Mac McGrady and renamed the St Francis Hotel Courts.
• Woodward Iron Company closed its Mine No. 3, the last iron ore mine on Red Mountain.
• Woodward Iron Company closed its coal mine shafts at Muscoda (but continued to extract coal from the area accessed by the Pyne Mine hoist shaft.
• The Empire Mine in Walker County was converted into a surface mine.
• Mrs Todd's Cafeteria moved to the new Town House motor hotel.
• Roy Welch bought half of Joe Gunther's wrestling promotion.
• The weekly 15-minute Mr. Twister Time debuted on WBRC 6.

Establishments

• Bert Bank founded the Alabama Football Network.
• The Dixie Cycle & Toy Co. opened in the W. S. Brown Mercantile Building.
• Floyd & Beasley Transfer was incorporated.
• Robert Luckie Jr founded Luckie & Co.
• Mayfield Cleaners, operating since 1946, was incorporated.
• Michael Matsos opened a second location of La Paree restaurant in the Holiday Inn on Bessemer Super Highway.
• Jimmy and Inez Pappas founded Jimez's restaurant in Hueytown.
• Frank Lovoy founded Lovoy's Italian Restaurant in Homewood.
• Pasquale and Vincent Gramaglia founded Pasquale's Pizza & Pasta in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• William Veenschoten founded Veenschoten & Company.
• WBCO-AM went on the air.
• December: Toney and Vince Carnaggio opened Carnaggio's restaurant in Midfield

Government

• February 23: The city of Alabaster was incorporated.
• April: Cooper Green resigned from the Birmingham City Commission to become a vice president of the Alabama Power Company.
• The Birmingham Department of Parks and Recreation purchased the Arlington home in West End for $53,000, raised through private donations.
• May 5: 1953 primary elections and 1953 Birmingham municipal election
• Jimmy Morgan succeeded Cooper Green as President of the Birmingham City Commission.
• October 6: The city of Midfield was incorporated.
• October 13: The city of Adamsville was re-incorporated.
• Douglas Arant was appointed to the United States Department of Justice's National Committee To Study The Antitrust Laws.
• Hobart Grooms was appointed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama by President Dwight Eisenhower.
• Seybourn Lynne was made chief judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
• Hal McCall succeeded James Robertson as Mayor of Tuscaloosa.
• George Wallace was elected to the Third Judicial Circuit Court.
• Robert Glasgow Jr began a two-year term as Mayor of Adamsville.

Education

• Jones Valley High School, McElwain Elementary School, and Powderly Elementary School were absorbed into Birmingham City Schools.
• Birmingham's Western High School was renamed Western Olin High School.
• A. H. Parker High School was first accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges.
• The Birmingham Conservatory of Music merged with Birmingham-Southern College.
• Lawrence Reynolds donated his collection of over 13,000 rare books, manuscripts and artifacts to the Birmingham Extension Center of the University of Alabama.
• Sister Mary Leo began teaching at John Carroll Catholic High School.
• Stillman College was accredited.
• November 13: A fire seriously damaged Edgewood Elementary School.

Religion

Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral was created in 1953 by the merger of two older congregations.

• May 3: Concord Highland Baptist Church was dedicated.
• George Murray succeeded Charles Carpenter as Episcopal Bishop of Alabama.
• John Claypool was ordained as a minister at Belmont Heights Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
• Fred Shuttlesworth succeeded Chester Laster as pastor of Bethel Baptist Church.
• Nelson Smith Jr took over the pulpit at New Pilgrim Baptist Church.
• Warrior Missionary Baptist Church changed its name to Warrior First Baptist Church.
• W. Glenn Bartee succeeded Otis Kirby as pastor of Avondale United Methodist Church.
• Sister Mary Joseph made her first profession at the Sancta Clara Monastery in Canton, Ohio.
• Joseph Volker founded the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham, with Alfred Hobart as its first minister.
• Concord Highland Baptist Church was founded with W. C. Stone as its first pastor.
• Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church merged with Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church to form the Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
• W. M. Norwood began his long tenure as pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Ensley.

Sports

1953 Dental Clinic Game ticket

• The 1953 Birmingham Barons began a three-season association with the New York Yankees.
• Joe Drake joined the Barons' office staff.
• May 18: Harold Grote tied a Birmingham Barons record with two home runs in one inning.
• August 28: The Southside Ball Association Little League team from Avondale Park defeated New York 1-0 to claim the 1953 Little League World Series.
• November 12: The 1953 Dental Clinic Game was played at Legion Field.
• November 28: Alabama won the 1953 Iron Bowl 10-7.
• Sam Hairston was named Most Valuable Player of the Western League.
• John Baumgartner played in seven games for the Detroit Tigers.
• Paul Lehner played his final season with the Memphis Chickasaws.
• Bubba Church was traded to the Chicago Cubs.
• Pitcher Virgil Trucks was traded to the St Louis Cardinals.
• Red Drew's 1953 Alabama Crimson Tide football team went 6-2-3 and lost the Cotton Bowl to Rice.
• Shug Jordan's 1953 API Tigers football team went 7-2-1 and lost the Gator Bowl to Texas Tech.

Individuals

• R. G. Armstrong made his Broadway debut in "End as a Man."
• Marvin Bass was hired as an assistant coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels football team.
• Jack Bingham was made a partner in the firm of Martin & Blakey.
• Oliver Carmichael succeeded John Gallalee as president of the University of Alabama.
• Asa "Ace" Carter landed a show of his own on WILD-AM .
• Frank Moore Cross was invited to join the international committee responsible for conserving, translating and editing the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• Joseph Cunningham became a professor of pathology at the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
• Hardrock Gunter took a job in Wheeling, West Virginia producing "The World's Original Jamboree" radio show.
• A. C. Keily served as president of the Professional Photographers of Mississippi-Alabama.
• U.S. Attorney Tom King was made Chief Administrative Assistant to U. S. Representative George Huddleston Jr.
• Geraldine Moore took over the Birmingham News' "What Negroes Are Doing" column from Oscar Adams Sr.
• John Newsome was elected president of the Associated Industries of Alabama.
• James Permutt succeeded Fred Nichols as president of Temple Beth-El.
• Sol Rittenbaum succeeded James Permutt as president of the Jewish Community Center.
• Henry Stanford became president of the Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville.
• Evelyn Starks left the Gospel Harmonettes to pursue a teaching career.
• Fant Thornley succeeded Emily Danton as director of the Birmingham Public Library.
• Lawrence Whitten served a term as president of the Alabama Society of Architects.

Births

Coyote J. Calhoun

• January 5: Mike DuBose, football coach
• January 20: Gary Sheffield, basketball coach
• January 23: Joseph Marino, Archbishop
• March 1: Luther Strange, Attorney General of Alabama and U.S. Senator
• March 2: Rodger Smitherman, state senator
• April 17: Pam Huff, television news anchor
• May 9: Ron "Papa Jack" Jackson, professional baseball player
• May 22: Radio disc jockey Coyote J. Calhoun (Jim Battan)
• June 21: Charlie Moore, professional baseball player
• July 15: Hugo Black III, attorney
• July 22: Tony Petelos, Jefferson County Manager
• July 28: Don Black, Ku Klux Klan leader and "Stormfront" founder
• August 14: Harold Jackson, newspaper columnist
• August 23: Billy Shields, professional football player
• September 16: Jerry Pate, professional golfer
• September 19: Ann Florie, Leadership Birmingham director
• October 14: Willie Florence, furniture dealer and attorney
• October 23: Angelo Sarris, restaurateur
• November 27: Charlie Brown III, industrialist and civic booster
• December: Eli Gold, sports announcer
• December 13: Charles Salvagio, attorney
• December 20: Steve Orel, founder of World of Opportunity
• December 27: Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin
• Gail Andrews, director of the Birmingham Museum of Art
• Emory Anthony, attorney
• Rick Batson, architect
• Bill Bryant, orthopedist
• Robert W. Carter, Chief of the Adamsville Police Department
• Shirley Gavin Floyd, Smithfield neighborhood president
• Anthony Greene, superintendent of Fairfield City Schools
• Charles Hollis, sports writer
• Roger James, symphonic violinist
• Cathy Sloss Jones, real estate developer
• Myron Massey, Fairfield Police Department
• Ronald McDowell, artist
• Michael Melvin, Chief of the Kimberly Police Department
• Mike Naylor, guitarist and knife maker
• Dudley Reynolds, president of Alagasco
• Stanley Shafferman, entrepreneur
• Bob Tedrow, owner of the Homewood Musical Instrument Co.
• Ernestine Williams, independent distributor

Marriages

• Actor Mary Anderson married cimematographer Leon Shamroy.
• Theodore Peoples married Annie Louise Berry.
• Freddie Rogers married Pearlie McCarthy.
• Hank Penny married Sue Martin.
• June 18: Martin Luther King Jr married Coretta Scott in Marion.
• August 22: Bill Steltemeier married Ramona Schnupp.

Awards

• Alabama Hall of Fame: John Tyler Morgan
• Birmingham Woman of the Year: Eleanor Bridges
• Miss Alabama: Virginia McDavid
• Miss Howard College: Marguerite Rutledge Blackwell
• Mr Crestwood: Carl Johnsey
• University of Alabama Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award: George Murray

Graduations

• Coach Bobby Bowden graduated from Howard College.
• Composer Ezra Sims earned a diploma in Chinese from the U.S. Army Language School.
• Pastor Fred Shuttlesworth completed a bachelor's degree in English from the Alabama State Teachers College in Montgomery.
• Gene Bartow earned a degree from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.
• Ira De Ment graduated from the University of Alabama.
• Ward McIntyre graduated from Birmingham-Southern College.
• Miller Gorrie graduated from Shades Valley High School.
• John Grenier completed his law degree at Tulane University.
• Basil Hirschowitz completed a surgical fellowship at the University of Michigan.
• Bill Holdefer graduated from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Bob Moody completed his bachelor's in architecture at the Alabama Polytechnical Institute.
• Elmer Moree completed his master's in education at the University of Alabama.
• Richard Pizitz graduated from Harvard Business School.
• William Poole earned his bachelor of architecture at the Alabama Polytechnical Institute.
• William Powell earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Alabama.
• Thompson Reynolds graduated from Howard College.
• Richard Shelby graduated from Hueytown High School.
• Homer Smith graduated from Princeton University.
• Joel P. Smith graduated from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
• Sandra Sokol graduated from Ramsay High School.
• Author Gay Talese graduated from the University of Alabama.
• David Vann completed his master of laws at George Washington University in St Louis, Missouri.

Retirements

• Eloise Hanna retired from WBRC-TV.
• Cliff Holman was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army.
• O. V. Hunt retired from professional photography.
• Raymond Jones retired from selling insurance.
• Dana Ousler retired from Ousler Sandwiches.
• W. A. Parker retired as Superintendent of Tarrant City Schools.
• Asa Rountree Jr retired from the command of the Alabama Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

Deaths

• January 7: Joe Kelley died with 40 other servicemen returning from Korea in a plane crash near Bear Lake, Idaho.
• January 18: Newt Joseph, Negro Leagues baseball player
• May 30: Oscar Wells, banker
• June 27: Mary Anderson, real-estate developer, rancher, viticulturist and inventor
• July: Vernon Reaver, theater manager
• August 15: Erskine Ramsay, mining engineer, inventor and philanthropist
• November 3: Fred Brockman, Birmingham Police Department officer killed on duty.
• Inez Lopez, writer
• Shiney Moon, artist
• Ned McCormack, Homewood Police Department officer killed on duty.

See also: List of homicides in 1953

Works

• "Get It", single by The Royals with Hank Ballard
• "Jan", single by Paul Bascomb

Books

• The Alabama Review began publishing edited installments from Mary Gordon Duffee's "Sketches of Alabama".

Buildings

The Town House Motor Hotel

• March 22: The Birmingham VA Medical Center was dedicated.
• June 11: Howard College broke ground for its new Shades Valley campus.
• The Alabama Theatre's projection system and screen were upgraded for CinemaScope.
• Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery (Pratt City)
• The connector between U.S. Highway 31 and the "Florida Short Route" in Rosedale was begun.
• Widening of U.S. Highway 31 between Shades Mountain and the Cahaba River was begun.
• Charles B. Glenn Vocational High School
• Concord Highland Baptist Church in Concord
• Bessemer Junior High School opened.
• A new building for Bluff Park United Methodist Church was completed.
• An expansion of Holy Family Community Hospital was built.
• A playing field was constructed on the east side of Phillips High School.
• A parsonage for North Birmingham Church of God on 32nd Street North.
• Minor High School stadium
• St Theresa Catholic Church in Leeds

Context

1950s

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Births - Deaths - Establishments - Events - Works