Obit of the Day
Looking at the famous, infamous, not-so-famous, and unique lives that have shuffled off this mortal coil.
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Obit of the Day: Eye on Baltimore
Joe DiPaola, Jr. started as a copy boy at the Baltimore Sun working from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Then he’d go home, catch a few winks, and head off to high school.
Eventually he earned himself a spot on the photography staff with his Speed Graphic camera that he was paying off at $5 per month, money he earned by selling his photos to the Sun.
Except for his service in World War II, DiPaola would work at the paper for over 40 years. Although his work was mainly in sports, DiPaola would capture images of Baltimore both serene (bottom left) and chaotic (bottom right).
In 1962, while photographing the Preakness, the second leg in horse racing’s Triple Crown, DiPaola stood 40 feet down the straightaway from the finish line, a position he normally would not have staked out. As the two lead horses crossed the line, DiPaola took the picture you see above. The winner of the race was Johnny Rotz on Greek Money (left) but the second-place finisher - and favorite - Manuel Ycaza on Ridan was incensed claiming Rotz had fouled him.
It wasn’t until DiPaola developed the photo that Ycaza was vindicated. The race results would stand, but Johnny Rotz was suspended for his actions. The hearing board’s most important evidence was Joe DiPaola’s photograph.
Mr. DiPaola died at the age of 91.
(All images are copyright Joe DiPaola, Jr./Baltimore Sun. Bottom left, the Baltimore skyline taken from the Key Bridge, is courtesy of thephototimes.com. The other are courtesy of the Sun.)
Obit of the Day: Capturing Baltimore’s Sorrow
On March 29, 1984 the owner of the Baltimore Colts, Bob Irsay, packed up the entire organization into Mayflower moving vans to drive one thousand miles west to Indianapolis. Lloyd Pearson, a Baltimore Sun, photographer who captured the ups and downs of Charm City’s history for twenty years, was there. His photograph, above, became the symbol of Baltimore having its heart ripped out by Irsay and the NFL.
Random note: Baltimore got a new team, the Ravens, in 1996. Ironically, the Ravens left Cleveland in the same way the Colts left Baltimore. I don’t think Baltimore fans felt too guilty. Cleveland got a new Browns franchise in 1999.
Pearson, who died at the age of 90, had dreams of becoming an animator. Before serving in the Navy in World War II, he worked on Walt Disney’s Pinocchio but not for very long because “he got tired of drawing raindrops.” He took up photography during the war and never turned back.
You can see more of Pearson’s work here.
(Image is copyright Lloyd Pearson/Baltimore Sun, but is courtesy, of course, of the Indianapolis Star.)
Obit of the Day: Engraver to the President
Isaac Lysett’s family began binding books in Baltimore in 1835. The first Lysett created lithographs, engraved $2 bills for a Virginia bank during the Civil War, and sold toys and gifts. By the end of the 20th century the company was the premier engraver in the city and one of the best in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.
It still came as a quite a suprise when it was decided that Isaac Lysett would engrave the invitations for President Clinton’s first inaugural in January 1993. The work was done so well that Mr. Lysett engraved the 1997 invitations as well, see above.
Mr. Lysett, who also did work for National Geographic, the mayor of Washington, D.C., and numerous brides, was 84 years old.
(Image copyright of The Smithsonian Institution from their, still active!,1997 website documenting the second Clinton-Gore Inauguration.)
Random note: In May 2011, OOTD posted about the loss of another Baltimore commercial artist, Arthur Hoen.
Obit of the Day: Ace of Crabcakes
It began in a shack near the beach in Ocean City, Maryland. Brice and Shirley Phillips were looking to open a restaurant to sell extra crab meat the seafood processing plant owned by Brice’s father. With only four seats and a kitchen Phillips Seafood opened it’s first restaurant in 1956.
Fifty-five years later Phillips Seafood’s original restaurant now occupies a city block with 1600 seats. The chain has restaurants in 19 states, its most successful location on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Brice Phillips, who died at age 90, expanded his restaurant business into crab processing (following in his father’s footsteps) opening up plants in Asia and Latin America. This move became financially necessary (and lucrative) after a drop off in the availability of Maryland crabs.
For all his success, Phillips didn’t seem to enjoy his career: “If I had a choice of businesses to be in, the restaurant business would be down on my list.”
What a sad comment on a life’s work.
(Image copyright l e p’s photostream on Flickr. Great photos, btw.)
