The Sun’s 175th Anniversary: Humorous and bizarre
William Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Over the years, the photographers of The Baltimore Sun have captured for eternity these characters in some of their funniest and strangest moments. These are a sampling of the many pictures taken that we hope will make you pause and either smile, chuckle or laugh. We would love to hear which are your favorites.
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- In June 1963, Raymond McGrew leaps with joy outside Public School No. 47 at Fleet Street and Linwood avenue as he gets his report card, showing that he passed. (Ellis Malashuk/Baltimore Sun)
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- On July 3, 1997, while Evelyn Anderson was busy scrubbing her marble steps in the 1200 block of Hull Street in Locust Point, a gust of wind tangled her new flags set out for tomorrow’s celebration. Using a bit of ingenuity, she unfurled the flag using a clothes hanger for the extra reach. (Larry C. Price/Baltimore Sun)
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- In August 1974, Jimmy Smith cools off in a washing machine at the Maryland State fair in Timonium. His mother Linda Smith is near by. (Joseph A. DiPaola/Baltimore Sun)
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- In April 2005, nine bison escaped from a farm in Stevenson, Md. and after herding the beasts onto a tennis court, the challenge continued for Baltimore County police, as the beasts avoided the officers. A couple of bison even jumped over the tennis nets. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
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- In May 1960, dancers Joan Darby and Joe Cash perform the Madison dance, a popular line dance that featured different steps such as “the Jackie Gleason, and away we go” shown here. (Richard Stacks/Baltimore Sun)
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- In August 2007, Patrick Corbett managed to not cry during his hair cut at Gennuso’s barber Shop, until Barber Garry Oster went for the bangs. (Monica Lopossay/Baltimore Sun)
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- In February 2008, Lenny Kulider, driver of the Prowler monster truck, appears to be getting eaten by his machine when he is in fact working on the truck prior to the start of Monster Jam at the 1st Mariner Arena. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- In 1997, the Department of Natural Resources police use a remote controlled deer in no hunting areas to catch poachers and deer hunting violators. They are called decoy deer and consist of deer skin over styrofoam. Cpl Paul Hanyok carries the body of the decoy and Officer Aaron Parker carries the head. (Jed Kirschbaum/Baltimore Sun)
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- In 2006, Jonathan Cort, from Clemens Crossing Elementary School, awaits his turn in the second round of The Howard County Library Spelling Bee. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)
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- In May 1952, Gerald Sheehan, left, drives Baltimore mayor Thomas J. D’Alesandro, Jr. at the flower mart while sporting handlebar mustaches. (Joseph A. DiPaola/Baltimore Sun)
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- In January 2006, the Star Spangled Open Cheerleading Championship was held at First Mariner Arena. The Cheer Madness Sky Rockets cheered to a Wizard of Oz theme. In this instance, the girl in the center is singing, “We represent the lolipop guild.” (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
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- Ravens linebacker Antwan Barnes, right, stops Eagles running back Brian Westbrook by the seat of his pants, relatively speaking, for a two-yard loss in the third quarter of their game in November of 2008. (Christopher T. Assaf/Baltimore Sun)
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- Fourth grader Deshawn Edwards models food group “glasses” given out at a breakfast program, Breakfast in Baltimore, at Charles Carroll Barrister Elementary School in October of 2008. (Jed Kirschbaum/Baltimore Sun)
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- In 1966, a Ringling Brothers & Barnum Bailey circus clown kicks back and reads the paper until time to don his costume. (Richard Stacks/Baltimore Sun)
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- In August 2006, Mikey, a chimpanzee from Elkton, took a particular interest in Ann Clark who was not sure what to do with the 4-year-old chimpanzee. Mikey, who has appeared on the cover of Black Eyed Peas CDs, was visiting a local radio station. (Jed Kirschbaum/Baltimore Sun)
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- In January 2006, dressed as a scantily clad Darth Vader, Ed Griffin, of Reisterstown, runs into the Chesapeake Bay during his first ever Polar Bear Plunge. The air was 60 degrees, but the water was a less inviting, 37 degrees for the tenth annual event. (David Hobby/Baltimore Sun)
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- These toddlers, Samantha Robinson, Greg Roy, Kelli Robinson, and Sherrie Stencil (left to right) go topless to beat the heat on West Ostend Street in Pigtown as the temperature rose to 104 degrees in June 1988. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
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- Willie the Rooter cheers during a Baltimore Colts football game in November 1957. (Richard Stacks/Baltimore Sun)
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- In January 1998, “Bubbleheads,” a four person bicycle performance art piece created by New York artist Eric Staller for a Maryland College of Art show, pedals along the Inner Harbor promenade. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
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- At Southway Bowling Center, Paul Hazlehurst goes Duckpin bowling as his twins, Matthew and Grace sleep soundly. Southway closed a few days later in November 2000. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
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- In July 2009, Matthew Miklos of Stanford CT, whose character is called “21,” catches a smoke outside the Baltimore Convention Center, during the Otakon convention. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
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