First Baby of 1973

By 1973, the prizes in the Journal's First Baby Contest had been scaled back to a baby-sized portion, relative to the generosity of the merchants back in 1963.

Citizens Home and Savings Association was still awarding the new baby a saving account in the amount of one dollar for every pound of his or her weight at birth. And there was still chicken as a gift (a 20-piece chicken feast from Mister S, as opposed to 1963's barbecued chickens from Dewey Road Restaurant).

But otherwise, the rattling sound coming from the contest wasn't from a baby rattle – it was more of a death rattle. The other gifts consisted of a gift certificate from Gaylord's, baby's first pair of shoes from Januzzi's, and $10 worth of 'baby needs' from National Pharmacy. That's it.

So was the lucky winner of those "20 Tender golden JUICY PIECES of Chicken cooked to perfection" and other goodies? Douglas James Finlayson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clare Finlayson of Lorain.

And here's the front page of the January 2, 1973 Journal with the scoop.

Of course, overshadowing everything on the page is the death of baseball great Roberto Clemente in a plane crash while he was traveling with others on a mission to provide relief supplies to victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake. It was a stunning loss, especially the people of Puerto Rico, who idolized him as the 'first great Latin American baseball player.'

I recently found the baseball bats that my brothers and I played with as kids, and none other than Roberto Clemente's name is the inscription for one of them.