December 4 in San Antonio history…

1899 
The city is given the gift of present-day Brackenridge Park by George W. Brackenridge.

1961
A mention in the San Antonio Light that the new Randolph High School was looking to schedule football games for fall brought a flurry of calls to Principal Earl Hall.  Six games have been scheduled already, said Hall, and he is looking for one more on either November 2 or November 9.  All the games will be played on the road, as the playing field probably will not be ready in time for the fall season.

1979
City Manager Tom Huebner denies a parade permit to the Iranian students in San Antonio who wished to protest the presence of the Shah in San Antonio.  The Ku Klux Klan, who vowed to hold a parade if the Iranian students were allowed a protest parade, are also denied a permit.

October 20 in San Antonio history…

1899 
The first automobile in San Antonio, an electric, arrived at Staacke Brothers today. However, the batteries did not arrive with the car so the first drive will have to wait.

from the Tibbals Circus Collection

1903
Robert Benjamin Vandervoort of Corpus Christi, who bills himself as “Diavolo,” performs the loop-de-loop on a bicycle as part of the Forepaugh and Sells Bros. circus at the fairgrounds (right.)

1994
Blockbuster Entertainment buys Sound Warehouse, including all six San Antonio locations, from Los Angeles-based Shamrock Holdings.

May 19 in San Antonio history…

1899
Labor leader Eugene V. Debs speaks at Beethoven Hall.

1949
Studer’s Photo Company is purchased by a newly formed corporation to be known as Studer’s Incorporated, for a price reported to be around $250,000.  Studer’s has been run by Mrs. Ada Studer, the widow of founder Ben Studer, since his sudden death in April of 1948.

Photo courtesy of Feeding The Pig Antiques and Historical Photo Galleries.

1975
Nearly two months before the release of their second eponymous LP, Anglo-American band Fleetwood Mac, featuring new members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (right), play a concert in Municipal Auditorium.

May 18 in San Antonio history…

1899
Mr. Milton Everett, a noted railroad man of the city, is advocating for a union depot with the news that the Missouri, Kansas and Texas rail line is to be added to San Antonio.

1953
An anti-censorship rally is held at Jefferson Methodist Church where it is suggested that San Antonio city council members who advocate censorship of books in the public library could be recalled to private citizenship.

1979
Spurs fans are devastated when the Spurs lose the Eastern Conference finals to the Washington Bullets, 107-105. The Spurs lose the series 4-3 becoming only the third team to lose a series in which they were up 3-1.  Spurs coach Doug Moe is furious about the officiating, saying, “They should be sent before a firing squad.”

March 17 in San Antonio history…

1899
In making excavation for the brick  foundation of the new Westminster Presbyterian church on Garden St, Contractor Finney struck the old underground passage supposed to have existed between the first mission and the Alamo. The ditch was 20 feet deep and Mr. Finley was compelled to go to the bottom of it to start his foundations. This Passage has been discovered twice previously: three years ago at the corner of Alamo and Garden st. and again on E. Commerce at the intersection of St. Joseph’s street.

1939
San Antonio welcomes Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt who speaks at Municipal Auditorium, telling the story of  a “typical day at the White House.”

1969
The city first dyes the San Antonio River green for St. Patrick’s Day.

December 28 in San Antonio history…

1947
Brackenridge High School brings San Antonio its first state football championship with a 22-13 win over Highland Park High school in Alamo Stadium.

1925
A one-inch snowfall, together with sleet, fell on San Antonio today, just three days too late for Christmas.

1943
An early morning blaze destroys the third floor of the Turf Bar, located at 121 Soledad Street.  The cause is presumed to be a cigarette dropped on an overstuffed sofa which was probably smoldering when the bar closed at 3 a.m.  The blaze was discovered by a passerby who spotted flames shooting from the roof at 7:15 a.m.

December 4 in San Antonio history…

1899
The city is given the gift of present-day Brackenridge Park by George W. Brackenridge.

1961
Texas Attorney General Will Wilson reveals a plan calling for the construction of a new museum adjacent to the Alamo, calling it “a sort of walk-through panorama of the dramatic, exciting story of the Texas Revolution.”  The proposed new museum is outlined as part of the attorney general’s plan to bolster Texas’ sagging tourist industry.

1968
Colonies North Shopping Center opens for business at Wurzbach and Ironside Drive.  Stores include:  Handy Andy, Winn’s, Michael’s (clothing), Treasure Cove, Cheer Shop liquor store, M&M Hardware and  Colony Furniture Mart.

November 29 in San Antonio history…

1899
The newspaper reports that a man was taken to the City Hospital yesterday with a broken arm.  He tried to ride an ostrich at the ostrich farm.

1943
Sale of the Transit Tower for $460,000 to H. B. Zachry, San Antonio and Laredo contractor, was announced by San Antonio Transit Co.

1958
After a three-month experiment, radio station KAKI changes its call letters back to KTSA.

November 4 in San Antonio history…

1886
San Antonio is connected to Floresville by telegraph wire.  The first message is transmitted the next day.

1899
The University of Texas plays their annual football game against the  Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas right here in San Antonio at the International Fairgrounds.  A&M disputes a fumble in the second half and refuses to take the field, forfeiting the game to Texas, 6-0.

1926
The Texas Historical and Landmarks Assn. and the Sons and Daughters of the Heroes of Texas submitted a petition to the city urging preservation of the Spanish Governor’s Palace, at Commerce and Military Plaza.

October 20 in San Antonio history…

1899 
The first automobile in San Antonio, an electric, arrived at Staacke Brothers today. However, the batteries did not arrive with the car so the first drive will have to wait.

1900
William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody brings his Wild West Show to the Alamo city. His troupe features three bands, Indians of the Sioux, Cheyenne and Araphoe tribes, United States Sixth cavalrymen, Tenth United States Colored Cavalry troops (Heroes of San Juan) and cowboys – including  three from the San Antonio area, Johnny France and Joe & Tony Esquivel.  The show begins at 2 p. m. and 8 p.m. today near the I. & G. N. depot.

1924
Alexander Joske has supplemented his gift of a $50,000 armory for the Boy Scouts of San Antonio, adding a site, equipment for the building and a bathing pool.  The entire gift is valued from $75,000 to $100,000 and is made as a memorial to the late Harold Joske, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Joske.