Brooklyn Today: Aug. 16, 2012

August 16, 2012 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Good morning. Today is the 229th day of the year. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of Aug. 16, 1901, took note of the large number of poolrooms existing within a few blocks of Borough Hall. At that time, “poolrooms” meant places, usually saloons, where bets were placed on the horses. Playing billiards was just one of the ways patrons relaxed until their results came in from the track. By the beginning of World War I, however, “pool” increasingly referred to the game of billiards itself.

Well-known people who were born today include actres Angela Bassett (“Waiting to Exhale,” “Malcolm X’), sportscaster and Hall of Fame football player Frank Gifford, TV personality and singer Kathie Lee Gifford, singer Eydie Gorme (“Blame It on the Bossa Nova”), singer-actress Madonna (“Despserately Seeking Susan,”’ ‘’Evita”) and actor Timothy Hutton (“Ordinary People”).