My job is to discover the not-so-known

I got to do one of my favorite things on Monday: Sleuthing.

A couple of weeks ago, I researched and created an interactive timeline on the ownership history of the St. Louis Rams. A man from New York found that timeline and e-mailed me last week:

If you are the RAMS historian, I’ve got a question for you regarding the above time frame. I’m a New Yorker, saw my first game in the Polo Grounds, in NYC. RAMS came in to play the NY Giants, in an exhibition game, believe it was dubbed The Mayor’s Milk Fund Charity Game. A Rams player, I believe it was Deacon Dan Towler, gave me a chinstrap from his helmet, and I’ve been a Rams’ fan ever since. I was a most impressionable 9 yr. old at the time. Could you possibly tell me the date of the game I’m referring to, and the score, and any details you might be able to provide. I WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATIVE. Thanks in advance,
Joe

I’m not a Rams historian. I’m not even a Rams fan. So I sent the question off to three Rams experts in the Post-Dispatch sports department, wrote back to Joe and told him I hoped to have an answer for him this week.

On Monday, I hadn’t heard back from anyone in sports, so I decided to start the sleuthing. Or rather, after a rudimentary five-second Google search, I decided to ask my go-to sports expert, my brother, and go to an unrelated meeting.

But after that meeting, Adam and I figured out that 9-year-old Joe attended the Sept. 7, 1950, New York Herald-Tribune Fresh Air Fund Game at Polo Grounds. On that day, more than 37,000 people saw the New York Giants beat the Los Angeles Rams, 24-14. The New York Times has a recap of the game. The Fresh Air Fund Game was often a match-up between the Giants and college or military all-stars. Only two of the previous 11 games had been against professional teams. The Fresh Air Fund provides free summer vacations for low-income New York City children.

Joe was thrilled.

WOW, Erica, I can’t THANK YOU enough!! I believe I told you that this was the first game I ever saw, and the day I became a RAMS fan. Access to news of the team usually boiled down to a paragraph or two in the Wednes. edition of the Daily Mirror newspaper, long since gone. Thought the Charity was the Milk Fund , but your name sounds more than credible. I TRULY Thank You for your sterling efforts on my behalf. Joe

He wrote to me two more times Monday night. This is one of my favorite parts of my job. Not the (fantastically kind) e-mails, but figuring out obscure things. This one was almost as much fun as last week’s task to figure out what this letter said — specifically, the last word of the fifth line: