July 17
WRONG WAY DAY
We’ve all seen football players running the wrong way on the field, and some announcer will refer to the unfortunate player as ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan.
Well, the original ‘Wrong Way’ was not a football player; he was Douglas Corrigan, unemployed airplane mechanic. It was on this, a foggy day in 1938, that Doug left Floyd Bennett Field in New York, supposedly headed for Los Angeles. He landed his 1929 Curtiss Robin monoplane about 28 hours later - not in California but in Ireland at Dublin’s Baldonnel Field.
Corrigan made the 3,150-mile flight without benefit of a radio or navigational equipment other than a compass. His explanation for the monumental mistake was that he was following the wrong end of the compass needle. (Folks were never sure whether his feat was a mistake or moxie.)
He was, however, welcomed home as a hero (ticker tape parade and all) and known forever more as ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
No portion of these files may be reproduced without the express, written permission of 440 International Inc.
