1957

1957 was the 86th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

• February: The Country Boy Eddie Show debuted on WBRC 6.
• March 3: A group of hooded Klan members toured the Jimmy Morgan Zoo.
• March 21: Sen. John Kennedy spoke on "Labour Racketeering" at a banquet for the Alabama League of Municipalities in Birmingham.
• April 8: Singer Bobby Darin began a week long engagement at Mike's South Pacific in Homewood.
• April 23: A minor earthquake centered near the Tennessee River below Guntersville Dam alarmed residents across the Birmingham area.
• May 22: The town of Sylvan Springs was incorporated.
• May 31: The town of Trussville was elevated to the status of "city".
• June: Susie the elephant joined Mona at the Jimmy Morgan Zoo.
• September: Co-producer Gail Patrick brought Raymond Burr to Birmingham to promote their new series "Perry Mason".
• November 4: The William Elias B. Davis statue was rededicated at its present location at Hillman Hospital.
• November 17: An F4 tornado tore through western Walker County.
• The Alabama Theatre's marquee was upgraded with "new display effects."
• The Birmingham Public Library's Titusville Branch Library was established.
• A new well for Center Point was tapped by Cullen Scott.
• The Town of County Line was incorporated.
• Birmingham's Downtown Improvement Association was established.
• Humphry Osmond coined the term "psychedelic" to describe the effects of hallucinogenic drugs.
• Local doo-wop group "The Cavaliers" (Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, and Kell Osbourne) relocated to Cleveland, Ohio.
• The Roma Country Club in Homewood was incorporated.
• The Festival of Arts hosted a "Salute to England and Alabama".
• The Zoo Express miniature railroad began service at the Jimmy Morgan Zoo.

Civil Rights movement

• January: Carl and Alexinia Baldwin sued to desegregate the waiting rooms at Birmingham Terminal Station.
• February 14: Fred Shuttlesworth joined Martin Luther King Jr, [[Ralph Abernathy], and others to form the the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
• March 6: Fred and Ruby Shuttlesworth challenged the segregation of the Birmingham Terminal Station waiting rooms.
• April 10: George Dickerson's home was destroyed by a bomb.
• April 28: The Allen Temple AME Church in Bessemer was bombed during a service.
• August 29: The U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 over Strom Thurmond's filibuster, establishing federal oversight of voting rights for federal offices.
• September 9: Fred Shuttlesworth and other parents were assaulted by an armed mob when they attempted to enroll their children at Phillips High School.

Business

• June 19: Colonial Stores opened a new location in Norwood.
• June 27: Hill's Food Stores opened a new location in Norwood.
• July: Vincent Carnaggio founded Pediatrics East in East Lake.
• John Hontzas opened Niki's West restaurant on Finley Avenue.
• Bob and Maxine Sykes opened "The Ice Spot" in Central Park
• Vernon Braden opened Braden's Furniture in Trussville.
• Storer Broadcasting sold WBRC 6 to Taft Radio and Television of Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Tommy Charles and Doug Layton left WSGN-AM for WYDE-AM.
• Western Supermarkets opened a fourth location at Crestwood Shopping Center.
• John Collins opened Lyric Hot Dogs.

Education

• Howard College moved from East Lake to Shades Valley.
• Banks High School opened to freshmen.
• Western-Olin High School was accredited.
• The University Hospital School of Nursing was accredited.

Religion

• May 6: Vestavia Hills Baptist Church was organized.
• The 1957 Presbyterian General Assembly was hosted in Birmingham by South Highland Presbyterian Church.
• Warrior First Baptist Church changed its name to First Baptist Church of Warrior.

Sports

• August 31: The NFL's Detroit Lions defeated the Washington Redskins 31-14 in an exhibition game at Legion Field.
• November 30: Auburn shut out Alabama in the Iron Bowl at Legion Field.
• Bear Bryant accepted an offer to leave Texas A&M to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
• Gene Bartow's St Charles High School boys' basketball team won the Missouri State Championship
• H. B. Thompson founded the Gardendale Youth Baseball program.
• The Detroit Tigers traded pitcher Virgil Trucks to the Kansas City Athletics.
• Cyclone Anaya defeated Tor Yamata to claim the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight title in Birmingham.

Individuals

• Raymond Boland was ordained as a Catholic priest.
• Henry Stanford succeeded Guy Snavely as President of Birmingham-Southern College.
• R. B. Knox succeeded Hoyt Ayers as Chief of the Birmingham Fire Department.
• Max Kimerling succeeded J. Harold Shevin as president of Temple Beth-El.
• Inez Andrews left the Gospel Harmonettes to join the Caravans.
• W. Landon Miller became pastor of Ruhama Baptist Church.
• Madelyn Poole began her tenure as pianist and music director for Town and Gown Theatre.
• Nathan Goldstein succeeded Hyman Miller as president of the Jewish Community Center.
• Clarence Baldwin succeeded Claude Warren as pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Births

• January 8: Doug Jones, Helena police chief
• February 10: Samantha Shaw, former Alabama State Auditor
• February 14: Alan Hunter, MTV VJ
• February 14: Reggie King, NBA player
• February 18: Gary Richardson, Midfield mayor and radio executive
• March 17: Barry Krauss, football player
• April 10: Robert Leslie Palmer, attorney and author
• April 18: Finis St John IV, attorney and University of Alabama trustee
• April 25: Johnny High, NBA player
• May 27: Carol Hendrickson, Navy nurse
• June 11: Dewayne Davis, minister and chorister
• June 22: Keith McCord, NBA player
• August 30: Otis Dismuke, educator
• September 7: Jack Williams, legislator
• September 21: Mark Childress, novelist
• November 20: Dwight Stephenson, NFL player
• November 23: Andrew Toney, NBA player
• December 31: Steve Gaines, Baptist minister
• Buddy Gray, Baptist minister
• Alan Jacobs, academic
• Mama Petite, hippopotamus
• Willie Pittman, mechanic and entrepreneur
• Walter Moore, educator
• Greg Shaw, Chief Judge of the Alabama Court of the Judiciary
• Randy Smith, Birmingham Police Department officer
• Andrew Westmoreland, President of Samford University
• Meged Yisra'el (born Melvin Miller), NFL player

Awards

• Tommy Charles was named "Best DJ of the Year" by the Birmingham Advertising Club.
• Harry Brock Jr received the "Young Bankers Award" from the Alabama Bankers Association.
• Don Hawkins was named "Mr Crestwood" by the Crestwood Civic Club.
• Shug Jordan split the "SEC Coach of the Year" voting with Wade Walker.
• Anna Strange was named "Miss Alabama".
• Golfer Charley Boswell was given an award from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.

Graduations

• John Badham graduated from Indian Springs School.
• Harry Brock Jr completed a degree from the School of Financial Public Relations at Northwestern University.
• Max D. Cooper graduated from Tulane University.
• Roland Frye completed a Guggenheim Fellowship.
• John C. Fletcher Jr completed a Fulbright Fellowship in Heidelberg, Germany.
• Fob James earned a degree in civil engineering at Auburn University.
• Sam Pointer Jr completed a juris doctorate at the University of Alabama School of Law

=Marriages

• September 21: Attorney Orzell Billingsley married Geselda Hill.

Retirements

• Blanche Dean retired from teaching.

Deaths

• An iron worker was killed when the new steeple at Hunter Street Baptist Church collapsed.
• March 9: Malcolm Dabney, dentist
• March 17: Seale Harris, physician
• April 8: Dorothy Sebastian, actress
• May 26: Luther Patrick, attorney and former U.S. Representative
• June: Caroline Johnson, social activist
• July 10: George Salem Sr, restaurateur
• July 25: Frank Welch, baseball player
• September 24: Carrie Hill, artist

Works

• Anthony Perkins starred as Jimmy Piersall in the film based on his memoir, "Fear Strikes Out.

Buildings

• Banks High School
• Bush K-8 School addition
• Federal Reserve building expansion
• Municipal Auditorium lobby and meeting rooms
• Hill Elementary School addition
• Hunter Street Baptist Church in Bush Hills
• Leland Shopping Center in Alberta City
• McElwain Baptist Church fellowship hall
• Purcell Wing at Carraway Hospital
• Bethel Baptist Church parsonage, Collegeville
• Lawrence Reynolds Library (groundbreaking)
• Lewis Smith Dam (groundbreaking)
• The Club men's club room and ladies' card room
• Tuggle Elementary School addition
• Ullman High School classroom annex
• The A. E. Burgess Co. started the state's first interstate highway construction project.

Music

• Sun Ra's first album, "Super-Sonic Jazz" was released on Saturn Records.
• Tommy Charles' single, "(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade is Over"/"Love, You're a Stranger" was released on Decca Records.
• Urbie Green's album, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" was released on RCA Victor.

Context

Notable 1956 births included __. Deaths that year included __.

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