July 12, 1938 – A baseball fan who couldn’t take it killed one man and wounded another yesterday, There offense: They had made remarks reflecting on the professional integrity of certain members of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The tragedy occurred in a Brooklyn bar room. The slayer was Robert Joyce, 33, a post office clerk. The victims were – Frank Harvey Krug a clerk in state office in Albany, NY. He was killed by 2 bullets to the heart and William J Diamond, the bartender, who was critically wounded and probably will die.

Joyce had intended killing several others in the bar room but, in his highly wrought state, he couldn’t recall the others among the customers who had disparaged the Dodgers.

“I must have gone haywire,” Joyce said to the police.

The trouble started soon after yesterday’s game in which the Brooklyn Dodgers, Joyce’s favorite team, won a long-sought victory from the New York Giants their arch-foes 13-5. The game was played at Ebbets Field in front of only 9,100 fans. The Dodgers, reaching their stride after having taken 10 beatings from the Giants this season, were magnificent in victory and Joyce went to the barroom to chortle. The Dodgers were 32-42 at the time while the Giants were cruising along at 47-27. 

As nearly as anybody could remember, Joyce started an argument by asking what everybody thought of the Dodgers now. He grew more voluble while consuming 18 glasses of beer. Yet he hadn’t converted any Giants fans to the Dodgers cause. By 11 o’clock everybody was ribbing him so he arose from his stool, announced he was going to get two guns and shot up the place, and walking out reeling.

At the door he paused and shouted “I’m going to kill you Red (Diamond’s nick name) and you too Miller (Charles Miller) the waiter.

Two hours later, Joyce returned. There were a dozen men in the place. Joyce stepped to the bar, pulled a revolver from his pocket and shot Diamond. Several men pounced on him upon him and bore him to the floor. Miller grabbed the gun and ran into the street yelling for police. Joyce meanwhile wiggled free. Arose and took another revolver from his pocket. He looked about for his antagonists and selected Krug and Robert Eagan, a federal clerk.

Ignoring the others he forced these two into the back room. Eagan darted for a phone booth. Krug was trying to crowd in with him when Joyce fired again. Two bullets prices Krug’s heart. As he collapsed, Joyve stepped up to the booth and called to Eagan.

“I’m going to kill you, what is your name? ” he replied, “My name is Eagan.” Joyce responded, “I could kill you but I won’t.” He turned and started toward the street but ran into three armed policemen.

Booked for murder, Joyce said he got two guns from the post office substation where he worked. “I was only fooling when I shot”, he said. Diamond, who is 28, married and the father of 2 children was wounded on in the side. A priest was summoned to administer his last rites of the Catholic Church.

Krug was 38, he was an accountant in the emergency relief bureau in Albany. 

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