New York City ceremony honoring American Olympic Team on their return to the United States. Olympians march into Randall's Island Stadium in New York City as a band plays, following a celebration parade from The Battery to Randall's Island. Audience claps and cheers them. The members of the team take seats on a stage of the stadium. Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York City extends welcome and La Guardia congratulates the Olympic Team. and expresses the sincere gratitude of the seven million people of New York City. He states that the City has cast special medals to be presented to the members of the Team, on this occasion. He begins calling the names of athletes, who come forward as they are called. The medals are arranged on a large table by the microphones. The mayor suddenly calls on Champion runner, Helen Stephens, to speak. She comes to the mike and says Hello and Goodbye, and returns to her seat. Former Heavyweight Champion, Jack Dempsey, assists with the presentations.
Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects in New York City during the Great Depression. Skilled architects, draftsmen, and artists work for the WPA on a massive scale model of New York City, built in cooperation with New York University (this model predates the famous Panorama of New York City model built for the 1964 World's Fair). An artist is seen leaning over part of the model painting one of its features, which include detailed roads, bridges, buildings, and waterways. A hand lifts a building and measures its base with a ruler. Cartographic Survey WPA workers are seen creating a relief map of Staten Island for educational use. Artists including sculptors are seen creating new sculptures funded by WPA. A man carves a bust. Another man carves a relief stone commemorating Dewitt Clinton. A man stands in a Free Library and looks at books. Two women on a park bench look at books from the WPA Free Library holdings. A skilled artist is seen laying out and buildings stained glass windows for the United States Military Academy at Westpoint in New York. Stained glass panels depicting George Washington and soldiers are seen. A series of the George Washington stained glass windows is seen in place, with the artist applying final touches. Men work on the Federal Theater Project. Billboard signs advertising various WPA funded theatre productions in 1936 are shown, including Jefferson Davis, The World's Greatest Circus, Taking the Air, The Mikado, Macbeth, All American Minstrels, Battle Hymn, and Horse Eats Hat.
A newsreel titled "Universal five wins Olympics basketball final" shows a game between the company team from Universal Pictures and the McPherson Globe Refiners from Globe Oil and Refining Co. of McPherson, Kansas. The McPherson team is sometimes also referred to as the Oilers, or the Refiners. The teams are seen playing in the Olympics Qualifying basketball final in New York's Madison Square Garden. People cheer the two teams. Universal defeats the McPherson Globe Refiners to win the Olympics final. The win entitled the Universal Pictures team to name 7 players to the Olympic basketball team representing the United States in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin Germany, and McPherson Globe Refiners was able to name 6 players to the team. These two teams beat out five U.S. college teams to earn the spots in the final and determine the makeup of the U.S. Olympic Basketball team. Players in the game in this video clip include Globe Refiners forward Francis Johnson, Centers Willard Schmidt and Joe Fortenberry, and Universal forward Carl Knowles. Universal beat the Globe Refiners by a score of 44 to 43. According to a Time Magazine article of April 13, 1936, the Globe Oil & Refining team, "...have perfected a technique called dunking with which they score by jumping up above the basket, dropping the ball into it." This may be one of the earliest references to dunking, now a staple technique in basketball. The same Time article further stated of the Oilers, "On the defense, they prevent opponents from scoring by batting the ball out of the basket." Again, the Globe Refiners were demonstrating play that later became standard in modern basketball. The idea for the Globe Refiners was a company promotion scheme, thought up in 1934 by Gene Johnson, the Sales Manager of Globe Oil who had several years experience coaching basketball. The Olympic team also included Washington State Huskey player Ralph Bishop. The USA went on to win the gold, defeating Canada 19-8.
American Olympic Team welcomed upon arrival in New York Harbor aboard a Steamship. A New York City fireboat creates plumes of water in welcome. A boat carrying the New York City Police Department Band passes with band playing in the bow. A floral arrangement reads 'Welcome Olympians. Various American Olympic heroes are seen. Jesse Owens and other African American members of the team are seen. New York officials greet the Olympians.
Crowd cheers and waves during New York Yankees and New York Giants game in the 1936 World Series at Polo Grounds IV in Manhattan, New york. Yankee manager, Joe McCarthy and Giants manager, Bill Terry on the field and they shake hands. Governor of New York State Herbert H. Lehman throws out first pitch, with Mayor La Guardia beside him. Babe Ruth, guest of honor, watches the match. Crowd cheer as the game proceeds. In next segment: Grover Whalen, President of New York World's Fair Corporation points out highlights of 1939 New York World's Fair on a preliminary model with the help of a stick, for visiting dignitaries. Footage from a September 1961 newsreel hightlighting stories from 25 years earlier.
Lots of delegates involved in typical political convention activities, at the Ninth National Convention of the Communist Party USA in New York City, in 1936. Delegates march and cheer. Large banner portrait of James W. Ford, one of the party leaders, is displayed with Hammer and Sickle behind podium. American flag on podium. Delegates appear weary. Several wave hammer and sickle flags. Balloons drop from ceiling.