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Story
September 14, 1949
The Ohio Daily Express
Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio
What is this article about?
Harlem numbers players win Labor Day bets using the funeral home address (2284 Seventh Ave., played as 824) of Rev. E. T. Fifer, a preacher who sold lucky number tips despite anti-gambling laws. Fifer died three weeks ago falling from a window while escaping an apartment.
Clipping
OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
Good Number At
Funeral Home
NEW YORK (ANP) Numbers players in Harlem, who have reputedly spent thousands of dollars trying to buy a lucky number from the late Rev. E. T. Fifer, last week picked up on a good one for free and caught plenty of good labor day money.
What the players used were numbers from the funeral parlor in which Rev. Fifer's funeral services were held (2284 Seventh ave.) the number came out 824.
Various street collectors who take bets already are fearful of what may happen if two other numbers connected with the dead preacher catch, too. Everybody's now playing 133 and 117 because he lived at 133 E. 117th st. Some of them are refusing bets on the "hot" numbers, and are asking local newspapers not to print them.
They say, "You see this is a race situation. The white boys in control of the big stuff can stand a solid hit but we can't."
The winning number from the funeral home bets was 824, with quite a number of "suckers" making a hit.
Rev. Fifer fell to his death three weeks ago when he tried to escape from a woman's third floor apartment through the window after hearing the doorbell ring. It took two weeks for his sister-in-law and friends to scrape up enough money to bury him although he is alleged to have collected about $75,000 during the past two years.
He was quite popular for his number "tips" which he sold to the thousands of players in Harlem, despite the city's anti-gambling law.
Funeral Home
NEW YORK (ANP) Numbers players in Harlem, who have reputedly spent thousands of dollars trying to buy a lucky number from the late Rev. E. T. Fifer, last week picked up on a good one for free and caught plenty of good labor day money.
What the players used were numbers from the funeral parlor in which Rev. Fifer's funeral services were held (2284 Seventh ave.) the number came out 824.
Various street collectors who take bets already are fearful of what may happen if two other numbers connected with the dead preacher catch, too. Everybody's now playing 133 and 117 because he lived at 133 E. 117th st. Some of them are refusing bets on the "hot" numbers, and are asking local newspapers not to print them.
They say, "You see this is a race situation. The white boys in control of the big stuff can stand a solid hit but we can't."
The winning number from the funeral home bets was 824, with quite a number of "suckers" making a hit.
Rev. Fifer fell to his death three weeks ago when he tried to escape from a woman's third floor apartment through the window after hearing the doorbell ring. It took two weeks for his sister-in-law and friends to scrape up enough money to bury him although he is alleged to have collected about $75,000 during the past two years.
He was quite popular for his number "tips" which he sold to the thousands of players in Harlem, despite the city's anti-gambling law.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Crime Story
What themes does it cover?
Deception
Misfortune
What keywords are associated?
Numbers Racket
Harlem Gambling
Lucky Numbers
Rev Fifer
Funeral Bets
What entities or persons were involved?
Rev. E. T. Fifer
Where did it happen?
Harlem, New York
Story Details
Key Persons
Rev. E. T. Fifer
Location
Harlem, New York
Event Date
Last Week (Funeral); Three Weeks Ago (Death)
Story Details
Numbers players in Harlem use Rev. Fifer's funeral home address 2284 (played as 824) to win bets. Fifer, known for selling lucky number tips, died falling from a window escaping an apartment. Collectors fear more wins from his home address 133 E. 117th St.