october 17, 1931

The history books will note that Norman Schwister was born on October 17, 1931.

What else was happening on that day? It was a bad day for Al Capone, who was convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years.

"Capone, looking like a head barber off to meet his best girl, stood in the corridor after the jury went out. He was smiling, but the smile seemed the equivalent of the quavery music of the whistler passing the graveyard.

The gang chief wore a very light green pinchback suit, tan shoes and mottled green tie. The vivid green draped on his 250-pound bulk made him stand out in the crowd like an elephant at an ants' convention."

Now that's journalism.

Other famous October 17 birthdays: Arthur Miller, Jimmy Breslin, Rita Hayworth, Evel Knievel, Eminem, and George Wendt---best known, of course, as Norm from "Cheers."

Click here for more fascinating October 17 history.