On a brisk Sunday in Depression-era Philadelphia, two bombs — one real, the other metaphorical – were ignited in Philadelphia.
At 3:30 a.m. that Feb. 20, 1938, a device packed with metal scraps detonated on the N. 4th Street doorstep of a German-American meeting hall that had hosted rallies for Nazi sympathizers. Surrounding buildings were damaged but, except for a couple knocked out of bed, no one was hurt.
A few hours later and five miles away, in a lofty suite at Center City's Ritz-Carlton hotel, National Football League owners unintentionally touched off another explosion, though the after-shocks from this one would not be felt for another 80 years.