July 6, 1971: Louis Armstrong Dies

You might be cool, but you'll never be as cool as

Louis Armstrong on the phone, wearing pajamas and a Mets cap,

in his home recording studio.

July 6, 1971, 50 years ago: Louis Armstrong dies of a heart attack at his home in the Corona neighborhood of the Borough Queens, in New York City.

The all-time icon of jazz had been billed as being born in New Orleans, which was correct, on the 4th of July, 1900, which was not. It was later discovered that his actual date of birth was August 6, 1901, so he was not quite 70 when he died. He was buried at Flushing Cemetery in Queens.

Known as "Satchelmouth" for his big mouth, which was later shortened to "Satchmo" and "Satch," and "Pops" as he got older, Louis was a big sports fan. In the 1930s, he sponsored Negro League baseball teams. He had season tickets to the Yankees until Shea Stadium was built just a few blocks from his house, and so he switched to the Mets.

Billy Crystal remembered that, for his first live major league game, on May 30, 1956, his father had used his connections in the music business, and got Louis' seats at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees beat the Washington Senators, and Mickey Mantle hit a home run off the facade on the right field roof, less than 2 feet from going completely out of the Stadium.

And for some reason, unusual for black Americans in his time, Louis loved tennis. When the National Tennis Center was established in Flushing Meadow-Corona Park in 1978, the stadium known as the Singer Bowl, built for the 1964 World's Fair, was made its centerpiece, and it was renamed Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The original Louis Armstrong Stadium

When Arthur Ashe Stadium was built in 1997, it was decided to tear Armstrong Stadium down and build a new stadium with the name, to act as the U.S. Open's secondary facility. It opened in 2018, and seats 14,000 people.

The new Louis Armstrong Stadium

Angry over the lack of progress in New Orleans, Louis chose to keep his residence in New York. Nevertheless, on August 4, 2001, in honor of the Centennial of his birth, the city renamed its airport Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.