Walter Edge Archives - New Jersey Globe

Trailblazer: Assistant U.S. Attorney Oliver Randolph

January 19, 2026 12:12 amJanuary 18, 2026 10:17 pm

Oliver Randolph (1877-1951) was the only African American member of the 1947 New Jersey Constitutional Convention. In that post, he led a fight that successfully banned discrimination in New Jersey’s public schools and the National Guard. Born in Virginia, Randolph...

Labor Leader: Vincent J. Murphy was NJ AFL-CIO president, two-term Mayor of Newark

September 1, 2025 12:14 amAugust 31, 2025 11:18 pm

One of the most influential labor leaders in New Jersey’s history was Vincent J. Murphy (1893-1976), who spent nine years as the president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO after serving two terms as Mayor of Newark. He was the Democratic...

Labor Leader: Joel Jacobson picked a public fight with Frank Sinatra

September 1, 2025 12:10 amAugust 31, 2025 5:39 pm

One of the notable New Jersey conflicts of the 1970s was the rivalry between labor leader Joel R. Jacobson (1918-1989) and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra and Dean Martin were playing blackjack before their performance at the Golden Nugget Casino in Atlantic...

Trailblazer: Assistant U.S. Attorney Oliver Randolph

January 20, 2025 12:11 amJanuary 19, 2025 9:08 pm

Oliver Randolph (1877-1951) was the only African American member of the 1947 New Jersey Constitutional Convention. In that post, he led a fight that successfully banned discrimination in New Jersey’s public schools and the National Guard. Born in Virginia, Randolph...

Five N.J. veterans you should know about

November 11, 2024 12:01 amNovember 11, 2024 1:12 pm

One New Jersey war veteran whose legacy remains intact after more than a century was Major General George Washington Goethals, the namesake of the Goethals Bridge. Goethals graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1880 and was...

Labor Leader: Vincent J. Murphy was NJ AFL-CIO president, two-term Mayor of Newark

September 2, 2024 12:12 amSeptember 1, 2024 8:39 pm

One of the most influential labor leaders in New Jersey history was Vincent J. Murphy (1893-1976), who spent nine years as the president of the New Jersey AFL-CIO after two terms as the Mayor of Newark. He was the Democratic...

Labor Leader: ex-Yankees pitcher later served as N.J. Commissioner of Labor

September 2, 2024 12:10 amSeptember 1, 2024 8:36 pm

Before Bill Bradley, there was Harry C. Harper. Known as “Hackensack Harry,” Harper spent ten seasons as a major league baseball pitcher. The big left-hander was the starting pitcher for the New York Yankees game six of the 1921 World...