President Harry Truman spoke to the Los Angeles Press Club on June 14, 1948 — yes, the Press Club was apparently a bigger deal then — and he received a trophy marking the occasion. Now the Press Club 8-Ball that Truman received is up for auction through eBay. The starting price is $10, but the optimistic seller estimates it could fetch $15,000 and calls it, hopefully, a "wonderful and significant piece of Presidential memorabilia." The email correspondent who alerted me wrote, "This doesn't seem right...this historic award should belong to the LA PRESS CLUB."

Sound familiar?: In his L.A. speech, Truman complained that the Republican Congress was blocking his plan for national medical care.

Quasi-related: This was the era when political candidates — in this case Jimmy Roosevelt, son of FDR who later ran for for mayor of Los Angeles — were anointed in cigar-filled rooms at Chasen's.