Death of McSorley's Matty Maher-- Part 3: About Those Chicken Wings and Women

In the last post, I mentioned that there was a collection of chicken wings in New York City's McSorley's.  It would seem that this would be something a bit out of the ordinary in a bar.  And it is.

Matty Maher would explain that they dated to World War I, when departing doughboys, after finishing their last full meal stateside, would hang the bones above the bar as a good luck wish that they would return safely.

In 1970, Mayor John V. Lindsay signed legislation barring discrimination in public places because of gender.  Altercations erupted at McSorley's between longtime customers and the female newcomers.

"I'm afraid it will be this way for a few days," Maher said.    If anything, he continued, it helped business.  But it took until 1986 before McSorley's added a female bathroom