In 1978, ufologists Isabel Davis and Ted Bloecher indicated they found a flying saucer landing case in the Houston Post newspaper, of Houston, Texas, USA, on page 1, for July 9, 1947.
They indicated that the newspaper article said that on July 8, 1947, an unidentified merchant seaman in the Acres Homes suburb of Houston observed the landing of a "silver saucer."
From it emerged a diminitive pilot no more than two-feet-tall with a round head "the size of a basketball" who greeted the seaman, re-entered his craft, and took off.
From "skeptical" ufologist Martin Kottmeyer, we later get to read the article of the Houston Post; it clearly does not have a serious tone. The saucer pilot's greeting consisted in a handshake with the witness.
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[Ref. db1:] ISABEL DAVIS AND TED BLOECHER:
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[...] This does not mean that there were no reports of occupants in 1947. Local newspapers published at least three accounts of small beings associated with "flying saucers" that year. [.. Other cases...] On July 8, during a concentration of sightings all over Texas, an unidentified merchant seaman in the Acres Home suburb of Houston observed the landing of a "silver saucer." From it emerged a diminitive pilot no more than two feet tall with a round head "the size of a basketball" who greeted the seaman, re-entered his vehicle, and took off (4). If these absurd-sounding stories - especially the last were sketchily reported and written tongue-in-cheek, apparently with no expectation that they would be taken seriously, this is understandable. For almost everyone in 1947, such stories were without precedent; press and public, already confounded by the enigma of the saucers themselves, were naturally unwilling to take on the added riddle of a two-foot man with a head like a basketball. Stories like these, of course, never made the wire services and were known only in the areas served by local newspapers, although stories about occupants of aerial objects had been told long before 1947. [...] 4. Houston (Texas) Post, July 9, 1947, p. 1. |
[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:
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1947, USA, Acres Home - Houston (Texas) A witness saw a silver saucer land. A small pilot who was no more than 60 cm tall came out of it, with a round head the size of a basketball. This dwarf saluted the witness, returned to his craft and took off. (Inforespace n° 48 de 1979, p. 29) |
[Ref. mk1:] MARTIN S. KOTTMEYER:
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1947 and all that [... other cases...] ]The 9th also saw a story appear in the Houston Post which deserves to be reproduced in full: Circle-Silly: Sailor Sees A Sociable Saucerite Here is the disc yarn to end all saucer stories in a disc-dizzy nation. A merchant seaman who swore he never touched a drop, telephoned The Houston Post and said a big silver disc landed in front of him while he was walking in Acres Home addition. A little man, two feet tall and with a head the size of a basket ball, climbed out of the disc and shook hands with him, the seaman said, then climbed back in and whirled away into the blue. "Did he look like a man from Mars?" the reporter asked. "I dunno," the seaman replied. "I never saw a man from Mars" Clearly the small size of the body fits half the definition of a gray and a basket-ball sized head is disproportionately large relative to a two foot tall frame. It is consistent with the broad definition of a Gray. Yet, we can’t honestly say it absolutely deserves the label. We don’t know if the head is bald. We don’t have corroborative information that there is any degenerative evolutionary implication in the size of the body. Shaking hands seems faintly inconsistent with the generality of Grays being indifferent to humans. Such hand-shaking is not a common feature seen in modern cases. [... other cases...] ] |
[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:
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31. Location. Acres Home Texas Date: July 8 1947 Time: unknown A merchant seaman who swore he never touched a drop telephoned the Houston Post and said a big silver disc landed in front of him while he was walking in Acres Home addition (on Rt. I49, just NNW of the Houston city line). A little man, two feet tall, and with a head the size of a basketball, climbed out of the disc and shook hands with him, the seaman said, then climbed back in and whirled away into the blue. "Did he look like a man from Mars?" the reporter asked. "I dunno," the seaman replied, "I never seen a man from Mars." Humcat 1947-1 Source: Humcat quoting newspaper source Type: B |
[Ref. ud1:] "UFODNA" WEBSITE:
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8 Jul 1947 - Houston, Texas, USA 8 July 1947 12:00 Houston, Texas, USA Merchant Seaman incident. Explanation: Hoax. Big silver disc lands in new housing development. Little man, 2' tall, with head size of basketball, climbed out, shook hands with witness, then climbed back in. Close encounter with a an unidentified craft and its occupants. One silver disc was observed by one male witness in the suburbs. One 2-foot-tall dwarf was seen. Hynek rating: CE3 Vallee rating: CE3 [Sources are listed as:] "Webb, David, HUMCAT: Catalogue of Humanoid Reports"; |
[Ref. pr1:] PETER ROGERSON:
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July 8 1947. HOUSTON (TEXAS : USA) A merchant seaman was walking in Acres Home addition when a large silver disk landed in front of him. A being 60cm tall, with a disproportionately large head “the size of a basketball” emerged, shook hands with the witness, then re-entered the object, which ascended rapidly. Bloecher 1967 678 + Ted Bloecher personal communication citing Houston Daily Post 9 July 1947. |
Acres Homes (not "Acres Home") was a 9-square mile neighborhood of the Northwest of Houston, Texas. Tt was annexed to Houston in 1967.
The story really does sound like a journalistic hoax. At best, a journalist heard something and gave a mocking version of it.
| Id: | Topic: | Severity: | Date noted: | Raised by: | Noted by: | Description: | Proposal: | Status: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data | Medium | October 15, 2018 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Missing primary source [hp1]. | Help needed. | Opened. |
| 2 | Ufology | Severe | October 15, 2018 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Single anonymous witness case with "silly" content. | - | - |
| 3 | Ufology | Severe | October 15, 2018 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Case not checked, not investigated. | - | - |
| 4 | Ufology | Severe | October 15, 2018 | Patrick Gross | Patrick Gross | Totally insufficient information: no description, duration, place, distance, hour etc. etc. | Help needed. | Opened. |
Probable hoax.
* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.
| Main Author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Created/Changed By: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | October 15, 2018 | Creation, [db1], [go1], [mk1], [ar1], [ud1], [pr1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | October 15, 2018 | First published. |
