Introduction
Martin W. (Marty) Baskow
Maurice William “Marty” Baskow was born in Pennsylvania to Abraham and Rose Baskoff. The Social Security Death Index, however, shows a birthday of January 9, 1908, and the 1930 Census also indicates 1908. The 1910 Census shows the family as living at 244 North 2nd Street in Philadelphia, just off of Vine Street. Abraham Baskow then worked at a brush factory, while Rose worked as a dressmaker, probably from the home. There had been another child who had not survived as of the enumeration of the Census. The family was still in Philadelphia as late as 1915.
By 1924 the family had moved to 1938 Fillmore Street, the corner of Fillmore and Jefferson Streets, where the family ran a grocery store on the corner opposite John Bouillon’s saloon, which, after 1936 was known as the Blanche Cafe. They were still there at the time of the 1930 Census. By then, Martin, or Maurice, had graduated from high school, most likely Camden High. He was then working in the family grocery.
The family business had moved to 601 Sycamore Street by 1942. Abraham Baskoff and family were then living at 1437 Broadway, just below Atlantic Avenue, near Solomon Goldstein and his son, Dr. Hyman I. Goldstein, who was at 1425 Broadway, the corner of Broadway and Atlantic Avenue.
Martin Baskow was living in New Jersey on July 2, 1941 when he was inducted into the United States Army. He was single at that time. The 1947 Camden City Directory shows the Abraham Baskoff family at 1504 Bradley Avenue in Parkside, with son Maurice and daughter Gertrude.
By 1951 Martin Baskow had married Ella Zinger. Their first child was born that year, a daughter, Jackie. A son, Bruce, would follow in 1955. The family was living in South Jersey in the mid-1950s. They were at the Parkview Apartments in Collingswood in the fall of 1956, but had moved to 109 East Cuthbert Road in Westmont by the fall of 1959. The family moved once again, to 315 Monmouth Drive in the Cherry Hill Estates section of Cherry Hill NJ, by the mid-1960s. They also lived for a time in East Camden.
Martin W. Baskow went into the business world while living in East Camden. He operated a vending business out of his home. Around 1961 he acquired the Nine-Thirty-Nine Bar, which was located at 939 Market Street in Camden NJ. While he prospered during these years, he let the location of the family’s grocery store at 601 Sycamore Street go back to the City of Camden for unpaid taxes.
Martin William Baskow was brutally murdered in his bar on the morning of July 14, 1967. News accounts of the day describe the crime as being the result of a robbery. As of July 2006 the case remains unsolved.
The Nine-Thirty-Nine Bar
Frederick Fielder Jr. lived at and operated a cigar store at 939 Market Street in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The address was still a cigar store in 1924, when Francis Yost was in business at the address. A convenient address, across the street from the R.M. Hollingshead chemical factory and the 1933 repeal of Prohibition brought about a change in the usage of the building, and a liquor license was obtained.
In June of 1939, it was reported in the Camden Courier-Post that a John Stevenson received a liquor license renewal for the property. The 1947 directory also shows at the property.
The 1954 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory shows the bar as the Nine Thirty Nine Bar. The 1959 Directory shows Pink Poodle Inc. conducting a bar at the address. Shortly thereafter Martin Baskow, who had previously conducted a vending machine business in East Camden, acquired the bar, which he operated with his wife Ella. Jaki Baskow, his daughter, states that the bar was still called the Nine Thirty Nine Bar as late as the summer of 1967, and news accounts of that time confirm this. By that time, virtually all of the other business in the 900 block of Market Street had closed, in anticipation of the to-be-constructed interstate highway Route 676, which was completed in the 1980s. This construction would soon raze the Nine Thirty Nine Bar as well.
There is a traffic light at North 10th and Market Streets, but no building stands on the corner where the Nine Thirty Nine Bar once stood.
Bar Owner Murdered In Robbery
Camden Courier-Post —
The owner of a Camden tavern was discovered shot in the back of the head and stabbed “six or seven times,” shortly after he opened the bar at 939 Market Street today.
Morris (Marty) Baskow, 53, of 315 Monmouth Drive, Cherry Hill, was dead on arrival at Cooper Hospital.
Photo on Page 11
According to police a customer, Louis Robinson, 21, of 1038 Penn Street, discovered Baskow’s body in a pool of blood about 12 feet inside the entrance. He told police he had spoken briefly with Baskow about 15 minutes prior when the victim arrived to open for business.
Robinson said he went to a nearby restaurant for coffee and returned to the tavern. Police reported three other men were standing on the corner and Robinson spoke with them before entering the 939 Bar.
Ironically, police received Robinson’s call at 9:39 a.m.
According to Det. Joseph Valeriano, the victim’s watch, an empty money clip, some coins and two pens were found in the pool of blood. He revealed the watch was stopped at 9:13.
Wife Notified
First on the scene were Police Lt. William Kelly and Sgts. Raymond Paradise and Thomas Ewanachek.
A barmaid, who reported to work just after police arrived, was taken to Baskow’s Cherry Hill address to notify his wife, Ella. Mrs. Baskow identified the body in the hospital.
Mrs. Baskow said her husband had been trying to transfer his liquor license to 1206 Haddon Avenue, but was denied when local residents protested. The 939 Bar was the only property presently in use in the area which be demolished for the North-South Freeway extension.
Had ‘At Least $200’
Mrs. Baskow also revealed that her husband had to be carrying “at least $200 to pay for supplies which were to be delivered.”
She said her husband purchased the tavern about six years ago, formerly operating a taxicab and vending business.
City Murder Victim Was in Poor Health
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Violence Unnecessary’
“My husband had been sick . . . he lost 110 pounds . . . he was down to 135 pounds . . . anyone could have taken whatever he had without resorting to violence, let alone killing him.”
These were the words of the widow of a 53-year-old Camden tavern owner who was found early yesterday stabbed and bludgeoned to death, lying in a pool of blood in his bar at 939 Market Street.
Coroner Joseph Myrtetus said Morris (Marty) Baskow of 315 Monmouth Drive, Cherry Hill, died of eight stab wounds of the back and a fractured skull inflicted by a blunt instrument.
‘One of Most Brutal’
Police earlier said they believed the head wound was caused by a gunshot. Veteran detectives described the killer they are seeking as “one of the most brutal” they have ever had to deal with.
According to Det. Joseph Valeriano, the victim’s watch, an empty money clip, some coins and two pens were found on the blood-soaked floor by the body.
Mrs. Ella Baskow said her husband had been carrying “at least $200 to pay for supplies which were to be delivered.”
Police said a customer, Louis Robinson, 21, of 1038 Penn Street, discovered Baskow’s body some 12 feet inside the entrance of the bar.
He told police he spoke with Baskow some 15 minutes earlier when the victim opened for business, then went to a nearby restaurant for coffee before returning.
The first report of the robbery-murder at the 939 Bar was telephoned to the police communications board—at exactly 9:39 a.m.
First on the scene were Lt. William Kelly, Sgts. Raymond Paradise and Thomas Ewanachek.
Mrs. Baskow said her husband had been trying to transfer his liquor license to 1206 Haddon Avenue, but was denied when area residents protested. The tavern is the only business property presently in use in the area, which will be demolished for the North-South Freeway Extension.
Rites Tomorrow
Baskow is survived by his wife, a daughter, Jacqueline, 16; a son, Bruce, 11; his mother, Mrs. Rose Baskow and a sister.
Funeral services will be tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. at Goldstein’s Funeral Home, 6410 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia. Burial will be in Montefiore Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Barkeep Stabbed, Beaten to Death In $200 Robbery
Philadelphia Inquirer —
A Camden tavern owner was savagely attacked from behind, stabbed and beaten to death and robbed of more than $200 on Friday.
The victim, Martin Baskow, 53, of 315 Monmouth dr., Cherry Hill, N. J., was found sprawled face down in his own blood on the floor of the 939 Bar at 939 Market sts., Camden. His was one of the latest business places in a neighborhood soon to be to make way for State Highway 76.
Coroner Joseph Myrtetus said a preliminary autopsy disclosed nine stab wounds of the back and one at the base of the neck. Myrtetus described all the stab wounds as “deep.”
The coroner also said Baskow had been beaten with a blunt instrument and said death was caused by a fracture of the skull near the point where it attaches to the spine.
An empty money clip bearing a Star of David, which Baskow had carried as a good-luck piece, and his smashed wrist watch were found on the floor a few feet from the body. The victim’s trousers pockets were slit open by a knife.
Found by Customer
Baskow’s wife, Ella, said the tavern keeper left home at 8:30 A. M. carrying $200 in the money clip. He intended to use the money to pay for deliveries at the tavern, she said.
The murder was discovered at about 9:30 A. M. by a customer identified as Louis Roberson, 21, who lives in the neighborhood and told police he had “passed the time of day” with Baskow as the latter was opening his establishment at 9 o’clock.
Mrs. Baskow, who worked at the tavern part-time said she telephoned her husband at 9:15 but received no answer. She stopped at the 939 Bar some time later on her way to center city Camden. She arrived as her husband’s body was being carried to an ambulance.
Lost 135 Lbs. in Year
Baskow was a diabetic. Investigators said his weight had dropped 245 pounds to 110 pounds during the last year.
Many of the homes along Market st. are vacant. Baskow had been in business there for six years and had been looking for a new location since the highway project was announced.
Police said the keys to his late-model car were missing but the vehicle was found parked in front of the tavern.
Baskow formerly operated a vending business from his East Camden home. He moved to Cherry Hill two years ago. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Bruce, 11, and a daughter, Jacqueline, 16.
Baskow
Philadelphia Inquirer —
July 14, 1967. MARTIN W., husband of Ella (nee Zinger), of 315 Monmouth drive, Cherry Hill Estate, N. J.; father of Miss Jacqueline Basko and Mr. Bruce Basko, son of Mrs. Rose Basko, brother of Mrs. Trudy Wihton. Relatives and friends are invited to funeral services Sun., 2:15 P. M., precisely, “GOLDSTEINS’,” 6410 N. Broad st. Int. Montefiore Cem. Shiva will be observed at 315 Monmouth drive, Cherry Hill Estate.
Police Quiz Commuters For City Slaying Clues
Camden Courier-Post —
By Joseph R. McCarthy, Courier-Post Staff
Police seeking a clue in Friday’s brutal murder of a Camden tavern owner stopped buses on Market Street today to question commuters.
All east and west-bound buses were halted starting at 8:30 a.m. and police asked passengers if they saw anything “unusual” as they passed the 939 Bar on the day 53-year-old Morris (Marty) Baskow was found beaten and stabbed.
Det. Sgt. Frank Sanatore hoped commuters could shed light on the mystery.
May Provide Clue
Perhaps some bus passenger may have been gazing out the window and saw Baskow arrive . . . they might even have seen persons entering or leaving the tavern, Sanatore said.
More than a score of buses were in the area when the murder took place, police said.
Calls Will Be Accepted
Also questioned by police were persons walking to their jobs after parking their cars in the area.
In a further plea for information, police urged persons who might know something but don’t want to get “involved” to call the detective bureau. “Anonymous calls will be accepted,” Sanatore said.
Baskow, who lived at 315 Monmouth Drive, Cherry Hill, died of a shattered skull wound inflicted by a blunt instrument in the back of the head. He also had eight stab wounds.
Vacant buildings have been searched in the area for the murder weapon but nothing was found, police said.
Robbery Believed Motive
Robbery was the apparent motive for the crime. The pockets were slashed from Baskow’s trousers and about $200 taken. His wife Ella, said he was carrying the money to pay for supplies to be delivered Friday.
Baskow, the father of two children, had been in ill health and had lost more than 100 pounds. He was buried yesterday in Montefiore Cemetery, Philadelphia.
Police Seek Aid In Murder Probe
Philadelphia Inquirer —
Camden police will stop buses passing Market st. Monday morning seeking anyone with information of the savage murder Friday morning of Martin Baskow, a tavern owner.
Baskow, 53, of 315 Monmouth dr., Cherry Hill, was killed inside his tavern, the 939 Bar at 939 Market st. during what apparently was a robbery.
He was stabbed eight times and clubbed at the base of the skull with a blunt instrument. About $200 was reported taken.
You Can Help Solve This Mystery
The proprietor of the Nine Thirty Nine Bar, Martin William Baskow, was brutally murdered in his bar on the morning of July 14, 1967. If you have any information concerning this crime, please e-mail me. Your identity will be kept confidential and there is a reward for information leading to an arrest.
—June 26, 2006