Events of 1985
Nov. 18: The St. Louis Cardinals' Willie McGee is named the National League's Most Valuable Player. The 27-year-old outfielder won the NL batting title with a .353 average, the highest average for an NL switch-hitter.
Nov. 17: San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie says that a plan to build a stadium in downtown San Francisco that would guarantee the team would not move to another city before next season has been scrapped.
Nov. 17: Terry Waite, the Archibishop of Canterbury's envoy seeking the release of four American hostages in Beirut, says he met with the hostages' captors and is convinced that Terry Anderson, David Jacobsen, Father Lawrence Jenco and Thomas Sutherland are alive and well.
Nov. 16: The wife and stepson of former major league pitcher Clay Carroll are shot and killed during a family dispute. Carroll is injured. Frederick Nowitzke, the son of Carroll's wife, is later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Nov. 16: Thousands of marchers take to the streets in Geneva, Switzerland, to protest U.S. and Soviet Union policies. The protest takes place three days before President Reagan arrives in Geneva for a summit conference with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Nov. 15: The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed in an effort to help bring an end of conflict between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. The agreement failed to have that effect but proved to be a stepping stone to more successful agreements in the peace process years later.
Nov. 14: Former Phillies and Cubs shortstop Larry Bowa receives his first managing gig, getting hired to lead Triple A Las Vegas in the Padres' chain.
Nov. 14: The Milwaukee Brewers release Rollie Fingers, the career leader in saves at the time with 341, completing his career.
Nov. 14: Heart transplant patient Michael Drummond, 26, leaves the hospital 2 1/2 months after becoming the youngest person to receive a Jarvik-7 artificial heart.
Nov. 13: Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden is the unanimous winner of the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in consecutive seasons.
Nov. 13: The Mets acquire pitcher Bob Ojeda, along with pitchers Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer, from the Red Sox for pitchers Calvin Schiraldi and Wes Gardner, and outfielders John Christensen and La Schelle Tarver. This trade would have an impact on the very next season's World Series when the same two teams would meet.
Nov. 13: Reggie Jackson agrees to return to the Angels for the 1986 season for the same $975,000 salary he received in 1985.
Nov. 13: Entertainment Tonight reports that director George Lucas' attempt at a restraining order against the coalition for the Strategic Defense Initiative has been denied by a U.S. District Court. Lucas had filed suit, stating that "Star Wars" was a federal registered trademark and could not be used by the group as short-hand to describe its plan for a defense system in space.
Nov. 13: The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupts, melting its ice cap and causing a volcanic mudslide that buries the town of Armero in Columbia, killing more than 20,000 people in the second-deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century.
Nov. 11: The Kansas City Royals' Bret Saberhagen becomes the youngest pitcher in American League history to win the Cy Young Award. Saberhagen, 21, broke the record set by a 22-year-old Vida Blue in 1971.
Nov. 10: Corazon Aquino, the widow of assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., is backed by eight opposition leaders to run for president of the Philippines against Ferdinand Marcos in January.
Nov. 10: Flyers starting goaltender Pelle Lindbergh drives his Porsche 930 Turbo into a wall in Somerdale, N.J. Lindbergh, who was drunk at the time of the crash, is declared brain dead and dies the next day.
Nov. 9: Gary Kasparov wins his final game against Anatoly Karpov to become the youngest world chess champion in history at age 22.
Nov. 9: Four American hostages held in Lebanon send a letter to President Reagan appealing for him to negotiate for their release. Two of the hostages, David Jacobsen and Lawrence Jenco, would be released by their captors in 1986. The two others, Terry Anderson and Thomas Sutherland, were released in 1991.
A list of select political leaders in the news in 1985:
Egypt: Hosni Mubarak
Libya: Muammar Gaddafi
South Africa: P.W. Botha
China: Deng Xiaoping
Iran: Ayatollah Khomeini
Israel: Shimon Peres
Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos
France: Francois Mitterand
Soviet Union: Mikhail Gorbachev
United Kingdom: Margaret Thatcher
Canada: Brian Mulroney
El Salvador: Jose Napoleon Duarte
Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega
United States: Ronald Reagan
The top news stories of 1985 as voted on by the Associated Press in '85:
1. Middle East terrorism: air hijackings, hijacking of Achille Lauro liner
2. Geneva summit meeting and changes in leadership of the Soviet Union
3. Columbian volcano explosion leaves 25,000 dead
4. Mexico City earthquake kills 7,000
5. AIDS epidemic
6. Air disasters take 2,000 lives
7. Campaign against Africa famine
8. America's farm crisis
9. South African violence related to racial policies
10. Uncovering of American spies and redefection of high-ranking KGB official
Dec. 31: Washington officially accuses Libya of aiding terrorists in carrying out attacks in Rome and Vienna earlier in the month and says it will work with other governments to exert pressure on Muammar Gaddafi.
Dec. 31: The New Jersey Nets' Micheal Ray Richardson turns himself in for drug treatment after two previous attempts at rehabilitation for cocaine addiction. He would be banned permanently by the NBA in February 1986.
Dec. 31: Film producer Sam Spiegel, who made a fortune producing films like "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Lawrence of Arabia," "The African Queen" and "On the Waterfront," dies at age 82.
Dec. 31: 1950s rock n' roll idol Ricky Nelson, 45, is killed in a plane crash while traveling with his band to play at a New Year's Eve show in Dallas. Five others are killed and only the pilot and co-pilot survive.
Dec. 30: Helle Frejus, the first of nine Soviet women to be granted visas to the United States last month, arrives in the U.S. to reunite with her husband who she hasn't seen in four years.
Dec. 30: The National Weather Service says that 67.8 inches of snow fell in Buffalo, N.Y., in December, a record.
Dec. 30: Ten members of the neo-Nazi group, The Order, are convicted of racketeering and other charges, including armed robberies committed in 1983 and 1984. Members are also accused in the 1984 killing of Jewish radio talk show host Alan Berg in Denver.
Dec. 30: Arson fires damage two abortion clinics in Cincinnati. The fires and bomb-planting continue until John Brockhoeft is arrested in 1988 and serves seven years in prison.
Dec. 29: Nepal unveils its first television transmission station, bringing two hours of TV programming to citizens. Before, Nepalese had to rely on programming from neighboring India.
Dec. 29: The United States denounces Libya for alleged support of Palestinian terrorists suspected of arranging attacks in Rome and Vienna that killed 18 people. The White House hints at possible military action (which did happen in April, 1986).
Dec. 29: Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1985. It's the second time he's named "Man of the Year" by Time, also being selected in 1978.
Dec. 28: In his weekly radio address, President Reagan talks about the Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan on the sixth anniversary of the Soviet invasion.
Dec. 27: French race car driver Jean Rondreau, 39, is killed when he attempts to cross train tracks and his car is hit by a train outside Champaign, France. Rondreau won the 1980 24 Hours of LeMans in a car bearing his name.
Dec. 27: Famed zoologist Dian Fossey is found murdered in her cabin in Rwanda. One of the foremost experts on mountain gorillas and a conservationist, Fossey was 53 at the time of her death. A movie based on her life, "Gorillas in the Mist," was released in 1988.
Dec. 27: Arab terrorists attack airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 19 and injuring more than 100. Four of the seven terrorists are killed and the three others are captured.
Dec. 25: Mitchell Sims and Ruby Padgett are arrested in Las Vegas and charged in the murder of a Domino's Pizza worker in California. Sims is later charged in the deaths of two Domino's workers in South Carolina where Sims once worked. Sims is convicted and sentenced to the death penalty. Padgett is sentenced to life without parole.
Dec. 24: The last direct descendant to Abraham Lincoln, great grandson Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, dies at age 81.
Dec. 24: The Soviet Red Army hockey team arrives in Los Angeles and practices at the Forum in preparation for its exhibition game against the L.A. Kings on Dec. 26. It's the beginning of a six-game exhibition series against NHL teams.
Dec. 24: Jamaal Wilkes, who won four NBA championship rings with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, announces his retirement at age 32.
Dec. 24: Church of England envoy Terry Waite returns from Beirut after failing to win the Christmas release of four American hostages held in Lebanon.
Dec. 23: San Diego Chargers head coach Don Coryell receives a one-year extension through the end of the 1987 NFL season.
Dec. 23: President Reagan signs the most expensive farm-aid bill in history to that point at an estimated $52 million over three years.
Dec. 23: A twin-engine plane crashes into the Sun Valley Mall in Concord, Calif., killing seven people, including all three on the plane. The plane was trying to land at a nearby airfield.
Dec. 23: The trend in corporate mergers in documented in Time magazine's issue. It was just the beginning.
Dec. 22: Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela, defies the South African government order banning her from the Johannesburg area and is arrested and dragged from her home for the second straight day.
Dec. 21: St. Louis Cardinals football coach Jim Hanifan is fired after five seasons on the job after the Cardinals lost to the Redskins 28-16.
Dec. 19: The Cincinnati Reds acquire starting pitcher Bill Gullickson from the Montreal Expos, along with catcher Sal Butera, for pitchers Jay Tibbs, John Stuper, Andy McGaffigan and catcher Dann Bilardello.
Dec. 19: Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy announces that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president for 1988, adding that he realizes it may be his last chance to run for president.
Dec. 19: Mary Lund, 40, is the first woman to receive an artificial heart as a smaller version of the Jarvik-7 is implanted during an operation in Minneapolis.
Dec. 19: Investigators link the bombing that killed Sacramento, Calif., computer store rental owner Hugh Scrutton the previous week to 10 other bombings or attempted bombings since 1978. The first public notice of a serial bomber is the beginning of the hunt for Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber". It is Kaczynski's first deadly attack.
Dec. 19: Three prisoners escape the Perry Correctional Facility in South Carolina when a woman lands a helicopter in the prison compound and flies the prisoners to freedom after a gun battle in which one guard is injured. Four days later, the suspects are captured when they are found sleeping in a stolen car at a Georgia rest stop. The incident is made into a TV movie on CBS in 1989.
Dec. 18: The Milwaukee Brewers obtain outfielder Rob Deer, who would go on to set the American League mark for strikeouts in a season in 1987, in a trade with the San Francisco Giants.
Dec. 18: Disney CEO Michael Eisner signs an agreement with the French government to set up Europe's first Disneyland just outside of Paris. The amusement park officially opens April 12, 1992.
Dec. 16: Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano is assassinated outside a Manhattan steakhouse, leading to the election of John Gotti as his successor.
Dec. 15: A Los Angeles Times article reports that a local cellular communications company is testing an emergency roadside call box using cellular technology. Those in the emerging industry that has so far been limited mostly to freeway-bound executives say the potential of the technology is endless: "Ultimately there's no limit on where cellular telephones might go and who might use them," said Bradford Perry, a telecommunications analyst in the article.
Dec. 14: The Major League Baseball season-opener for the 1986 season, between the Reds and the Phillies in Cincinnati, is announced, four months ahead of the scheduled April 7 start date. MLB has announced its season openers in early September of the previous season for the last several years.
Dec. 14: A ski lift at Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado malfunctions, launching skiers out of their chairs and down the mountainside. Two people are killed and 47 are injured. Faulty welding is blamed for the accident.
Dec. 14: Roger Maris, the man who broke Babe Ruth's record with 61 home runs in 1961, dies at age 51 after a two-year battle with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Dec. 13: Christine Craft, who sued a TV station in Kansas City in 1982 because she claimed she was fired as a news anchor because of her appearance, is hired as a co-anchor at a TV station in Sacramento, Calif.
Dec. 12: The International Civil Aviation Organization says that the recent crash by Arrow Air Flight 1285 increases the number of aircraft deaths in 1985 to 1,948, an all-time record (the year remains one of the most deadly for aircraft travel, although there are other years with more deaths depending on the record-keeper).
Dec. 12: Jockey Steve Cauthen, who became the youngest Triple Crown winner at age 18 when he rode Affirmed to victory in 1978, is completing the final stages of an alcohol dependency program, according to his father.
Dec. 12: Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying nearly 250 U.S. peacekeeping troops home from the Middle East, crashes shortly after take off in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 248 passengers and eight crew members.
Dec. 11: Yankees owner George Steinbrenner meets with agent Jerry Kapstein in an attempt to complete a long-rumored deal between two of Kapstein's clients, Carlton Fisk and Don Baylor. Fisk would go to the Yankees and Baylor to the White Sox.
Dec. 11: Longtime Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager is traded to the Mariners for relief pitcher Ed Vande Berg:
Dec. 11: Former Oakland A's starter John "Blue Moon" Odom is arrested after a six-hour standoff with police in which he threatened his wife with a gun.
Dec. 11: The Cincinnati Reds acquire starting pitcher John Denny, two years removed from his Cy Young Award, from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Gary Redus and relief pitcher Tom Hume.
Dec. 11: General Electric purchases RCA Corp., the parent company of NBC television, for $6.28 billion.
Dec. 10: Bill Wambsganss, a 13-year major leaguer who made the only unassisted triple play in World Series history while with the Cleveland Indians in 1920, dies at age 91.
Dec. 10: A federal judge throws out a civil suit filed by the city of Baltimore calling for a condemnation of the Colts' move to Indianapolis and returning the NFL franchise back to Maryland.
Dec. 10: As Soviet dissidents are arrested in Moscow on International Human Rights Day, the Soviet media accuses the United States of being the worst human rights violator. A TV documentary accused the U.S. of exploiting entertainer Michael Jackson.
Dec. 9: The Los Angeles Rams give running back Eric Dickerson a three-year extension worth between $3 million and $3.5 million, which rivals the record deal signed by Raiders running back Marcus Allen during the summer.
Dec. 9: Heavyweight boxer Gerry Cooney and four other men are charged after a scuffle in a hotel bar in which Cooney's bodyguard is knocked out by an off-duty police officer.
Dec. 8: The NFL's Houston Oilers fire head coach Hugh Campbell and promote defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville to the post.
Dec. 8: Six entertainers and artists are awarded at the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. The year's honorees are comedian Bob Hope, actress Irene Dunne, dancer Merce Cunningham, opera singer Beverly Sills, and songwriters Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
Dec. 7: Retired Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart dies at age 70. Stewart served on the court for 23 years and was replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor.
Dec. 7: Auburn's Bo Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy in the closest vote in the 51-year history of the award. Jackson beats Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points.
Dec. 6: The Downtown Athletic Club invites Auburn's Bo Jackson, Brigham Young's Robbie Bosco, Iowa's Chuck Long, Miami's Vinny Testaverde and Michigan State's Lorenzo White to the Heisman Trophy award announcement.
Dec. 6: Indiana University star basketball player Steve Alford is suspended by the NCAA for the Hoosiers' upcoming game against Kentucky because he permitted his picture to be used in a sorority calendar that was sold to raise money for charity.
Dec. 6: Burr Tillstrom, the creator of the popular, live, 1950s children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," dies at age 68.
Dec. 6: A confirmed AIDS victim is charged with assault and intent to murder for allegedly spitting on four police officers at the site of a traffic accident in Flint, Mich. AIDS can't be transmitted through saliva alone.
Dec. 6: Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Burleigh Grimes, the last player to be allowed to throw a spitball, dies at age 92.
Dec. 5: Britain is the first U.S. ally to agree to participate in research for President Reagan's "Star Wars" space-based missile defense system.
Dec. 4: The Yankees are determined to have the highest salaries in baseball again this year, according to a list released by the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Yankees' mean salary is $546,364 for 1985.
Dec. 4: U.S. National Security Advisor Robert MacFarlane resigns and is replaced by President Reagan by John Poindexter.
Dec. 4: Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Samuel Morison is sentenced to two years in prison on espionage and theft of government property charges. He was convicted of giving U.S. spy photos to a British magazine, "Jane's Defence Weekly". He was pardoned by President Clinton in 2001.
Dec. 3: Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, defies South African government ban on her political activities as she speaks out at a funeral for 12-people killed in an anti-government protest. "The day is not far when we shall lead you to freedom," Mandela says.
Dec. 3: Star musicians Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson take out ads in national newspapers asking the 3M company not to close a plant and lay off workers in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold, N.J. The campaign does not work as 3M shuts down the audio and videotape plant in 1986.
Dec. 2: Corazon Aquino, the wife of slain opposition leader Beningo Aquino Jr., announces that she will run for election as president of the Philippines against Ferdinand Marcos.
Dec. 1: Twenty-six defendants, including the head of the Philippine armed forces, are acquitted in the 1983 assassination of opposition leader Beningo Aquino Jr. Aquino's wife, Corazon, would later become Philippine president after the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos, and the defendants were retried with 16 going to jail.
Dec. 1: New York City schools will begin teaching students about AIDS in sex education classes according to an announcement by schools chancellor Nathan Quinones.
Nov. 29: A radio DJ in Florida refuses a 10-year-old caller's request to play "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," saying the station isn't playing Christmas music yet and hangs up. He then mocks the reindeer and Santa, calling them obscene names and singing a song about killing Rudolph, all the while believing he's off the air. But he isn't. A torrent of calls later, the stations suspends the DJ.
Nov. 29: The New York Times publishes a story on a new form of cocaine for sale on New York streets that is alarming law enforcement. It's called "crack."
Nov. 27: The All-England Club announces that for the first time in more than 100 years, yellow balls will be used at the next Wimbledon tournament. Yellow balls were already used at most other tournaments.
Nov. 27: Housekeeper Mayra Melenez Lopez, 25, is charged with murder in the bludgeoning death of movie producer Herbert Wallerstein, 59. Wallerstein, who helped produce movies and TV shows like Alien, 9 to 5, I Dream of Jeannie and The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, was struck in the head with a baseball bat after a reported struggle between the two. The charges were later reduced to manslaughter and in 1986 Lopez was found not guilty.
Nov. 27: Random House agrees to pay $3 million to publish President Reagan's official presidential biography.
Nov. 27: NBC announces that all 50 of the 30-second commercials for the upcoming Super Bowl XX have been sold, for $550,000 each. The average cost for a Super Bowl commercial in 2017 was $5 million.
Nov. 27: William Keough, one of the 52 American hostages held in captivity for 444 days in the U.S. Embassy in Teheran between 1979-81, dies at age 55 of Lou Gehrig's disease.
Egypt: Hosni Mubarak
Libya: Muammar Gaddafi
South Africa: P.W. Botha
China: Deng Xiaoping
Iran: Ayatollah Khomeini
Israel: Shimon Peres
Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos
France: Francois Mitterand
Soviet Union: Mikhail Gorbachev
United Kingdom: Margaret Thatcher
Canada: Brian Mulroney
El Salvador: Jose Napoleon Duarte
Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega
United States: Ronald Reagan
The top news stories of 1985 as voted on by the Associated Press in '85:
1. Middle East terrorism: air hijackings, hijacking of Achille Lauro liner
2. Geneva summit meeting and changes in leadership of the Soviet Union
3. Columbian volcano explosion leaves 25,000 dead
4. Mexico City earthquake kills 7,000
5. AIDS epidemic
6. Air disasters take 2,000 lives
7. Campaign against Africa famine
8. America's farm crisis
9. South African violence related to racial policies
10. Uncovering of American spies and redefection of high-ranking KGB official
Dec. 31: Washington officially accuses Libya of aiding terrorists in carrying out attacks in Rome and Vienna earlier in the month and says it will work with other governments to exert pressure on Muammar Gaddafi.
Dec. 31: The New Jersey Nets' Micheal Ray Richardson turns himself in for drug treatment after two previous attempts at rehabilitation for cocaine addiction. He would be banned permanently by the NBA in February 1986.
Dec. 31: Film producer Sam Spiegel, who made a fortune producing films like "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Lawrence of Arabia," "The African Queen" and "On the Waterfront," dies at age 82.
Dec. 31: 1950s rock n' roll idol Ricky Nelson, 45, is killed in a plane crash while traveling with his band to play at a New Year's Eve show in Dallas. Five others are killed and only the pilot and co-pilot survive.
Dec. 30: Helle Frejus, the first of nine Soviet women to be granted visas to the United States last month, arrives in the U.S. to reunite with her husband who she hasn't seen in four years.
Dec. 30: The National Weather Service says that 67.8 inches of snow fell in Buffalo, N.Y., in December, a record.
Dec. 30: Ten members of the neo-Nazi group, The Order, are convicted of racketeering and other charges, including armed robberies committed in 1983 and 1984. Members are also accused in the 1984 killing of Jewish radio talk show host Alan Berg in Denver.
Dec. 30: Arson fires damage two abortion clinics in Cincinnati. The fires and bomb-planting continue until John Brockhoeft is arrested in 1988 and serves seven years in prison.
Dec. 29: Nepal unveils its first television transmission station, bringing two hours of TV programming to citizens. Before, Nepalese had to rely on programming from neighboring India.
Dec. 29: The United States denounces Libya for alleged support of Palestinian terrorists suspected of arranging attacks in Rome and Vienna that killed 18 people. The White House hints at possible military action (which did happen in April, 1986).
Dec. 29: Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" for 1985. It's the second time he's named "Man of the Year" by Time, also being selected in 1978.
Dec. 28: In his weekly radio address, President Reagan talks about the Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan on the sixth anniversary of the Soviet invasion.
Dec. 27: French race car driver Jean Rondreau, 39, is killed when he attempts to cross train tracks and his car is hit by a train outside Champaign, France. Rondreau won the 1980 24 Hours of LeMans in a car bearing his name.
Dec. 27: Famed zoologist Dian Fossey is found murdered in her cabin in Rwanda. One of the foremost experts on mountain gorillas and a conservationist, Fossey was 53 at the time of her death. A movie based on her life, "Gorillas in the Mist," was released in 1988.
Dec. 27: Arab terrorists attack airports in Rome and Vienna, killing 19 and injuring more than 100. Four of the seven terrorists are killed and the three others are captured.
Dec. 25: Mitchell Sims and Ruby Padgett are arrested in Las Vegas and charged in the murder of a Domino's Pizza worker in California. Sims is later charged in the deaths of two Domino's workers in South Carolina where Sims once worked. Sims is convicted and sentenced to the death penalty. Padgett is sentenced to life without parole.
Dec. 24: The last direct descendant to Abraham Lincoln, great grandson Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, dies at age 81.
Dec. 24: The Soviet Red Army hockey team arrives in Los Angeles and practices at the Forum in preparation for its exhibition game against the L.A. Kings on Dec. 26. It's the beginning of a six-game exhibition series against NHL teams.
Dec. 24: Jamaal Wilkes, who won four NBA championship rings with the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, announces his retirement at age 32.
Dec. 24: Church of England envoy Terry Waite returns from Beirut after failing to win the Christmas release of four American hostages held in Lebanon.
Dec. 23: San Diego Chargers head coach Don Coryell receives a one-year extension through the end of the 1987 NFL season.
Dec. 23: President Reagan signs the most expensive farm-aid bill in history to that point at an estimated $52 million over three years.
Dec. 23: A twin-engine plane crashes into the Sun Valley Mall in Concord, Calif., killing seven people, including all three on the plane. The plane was trying to land at a nearby airfield.
Dec. 23: The trend in corporate mergers in documented in Time magazine's issue. It was just the beginning.
Dec. 22: Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned black nationalist leader Nelson Mandela, defies the South African government order banning her from the Johannesburg area and is arrested and dragged from her home for the second straight day.
Dec. 21: St. Louis Cardinals football coach Jim Hanifan is fired after five seasons on the job after the Cardinals lost to the Redskins 28-16.
Dec. 19: The Cincinnati Reds acquire starting pitcher Bill Gullickson from the Montreal Expos, along with catcher Sal Butera, for pitchers Jay Tibbs, John Stuper, Andy McGaffigan and catcher Dann Bilardello.
Dec. 19: Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy announces that he will not seek the Democratic nomination for president for 1988, adding that he realizes it may be his last chance to run for president.
Dec. 19: Mary Lund, 40, is the first woman to receive an artificial heart as a smaller version of the Jarvik-7 is implanted during an operation in Minneapolis.
Dec. 19: Investigators link the bombing that killed Sacramento, Calif., computer store rental owner Hugh Scrutton the previous week to 10 other bombings or attempted bombings since 1978. The first public notice of a serial bomber is the beginning of the hunt for Ted Kaczynski, the "Unabomber". It is Kaczynski's first deadly attack.
Dec. 19: Three prisoners escape the Perry Correctional Facility in South Carolina when a woman lands a helicopter in the prison compound and flies the prisoners to freedom after a gun battle in which one guard is injured. Four days later, the suspects are captured when they are found sleeping in a stolen car at a Georgia rest stop. The incident is made into a TV movie on CBS in 1989.
Dec. 18: The Milwaukee Brewers obtain outfielder Rob Deer, who would go on to set the American League mark for strikeouts in a season in 1987, in a trade with the San Francisco Giants.
Dec. 18: Disney CEO Michael Eisner signs an agreement with the French government to set up Europe's first Disneyland just outside of Paris. The amusement park officially opens April 12, 1992.
Dec. 16: Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano is assassinated outside a Manhattan steakhouse, leading to the election of John Gotti as his successor.
Dec. 15: A Los Angeles Times article reports that a local cellular communications company is testing an emergency roadside call box using cellular technology. Those in the emerging industry that has so far been limited mostly to freeway-bound executives say the potential of the technology is endless: "Ultimately there's no limit on where cellular telephones might go and who might use them," said Bradford Perry, a telecommunications analyst in the article.
Dec. 14: The Major League Baseball season-opener for the 1986 season, between the Reds and the Phillies in Cincinnati, is announced, four months ahead of the scheduled April 7 start date. MLB has announced its season openers in early September of the previous season for the last several years.
Dec. 14: A ski lift at Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado malfunctions, launching skiers out of their chairs and down the mountainside. Two people are killed and 47 are injured. Faulty welding is blamed for the accident.
Dec. 14: Roger Maris, the man who broke Babe Ruth's record with 61 home runs in 1961, dies at age 51 after a two-year battle with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
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Dec. 13: Christine Craft, who sued a TV station in Kansas City in 1982 because she claimed she was fired as a news anchor because of her appearance, is hired as a co-anchor at a TV station in Sacramento, Calif.
Dec. 12: The International Civil Aviation Organization says that the recent crash by Arrow Air Flight 1285 increases the number of aircraft deaths in 1985 to 1,948, an all-time record (the year remains one of the most deadly for aircraft travel, although there are other years with more deaths depending on the record-keeper).
Dec. 12: Jockey Steve Cauthen, who became the youngest Triple Crown winner at age 18 when he rode Affirmed to victory in 1978, is completing the final stages of an alcohol dependency program, according to his father.
Dec. 12: Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying nearly 250 U.S. peacekeeping troops home from the Middle East, crashes shortly after take off in Gander, Newfoundland, killing 248 passengers and eight crew members.
Dec. 11: Yankees owner George Steinbrenner meets with agent Jerry Kapstein in an attempt to complete a long-rumored deal between two of Kapstein's clients, Carlton Fisk and Don Baylor. Fisk would go to the Yankees and Baylor to the White Sox.
Dec. 11: Longtime Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager is traded to the Mariners for relief pitcher Ed Vande Berg:
Dec. 11: Former Oakland A's starter John "Blue Moon" Odom is arrested after a six-hour standoff with police in which he threatened his wife with a gun.
Dec. 11: The Cincinnati Reds acquire starting pitcher John Denny, two years removed from his Cy Young Award, from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Gary Redus and relief pitcher Tom Hume.
Dec. 11: General Electric purchases RCA Corp., the parent company of NBC television, for $6.28 billion.
Dec. 10: Bill Wambsganss, a 13-year major leaguer who made the only unassisted triple play in World Series history while with the Cleveland Indians in 1920, dies at age 91.
Dec. 10: A federal judge throws out a civil suit filed by the city of Baltimore calling for a condemnation of the Colts' move to Indianapolis and returning the NFL franchise back to Maryland.
Dec. 10: As Soviet dissidents are arrested in Moscow on International Human Rights Day, the Soviet media accuses the United States of being the worst human rights violator. A TV documentary accused the U.S. of exploiting entertainer Michael Jackson.
Dec. 9: The Los Angeles Rams give running back Eric Dickerson a three-year extension worth between $3 million and $3.5 million, which rivals the record deal signed by Raiders running back Marcus Allen during the summer.
Dec. 9: Heavyweight boxer Gerry Cooney and four other men are charged after a scuffle in a hotel bar in which Cooney's bodyguard is knocked out by an off-duty police officer.
Dec. 8: The NFL's Houston Oilers fire head coach Hugh Campbell and promote defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville to the post.
Dec. 8: Six entertainers and artists are awarded at the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington. The year's honorees are comedian Bob Hope, actress Irene Dunne, dancer Merce Cunningham, opera singer Beverly Sills, and songwriters Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
Dec. 7: Retired Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart dies at age 70. Stewart served on the court for 23 years and was replaced by Sandra Day O'Connor.
Dec. 7: Auburn's Bo Jackson wins the Heisman Trophy in the closest vote in the 51-year history of the award. Jackson beats Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points.
Dec. 6: The Downtown Athletic Club invites Auburn's Bo Jackson, Brigham Young's Robbie Bosco, Iowa's Chuck Long, Miami's Vinny Testaverde and Michigan State's Lorenzo White to the Heisman Trophy award announcement.
Dec. 6: Indiana University star basketball player Steve Alford is suspended by the NCAA for the Hoosiers' upcoming game against Kentucky because he permitted his picture to be used in a sorority calendar that was sold to raise money for charity.
Dec. 6: Burr Tillstrom, the creator of the popular, live, 1950s children's show "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," dies at age 68.
Dec. 6: A confirmed AIDS victim is charged with assault and intent to murder for allegedly spitting on four police officers at the site of a traffic accident in Flint, Mich. AIDS can't be transmitted through saliva alone.
Dec. 6: Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Burleigh Grimes, the last player to be allowed to throw a spitball, dies at age 92.
Dec. 5: Britain is the first U.S. ally to agree to participate in research for President Reagan's "Star Wars" space-based missile defense system.
Dec. 4: The Yankees are determined to have the highest salaries in baseball again this year, according to a list released by the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Yankees' mean salary is $546,364 for 1985.
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| Robert MacFarlane |
Dec. 4: U.S. National Security Advisor Robert MacFarlane resigns and is replaced by President Reagan by John Poindexter.
Dec. 4: Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Samuel Morison is sentenced to two years in prison on espionage and theft of government property charges. He was convicted of giving U.S. spy photos to a British magazine, "Jane's Defence Weekly". He was pardoned by President Clinton in 2001.
Dec. 3: Winnie Mandela, wife of imprisoned African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, defies South African government ban on her political activities as she speaks out at a funeral for 12-people killed in an anti-government protest. "The day is not far when we shall lead you to freedom," Mandela says.
Dec. 3: Star musicians Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nelson take out ads in national newspapers asking the 3M company not to close a plant and lay off workers in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold, N.J. The campaign does not work as 3M shuts down the audio and videotape plant in 1986.
Dec. 2: Corazon Aquino, the wife of slain opposition leader Beningo Aquino Jr., announces that she will run for election as president of the Philippines against Ferdinand Marcos.
Dec. 1: Twenty-six defendants, including the head of the Philippine armed forces, are acquitted in the 1983 assassination of opposition leader Beningo Aquino Jr. Aquino's wife, Corazon, would later become Philippine president after the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos, and the defendants were retried with 16 going to jail.
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| A poster issued by the University of California in 1985 |
Dec. 1: New York City schools will begin teaching students about AIDS in sex education classes according to an announcement by schools chancellor Nathan Quinones.
Nov. 29: A radio DJ in Florida refuses a 10-year-old caller's request to play "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," saying the station isn't playing Christmas music yet and hangs up. He then mocks the reindeer and Santa, calling them obscene names and singing a song about killing Rudolph, all the while believing he's off the air. But he isn't. A torrent of calls later, the stations suspends the DJ.
Nov. 29: The New York Times publishes a story on a new form of cocaine for sale on New York streets that is alarming law enforcement. It's called "crack."
Nov. 27: The All-England Club announces that for the first time in more than 100 years, yellow balls will be used at the next Wimbledon tournament. Yellow balls were already used at most other tournaments.
Nov. 27: Housekeeper Mayra Melenez Lopez, 25, is charged with murder in the bludgeoning death of movie producer Herbert Wallerstein, 59. Wallerstein, who helped produce movies and TV shows like Alien, 9 to 5, I Dream of Jeannie and The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin, was struck in the head with a baseball bat after a reported struggle between the two. The charges were later reduced to manslaughter and in 1986 Lopez was found not guilty.
Nov. 27: Random House agrees to pay $3 million to publish President Reagan's official presidential biography.
Nov. 27: NBC announces that all 50 of the 30-second commercials for the upcoming Super Bowl XX have been sold, for $550,000 each. The average cost for a Super Bowl commercial in 2017 was $5 million.
Nov. 27: William Keough, one of the 52 American hostages held in captivity for 444 days in the U.S. Embassy in Teheran between 1979-81, dies at age 55 of Lou Gehrig's disease.
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| AP |
Nov. 26: First Lady Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" crusade, at the peak of its popularity in 1985, arrives in drug-riddled Oakland. Reagan leads 4,000 children in a "just say no" cheer.
Nov. 26: Lou Holtz is named football coach for Notre Dame. Holtz was hired from Minnesota where he led the Golden Gophers to a 6-5 season in 1985.
Nov. 26: British hostage negotiator Terry Waite meets with U.S. vice president George Bush to discuss his efforts in gaining the release of four American hostages in Beirut.
Nov. 25: One of three planes carrying members of the Iowa State cross country team from the NCAA championship meet in Milwaukee crashes and all seven people aboard are killed. Three members of the women's team that took second in the meet, two coaches, a student trainer and the pilot perish.
Nov. 25: The World Series shares for the two participants, the Royals and the Cardinals are revealed. A record share of $76,341.71 goes to each Royal and $54,921.76 to each Cardinal.
Nov. 26: Lou Holtz is named football coach for Notre Dame. Holtz was hired from Minnesota where he led the Golden Gophers to a 6-5 season in 1985.
Nov. 26: British hostage negotiator Terry Waite meets with U.S. vice president George Bush to discuss his efforts in gaining the release of four American hostages in Beirut.
Nov. 25: One of three planes carrying members of the Iowa State cross country team from the NCAA championship meet in Milwaukee crashes and all seven people aboard are killed. Three members of the women's team that took second in the meet, two coaches, a student trainer and the pilot perish.
Nov. 25: The World Series shares for the two participants, the Royals and the Cardinals are revealed. A record share of $76,341.71 goes to each Royal and $54,921.76 to each Cardinal.
Nov. 25: White Sox shortstop Ozzie Guillen wins the American League Rookie of the Year award less than a year after he was traded from the Padres in a deal for starting pitcher LaMarr Hoyt. Guillen wins 16 of the 28 first-place votes. Brewers pitcher Ted Higuera is second.
Nov. 25: Gerry Faust announces his resignation as Notre Dame's football coach. Faust, who lasted five years with the Irish, lost more games than any other Notre Dame coach at that point with a 30-25-1 mark.
Nov. 24: Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan is ruled out for the rest of the season after spraining ligaments in his left knee. Grogan had led the Patriots to six straight wins.
Nov. 24: Backup singer Cathy Evelyn Smith is ordered to stand trial for second-degree murder in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. She later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 15 months in jail.
Nov. 24: Bum Phillips resigns as the New Orleans Saints' head coach after the team goes 4-8 in its first 12 games. Son Wade Phillips steps in as interim coach. It's Wade Phillips' first head coaching job.
Nov. 23: An EgyptAir Boeing 737 is hijacked and forced to land in Malta. The hijackers, from the Abu Nidal terrorist group, begin shooting hostages. Later Egyptian commandos storm the plane, resulting in many deaths. Fifty-eight of the 95 passengers and crew die.
Nov. 22: A freak snowstorm in Seattle brings the city to a halt with eight inches.
Nov. 22: Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, with then wife Cathy Lee Crosby at his side, says he isn't done with football and plans to return next season after the broken leg suffered during a sack against the Giants. But Theisman would never play again.
Nov. 21: Bill Elliott is unanimously named the NASCAR Winston Cup driver of the year. It's only the second time in the 19-year history of the award that the choice is unanimous.
Nov. 21: Hurricane Kate hits the Florida panhandle as the first November hurricane to reach the U.S. mainland in 50 years.
Nov. 21: The U.S.-Soviet Union summit between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ends with news that Gorbachev signed a joint statement agreeing to accelerate negotiations on cutting offensive weapons 50 percent. But there is no mention in the statement of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, "Star Wars".
Nov. 21: FBI agents arrest U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard on spying charges, alleging he gave Israel classified information on Arab nations. Pollard would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 2015.
Nov. 20: The Pittsburgh Pirates sign Chicago White Sox third base coach Jim Leyland to a one-year contract as manager.
Nov. 20: The New York Yankees' Don Mattingly is selected the American League's Most Valuable Player. Mattingly batted .324 with 35 home runs and 145 RBIs for the second-place Yankees. He also led the majors in doubles with 48.
Nov. 20: Nine-year-old Kimberly Fuller becomes the youngest in the U.S. to receive a heart/lung transplant. The surgery is successful and Fuller would live to age 25, dying in 2001.
Nov. 25: Gerry Faust announces his resignation as Notre Dame's football coach. Faust, who lasted five years with the Irish, lost more games than any other Notre Dame coach at that point with a 30-25-1 mark.
Nov. 24: Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan is ruled out for the rest of the season after spraining ligaments in his left knee. Grogan had led the Patriots to six straight wins.
Nov. 24: Backup singer Cathy Evelyn Smith is ordered to stand trial for second-degree murder in the 1982 drug overdose death of comedian John Belushi. She later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served 15 months in jail.
Nov. 24: Bum Phillips resigns as the New Orleans Saints' head coach after the team goes 4-8 in its first 12 games. Son Wade Phillips steps in as interim coach. It's Wade Phillips' first head coaching job.
Nov. 23: An EgyptAir Boeing 737 is hijacked and forced to land in Malta. The hijackers, from the Abu Nidal terrorist group, begin shooting hostages. Later Egyptian commandos storm the plane, resulting in many deaths. Fifty-eight of the 95 passengers and crew die.
Nov. 22: A freak snowstorm in Seattle brings the city to a halt with eight inches.
Nov. 22: Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, with then wife Cathy Lee Crosby at his side, says he isn't done with football and plans to return next season after the broken leg suffered during a sack against the Giants. But Theisman would never play again.
Nov. 21: Bill Elliott is unanimously named the NASCAR Winston Cup driver of the year. It's only the second time in the 19-year history of the award that the choice is unanimous.
Nov. 21: Hurricane Kate hits the Florida panhandle as the first November hurricane to reach the U.S. mainland in 50 years.
Nov. 21: The U.S.-Soviet Union summit between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ends with news that Gorbachev signed a joint statement agreeing to accelerate negotiations on cutting offensive weapons 50 percent. But there is no mention in the statement of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, "Star Wars".
Nov. 21: FBI agents arrest U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard on spying charges, alleging he gave Israel classified information on Arab nations. Pollard would be convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 2015.
Nov. 20: The Pittsburgh Pirates sign Chicago White Sox third base coach Jim Leyland to a one-year contract as manager.
Nov. 20: The New York Yankees' Don Mattingly is selected the American League's Most Valuable Player. Mattingly batted .324 with 35 home runs and 145 RBIs for the second-place Yankees. He also led the majors in doubles with 48.
Nov. 20: Nine-year-old Kimberly Fuller becomes the youngest in the U.S. to receive a heart/lung transplant. The surgery is successful and Fuller would live to age 25, dying in 2001.
Nov. 20: Microsoft's Windows 1.0 is released, pioneering desktop operating systems for personal computing.
Nov. 19: Crenshaw High School's Stephen Thompson signs a letter of intent to play basketball for Syracuse University. He would go on to become SU's seventh-leading all-time scorer and make the school's all-century team.
Nov. 19: Boxing promoter Don King is acquitted of charges that he evaded paying income taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars that he allegedly skimmed from his company, Don King Productions.
Nov. 19: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev officially meet for the first time in Geneva. Their scheduled 15-minute session lasts an hour.
Nov. 19: New York City developer Donald Trump announces plans to build the world's largest tower -- 150 stories -- on the Upper West Side. The tower was never built as plans became entangled in a feud with NYC mayor Ed Koch. Trump later gave up control of the land in 1994.
Nov. 18: Palestine Liberation Front leader Abu Abbas (Muhammad Zaidan) is formally identified as one of 16 people charged in the hijacking of the Achille Lauro liner.
Nov. 19: Crenshaw High School's Stephen Thompson signs a letter of intent to play basketball for Syracuse University. He would go on to become SU's seventh-leading all-time scorer and make the school's all-century team.
Nov. 19: Boxing promoter Don King is acquitted of charges that he evaded paying income taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars that he allegedly skimmed from his company, Don King Productions.
Nov. 19: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev officially meet for the first time in Geneva. Their scheduled 15-minute session lasts an hour.
Nov. 19: New York City developer Donald Trump announces plans to build the world's largest tower -- 150 stories -- on the Upper West Side. The tower was never built as plans became entangled in a feud with NYC mayor Ed Koch. Trump later gave up control of the land in 1994.
Nov. 18: Palestine Liberation Front leader Abu Abbas (Muhammad Zaidan) is formally identified as one of 16 people charged in the hijacking of the Achille Lauro liner.
Nov. 18: The St. Louis Cardinals' Willie McGee is named the National League's Most Valuable Player. The 27-year-old outfielder won the NL batting title with a .353 average, the highest average for an NL switch-hitter.
Nov. 17: San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie says that a plan to build a stadium in downtown San Francisco that would guarantee the team would not move to another city before next season has been scrapped.
Nov. 17: Terry Waite, the Archibishop of Canterbury's envoy seeking the release of four American hostages in Beirut, says he met with the hostages' captors and is convinced that Terry Anderson, David Jacobsen, Father Lawrence Jenco and Thomas Sutherland are alive and well.
Nov. 16: The wife and stepson of former major league pitcher Clay Carroll are shot and killed during a family dispute. Carroll is injured. Frederick Nowitzke, the son of Carroll's wife, is later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Nov. 16: Thousands of marchers take to the streets in Geneva, Switzerland, to protest U.S. and Soviet Union policies. The protest takes place three days before President Reagan arrives in Geneva for a summit conference with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Nov. 15: The Anglo-Irish Agreement is signed in an effort to help bring an end of conflict between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. The agreement failed to have that effect but proved to be a stepping stone to more successful agreements in the peace process years later.
Nov. 14: Former Phillies and Cubs shortstop Larry Bowa receives his first managing gig, getting hired to lead Triple A Las Vegas in the Padres' chain.
Nov. 14: The Milwaukee Brewers release Rollie Fingers, the career leader in saves at the time with 341, completing his career.
Nov. 14: Heart transplant patient Michael Drummond, 26, leaves the hospital 2 1/2 months after becoming the youngest person to receive a Jarvik-7 artificial heart.
Nov. 13: Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden is the unanimous winner of the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the first pitcher to win Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards in consecutive seasons.
Nov. 13: The Mets acquire pitcher Bob Ojeda, along with pitchers Tom McCarthy, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer, from the Red Sox for pitchers Calvin Schiraldi and Wes Gardner, and outfielders John Christensen and La Schelle Tarver. This trade would have an impact on the very next season's World Series when the same two teams would meet.
Nov. 13: Reggie Jackson agrees to return to the Angels for the 1986 season for the same $975,000 salary he received in 1985.
Nov. 13: Entertainment Tonight reports that director George Lucas' attempt at a restraining order against the coalition for the Strategic Defense Initiative has been denied by a U.S. District Court. Lucas had filed suit, stating that "Star Wars" was a federal registered trademark and could not be used by the group as short-hand to describe its plan for a defense system in space.
Nov. 13: The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupts, melting its ice cap and causing a volcanic mudslide that buries the town of Armero in Columbia, killing more than 20,000 people in the second-deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century.
Nov. 11: The Kansas City Royals' Bret Saberhagen becomes the youngest pitcher in American League history to win the Cy Young Award. Saberhagen, 21, broke the record set by a 22-year-old Vida Blue in 1971.
Nov. 10: Corazon Aquino, the widow of assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., is backed by eight opposition leaders to run for president of the Philippines against Ferdinand Marcos in January.
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| Associated Press |
Nov. 10: Flyers starting goaltender Pelle Lindbergh drives his Porsche 930 Turbo into a wall in Somerdale, N.J. Lindbergh, who was drunk at the time of the crash, is declared brain dead and dies the next day.
Nov. 9: Gary Kasparov wins his final game against Anatoly Karpov to become the youngest world chess champion in history at age 22.
Nov. 9: Four American hostages held in Lebanon send a letter to President Reagan appealing for him to negotiate for their release. Two of the hostages, David Jacobsen and Lawrence Jenco, would be released by their captors in 1986. The two others, Terry Anderson and Thomas Sutherland, were released in 1991.
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| Associated Press |
Nov. 9: Prince Charles and Princess Diana end the first day of their trip to the United States with a gala dinner in Washington hosted by President Reagan and First Lady Nancy. Several movie stars were in attendance, including Tom Selleck, Neil Diamond and John Travolta.
Nov. 8: Twelve cities or regions make their pitch for a major league baseball expansion team to commissioner Peter Ueberroth. The presentations came from Phoenix; Buffalo; New Orleans; Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg; New Jersey; Nashville; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Miami; Washington; Indianapolis and Vancouver.
Nov. 8: The Celtics' Larry Bird admits in an article published in the Worcester Telegram that his reported fight with a bartender in May "was my own fault," adding "the one good thing about all this is people finally understand that I'm human. I make mistakes; I've made a lot of mistakes."
Nov. 6: Bobby Cox is named the American League's Manager of the Year for leading the Blue Jays to the AL East title. Cox resigned from the Blue Jays after the season to take the GM job with Braves.
Nov. 6: A federal judge rules that former middleweight boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter can be released from jail, saying his triple murder conviction from eight years earlier was based on prosecution errors and racial stereotypes.
Nov. 6: The Palace of Justice siege commences in Bogota, Columbia as the leftist M-19 guerrilla group executes a bloody takeover of the building and takes the Supreme Court hostage, intending to force a trial of President Belisario Betancur. The seige ends in more bloodshed the next day as the military storms the building. More than 100 people are killed.
Nov. 4: Former high-ranking KGB agent Vitaly Yurchenko is seeking to return to the Soviet Union after previously defecting to the United States. The U.S. says they won't let him leave until they can talk to him, but Yurchenko flees before he can be questioned. It's speculated now that his original defection was not legitimate and a possible plot to infiltrate U.S. intelligence.
Nov. 4: The Houston Astros name Hal Lanier manager. Lanier replaces Bob Lillis.
Nov. 4: Michael Jordan breaks his foot near the start of his sophomore season in the NBA. It causes him to miss 64 games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1985-86 season.
Nov. 4: Cus D'Amato, the boxing manager who mentored Mike Tyson and handled the careers of champions Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres, dies at age 77.
Nov. 3: Former Philadelphia Phillies caterer Curtis Strong is sentenced to 12 years in prison by a federal judge for his conviction on 11 counts of distributing cocaine to major league baseball players:
Nov. 3: Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov speaks with relatives for the first time in six years, saying he has ended his hunger strike. Sakharov started the strike in April so Soviet officials would allow his wife to travel to the West for medical care.
Nov. 1: The USFL announces nine team for the 1986 season, saying that the Denver Gold will move to Portland to replace the Breakers franchise, which collapsed financially. The USFL would fold before playing a 1986 season.
Nov. 1: Doctors give President Reagan a clean bill of health in his second checkup since undergoing cancer surgery over the summer.
Nov. 1: Famed comedian and actor Phil Silvers, star of the popular "Phil Silvers Show" in the 1950s, dies at age 74.
Oct. 31: The Los Angeles Dodgers give manager Tom Lasorda a two-year extension through the 1988 season.
Oct. 31: The Cincinnati Reds sign player-manager Pete Rose to a three-year contract.
Oct. 30: The Reagan Administration warns that The Philippines is headed for a Civil War and urges President Ferdinand Marcos to conduct elections and reform the military. Marcos would be overthrown in February 1986.
Oct. 30: The Screen Actors Guild, citing a lack of conclusiveness on how AIDS is transmitted, says actors must be told before they're hired whether they will be required to perform open-mouthed kissing scenes.
Oct. 30: Sylvia Seegrist is arrested after going on a shooting spree at the Springfield, Pa., shopping mall, killing three people. Seegrist was later found guilty, ruled insane, and sentenced to three life terms.
Oct. 30: The Space Shuttle Challenger launches for what would be its final successful mission.
Oct. 29: MLB Commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspends Cardinals starter Joaquin Andujar for the first 10 games of the 1986 season and fines him $500 for his outburst that led to his ejection in Game 7 of the World Series.
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| Daniel Ortega |
Oct. 29: The United States and Nicaragua hold formal talks for the first time in months in a bid to convince the Nicaraguan government, led by president Daniel Ortega, to open negotiations with U.S.-backed rebels, known as contras.
Oct. 29: The U.S. and Britain reach an agreement for British participation in President Reagan's Star Wars program. Britain is the first U.S. ally to formally agree to participate in the Strategic Defense Initiative.
Oct. 29: Hurricane Juan, the costliest hurricane of 1985 and the 39th costliest on record, moves inland in Southeast Louisiana.
Oct. 28: A federal judge accepts plea agreements from John Walker Jr. and his son, Michael, that required a life term for Walker Jr. and 25 years for the son for operating a spy ring that sold U.S. Naval secrets to the Russians.
Oct. 28: Former President Nixon, acting as an arbitrator, decides to reward baseball umpires a 40 percent increase in compensation for working additional games during the recent championship series (which expanded from 5 to 7 games).
Oct. 28: Approximately 300,000 fans turn out for a ticker-tape parade in the streets of Kansas City, Mo., to honor the Royals for capturing the city's first World Series title.
Oct. 28: In one of the most famous art thefts in history, nine Monet paintings are stolen during daylight hours from the Musee Marmottan in Paris. Five masked gunmen held employees and visitors at gunpoint during the heist. The paintings are recovered five years later.
Oct. 27: Humphrey the humpback whale, who has captured widespread media attention for his wayward migratory trip, frustrates marine biologists who are trying to coax toward the Pacific Ocean. He takes another wrong turn away from the ocean and heads up the Sacramento River.
Oct. 27: Lou Piniella is reported as the Yankees' next manager, replacing Billy Martin, who had been fired for a fourth time by owner George Steinbrenner.
Oct. 26: Bob Scheffing, a manager for the Cubs and the Tigers in the late '50s and early '60s, and the Mets' general manager from 1970-75 dies at age 72.
Oct. 25: The Angels confirm they will not offer 40-year-old Rod Carew a contract for the 1986 season. Carew retires eight months later after turning down the only offer he receives, from the Giants.
Oct. 24: The Blue Jays name third base coach Jimy Williams to succeed Bobby Cox as manager.
Oct. 24: The daughter of the president of El Salvador is released by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. Ines Duarte and her friend Ana Cecilia Villeda were kidnapped seven weeks earlier, causing the rest of president Jose Napoleon Duarte's family to be sent to the United States for safety.
Oct. 24: NASCAR Modified champion Richie Evans dies during a crash at practice at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va.. Evans, who had won eight straight NASCAR Modified titles and nine overall, was 44.
Oct. 22: Baseball owners end an 18-month anti-drug agreement with players after the two sides fail to agree on a new deal.
Oct. 22: An agreement is reached and the Philadelphia newspaper walkout ends after 46 days.
Oct. 22: Bobby Cox, who had just managed the Blue Jays to the American League East title, is named the Braves' general manager.
Oct. 21: Unemployed photographer Dale Shiffman is sentenced by a federal judge to 12 years in prison for selling cocaine, mostly to major league ballplayers. Shiffman plead guilty to 20 counts of distribution between 1982-84, mostly to pitcher Rod Scurry and former Pirate Parrot mascot Kevin Koch.
Oct. 21: Plans are announced to link a human chain across the nation to raise millions to fight hunger in America. The chairmen for what would become Hands Across America in May of 1986 are Bill Cosby, Kenny Rogers and Pete Rose.
Oct. 21: Dan White, the former San Francisco supervisor who assassinated city mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, is found dead in his garage after committing suicide.
Oct. 18: The Soviet military chief threatens that Moscow will put nuclear weapons into space if the U.S. continues to develop its Star Wars defense system.
Oct. 17: NFL owners narrowly vote down the use of instant replay to check officials' calls during the postseason. The owners would support replay review prior to the 1986 season.
Oct. 16: Cardinals fan Andrew Wolfson is not charged after being booked on third-degree assault charges after being accused of splashing rainwater in the face of Dodgers second baseman Steve Sax during an NLCS game. Sax was walking back to the dugout after striking out at Busch Stadium when Wolfson allegedly splashed the water. Sax did not file a complaint and no warrant was issued.
Oct. 16: The Federal Communications Commission tries a second time to prevent children from getting access to "dial-a-porn" phone lines by requiring special access codes or prepaying with a credit card.
Oct. 15: Two people are killed in separate bombings in the Salt Lake City, Utah area. Mark Hofmann, who is injured by a bomb the next day, is arrested three months later on charges of murder, forgery and fraud.
Oct. 15: Four Asian men are arrested in England and charged with a plot to kill Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was making an official visit to Britain.
Oct. 15: Former president Richard Nixon is named as the arbitrator for a dispute between Major League Baseball and umpires over compensation for working an expanded League Championship Series.
Oct. 14: Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is arrested on drunk driving charges.
Oct. 11: President Reagan announces the removal of a new cancerous growth from his nose, in the same spot as the growth that was removed in July.
Oct. 11: Cigarette packs begin displaying new warnings about smoking's dangers. Packs now display one of four warnings.
Oct. 11: The NFL turns down a request by TCU running back Kenneth Davis to play for the league. Davis was suspended by TCU for accepting money from boosters. Davis would be drafted by the Packers in 1986, and spend four seasons in the Bills backfield during their Super Bowl years.
Oct. 10: Major League umpires announce an agreement to work all League Championship Series and World Series games after a strike was threatened over the expanded LCS format from 5 games to 7 games.
Oct. 10: The public becomes increasingly aware of the dangers of indoor Radon gas based on numerous reports around this time that link the colorless, odorless gas to increasing cases of lung cancer.
Oct. 10: The Achille Lauro hijacking ends as a U.S. Navy fighter jets intercept an Egyptian jet attempting to fly the kidnappers to safety. The jet is forced to land in Sicily and U.S. and Italian troops take the terrorists into custody.
Oct. 7: The Pirates fire manager Chuck Tanner, who led Pittsburgh to the World Series title in 1979.
Oct. 7: A storm blows through the Northwest, dumping 18 inches of snow on some parts of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Nevada and North and South Dakota. Great Falls, Mont., sets a record low at 12 degrees.
Oct. 7: The cruise ship Achille Lauro is hijacked by four members of the Palestine Liberation Front off of the coast of Egypt. American Leon Klinghoffer, who is confined to a wheelchair, is killed by the hijackers and is thrown overboard.
Oct. 6: MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth promises in an interview on "60 Minutes" to take action against baseball players who have admitted taking drugs. He responds to newspaper columnist Dick Young's suggestion that the players be thrown out of baseball by saying that "it's not practical."
Oct. 6: A police officer is killed with a machete and 58 more officers injured during rioting in racially mixed north London. What would be known as the Broadwater Farm riot became more inflamed after the death of an African-Carribean woman during a search of her home the day before.
Oct. 6: The Phoenix, Ariz., police chief confirms that the first female FBI agent to die in the line of duty was killed by two fellow agents who mistook her for a suspect's girlfriend. Robin Ahrens, 33, was shot three times as all three agents moved to arrest the suspect.
Oct. 6: The major league careers of Larry Bowa, Jay Johnstone, Ned Yost and Joc Pederson's father, Stu Pederson, end on this date.
Oct. 5: Cardinals starting pitcher Danny Cox says he left the team after Thursday's game in St. Louis to go to Georgia and punch his ex-brother-in-law in the face. He then returned to the Cardinals for their game Friday night.
Oct. 4: NBC wins the rights to the 1988 Summer Olympic games in Seoul. This marks the beginning of NBC's stranglehold on televising the Summer Olympics as it has televised every one since 1988.
Oct. 4: The Illinois Supreme Court upholds state and local laws banning night baseball at Wrigley Field. The Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, asked for the laws to be thrown out, saying they were unconstitutional.
Oct. 4: Islamic Jihad announces that it has killed U.S. hostage William Buckley. Buckley, who was kidnapped in 1984, was likely killed three months earlier.
Oct. 3: The space shuttle Atlantis flies its first mission in what is believed to be a classified project for the U.S. Department of Defense. Atlantis would be the last shuttle to fly into space (in 2011).
Oct. 2: Mothers Against Drunk Driving founder Candy Lightner is ousted by the organization's board.
Oct. 2: Reds outfielder Gary Redus says that player-manager Pete Rose should bench himself because "all he can do is hit singles. He thinks he's helping the club hitting .265, but we'd have more speed and more power without him." Redus said he felt safe saying those things because he knew he would be traded. Two months later, he was traded to the Phillies.
Oct. 2: Bowler Nelson Burton Jr. is suspended six months by the Pro Bowlers Association after scuffling with PBA part-time bowler Greg Shields. Burton, a Hall of Famer, was accused of pushing Shields onto a pool table during a PBA tournament after Shields, Burton said, poured beer on him.
Oct. 2: Actor Rock Hudson dies after a months-long battle with AIDS. He was 59.
Oct. 1: The winless Buffalo Bills fire coach Kay Stephenson and replace him with defensive coordinator Hank Bullough.
Oct. 1: E.B. White, author of famous children's books "Stuart Little" and "Charlotte's Web" (both later made movies), dies at age 86.
Oct. 1: Charles Richter, who helped develop the earthquake scale that bears his name, dies at age 85.
Sept. 28: Former Dodger (as well as Yankee, Met, Ranger, Angel) Bill Sudakis is arrested and charged with cocaine possession.
Sept. 27: Hurricane Gloria skirts New York and New England, knocking out power to more than two million along the East Coast, but the widespread damage predicted doesn't materialize.
Sept. 26: Actress Elizabeth Taylor announces the formation of a national AIDS foundation to raise money for research for a cure. The foundation continues today.
Sept. 25: A second person is convicted in the federal drug trials in Pittsburgh. Robert McCue is convicted on seven counts of selling cocaine to former Pirates Dale Berra and John Milner.
Sept. 25: Hurricane Gloria forces more than 100,000 coastal residents to flea as it approaches the Carolina coast with 130 mph winds.
Sept. 23: Baseball commissioner Pete Uerberroth urges all players to voluntarily take drug tests in light of the Pittsburgh drug trials.
Sept. 23: The Los Angeles Police Department releases its confidential file on the death of actress Marilyn Monroe, who died 23 years prior. A spokesman says the file was released to eliminate speculation that Monroe was the victim of foul play. The file, the department said, shows that Monroe committed suicide through an overdose of barbiturates.
Sept. 22: Yankees manager Billy Martin suffers a broken arm in a fight with his own pitcher, Ed Whitson, at a bar in Baltimore.
Sept. 22: The Soviet Union's expert on U.S. and Canadian affairs denies that his country is developing a strategic defense system to counter the U.S. "Star Wars" program.
Sept. 22: Documents related to the mining of the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior are reported destroyed a day after the French prime minister admits that French secret service agents were ordered to sink the boat off of New Zealand.
Sept. 19: Curtis Strong, the former Phillies caterer, is convicted of 11 counts of selling cocaine to major league baseball players, ending a 14-day federal trial which would become known as the Pittsburgh Drug Trials.
Sept. 19: John DeLorean is indicted on racketeering and fraud charges by a federal grand jury, alleging that he bilked investors in his failed car company out of $8.9 million. The invested money was supposed to be spent on research and development of a new race car named after him.
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| An apartment complex destroyed by the Mexico City quake |
Sept. 19: A magnitude 8.1 earthquake strikes Mexico, causing the deaths of more than 10,000 people and damaging much of the Mexico City area. More than 400 buildings collapsed.
Sept. 17: The Rev. Benjamin Weir, one of seven Americans kidnapped by Muslim terrorists over an 18 month period, is released after 16 months. He is freed in exchange for anti-tank weapons which would be part of the Iran-Contra Affair.
Sept. 17: President Reagan addresses AIDS for the first time in a press conference with reporters.
Sept. 16: The Minnesota Twins announce that relief pitcher Steve Howe admitted to using cocaine over the weekend after telling the team that he was going to visit the grandfather of his wife, who had suffered a stroke.
Sept. 16: The Commerce Department announces that the United States has become a debtor nation for the first time since 1914 as the trade deficit worsens.
Sept. 13: Star Los Angeles Rams running back Eric Dickerson ends his 47-day holdout.
Sept. 13: The Astros fire general manager Al Rosen and replace him with Dick Wagner. Rosen was later hired as GM and president by the Giants.
Sept. 12: Former Pirates and Mets outfielder John Milner testifies that Willie Mays' locker was the source of amphetamines in 1973 and Milner's first introduction the drug. Mays says that he's upset that his name was brought up in the drug trial.
Sept. 12: Apple Computer creator Steve Jobs resigns from the company after a power struggle.
Sept. 11: Dave Parker testifies that Shelby Greer, his primary cocaine supplier, also supplied the drug to Lee Lacy, Dusty Baker, Derrel Thomas and Steve Howe back in 1981.
Sept. 10: The California Angels acquire 40-year-old pitcher Don Sutton from the Oakland A's for two minor leaguers.
Sept. 10: Quarterback Steve Young buys out his USFL contract and signs a six-year deal with the Tampa Buccaneers.
Sept. 10: Nine of 10 members of the European Community agree to sanctions against the South African government and denounce the country's apartheid system. Britain opposes.
Sept. 10: The last remaining escaped prisoner of Hitler's army in the United States turns himself in. Georg Gaertner, 64, lived in the U.S. for 40 years after escaping from a POW camp.
Sept. 9: The Yankees' Dale Berra testifies that former Pirates teammate Willie Stargell passed out amphetamines to teammates and he also received the drug from Bill Madlock.
Sept. 8: President Reagan orders limited economic sanctions imposed on South Africa for its system of apartheid. More than 700 people had died in the last year in racial violence.
Sept. 8: More than 10,000 Queens children stay home on the first day of school as parents protest a decision to allow a second-grader with AIDS to attend school.
Sept. 8: At least four people, including two members of an NBC News crew, are killed in a failed coup attempt in Thailand.
Sept. 7: Reds outfielder Dave Parker admits to using cocaine when he played for the Pirates, ahead of his testimony in a Pittsburgh federal court trial.
Sept. 7: Striking employees halt the publication of Philadelphia's two major daily newspapers, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. The strike would last for 46 days.
Sept. 6: Dodgers infielder Enos Cabell implicates more major leaguers in cocaine use during the federal trial in Pittsburgh. Cabell said Dave Parker gave him cocaine, and he used it with J.R. Richard in Houston and Al Holland and Jeff Leonard in San Francisco. Pitcher Lary Sorensen and former player Bernie Carbo are also named as users.
Sept. 6: Midwest Airlines Express Flight 105 crashes just after takeoff in Milwaukee, Wis., killing 31.
Sept. 5: Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez admits to using "massive amounts of cocaine" during the second half of the 1980 baseball season in testimony at the federal trial of a suspected drug dealer in Pittsburgh.
Sept. 5: Hurricane Elena, which affected Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida, is documented as the fourth costliest hurricane in the U.S. with $543 million in damage.
Sept. 5: President Reagan visits North Carolina State University to promote tax reform in one of his first public appearances after undergoing cancer surgery.
Sept. 4: Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray signs a five-year extension for $13 million, making him the highest paid player in baseball at $2.6 million annually.
Sept. 4: Royals outfielder Lonnie Smith testifies that he bought cocaine for himself and for former Cardinals teammates Joaquin Andujar and Keith Hernandez from Curtis Strong, who worked briefly for the Phillies as a caterer.
Sept. 3: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen, allowing him to own American television stations and paving the way for the eventual Fox Broadcasting Company.
Sept. 2: Hurricane Elena makes landfall in the early morning in Biloxi, Miss.
Sept. 1: A joint U.S.-French expedition, led by Dr. Robert Ballard, discovers the wreck of the Titanic, 73 years after it sank. It is found 400 miles east of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic.
Aug. 31: The Dodgers acquire third baseman Bill Madlock from the Pirates for three players to be named. Those players would be R.J. Reynolds, Cecil Espy and Sid Bream.
Aug. 31: Angry citizens chase, beat and capture Richard Ramirez, identified as "The Night Stalker," after he tries to steal a car. Ramirez is suspected of killing 16 people and assaulting at least 21 others.
Aug. 30: Police identify "The Night Stalker" as Richard Ramirez, issuing an all-points-bulletin for the 25-year-old suspected of going on a murderous rampage through California over seven months.
Aug. 29: Franco Harris announces his retirement after 13 seasons in the NFL.
Aug. 29: Weather system Elena is classified as a hurricane as it heads for the southeastern United States.
Aug. 27: Charges against Tulane basketball player John "Hot Rod" Williams, accused of shaving points in a gambling scheme, are dismissed by a judge.
Aug. 27: The Nigerian government is overthrown by Army Chief of Staff Major General Ibrahim Babangida.
Aug. 26: Vikings quarterback Archie Manning, eventual father of Super Bowl QBs Peyton and Eli Manning, retires after 14 years in the NFL due to elbow problems.
Aug. 25: The Braves fire manager Eddie Haas and replace him with Bobby Wine.
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| A Soviet stamp of Samantha Smith |
Aug. 25: Samantha Smith, a 13-year-old from Maine who wrote a letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov three years prior, dies in plane crash. Smith's letter in which she worried about the U.S. and Soviet Union getting involved in nuclear war, prompted an invitation from Andropov to visit the Soviet Union. Smith did and was a big hit in the country.
Aug. 22: An engine explodes on a British jetliner taking off for Greece and 54 people die.
Aug. 20: Convicted drug dealer Mark Liebl names 12 players as cocaine users, including Royals Willie Wilson, Willie Aikens, Jerry Martin and Vida Blue who had been jailed for drug violations. The other players are Dennis Eckersley, Chuck Rainey, Mike Torrez, Ron LeFlore, Steve Trout, Tom Underwood, Mike Norris and U.L. Washington.
Aug. 19: Pirates pitcher Rod Scurry is the first player linked to the investigation of drug use in baseball when he's identified as a customer of a man who pleaded guilty of selling cocaine.
Aug. 16: The NFL announces that it will experiment with instant replay in exhibition games with the intent of reversing incorrect calls.
Aug. 14: South African president P.W. Botha rejects voting rights for the nation's black majority and reiterates he will not consider releasing African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela.
Aug. 13: Shortstop Larry Bowa, 39, announces his retirement after being released by the Cubs.
Aug. 13: A mistrial is declared in the point-shaving case of Tulane's John "Hot Rod" Williams after it's revealed that his defense team never allowed the chance to see a recorded confession by a fellow player.
Aug. 12: A Japan Airlines jet carrying 524 people slams into a mountain and bursts into flames, killing all but four people on board. It is the deadliest single-aircraft crash in history.
Aug. 11: Relief pitcher Steve Howe, who was released by the Dodgers earlier in the season after repeated drug violations, signs a contract with the Twins.
Aug. 7: The Major League Baseball strike ends after less than two days.
Aug. 7: The New Orleans Saints sign USFL quarterback Bobby Hebert.
Aug. 5: Major League Baseball players go on strike.
Aug. 4: Baseball labor talks hit a snag over salary arbitration. Owners drop their demand for a salary cap, but want arbitration eligibility for players starting at three years of service rather than two and also to limit the monetary amount for arbitration rewards. The strike deadline is two days away.
Aug. 4: President Reagan says the "pimple" removed from his nose was cancerous, but requires no further treatment.
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| Associated Press |
Aug. 3: The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducts a star-studded class that includes Joe Namath, Roger Staubach, O.J. Simpson, Commissioner Pete Rozelle and former center Frank Gatski.
Aug. 2: Delta Flight 191 crashes while approaching Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in a thunderstorm, killing 137 people.
Aug. 2: A flood, brought on by six inches of rain in less than four hours, swept through Cheyenne, Wyo., killing 12 people and injuring 70.
Aug. 1: The California Angels acquire outfielder George Hendrick and pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland from the Pirates in a deal for Mike Brown, Pat Clements and a player to be named later. (The PTBNL is pitcher Bob Kipper).
Aug. 1: Commissioner Peter Ueberroth makes his own proposal in an effort to get owners and players to reach an agreement.
Aug. 1: Montgomery Ward announces it's ending its famous catalog, cutting almost 5,000 jobs.
July 31: Baseball talks reach an impasse with just six days to go before a strike deadline. Commissioner Peter Ueberroth says he's very disappointed with the progress of talks.
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| Associated Press |
July 30: 13-year-old student Ryan White is barred from attending school in Indiana because school officials believe he will spread the AIDS virus he contracted during a blood transfusion.
July 30: Braves pitcher Pascual Perez returns to the team after going AWOL from the team in New York on July 21.
July 29: The space shuttle Challenger avoids an emergency landing and achieves orbit after one of its engines dies five minutes after liftoff. It was the first time in 19 shuttle missions that an engine failed after liftoff.
July 27: The United States demands the end of a week-long state of emergency in South Africa.
July 27: Smokey Joe Wood, who pitched for the Red Sox and the Indians from 1908-22 and went 34-5 in 1912, dies at age 89.
July 26: Scientists say it's only a matter of time before Africanized honeybees, the so-called "killer bees," reach the United States. Over the previous 30 years moving from South America through Central America, the bees have destroyed farm land and animals and have killed 150 people.
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| Rock Hudson with Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1984 |
July 25: A spokeswoman for actor Rock Hudson confirms that he has had AIDS for more than a year.
July 24: Hurricane Bob hits the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.
July 24: The first shipment of Yugo cars, a subcompact produced with much fanfare, leaves Yugoslavia for the United States.
July 23: The Braves suspend pitcher Pascual Perez indefinitely after he leaves the team after a game against the Mets.
July 22: South Africa's state of emergency goes into effect and police detain 113 people. Access to information is also limited.
July 21: Warner Communications agrees to pay $8.5 million to settle a federal antitrust lawsuit charging the company conspired to fix record prices.
July 21: Warner Communications agrees to pay $8.5 million to settle a federal antitrust lawsuit charging the company conspired to fix record prices.
July 20: President Reagan returns to the White House after cancer surgery on his colon.
July 19: "Mountain Man" Dan Nichols is sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping athlete Kari Swenson, 23. His father, Don, was convicted a week earlier of kidnapping and shooting to death searcher Alan Goldstein.
July 19: "Mountain Man" Dan Nichols is sentenced to 20 years in prison for kidnapping athlete Kari Swenson, 23. His father, Don, was convicted a week earlier of kidnapping and shooting to death searcher Alan Goldstein.
July 19: At least 220 people die when a dam bursts in Northern Italy
July 19: The Chicago Cubs announce that if they make the World Series, their home games will not be played at Wrigley Field because of a lack of lights at the ballpark.
July 19: The Cincinnati Reds acquire third baseman Buddy Bell from the Texas Rangers for outfielder Duane Walker and a player to be named, who would end being future closer Jeff Russell.
July 19: Christa McAuliffe is chosen as the first school teacher to fly in space, selected out of 11,000 applicants to participate in the U.S. space program.
July 18: Bill Polian makes one of his first deals as Buffalo Bills general manager, trading former first-round pick Tommy Hunter to the St. Louis Rams for quarterback Vince Ferragamo.
July 17: The Yankees acquire relief pitcher Neil Allen from the Cardinals for a player to be named.
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| Associated Press |
July 15: South African runner Zola Budd admits for the first time that she was responsible for the collision that caused U.S. runner Mary Decker Slaney to fall during the 3,000 meters at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
July 14: Major League Baseball players vote to strike on Aug. 6 if contract negotiations aren't resolved by then.
July 14: Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth tells "Meet the Press" that the chances of a baseball strike this season are "fairly good."
July 13: A six-man surgical team removes a 2-inch tumor and 2 feet of President Reagan's colon and announce no sign of any other malignancy outside of the potentially cancerous tumor.
July 12: Surgery experts say that President Reagan's chances of avoiding cancer are excellent if the operation to remove a precancerous polyp from his colon is a success.
July 11: Jack Lambert, middle linebacker for four Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl championships, announces his retirement.
July 11: Jack Lambert, middle linebacker for four Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl championships, announces his retirement.
July 11: President Reagan enters the hospital for surgery on his colon.
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| Associated Press |
July 10: A Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior, is bombed and sunk near New Zealand by French exterior security agents. A free-lance photographer is killed.
July 9: The Dodgers trade for first baseman Enos Cabell, sending a minor leaguer to the Astros and Sid Bream down to the minors.
July 9: A car bomb explodes in Naples, Fla., killing an heiress to a $400 million tobacco fortune and her tennis pro son. Steven Benson, the heiress Margaret Benson's son, is later convicted of double murder.
July 8: The Oakland A's reach an agreement to sign former Angels pitcher Tommy John.
July 7: Three West Germans are found guilty of selling fake "Hitler diaries" to a magazine for $3.1 million, termed the greatest literary hoax of the century.
July 4: Guy Bush, the man who surrendered Babe Ruth's 714th and final home run, dies at age 83.
July 3: Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe is given his release after six rocky seasons that included his confession of cocaine dependency.
July 3: Dodgers relief pitcher Steve Howe is given his release after six rocky seasons that included his confession of cocaine dependency.
July 3: Frank J. Selke, who coached nine Stanley Cup champions including five straight record Cups for the Canadiens from 1956-60, dies at age 92.
July 1: Los Angeles sets a record by recording a 106-degree temperature, seven degrees higher than the previous record set in 1884.
June 30: Thirty-nine Americans on hijacked TWA flight 847 are freed in Beirut after 17 days as hostages.
June 27: The San Diego Padres finally trade troubled second baseman Alan Wiggins to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers.
June 27: The San Diego Padres finally trade troubled second baseman Alan Wiggins to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor leaguers.
June 27: U.S. Route 66, which stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles, and was known as the "Main Street of America," is removed from the U.S. highway system. Portions of the road that remain have been designated as a National Scenic Byway.
June 26: Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., is arrested in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, along with her son and daughter, while demonstrating against South Africa's apartheid policy.
June 26: The Pirates suspend pitcher Rod Scurry for failing to follow a drug aftercare program that he began after entering treatment for cocaine abuse.
June 26: Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr., is arrested in front of the South African Embassy in Washington, along with her son and daughter, while demonstrating against South Africa's apartheid policy.
June 26: The Pirates suspend pitcher Rod Scurry for failing to follow a drug aftercare program that he began after entering treatment for cocaine abuse.
June 25: A massive explosion at a fireworks factory in Jennings, Okla., kills 21 people and injures five.
June 23: President Reagan cancels his vacation trip to California while 40 Americans remain hostages in Beirut after a jetliner was hijacked seven days prior.
June 23: The killer of black leader and activist Malcolm X, Muhammad Abdul Aziz, is released on parole from state prison and maintains his innocence.
June 23: An Air India flight is blown up by terrorists over the Atlantic Ocean, killing 329 people, including 268 Canadian citizens. It is the worst air disaster over a body of water in history and leads to the most expensive Canadian trial in history.
June 21: The Minnesota Twins fire manager Billy Gardner and name pitching coach Ray Miller his replacement. The Twins had lost 20 of their last 25 games.
June 21: The Minnesota Twins fire manager Billy Gardner and name pitching coach Ray Miller his replacement. The Twins had lost 20 of their last 25 games.
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| Associated Press |
June 18: Georgetown star Patrick Ewing is selected first by the New York Knicks in the NBA draft. The Pacers pick Wayman Tisdale second.
June 15: The Toronto Maple Leafs choose defenseman Wendel Clark of the Saskatoon Blades with the first pick of the NHL draft.
June 15: The Toronto Maple Leafs choose defenseman Wendel Clark of the Saskatoon Blades with the first pick of the NHL draft.
June 15: The Los Angeles Clippers file suit against the Milwaukee Bucks in an effort to nullify a trade for Marques Johnson. The Clippers allege that they would not have traded for Johnson if the Bucks had revealed his history of drug abuse.
June 14: TWA Flight 847 is hijacked after taking off from Cairo by members of Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, beginning a three-day ordeal in which U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem is killed and his body thrown on the tarmac. This incident produced the iconic image of the gun to the head of pilot John Testrake. And flight attendant Uli Derickson was credited with communicating with the kidnappers and protecting the passengers and crew. The movie Delta Force was inspired by this ordeal.
June 13: Earl Weaver makes a return as manager of the Orioles, replacing Joe Altobelli. Weaver had turned down several offers to return since his retirement in 1982, but agrees to handle the team through the rest of the season.
June 11: Hijackers of a Jordanian airliner release 57 passengers and 9 crew members and flee the plane before blowing it up in Beirut.
June 11: Karen Ann Quinlan, who had survived in a vegetative state for nine years after being removed from a ventilator after collapsing at age 21 in 1976, dies. Quinlan's circumstances were landmark in the right-to-die controversy.
June 10: Bob Prince, popular broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 28 years, dies at age 68.
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Associated Press
Claus von Bulow walks with defense attorney Alan Dershowitz |
June 10: British socialite Claus von Bulow is acquitted by a second jury on charges that he tried to murder his wife, Sunny.
June 9: American University dean of agriculture Thomas Sutherland is kidnapped in Beirut. He would not be released until 1991.
June 6: Brazilian police exhume the body of a man believed to be Auschwitz death camp doctor Josef Mengele. Authorities had long searched for the Nazi war criminal fugitive.
June 4: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a formal "moment of silence" may not be set aside in public school classrooms for the purpose of allowing students to pray.
June 3: One of Major League Baseball's most notable amateur drafts takes place with the Brewers' selecting B.J. Surhoff No. 1. Other players going in the top 10 were Will Clark (Giants, #2), Bobby Witt (Rangers, #3), Barry Larkin (Reds, #4), Barry Bonds (Pirates, #6) and Pete Incaviglia (Expos, #8). Rafael Palmeiro was drafted 23rd.
June 2: The Boston Celtics' Larry Bird is named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the second straight season.
May 31: Forty-one tornadoes tear through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, Canada, leaving 88 people dead. It's the deadliest tornado outbreak in Pennsylvania history.
May 30: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration decides to ban methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), better known as the drug Ecstasy.
May 30: Seven people are indicted as the result of a federal investigation of possible drug sales to major league baseball players. The 14-month grand jury probe included testimony from players like Dave Parker, Keith Hernandez, Tim Raines, Lonnie Smith and Dale Berra.
May 29: Thirty-nine people are killed and hundreds injured in rioting between fans of British and Italian teams in the European Cup soccer final at Brussels.
May 27: Gunmen kidnap David Jacobsen, the American director of American University Hospital, as he walked to work in Beirut. He is the sixth American to be kidnapped in the city since March of 1984.
May 27: The Chicago Bulls fire head coach Kevin Loughery after two seasons with the team. He posted a 65-99 mark.
May 25: A tropical cyclone hits Bangledesh, killing approximately 10,000 people.
May 23: The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association authorizes permission to strike based on stalled negotiations with the owners.
May 23: Thomas Cavanaugh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
May 17: The Cardinals trade Lonnie Smith to the Royals for minor league outfielder John Morris. This will be a little more interesting come World Series time.
May 16: More than 5,200 pilots go on strike against United Airlines, the largest airline in the nation.
May 16: The USFL sues ABC for $7 million for breach of contract. ABC refused rights payments based on the USFL leaving cities cited in their contract, including Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia.
May 15: The Bulls' Michael Jordan is named the NBA's Rookie of the Year. Jordan beats Houston's Akeem Olajuwon in the voting, 57 1/2 to 20 1/2.
May 15: An explosive device, sent by the Unabomber, injures John Hauser, University of California, Berkeley.
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| Associated Press |
May 13: Police storm the headquarters of MOVE in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing 11 people, including 5 children, and destroying 250 homes after a bomb dropped from a helicopter explodes, igniting a fire that demolishes a city block.
May 13: NHL player Craig MacTavish is released from jail after a one-year sentence after killing a woman in a drunk-driving accident. MacTavish signed with the Edmonton Oilers while in prison and joins the team for the 1985-86 season.
May 12: The Mets' Darryl Strawberry is sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament suffered while making a diving catch against the Phillies.
May 11: Fifty-six people die and at least 265 were injured when a fire breaks out in Bradford City stadium at an English soccer match between Bradford City and Lincoln City.
May 8: President Reagan returns to the United States from his controversial 10-day tour of Europe. Reagan experienced heckling and walk-outs on the trip, but was able to get his deficit-cutting budget bill passed upon his return.
May 8: Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth's new drug testing program that requires all baseball personnel, except for players, to submit to random testing is criticized by the ACLU as an invasion of privacy.
May 7: The owner of Spend A Buck, the Kentucky Derby winner, announced that the horse will not race in The Preakness, ending its chances of winning the Triple Crown.
May 6: The space shuttle Challenger touches down safely at Edwards Air Force base after a seven-day mission through space.
May 6: In a parade termed "ten years too late," tens of thousands of Vietnam War veterans march in a "welcome home" event that is the biggest parade in New York City history.
May 5: President Reagan joins German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for a controversial funeral service at a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany that includes graves of elite S.S. troops from World War II. The news and controversy over Reagan's trip swirled for weeks prior to the service.
May 7: The owner of Spend A Buck, the Kentucky Derby winner, announced that the horse will not race in The Preakness, ending its chances of winning the Triple Crown.
May 6: The space shuttle Challenger touches down safely at Edwards Air Force base after a seven-day mission through space.
May 6: In a parade termed "ten years too late," tens of thousands of Vietnam War veterans march in a "welcome home" event that is the biggest parade in New York City history.
May 5: President Reagan joins German Chancellor Helmut Kohl for a controversial funeral service at a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany that includes graves of elite S.S. troops from World War II. The news and controversy over Reagan's trip swirled for weeks prior to the service.
May 4: The Padres announce that outfielder Alan Wiggins, who checked into a drug treatment center, would not play for them for the rest of the season. But Wiggins' lawyers dispute that.
May 2: Former Yankees first baseman Joe Pepitone is indicted on drug and weapon possession charges.
May 1: Longtime CBS broadcaster Frank Glieber dies from a heart attack while jogging. Glieber broadcast NFL games for CBS for years, teaming with announcers like John Madden, Dick Vermeil and Hank Stram.
April 30: The Buffalo Bills trade quarterback Joe Ferguson to the Detroit Lions. Ferguson started for the Bills for most of the 12 years he was with the team.
April 30: President Reagan decides to enact a trade embargo on Nicaragua and suspend a U.S.-Nicaragua friendship treaty in response to what he calls the Sandinista regime's "aggressive actions in Central America."
April 29: The space shuttle Challenger blasts off into orbit with seven astronauts and assorted monkeys and rats. The shuttle encounters problems immediately as one of its satellites fails to release.
April 28: Four masked gunmen steal nearly $50 million from a Wells Fargo vault in a garage in Manhattan. It's called the largest robbery in history.
April 30: President Reagan decides to enact a trade embargo on Nicaragua and suspend a U.S.-Nicaragua friendship treaty in response to what he calls the Sandinista regime's "aggressive actions in Central America."
April 29: The space shuttle Challenger blasts off into orbit with seven astronauts and assorted monkeys and rats. The shuttle encounters problems immediately as one of its satellites fails to release.
April 28: Four masked gunmen steal nearly $50 million from a Wells Fargo vault in a garage in Manhattan. It's called the largest robbery in history.
April 28: The Yankees fire manager Yogi Berra and replace him with -- Billy Martin. It's the fourth time that Martin is hired as Yankees manager. It's the 12th time owner George Steinbrenner has made a manager change, which was decided after the Yankees fell to 6-10 and in last place in the A.L. East.
April 27: The Padres' Alan Wiggins checks into a drug rehabilitation center after hiding out with relatives for two days. Speculation is that he had a drug relapse after signing a four-year contract in the offseason.
April 26: The Washington Redskins acquire George Rogers, the 1980 Heisman Trophy winner, from the New Orleans Saints in a trade for a No.1 draft choice. Rogers is the Saints' all-time leading rusher after four seasons with New Orleans.
April 24: Former Detroit Tigers pitcher and 30-game winner Denny McLain is sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for loan-sharking, extortion, bookmaking and cocaine possession.
April 24: Anti-apartheid rallies on dozens of college campuses lead to more than 300 arrests and students boycott classes and march in demonstration of U.S. support of policies in South Africa.
April 21: The leader of paramilitary survivalist group, The Covenant, The Sword and The Arm of the Lord is arrested on weapons charges after a four-day siege by federal officials on the group's compound in Arkansas.
April 21: Brazil's president Tancredo Neves dies after only a month in office.
April 18: Tulane votes unanimously to abolish it's 72-year-old men's basketball program in the wake of a points-shaving and drug scandal.
April 17: In a letter published in Beirut's English language newspaper, Rev. Jesse Jackson appeals for the release of five Americans held captive in Lebanon. The five had been kidnapped on different dates in 1984 and 1985.
April 16: John Demjanjuk, a former Nazi known as "Ivan the Terrible" to concentration camp inmates, is ordered deported from the United States and to stand trial in Israel for the murder of thousands of Jews.
April 15: South Africa ends its ban on interracial marriages.
April 11: Detroit Lions return specialist Robbie Martin is arrested after allegedly attacking the home of his estranged wife and the Corvette of her male companion with a machette.
April 9: Four "living unicorns," as proclaimed by Ringley Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus, are determined to be goats by a federal veterinarian. The animals had caused protests by members of the humane society when the circus arrived in New York City.
April 8: India files suit against Union Carbide for the Bhopal gas disaster, which killed an estimated 2,000 people.
April 7: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.
April 5: Major League Baseball pitcher Vida Blue is reinstated by commissioner Peter Ueberroth. Blue had been suspended for the 1984 baseball season because of his drug possession conviction in 1983.
April 3: Tulane University accepts the resignation basketball coach Ned Fowler and two assistants and announces it is dropping men's basketball immediately in the wake of a game-fixing scandal.
April 2: The NCAA adopts the 45-second shot clock, an apparent partial reaction to the delay defenses employed by NCAA champion Villanova during its surprising run to the title this season.
April 1: Eddie Sutton is named coach of the University of Kentucky basketball program, succeeding Joe B. Hall.
March 29: Jeanne Deckers, known as "The Singing Nun," who had a No. 1 hit with "Dominique" in 1963, commits suicide through overdose at age 51.
March 27: A second grand jury indicts Bernhard Goetz on four attempted murder counts.
March 26: A game-fixing scandal hits Tulane University as star basketball player John "Hot Rod" Williams is arrested along with another student on charges of fixing at least two Tulane basketball games.
March 26: Bernhard Goetz refuses to testify before a grand jury investigating his shooting of four youths in a subway car in December.
March 24: A judge upholds the constitutionality of state and city anti-noise laws that prohibit the installation of lights at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
March 20: Libby Riddles is the first woman to win the Iditarod sled dog race.
March 17: Baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays are reinstated by commissioner Peter Ueberroth and allowed to take up employment in major league baseball. They had been banned before after taking public relations jobs with casinos.
March 16: Associated Press reporter Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is released more than six years later.
March 15: The first internet domain name (symbolics.com) is registered.
March 14: University of Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar announces he will end his collegiate career early to enter the NFL draft.
March 13: Frederick Koch, of Vermont, reaches an agreement with Coca-Cola Co. that allows him to keep his new name "Coke Is It." He legally changed his name to Coke Is It because he said he was tired of people mispronouncing his last name. Coca-Cola had filed an appeal seeking to block his name change.
March 10: Soviet president Konstantin Chernenko, 73, dies after a 13-month tenure. Mikhail Gorbachev takes over.
March 8: Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb signs the longest contract in major league baseball, signing a $16 million deal for 11 years with the Blue Jays.
March 8: A car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon, kills more than 80 people and injures 200.
March 7: Richard Woodruff, the former president of Coca-Cola, and the man credited for building the company into one of the biggest businesses in the world, dies at age 95.
March 5: Former outfielder Enos Slaughter and shortstop Arky Vaughan are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
March 4: The roof to the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., collapses under the weight of a heavy overnight snowfall.
March 4: Approximately 700 Midwestern grain farmers march outside the Agriculture Department and The White House, demanding higher guaranteed prices for their product and controls on production.
March 3: An earthquake that measures 7.4 on the Richter scale strikes Chile, killing 135 and injuring at least 2,000.
February 23: Former Tampa Buccaneers head coach John McKay receives what is believed to be the largest fine ever levied on an NFL coach for damaging "the integrity of the league." McKay, during a game on Dec. 16, 1984 against the Jets, ordered his defense to allow the Jets to score, so Tampa Bay could get the ball back and running back James Wilder could try for the record of most total yardage in a single season. The Bucs, ahead 41-14 at the time, didn't make a move toward the Jets' Johnny Hector, as he scored untouched. But Wilder didn't end up getting the record as he didn't gain a yard on the next Tampa Bay offensive series. McKay's fine is between $5,000 and $10,000.
February 22: It is revealed that Nathan Pritikin, the nutritionist who became famous for the low-fat, low-cholesterol "Pritikin Diet," killed himself in an Albany, N.Y., hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for terminal leukemia.
February 20: Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, dies at age 80.
February 20: In a controversial decision, the Irish government allows the sale of contraceptives in the country.
February 20: Former football great Jim Brown is arrested along with a woman on suspicion of rape and sexual battery.
February 19: Padres shortstop Garry Templeton signs a three-year contract extension.
February 19: An Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
February 19: William Schroeder becomes the first artificial heart recipient to leave the hospital.
February 17: The third heart implant in history is a success as Murray Haydon, 58, receives an artificial heart from Dr. William DeVries and his surgical team.
February 17: A first-class postage stamp rises from 20 cents to 22 cents.
February 16: The world chess match championship is halted after a record 48 games to the protests of both participants. The International Chess Federation halted the match, saying that champion Anatoly Karpov was ill and the championship had gone on too long. But Karpov said he was cheated out of a win and challenger Gary Kasparov claimed he was pressured to accept the decision.
February 14: Oakland A's pitcher Mike Norris is booked on possession of cocaine charges.
February 14: CNN reporter Jerry Levin is freed from captivity in Lebanon.
February 13: The Boston Bruins fire coach Gerry Cheevers. Cheevers, who coached the team since the 1980-81 season, is replaced by general manager Harry Sinden.
February 12: Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Van Lingle Mungo, immortalized in a song by David Frishberg with Mungo's name as the title, dies at age 73.
February 6: President Reagan gives the State of the Union address, which begins his second term. He discusses taxes, reducing the federal deficit and the Strategic Defense Initiative, often criticized by its nickname "Star Wars"
February 2: A bomb explodes in a crowded bar in a seaside suburb of Athens near the U.S. military base at the Athens airport, injuring 50 people, including 34 Americans.
February 1: Outfielder Jack Clark is traded from the Giants to the Cardinals in exchange for David Green, Jose Uribe and Dave LaPoint.
February 1: A Greek Orthodox nun is arrested for smuggling 6,000 bees and a hive into Kenya by hiding them in her habit as she passed through airport customs.
January 31: The temperature drops to 61 below zero in Maybell, Colorado, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the state at that point.
January 27: The offensively inept Indianapolis Colts name Rod Dowhower head coach. He replaces Frank Kush, who resigned to coach the Arizona Outlaws of the USFL.
January 25: Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Doug Flutie announces that he will not sign with an NFL team and instead sign with the USFL's New Jersey Generals. He's the third straight Heisman winner to sign with a USFL team.
January 24: The 15th space shuttle mission, Discovery-3, is launched.
January 24: A grand jury votes to indict Bernhard Goetz on three counts of criminal possession of weapon in the shootings of four young men on a subway train after they asked him for $5. The grand jury could have also indicted him on murder charges.
January 24: It's announced that Texas Rangers pitcher Dave Stewart, who would go on to great success with the A's and Blue Jays, was arrested under suspicion of participating in a lewd act in a public place with transvestite prostitute. The two were arrested in the pitcher's car in an alley. A police commander said Stewart was "unaware (the prostitute) was a male until after the arrest."
January 23: Leeman Bennett is named the second head coach in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history. The Bucs would go 4-28 in his two years as coach.
January 21: The peak of the "1985 Arctic Outbreak" occurs on this date. Cities throughout the U.S. witness record low temperatures as polar air pushes further south and east than usual. The coldest temperature on this date is minus 24 degrees in Akron, Ohio, an usual place for a record low. President Reagan's inauguration to a second term is moved inside for only the second time in history, because of cold temperatures and wind.
January 21: The New York Rangers fire Miracle on Ice coach Herb Brooks as their head coach. Brooks compiled a 131-113-41 record with the Rangers since being hired in 1981.
January 20: Ronald Reagan is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. It is a private ceremony because Super Bowl XIX is scheduled for the same day. Reagan is sworn in publicly the next day.
January 18: A four-team deal between the Brewers, Royals, Rangers and Mets is announced. The Rangers send pitcher Danny Darwin and a player to be named later to the Brewers. The Mets send pitcher Tim Leary to the Brewers. The Royals send catcher Don Slaught to the Rangers and pitcher Frank Wills to the Mets. The Brewers send catcher Jim Sundberg to the Royals. It is the last part of that trade that will later have an impact on the 1985 postseason.
January 13: A passenger train falls into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
January 13: Hurdler Edwin Moses, recently named Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year along with Mary Lou Retton for his gold medal winning performance, is arrested on charges of soliciting a Hollywood vice officer posing as a prostitute. Moses is later acquitted by a jury.
January 10: Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba, as the U.S. continues to support the Contras revolutionary group.
January 7: Lou Brock and Hoyt Wilhelm are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Wilhelm, who appeared in a then-record 1,070 games, received 83.8 percent of the vote in his eighth year on the ballot. Brock, who retired as the all-time career stolen base leader, received 79.7 percent in his first year on the ballot.
January 4: It is revealed that Israel has airlifted thousands of Jewish Ethiopian refugees out of the Sudan. Termed "Operation Moses," it is suspended when news of it was made public.
January 3: Former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry assumes office as state senator for Massachusetts for the first time.
January 2: Brigham Young University's football team is declared No. 1 in both the AP and UPI polls, making the Cougars college football champions, a controversial choice to those who argued that BYU had not played a legitimately challenging schedule.
January 1: Demolition begins on Metropolitan Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings through the 1960s and 1970s.
January 1: The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
