August 3rd in 80s History
1987 - Pitcher, Joe Niekro Got Ejected From a Major League Baseball Game For Using an Emery Board to Enhance His Knuckleball
1984 - Mary Lou Retton Scored a Perfect 10 on the Vault At the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles to Became the First American Woman to Win an Olympic Gold in the Women’s All Around Competition
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Mary Lou Retton Won Olympic Gold
Happy 80s Birthdays
1925 - Marv Levy (Football)
1937 - Steven Berkoff (Actor) Beverly Hills Cop
1940 - Martin Sheen (Actor) Gandhi
1950 - John Landis (Director) Coming to America
1950 - Jo Marie Payton (Actress) Family Matters
1959 - Martin Atkins (Drummer) Public Image Ltd.
1959 - John C. Mcginley (Actor) Platoon
1961 - Molly Hagen (Actress) Some Kind of Wonderful
1961 - Lee Rocker (Bassist) The Stray Cats
1963 - James Hetfield (Singer) Metallica
1964 - Nate McMillan (Basketball)
1970 - Spinderella (DJ) Salt-n-Pepa
Fun Fact!
Martin Sheen Won an Emmy Award in 1994 For Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series For His Appearance on the TV Show, Murphy Brown
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Other Notable Birthdays
Todd Christenson (Football)
August 3, 1956 - November 13, 2013
Passed Away at Age 57 of Complications From Liver Transplant Surgery
3x All Pro Bowler (1983, 1985, 1986)
The All-Prowl Tight End Won 2 Super Bowls With the Oakland/Los Angeles Raider
Tony Bennett (Singer)
August 3, 1926 - July 21, 2023
Passed Away at Age 96 From Alzheimer's Disease
A 20x Grammy Award Winner
* Best Known For "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Bubba Smith (Football Player and Actor)
February 28, 1945 - August 3, 2011
Passed Away at Age 66 From Acute Drug Intoxication and Heart Disease
Played "Hightower" in Police Academy
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1984 - Joy of Sex
Director: Martha Coolidge
Starring: Colleen Camp, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Lloyd
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $4.4 Million
1984 - The Philadelphia Experiment
Director: Stuart Raffill
Starring: Michael Paré, Nancy Allen, Eric Christmas and Bobby Di Cicco
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $8.1 Million
1984 - Grandview, U.S.A
Director: Randal Kleiser
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Carole Cook, Ramon Bieri, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, M. Emmet Walsh, Michael Winslow, Troy Donahue and Steve Dahl
Budget: $5 Million
Box Office: $4.7 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1989 - Primetime Premiered on ABC
Seasons: 23
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1987 - Hysteria
Def Leppard (4th Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts
* Also #1 in the UK, Norway, Australia and New Zealand
Over 25 Million Copies Sold Worldwide
Fun Fact!
Def Leppard Was Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1980 - The Summer Olympics Closed in Moscow
* The US and 66 Other Countries Boycotted the Olympics Because of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union (80) and East Germany (47) Won 127 of the 203 Gold Medals
Soviet Union (URS)
Total: 195
Gold: 80
Silver: 69
Bronze: 46
East Germany (GDR)
Total: 126
Gold: 47
Silver: 37
Bronze: 42
Bulgaria (BUL)
Total 41
Gold: 8
Silver: 16
Bronze: 17
1980 - Al Kaline and Duke Snider Were Inducted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Chuck Klein and Tom Yawkey Were Voted in by The Veterans Committee
1982 - California Angels 3rd Baseman, Doug DeCinces Hit 3 Home Runs Against the Minnesota Twins
* The Twins Beat the Angels 5 - 4 at Anaheim Stadium on a Tuesday Night
Attendance: 26,184
DeCinces Hit 3 Home Runs Again 5 Days Later in Seattle
1982 - Pitching Coach, Clyde King Replaced Gene Michaels as the Yankees 3rd Manager of the Season
* Previous Coaches Were Bob Lemon (6 - 8) and Gene Michael (44 - 42)
1984 - Mary Lou Retton Became the First American Woman to Win Olympic Gold in the Women’s All Around Gymnastics Competition after Scoring a Perfect 10 on Vault
1986 - Willie McCovey Was Inducted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Bobby Doerr and Ernie Lombardi Were Voted in by The Veterans Committee
1986 - The First NFL Game Was Played in London
* The Chicago Bears Beat Dallas Cowboys 17 - 6 in a Pre-Season Game
1987 - Minnesota Twins Knuckleball Pitcher, Joe Niekro Was Ejected From the Game After a Nail File Was Found in His Pocket
1989 - Thoroughbred Jockey, Jorge Velasquez Won His 6,000th Career Race
1989 - The Cincinnati Reds Set a Major League Record With 16 Hits and 14 Runs in the 1st Inning Against the Houston Astros
* The Reds Had 26 Hits in a 18 - 2 Victory Over the Astros at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati on a Thursday Afternoon
Attendance: 20,179
Rolando Roomis, Tom Benzinger and Jeff Reed Had 4 Hits Each
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Other Notable Dates
(August 3rd)
1852 - The Very First Intercollegiate Athletic Event Took Place
* Harvard Won a Boat Race Against Yale
1900 - The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Was Founded in Akron, Ohio
1914 - Germany Declared War on France
* The Beginning of World War I
1921 - Major League Baseball Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis Banned the 8 Chicago Black Sox Players From Major League Baseball After Throwing the 1919 World Series
* Known as the Black Sox Scandal
1936 - Jesse Owens Won the 100M at the Summer Olympics in Berlin
1946 - The Very First Theme Park Opened in the United States
* Santa Claus Park in Santa Claus, Indiana
1949 - The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League Merged to Create the NBA
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#1 Songs in America
(August 3rd)
1980 - "Magic"
Olivia Newton-John
8/2 - 8/29
1981 - "Jessie's Girl"
Rick Springfield
8/1 - 8/14
1982 - "Eye of the Tiger"
Survivor
7/24 - 9/3
1983 - "Every Breath You Take"
The Police
7/9 - 9/2
1984 - "When Doves Cry"
Prince
7/7 - 8/10
1985 - "Shout"
Tears for Fears
8/3 - 8/23
1986 - "Glory of Love"
Peter Cetera
8/2 - 8/15
1987 - "Shakedown"
Bob Seger
8/1 - 8/7
1988 - "Roll With It"
Steve Winwood
7/30 - 8/26
1989 - "Toy Soldiers"
Maltika
7/22 - 8/4
Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards
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Headlines
(August 3rd)
1985 - “Shout” by Tears for Fears Became the #1 Song in America
* #1 Song in America from August 3 - 23
Also Hit #1 in Canada, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand
1987 - Def Leppard Released Their 4th Album, Hysteria
Hit #1 on the US Billboard Charts
* Also Hit #1 in the UK, Norway, Australia and New Zealand
Featuring “Pour Some Sugar On Me”