Headlines
(October 20th)
1980 - U2 Released Their Debut Album (Boy)
Billboard Charts: 63
Featuring “I’ll Follow You"
Next of Kin
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#1 Songs in America
(October 20th)
1980 - "Another One Bites the Dust"
Queen
10/4 - 10/24
1981 - "Arthur's Theme"
Christopher Cross
10/17 - 11/6
1982 - "Jack & Diane
John Cougar Mellencamp
10/2 - 10/29
1983 - "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
Bonnie Tyler
10/1 - 10/28
1984 - "I Just Called to Say I Love You"
Stevie Wonder
10/13 - 11/2
1985 - "Take on Me"
a-ha
10/19 - 10/25
1986 - "When I Think of You"
Janet Jackson
10/11 - 10/24
1987 - "Lost in Emotion"
Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam
10/17 - 10/23
1988 - "Red Red Wine"
UB40
10/15 - 10/21
1989 - "Miss You Much"
Janet Jackson
10/7 - 11/3
Click Here For More 80s Music Fun Facts and Awards
Happy 80s Birthdays
1945 - George Wyner (Actor) Spaceballs
Birthplace: Boston, MA
1950 - William Russ (Actor) The Right Stuff
Birthplace: Portsmouth, VA
1951 - Al Greenwood (Keyboardist) Foreigner
Birthplace: New York City
1952 - Melanie Mayron (Actress) thirtysomething
Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA
1953 - Keith Hernandez (Baseball)
Birthplace: San Francisco, CA
1958 - Scott Hall (Wrestler)
Birthplace: Saint Mary’s County, MD
1958 - Dave Krieg (Football)
Birthplace: Lola, WI
1958 - Mark King (English Singer) Level 42
Birthplace: Cowes, Isle of Wight, England
1958 - Viggo Mortenson (Actor) Witness
Birthplace: Watertown, NY
1965 - William Zabka (Actor) The Karate Kid “Johnny”
Birthplace: New York City
Fun Fact!
Keith Hernandez (Cardinals) Won the 1979 NL MVP
All Star: 5
Gold Glove: 11
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1974 - 1983)
New York Mets (1983 - 1989)
Cleveland Indians (1990)
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Other Notable Birthdays
Tom Petty (Singer)
October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017
Birthplace: Gainesville, FL
Passed Away at Age 66 From Cardiac Arrest
Sold Over 80 Million Records Worldwide
Richard McWilliam (American Businessman)
October 20, 1953 - January 5, 2013
Birthplace: El Monte, CA
Passed Away at Age 59 (Unknown Cause)
Co-Founded Upper Deck Trading Cards in 1988
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Passed Away
(On This Day)
Burt Lancaster (Actor and Producer)
November 2, 1913 - October 20, 1994
Birthplace: New York City
Passed Away at Age 80 From a Heart Attack
Won an Academy Award For Best Actor For the 1960 Film, Elmer Gantry
* 4x Nominee
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80s Movies
(Released On This Day)
1987 - The Hidden
Director: Jack Sholder
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri
Budget: N/A
Box Office: $9.7 Million
1989 - Fat Man and Little Boy
Director: Roland Joffé
Starring: Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack, Laura Dern, John C. McGinley, Natasha Richardson and Fred Thompson
Budget: $30 Million
Box Office: $3.5 Million
1989 - Gross Anatomy
Director: Thom Eberhardt
Starring: Matthew Modine, Daphne Zuniga, Christine Lahti, Todd Field, Robert Desiderio and Zakes Mokae
Budget: $8.5 Million
Box Office: $11.6 Million
1989 - Next of Kin
Director: John Irvin
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Ben Stiller, Andreas Katsulas, Michael J. Pollard and Ted Levine
Budget: $12 Million
Box Office: $15.9 Million
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80s Television
(On This Day)
1984 - Jesse Jackson Hosted Saturday Night Live
Musical Guest: Andrae Crouch and Wintley Phipps
1985 - Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes (Talk Show) Premiered on MTV
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 5
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80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)
1980 - Boy
U2 (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #63
1980 - The Wanderer
Donna Summer (8th Album)
Billboard Charts: #13
1983 - Deliver
Oak Ridge Boys (9th Album)
Billboard Charts: #121
* Hit #1 in Country
1984 - Heavy Metal Breakdown
Grave Digger (Debut Album)
1986 - Whiplash Smile
Billy Idol (3rd Album)
Billboard Charts: #6
1986 - Liverpool
Frankie Goes To Hollywood (2nd Album)
Billboard Charts: #88
* #5 in the UK
1986 - Whispering Jack
John Farnham (12th Album) Australia
* Hit #1 in Australia and Sweden
Won “Album of the Year” in Australia
1989 - Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails (Debut Album)
Billboard Charts: #75
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80s Sports
(On This Day)
1981 - The New York Yankees Beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5 - 3 at Yankee Stadium in Game 1 of the World Series
Attendance: 56,470
Home Runs: Bob Watson (Yankees) Steve Yeager (Dodgers)
Ron Guidry (Yankees) Pitches 7 Innings (1 ER)
Goose Gossage (Yankees) 2 Scoreless Innings in Relief
1982 - Billy Martin Was Fired by the Oakland A’s
1982 - 66 People Were Crushed at a soccer Game in Moscow
* Known as the Moscow Luzhniki Disaster
1982 - The St. Louis Cardinals Beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6 - 3 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis) in Game 7 of the World Series
Attendance: 53,723
Manager: Whitey Herzog
MVP: Darrell Porter (Cardinals)
1985 - The St. Louis Cardinals Beat the Kansas City Royals 4 - 2 at Royals Stadium to Take a 2 - 0 World Series Lead
2 - 0 Series Lead
Attendance: 41,656
Danny Cox (Cardinals) Pitched 7 Innings (2 ER)
Terry Pendleton (Cardinals) Went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s
1987 - The St. Louis Cardinals Beat the Minnesota Twins 3 - 1 at Busch Stadium (St. Louis) to Cut the World Series 2 - 1
Attendance: 55,347
John Tudor (Cardinals) 7 Innings (1 ER)
Todd Worrell 2 Scoreless Innings in Relief
1988 - The Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Oakland A’s 5 - 2 at the Oakland Coliseum to Clinch the World Series 4 Games to 1
Attendance: 49,317
Manager: Tommy Lasorda
MVP: Orel Hershiser
Hershiser Pitcher 2 Complete Games in the Series (2 ER)
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Other Notable Dates
(On October 20th)
1951 - The Johnny Bright Incident Took Place in Oklahoma
* A Violent On-Field Assault Against African-American Player Johnny Bright (Drake University) by a White Opposing Player from Oklahoma A&M During a College Football Game
Did You Know?
It Was an Open Secret that Oklahoma A&M Players Were Targeting Bright
Was Knocked Out 3 Times Unconscious Within the First 7 Minutes
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<- October 19th October 21st ->
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1982 - The St. Louis Cardinals Beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6 - 3 in Game 7 of the World Series
MVP: Darrell Porter (Cardinals)
Manager: Whitey Herzog
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On October 20, 1988 Next of Kin Starring Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Ben Stiller Premiered in Theaters
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1988 - The Los Angeles Dodgers Beat the Oakland A's 4 Games to 1 to Win the World Series
MVP: Orel Hershiser
Manager: Tommy Lasorda
Considered One of the Biggest Upsets in World Series History
Fun Fact!
The Los Angeles Dodgers Are the Only Team to Win 2 World Series in the 80s
October 20th in 80s History
1981 - Two Police Officers and an Armored Car Guard Were Killed by Members of the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground Group During an Armed Robbery
The Dodgers Won the World Series