Events Date 1985 December | History by KabAstro

Anne of Green Gables

Dec 1 TV mini series "Anne of Green Gables" based on the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery, starring Megan Follows is first shown on CBS in Canada

Dec 2 Chicago Bears' head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan almost come to blows at halftime in a 38-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl, Miami; Chicago's only loss of the NFL season

Marino vs. Elway

Dec 2 NFL quarterback legends Dan Marino and John Elway (Denver Broncos) face each other for the first time, a 30-26 win for Marino's Miami Dolphins (390 yards and 3 TDs)

Dec 2 Philipine Chief of Staff General Fabian speaks of Benigno Aquino's murder

Music Premiere

Dec 2 Rupert Holmes' musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", based on an unfinished work of Charles Dickens, opens at the Imperial Theater, NYC; runs for 608 performances, winning 5 Tony Awards

Dec 3 23rd Shuttle Mission (61-B)-Atlantis 2-lands at Edwards AFB

Faerie Tale Theatre

Dec 3 7th ACE Cable Awards: Shelley Duvall wins the Golden CableACE for "Faerie Tale Theatre"

Mitterrand Receives Jaruzelski

Dec 4 French President François Mitterrand receives Polish leader Wojciech Jaruzelski

21st President of France François Mitterrand

General and 1st President of Poland Wojciech Jaruzelski

John Poindexter

Dec 4 President Reagan appoints Vice Admiral John Poindexter as security adviser

Živojinović Upsets McEnroe

Dec 4 Slobodan Živojinović of Yugoslavia upsets No. 2 seed John McEnroe 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open quarter finals; leaves McEnroe without a major singles title for the first time since 1978

Dec 5 Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 level for 1st time
Dec 5 Great Britain performs nuclear test
Dec 5 Sam Shepard's "Lie of the Mind" premieres in NYC

Trophy to Bo Jackson

Dec 7 51st Heisman Trophy Award: Bo Jackson, Auburn (RB)

NFL Running Back and Baseball Outfielder Bo Jackson

Dec 7 Atlantis (61-B) returns to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
Dec 7 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for her 3rd and final Australian singles crown

Edberg Wins First Grand Slam

Dec 8 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg wins 1st career Grand Slam singles title; beats defending champion & fellow Swede Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion Mats Wilander

Dec 8 Ken O'Brien's 96 yard TD pass (NY Jet record) to Wesley Walker
Dec 8 NBC premiere of thriller "Final Jeopardy", starring Richard Thomas and Mary Crosby

Junta Leaders' Life Sentences

Dec 9 Argentinian Junta leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Emilio Eduardo Massera sentenced to life imprisonment for human rights violations in Buenos Aires

Dictator and President of Argentina Jorge Rafael Videla

Dec 9 Phoenix, Arizona, gets 3" of snow

Jerry Rice's Streak

Dec 9 SF 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice begins NFL streak of 274 consecutive games with a reception in a 27-20 loss to LA Rams at Candlestick Park

Out of Africa

Dec 10 "Out of Africa", based on the book by Isak Dinesen, directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 1986)

Film Director, Producer and Actor Sydney Pollack

Dec 10 Bill to balance the federal budget passed by US Congress
Dec 11 Computer store owner in Sacramento California killed by package bomb
Dec 11 Dow Jones closes above 1,500 for 1st time (1,511.70)
Dec 11 General Electric acquires RCA Corp & its subsidiary, NBC
Dec 11 NHL Record 62 points scored, Edmonton (36) beats Chicago (26) 12-9 & ties record of 21 goals
Dec 12 248 US soldiers & 8 crew members die in Arrow Air charter crash
Dec 12 DC-8 crashes near Gander, Newfoundland; 258 die
Dec 12 NASA launches space vehicle S-207

Boons' 1st Test Century

Dec 13 Australian cricketer David Boon's 1st Test century, 123 v India at Adelaide

Dec 13 Test debut of cricketers Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid (v India)

Shultz Visits West Berlin

Dec 14 US Secretary of State George P. Shultz arrives in West Berlin

Dec 16 Challenger moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 51-L mission

The Color Purple

Dec 16 Film "The Color Purple" based on novel by Alice Walker, directed by Steven Spielberg starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover premieres in New York

Gotti Heads Gambino Family

Dec 16 John Gotti assumes leadership of New York's Gambino crime family after ordering the executions of Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti

Dec 18 Jerry Herman's musical revue "Jerry's Girls" opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 139 performances
Dec 18 UN Security Council unanimously condemns "acts of hostage-taking"
Dec 19 "Wind in the Willows" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 4 performances
Dec 19 Mary Lund is 1st woman to receive a Jarvik VII artificial heart at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis
Dec 19 STS 61-C scrubbed at T -13s because of SRB auxiliary power problem

Potvin Passes Orr

Dec 20 Denis Potvin passes Bobby Orr as NHL defenseman scorer (916 points)

Dec 20 Position of American Poet Laureate established (Robert Warren is 1st)
Dec 20 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC
Dec 21 ARCO Anchorage runs aground near Port Angeles, WA
Dec 21 Heart's "Heart" album goes #1
Dec 22 "Wind in the Willows" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 4 performances
Dec 22 74th Davis Cup: Sweden beats Germany in Munich (3-2)
Dec 22 STS 51-L vehicle moves to Launch Pad 39B

Ballon d'Or

Dec 24 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Michel Platini is named Europe's best football player for the 3rd consecutive time; beats Verona striker Preben Elkjær and Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster