Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Historical Events in September 1985

Sports History

Sep 1 Bill Elliott claims a $1 million bonus for winning 3 of the 4 crown jewel races on the NASCAR schedule: the Daytona 500, Winston 500 and Southern 500

  • Sep 1 Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk becomes the oldest road race elite world champion at 38 years, 8 months, 29 days; beats Greg Lamonde & Marino Argentin in Giavera del Montello
  • Sep 1 US-French expedition locates wreckage of Titanic off Newfoundland

Telethon

Sep 2 Jerry Lewis' 20th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $33,100,000

  • Sep 3 20th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-I): Discovery 6 returns to Earth
  • Sep 3 England cricket swing bowler Richard Ellison with 5 for 76 helps dismiss Australia for 129 in 6th Test win at the Oval; England regains Ashes 3-1

Baseball Record

Sep 3 NY Mets catcher Gary Carter smashes 3 consecutive HRs in an 8-3 win v San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium

  • Sep 4 NY Mets catcher Gary Carter's 2 HRs in a 9-2 win in San Diego ties MLB record of 5 HRs in 2 games
  • Sep 4 Russian Igor Paklin sets new high jump world record at 2.41m in Kobe, Japan

Sports History

Sep 6 Mark Messier loses control of his Porsche and totals three cars, and would later be charged with hit and run and careless driving (he would pay a fine)

  • Sep 6 Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9 crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31.
  • Sep 7 Mary Decker Tabb Slaney runs US 3K female record (8:25.83)
  • Sep 8 "USA Weekend's" 1st issue, appears in 255 newspapers
  • Sep 8 7 die in a car & train crash in San Jose, California
  • Sep 8 Alayson Gibbons sets 24 hr women swim record of 42.05 mi in 25 m pool
  • Sep 8 Shuttle Discovery flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB

US Men's Tennis Open

Sep 8 US Open Men's Tennis: Czech star Ivan Lendl wins his first US title; beats NYC home town favourite John McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4

Event of Interest

Sep 9 President Reagan orders sanctions against South Africa

  • Sep 9 Race riot in Birmingham, England
  • Sep 10 U.S. 7th Circuit Court rules Soviet defector Walter Polovchak can't be forcibly returned to parents' country if it's deemed "not in the best interests" of underage defectors
  • Sep 11 Intl Cometary Explorer (ISEE 3) passes Giacobini-Zinner by 7900 km
  • Sep 11 Pete Rose of Cincinnati Reds gets career hit 4,192 off Eric Show of San Diego Padres, eclipsing Ty Cobb's record
  • Sep 11 Sri Lanka score their 1st Test Cricket victory, by 149 runs v India
  • Sep 12 Flight readiness firing of Atlantis' main engines; 20 seconds
  • Sep 13 John Williams introduces new Today Show theme

Film & TV History

Sep 13 Super Mario Bros game first appears, created by Shigeru Miyamoto at Nintendo

  • Sep 14 10th Toronto International Film Festival: "The Official Story" directed by Luis Puenzo wins the People's Choice Award
  • Sep 14 Susan Akin (Miss), 21, crowned 59th Miss America 1986
  • Sep 15 MLB New York Yankees trade 25-year-old pitching prospect Jim Deshaies to Houston Astros for 40-year-old pitcher Joe Niekro

Event of Interest

Sep 15 Olof Palme forms Sweden minority government

  • Sep 15 Ryder Cup Golf, The Belfry: Europe beats US, 16½-11½; first US loss since 1957; Sam Torrance clinches for Europe beating Andy North, 1 up
  • Sep 17 Soyuz T-14 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station

Music History

Sep 18 Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Song and Dance", starring Bernadette Peters, opens at Royale Theater, NYC; runs for 474 performances and a Tony Award for Peters

  • Sep 18 BBC Radio reports prime # 2^216091-1 found in Houston
  • Sep 18 TV spy/crime drama "The Equalizer" starring Edward Woodward debuts in the US on CBS
  • Sep 19 8.1 earthquake in Mexico City kills an estimated 10,000 and leaves 250,000 homeless
  • Sep 20 Curtis Strong is convicted for selling cocaine to pro baseball players
  • Sep 20 Walt Disney World's 200-millionth guest

Event of Interest

Sep 21 American CIA case officer Edward Lee Howard flees to Russia after being identified as a KGB agent

Boxing Title Fight

Sep 21 Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 to become Heavyweight Boxing Champion

  • Sep 22 37th Emmy Awards: "Cagney & Lacey", "The Cosby Show" and Tyne Daly win

Sports History

Sep 22 Billy Martin's right arm is broken by pitcher Ed Whitson

Farm Aid Concert

Sep 22 First Farm Aid benefit concert, Champaign, Illinois; organized by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp; performers included Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, B.B. King, Hoyt Axton, Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, and Emmylou Harris [1]

The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

Sep 22 French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius appears on TV to confess "Agents of the DGSE sank this boat [Rainbow Warrior]. They acted on orders.”

  • Sep 22 St Louis Cardinals set an unusual streak record by winning 9 of 10 games, each pitched by a different man
  • Sep 22 The Plaza Accord was signed in New York City.
  • Sep 24 Apollo Computer Inc lays off 300 employees
  • Sep 24 Fastest English Channel crossing by a relay team set (15h 30m)

Baseball Record

Sep 24 Montreal Expo Andre Dawson is 9th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (5th), and joins Willey McCovey to hit 2 HRs in an inn twice

  • Sep 25 Akali Dal wins Punjab State election in India
  • Sep 25 Palestinian terrorists kill 3 Israeli sailors at Lanaca Cyprus

Baseball Record

Sep 25 Rickey Henderson steals Yankee record 75th base of season

  • Sep 26 Tunisia drops diplomatic relations with Libya
  • Sep 27 8 killed as roof collapses in Brussel's supermarket
  • Sep 27 Hurricane Gloria's 130 MPH wind hits Atlantic coast

Music History

Sep 28 "Don't Lose My Number" by Phil Collins peaks at #4

  • Sep 28 "Every Step Of The Way" single by John Waite peaks at #25
  • Sep 28 "Freedom" by Wham! peaks at #3
  • Sep 28 "Janet" by Commodores peaks at #87
  • Sep 28 NASA launches Intelsat VA F-12
  • Sep 28 Riots in Brixton, London, rompted by police shooting of Dorothy Groce by police
  • Sep 29 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," returns to NBC-TV

Amazing Stories

Sep 29 "Amazing Stories" by Steven Spielberg, debuts on NBC-TV

  • Sep 29 "MacGyver" starring Richard Dean Anderson, debuts on ABC-TV
  • Sep 29 1st of 5 cyanide-laced Tylenol victims dies
  • Sep 29 Deron Cherry, Kansas City vs Seattle, has 4 interceptions!
  • Sep 29 Houston QB Warren Moon sacked NFL tying record 12 times (by Cowboys)

Howard Stern Fired

Sep 30 Howard Stern gets fired from New York City radio station WNBC-AM

Album Release

Sep 30 Island Records releases "Rain Dogs", the ninth studio album by singer-songwriter Tom Waits; the album features guitarist Marc Ribot, guest appearances from Keith Richards, and one of Waits' most covered songs, "Downtown Train"