But October 10, 1982 was 35 years ago. How long has that been?
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Known as Harvey's Wallbangers, for manager Harvey Kuenn, a native of the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, they included 3 Hall-of-Famers: Shortstop Robin Yount, 3rd baseman Paul Molitor, and relief pitcher Rollie Fingers. Yount would be named that season's Most Valuable Player. Fingers had won it the year before. Fingers had also won the Cy Young Award in 1981, the Brewers' 1st trip to the Playoffs (in that season's strike-forced system), while Brewer starter Pete Vuckovich had won the 1982 Cy.
Within the film Mr. 3000, the Brewers' 1st baseman would have been Stan Ross, the character played by Bernie Mac. His fictional quest for 3,000 career hits would be matched in real life by Yount and Molitor.
The Boston Red Sox had not won the World Series in 64 years, the Chicago White Sox in 65, the Chicago Cubs in 74. The Giants had not won one since moving to San Francisco. The Twins had not won one since moving to Minnesota. The Kansas City Royals, and the team then known as the California Angels had never won one.
The White Sox had not even won a Pennant in 23 years, the Cleveland Indians 34, the Cubs 37. The Braves had not won a Pennant since moving to Atlanta. The Angels, the Houston Astros, the San Diego Padres, the Texas Rangers and the Toronto Blue Jays had never won one. The Padres, the Rangers, the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners had never even reached the postseason. The Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays did not yet exist. And the Washington Nationals were still the Montreal Expos.
All of those facts are no longer true.
Only 6 ballparks in use in 1982 were still in use in 2017: Fenway Park in Boston, Wrigley Field in Chicago (which still didn't have lights), Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim), the Oakland Coliseum, and Royals Stadium in Kansas City (now Kauffman Stadium). Of the 26 MLB teams then in existence, 17 were sharing their stadium with a professional football team (including both the Expos and the Blue Jays), and so was 1 Class AAA team (the Denver Bears). And 10 were playing home games on artificial turf.
There are 5 NFL teams using the same stadium they were using in 1982, the year of the 1st NFL strike, which was underway at the time: The Green Bay Packers, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, the New Orleans Saints, and, for at least this season and next, the Oakland Raiders. In the NBA, only the New York Knicks and (for 2 more seasons) the Golden State Warriors are using the same arena. In the NHL, only the New York Rangers still are.
Carl Hubbell, Hank Greenberg, Lefty Gomez and Joe Cronin were still alive. Of the defining players of my childhood, Willie Stargell had just retired, while Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Bench, Rod Carew, Tom Seaver, Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson and Steve Carlton were still active. Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Nolan Ryan and Carlton Fisk were still very much in their prime.
Mariano Rivera was 12 years old; Derek Jeter 8; Alex Rodriguez 7; David Ortiz 6; Jimmy Rollins 3; Albert Pujols and CC Sabathia 2; and David Wright, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, Yoenis Cespedes, Dallas Kuechel, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner, Mike Trout, Kris Bryant, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Gary Sanchez were not born yet.
Terry Collins, who just left the Mets' manager's job vacant, was managing in the Los Angeles Dodgers' minor-league system. Alain Vigneault of the Rangers was playing for the St. Louis Blues. Three of the current New York Tri-State Area managers and head coaches had just started college: Jeff Hornacek at the University of Iowa. Todd Bowles of the Jets at Temple University, and Joe Girardi of the Yankees at Northwestern University. Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was in high school. Doug Weight of the Islanders was 11 years old, John Hynes of the Devils was 7, and Ben McAdoo of the Giants was 5.
The Brewers were lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, in 7 games. The Cards would thus dethrone the Dodgers. The other defending World Champions were the San Francisco 49ers, the Los Angeles Lakers and, in the middle of their dynasty, the Islanders. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was Larry Holmes.
The Olympics have since been held in America 3 times, twice in Canada, and once each in Bosnia, Korea, France, Spain, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Britain, Russia and Brazil. The World Cup had just been won by Italy in Spain, and has since been held in America, Mexico, Italy, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.
There was 26 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The proposed Equal Rights Amendment had expired without being ratified a few weeks earlier. No current Justice of the Supreme Court was then on it. The idea that people of the same gender could marry each other would have been considered ludicrous.
The President of the United States was Ronald Reagan. George H.W. Bush was his Vice President. Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, their wives, and the widows of Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy were still alive. Bess Truman, widow of Harry, would die within days.
The Governor of the State in question, Wisconsin, was Lee Dreyfus. The Mayor was Henry W. Maier. The current Governor, Scott Walker, was in high school. The current Mayor, Tom Barrett, was a law clerk who had just made his 1st run for public office, for the State Assembly, but lost.
There were still survivors of the Spanish-American War, the Boer War, the Russo-Japanese War, the Potemkin Mutiny, and the crew of the RMS Titanic. Alva Myrdal, a member of the Swedish Parliament, and Alfonso Garcia Robles, Mexico's permanent representative to the United Nations' Committee on Disarmament, were about to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in bringing about disarmaments.
The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, then Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was rector of the Philosophical and Theological Faculty of San Miguel in his native Argentina. The Prime Minister of Canada was Pierre Trudeau, father of the current holder of the office, Justin Trudeau; and of Britain, Margaret Thatcher. The head of state for both nations was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed. There have since been 6 Presidents of the United States, 6 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.
As usual, Liverpool Football Club were not only defending Champions of England's Football League, but would successfully defend that title. Another English club, Birmingham-based Aston Villa, were the holders of the European Cup. Tottenham Hotspur of North London were the holders of the FA Cup; they have only won it once since.
Major novels of 1982 included The Color Purple by Alice Walker, Battlefield Earth by Scientology salesman L. Ron Hubbard, North and South by John Jakes, Mistral's Daughter by Judith Krantz, The Parsifal Mosiac by Robert Ludlum, Space by James Michener, Master of the Game by Sidney Sheldon, The BFG by Roald Dahl, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella (on which the film Field of Dreams would be based), Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin (that's how the future Game of Thrones author spelled it), and Pet Sematary and The Running Man by Stephen King.
Bruce Feirstein wrote Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, John Naisbitt Megatrends, and Tom Peters In Search of Excellence. And 17-year-old J.K. Rowling took the entrance exam for Oxford University, but failed.
Major films of the Autumn of 1982 included My Favorite Year, a film version of Pink Floyd -- The Wall, and First Blood, in which Sylvester Stallone debuted the character of John Rambo -- and killed exactly 1 man, giving little hint as to what was to come for the character.
Gene Roddenberry and the Enterprise crew were basking in the glory of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but also dealing with the anger over the killing off of Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock. Steven Spielberg was raking it in with E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. George Lucas was filming Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
Roger Moore was filming the James Bond movie Octopussy. Christopher Reeve was filming Superman III, and while the computer-heavy story and the casting of Richard Pryor as a reluctant henchman have been much mocked, the scene where Clark Kent and Superman fight is a classic. Adam West was still the most familiar Batman, Lynda Carter still the most familiar Wonder Woman, and, through PBS' The Electric Company, the silent Danny Seagren still the most familiar Spider-Man.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her husband Brad Hall debuted on Saturday Night Live, which already had Eddie Murphy, and was beginning to rise from the ashes of the Charles Rocket era. Susan Stafford left her post as the letter-turner on the game show Wheel of Fortune, to do humanitarian work. She was soon replaced by Vanna White. Michael Keaton played a parole officer on the sitcom Report to Murphy, and it tanked, but his career would be saved the next year by the film Mr. Mom. Stephen Collins, trying to ride the success of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark and his role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, starred in Tales of the Gold Monkey, but it tanked.
Cagney & Lacey, Family Ties, Silver Spoons, Knight Rider, Matt Houston, Square Pegs, Cheers, Remington Steele and Voyagers! had recently debuted. They would soon be joined by St. Elsewhere, Newhart, and The New Odd Couple, a version with black leads: Ron Glass of Barney Miller as Felix Unger, and Demond Wilson of Sanford & Son as Oscar Madison.
Recently canceled were the aforementioned Barney Miller, Match Game, Late Night with Tom Snyder, The Lawrence Welk Show, In Search of... WKRP in Cincinnati, Mork & Mindy, Lou Grant, Tom Hanks' breakout show Bosom Buddies, and The Incredible Hulk. I wonder if it made Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno angry.
The Number 1 song in America was "Jack & Diane" by John Cougar -- a.k.a. John Mellencamp. The first compact discs were sold in Japan. The Who's Farewell Tour was underway, and it would be their last tour -- until 1989, when Pete Townshend decided that he wanted some money. Cats debuted on Broadway. Madonna released her debut single, "Everybody." The band Blondie broke up.
Michael Jackson was about to release Thriller. His sister Janet Jackson released her self-titled debut album. Billy Joel released The Nylon Curtain, Bruce Springsteen Nebraska, Hall & Oates H²O, Lionel Richie his self-titled 1st solo album, Prince 1999, Culture Club their debut Kissing to Be Clever, and Marvin Gaye his big comeback Midnight Love. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder were enjoying the success of their duet "Ebony and Ivory."
Ty Burrell was 15 years old; Michael Weatherly was 14; Pauley Perrette, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani were 13, Julie Bowen was 12; Selena Quintanilla, Tupac Shakur and Eric Stonestreet were 11; Winona Ryder, Dwayne Johnson, Angie Harmon, Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G.) and Sofia Vergara were 10, and Marshall Mathers (Eminem) was about to turn 10; Sasha Alexander, Lena Headey and Paul Walker were 9; Penelope Cruz and Angelina Jolie were 8, Drew Barrymore was 7, Jesse Tyler Ferguson was about to turn 7, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch were 6, Shakira and Kanye West were 5, Sean Murray was 4; Kourtney Kardashian, Alecia Moore (Pink) and Cote de Pablo were 3; Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and Beyonce were 2; Kim Kardashian was about to turn 2 (and I don't mean a double play); Britney Spears was 10 months, Cory Monteith was 5 months; and Khloe Kardashian, Katy Perry, Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga), Lea Michele, Aubrey Drake Graham, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, Rob Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, all the members of One Direction, all the Modern Family kids, and most of the actors playing still-surviving characters on Game of Thrones weren't born yet.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $2.50 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 20 cents, and a New York Subway ride 75 cents. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.28, a cup of coffee $1.10, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $2.85, a movie ticket $2.92, a new car $9,903, and a new house $84,600. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the preceding Friday at 986.85. It would top 1,000 for the 1st time on November 3.
Desktop computers had become so big (in impact, they were getting smaller in size) that Time magazine named not a Man of the Year, but a Machine of the Year. But mobile phones were still rare. A few people outside of the computer industry had heard of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, but hardly anyone had heard of Tim Berners-Lee. There was no "Internet" as we now understand that term. But in September 1982, computer scientist Scott Fahlman created emoticons. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra.
There was also no PlayStation or Game Boy. Atari was battling Mattel and Coleco to rule the home video game industry, and introduced the successor to its 2600 console (formerly the VCS): The 5200 SuperSystem. On December 23 of that year, I went to the Crazy Eddie store in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and plunked down $197 -- having originally begun saving to buy the 2600 -- and got the 5200. I still have it, and it might still work, if only I hadn't worn out the controllers.
In the early Autumn of 1982, 7 people died from ingesting Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. EPCOT Center opened at Walt Disney World. Auto designer John DeLorean was arrested for selling cocaine. The British television network Channel 4 went on the air. President-elect Bashir Gemayel of Lebanon was assassinated. Princess Grace of Monaco was killed in a car crash.And 66 people were crushed to death at a UEFA Cup soccer game at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Fernando Lamas, and Ken Boyer, and Bill George died. Robinson Cano, and Tyson Chandler, and Ian Thorpe were born.
October 10, 1982. The Milwaukee Brewers won the American League Pennant for the 1st time. There has never been a 2nd time, and moving to the National League in 1998 hasn't appreciably helped.
When will it happen? They just missed the Playoffs in 2017. They seem to be on the right track. But there are other good teams in the NL. We shall see.
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