April 2: Major League, Barney the Dinosaur, FOX Network
Plus Jimmy V, David Copperfield's most famous illusion, and more
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
April 2, 2021 • Issue 41
This week in nostalgic history
April 2nd
25 years ago, on April 2nd, 1996 - MLB star Cecil Fielder stole his first base after 11 years.
Baseball has always had a place in its sport for the talented but rotund gentleman. From Babe Ruth through Bartolo Colon, some ultra talented players have found a way to turn their girth from a potential impediment to a bona fide advantage. Power pitching. Power hitting. Serving as a large target to throw to at first base. Size is not a guaranteed deal breaker at any level of baseball.
However, one consistent trait of heftier baseball players is they lack the speed of most of the other players. And perhaps the top area in baseball where speed is on display is the stolen base. It takes timing, acceleration, and fantastic speed to steal a base off a major league pitcher and catcher. Even a player who possesses the skills listed above can still fall victim to a well-placed (and fast) pitch by a pitcher, a perfect throw by a catcher, and a solid tag by a second baseman or shortstop.
So it certainly made sense that Cecil Fielder, a power hitter on the Detroit Tigers who was the rotund player of note in the early ‘90s, went more than a decade in the majors without stealing a base. And on this day in 1996, when it finally happened, the most important factor came into play: Luck. Fielder (who, by the way, doesn’t look huge in the video of the steal and was listed at a downright svelte 230 pounds at the time), most definitely does not beat the throw to second base. As you can see from the picture I screengrabbed above, he’s dead to rights. But the shortstop, running across the base to catch the throw and apply the tag, has the ball pop out of his glove as he swipes down. Cecil is safe. Even though the Tigers are the visiting team, the Minnesota Twins fans give a standing ovation when they find out it’s Fielder’s first career steal. (Also, shout out to the advertisements behind the plate for the DQ Treatzza Pizza. I loved that thing. Just an overall good showing by Minnesota here.)
Cecil Fielder would go on to steal one more base that same season and he’d retire two years later with his final career stolen base total of two.
Also on April 2nd: Georgetown defeated Houston to win the NCAA Tournament (1984)… the NCAA adopted the three-point line (1986)… some U.S. interstates began testing a 65 mph speed limit (1987)… Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage at WrestleMania V (1989)… the New York Times declared the Cold War was over (1989)… UNLV defeated Duke to win the NCAA Tournament (1990)… John Gotti was found guilty of murder along with several other charges (1992)… The Crush hit theaters (1993)… WrestleMania XI featured NFL player Lawrence Taylor in the main event (1995)… the 232-day MLB strike ended (1995)… Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli died in Germany (1998)
April 3rd
33 years ago, on April 3rd, 1988 - The Traveling Wilburys formed in Los Angeles.
On this day in 1988, George Harrison was in L.A. and was headed to Bob Dylan’s home studio to record a new song for the B-side of the European single of This Is Love. He went out to lunch with Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison and invited them along. On the way, they stopped to grab Harrison’s guitar from Tom Petty’s house and he came along too. The five of them recorded the song Handle with Care, collectively felt it was too good to fade into obscurity on the B-side of the European version of a single, and decided to record an entire album. They’d put out only that one album together; their second and final album came two years later after Roy Orbison’s death.
Even with just two albums, the Traveling Wilburys can lay a viable claim as quite possibly the best supergroup of all time — at least based on a mix of talent and levels of musical stardom. Much of the debate comes down to how you define a supergroup. Does Led Zeppelin count? ABBA? Journey? Foo Fighters? The Three Tenors?
The talent collection of the Traveling Wilburys almost makes me feel guilty for confusing them with the Wild Thornberrys until roughly 2012.
Also on April 3rd: Police Academy 4 hit theaters (1987)… Michigan defeated Seton Hall to win the NCAA Tournament (1989)… Pepsi dropped Madonna as a spokesperson after the Vatican called her video for Like a Prayer “blasphemous” (1989)… En Vogue’s album Born to Sing was released (1990)… Crystal Waters’s single Gypsy Woman was released (1991)… Beethoven hit theaters (1992)… Mortal Kombat II was released (1993)… Jon B’s single Someone to Love was released (1995)… UCLA defeated Arkansas to win the NCAA Tournament (1995)… the Unabomber was arrested (1996)… Primal Fear hit theaters (1996)… MC Hammer filed for bankruptcy (1996)
April 4th
38 years ago, on April 4th, 1983 - North Carolina State won the NCAA Tournament as coach Jim Valvano famously ran around the court looking for someone to hug.
North Carolina State’s victory over the University of Houston is one of the greatest upsets in NCAA tournament history. N.C. State was a sixth seed, and Houston (with the all-timer nickname Phi Slamma Jamma) was considered an unbeatable one seed. The point spread on the championship was a whopping 7.5. Houston was so dominant throughout the tournament that Akeem (at that point, not Hakeem) Olajuwon of Houston won its Most Outstanding Player award, the last player to do so on a team that failed to win the championship.
The championship game ended on a wild play, as an N.C. State desperation airball turned into a game-winning dunk as time ran out. However, the iconic moment remains N.C. State’s widely beloved coach, Jim Valvano, running around the court in pure manic ecstasy, looking for someone to hug .
That image would define Valvano’s coaching career, which ended seven years later when he was forced to resign over allegations of recruiting violations and grade fixing. (Allegations which were proven, too late, to be false.) Valvano was diagnosed with cancer two years later, and passed away in late April of 1993. He gave an inspirational speech at the ESPY Awards just weeks before his death in which he said, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up” — a quote that’s gone on to be the mantra of the annual college basketball tournament and ESPY Award in his honor.
Also on April 4th: Kansas defeated Oklahoma to win the NCAA Tournament (1988)… Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played in his final NBA game (1989)… Hulk Hogan surprisingly left WrestleMania IX as champion (1993)… Arkansas beat Duke to win the NCAA Tournament (1994)… Sheryl Crow’s single All I Wanna Do was released (1994)… Netscape was founded (1994)… Chasing Amy hit theaters (1997)… The Verve’s one single, Bittersweet Symphony, peaked at number 12 (1998)… the NFL Europe kicked off (1998)… Alibaba was founded (1999)
April 5th
34 years ago, on April 5th, 1987 - The FOX network debuted.
The “big three” TV networks of NBC, ABC, and CBS enjoyed decades of being the only games in town from the end of the DuMont Network in 1956 until this day in 1987. Smaller networks occasionally tried to enter the fray, but none was more than a blip on the radar. The big three were untouchable.
But FOX had what no other competitors could bring up to that point. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation owned half of 20th Century Fox film studio, giving it a valuable content library. It also owned TV stations in six of the largest markets in the U.S., giving it immediate market penetration. And it had an owner who was willing to put up the massive startup costs required to launch a broadcast TV network.
The FOX network technically launched in October of 1996 with Joan Rivers’ Late Show. However, its official launch, and prime time launch, happened on this day in 1987. It was a Sunday night, and FOX aired all two of its shows: Married… with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. Then, the next hour, they aired the two same episodes again.
FOX would roll out more of its shows in the coming weeks and months (the only one I recognized is 21 Jump Street), but wouldn’t gain any real traction until the 1989-90 season with The Simpsons — FOX’s first show ever to crack the Nielsen top 30. It also found success that year with Cops and America’s Most Wanted, then other buzz-generating hits that followed like In Living Color and Beverly Hills, 90210.
Ultimately, however, nothing legitimized FOX more than when it won the rights to the NFL, outbidding CBS in 1993 to begin airing games the following season — TV rights they’ve clung to ever since. Today, the FOX network is essentially on equal footing to the big three networks, even though it still only airs a two-hour block of prime time programming rather than the other networks’ three and is now basically surviving off shows where C-list celebrities are doin’ stuff in costumes.
Also on April 5th: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the NBA career scoring record (1984)… Hulk Hogan defeated Sid Justice at WrestleMania VIII (1992)… the University of North Carolina defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Tournament when Michigan’s Chris Webber called an infamous time out (1993)… assault charges were dropped against Mark Wahlberg after he reached an out-of-court settlement with the man he attacked (1993)… Kurt Cobain committed suicide (1994)… The Crocodile Hunter premiered (1997)… a woman in France caused a fatal accident while distracted by a Tamagotchi (1998)
April 6th
29 years ago, on April 6th, 1992 - Barney the Dinosaur premiered.
I was too old for Barney & Friends when the show premiered on this day, but I quickly became aware of its existence. Everyone did. Somehow, Barney the Dinosaur gained rapid pre-internet cultural ubiquity, even if his wholesome, corny antics didn’t jive with us super cool middle school kids. Barney & Friends would run for 14 seasons, coming to an end in 2010, although if you think the world has seen the last of Barney the Dinosaur you’re out of your mind.
Barney, though a textbook pillar of children’s programming, was not without its criticisms. It was criticized for being vacuous (I have a kid who begs to watch unboxing videos and another who loves Cocomelon; Barney is Dostoevsky compared to those offerings). It was criticized for being too repetitive; essentially the same episode 260 times in a row. But my favorite criticism is Barney & Friends created the “entitled” millennial generation by repeatedly telling kids they’re special. I mean, I guess it would’ve been better if Barney had devoted a segment on every show to telling kids how the folks a few generations up were systematically destroying the economy, world, and future, but that probably would’ve gotten “too repetitive” also.
Also on April 6th: Post-It Notes went on sale nationwide (1980)… Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Marvelous Marvin Hagler (1987)… baseball executive Al Campanis made racist remarks on Nightline (1987)… Cry-Baby hit theaters (1990)… Windows 3.1 launched (1992)… Duke defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Tournament (1992)… Marlon Brando made anti-Semitic comments on Larry King Live (1996)… Teletubbies premiered (1998)… Citicorp and Travelers Group merged to form Citigroup (1998)… Carmen Electra divorced Dennis Rodman (1999)
April 7th
32 years ago, on April 7th, 1989 - Major League hit theaters.
As a native Clevelander, I was required by law to become a fan of Major League, so I did. I mean, the movie doesn’t make it too difficult. It’s one the definitive underdog sports movies, and when your beloved hometown team gets that treatment, you go into the movie primed to love it.
At this point, I’d say the most disappointing thing about Major League is the Cleveland Indians not winning the World Series in the movie. Yes, they beat the Yankees in the climax of the movie to win the division, but as we learn, they don’t win the World Series — they go on to lose to the Chicago White Sox in the ALCS. What a huge bummer.
When Major League was made, no one had any idea the real-life Cleveland Indians were just a half-decade away from going on a great run. Or that, in the upcoming decades, they’d come tantalizingly close to winning the World Series multiple times (two World Series Game 7 extra innings battles!) without ever closing the deal. Or that going into the 2021 MLB season, it would be hard for any Cleveland fan to realistically believe a championship is on the near or distant horizon.
So it would’ve been nice to celebrate a World Series victory just once, even if it were fictional.
Also on April 7th: WrestleMania II took place at three locations (1986)… NBA players got the green light to compete in the Olympics (1989)… a Robert Maplethorpe photo exhibit at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center led to multiple obscenity arrests (1990)… Toad the Wet Sprocket’s single All I Want was released (1992)… civil war erupted in Rwanda (1994)… Bad Boys hit theaters (1995)… the Goo Goo Dolls song Iris was released (1998)… George Michael was arrested for solo sex acts in a Beverly Hills bathroom (1998)… Mary Bono won a special election to serve out her late husband’s congressional term (1998)
April 8th
38 years ago, on April 8th, 1983 - David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
David Copperfield had a number of live TV specials in the ‘80s, but none more famous than the night he made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
Copperfield stood in front of a live audience with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. A large opaque screen appeared between two giant pillars. When the screen fell, the Statue of Liberty vanished. Then the screen went back up, and when it fell again, the statue was back.
While David Copperfield was already “on the map” as a magician, this trick vaulted him to the next level. He’d become the top magician of a generation, as well as the highest-earning magician of all time — and the highest-earning solo performer in history. Even in 2015, Forbes had him listed as the 20th highest-earning celebrity in the world.
The trick itself, however, has been roundly exposed on the internet. When you read one of the explanations (essentially, the platform rotated very slightly to shield the Statue of Liberty behind one of the pillars), it sounds so simple — but pulling it off was, no doubt, far more difficult than it might seem. That being said, after reading the explanation, it does make you believe you could make the Statue of Liberty disappear too.
Also on April 8th: Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, California (1986)… 18 Again hit theaters (1988)… Mike Myers joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1989)… Twin Peaks premiered on ABC (1990)… 2 Unlimited’s one hit, Get Ready for This, peaked at number 38 (1995)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
An Ally McBeal “revival” is in the works and Calista Flockhart would be back in the lead.
The Head of the Class reboot is going into production at HBO Max.
Don Cheadle will be the adult narrator in the reboot of The Wonder years.
Mark-Paul Gosselaar says the infamous “Running Zack” episode of Saved by the Bell where he wears a headdress would “never get made” today. Uh, yeah.
A children’s author everyone read for generations, Beverly Cleary, passed away last Thursday at age 104.
The Analogue Pocket, a very popular new handheld gaming console that plays Game Boy cartridges, was delayed from May until October.
David Duchovny says he almost turned down The X-Files to shoot a movie of the week.
Sylvester Stallone shared a picture of a handwritten treatment for a TV prequel series for Rocky.
Akron, Ohio, held Devo Day yesterday — not as an April Fools’ Day thing either. Devo is (apparently) from Akron and the day is in honor of them being one of the 16 artists who could potentially go into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Someone figured out how to hack a Game Boy to mine Bitcoin.
Here’s a video where someone turned Smashing Pumpkins’ Bullet with Butterfly Wings into a ‘80s soft rock song. It almost sounds like a mashup of Bullet with Butterfly Wings and Jackson Browne’s Somebody’s Baby, and I mean that in the best of ways.
The film production company A24 did a deep dive into the weird patterned carpet of ‘80s and ‘90s movie theaters.
Here’s Buzzfeed’s list of 23 actors with great romantic chemistry. A decent number are from the time frame of this newsletter.
I’ve never heard this before, but Brussels sprouts really did taste worse in the ‘90s. That’s when Dutch scientists were finally able to identify the chemical compounds making them so bitter and work around it.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam