It’s History…

The older I get, the more often I look back on my “Today in History” file and find significant events I actually remember happening.  But there are always plenty I don’t recall at all.   So let’s shake-up the old memory banks and revisit some events of January 22nd gone by….

95 years ago – In 1929, the New York Yankees announced they would put numbers on the backs of their uniforms, becoming the first baseball team to do so.  The first numbers were based on positions in the batting order, hence Babe Ruth was #3 and Lou Gehrig was #4.

56 years ago – In 1968, “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”, hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, premiered on NBC. “Laugh-In” launched the careers of Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn, Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Henry Gibson, Bob “Super Dave Osbourne” Einstein, Gary Owens, Lily Tomlin, and JoAnne Worley.   I think it was on right after I Dream of Jeannie….Veeeery interesting…..

51 years ago – In 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision.  This legalized abortions in the first six months of pregnancy.  States could not prohibit abortions during the first trimester, but COULD regulate the procedure during the second trimester to protect a woman’s health. Roe v. Wade was essentially OVERRULED in 2022 with Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which returned some of the power to regulate abortion back to the individual states.

40 years ago – In 1984, a Ridley Scott directed commercial introduced the Apple Macintosh Computer during Super Bowl 18.  The Los Angeles Raiders beat the Washington Redskins 38-9.  Barry Manilow sang the National Anthem, and Marcus Allen was the MVP.

35 years ago – In 1989, Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers to a last-minute victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 23.  Billy Joel did the National Anthem, and 49ers receiver Jerry Rice was the MVP . . . setting a Super Bowl record of 215 receiving yards on 11 catches.

31 years ago – In 1993, on the 20th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, President Clinton lifted a series of abortion restrictions on U.S. funding to any non-governmental organizations that had been imposed by his Republican predecessors.  Exactly eight years later, President Bush the Second reinstated the policies that Clinton lifted.  Obama lifted them again in 2009.  Then Trump reinstated them in 2017 and Biden repealed them again in 2021.

30 years ago – In 1994, “Schindler’s List” won Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg. The other winners included Tom Hanks winning Best Actor in a Drama for “Philadelphia”, Robin Williams winning Best Actor in a Comedy for “Mrs. Doubtfire”, and Best Support Actor Tommy Lee Jones for “The Fugitive”.

30 years ago – In 1994, Telly Savalas died in Universal City, California, a day after turning 70 . . . leaving Jennifer Aniston without a godfather.

27 years ago – In 1997, the Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation’s First Female Secretary of State.

26 years ago – In 1998, Mary Bono, the widow of Sonny Bono, announced that SHE would run for the congressional seat held by her late terrible-skier-of-a-husband.  For some reason, she WON.

26 years ago – In 1998, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski pleaded guilty to all of his heinous crimes in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole, instead of the death penalty.  He’s in a supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

19 years ago – In 2005, Donald Trump married his third wife, Melania Knauss.  He was 58 to her 34 at the time.  Now they’re 77 and 53.

16 years ago – In 2008, Heath Ledger died of an accidental prescription drug overdose.  He was only 28.

14 years ago – In 2010, Conan O’Brien accepted NBC’s $45 million buyout and made his final appearance as the host of the “The Tonight Show”.

And, if you’re not pressed for time, here are the celebrity B-days on this date: