Baseball Players Strike - August 1994

Major league baseball players went on strike, following the conclusion of the August 11 games. The principal issue was the attempt by owners to impose a cap on the teams' overall salary levels. A 4-year collective bargaining agreement had expired in 1993, and negotiations continued since then between the owners and the Major League Baseball Players' Association. The owners had proposed to give the players 50% of the collective revenue of the 28 teams. The players currently got about 58%. Players wanted to raise the minimum salary to at least $175,000 from the current $109,000. The strike interrupted an exciting season during which several players were pursuing records or other major achievements.

Mandela Becomes South Africa's 1st Black President - May 1994

Concluding a remarkable ascent to power after spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated in May as the first black president of South Africa. Blacks also held a majority in the new parliament, and the system of required racial separation, called apartheid, which had been imposed by white governments since the 1940s, ceased to exist. Mandela, a black nationalist leader who had been imprisoned for sabotage and treason, claimed victory, May 2, in the elections held in late April that had been open to citizens of all races. The runner-up in the election, the incumbent Pres. F.W. de Klerk, had been instrumental in freeing Mandela and bringing him into the political process. In election results announced May 6, Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) received 63% of the vote and de Klerk's National Party 20%. The Inkatha Freedom Party, which had agreed just before the election to participate, captured 10%. Seats in the 400-member National Assembly, which would choose the new president, were apportioned according to the vote for each party. The new assembly took office, May 9, and Mandela was the only candidate nominated for president. A throng of 100,000 heard Mandela speak, May 9, in Cape Town, and another large crowd, including 45 heads of state and other dignitaries from 130 countries, attended his inauguration, May 10. Vice Pres. Al Gore led the U.S. delegation. Mandela praised South Africa for having overcome the "extraordinary human disaster" of apartheid. The many white citizens who attended the ceremonies joined in the festival atmosphere. Mandela named de Klerk as one of his vice presidents. The cabinet was completed May 11. Its members included 18 from the ANC, 6 from the National Party, and 3 from Inkatha.

Chicago TV Flashback - January 3, 1987

WMAQ channel 5 TV schedule for Saturday, January 3, 1987

Morning

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6a - Kids Are People Too

6:30a - Our Place

7a - Kissyfur

7:30a - Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears

8a - Smurfs (1 hr, 30 min)

9:30a - Alvin and the Chipmunks

10a - Foofur

10:30a - Punky Brewster

11a - NFL '86

11:30a - NBC Sports NFL Football: New York Jets v. Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional playoff game at Cleveland Stadium (3 hrs, 30 min)

Afternoon

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3p - To Be Announced (2 hours)

5p - Channel 5 News at 5

5:30p - NBC Nightly News with Connie Chung

Evening

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6p - Warner

6:30p - Throb

7p - Facts of Life

7:30p - 227

8p - Golden Girls

8:30p - Amen

9p - Hunter (1 hour)

10p - Channel 5 News at 10

10:30p - WWF Saturday Night's Main Event (1 hr, 30 min)

Midnight - Movie 5: Rebecca (2 hrs, 40 min)

Full boxscore: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198701030cle.htm 

Chicago TV Flashback - April 29, 1976

WLS channel 7 TV schedule for Thursday, April 29, 1976

Morning

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6:24a - Eyewitness News Update

6:30a - Perspectives

6:55a - Earl Nightingale

7a - Good Morning America (2 hours)

9a - AM Chicago (1 hr, 30 min)

10:30a - Happy Days

11a - Let's Make a Deal

11:30a - All My Children

Afternoon

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Noon - Ryan's Hope

12:30p - Rhyme and Reason

1p - The $20,000 Pyramid

1:30p - Break the Bank

2p - General Hospital

2:30p - One Life to Live

3p - Edge of Night

3:30p - The 3:30 Movie: Girls! Girls! Girls! (1 hr, 30 min)

5p - Eyewitness News at 5

5:30p - ABC Evening News

Evening

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6p - Eyewitness News at 6 (1 hour)

7p - Welcome Back, Kotter

7:30p - Barney Miller

8p - Streets of San Francisco (1 hour)

9p - Harry O (1-hour Finale)

10p - Eyewitness News at 10

10:30p - Mannix (1 hour)

11:30p - The Magician (1 hour)

12:30a - Passage to Adventure

Chicago TV Flashback - September 22-23, 1984

WBBM channel 2 TV schedule for Saturday, September 22, 1984

Morning

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5a - Bill Cosby Show

5:30a - Lorne Greene's New Wilderness

6a - Objective

6:30a - Captain Kangaroo

7a - Shirt Tales

7:30a - Get Along Gang

8a - Muppet Babies

8:30a - Saturday Supercade (1 hour)

9:30a - Pole Position

10a - Dungeons & Dragons

10:30a - Pryor's Place (Premiere)

11a - Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (1 hr, 30 min)

Afternoon

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12:30p - Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show

1p - Kidsworld

1:30p - Different Drummers

2p - Echo the Cry of Freedom

2:30p - CBS Sports College Football: #14 Iowa Hawkeyes v. #5 Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium or #1 Nebraska Cornhuskers v. #8 UCLA Bruins at Rose Bowl Stadium (2 hrs, 30 min)

5p - Channel 2 Weekend News (1 hour)

Evening

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6p - Channel 2 Weekend News

6:30p - Dance Fever

7p - Airwolf (1-hour 2nd season premiere)

8p - Cover Up (2-hour series premiere)

10p - Channel 2 Weekend News

10:30p - Emmys '84: The Year in Review

11p - The Best of CBS: Jordan Chance (1 hr, 50 min)

12:50a - Common Ground (2 hours)

Early Sunday, September 23, 1984

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2:50a - The Late Show: Summer and Smoke (2 hrs, 25 min)

#5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes def. #14-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes with the final score 45-26 as the Hawkeyes lost their 2nd game in a row while Ohio State wins their 3rd game. Top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers blew out #8-ranked UCLA 42-3 as Nebraska won their 3rd straight game.

Chicago TV Flashback - September 14-15, 1984

WBBM channel 2 TV schedule for Friday, September 14, 1984

Morning

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5a - Bill Cosby Show

5:30a - Morning Stretch

6a - Daybreak

6:30a - CBS Early Morning News

7a - CBS Morning News (2 hours)

9a - Donahue (1 hour)

10a - The New $25,000 Pyramid

10:30a - Press Your Luck

11a - Body Language

11:30a - Young and the Restless (1 hour)

Afternoon

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12:30p - As the World Turns (1 hour)

1:30p - Capitol

2p - Guiding Light (1 hour)

3p - The Price is Right (1 hour)

4p - Quincy, M.E. (1 hour)

5p - Channel 2 News at 5

5:30p - CBS Evening News with Dan Rather

Evening

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6p - Channel 2 News at 6 (1 hour)

7p - Saturday's the Place (Special)

7:30p - Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (Special)

8p - CBS Friday Night Movie: Threesome (2 hours)

10p - Channel 2: The 10 O'Clock News

10:30p - CBS Late Movie: Alligator (2 hrs, 10 min)

12:40a - The Late Show: Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice (2 hrs, 5 min)

Early Saturday, September 15, 1984

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2:45a - Common Ground (2 hours)

4:45a - Take It from Here

To begin the 1984-85 Saturday morning season, Saturday's the Place was a CBS special where some of the favorite cartoons return and new shows, including Pryor's Place make their on-camera debuts beginning Saturday, September 15th.

October 19, 2024

Hey y'all, what's going on?

I've been very busy online and offline since I last made this entry on what's going on in my life. I've been a Bluesky user for three months, and this week, the platform literally lit up like a christmas tree, because thousands of new people joined after spending years on Twitter dealing with the toxicity and the negativity. The majority of those who joined all this week are gamers, anime fans and inspiring artists. I became very fortunate making new friends with them and I applaud them for leaving Twitter behind, because Elon Musk failed at doing his job enabling racists, extremists and doing away with almost every feature Twitter had from the start. Good thing I left that toxic platform before the pestulant manchild wasted $44B and renaming it "X" by firing the staff, because everyone wants Elon Musk gone, and I for one, don't blame them.

What have I been doing lately? I've been doing some writing, I also bought 2 more world almanacs from 1995 and 1996, played games on the PS2 and NES emulators, watched Price is Right, watched videos on YouTube including Sagas of Sundry from the Geek & Sundry channel, and enjoying some classic Chicago TV gems on Windows Media.

On the subject of emulators, I won 122 games of Jeopardy and I scored 1,033,250 in Balloon Fight making it the 2nd highest score I ever had. The record from 2020 is still 1,170,300. I also played 2 games of Elevator Action and got a chance to play Zoo Keeper as well and got over 491,000.

I didn't watch Triple A Lucha Libre a week ago, because UniMas decided to air that stupid baseball game. Thankfully, it's back and I'll be watching it today. For those who are wondering, yes, I am a fan of lucha libre off and on since early 90s when both Triple A and CMLL use to air on Galavision every week. I don't have a favorite luchador, but all of them, past and present, are very talentive in the ring over the years.

Always be yourself, always be you 💚

Chicago TV Flashback - May 21-22, 1983

WLS channel 7 TV schedule for Saturday, May 21, 1983

Morning

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6:55a - Reflections

7a - Super Friends

7:30a - Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich (1 hour)

8:30a - Pac-Man

9a - Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour (1 hour)

10a - Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour (1 hour)

11a - ABC Weekend Special

11:30a - American Bandstand (1 hour)

Afternoon

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12:30p - Weekend Edition with Theresa Gutierrez (1 hour)

1:30p - ABC Sports Bowling: The $100,000 Houston Open (1 hr, 30 min)

3p - Wide World Sports (1 hour)

4p - ABC Sports Horse Racing: The 108th Annual Preakness Stakes Derby (1 hour)

5p - Wide World of Sports

5:30p - Eyewitness News at 5:30

Evening

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6p - Eye on Chicago

6:30p - 7 on Location

7p - T.J. Hooker (1 hour)

8p - The Love Boat (2 hours)

10p - Eyewitness News at 10

10:30p - Weekend Report with Tom Jarriel

10:45p - Saturday Night Movie: The Andromeda Strain (2 hrs, 45 min)

Early Sunday, May 22, 1983

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1:30a - Maid's Night Out (1 hr, 30 min)

Deputed Testamony wins the 108th running of the Preakness Stakes.

Severe Quake Hits Northern California - October 1989

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in California struck along the San Andreas Fault in the northern part of the state, October 17. More than 60 people were killed and several thousands injured. Some 100,000 houses were reported damaged. The worst damage was San Francisco and Oakland, 75 miles north of the epicenter of the quake. Most of the deaths, more than 40, occured when the upper level of the double-decker Nimitz Freeway (Interstate Highway 880) in Oakland collapsed. The freeway was packed with rush-hour traffic at 5:04p, when the 15-second quake hit. In San Francisco, several fires broke out with the worst being in the Marina district, where a number of buildings were destroyed. Other cities that suffered heavily included Santa Cruz, where much of the downtown shopping district was leveled; San Jose; and Los Gatos. The tragedy struck just minutes before the start of the 3rd game of baseball's World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The game was cancelled and the crowd of 58,000 evacuated safely. The last survivor to be found, Buck Helm, a longshoreman, was pulled from the wreckage of the Nimitz Freeway, October 21. The U.S. Geological Survey said, October 24, that its estimate of the quake's intensity had been put at 7.1 on the Richter Scale, the 5th strongest of the century, though well below the impact of San Francisco's great earthquake of 1906. Congress, October 25, approved an aid package totalling $4.15B. The World Series resumed, October 27, and Oakland completed a 4-game sweep of the Giants, October 28.

U.S. Economy Contracted in 1991 - January 1992

The government reported that the U.S. economy contracted in 1991, for the first time in 9 years. The Labor Dept., reported, January 9, that the producer price index for finished goods had edged downward by 0.1 percent in 1991, the first decline in wholesale prices in 5 years. The department reported, January 10, that unemployment stood in December at 7.1 percent, the highest in more than 5 years. The department said, January 16, that consumer prices had risen 3.1 percent in 1991, the lowest annual increase since 1986. The Commerce Dept. reported, January 17, that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $3.57B in November, the smallest in 9 years. The U.S. gross domestic product contracted 0.7 percent (adjusting for inflation) in 1991, the department announced, January 29, and this was the first decline since 1982. The department reported, January 31, that the leading economic indicators fell 0.3 percent in December, to their lowest level since June 1991.