#1 Songs in America

​(August 3rd)


1980 - "Magic"
Olivia Newton-John
8/2 - 8/29

1981 - "Jessie's Girl"
Rick Springfield
8/1 - 8/14

1982 - "Eye of the Tiger"

Survivor

7/24 - 9/3

1983 - "Every Breath You Take"

The Police

​7/9 - 9/2

1984 - "When Doves Cry"
Prince
7/7 - 8/10

1985 - "Shout"
Tears for Fears
8/3 - 8/23

1986 - "Glory of Love"

Peter Cetera

​8/2 - 8/15

1987 - "Shakedown"
Bob Seger
8/1 - 8/7

1988 - "Roll With It"

Steve Winwood

7/30 - 8/26

1989 - "Toy Soldiers"

Maltika

7/22 - 8/4


Click Here For More Music Fun Facts and Awards

Headlines

(August 3rd)


1985 - “Shout” by Tears for Fears Became the #1 Song in America
* #1 Song in America from August 3 - 23
Also Hit #1 in Canada, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand

1987 - Def Leppard Released Their 4th Album

Title:  Hysteria

Billboard Charts:  #1
* Also Hit #1 in the UK, Norway, Australia and New Zealand
Featuring “Pour Some Sugar On Me”

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Happy 80s Birthdays

1925 - Marv Levy (Football)
Birthplace:  Chicago, Illinois
1937 - Steven Berkoff (Actor)  Beverly Hills Cop (Victor Maitland)
Birthplace:  Stepney, London, England
1940 - Martin Sheen (Actor)  Gandhi
Birthplace:  Dayton, Ohio
1941 - Martha Stewart
Birthplace:  Jersey City, New Jersey
1950 - John Landis (Director)  Coming to America
Birthplace:  Chicago, Illinois
1950 - Jo Marie Payton (Actress)  Family Matters (Harriette)
Birthplace:  Albany, Georgia
1959 - Martin Atkins (English Drummer)  Public Image Ltd.
Birthplace:  Coventry, England
1959 - John C. Mcginley (Actor)  Platoon, Wall Street
Birthplace:  New York City
1961 - Molly Hagen (Actress)  Some Kind of Wonderful (Shayne)
Birthplace:  Minneapolis, Minnesota
1961 - Lee Rocker (Bassist)  The Stray Cats
Birthplace:  Long Island, New York
1963 - James Hetfield (Singer)  Metallica
Birthplace:  Downey, California
1964 - Nate McMillan (Basketball)
Birthplace:  Raleigh, North Carolina
1970 - Spinderella (DJ)  Salt-n-Pepa​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Birthplace:  Brooklyn, New York


Fun Fact!

Martin Sheen Won an Emmy Award in 1994 For Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series For His Appearance on the TV Show, Murphy Brown


_______________________________


Other Notable Birthdays


Tony Bennett (Singer)
August 3, 1926 - July 21, 2023
Birthplace:  New York City
​Passed Away at Age 96 From Alzheimer's Disease
* Best Known For the 1962 Song "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
A 20x Grammy Award Winner

Haystacks Calhoun (Wrestler)
August 3, 1934 - December 7, 1989
Birthplace:  Mckinney, Texas
Passed at the Age 55 of Complications From Diabetes
* Won the WWE Tag Team Championship in 1973 With Partner Tony Garea (Defeated of Mr. Fuji and Prof. Toru Tanaka)
Elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017

Todd Christenson (Football)
August 3, 1956 - November 13, 2013
Birthplace:  Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Passed Away at Age 57 From Complications of a Liver Transplant Surgery​​​
NFL Seasons:  10 (Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders)
Position:  Tight End
Pro Bowl:  5
First Team All-Pro:  3 (1983, 1985, 1986)
College:  BYU
Won 2 Super Bowls With the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (XV, XVIII)


_______________________________

Passed Away
(On This Day)


Bubba Smith (Football Player and Actor)
February 28, 1945 - August 3, 2011
Birthplace:  Orange, Texas
Passed Away at Age 66 From Acute Drug Intoxication and Heart Disease
NFL Seasons:  10
Position:  Defensive End
Pro Bowl:  2 (1970, 1971)
First Team All-Pro:  1971
Super Bowl Champion:  V (Baltimore Colts)
College:  Michigan St.
* The #1 Overall Draft Pick in the 1967 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts
Best Known For Playing Hightower in the Police Academy Films​


_______________________________

80s Movies
(Released On This Day)​


1984 - Joy of Sex
Director:  Martha Coolidge
Starring:  Colleen Camp, Ernie Hudson and Christopher Lloyd
Budget:  N/A

Box Office:  $4.4 Million

1984 - The Philadelphia Experiment
Director:  Stuart Raffill
Starring:  Michael Paré, Nancy Allen, Eric Christmas and Bobby Di Cicco
Budget:  N/A

Box Office:  $8.1 Million

1984 - Grandview, U.S.A
Director:  Randal Kleiser
Starring:  Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Carole Cook, Ramon Bieri, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, M. Emmet Walsh, Michael Winslow, Troy Donahue and Steve Dahl
Budget:  $5 Million

Box Office:  $4.7 Million


_______________________________

80s Television
(On This Day)​​​


1989 - Primetime Premiered on ABC
Seasons:  23


_______________________________

​​80s Music
(Albums Released On This Day)


1987 - Hysteria
Def Leppard (4th Album)
Hit #1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts

* Also #1 in the UK, Norway, Australia and New Zealand

Over 25 Million Copies Sold Worldwide


Fun Fact!

Def Leppard Was Formed in Sheffield, England in 1977


_______________________________

80s Sports
(On This Day)​


1980 - The Summer Olympics Closed in Moscow
* The US and 66 Other Countries Boycotted the Olympics Because of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

The Soviet Union (80) and East Germany (47) Won 127 of the 203 Gold Medals


Soviet Union (URS)
Total:  195
Gold:  80
Silver:  69
Bronze:  46


East Germany (GDR)
Total:  126
Gold:  47
Silver:  37
Bronze:  42


Bulgaria (BUL)
Total 41
Gold:  8
Silver:  16
Bronze:  17


1980 - Al Kaline and Duke Snider Were Inducted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Chuck Klein and Tom Yawkey Were Voted in by The Veterans Committee

1982 - California Angels 3rd Baseman, Doug DeCinces Hit 3 Home Runs Against the Minnesota Twins
* The Twins Beat the Angels 5 - 4 at Anaheim Stadium on a Tuesday Night
Attendance:  26,184

DeCinces Hit 3 Home Runs Again 5 Days Later in Seattle

1982 - Pitching Coach, Clyde King Replaced Gene Michaels as the Yankees 3rd Manager of the Season
* Previous Coaches Were Bob Lemon (6 - 8) and Gene Michael (44 - 42)

1984 - Mary Lou Retton Became the First American Woman to Win Olympic Gold in the Women’s All Around Gymnastics Competition after Scoring a Perfect 10 on Vault

1986 - Willie McCovey Was Inducted Into the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Bobby Doerr and Ernie Lombardi Were Voted in by The Veterans Committee

1986 - The First NFL Game Was Played in London

* The Chicago Bears Beat Dallas Cowboys 17 - 6 in a Pre-Season Game

1987 - Minnesota Twins Knuckleball Pitcher, Joe Niekro Was Ejected From the Game After a Nail File Was Found in His Pocket

1989 - Thoroughbred Jockey, Jorge Velasquez Won His 6,000th Career Race

1989 - The Cincinnati Reds Set a Major League Record With 16 Hits and 14 Runs in the 1st Inning Against the Houston Astros
* The Reds Had 26 Hits in a 18 - 2 Victory Over the Astros at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati​ on a Thursday Afternoon
Attendance:  20,179

Rolando Roomis, Tom Benzinger and Jeff Reed Had 4 Hits Each


​_______________________________


Other Notable Dates

(August 3rd)


1852 - The Very First Intercollegiate Athletic Event Took Place

* Harvard Won a Boat Race Against Yale


1900 - The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Was Founded in Akron, Ohio

1914 - Germany Declared War on France

* The Beginning of World War I


1921 - Major League Baseball Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis Banned the 8 Chicago Black Sox Players From Major League Baseball After Throwing the 1919 World Series

* Known as the Black Sox Scandal 

1936 - Jesse Owens Won the 100M at the Summer Olympics in Berlin

1946 - The Very First Theme Park Opened in the United States

* Santa Claus Park in Santa Claus, Indiana


1949 - The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League Merged to Create the NBA


_______________________________


<- August 2nd            August 4th ->


Back To The 80s Home Page


_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

August 3rd in 80s History

1987 - Joe Niekro Got Ejected From a Major League Baseball Game For Using an Emery Board to Enhance His Knuckleball

1984 - Mary Lou Retton Scored a Perfect 10 on the Vault to Win the Gold Medal in the Women's All-Around Competition at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

* The First American Woman to Win an Olympic Gold in the Women’s All Around Competition

Fun Fact!

The First Emery Board Was Patented in New York City in 1883 by J. Parker Pray


_______________________________

_______________________________

Mary Lou Retton Won Olympic Gold