Pie

Pie Traynor

Harold "Pie" Traynor got his nickname when he was a child. He frequented a neighborhood grocery store and would often ask for pie. The owner of the store started calling him "Pie Face," which was later shortened to "Pie" by his friends.

A mild-mannered and scholarly player, Traynor was ejected from a game just once in his career. The game was in Brooklyn, and the umpire who gave him the heave-ho was Pete McLaughlin. A call went against him and he supposedly exclaimed, "I'm sick and tired of such decisions!" and then threw the ball, his hat, and his glove.

"So he wouldn't be arrested for indecent exposure," McLaughlin said later, "I bounced him."

Along with his offensive prowess, Traynor was considered the best fielding third basemen of his era. He led the National League in assists and double plays three times and in putouts seven times. He ranks fifth all-time among third basemen in putouts.

And he was tough, too. Often, when balls were hit to his right at the hot corner, instead of backhanding with his glove, he would snare them with his bare hand. Said teammate Charlie Grimm: "I've seen him field a hot grounder over at third base barehanded and get the runner at first."

And, in an age when most ballplayers weren't overly concerned with fitness, Traynor was an exception. In fact, he purposely did not learn to drive so that he would never have an excuse not to walk.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him no. 70 on its list of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century, and Major League Baseball nominated him as a finalist on its All-Century team.

"He was a mechanically perfect third baseman," said Branch Rickey at Traynor's Hall of Fame induction, "a man of intellectual worth on the field of play."

December

Who is this third sacker with the "delicious" nickname?

I was born in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Nov. 11, 1898. My parents had emigrated from Canada.

My given name is Harold, but I am much better known by this "delicious" nickname.

I made my major league debut with the Pirates in 1920. In 1922, I became the Pirates starting third baseman, hitting .282 with 81 RBIs.

I played my entire career with the Pirates, retiring as a player in 1937. During that time, we won two pennants (1925, 1927) and one World Series (1925).

In the 1925 World Series, I hit .347, including a home run off the great Walter Johnson as the Pirates beat the Senators in seven games.

Hitting a homer in the World Series was a big thrill, since I was not a home run hitter (just 58 during my career). But I did drive in more than 100 runs seven times in my career, second all-time among major league third basemen to Mike Schmidt, who did it nine times. My lifetime average was .320, and I struck out just 278 times.

I managed the Pirates for six seasons, from 1934 to 1939, then went into scouting and, after that, radio. In 1948, I was elected to the Hall of Fame, the first third baseman chosen by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

I died in Pittsburgh on March 19, 1972, at the age of 73. Not long before, the Pirates retired my uniform number 20.

Tristram E. Speaker

Tris Speaker

When Tris Speaker arrived in Boston, fresh from his small-town Texas upbringing, he felt a little out of place. So, when asked his name, he got a little creative.

"All I could think about," he said later, "was all the big shots I'd seen and they all had middle initials. I had none, so to add stature to myself, I told them my name was Tristram E. Speaker."

The "E" stuck until after his death.

Arguably the best all-around center fielder before the Mays-Mantle era, Speaker had a career batting average of .345 (6th all-time), 3,514 hits (5th all-time), and 792 career doubles (all-time leader). He is sixth overall in triples and eighth in runs scored.

Defensively, his glove was commonly known as the place "where triples go to die." He still holds the records for career assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder.

Beside being enshrined in Cooperstown, Speaker was also inducted in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1951, the very first inductee.

Two years earlier, Ogden Nash immortalized him in the poem "Line-up for Yesterday":

S is for Speaker,

Swift center-field tender,

When the ball saw him coming,

It yelled, "I surrender."

November

Who is this legendary center fielder?

I was born -- with an operatic first name and an oratorical last name -- on April 4, 1888, in Hubbard, Texas.

I was known by two nicknames throughout my 22-year playing career: the Grey Eagle and Spoke.

As a youngster, I fell from a horse and broke my right arm, forcing me to start throwing left-handed, which I continued to do even after my right arm healed.

I made my major league debut with the Boston Americans (later Red Sox) in 1907. I stayed in Beantown through the 1915 season, helping the Red Sox to two World Series titles as part of the "Million Dollar Outfield" with Duffy Lewis and Harry Hooper.

Following a salary dispute after the 1915 season, I was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where, in 1916, I hit .386. Take that, Lannin! (Boston's owner)

In the tragic 1920 season in which teammate Ray Chapman died after being hit in the head by a pitch, I -- as player-manager -- led the Indians to their first World Series title.

I retired in 1928 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937.

I died on Dec. 8, 1958, in Lake Whitney, Texas, at age 70.

You Can Call Him Al

Al Simmons

Aloysius "Al" Simmons is one of those ballplayers who, though a big star in his day, is not much remembered today. After his playing days ended in 1944, he coached with Connie Mack's A's from 1945 to 1949 and the Cleveland Indians in 1950.

In a 1976 article appearing in Esquire, sportswriter Harry Stein came up with five all-time ethnic all-star teams. Simmons was the right fielder on the Polish team.

In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him no. 43 on its list of the 100 greatest players of all time. That same year, he was selected as a nominee on Major League Baseball's all-century team.

"Baseball doesn't owe me a thing," Simmons once said. "It was wonderful to me, and I owe everything I've got to the game. ... No other business or fame could have given me so many happy years."

October

Who is this "bucketfoot" slugger?

I was born to Polish immigrants on May 22, 1902, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the surname Szymanski.

I changed my name after seeing an ad for a hardware store in the newspaper.

I made my major league debut in left field with the Philadelphia Athletics on April 15, 1924. In all, I played for seven teams during my 20-year career.

But my best years were with Connie Mack's A's. I won consecutive batting titles in 1930 (.381) and 1931 (.390), and the A's won World Series titles in 1929 and 1930.

I had an unorthodox style of hitting. A right-handed hitter, I would stride toward third base (or "step in the bucket") as I prepared to swing. That's how I earned the nickname "Bucketfoot."

Concerning my swing, Mack told me: "My boy, as far as I'm concerned, you can walk to the plate on your hands and swing standing on your head ... as long as you hit safely ... and often!"

Fortunately, I did just that. My career batting average was .334. I had a total of 2,927 hits (most by a right-handed hitter in the A.L. until Al Kaline came along), 307 home runs, and 1,827 runs batted in. I hit .300 and drove in 100 runs in eleven consecutive seasons and hit .329 with 6 homers and 17 RBIs in 19 World Series games.

I was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.

I died of a heart attack in Milwaukee on May 26, 1956, four days after my 54th birthday.

September

Okay, so this month it's a no-brainer. No need for clues. Is there any mug more well known in the world of sport than the Babe's?

It's a curiously round face, with a flat nose and thick eyebrows. And (in this picture, at least) reflective eyes, perhaps even a little sad.

Perhaps he just had a bad batch of his favorite dessert: eels and ice cream.

Of course, the stories about Babe Ruth -- on and off the field -- are legion. I won't even begin to recount them here. In describing the Babe, one of his roommates probably summed it up best when he said, "I roomed with his suitcase."

In honor of him appearing on my calendar, I believe I will read Robert Creamer's biography of the Babe sometime this month. Published in 1974, it is considered the authoritative work on the legendary ballplayer's colorful life.

It was a relatively short life, ending at 53 in 1948. But, considering the way he lived, a surprise to nobody.

He was one of the first five to go into the Hall of Fame in 1936, and with a career batting average of .342 (with 714 homers) and a career ERA of 2.28 (with a record of 94-46), he was probably the most versatile player ever to don a major league uniform.

Matty

Christy Mathewson

Yes, that is the third nickname for Christy Mathewson, the legendary proponent of the fadeaway in the early part of last century. Perhaps no other pitcher in the history of the game has such a recognizable name, to fans and non-fans alike.

A little-known fact about Mathewson is that he played professional football briefly for the Pittsburgh Stars in 1902, the only year of the team's existence.

In 1905, he turned in possibly the greatest World Series performance by a pitcher. In the span of just six days, he pitched three complete-game shutouts, allowing only 14 hits, as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics.

Familiar with jubilant times on the field, off the field Mathewson was also acquainted with grief. He had three brothers, and all died before he did: one died as an infant, Nicholas committed suicide in 1909 at age 19, and Henry died of tuberculosis in 1917.

Christy Mathewson Day is celebrated in his hometown of Factoryville, Pennsylvania, every year on the Saturday closest to his birthday. At Bucknell, his alma mater, the football stadium is named in his honor, as are the baseball fields at Keystone College (in Factoryville) and in Taunton, Massachusetts, where Matty played before joining the Giants.

He has also been widely celebrated in poetry, prose, and song. Ogden Nash wrote in 1943:

M is for Matty,

who carried a charm

in the form of an extra

brain in his arm. 

August

Who is this "Christian gentleman"?

I was born Aug. 12, 1880, in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and started playing semi-pro baseball when I was 14.

I attended Bucknell University, where I was the Big Man on Campus, playing baseball and football and also serving as class president.

During my 17-year career in the majors (16 with the N.Y. Giants and one with the Reds), I won 373 games (still a National League record), had a career E.R.A. of 2.13, and posted 79 shutouts.

My out pitch was called a "fadeaway," which today we call a screwball. My manager, John McGraw, gave me high praise when he said I knew "as much about hitters as [he did]."

I had three nicknames: "Big Six," "the Christian Gentleman" (I never pitched on Sundays), and ... well, I can't tell you the third because it would give me away.

I retired as a player in 1916 and, two years later, during WWI, I enlisted in the army and was sent overseas. During a training exercise, I was accidentally exposed to poison gas and later developed tuberculosis.

I died on Oct. 7, 1925, in Saranac Lake, New York, at age 45.

I was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936 as one of the famous "First Five," along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Walter Johnson. I was the only one of the five not there.

Heinie

Heinie Manush

Today, we might think of this nickname as referring to a person's posterior (i.e., their behind), but in Manush's day it was strictly an ethnic -- though not necessarily a derogatory -- name for someone with German heritage.

When he hit .378 in 1926, he barely edged out Babe Ruth for the American League batting title, going 6-for-9 in a doubleheader on the last day of the season.

Two years later, Manush hit .378 again, but this time he didn't win the batting crown, losing by the slimmest of margins to Goose Goslin, who hit .379.

In 1936, at age 35, he reported to the Red Sox (the fourth of  six teams he would play for in his career), full of confidence.

"I'm going out to right field to loosen up," he said on Opening Day. "I'm gonna have a year to top 'em all this season."

Unfortunately for Heinie, his muscles didn't share his enthusiasm. In one Herculean effort, he pulled his right knee up to his chest ... and promptly fell in a heap. No, he hadn't been shot. He had popped his back out of place!

July

Who is this slugging left fielder?

My first and middle names are Henry Emmett, but I am known by a politically incorrect, ethnic nickname -- not unusual for the era in which I played.

I was born in 1901 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. My parents were German immigrants.

I made my major league debut in 1923 with the Detroit Tigers, hitting .334 and playing in the outfield with Ty Cobb and Harry Heilmann.

My older brother, Frank, was also a big-leaguer, playing third base for the Philadelphia Athletics.

In 1926 I hit .378, but after an "off" year in 1927 (I hit .298), I was traded to the St. Louis Browns. This began the revolving-door aspect of my career, in which I played for a total of six teams (unusual then, commonplace today), finishing with the Pirates in 1939.

In 1934, I set the record (which still stands) for fastest player to reach 100 hits, doing it in my 60th game.

Overall, I had 2,524 hits in my career and my career batting average was .330.

I was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1964.

I died in Sarasota, Florida, on May 12, 1971, at age 69.

Huggins

Miller Huggins

Unusual for a ballplayer in that day, Miller Huggins attended college -- at the University of Cincinnati -- where he eventually earned a degree in law in 1900 while playing shortstop for the Bearcats.

His father, a devout Methodist, certainly did not want his son to play ball on Sundays and probably did not want him to play at all. Strangely, though, one of his law professors -- you may have heard of him, William Howard Taft -- actually advised him to choose baseball for a career rather than law. Huggins took his esteemed professor's advice and, though he was admitted to the bar, he never did practice law.

It was a good choice, of course, though his early days as manager of the Yankees may have given him cause for second guessing. That cause went by the name of Babe Ruth. Ruth resisted Huggins' discipline, as he did all discipline, and did not respect the manager because of his small stature and soft-spoken ways. Everything Huggins tried by way of reigning in his superstar failed.

Until 1925. On Aug. 29 of that year, he suspended Ruth indefinitely, citing off-field misconduct, and fined him $5,000, a whopping sum at the time. Ruth wasn't worried; he assumed Yankees owner Jake Ruppert would side with him, as he had in the past. This time, however, Ruth was wrong. Ruppert backed his manager to the hilt, and the suspension and fine stood.

Ruth eventually gave him, apologizing to both Huggins and Ruppert, was reinstated on Sept. 5, and never challenged Huggins' authority again.

June

Who is this "mighty" manager?

I was born on March 27, 1878, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I played second base for my hometown Reds from 1904 to 1909 before being traded to the Cardinals, where I was both player and manager.

I was known as the "Mighty Mite," due to my small, 5'6" stature.

In 1918, J.G. Taylor Spink, famed publisher of The Sporting News, recommended me to Jacob Ruppert for the Yankees' managerial position. Ruppert took one look at my short and boyish appearance and immediately called Spink.

"What did you send me, Taylor," he yelled in the receiver, "the damned bat boy!"

Ol' Jake hired me despite his not-so favorable first impression, and I ended up leading the Yankees to six pennants and three World Series titles over the next decade.

All told, I won 1,413 games as a manager (23rd all-time), including 110 during the memorable 1927 season with the "Murderers' Row," arguably the best team in baseball history.

I became gravely ill with influenza late in the 1929 season. On Sept. 20 I was admitted to the hospital and died there five days later.

In 1964, I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.

Gabby

Gabby Hartnett

Normally, baseball nicknames are accurate reflections of the person (Red for a guy with red hair, Lefty for a left-handed player, etc.). Not so in the case of Charles Leo Hartnett.

Hartnett was a rookie with the Cubs when he acquired his enduring nickname -- Gabby. Must have been a motormouth, an incurable chatterbox, right? Well ... actually ... he was just the opposite -- shy and reticent -- and the veterans on that 1922 Cubs team were just having a little fun at his expense. Little did they know the name would stick.

Aside from the "Homer in the Gloamin'," Hartnett is probably best known for the unfortunate consequences of a good deed. On Sept. 9, 1931, during an exhibition game with the White Sox, he was called over to a nearby field box. A heavy-set man asked him to autograph a ball for his young son, who was seated beside the man. He obliged, and an enterprising photographer captured the moment for posterity.

Appearing the next day in papers across the country was a smiling Hartnett with this heavy-set man, who just happened to be Al Capone. When Kenesaw Mountain Landis, baseball's iron-fisted first commissioner, saw the photo, he was not amused. He instructed Hartnett to never have anything to do with Capone again.

"OK, Judge," Hartnett replied, "but you tell him."

May

Who is this reticent receiver?

I was born Dec. 20, 1900, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the oldest of 14 children.

My given names were Charles Leo, but I am better known by my ironic nickname.

I joined the Cubs in 1922 as a backup catcher and finally cracked the starting lineup in 1924. I remained in the league for the next two decades, retiring after the 1941 season.

In 1925, I belted 24 home runs, which at that time set the single-season record for a catcher. Five years later, I had my best season, hitting .339 with 37 dingers and 122 RBIs.

In 1937, I hit .354, which was the highest batting average for a catcher until Mike Piazza hit .362 in 1997.

At midseason in 1938, I was named player-manager with the Cubbies mired in third place. We battled back to within a half game of the Pirates when, on Sept. 28, I hit one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history in the bottom of the 9th to defeat the Pirates, as darkness descended on then-lightless Wrigley Field. It quickly became known as the "Homer in the Gloamin'." We won the pennant three days later.

With my strong throwing arm, excellent defensive ability, and powerful hitting, I could easily be called the Johnny Bench of my era. My career batting average was .297, and I finished with 236 home runs and an on-base percentage of .370 (slightly higher than Bench's .342).

I was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955.

I died in Park Ridge, Illinois, on my 72nd birthday.

Bucky

Bucky Harris

You know how it is with short guys. Feeling cheated by fate, they try to make up for their lack of height by being extra tough. This was certainly true in the case of Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris, both as a player and a manager.

Once, during his playing days, Ty Cobb slid into second with spikes flying (as he was known to do). "Get out of my way or I'll cut you to ribbons, busher!" he yelled. "Try it," Bucky replied, "and I'll throw the ball down your throat."

He had no more problems with Cobb (or any other bully in the league) after that.

Later, as a manager, he encouraged his players to display the same unwillingness to back down. During the course of one season, Senators pitcher Earl Whitehill was really giving it to infielder Cece Travis for making a few errors behind him. Knowing Travis was feeling down, Harris put his arm around him and said: "The next time he does it, walk over to the pitcher's mound and punch him in the nose. I'll back you up."

Simple frontier justice.

April

Who is this "boy manager"?

I was born Nov. 8, 1896, in Port Jervis, New York.

I was christened Stanley Raymond but am better known by my nickname.

At 13, I worked as a breaker boy in the Pennsylvania coal mines.

I made my major league debut with the Washington Senators in 1919 and became their starting second baseman the following year.

In 1924, when I was just 27, I became the player-manager for the Senators, leading them to a World Series title that year and to an A.L. pennant in 1925.

I was traded to the Tigers in 1928, where I continued in the dual role of player-manager for a short while before becoming a full-time manager.

During my 29 years as a manager, which included three stints with the Senators, two with the Tigers, and one each with the Red Sox, Phillies, and Yankees, I won a total of 2,157 games, placing me sixth on the all-time list. I led the Yankees to the World Series title in 1947, my second (and final) championship.

"He studies baseball as a medical student studies anatomy," wrote columnist Quentin Reynolds. "He seems to be able to get the best out of mediocre talent."

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.

I died in Bethesda, Maryland, on my 81st birthday.

Lefty

Lefty Grove

The thing that jumps out at me about this photo is Lefty's left ear, which appears to be much larger than his right. Is that why they called him "Lefty"?

I don't think so. In other photos of him, his ears appear to be of equal size, so I don't know what's going on here. Perhaps he was suffering temporarily from the dreaded "swollen ear syndrome"?

His fastball was legendary. In 1928, he struck out the side on just nine pitches -- two different times. Only two other pitchers in major league history have done that: Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. Pretty good company. But Grove is still the only one to do it in the same season. Sportswriter Arthur Baer once said, "Lefty Grove could throw a lamb chop past a wolf."

His temper was also legendary. After his historic 16-game winning streak during the 1931 season came to an end, when the Athletics' left fielder muffed a fly ball, Lefty tore apart the visitors' clubhouse in St. Louis.

March

Who is this high-strung speedballer?

I was born March 6, 1900, in Lonaconing, Maryland.

My given first and middle names were Robert Moses, but I am much better known by my nickname.

I made by big league debut on April 24, 1925, with the Philadelphia Athletics on the same day that teammate Mickey Cochrane made his debut.

Between 1929 and 1931, I went 79-15 for three pennant-winning Athletics' teams. In 1931 alone, I went 31-4, with a 16-game winning streak.

I was traded to the Red Sox in 1934 and played the last eight seasons of my career in Fenway, retiring in 1941.

Overall, I won 300 games in the majors (and another 112 in the minors), led the A.L. in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons, and won nine ERA titles, by far the most in major league history.

February's featured player, Charley Gehringer, once said that my fastball was "so fast that by the time you'd made up your mind whether it would be a strike or not, it just wasn't there anymore."

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

I died on May 22, 1975, in Norwalk, Ohio, age 75.

Chuckles

Charley Gehringer

Coincidentally, the first two players featured on the 1984 calendar shared the first five letters of their last name. Gehrig and Gehringer. Both were second-generation German Americans. Both were durable ballplayers. Both are Hall-of-Famers.

There's an interesting story surrounding Gehringer's decision not to attend his Hall of Fame induction ceremony -- something that would be unthinkable today. During his playing career, Charley (also spelled Charlie) lived with his mother, who moved to Detroit after the death of Charley's father in 1924. She was diabetic and in need of care, and Charley provided it, choosing to remain single all that time.

"I couldn't see," he said years later, "bringing a wife into that kind of situation."

Following his mother's death some time in the 1940s, Charley finally did get married. But the wedding was scheduled for June 18, 1949, just five days after his Hall of Fame induction on June 13. Perhaps judging the former to be more important, he skipped the latter, and he and his bride no doubt lived happily ever after.

February

Who is this "wind-up" ballplayer?

I was born May 11, 1903, in Fowlerville, Michigan, the second son of German Catholic immigrants.

My first full season in the bigs was 1926, when I hit .277 with 17 triples for player-manager Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers.

I played in every game during the 1928, 1929, 1930, 1933, and 1934 seasons, earning me the nickname "Mr. Mechanical."

Teammate Doc Cramer once said about me, "You wind him up on Opening Day and forget him."

I was also known as the "Quiet Man." Player-manager Mickey Cochrane described me as follows: "[He] says 'hello' on Opening Day, 'goodbye' on closing day, and in between hits .350."

I played every inning of the first six All-Star Games, batting a record .500 in 20 at-bats.

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 but did not attend the induction ceremony, as my wedding was five days later.

I died on January 21, 1993, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, age 89.

Not a Disease

Lou Gehrig

Yes, of course. January's "mystery" ballplayer is none other than Lou Gehrig, a huge part of the Yankee dynasty of the '20s and '30s.

His consecutive-game streak of 2,130 was one that many thought would never be broken -- and it wasn't until nearly 60 years later, when Cal Ripken, Jr. played in his 2,131st straight game in 1995.

Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a muscular degenerative disease of the central nervous system, in 1939, leading not only to his retirement from baseball but also his premature death two years later.

A friend of my brother once questioned why a disease should be named after the great Lou Gehrig. Doesn't he deserve better than that? I think so. Instead of referring to ALS as "Lou Gehrig's disease," let us rather say, when talking about the terrible condition, "the disease that Lou Gehrig had" or "the disease that took Lou Gehrig's life."

Isn't that a more fitting tribute to the man?

January

Who am I?

I was born in 1903 in New York City, the son of German immigrants.

I attended Columbia University on a football scholarship.

I played for the Yankees from 1925 to 1939.

My lifetime batting average was .340, and I averaged 147 RBIs a season.

I won the Triple Crown in 1934, with a .363 batting average, 49 home runs, and 165 RBIs.

I played in 2,130 consecutive games, earning me the nickname the "Iron Horse".

My more famous teammate, Babe Ruth, said this about me: "He was built like a four-car garage with five buses in it."

Sportswriter Jim Murray called me a "Gibraltar in cleats".

I was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

I died on June 2, 1941.

1984 All Over Again

In 1984, The Sporting News came out with this calendar, featuring portraits of baseball greats from what many consider to be the golden age of sport -- the Roaring Twenties. The photos were taken by Charles Martin Conlon (1868-1945), baseball's first prominent photographer whose most famous shot is that of Ty Cobb sliding into third base during a game in 1910.

I purchased the calendar late last year from Larry Fritsch Cards, for the photos and on the assurance that it would work for 2012 (and so far it has, with the exception that Easter fell two weeks later in 1984). So, that's how I came to be using a 1984 calendar for the year 2012! (Hard to believe it was 28 years ago!)

As you can tell from the name of this blog, I thought it might be fun to challenge all you baseball aficionados out there in blogland. So, in the coming weeks and months, I'll post the player's picture for that particular month (I'm getting a late start), with a few hints, and see if you can guess who it is.

In the meantime, here's some of what was going on in 1984:

• Ronald Reagan was president
• The Detroit Tigers won the World Series, beating the Padres in five games
• The Apple Macintosh was introduced, costing $2,495
• Iacocca: an Autobiography topped the nonfiction bestsellers' list
• Gas was $1.19 a gallon
• Trivial Pursuit, the board game, was introduced, grossing $777 million in its first year
• The Cosby Show debuted on NBC
• Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father
• The Summer Olympics, boycotted by the Soviet Union, were held in Los Angeles
• Top song: "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes
• Top movie: Beverly Hills Cop