- 1950] Premiered on this date: Charles M. Schulz’ “Peanuts” comic strip is born…1953] Edward R. Murrow’s “Person to Person” begins an 8-year run…1955] “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” debuts and runs on and off until 1986…1959] “The Twilight Zone” starts a 5-year run (all premieres took place 10/2)…
- 1951] Shot heard round the world: The Giants’ Bobby Thomson hits a 3-run, walk-off home run beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in the third and deciding game of their playoffs. Russ Hodges said it best: “The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant.” Ralph Branca tossed up the lollipop (10/3)…
- 1957] The Space Age dawns: The Soviet Union llaunches Sputnik, the first man-made satellite into orbit (10/4)…
- 1970] Team Tragedy: A plane carrying 30 members of the Wichita State football team crashes. All 30 are killed (10/2)…
- 1970] “Happy Trails“: The body of Janis Joplin is found in a Hollywood hotel room (10/4). Janis, who had just finished her “Pearl” LP, dies from a heroin overdose at 27…1985] Rock Hudson dies from AIDS at 59 (10/2)…1998] Gene Autry, Hollywood’s ‘Singing Cowboy’ dies from lymphoma at 91 (10/2)…
- 1978] Bucky “Bleepin’” Dent: Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent’s 7th inning home run at Fenway Park leads the Yankees to a one-game playoff victory over the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees win the AL pennant (10/2)…
- 1995] O.J. walks: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the 1994 murders of wife Nicole Brown and Ronald L. Goldman (10/3). Thirteen years later in 2008, same date, O.J. is convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping. He’s currently serving a sentence for the crimes…
- 2002] Sniper rampage begins: A man is shot and killed in a grocery store parking lot in Wheaton (MD), the 1st victim in a series of sniper attacks in the DC area that will leave 10 dead (10/2)…
- 2006] Amish massacre: A 32-year old milk truck driver kills 5 Amish girls and then turns the gun on himself in Nickel Mines, Bart Township in Lancaster County (PA) (10/2)…
- 2008] Fossett wreckage found: A search team in California finds the wreckage of the airplane flown by adventurer Steve Fossett when he disappeared on Sept. 3, 2007 (10/2). His remains will be found the next day…For more on October 2 - 4:
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