Life at Montgomery Wards

Life at the Montgomery Ward Liquidation Outlet in Franklin Park kept humming along. We had a new person to report to, Greg at the downtown office on Chicago Avenue. He would make visits to our store since it was near downtown Chicago. In fact, he opened another Montgomery Ward Liquidation store in Villa Park, IL, only nine miles away. They sold mostly overstock clothing. The regular stores would send their non-selling items to them. Greg wanted them to sell furniture and appliances also. He wanted to sell more appliances and furniture without giving it away. The Montgomery Ward warehouse and regular stores did not want to discount their merchandise. Gradually, more appliances and furniture were backing up in the warehouse. They did not want to open another distribution center or liquidation center. I remember that there was an incident in the warehouse, when the President of Wards, Bernie Brennan, walked around the warehouse, since he was going to shoot an ad for the company. We had to straighten our store as best we could. Brennan liked the idea of a store with appliances. He happened to run into a place with special order furniture pieces that people had refused, stored in the warehouse, but those furniture pieces were not on display in the regular Wards stores. He got mad at the warehouse manager for using up space on articles that would never sell. Thus, we ended up with more overstock furniture pieces. I think that Greg came up with the idea of storing the overstock and damaged furniture in trailer trucks and then leave them out in the warehouse yard, so that the distribution center would only have current items stocked there. They even tried selling the trailer trucks to jobbers who guessed about the value of them. Only one came back and wanted to see what was on the truck before he bought it. I tried to tell Greg that this idea of storage trucks for distressed goods was a bad idea because people would forget about them. They really needed to get cash for them by reducing the price more. Greg believed in a structured reduction in prices. I told him that I favored a point-of-sale reduction. If someone was interested in an item, reduce it my 10%. That is what I did. Anyway, I talked to Greg about this. How would you get rid of distressed or overstock merchandise?

Being a high school parent

It gradually hit me in 1988, that if my daughter was a high school student, I must be a middle-aged high school parent, as I turned 49. I could not make any pretense of being young. I was nearly fifty. All the other people with high school students were in their late forties or early fifties. I fit into this group that was loud and know it all types. My daughter Joy was a high school student so that I went to the home high school football games and the basketball games to see how things had changed in the thirty years since my high school days. I had no football team in my high school back in the 1950s. However, I was a big basketball fan. I was the student manager of my HS JV and Varsity Basketball teams. Thus, I enjoyed going to the basketball games at Marian Catholic. I thought that Rodney Harrison was a great basketball player for Marian. I also went to the football games, because my daughter Joy was in the marching band and performed at half time, even though I was less interested in HS football. Margaret got to be a band Mom, as she went on trips with them and sold band clothing with another HS band mom. Our life began to revolve around Marian Catholic and its marching band because of our daughter. It was great fun. My child’s high school was like my own, since I was invested in it. Joy was doing well with her grades, as she bonded with the band kids. Margaret and I were car-pool parents and band parents. After the football season, there was an indoor symphonic band that also had competitions. The music never stopped at Marian Catholic High School. Band was a full-time commitment. I got to be pretty good at judging others schools, since Marian was always superior. I felt that I should be more involved with Joy’s academic career, since she was out of grade school, where Margaret dominated as a junior high teacher of science. I helped Joy with one project on European universities since I had some first-hand experience with that. Life had moved on. I was the parent of a high school teenager. Do you remember being a parent of a teen aged high schooler?

President George H. W. Bush (1924-2018)

George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st president of the USA, serving from 1989 to 1993. As a member of the Republican Party, he also served as the 43rd Vice President under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, and previously in various other federal positions. Born into a wealthy, established family in Milton, Massachusetts, Bush was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he was instilled with values of hard work and public service from a young age. Bush spent most of his childhood in Greenwich, at the family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine, or at his maternal grandparents’ plantation in South Carolina, which provided him with diverse experiences that shaped his worldview. He attended Phillips Academy, a prestigious preparatory school, where he excelled in academics and leadership, and served as a pilot in the USA Navy Reserve during World War II, successfully flying numerous missions before graduating from Yale University as the captain of the baseball team. After graduation, he moved to West Texas, where he established an oil company, Zapata Corporation, showcasing his entrepreneurial spirit and ambition. In 1952, he volunteered for the successful presidential campaign of Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower, a pivotal moment that solidified his commitment to public service and politics. That same year, his father, Prescott Bush Jr., won the election to represent Connecticut in the USA Senate as a member of the Republican Party, illustrating the political legacy within his family. Following an unsuccessful run for the USA Senate in 1964, he was elected to represent Texas’s 7th congressional district in 1966, demonstrating his resilience and dedication to his constituents. President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as the ambassador to the United Nations in 1971, where he effectively represented U.S. interests on the global stage, and as the chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973, where he navigated the party through challenging waters. President Gerald Ford then appointed him as the chief of the Liaison Office to the People’s Republic of China in 1974, and as the director of the CIA in 1976, where he became adept at managing sensitive intelligence operations during a turbulent time in history. Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican presidential primaries by Reagan, who then selected Bush as his Vice-Presidential running mate, allowing Bush to leverage his experience in governance. In the 1988 presidential election, Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis, campaigning vigorously on his foreign policy accomplishments and commitment to a “kinder, gentler nation.” Foreign policy drove most of Bush’s presidency as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany, addressing complex international issues with a strategic vision. He also presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War, ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which solidified his reputation as a decisive leader in times of crisis. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, reflecting his belief in the importance of economic cooperation and globalization. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise by enacting legislation to raise taxes that he justified as necessary to reducing the budget deficit, a controversial decision that alienated some supporters. He championed and signed three significant pieces of bipartisan legislation in 1990: the Americans with Disabilities Act, which aimed to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities, the Immigration Act, which reformed immigration processes, and the Clean Air Act Amendments, which strengthened environmental protections. He also appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, shaping the judiciary for years to come. However, Bush lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton, following an economic recession that undermined his administration’s accomplishments. His turnaround on his tax promise and the decreased emphasis on foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate also caused him some harm, leading to a disenchanted electorate. After leaving office in 1993, Bush was active in humanitarian activities, often working alongside Clinton to promote various charitable initiatives and disaster relief

The Republican primaries and convention in 1988

From January 14 to June 14, 1988, Republican voters chose their nominee for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. Vice President George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) had the private support of President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) and publicly pledged to continue Reagan’s policies, but also pledged a “kinder and gentler nation” to win over some more moderate voters. Bush faced some prominent challengers for the GOP nomination, despite his front-runner status. In 1987, Donald Trump (1946-), then known as a New York real estate executive and registered as a Republican, hinted in various television interviews that he was considering running for president. However, Trump eventually announced at a political rally arranged in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, that he would not seek the Republican nomination. There was some dispute as to whether he was offered the Vice-President spot. Televangelist Pat Robertson’s campaign got off to a strong second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Bush. However, Pat Robertson (1930-2023) did poorly in the subsequent New Hampshire primary, and was unable to be competitive once the multiple-state primaries like Super Tuesday began. Robertson ended his campaign before the primaries were finished. He later spoke at the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans and told his remaining supporters to cast their votes for Bush. He then returned to the Christian Broadcasting Network and would remain there as a religious broadcaster until his death in 2023. Bush unexpectedly came in third in the Iowa caucus, behind Senator Bob Dole (1923-2021) of Kansas and Pat Robertson. Dole was also leading in the polls of the New Hampshire primary, and the Bush camp responded by running television commercials portraying Dole as a tax raiser, while Governor John H. Sununu (1939-) stumped for Bush. These efforts enabled the Vice President to defeat Dole and gain crucial momentum. Embittered by his loss in New Hampshire, Dole told Bush directly, on live television that evening, to stop lying about his record. Once the multiple-state primaries began, Bush’s organizational strength and fundraising lead were impossible for the other candidates to match, and the nomination was his. The Republican party convention was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush was selected as the nominee, being nominated unanimously, in August 15-18, 1988. Bush selected Indiana Senator Dan Quayle (1947-) as his running mate, and the Republican ticket went on to win the general election against the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen by a wide margin. It was the third consecutive Republican victory in a presidential election, marking the first time since 1948 that any party held the White House for more than two terms. In his acceptance speech, Bush made an energetic pledge, “Read my lips: No new taxes,” a comment that would come to haunt him in the 1992 election. What do you remember about the Republican primary and convention of 1988?

1988 Democratic presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis (1933-)

Michael Dukakis was an American politician and lawyer, who was Governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He was the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history, and only the second Greek- American governor in USA history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election. However, he lost to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrants, Dukakis attended Swarthmore College before enlisting in the USA Army. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving from 1963 to 1971. Then Dukakis ran for governor and won in 1974. His first term performance proved to be insufficient to offset a backlash against the state’s high sales and property tax rates, which turned out to be the predominant issue in the 1978 gubernatorial campaign. Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused the renomination by his own party, as he suffered a scathing defeat in the primary to Edward J. King. Four years later, having made peace with the state Democratic Party, the state police, and public employee unions, Dukakis defeated King in a re-match in the 1982 Democratic primary. Thus, he was again governor from 1983 to 1991, presiding over a period of economic growth known as the “Massachusetts Miracle.” Building on his popularity as a governor, Dukakis sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the 1988 presidential election. He prevailed in the Democratic primaries and was formally nominated at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Dukakis chose Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate, while the Republicans nominated a ticket of George H. W. Bush and Indiana Senator Dan Quayle. Dukakis made history as the first Greek-American presidential candidate and first Greek Orthodox major-party nominee. Although he lost the presidential election, carrying only ten states and Washington, DC, he improved on the Democratic performances in the previous two elections. After the election, Dukakis announced that he would not seek another term as governor, and he left office in 1991. Dukakis served as governor during a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts while simultaneously earning a reputation as a “technocrat.” The National Governors Association voted Dukakis the most effective governor in 1986. Residents of the city of Boston and its surrounding areas remember him for the improvements he made to Boston’s mass transit system, especially major renovations to the city’s trains and buses, as he was known for riding the subway to work every day as governor. While governor, Dukakis commuted the sentences of 21 first-degree murderers and 23 second-degree murderers. In 1988, Dukakis and Rosabeth Moss Kanter, his economic adviser in the 1988 presidential elections, wrote a book entitled Creating the Future: the Massachusetts Comeback and Its Promise for America, an examination of the Massachusetts Miracle. Since the death of Jimmy Carter in 2024, Dukakis is now the oldest living presidential nominee, in his nineties. In 2012, Dukakis backed the successful Senate campaign of Elizabeth Warren, whom he also supported in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. What do you remember about the Michael Dukakis?

The Democratic primaries and convention in 1988

After Walter Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, the Democrats in 1985 and 1986 were eager to find a new approach to win the presidency. They created the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), with the aim of recruiting a candidate for the 1988 election. They had made large gains in the 1986 mid-term elections. Former Colorado Senator Gary Hart (1936-) was the runner-up for the 1984 Democratic nomination, and the front-runner for 1988. He had positioned himself as the moderate centrist that many Democrats felt their party would need to win. However, his campaign faltered and collapsed after revelations about an extra-marital affair in the Miami Herald. Hart dropped out of the race on May 8, 1987, a week after the Donna Rice story broke. However, in December 1987, Hart surprised many political pundits by resuming his presidential campaign. He again led in the polls for the Democratic nomination, both nationally and in Iowa. However, the allegations of adultery and the reports of irregularities in his campaign financing had delivered a fatal blow to his candidacy. He fared poorly in the early primaries before dropping out again. This Hart scandal would later be depicted in the 2018 film The Front Runner, with Hugh Jackman portraying Hart. Senator Joe Biden (1942-) of Delaware was another early contender who was forced to withdraw before the primaries when multiple plagiarism scandals derailed his candidacy. Biden’s competitive campaign ended in controversy after he was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, then-leader of the British Labour Party. He formally suspended his campaign on September 28, 1987. In the Iowa caucuses, Dick Gephardt (1941-) of Missouri finished first, Senator Paul Simon (1928-2003) of Illinois finished second, and Governor Michael Dukakis (1933-) finished third. In the New Hampshire primary, Dukakis finished first, Gephardt finished second, and Simon finished third. Dukakis and Al Gore (1948-) of Tennessee campaigned hard against Gephardt with negative ads. Eventually, the UAW retracted their endorsement of Gephardt, who was heavily dependent on labor union backing. In the Super Tuesday races, Michael Dukakis won six primaries. Al Gore won five. Jesse Jackson (1941-) of Illinois also won five, splitting the southern states, while Dick Gephardt only won one state. The next week, Paul Simon won Illinois. Gore’s effort to paint Dukakis as too liberal for the general election proved unsuccessful, so that he eventually withdrew. Jesse Jackson focused more on getting enough delegates to make sure African-American interests were represented in the platform than on winning outright. Dukakis eventually emerged as the party’s nominee at the Democratic National Convention held from July 18 to July 21, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia. Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards (1933-2006), delivered a memorable keynote address in which she uttered the lines, “Poor George Bush, he can’t help it, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” With most candidates having withdrawn and asking their delegates to vote for Dukakis, the tally for president was Michael Dukakis 2,877 votes (70%), and Jesse Jackson 1,219 votes (29%), and less than 3 votes for five other candidates. Jesse Jackson’s campaign believed that since they had come in a respectable second, Jackson was entitled to the vice-presidential spot, but Dukakis refused this. He gave the Vice President spot to Senator Lloyd Bentsen (1921-2006) of Texas. What do you remember about the 1988 Democratic primary and convention?

TV in 1987

The Fox TV network made its prime-time debut, marking the first time since 1955 that there were four USA networks with prime-time programming. It had two shows, “Married with Children” and “The Tracey Ullman Show.” “The Simpsons” cartoon first appeared as a series of shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” Joan Rivers made her final appearance as host of Fox’s talk show “The Late Show.” Arsenio Hall was named her permanent replacement host. PBS broadcast the critically acclaimed series “Eyes on the Prize.” “Amerika,” the science-fiction drama miniseries, showing life ten years after the USA was defeated and occupied by the USSR, was broadcast on ABC. On CBS, Frank Sinatra made a guest appearance on Magnum P.I., in what would be his last credited screen performance. “My Name is Alex,” a special hour-long episode of “Family Ties” without commercials won numerous awards. Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as the host of “The PTL Club” after involvement in a sex scandal. The soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” debuted on CBS. On CBS, “The Price Is Right” surpassed “Concentration” as the longest-running daytime game show in history. CBS Sports used the song “One Shining Moment” for the first time during the highlight package at the end of their coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament final. Bill Murray announced a Chicago Cubs-Montreal Expos game at Wrigley Field on WGN, filling in for broadcaster Harry Caray. Shelley Long made her final regular appearance as Diane Chambers on the NBC sitcom “Cheers” as Kirstie Alley made her debut as Rebecca Howe. Pamela Ewing’s car sped out of control, crashed into a tanker, and exploded on the season finale of the CBS drama “Dallas.” “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand” was broadcast for the 2,751st and last time by ABC, after 30 years on the network. Pee-wee Herman guest stared on the NBC sitcom 227. After one season on Disney Channel, “Good Morning, Miss Bliss” would be retooled into “Saved by the Bell,” which would air as part of NBC’s Saturday morning line-up. Long-running sitcom “Full House” debuted on ABC. CNN quickly reported on the story of an 8-month-old toddler “Baby Jessica” McClure falling down a well in Midland, Texas. This event helped make CNN famous. ESPN broadcast its first ever Sunday night NFL game, marking the first time that a cable television outlet broadcast an NFL game. Through a short stint with NBC Sports, Gayle Sierens became the first woman to do play-by-play for an NFL regular season football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs. The following shows went off the air in 1987: “Too Close for Comfort” from 1980; “The Love Boat” from 1977; “The A-Team” from 1983; “Capitol” from 1982; “Fraggle Rock” from 1983; Remington Steele” from 1982; “Blockbusters” from 1980; “Gimme a Break!” from 1981; “Fame” from 1982; “Hill Street Blues” from 1981; “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” from 1983; “Split Second” from 1972; and “The P.T.L. Club” from 1976. R. Budd Dwyer shot and killed himself at a televised press conference. The decision by some companies to broadcast the footage resulted in a debate concerning journalistic ethics. Movietime, the forerunner to E, went on the air. What do you remember about TV in 1987?

Movies and Entertainment in 1987

Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, signed an agreement to construct the 4,800 acres Disneyland Paris in Paris, France. The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, took place on March 30, 1987, in Los Angeles for the films released in 1986. Actors Chevy Chase, Paul Hogan, and Goldie Hawn co-hosted the show. Platoon won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Hannah and Her Sisters and A Room with a View with three awards, and Aliens with two. Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got, The Assault, Children of a Lesser God, The Color of Money, Down and Out in America, The Fly, A Greek Tragedy, The Mission, Precious Images, Round Midnight, Top Gun, and Women – for America, for the World all won one Oscar. Marlee Matlin was the first deaf performer to win an Oscar and the youngest winner in the Best Actress category. The Best Actor winner was Paul Newman. Oliver Stone won for Best Director. Michael Caine was the Best Supporting Actor winner, while Dianne Wiest was the Best Supporting Actress winner in the same movie. Woody Allen won for Best Original Screenplay. Herbie Hancock won for Best Original Score. “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun won as best song in a movie. My favorite popular movies that I saw in 1987 were: The Untouchables with Kevin Costner, Andy García, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery. I loved the scene from Union Station in Chicago. Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover was interesting. Wall Street with Charlie Sheen was neat. Steve Martin and John Candy in Planes, Trains & Automobiles were very funny trying to get to Chicago at a holiday time. Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona were about trying to raise a child. Robin Williams in Good Morning, Vietnam was funny. Michael Douglas and Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction was thrilling to watch. Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop II was okay. Cher in Moonstruck was very good. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell in Overboard were a great couple that got married. Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, and Sean Young in No Way Out was intriguing. Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks in Broadcast News were okay. Roxanne with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah was funny. Lou Diamond Phillips in La Bamba was very entertaining. The top movies of 1987 that I did not see were: Full Metal Jacket, The Princess Bride, Predator, Spaceballs, Robo Cop, Evil Dead II, Empire of the Sun, The Last Emperor, The Lost Boys, Wings of Desire, Hellraiser, Angel Heart, The Running Man, Withnail and I, The Living Daylights, Au Revoir les Enfants, Radio Days, Innerspace, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Nayakan, Adventures in Babysitting, Near Dark, Babette’s Feast, Bad Taste, The Brave Little Toaster, The Witches of Eastwick, Eddie Murphy: Raw, The Monster Squad, Some Kind of Wonderful, House of Games, Wilby, Maurice, Prince of Darkness, Barfly, Mr. Muhsin, and Mr. India. What was your favorite movie of 1987?

Music in 1987

Michael Jackson released Bad, his first studio album since Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. This new album would produce five number one singles in the USA, a record which has not been broken. CBS aired the special “Michael Jackson: The Magic Returns.” Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other inductees of 1987 consisted of The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robinson, and Jackie Wilson. Beastie Boys became the first act to be censored by American Bandstand. Sonny Bono announced his candidacy for mayor of Palm Springs, California. Sonny and Cher reunited for a performance on “Late Night with David Letterman,” as Cher returned to music after five years of absence. Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” reached #1 in the USA, as the 1987 biggest hit song worldwide. The 29th Annual Grammy Awards were presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Billy Crystal. Paul Simon’s Graceland won Album of the Year. Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” won Record of the Year, and Dionne Warwick’s cover of “That’s What Friends Are For” won Song of the Year. Bruce Hornsby & the Range won Best New Artist. The first four Beatles albums were released on compact disc. U2 released The Joshua Tree, an album that launched them into superstar status in the music world, selling over 14 million copies worldwide in 1987. They won the Grammy for “Album of the Year” at the 1988 ceremony. U2 had two #1 hit songs from this album in the USA. Carole King was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York City. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, as well as Chuck Berry received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the USA, Bryan Adams’ “Heat of the Night” became the first single to be commercially released on cassette. Inspired by The Beatles’ 1969 rooftop concert, U2 shot a music video for the song “Where the Streets Have No Name” on a rooftop in Los Angeles. Ireland’s Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Brussels, Belgium, with the song “Hold Me Now,” making him the first artist to win the contest twice. Madonna started her “Who’s That Girl Tour” in Osaka, Japan and ended it in Florence, Italy. Whitney Houston’s second album Whitney became the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200. American rock group Guns N’ Roses released Appetite for Destruction which, after initial slow sales, became the best-selling debut album of all time, with more than 18 million copies sold in the USA alone. MTV Europe was launched. Def Leppard released Hysteria, the longest rock album ever released as a single LP or cassette. A Pink Floyd tour grossed around $135 million worldwide, a sum that was only equaled by the earnings of Michael Jackson and U2 combined. Reggae musician Peter Tosh was murdered during a robbery in his home. George Michael released his first solo studio album, Faith, which would win the Grammy Award for album of the year and sell 11 million copies in the USA alone. CBS Records was sold to the Sony Corporation in a deal worth about $2 billion. ABC aired “Rolling Stone Magazine’s 20 Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll” TV special. John Mellencamp performed two free shows in the small town of Chillicothe, Ohio, after one-fifth of the population signed a petition asking him to play. The sixteenth annual New Year’s Rockin’ Eve special aired on ABC, with appearances by Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, Los Lobos, Barry Manilow, Restless Heart, and The Temptations. What was your favorite song of 1987?

Sports in 1987

The World Wrestling Federation produced WrestleMania III from the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, where the National Marching Band Championship was held. Hulk Hogan retained the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, defeating his former friend André The Giant. This WWE event attracted the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event with 93,173. The inaugural Rugby World Cup was hosted by both New Zealand and Australia. In the finals, New Zealand defeated France. At Super Bowl XXI, the New York Giants won 39–20 over the Denver Broncos before 101,063 people at the Rose Bowl, where the MVP was the Giants QB, Phil Simms. At the Fiesta Bowl, the Penn State Nittany Lions won 14–10 over the Miami Hurricanes to win the national championship. Indoor Arena football had its first season with four teams. The SMU football team became the first college football program to be given the death penalty by the NCAA for rules infractions. Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams were elected to the MLB Hall of Fame. Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Niekro was suspended for 10 days for possessing a nail file on the pitcher’s mound. In the World Series, the Minnesota Twins won 4 games to 3 over the St. Louis Cardinals with the MVP pitcher Frank Viola, of the Twins, who had the lowest regular-season record of any World Series champion. This was the First World Series game played indoors at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and the home team won every game. In the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, IU Indiana won 74–73 over Syracuse with a buzzer beater by Keith Smart. In the NBA Finals, it was the usual suspects, as the Los Angeles Lakers won 4 games to 2 over the Boston Celtics with Magic Johnson MVP defeating Larry Bird, as 11 NBA Hall of Famers participated. In Boxing, Mike Tyson added the WBA heavyweight title to his WBC belt when he beat James Smith in a 12-round decision. Sugar Ray Leonard beat Marvin Hagler for boxing’s world Middleweight championship. The Tour de France was won by Stephen Roche of Ireland. Susan Butcher won the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. In the World Figure Skating Championship, the Men’s champion was Brian Orser of Canada and the Ladies’ champion was Katarina Witt of Germany. Four men split the grand slam of golf among Larry Mize, Scott Simpson, Nick Faldo, and Larry Nelson. The PGA Tour money leader was Curtis Strange with $925,941, while the Senior PGA Tour money leader was Chi Chi Rodriguez with $509,145, and the LPGA Tour money leader was Ayako Okamoto with $466,034. In horse racing, Alysheba won two legs of the triple crown, but not the Belmont Stakes. In the NHL, Wayne Gretzky dominated again as his Edmonton Oilers won 4 games to 3 over the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Stanley Cup, while he won both the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer, and the Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. In tennis, Ivan Lendl won two of the four Grand Slam events, and Martina Navratilova also won two of the four Grand Slam events. The Tenth Pan American Games were held in Indianapolis. The AP Male and Female Athlete of the Year were both from track and field, Ben Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. What was your favorite sports event of 1987?