1964 Flashback

1964 Flashback

Now we come to the year 1964

————————————————–News Events——————————————-

On January 11, a report by the surgeon general determined that cigarettes can cause cancer. On the 10th of February we were invaded by a group of Beatles.

On March 24, Jack Ruby was convicted of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. On April 5, General Douglas MacArthur died (he was born January 26, 1880). July 2 would see the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. On July 15, Republicans would nominate Barry Goldwater to run for President and on August 26 the Democrats would nominate Lyndon Johnson. On August 31 California became the most populous state, surpassing New York. On November 3, Lyndon Johnson would remain President, scoring an electoral victory over Goldwater, 486 to 52. This was also the year of race riots in places such as New York, Philadelphia and St. Augustine (Florida). This was also the year that the North Vietnamese would attack American destroyers in the Gulf Of Tonkin. However, one of the big news items of this year took place in Alaska on May 27, Good Friday (a 9.2 earthquake!)

——————————————Cost Of Living————————————————

————————————————-The World Of Sports————————————

In the world of Golf, Ken Venturi defeated Tommy Jacobs to win the U.S. Open. On February 5, Cassius Clay would defeat Sonny Liston to win the Heavyweight Boxing title. In the NBA,The Boston Celtics would defeat The San Francisco Warriors 4 games to 1, to win their 6th consecutive title. In the world of baseball, the longest game (at that point in time) was played on May 31, 1964. The game lasted 7 hours and 23 minutes and it went 23 innings (I remember this game well because I taped the last part of it as it seemed to go on forever). The San Francisco Giants defeated the New York Mets 8 to 6.

In the World Series, The St. Louis Cardinals would defeat The New York Yankees 4 games to 3. The AFL (American Football League) would have 2 championship games this year. The 1963 Championship was played on January 5, The San Diego Chargers defeating the Boston Patriots 51 to 10. The 1964 Championship was played on December 26, The Buffalo Bills defeating The San Diego Chargers 20 to 7. The NFL Championship was played on December 27, The Cleveland Browns defeating The Baltimore Colts 27 to 0.

————————————————-The World Of Television————————

Some of the top shows on TV this year would include “Flipper” (NBC, Saturday 7:30-8:00 PM), “My Favorite Martian” (CBS, Sunday 7:30-8:00 PM), “The Addams Family” (ABC, Friday 8:30-9:00 PM), “The Virginian” (NBC, Wednesday 7:30-9:00 PM)

“The Jackie Gleason Show” (CBS, Saturday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Peyton Place I” (ABC, Tuesday 9:30-10:00 PM), “Gilligan’s Island” (CBS, Saturday 8:30-9:00 PM), “The Munsters” (CBS, Thursday 7:30-8:00 PM), “Lassie” (CBS, Sunday 7:00-7:30 PM), “The Ed Sullivan Show” (CBS, Sunday 8:00-9:00 PM), “Petticoat Junction” (CBS, Tuesday 9:30-10:00 PM), “My Three Sons” (ABC, Thursday 8:30-9:00 PM), “The Beverly Hillbillies” (CBS, Wednesday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World Of Color” (NBC, Sunday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Combat” (ABC, Tuesday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Peyton Place II” (ABC, Thursday 9:30-10:00 PM), “The Lucy Show” (CBS, Monday 9:00-9:30 PM), “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (CBS, Wednesday 9:00-9:30 PM), “The Red Skelton Show” (CBS, Tuesday 8:30-9:30 PM), “The Fugitive” (ABC, Tuesday 10:00-11:00 PM),

“The Andy Griffith Show” (CBS, Monday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Gomer Pyle, USMC” (CBS, Friday 9:30-10:00 PM) and “Bewitched” (ABC, Thursday 9:00-9:30 PM). The most popular show on TV in 1964 was now “Bonanza” (NBC, Sunday 9:00-10:00 PM). Other shows on TV this year would include “That Was The Week That Was” (NBC, Tuesday 9:30-10:00 PM), “The Man From U.N.C.L.E” (NBC, Tuesday 8:30-9:30 PM), “Shindig”(ABC, Wednesday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Hollywood Palace” (ABC, Saturday 9:30-10:30 PM), “The Farmer’s Daughter” (ABC, Friday 8:00-8:30 PM), “Daniel Boone” (NBC, Thursday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Burke’s Law” (ABC, Wednesday 9:30-10:30 PM), “Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea” (ABC, Monday 7:30-8:30 PM), “The Jimmy Dean Show” (ABC, Thursday 10:00-11:00 PM) and “The Entertainers” (CBS, Friday 8:30-9:30 PM). 🙂 🙂 🙂

References: “The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present” by Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh, “Chronicles Of America” published by Dorling Kindersley and “What Happened When” by Gorton Carruth.