1966 Flashback
1966 was the year that this game was introduced. I played it in my younger years but if I was to play it now, I would probably end up in the intensive care unit at the closest hospital.
—————————————–News Events————————————————
In 1966, Lyndon Johnson was still President and Hubert Humphrey was still the Vice President of the United States. The population in our country was now 195,576,000, life expectancy was 70.2 years and unemployment was 4.5%. Indira Gandhi was now the Prime Minister of India. President Johnson would greatly increase the amount of troops serving over in Viet Nam. From January 29-31, we would see the worst blizzard in 70 years, stretching from North Carolina to New England and killing 165 people. This year would see anti war demonstrations sweep the country (10,000 demonstrators would picket the White House on May 15). On June 27, James Meredith was shot while on a civil rights march. He was the first Black to graduate from the University of Mississippi. Medicare came into law on July 1 of this year. On July 8 all major airlines went on strike until August 19. Racial tensions were still high in 1966 as riots would explode in cities like Atlanta and Chicago. School violence would also explode in Granada, Mississippi. In October, Hurricane Inez would unleash her fury on Southwest Florida, from Fort Lauderdale to Miami.
This was also the year of the Gemini space program. Attempted space dockings, actual space dockings and a space walk by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin in November. This year would see the death of the iconic Walt Disney on December 15.
———————————————–Cost Of Living—————————————–
———————————————-The World Of Sports————————————
On January 2, 1966, the 1965 NFL Championship game was played. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34 to 27 to win the NFL Title. In Golf, Billy Casper would win the U.S Open and Jack Nicklaus would win the British Open. Muhammad Ali would reign as the U.S Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Billie Jean King would win the Women’s Tennis Championship at Wimbledon. On June 8 there would be a merger between the AFL and NFL, setting up the first Super Bowl. This game would be between the league champions of the 1966-1967 season. On August 17, 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Willie Mays would hit home run #535 in his career. That home run put him second on the all time home run list, trailing only Babe Ruth.
Also in baseball, The Baltimore Orioles would defeat The Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 0 to win the 1966 World Series.
———————————–The World Of Television—————————————
The top shows on TV this year would include “Daniel Boone” (NBC, Thursday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Rat Patrol” (ABC, Monday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Petticoat Junction” (CBS, Tuesday 9:30-10:00 PM), “Get Smart” (NBC, Saturday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Saturday Night At The Movies” (NBC, Saturday 9:00-11:00 PM), “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World Of Color” (NBC, Sunday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Hogan’s Heroes” (CBS, Friday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Friday Night Movies” (CBS, Friday 9:00-11:00 PM), “Family Affair” (CBS, Monday 9:30-10:00 PM), “Green Acres” (CBS, Wednesday 9:00-9:30 PM),
“The Dean Martin Show” (NBC, Thursday 10:00-11:00 PM), “The Ed Sullivan show” (CBS, Sunday 8:00-9:00 PM), “The Lawrence Welk Show” (ABC, Saturday 8:30-9:30 PM), “The Virginian” (NBC, Wednesday 7:30-9:00 PM), “Gomer Pyle, USMC” (CBS, Wednesday 9:30-10:00 PM), “Beverly Hillbillies” (CBS, Wednesday 8:30-9:00 PM), “Bewitched” (ABC, Thursday 9:00-9:30 PM), “Daktari” (CBS, Tuesday 7:30-8:30 PM), “The Jackie Gleason Show” (CBS, Saturday 7:30-8:30 PM), “The Lucy Show” (CBS, Monday 8:30-9:00 PM), “The Andy Griffith Show” (CBS, Monday 9:00-9:30 PM) and “The Red Skelton Hour” (CBS, Tuesday 8:30-9:30 PM). The top rated show on TV this year was “Bonanza” (NBC, Sunday 9:00-10:00 PM). Other shows on TV this year would include “The Monroes” (ABC, Wednesday 8:00-9:00 PM), “That Girl” (ABC, Thursday 9:30-10:00 PM), “Star Trek” (NBC, Thursday 8:30-9:30 PM), “Green Hornet” (ABC, Friday 7:30-8:00 PM), “Time Tunnel” (ABC, Friday 8:00-9:00 PM),
“Shane” (ABC, Saturday 7:30-8:30 PM), “Candid Camera” (CBS, Sunday 10:00-10:30 PM), “Felony Squad” (ABC, Monday 9:00-9:30 PM) and “The Monkees” (NBC show featuring the rock group, Monday 7:30-8:00 PM). 🙂 🙂 🙂
References: “Chronicles Of America” published by Dorling Kindersley, “What Happened When” by Gorton Carruth and “The Complete Directory To Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946-Present” by Tim Brooks & Earle Marsh.
