What Happened in December 1980

Historical Events

Don Sutton

Dec 3 Don Sutton, the winningest pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history, signs a 4-year contract with Houston; Astros career shortened by a patellar fracture; returns to Dodgers in 1988 after stints with 3 other MLB clubs

Dec 3 NY Federal jury finds Reps Thompson D-NJ & Murphy, D-NY, guilty
Dec 4 Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)

Led Zeppelin To Disband

Dec 4 Two months after death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin announces they will disband

Dec 5 Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
Dec 6 NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 502
Dec 7 69th Davis Cup: Czechoslovakia beats Italy in Prague (4-1)

Arnold Palmer Victory

Dec 7 Senior PGA Championship, Turnberry Isle CC: Arnold Palmer wins with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole against Paul Harney

Dec 8 "Bravo" network premieres on cable TV

Lennon's Last Photo-shoot

Dec 8 Annie Leibovitz has a photo-shoot with John Lennon, the last person to professionally photograph him before he is murdered on the same day

Dec 9 61°F in Boston at 1 AM
Dec 10 Soyuz T-3 returns to Earth
Dec 10 USSR performs underground nuclear test

Magnum P.I.

Dec 11 "Magnum P.I." starring Tom Selleck premieres on CBS

Dec 11 Dirk Wellham scores 100 on 1st-class debut, NSW v Victoria
Dec 11 The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (known as either CERCLA or Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
Dec 12 Apple makes its initial public offering on the US stock market - 38 years later it would become the 1st US company valued at over $1 trillion, 1st over $2 trillion two years after that, and 1st over $3 trillion three years after that
Dec 12 US copyright law amended to include computer programs

Perfectly Frank

Dec 13 Musical revue "Perfectly Frank", featuring songs by Frank Loesser, closes at Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 16 performances

Dec 14 "Onward Victoria" opens and closes at Martin Beck NYC after 1 performance
Dec 14 Anders Kailur scores on 6th Islander penalty shot
Dec 14 At 2 PM EST there is 10 minutes of silence in memory of John Lennon
Dec 14 Massacre at Bob's Big Boy restaurant in Los Angeles with 3 people killed and 6 injured
Dec 14 Minnesota Vikings pass for 456 yards against Cleveland Browns, winning 28-24
Dec 14 New Orleans Saints end 14 game losing streak, beat NY Jets 21-20
Dec 14 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan

Winfield Highest Paid

Dec 15 NY Yankee Dave Winfield becomes highest-paid player, 10 years $15M

Baseball Hall of Fame Outfielder Dave Winfield

Dec 15 Premier Queddei troops conquers Chad capital N'djamena
Dec 15 ZBZ Sangha registered after 5 yrs of administrative hassles in Warsaw

Haig Secretary of State

Dec 16 President-elect Ronald Reagan announces Alexander Haig Jr. as 59th Secretary of State

General and US Secretary of State Alexander Haig

Dec 17 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Dec 17 Mauritania provisional constitution published
Dec 18 Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts minister Van Agts abortion laws
Dec 18 IRA's Sean McKenna becomes critically ill, ends hunger strike
Dec 18 Vietnam adopts constitution

"Raging Bull"

Dec 19 "Raging Bull", directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta and Cathy Moriarty as his wife, is released in the United States

Dec 19 Anguilla becomes a British dependency separate from St Kitts

"9 to 5"

Dec 19 Comedy film "9 to 5" starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin is released

Comedian, Actress and Singer Lily Tomlin

Dec 19 Iran requests $24 billion in US guarantees to free hostages
Dec 19 Mutual Broadcasting cancels Sears Radio Theater

Former Premier Kosygin Dead

Dec 20 Soviet Union formally announces the death of past Premier Alexei Kosygin

Premier of the Soviet Union Alexei Kosygin

Dec 21 Harold Carmichael ends NFL streak of 127 consecutive game receptions

Cardinals Release Bonds

Dec 22 MLB St. Louis Cardinals release outfielder Bobby Bonds

Dec 22 US President-elect Ronald Reagan appoints Jeanne Kirkpatrick (UN Ambassador) & James Watt (Secretary of the Interior)
Dec 24 Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
Dec 26 10th Fiesta Bowl: #10 Penn State beats #11 Ohio State, 31-19
Dec 26 Aeroflot puts the Ilyushin Il-86 into service.
Dec 27 Calvin Murphy (Rockets) begins longest NBA free throw streak of 78
Dec 28 Mexico terminated fishing agreements with US
Dec 29 Shuttle STS-1 moves from Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) to Launch Complex 39A
Dec 30 "Wonderful World of Disney" last performance on NBC-TV

Rummenigge Ballon d'Or

Dec 30 Ballon d'Or: Bayern Munich forward Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is named best European football player; beats German international teammate Bernd Schuster of FC Barcelona and Saint-Étienne midfielder Michel Platini

Dec 31 A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18
Dec 31 After being struck by an orange thrown from the crowd West Indian fast bowler Sylvester Clarke knocks out a spectator with a brick during 4th Test against Pakistan in Multan

Springteen's River Tour

Dec 31 Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band's "The River Tour" concert at Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, New York) clocks in at almost 4 hours

Dec 31 NY Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
Dec 31 Senegal president Leopold Senghor resigns

Events in 1980

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricket batsman (13 Tests, top score 148; 125 ODIs), born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Dec 1 Mubarak Hassan Shami, Qatari athlete (Vienna 2005, Prague 2006, Paris 2007 marathons), born in Baringo, Kenya
Dec 2 Adam Kreek, Canadian rower (Olympic gold eights 2008; World C'ship gold 2002-3, 07), born in London, Ontario
Dec 2 Bartosz Koziak, Polish classical cellist, born in Zakopane, Poland
Dec 3 Anna Chlumsky, American actress (My Girl, Veep), born in Chicago, Illinois
Dec 3 Jenna Dewan, American actress
Dec 5 Ibrahim Maalouf, Lebanese-born French trumpeter, born in Beirut, Lebanon
Dec 5 Shizuka Itō, Japanese voice actress (seiyū), born in Tokyo, Japan
Dec 6 Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player, born in Sylacauga, Alabama
Dec 6 Steve Lovell, British footballer (Dundee), born in Amersham, England
Dec 7 John Terry, English soccer defender (78 caps; Chelsea), born in London, England
Dec 8 Brandt Snedeker, American golfer (US Masters 2008, British Open 2012 3rd), born in Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 9 Ryder Hesjedal, Canadian cyclist, born in Victoria, Canada
Dec 9 Simon Helberg, American actor (The Big Bang Theory), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 10 Massari [Sari Abboud], Lebanese-born Canadian R&B singer (Be Easy), born in Beirut, Lebanon
Dec 10 Sarah Chang, Korean-American classical violinist child prodigy, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dec 11 Arya [Jamshad Cethirakath], Indian actor, born in Trikaripur, Kerala
Dec 14 Didier Zokora, Ivorian footballer, born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Dec 14 Tata Young, Thai-American singer, born in Bangkok, Thailand
Dec 15 Annalena Baerbock, Germany politician (Leader of the Greens Party), born in Hanover, West Germany
Dec 15 Sergio Pizzorno, British rock guitarist, songwriter, and singer (Kasabian; Loose Tapestries), born in Newton Abbot, Devon, England
Dec 17 Eli Pariser, American political activist (MoveOn.org)
Dec 17 Ryan Hunter-Reay, American race car driver

Christina Aguilera (43 years old)

Dec 18 American singer ("Genie in a Bottle"; "What a Girl Wants"), and TV personality (The Voice, 2011-16), born in Staten Island, New York

Jake Gyllenhaal (43 years old)

Dec 19 American actor (Donnie Darko, Jarhead), born in Los Angeles, California

Dec 19 Marla Sokoloff, American actress (The Practice), born in San Francisco, California
Dec 20 Ashley Cole, English soccer defender (107 caps; Arsenal 156 games, Chelsea 229 games, LA Galaxy), born in London, England
Dec 20 Fitz Hall, English footballer, born in Leytonstone, London
Dec 20 Tony [Anthony da Silva], French-born Portuguese footballer, born in Le Creusot, France
Dec 21 Royce Ring, American baseball player, born in La Mesa, California
Dec 22 Chris Carmack, American actor, born in Washington, D.C.
Dec 23 Cody Ross, American baseball player, born in Portales, New Mexico
Dec 24 Tomas Kalnoky, American musician (Streetlight Manifesto), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
Dec 25 Laura Sadler, British actress, born in Ascot, United Kingdom (d. 2003)
Dec 25 Locó [Manuel Armindo Morais Cange], Angolan soccer defender (40 caps; Primeiro de Agosto, Petro Atlético, Santos), born in Luanda, Angola
Dec 25 Marcus Trufant, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 2007 Seattle Seahawks; Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Tacoma, Washington
Dec 25 Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress, born in Tokyo, Japan
Dec 27 Cas Haley, American roots, rock, and reggae singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, born in Paris, Texas
Dec 27 Claudio Castagnoli, Swiss wrestler
Dec 28 Lomana LuaLua, Congolese football player, born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dec 28 Vanessa Ferlito, American actress, born in Brooklyn, New York
Dec 30 Eliza Dushku, American actress (True Lies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), born in Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 30 Kenny Kwan, Hong Kong singer (Boy'z), and actor (Banana Boys), born in The Philippines
Dec 31 Matt Cross, American professional wrestler, born in Brecksville, Ohio

Richie McCaw (43 years old)

Dec 31 New Zealand rugby union flanker (148 Tests, 110 as captain All Blacks; 3 x IRB Player of the Year; Rugby World Cup 2011, 15; IRB HOF), born in Oamaru, New Zealand

Born in 1980

Famous Weddings

Martin Short

Dec 22 Actor Martin Short (30) weds comic actress Nancy Dolman (29)

Pierce Brosnan

Dec 27 Irish actor Pierce Brosnan (27) weds Australian actress Cassandra Harris (32); his first, her third - until her death in 1991

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Sam Levene, American Broadway actor (Purple Heart, Designing Women), dies at 75
Dec 2 Richard Pindle Hammond, American composer dies at 83
Dec 2 Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born French writer (b. 1914)

Oswald Mosley (1896-1980)

Dec 3 British politician and founder of British Union of Fascists, dies at 84

Dec 4 Francisco Sá Carneiro, 109th Prime Minister of Portugal, dies at 46
Dec 4 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American athlete (Olympic gold 100m 1932), dies when shot during an armed robbery, at 69
Dec 7 Darby Crash, American Punk rocker (Germs), dies of an overdose at 22

John Lennon (1940-1980)

Dec 8 British musician, pop star and member of The Beatles (Imagine), shot and murdered outside of his home in NYC by Mark David Chapman at 40

Dec 11 Ignacio Prieto [Arrizubieta], Spanish composer, dies at 80
Dec 12 Jean Lesage, Canadian politician (19th Premier of Quebec, 1960-66), dies of throat cancer at 68

Elston Howard (1929-1980)

Dec 14 American baseball catcher (12 × MLB All-Star; 6 × World Series; AL MVP 1963; first African-American NY Yankee), dies from myocarditis at 51

Dec 14 Richard Gurley Drew, American inventor (created masking tape and cellophane at 3M), dies at 81
Dec 15 Angus Campbell, American psychologist (Elections & Political Order), dies at 70
Dec 15 Rudolph Cleveringa, Dutch anti-nazi lawyer and professor of Law at Leiden University, dies at 86

Colonel Sanders (1890-1980)

Dec 16 American founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, dies at 90

Dec 16 Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (b. 1900)

Alexei Kosygin (1904-1980)

Dec 18 Soviet statesman and Premier of the Soviet Union (1964-80), dies of a heart attack at 76

Marc Connelly (1890-1980)

Dec 21 American playwright (One Minute Please), dies at 90

Dec 24 Alec Wilder, American classical, jazz, and pop music composer (The Churkendoose), and musicologist (American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950), dies at 73 [1]

Karl Dönitz (1891-1980)

Dec 24 German naval admiral and last leader of Nazi Germany, dies of a heart attack at 89

Dec 24 Siggie Nordstrom, American singer (The Nordstrom Sisters), dies at 87
Dec 25 (Ludwig) "Louis" Neefs, Belgian pop singer (Eurovision, 1967 & 1969), dies, along with his wife, in a car accident at 43
Dec 25 Fred Emney, British actor (Let the People Sing; Adventures of a Private Eye; Lilac Domino), dies at 80
Dec 26 (John) "Peck" Kelley, American jazz pianist and bandleader (Peck's Bad Boys), dies from complications of Parkinson's disease at 82
Dec 26 Tony Smith, American sculptor (b. 1912)
Dec 28 Amir Elahi, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (1 Test India, 5 Tests Pakistan), at 72
Dec 28 Jersey calf, lived 222 days with an artificial heart
Dec 29 Nadezhda Mandelstam, Russian writer (b. 1899)
Dec 29 Roy Engle, American writer and actor (The Man from Planet X, The Wild Wild West, My Favorite Martian), dies from meningitis at 67
Dec 29 Tim Hardin, American singer (If I Were a Carpenter, Reason to Believe), dies of a drug overdose at 39
Dec 31 Arthur Wellard, English cricket all-rounder (2 Tests, 7 wickets, BB 4/81; Somerset CCC), dies at 78
Dec 31 Bob Shawkey, American baseball pitcher (World Series 1923, 27; AL ERA leader 1920, New York Yankees), dies at 90

Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)

Dec 31 Canadian writer and 'prophet of the digital age' (the medium is the message), dies at 69

Dec 31 Raoul Walsh, American director (High Sierra), dies at about 88

On This Day