What Happened in March 1988

Historical Events

  • Mar 1 Courtney Gibbs Eplin, 21, (Texas), crowned 37th Miss USA

Sports History

Mar 1 Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky picks up a 1st period assist in Oilers' 5-3 win over LA Kings to move ahead of Gordie Howe as NHL's all time leader in career assists; Howe 1,049 assists in 26 years, Gretzky 1,050 in 9 years

Sports History

Mar 1 For first time since 1956, the Special Veterans Committee does not elect anyone to the Baseball Hall of Fame; Phil Rizzuto, Leo Durocher, Joe Gordon and Gil Hodges passed over

  • Mar 1 Iraq says it launched 16 missiles into Tehran
  • Mar 1 Pontiac announces the end of the Fiero automobile

Grammy Awards

Mar 2 30th Grammy Awards: Record of the year - Paul Simon "Graceland"; Album of the Year - U2 "The Joshua Tree"; Jody Watley Best New Artist

  • Mar 2 The flaming basketball is adopted as NBA franchise Miami Heat’s official logo from over 13,000 entries; Mark Henderson submits the winning entry
  • Mar 5 Constitution of Turks and Caicos Islands is restored and revised.
  • Mar 6 18th Easter Seal Telethon raises $35,200,000
  • Mar 6 3 IRA suspects shot dead in Gibraltar by SAS officers
  • Mar 6 Julie Krone becomes winningest female jockey (1205 victories)
  • Mar 7 Colombia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty

Film & TV History

Mar 7 Howard Stern's 1st pay-per-view "Underpants & Negligee Party"

  • Mar 7 Jim Abbott, 1-handed pitcher, wins 58th James E Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the US, becoming 1st baseball player to win the award

Appointment of Interest

Mar 9 Actress Audrey Hepburn is appointed a UNICEF Special Ambassador (Goodwill Ambassador 1989)

Event of Interest

Mar 9 US President Ronald Reagan presides at unveiling of Knute Rockne stamp

Event of Interest

Mar 10 Avalanche at Swiss Ski resort Klosters nearly kills Prince Charles

Sports History

Mar 10 NHL New York Islanders celebrate Mike Bossy night

  • Mar 11 British pound note ceases to be legal tender, replaced by one pound coin
  • Mar 11 Utrecht conservatory destroyed by fire

People's Choice Awards

Mar 13 14th People's Choice Awards: Michael Douglas & Glenn Close win (Motion Picture) and Bill Cosby & Cybill Shepherd win (TV)

  • Mar 13 29th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Georgia, 62-57
  • Mar 13 35th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats North Carolina, 65-61
  • Mar 13 9th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse beats Villanova, 85-68
  • Mar 13 Japan's Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest tunnel with an underwater segment (53.90 km in total) opens, connecting Honshu-Hokkaido by rail. The Channel Tunnel remains the longest underwater tunnel.
  • Mar 15 Eugene Marino of Atlanta appointed 1st African American archbishop
  • Mar 15 NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer by CFK
  • Mar 15 NFL's St Louis Cardinals officially move to Phoenix
  • Mar 16 Chemical attack on Kurdish town of Halabja by Iraqi forces kills 5000 civilians - largest ever chemical weapons attack
  • Mar 16 Federal grand jury indicts North & Poindexter in Iran-Contra affair
  • Mar 16 North Ireland Protestant fires on Catholic funeral, 3 killed
  • Mar 16 US sends 3,000 soldiers to Nicaragua's neighbor Honduras
  • Mar 17 Iran says Iraq uses poison gas
  • Mar 17 Then highest scoring NCAA basketball game to date; Loyola-Marymont 119, Wyoming 115
  • Mar 19 France edges Wales, 10-9 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to share the Five Nations Rugby Championship with the Welsh with 3-1 records
  • Mar 19 Two British Army corporals are attacked during a funeral procession, beaten and shot dead by the Provisional IRA in Belfast, North Ireland

World Record

Mar 19 Yvonne van Gennip skates un-official world record 10 km (15:25.25)

  • Mar 20 David Henry Hwang's "M. Butterfly," premieres in NYC

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 20 Defending champion Mike Tyson beats Tony Tubbs by TKO in round 2 at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo for the undisputed world heavyweight boxing title

  • Mar 20 Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
  • Mar 22 US Congress overrides President Reagan's veto of sweeping civil rights bill
  • Mar 22 WA beat Queensland by 5 wkts to win the Sheffield Shield Final

Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm

Mar 23 Geffen Records releases "Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 13th studio album

  • Mar 24 "Gospel at Colonus" opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 61 performances
  • Mar 24 San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts announces his retirement after 15 seasons

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Mar 25 "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas is released

  • Mar 25 NASA launches space vehicle S-206
  • Mar 25 Robin Givens demands full access to husband Mike Tyson's money
  • Mar 26 American Janet Evans swims 1,500m freestyle female world record 15:52.10 in the USA Spring Nationals in Orlando, Florida
  • Mar 27 Ice Dance Championship at Budapest won by Bestemianova & Bukin (URS)
  • Mar 27 Ice Pairs Championship at Budapest won by E Valova & O Vasiliev (URS)
  • Mar 27 Ladies' Figure Skating Championship in Budapest won by Katarina Witt (GDR)

Sports History

Mar 27 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Budapest won by Brian Boitano (USA)

  • Mar 27 Ok-Hee Ku wins Standard Register Turquoise Classic Golf Tournament
  • Mar 27 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Local resident Mark McCumber wins with record total 273 (−15), 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Reid
  • Mar 27 WrestleMania IV, Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, NJ: Randy "Macho Man" Savage beats Ted DiBiase for WWF Heavyweight title
  • Mar 29 Brazilian musical revue "Oba Oba" opens at Ambassador Theater, NYC; runs for 46 performances
  • Mar 29 US Congress discontinues aid to Nicaraguan contras
  • Mar 30 Tamil Nadu beat Railways by inns & 144 to win Ranji Trophy
  • Mar 31 Last East Limburg coal mine closes in Gent Belgium

Sports History

Mar 31 New York Islanders celebrate defenseman Denis Potvin's 1,000 points and 1,000 NHL games at tribute night at Nassau Coliseum

Event of Interest

Mar 31 Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for her novel "Beloved"


1988 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Mar 1 Katija Pevec, American actress
  • Mar 1 Trevor Cahill, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 2010; Oakland Athletics), born in Oceanside, California
  • Mar 1 Yang Hyeon-jong, South Korean baseball pitcher (Korean Series 2009, 2017 [MVP]; KBO MVP 2017; KIA Tigers), born in Gwangju, South Korea
  • Mar 2 James Arthur, British pop singer ("Say You Won't Let Go"), born in Middlesbrough, England
  • Mar 2 Keith Jack, British pop and theater singer and actor, born in Midlothian, Scotland
  • Mar 2 Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver (Olympic gold 10m platform 2008), born in Brisbane, Australia
  • Mar 2 Nadine Samonte, Filipino actress
  • Mar 5 Bjarni Viðarsson, Icelandic footballer
  • Mar 5 Trevor Carson, Northern Irish footballer
  • Mar 8 Armanti Edwards, American college football player

Benny Blanco (36 years old)

Mar 8 American record producer and DJ ("Eastside"), born in Reston, Virginia

  • Mar 10 Ivan Rakitić, Croatian football player (FC Barcelona, Croatian national team), born in Möhlin, Switzerland
  • Mar 14 Mark Falgren, Danish drummer (Lukas Graham - "7 Years"), born in Denmark

Stephen Curry (36 years old)

Mar 14 American basketball guard (NBA career 3-point record holder; NBA MVP 2015-16; Golden State Warriors), born in Akron, Ohio

  • Mar 15 Ever Guzman, Mexican footballer
  • Mar 17 Grimes [Claire Boucher], Canadian pop musician, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Mar 22 Tania Raymonde, American actress, born in Los Angeles, California
  • Mar 24 Finn Jones, English actor (Game of Thrones, Iron Fist, The Defenders, Luke Cage), born in London
  • Mar 24 Ryan Higgins, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Harare, Zimbabwe
  • Mar 25 Big Sean [Anderson], American rapper, singer, and songwriter (Dark Sky Paradise), born in Santa Monica, California
  • Mar 26 Lucas Bravo, French actor and model (Emily in Paris), born in Nice, France
  • Mar 27 Brenda Song, American actress (The Ultimate Christmas Present), born in Carmichael, California
  • Mar 27 Holliday Grainger, English actress (The Borgias), born in Manchester, England

Jessie J (36 years old)

Mar 27 British pop singer-songwriter ("Price Tag"; "Domino"; "Bang Bang"), born in Redbridge, London, England

  • Mar 27 Kerri Ann Darling, American actress (Another World - "Alli")
  • Mar 28 Lacey Turner, British soap actress

Richard Sherman (35 years old)

Mar 30 American NFL cornerback (San Francisco 49ers), born in Compton, California


Born in 1988

Famous Deaths

  • Mar 1 Jean Le Poulain, French actor (Divine), dies at 63
  • Mar 1 Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (The Three Stooges, Let's Make Love, Africa Screams), dies from heart failure at 80
  • Mar 3 Lois Wilson, American silent and sound screen actress (Miss Lulu Bett; The Great Gatsby; The Covered Wagon: Bright Eyes), dies of pneumonia at 72
  • Mar 3 Sewall Wright, US geneticist (evolution model), dies at 98
  • Mar 5 Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian (b. 1933)
  • Mar 6 Dick Ricketts Jr., American basketball center (# 1 overall pick 1955 NBA draft St. Louis Hawks) and baseball pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals), dies from leukemia at 54
  • Mar 6 Konstantin Iliev, Bulgarian composer, dies at 63
  • Mar 7 Divine [Harris Glenn Milstead], American actress, drag queen and international icon of bad taste cinema (Pink Flamingos), dies of natural causes at 42
  • Mar 7 Robert Livingston, American actor (Three Mesquiteers, The Lone Ranger and Zorro), dies at 83 of emphysema
  • Mar 8 Amar Singh Chamkila [Dhanni Ram], Punjabi folk singer "The Elvis of Punjab" killed by unknown gunmen as he arrived for concert at age 26 [1]
  • Mar 8 Henryk Szeryng, Polish-born violinist (b. 1918)
  • Mar 8 Ken Colyer, British New Orleans jazz devotee trumpeter, cornetist, and bandleader, dies at 79
  • Mar 8 Lala Abdul Rashid, Pakistani field hockey goalkeeper (Olympic gold 1960), dies at 65
  • Mar 8 Werner Hartmann, German physicist (b. 1912)
  • Mar 9 Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German politician and author (Chancellor of West Germany 1966-69), dies at 83

Andy Gibb (1958-1988)

Mar 10 British singer-songwriter, performer and teen idol (Bee Gees - "I Just Want to Be Your Everything"), dies of myocarditis at 30

  • Mar 10 William Brocklesby Wordsworth, English composer, dies at 79
  • Mar 11 Pham Hung, premier of Vietnam, dies at about 74
  • Mar 12 Billie Rhodes, American silent film actress, dies at 93
  • Mar 13 Olive Carey, American actress (Affairs With a Stranger), dies at 92
  • Mar 14 Willi Apel, German-American musicologist (Harvard Dictionary of Music), dies at 94

Dmitri Polyakov (1921-1988)

Mar 15 Soviet Major General and spy for the CIA, executed at 66

  • Mar 15 Wilson Ferreira Aldunate, Uruguayan politician ad human rights activist, dies of cancer at 69
  • Mar 16 Dorothy Adams Foulger, actress (Laura, Devil Commands), dies at 88
  • Mar 17 Nikolas Asimos, Greek counter-culture composer and singer, dies at 38
  • Mar 20 Gil Evans, Canadian-American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (Miles Davis; Absolute Beginners, Out of the Cool), dies at 75
  • Mar 21 Edd Roush, American Baseball HOF outfielder (World Series 1919; NL batting champion 1917, 19; Cincinnati Reds), dies at 94
  • Mar 23 Dayton Lummis, American character actor (The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell; The Wrong Man; Moonfire), dies at 84
  • Mar 25 James J. Howard, American educator and Democratic Party politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey), dies at 60
  • Mar 25 Robert Joffrey [Abdullah Jaffa Anver Bey Khan], American dancer, teacher, and choreographer (co-founder of Joffrey Ballet), dies of AIDS at 59
  • Mar 26 Musa Kaleem [Orlando Wright], American jazz saxophonist, dies at 67
  • Mar 27 Jan van den Weghe, Flemish writer, dies at about 67
  • Mar 29 Dulcie September, South African teacher and anti-apartheid political activist, assassinated in Paris, France at 62
  • Mar 29 Ted Kluszewski, American baseball 1st baseman (MLB All Star 1953-56; NL HR & RBI leader 1954; Cincinnati Reds), dies of a heart attack at 63
  • Mar 30 Edgar Faure, Prime Minister of France (1952, 52-56) and writer, dies at 79
  • Mar 30 Taneli Kuusisto, Finnish organist and composer (Suomalainen rukous - Finnish Prayer), dies at 82
  • Mar 31 Talib Rasul Hakim [Stephen Chambers], American composer (Visions of Ishwara; Az-Zaahir-Al Batin (The Outward-The Inward)), dies at 48
  • Mar 31 William McMahon, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (Liberal: 1971-72), dies in his sleep at 80