U.S. President: Ronald W. Regan

Vice President: George H.W. Bush

Michigan Governor: James Blanchard

MSU President: John DiBiaggio

Lansing Mayor: Terry John McKane

East Lansing Mayor: John Czarnecki/Joan Hunault

Average price for a gallon of gas: $.95

Cost of a stamp: 22 cents

Time Man of the Year: Mikhail Gorbachev

Most popular baby names: Jessica and Matthew

National unemployment rate: 6.2%

Michigan unemployment rate: 8.5%

Local headlines

• Waverly teachers went on strike Sept. 1 over a contract dispute and didn’t return to the classrooms until Sept. 21.
• Alvin Pickett, founder of the Lansing Urban League, filed suite against the Lansing Elks Club. He contended he was denied membership in the club because he was black. (LSJ)
• Lorenzo White led the MSU Spartans to a Big Ten football title and Rose Bowl appearance.
• Eleven corrections officers at Southern Michigan Prison in Jackson were suspended following the death of a prisoner.

State headlines

• Northwest Flight 255, carrying 155 passengers, crashed right after takeoff at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Cecilia Cichan, age 4, was the only survivor. Three Lansing-area residents were killed. (LSJ)
• Pope John Paul II visited Detroit and celebrated mass with more than 90,000 people at the Pontiac Silverdome. (LSJ)
• The UAW, Ford and GM signed job-protecting, three-year contracts following extensive bargaining and talks of striking. (LSJ)
• Michigan celebrated its 150^th birthday with Sesquicentennial festivities throughout the state.
• Gov. Blanchard signed the 65 mph speed limit into law. (LSJ)
• The Michigan House of Representatives voted to halt state-funded abortions. (LSJ)

National headlines

• On Oct. 14, Jessica McClure fell into an abandoned well in Texas. She was freed two days later. (LSJ)
• Iran-Contra affair hearings (expand)
• The Dow Jones average dropped 508 points on Oct. 19, “Black Monday.”
• Gary Hart’s sexual shenanigans with Donna Rice halted his presidential campaign. (LSJ)
• Researchers made some progress on the battle against AIDS as the drug treatment AZT went on sale.
• The United States celebrated the 200^th anniversary of the Constitution. (LSJ)
• Televangelists Jim and Tammy Bakker, of the PTL Network, resigned following several scandals. (LSJ)
• U.S. Supreme Court rules Rotary Clubs must admit women.
• The first heart-lung transplant takes place in Baltimore Maryland.
• Rev. Jesse Jackson launched his second campaign for U.S. president.

International headlines

• Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev promoted openness or “Glasnost” (LSJ)
• Floods and Bangladesh and earthquakes in Ecuador each killed more than 1,000 people. (LSJ)
• A ferry sank in the Philipines, killing more than 1,600 Christmas travelers. (LSJ)
• Oscar Arias, president of Nicaragua, won the Nobel Peach Prize for his efforts to get Central American countries to agree on peace plan. (LSJ)
• On May 17 during the Iran-Iraq, a mistaken attack by an Iraqi fighter killed 37 sailors and injured 21 on the USS Stark. (LSJ and Wikipedia)
• The United States and Canada signed the Free Trade Agreement.
• Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wins a third term in Great Britain.
• Construction of the Channel Tunnel begins.
• INF agreement between US and USSR eliminates an entire class of nuclear weapons.

The World of Sports

• Super Bowl: NY Giants d. Denver Broncos
• World Series: Minnesota Twins d. St. Louis Cardinals
• NBA Championship: LA Lakers d. Boston Celtics
• Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers d. Philadelphia Flyers
• Wimbledon: Martina Navratilova d. Stefi (check spelling) Graf and Pat Cash d. Ivan Lendl
• NCAA Basketball Championship: Indiana d. Syracuse
• NCAA Football Champions: Miami, FL

Arts & Entertainment

• London-based record labels coin the term “world music.”
• thirtysomething debuts on ABC.
• Best Picture: The Last Emperor
• Top grossing movie: Three Men and a Baby
• Record of the Year: “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood
• Song of the Year: “That’s What Friends are For”
• Aretha Franklin is the first woman inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• Les Miserables opened on Broadway.
• Most popular TV show: The Cosby Show
• Run DMC introduces revolutionary concept of mixing rock and rap

Notable people that passed away in 1987

• Andy Warhol
• Fred Astaire
• Liberace
• Henry Ford II
• Jack Gleason
• Rita Hayworth
• Harold Washington (first black mayor of Chicago)
• Alf Landon (former Kansas Governor who lost to FDR in the 1936 presidential race)
• William Casey (CIA director)
• Peter Tosh (reggae musician)
• Rudolf Hess (Hitler deputy)
• Clare Booth Luce (writer, Congresswoman, diplomat)
• Hugh Duffy Daugherty (former MSU football coach)
• Monsignor Jerome MacEachin (Father Mac founded St. John’s Student Parish and the school at St. Thomas Aquinas Church.

Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes (former Ohio State football coach)