The U.S. 500, the most prestigious race in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series, dissolves into tragedy on this day in 1998, when three fans are killed and six others wounded by flying debris from a car at Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. CART (later known as Champ Car) was an open-wheel racing circuit […]
Continue readingSaving Private Ryan Opens In Theaters
On this day in 1998, the director Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic, Saving Private Ryan, is released in theaters across the United States. The film, which starred Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, was praised for its authentic portrayal of war and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. It took home five Oscars, for Best […]
Continue readingBidding Starts On South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp.
On this day in 1998, South Korea’s government opens the bidding for the Kia Motors Corporation, the country’s third-largest car company, which went bankrupt during an economic crisis that gripped much of Asia. Founded on the outskirts of Seoul in 1944, Kia began as a small manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The name […]
Continue readingFrance Beats Brazil To Win FIFA World Cup
On July 12, 1998, France defeats favored Brazil 3-0 to win the FIFA World Cup at Stade de France in Saint Denis. This was the first World Cup France had hosted since 1938 and the country’s first-ever World Cup title. The 1998 Les Bleus was a multi-ethnic squad that reflected the country’s diverse post-World War […]
Continue readingGone With The Wind Re-Released In United States
On this day in 1998, the classic Civil War-era blockbuster Gone with the Wind, originally released in 1939, is re-released in U.S. theaters by New Line Pictures. Produced by David O. Selznick and based on the mega-best-selling novel of the same name by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind made its splashy debut in Atlanta, […]
Continue readingJordan Leads Bulls To Sixth NBA Title
On June 14, 1998, Michael Jordan leads the Chicago Bulls to an 87-86 win over the Utah Jazz in Game Six of the NBA Finals to clinch their third consecutive NBA title. Jordan scored 45 points and hit the winning jump shot with 5.2 seconds left on the clock in what seemed a fitting end […]
Continue readingSex And The City Premieres On HBO
On this day in 1998, the cable network HBO airs the pilot episode of Sex and the City, a new comedy series chronicling the lives and loves of four single women living in New York City. The show’s creator, Darren Star, was best known at the time for producing the long-running Fox TV series Beverly […]
Continue readingAutoworkers’ Union Calls Strike At GM Parts Factory
On this day in 1998, 3,400 members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union walk out on their jobs at a General Motors (GM) metal-stamping factory in Flint, Michigan, beginning a strike that will last seven weeks and stall production at GM facilities nationwide. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, after rising fuel prices […]
Continue readingComic Phil Hartman Killed By Wife
On this day in 1998, the comedian and actor Phil Hartman, famous for his work on Saturday Night Live and NewsRadio, is shot to death by his troubled wife, Brynn, in a murder-suicide. He was 49. Born on September 24, 1948, in Ontario, Canada, Hartman was raised in Connecticut and Southern California, and later became […]
Continue readingFrank Sinatra Is Laid To Rest
Long before his stature in the world of show business earned him the nickname “Chairman of the Board,” Frank Sinatra was known simply as “The Voice.” During a career that saw him go from skinny teen idol to middle-aged playboy, Sinatra’s personality and looks were certainly major factors in his success, but they could never […]
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