The Eighties

The Memphis Americans played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1981 to 1984 at the Mid-South Coliseum. They began in 1979 as the Hartford Hellions. In 1984 they became the Las Vegas Americans for one season, before folding in the spring...

The program known as 120 Minutes ran on Music Television from 1986 to 2003. It was cancelled abruptly but returned in 2011 on the channel's sibling feed where it ran for two more years. After the channel became more mainstream in the 1980s, thanks...

Burger Chef was a fast-food hamburger chain that started in Indianapolis in 1958. At its peak in the mid 1970s, it was second only to McDonald's in the number of nationwide locations. The chain even made inroads into Canada. In 1982, the chain was...

The US Festival was a three-day rock concert put together by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak and noted promoter Bill Graham. Only two US Festivals were held, 1982 and 1983. It was set up in Glen Helen Regional Park east of Los Angeles. In...

Mississippi River Festival, or MRF, was an outdoor concert series held from 1969 to 1980 on the campus of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois. Many top performers of the day appeared. The run ended when the university asked the new promoter to bring in classical...

The Buffalo Stallions joined the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for that circuit's second season. They played 5 seasons in the MISL, and at the height of their popularity, drew close to 10,000 fans a game. They folded in 1984.

Redbirds was the nickname of Louisville's current AAA minor league baseball team, the Louisville Bats, from 1982 to 1998. From 1999 through 2001, the were known as the RiverBats. Starting in 2002 they dropped the "River" part opting to be just the Bats. Since...

The St. Louis Storm played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1989 to 1992, replacing the Steamers who folded a year earlier.

Formerly the Denver Bears, this Pacific Coast League team, founded in 1955, was renamed the Zephyrs in 1984. The club moved to New Orleans when the Colorado Rockies began play in Major League Baseball in 1993.

Remember this championship team? When the Canadian Football League (CFL) decided to add teams in the U.S. in the early 1990s, Jim Speros acquired one for Baltimore. Abandoned by the NFL Colts in 1984, and passed over for expansion in 1993 when the Bombers...

The Hartford Hellions joined the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the league's second season. Playing in the new Hartford Civic Center, the franchise played two seasons in Connecticut before moving to Memphis to become the Americans in 1981.

The Sting played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984 and the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in the 1982-83 season and again from 1984 to 1988. They won the NASL Championship in 1981 and 1984. The team was dissolved...

WOXY, 97X, was one of the most important alternative rock radio stations in America from 1985 until it went off the air in 2004. It stayed alive for a few more years as an Internet-only radio station. During its final year of existence, the...

The original North American Soccer League (NASL) was formed in 1967 when the competing United Soccer Association and the National Professional Soccer League decided to join forces. For the next 12 seasons, it was the top-level league for outdoor soccer in the U.S. and...

Rink's was founded in Hamilton, Ohio, between Cincinnati and Dayton, in 1951 by Hyman Ullner. It was later acquired by Gray Drug and later Cook United, owners of Uncle Bill's. The last Rink's store closed in 1987.

The 1982 World's Fair, officially called the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, was held May 1 through October 31, 1982. The 70-acre fairgrounds were built on the old Louisville and Nashville railyard and depot, though part of the campus of the University of Tennessee was...

The Los Angeles Lazers joined the MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) ??in 1982 after spending four seasons as the Philadelphia Fever. They were owned by sports mogul Jerry Buss who also owned basketball's Los Angeles Lakers, hockey's Los Angeles Kings, as well as all...

Tewligans was probably the most famous establishment to call 1047 Bardstown Road home. Until 1981 it was a biker bar called The Cherokee. After becoming Tewligans, it hosted local, regional, and national rock acts. While it didn ??t have as long a history as...

County Stadium??opened in 1953 and was home to two Milwaukee baseball teams. In 1973, the beer slide and chalet debuted in the stadiums outfield seating area. A character dubbed Bernie slid down the slide and into a giant beer mug after every home run...

The Charleston Charlies were members of the International League and played in West Virginia's capital from 1971 to 1983, although as to different incarnations. The Columbus Jets relocated to Charleston in 1971 to establish the first edition of the Charlies. They moved back to...

The AAA Stars were stablished in 1983 when the Spokane Indians moved to the Las Vegas Valley. The team was known as the Portland Beavers from 1919 to 1973. The team changed its name to the 51s in 2001, in honor of nearby Area...

The Gladiators were one of four charter teams created to showcase the Arena Football League's inaugural season in 1987. The team played every season from 1987 to 1990, making it to ArenaBowls I and III, before relocating to Tampa Bay, Florida, where they became...

The building that housed the Off Ramp Cafe was built in 1908 and was home to a variety of shops until the 1950s when a successive string of muisc clubs occupied the space. In 1986 it began booking alternative rock acts as the Off...

Big Bear was a supermarket chain that operated in Central Ohio and West Virginia. Not to be confused with the chain of the same name in San Diego. The first Big Bear opened in 1933 on West Lane Avenue in Columbus near the campus...

The Phoenix Giants were a AAA baseball team that played in The Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 1958 and 1959 and then from 1966 to 1997, when the National League Arizona Diamondbacks began play. They were the long-time farm team of the San Francisco...

Many Cincinnati breweries went out of business during prohibition. However, when the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed in 1933, making the sale of alcohol legal once again, new brewers sprang up including Schoenling which opened its doors on Good Friday, 1934. Most famous for its...

The Denver Avalanche played two seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) starting in 1980. The team was top five in attendance for both seasons, and made the playoffs in its second campaign. However, the team filed for bankruptcy in 1983. Its assetts...

Before they were banned in the 1980's, Jarts were a popular game of lawn darts that was essentially a combination of horseshoes and darts. Currently, Jarts are sold in a modified and safer version, with a blunt tip design.

Its the biggest party of 1988. Printed on a super soft 50/50 cotton poly blend crewneck sweatshirt The sweater everyone is "dying" to wear to all their holiday parties this year Designed and printed from a local business in the USA Fun Christmas gift...

Metropol was a dance club in Pittsburgh's Strip District that opened in 1988. In addition to dancing, the club also hosted concerts?? by acts such as Flock of Seagulls, Ministry, Book of Love, Cause & Effect, and more. It closed in 2005.