The Eighties

The St. Louis Arena opened in 1929 and was home to?? the city's many pro hockey, pro basketball, and pro soccer teams. It also hosted college sports, concerts, conventions, and more. From 1977 to 1983, it was known as the Checkerdome as Ralston Purina...

Zayre and was a chain of discount department stores that operated throughout the U.S. from the 1960s through the 1980s. After selling the Zayre locations to competitor Ames, the company focused on its TJ Maxx storeds as well as sibling retailers Marshalls, Home Goods,...

The original St. Louis Steamers joined the the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) as an expansion team in 1979 and played until 1988. At its peak of popularity the team was drawing crowds of over 17,000 to the St. Louis Arena. READ MORE ???*Shirt...

Ii all started in 1971 when nightclub owner Sherwood Cryer asked country music legend Mickey Gilley to be his business partner. Gilley's Club became on the most iconic nightclubs of the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a Texas institution. It was featured in...

Edgewater Park was a 20-acre amusement park at Grand River and Seven Mile Rd on Detroit's West Side that opened in 1927. For over 50 years its visitors enjoyed such attractions as the Wild Beast roller coaster, the 110-foot Ferris wheel, and the Hall...

The Indianapolis Ice played in the IHL from 1988 to 1999 before joining the CHL in 1999. In 2004, the team moved to Topeaka, KS. The Ice were established after the Indianapolis Checkers, also of the IHL, moved to Denver following the 1988 season....

The AAA Las Vegas Stars were stablished in 1983 when the Spokane Indians moved to the Las Vegas Valley. The team was previously known as the Portland Beavers from 1919 to 1973. From their arrival in the valley until 2000, they were an affiliate...

Baltimore joined the Eastern Hockey League in 1979 as the Clippers. The team moved to the Atlantic Coast Hockey League in 1981 and changed their name to the Skipjacks. In 1982, they moved up to the American Hockey League. In 1993, they moved to...

The Ft. Worth Texans hockey team was established in 1967 as the Wings, a farm team of Detroit's top-level team. They played in the Central Hockey League (CHL) at the Will Rogers Coliseum. In 1974, they became the Texans. They defeated their arch rivals...

In the 1980s, it was the battle cry of the British Phonograph Industry (BPI), later championed by similar organizations around the world. Little did they know that a much scarier beast was lurking on the horizon.

Introduced two years after rival Sony put the Betamax video recording system on the market in 1975, VHS became the accepted format for consumers by the mid-1980s.

The original Dayton Gems played in the International Hockey League from 1964 to 1977 and 1979 to 1980, winning 3 Turner Cup championships. A second Dayton Gems team played in the IHL in 2009/2010 and the Central Hockey League (CHL) from 2010 to 2012.

The Diplomats joined the old North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1974 as an expansion team. Though successful on the field and at the gate, the team was never profitable. In 1980, the original team folded. That same year, the Detroit Express moved to...

The Kansas City Comets started as the Detroit Lightning in 1979, the second season of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). In 1980, they moved to San Francisco where they became the Fog. In 1981, they moved to Kansas City and became the Comets....

Opened in 1988, The Palace of Auburn Hills was a multi-purpose arena that hosted concerts and other events and was home to several sports teams including the basketball's Detroit Pistons and hockey's Detroit Vipers. The Pistons left in 2017 and though the building was...

Ultra Twister was a steel-pipeline style coaster built by TOGO for Six Flags Great America in Jackson, New Jersey. The ride opened in 1986 but after just five seasons in the Garden State, it was moved to AstroWorld in Houston for the 1991 season....

Famous for its burgers and tots, Fat Daddy's opened in 1985 on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. It grew to three locations. It closed in 2014.

Max's Kansas City, located at 213 Park Avenue in Lower Manhattan, was one of the most famous rock clubs in America. It was established in 1965 Mickey Ruskin, a Cornell Law School graduate who went on to become a successful restauranteur. As for Max's,...

At least it looked that way in the late '70s, as the North American Soccer League (NASL) grew in popularity in North America. Kids all over the continent were playing in youth leagues, while the NASL grew to 24 teams in 1978, a number...

The Detroit Drive was formed in 1988, joining the Arena Football League for that circuit's second season. The team played in the Motor City's Joe Louis Arena through the 1993 season, winning four AFL championships. The team moved to Worcester, MA in 1994 and...

Live Aid was a benefit concert held in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. The event grew out of the Band Aid single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" released in late 1984. That song featured many of the UK's top pop stars and...

Metroplex was a punk rock club in Atlanta, Georgia from 1983 to 1988. It brought in national acts such as Bad Brains and Suicidal Tendencies and was the place to be for Atlanta punk rockers in the mid-80s.

Frederick & Nelson??was a department store??chain based in Seattle. Founded in 1891 as a furniture store, it soon expanded into selling general merchandise. At its peak in the 1980s, it boasted 10 locations in Washington State and Oregon but closed in 1992.

Baby Doe's Matchless Mine was a theme restaurant popular in the 1970s and 1980s.??The chain was named for Elizabeth McCourt "Baby" Doe Tabor (1854???935), the young bride of Central City, Colorado mine owner Harvey Doe. It was founded by aviation collector David Tallichet Jr....

The Dayton Dynamo was an indoor soccer team established in 1987 as an expansion team in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). In 1990, they joined the higher tiered??National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). In 1995, the moved south to become the Cincinnati Silverbacks.??

The St. Louis NFL team that nearly was. After losing the football Cardinals to Phoenix in 1987, St. Louis sought an expansion team. In October 1993, Charlotte was awarded a team (the Carolina Panthers) but the announcement of the second team was delayed. Many...

The New York Arrows were charter members of the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 1978. They played their home games at the Nassau County Coliseum on Long Island. In the league's first ever game, baseball legend Pete Rose kicked out the first...

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) debuted in 1978 with six teams. Playing on a astroturf-covered hockey rinks, the league quickly grew in popularity through the 1980s. Interest began to wane toward the end of the decade. Teams included the very popular St. Louis...

One of Cleveland's all-time most beloved sports franchises, and indeed one of America's most popular soccer teams ever, was the Force. They were a charter member of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 1978 and played 10 seasons before folding in 1988. READ...

Pup 'n' Taco was a popular fast food chain in Los Angeles. It served featured hot dogs (thus the "pup" tacos, tostadas, pastrami sandwiches, burgers, and fries. Russell Wendell started in the restaurant business in 1956 with Big Donut. He introduced Pup 'n' Taco in 1965. In 1984, most of...