March 28, 1941: The 1st Superhero Movie

Yes, that's a lightning bolt on his chest.

Not an outline of the State of New Jersey.

He's Captain Marvel, not Captain Pork Roll.

March 28, 1941: The 1st movie – or, rather, movie serial – featuring a superhero premieres. It’s Adventures of Captain Marvel. (There is no "The" in the title.) It runs 12 chapters, for a total of 216 minutes (3 hours, 36 minutes).

Frank Coghlan Jr., at 25 already too old for the role, plays teenage radio reporter Billy Batson. He had already been a well-known child star under the name Junior Coghlan. He had also played a Confederate soldier in Gone with the Wind, saying, "Put me down, put me down, damn ya, I can walk!" He preceded Clark Gable in using the word "damn" onscreen by about an hour, but only Gable's use of it had a fuss made over it.

Soon after playing Billy, Coghlan enlisted in the U.S. Navy, became a pilot, serving 23 years, including combat roles in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Commander – not quite making Captain, and saying, "Shazam!" wouldn't have helped with the promotion. He returned to acting, and even had a cameo in CBS' 1974 Saturday morning Shazam! show. He lived until 2009, age 93.

Tom Tyler played Captain Marvel. He wasn't so lucky: Better known as a Western actor, he had to retire from acting due to arthritis and a heart condition, and died in 1954, only 50 years old.

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March 28, 1941 was a Friday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And while the Stanley Cup Playoffs were in progress, this was an off-day. So there were no scores on this historic day.