April 16, 1935: "Fibber McGee and Molly" Premieres

April 16, 1935: Fibber McGee and Molly premieres on NBC radio. By 1940, when the running gag of the overloaded hall closet debuted, it was the most popular radio show in America.

Show stars Jim and Marian Jordan were married in real life, too. But Marian was often absent due to, officially, "fatigue" -- a cover first for alcoholism, then for the cancer that took her life in 1961. Jim lived on until 1988.

Fibber's catchphrase was, "Gotta clean out that closet!" Molly's was, "Taint funny, McGee!" (As in, "It ain't funny.")

They remained on radio until Marian's health began to fail for good, long after TV had replaced radio. While they made films as Fibber and Molly, they never wanted to switch to TV. When NBC finally ended the radio show due to Marian's illness in 1959, they cast younger actors in a TV version. It bombed. Times had changed too much.

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April 16, 1935 was a Tuesday. Singer Bobby Vinton was born.

Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. The hockey season had ended a week earlier, when the Montreal Maroons beat the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup. But it was Opening Day of the baseball season, and these games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Yankee Stadium. Wes Ferrell outpitched Lefty Gomez, allowing only 2 baserunners: A single to George Selkirk in the 4th inning, and a double to Lou Gehrig in the 7th. (He had pitched a no-hitter in 1931.)

Oddly, the only run of the game came on misplays by the Yankees' 2 best players. In the top of the 6th, Gomez struck Carl Reynolds out, but catcher Bill Dickey dropped the 3rd strike. Reynolds ran to 1st base, and Gehrig dropped Dickey's throw, allowing former Yankee Billy Werber to score.

This turned out to be the interim year, between the last Yankee season of Babe Ruth, and the 1st Yankee season of Joe DiMaggio. The Yankees won 89 games, and finished 2nd in the American League, 3 games behind perhaps the best Detroit Tigers team ever.

* The New York Giants lost to the Boston Braves, 4-2 at Braves Field in Boston. Ed Brandt outpitched Carl Hubbell. Giants 1st baseman and manager Bill Terry went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Mel Ott also went 1-for-4.

Playing left field for the Braves, and making his triumphal return to Boston after 15 seasons with the Yankees, was Babe Ruth. He went 2-for4 with 3 RBIs, including a home run off Hubbell, the 709th of his career. But an elbow injury, his increasing weight, and the slowly dawning realization that the Braves were never going to make him their manager troubled Ruth, and he retired in June, with 714 homers.

The Braves went on to lose 115 games, the most by any National League team between 1899 and 1962. Maybe they should have named Ruth manager. In practical terms, he couldn't have done any worse.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-3 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Van Lingle Mungo went the distance for the win. He, Danny Taylor, and Jersey Joe Stripp each got 3 hits. Lonny Frey hit a home run.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 12-6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Paul Waner went 2-for-3 with 3 walks and an RBI, and Lloyd Waner went 2-for-6.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Dizzy Dean got hurt, and left the game in the 1st inning. Gabby Hartnett hit a home run.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-1 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. In the top of the 14th inning, Bobo Newsom started by walking Boze Berger, then gave up a game-winning double to Glenn Myatt. Newsom and the Indians' Mel Harder had each pitched all 14 innings.

* The Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers debuted the next day, against each other, at Navin Field (later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. The White Sox won, 7-6

* And the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics also debuted the next day, against each other, at Griffith Stadium in Washington. President Franklin D. Roosevelt threw out the ceremonial first ball, and the Senators won, 4-2.