April 19, 1989: An explosion onboard the USS Iowa kills 47 crewmen, during a fleet exercise in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla. This hastened the ship's retirement, and that of the other remaining World War II-Korean War era battleships.
The NIS (Naval Investigative Service), the precursor to the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service), determined that it was caused by a sailor's suicide attempt.
Battleships BB-65, USS Illinois, and BB-66, USS Kentucky, were still under construction when World War II ended, were never completed, and were ultimately scrapped, never joining the Iowa-class battleships that actually did sail. Those 4 have all become "museum ships":
* BB-61, USS Iowa, "The Grey Ghost." Decommissioned October 26, 1990. It is berthed at the Pacific Battleship Center, Port of Los Angeles.
* BB-62, USS New Jersey, "The Big J" or "The Black Dragon," it saw more battles than the other 3 combined. Decommissioned February 8, 1991. It is berthed at the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
* BB-63, USS Missouri, "The Mighty Mo," the ship on which the Empire of Japan formally surrendered to the Allies. Decommissioned March 31, 1992, making it America's last battleship. It is berthed at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. The place where, for America, World War II began seems an appropriate place for the ship where it formally ended.
* BB-64, USS Wisconsin, "The Big Wisky." Decommissioned September 30, 1991. It is berthed at Nauticus, a museum at the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.
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April 19, 1989 was a Wednesday. Actor Simu Liu was born. This was also the day the "Central Park Jogger" case began. I have a separate entry for that event.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. John Candelaria outpitched future Yankee Jimmy Key. Steve Sax, Bob Brower and Álvaro Espinoza each had 2 hits for the Yankees. Don Mattingly and Rickey Henderson each went 1-for-5.
* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Lee Mazzilli hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning, to make Randy Myers a winning pitcher in relief of David Cone. Mike Schmidt, entering his final season, went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4. George Brett and Bo Jackson hit home runs for the Royals.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Barry Bonds went 2-for-5.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Dodgers does it take to pitch a 5-hit shutout? On this night, 4: Mike Morgan, 4 over 5 2/3rds innings; Tim Crews, 1 before getting the last out in the 6th; Ray Searage, a perfect 7th; and Jay Howell, a perfect 8th and 9th.
* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4.
Football was out of season. There were 4 games played in the NBA:
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Miami Heat, 117-91 at the Miami Arena.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Indiana Pacers, 115-105 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 100-92 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
* And the Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 99-84 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.
There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both in Game 2 of the Prince of Wales Conference Finals. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum, in Game 2 of their series. Bobby Smith scored the winner, at 12:24 of the 1st overtime. And the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
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