June 11, 1982: "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" Premieres

June 11, 1982: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial premieres. Steven Spielberg directed a story about a being from another planet, mistakenly left behind on Earth by his people, and his attempt to get home, with the help of a suburban American family (children included), with the federal government trying to investigate him to see if he's a threat.

It became the biggest box-office bonanza of all time, and held that title until Titanic was released in 1997.

At the time, we thought it was a heartwarming science fiction story for the whole family. Even my grandmother, who didn't like sci-fi, loved it.

Now, we know the truth: It was a horror movie.

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June 11, 1982 was a Friday. Basketball legend Diana Taurasi was born.

Football was out of season. The hockey season had ended the month before, with the New York Islanders winning the Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks. The basketball season had ended 3 days before, with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship over the Philadelphia 76ers. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 9-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave Winfield, Ken Griffey Sr. and Roy Smalley Jr. each got 2 hits, to no avail. Dennis Martinez (6 innings) and Tippy Martinez (no relation, 3) combined to beat Mike Morgan. Gary Roenicke and eventual Rookie of the Year Cal Ripken Jr. hit home runs for the O's, while Eddie Murray went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Shea Stadium.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-8 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Lee Lacy hit a home run in the top of the 9th inning, ruining a great start by Larry Christenson, and making a winner of Kent Tekulve in relief of John Candelaria. Willie Stargell, in his last season, unsuccessfully appeared as a pinch-hitter. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3, and Pete Rose went 2-for-4.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4, and didn't steal any bases.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3, and Rod Carew went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs, and Paul Molitor went 2-for-5 with 1 RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-2 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) George Brett went 1-for-5, and Jerry Martin singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. (It was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.) Tony Gwynn made his major league debut with the Padres on July 19, and did not get into this game.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 11-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Jerry Reuss allowed a leadoff double to Eddie Milner, who was brought home on 2 groundouts, and didn't allow another hit for the rest of the game. Johnny Bench was 0-for-2 before being substituted.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* And the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers got rained out at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. It was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 6, and the Rangers swept it, 4-3 and 11-7.