June 27, 1986: "Running Scared" Premieres

June 27, 1986: The film Running Scared premieres, directed by Peter Hyams. It's a buddy comedy, a crime drama, and even a Christmas movie. (If Die Hard counts, so does this one.) I love it.

Billy Crystal, diminutive comedian, and Gregory Hines, legendary dancer, play Chicago detectives, No, I'm not making that up. (The casting director made that up.) Each actor pretty much stays in his familiar persona: Crystal's Danny Costanzo is a wisenheimer, and Hines' Ray Hughes is smooth with both the law and the ladies. Jimmy Smits plays Julio Gonzalez, who is looking to become the 1st Hispanic drug kingpin of Chicago. They are on a collision course.

Early in the movie, this car was spraypainted with the words "UNMARKED POLICE CAR." The police mechanic repainted it to look like a cab, and refitted it with windows that are bulletproof glass The result is the best car chase scene in movie history.

Crystal, a baseball fanatic who grew up as a New York Yankees fan on Long Island, works sports, usually baseball, into just about every movie he's in. And so, Ray keeps a Chicago Cubs cap on his desk at the precinct house.

The film takes place during the Christmas season. And, being set and filmed in Chicago, it's cold,and there's plenty of snow. Therefore, if Die Hard, which came along 2 years later and also ended in a downtown skyscraper, is a Christmas movie, then Running Scared is a better Christmas movie -- and maybe a better movie, period.

In spite of the film's title, "Running Scared," a Number 1 hit for Roy Orbison in 1961, does not appear in the film. Instead, the film opens with a different song of the same title, sung by John "Fee" Waybill, lead singer of rock band The Tubes. Two songs from the film became hits: "Sweet Freedom," by former Doobie Brothers lead singer Michael McDonald, hit Number 7; and "Man Size Love," by Klymaxx, hit Number 15.

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June 27, 1986 was a Friday. Actor-singer Drake Bell was born. The World Cup was between its Semifinal and its Final, in which Argentina bet West Germany. And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 14-7 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry got knocked out of the box in the 3rd inning. The Yankees got home runs from Don Mattingly, Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Sr.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Roger Clemens advanced to 14-0 on the season. Tony Armas hit a home run for the Red Sox. For the Orioles, Eddie Murray hit 2 home runs, and Cal Ripken went 2-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 7-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Player-manager Pete Rose went 1-for-3 for the Reds. Mike Aldrete won the game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Kirk Gibson hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Robin Yount went 0-for-5, and Paul Molitor did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. George Brett went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Milt Thompson singled John Russell home with the winning run in the top of the 17th inning. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-6 with a walk.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Scott pitched a 2-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking none. Bill Doran and Kevin Bass hit home runs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Reggie Jackson went 1-for-1 with 3 walks and an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 6. Even then, it wasn't finished "on time."

The Mets won the opener, 7-6. Keith Hernandez hit a home run. Dwight Gooden went 9 innings, but allowed 5 runs, including 2 on a home run by Jody Davis in the bottom of the 9th to send it to extra innings. Mookie Wilson singled home 2 runs in the top of the 12th, and the Cubs could only get 1 run back in the bottom half, making a winning pitcher of Roger McDowell.

As Wrigley, since 1948, had been the last MLB stadium without lights, it doesn't make sense to call the 2nd game "the nightcap." Rick Anderson outpitched Steve Trout, and Gary Carter hit a home run. But even at the start of Summer, there wasn't enough daylight to get 21 innings in, and the game was suspended in the top of the 8th, with the Mets leading, 6-4. It was finished the next day, August 7. Howard Johnson hit a home run, and the Cubs mounted a bottom-of-the-9th comeback that fell just short. So the Mets also won this one, 7-6. And then they won that day's regularly-scheduled game, 12-3.