June 3, 1992: Bill Clinton Appears On "The Arsenio Hall Show"

June 3, 1992: Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas, having wrapped up the Democratic Party's nomination for President by winning the previous day's California Primary, appears on The Arsenio Hall Show, in syndication. He opens the show by sitting in with Arsenio's band, The Posse, and playing Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" on his saxophone.

 

He and Arsenio discuss big issues, such as the current economic recession, the recent race riot in Los Angeles, and the disillusionment of young people, and what can be done about these issues. Late in the show, the Governor's wife, Hillary, joins him, and takes questions from Arsenio. There was one other guest that night, actress Teri Garr.

 

When the night began, Clinton was trailing the Republican incumbent, George H.W. Bush, in pretty much every poll. In some of them, he was actually 3rd, behind independent candidate H. Ross Perot, a wealthy but strange businessman, who hadn't even announced his candidacy yet. Clinton was in trouble.

 

The interview not only secured Arsenio's place in TV history, and showed that Jay Leno had a long way to go as the new host of NBC's The Tonight Show; it made Clinton not the candidate of "draft dodging," "sex scandals," and "I didn't inhale," or any other silly things the opposition tried to define him with, but the candidate that understood struggling people, especially the young – and now, they understood him, too.

As much as Hillary, or campaign manager James Carville, or Bush himself with his incompetent campaign, Arsenio Hall made Bill Clinton the 42nd President of the United States.

*

June 3, 1992 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The NHL had just wrapped up its season, 2 days earlier, when the Pittsburgh Penguins swept the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 1 of the NBA Finals was played that night, and the Chicago Bulls walloped the Portland Trail Blazers, 122-89 at Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scored 39 points, including 7 3-point shots. The Bulls would win the Finals in 6 games.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Danny Tartabull and Kevin Maas each got 2 hits, but it wasn't enough. In the bottom of the 13th inning, Yankee pitcher Shawn Hillegas tried to pick John Cangelosi off 3rd base, and made a bad throw, allowing him to score the winning run.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Curt Schilling outpitched John Smoltz, and Darren Daulton hit a home run. This was a preview of the National League Championship Series, and the Phillies pulled the upset there, too.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds was 0-for-2, but did draw 2 walks -- neither of them intentional.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4, but he did draw a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 10-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium. (It was renamed Edison International Field in 1997, and Angel Stadium of Anaheim in 2004. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, Lee Stevens grounded up the middle, and no play was possible at any base. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-6 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled to play.

And Mario Götze, who scored the winning goal for Germany in the 2014 World Cup Final, was born on this day.