September 26, 1969: "The Brady Bunch" Premieres

Top row, left to right: Maureen McCormick, Florence Henderson and Barry Williams.

Middle row: Eve Plumb, Ann B. Davis, Christopher Knight.

Bottom row: Susan Olsen, Robert Reed, Mike Lookinland.

September 26, 1969: The Brady Bunch premieres on ABC. The show was created by Sherwood Schwartz. Lots of people loved it then. Lots of people love it now.

I always hated it. I used to say that the two dumbest TV shows ever were Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch. You should have seen the look on my face when I found out that Schwartz created Gilligan's Island, too.

Schwartz also wrote both theme songs, and the theme to this one told the story. A widowed architect, Mike Brady (Robert Reed), marries Carol Martin. (It's never said whether she's widowed or divorced.) He has 3 sons: Greg (Barry Williams), Peter (Christopher Knight) and Bobby (Mike Lookinland). She has 3 daughters: Marcia (Maureen McCormick), Jan (Eve Plumb) and Cindy (Susan Olsen). The wife and the daughters take the Brady name. There's also a live-in housekeeper, Alice Nelson (Ann B. Davis).

The show ran for 5 seasons, with several notable guest stars: Baseball stars Don Drysdale and Wes Parker, football stars Joe Namath and Deacon Jones, Davy Jones of The Monkees, astronaut James McDivitt, E.G. Marshall and Vincent Price. There would be various sequel movies.

Reed died in 1992. Davis died in 2014. Henderson died in 2016. As of September 26, 2022, all of the "Brady Kids" are still alive.

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September 26, 1969 was a Friday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles had already clinched the American League Eastern Division title. Mike Kekich outpitched Jim Palmer. Bobby Murcer and Roy White each had 2 hits. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4. Frank Robinson went 0-for-1 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Mets had clinched the National League Eastern Division title 2 days earlier. Jerry Koosman pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos, 12-1 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4. Al Kaline pinch-hit, and did not reach base.

* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-1 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 10-4 at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). The Braves had already clinched the NL West. Hank Aaron hit his 554th career home run, Orlando Cepeda his 306th, and Clete Boyer his 140th.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Dock Ellis pitched a 5-hit shutout, to outpitch Ferguson Jenkins. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-3. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Royals swept a doubleheader from the Houston Astros, 3-0 and 4-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Fans of Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, take note: He had already been traded to the Astros by this point. In the opener, Jim Maloney allowed just 1 hit, a single to Joe Morgan. Tommy Helms went 4-for-4. Bouton pitched the 9th inning, and allowed a run. Larry Dierker, already with 20 wins, went the distance in the nightcap, but lost. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose went 3-for-8, and Johnny Bench went 2-for-6 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI. 

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the California Angels, 3-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Willie Mays went 1-for-2 before leaving the game.

* And the Seattle Pilots beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Sick's Stadium in Seattle. The Twins had already clinched the AL West title. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Rod Carew went 1-for-2, then left the game. Wayne Comer won the game with a home run in the bottom of the 14th inning.