September 28, 1987: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Premieres

Top row, left to right: Whoopi Goldberg, Gates McFadden,

Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton.

Bottom row, left to right: LeVar Burton, Patrick Stewart,

Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner.

September 28, 1987: "Encounter at Farpoint," the 2-hour premiere episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, airs in syndication. This was a Star Trek that I could watch develop from the beginning, unlike what's become known as "The Original Series," which I watched in reruns with my father, an original Trekkie from 1966. (No, he never went to a convention or cosplayed, but he did put up posters, published in Starlog magazine, of both series' versions of the starship USS Enterprise in his home office.)

The opening shot of the premiere showed a sweeping front view of the new Galaxy-class USS
Enterprise-D, and Dad said, "I want that ship!" He would say this many times over the show's 7-year run.

As of September 28, 2022: Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is 82 years old. Brent Spiner, as the android Science Officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, is 73. Gates McFadden, as the Chief Medical Officer, Commander Beverly Crusher, is also 73. Jonathan Frakes, as the First Officer, Commander William T. Riker, is 70. Michael Dorn, as the Chief of Security, Lieutenant Worf Rozhenko, is 69. Marina Sirtis, as the Ship's Counselor, Commander Deanna Troi, is 67. LeVar Burton, as the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Geordie LaForge, is 65. Wil Wheaton, as Beverly's son, Ensign Wesley Crusher, is 50.

Whoopi Goldberg, who played Guinan, bartender and confidant to the crew, especially Picard, is 66. Diana Muldaur, who replaced McFadden as Chief Medical Officer for Season 2 only, as Commander Katharine Pulaski, is 84. Colm Meaney, as transporter chief Miles O'Brien, later a main part of the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (as was Dorn), is 69. And John de Lancie, as the alternately malevolent and merely mischievous Q, is 74.

Sports was rarely mentioned on the original series, or TNG. Deep Space Nine would mention sports, particularly baseball, a lot, but, sadly, it said that, in the Star Trek universe, baseball died out, with the clinching game of the last World Series being played in 2042 (only 20 years from now), and it was attended by only 300 people. I suppose it was due to the lingering effects of World War III, which lasted from 2026 (just 4 years from now!) until 2053. DS9's Captain Benjamin Sisko would be responsible for reviving baseball in the United Federation of Planets.

The 1995 DS9 episode Past Tense, which sent the characters back to 2024 (only 2 years from now), said that the 1999 Yankees would be considered one of the greatest teams ever. That's a prediction that they got right. What they didn't get right (along with, hopefully, the "Sanctuary Districts") was an MLB team in London that, by 2015, would be another contender for the title. And, on Voyager, it would be revealed that the Yankees would win the 2032 World Series in 6 games, although their opponent was not mentioned.

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September 28, 1987 was a Monday. Actress Hilary Duff was born on this day.

This was during an NFL players' strike, and the game scheduled for ABC Monday Night Football, the Denver Broncos vs. the Cleveland Browns in a preview of the previous season's AFC Championship Game (and, as it turned out, a preview of this season's), was canceled. And it was too soon for either the NBA or the NHL season to begin. But these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-7 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees scored 6 in the bottom of the 9th to win it, topping it off with a home run by Mike Easler, off Calvin Schiraldi. The season before, Easler had been with the Red Sox, and Schiraldi had been a major reason why they got to, and then a major reason why they lost, the World Series.

Rickey Henderson also hit a home run. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Don Mattingly went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. The winning pitcher was Bill Fulton. It was the 3rd and last appearance of his major league career, and his only victory. Wade Boggs did not play for the Red Sox that day. But both teams finished behind the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. It took 3 Met pitchers to complete the shutout: John Candelaria for 5 innings, Rick Aguilera for 3 1/3rd, and Randy Myers for the last 2 outs. Howard Johnson doubled home Kevin McReynolds with the only run in the top of the 2nd inning.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Rob Deer and Paul Molitor hit home runs, and Robin Yount went 3-for-5. The Jays blew a 4-game lead over the Tigers with 7 to play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. John Habyan pitched a 5-hit shutout, although Tom Niedenfuer was needed to get the last 2 outs. Eddie Murray went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI. Cal Ripken went 0-for-3 with a walk. The Tigers would go on to win the AL East, anyway.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-3, but drove in the only Royal run with a groundout.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers, 5-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The Twins would win just 87 games, but that was enough to win the AL West, and they upset the Tigers in the AL Championship Series and the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, to win their 1st World Championship.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-5 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the California Angels, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago Cubs, the Montreal Expos, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals were not scheduled.