September 5, 1992: “Batman: The Animated Series” Premieres

September 5, 1992: Batman: The Animated Series premieres on Fox, thus beginning the DC Animated Universe. It remains a more popular realm than either DC Comics' or Marvel Comics' cinematic universes.

Kevin Conroy voiced the Caped Crusader. Loren Lester was Robin. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. played Alfred. Bob Hastings played Commissioner James Gordon. Melissa Gilbert played Gordon's daughter, Barbara, who became Batgirl.

Villains? Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars saga, turned to the Dark Side to play The Joker. Arleen Sorkin was Harley Quinn, a character created for the series, but proving so popular that she was later worked into DC's comic continuity.

Kevin Conroy (left) and Mark Hamill

Diminutive songwriter Paul Williams was The Penguin. John Glover, who later played Lionel Luthor on the Superman-themed TV series Smallville, was The Riddler. Richard Moll, better known for playing bailiff Bull Shannon on Night Court, was Two-Face. Michael Ansara was Mr. Freeze. And, straddling the lines between good and evil, Adrienne Barbeau was Catwoman.

Adam West, who played Batman in live action from 1966 to 1968, made a guest appearance as the voice of a character created for this series, the Gray Ghost, a TV character who played a part in inspiring the young Bruce Wayne.

This series began The DC Animated Universe. For two of its creators, Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, it would be nicknamed the Timmverse and the Diniverse. It would eventually include:

* Batman: The Animated Series, 1992-95.

* Superman: The Animates Series, starring Tim Daly, 1996-2000.

* The New Batman Adventures, 1997-99.

* Batman Beyond, 1999-2001.

* Static Shock, 2000-04.

* The Zeta Project, 2001-02.

* Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, 2001-06.

It would also include some animated films set in the same universe, starting with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, in 1993.

*

September 5, 1992 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers, 7-3 at Yankee Stadium. Roger Pavlik outpitched Sam Militello, a highly-rated prospect whose injuries and wildness prevented him from realizing his early promise. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Eddie Murray went 2-for-3 with a walk for the Mets.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 5-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Griffey Jr. and Dave Valle hit home runs for the M's.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Rheal Cormier (6 over 7 2/3rds innings) and Todd Worrell (1 the rest of the way) combined on a 7-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 12-6 at Royals Stadium (later Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the California Angels, 4-1 at Anaheim Stadium (later Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Miami beat Number 23 Iowa, 24-7 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Miami won the Big East Conference title.

* Number 2 Washington beat Arizona State, 31-7 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) on the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. Washington went on to win the Pac-10 Conference title.

* Number 3 Notre Dame beat Northwestern, 42-7 at Dyche Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

* Number 4 Florida State beat Duke, 48-21 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and beat Big Eight Conference Champions Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

* Number 5 Michigan began their season the next week, with a 17-17 tie against Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Michigan won the Big 10 title, and beat Washington in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 6 Florida opened their season the next week. They lost the Southeastern Conference Championship Game to Alabama, and beat North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl.

* Number 7 Texas A&M beat Louisiana State (LSU), 31-22 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A&M won the Southwest Conference title, and were undefeated with a shot at the National Championship going into the Cotton Bowl, if the Orange Bowl turned out to be a dud. But they lost to Notre Dame, to end their longshot chance.

* Number 8 Penn State beat the University of Cincinnati, 24-20 at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.

* Number 9 Alabama beat Vanderbilt, 25-8 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama won the Southeastern Conference title, and beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl for the National Championship.

* Number 10 Syracuse beat East Carolina, 42-21 at Ficklen Memorial Stadium (now Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) in Greenville, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: Number 12 Colorado beat Colorado State, 37-17 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. Colorado went to the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Syracuse.

* Rivalry: Number 25 Virginia beat Maryland, 28-15 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.

* Among the service academies, Army and Navy each began their season the next week; while Air Force beat Rice University, 30-21 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* And New Jersey's team, Rutgers, lost to Boston College, 37-20 at Alumni Stadium in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. At the end of the season, Rutgers was 7-4, but was not invited to a bowl game. Rubbing salt in their wounds was BC's quarterback, a New Jersey native, Glenn Foley of Cherry Hill High School East, who told a reporter, "The only bowl Rutgers is going to is the one I just got off of," meaning the toilet.