September 8, 1986: "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Premieres

It was the mid-1980s. It might have been the only time

that Oprah was guaranteed to have the best hair in the room.

September 8, 1986: The Oprah Winfrey Show premieres in syndication, mostly (but not entirely) on ABC affiliates. It runs for 25 years, and remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in history.

Winfrey, then 32 years old, had been a newscaster in Nashville and Baltimore -- the latter also including Maria Shriver, giving her later interview access to the Kennedy family -- before coming to Chicago, and had been hired to host A.M. Chicago on the city's ABC affiliate, WLS-Channel 7. Two years later, following her Academy Award nomination for her role in The Color Purple, it became The Oprah Winfrey Show, and was nationally syndicated.

The show made her an icon, the kind of person known only by her first name. And the show and its spinoff ventures made her the 1st black billionaire in America, the richest black person of the 20th Century.

Unfortunately, it also introduced America to a pair of regular guests who have been revealed as selfish charlatans: Psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw and heart surgeon turned Trumpist U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The show was taped at Harpo Studios in Chicago, named for her production company, the name being "Oprah" spelled backwards. In 2016, the building was demolished, and the new corporate headquarters for McDonald's opened on the site.

In a 2014 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, comedian Nikki Jenkins, a.k.a. November Christine, played Oprah, against comedian Lauren Flans, who played Ellen DeGeneres.

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September 8, 1986 was a Monday, Labor Day. That night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys opened their season by beating the New York Giants, 31-28 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

And these 7 Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1 at Yankee Stadium. Dennis Rasmussen went the distance for the win. Ron Kittle hit a home run. Joel Skinner went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Don Mattingly went 0-for-3, but drew a walk and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Wade Boggs went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Eddie Murray went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs. Cal Ripken went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Royals Stadium (later Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-0 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Ed Correa (6 innings) and Jeff Russell combined on a 4-hit shutout.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 10-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Orel Hershiser pitched an 8-hit shutout. Tony Gwynn did not play in this game.