September 13, 1974: A Big Night of Premieres On NBC

James Garner

September 13, 1974: It's a big night for NBC: The Peacock Network premieres 3 legendary shows. 
 
The crime drama The Rockford Files returns James Garner to TV. He plays Jim Rockford, a private detective who was pardoned after 5 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He lives in Malibu, but in a trailer he can barely afford, instead of a fancy beach house; and takes cases 25 miles down the coast in Los Angeles.

The show was co-created by Roy Huggins, toward the end of a career that was highlighted by The Fugitive; and Stephen J. Cannell, toward the beginning of a career that would include many other action-dramas. It makes Garner, already popular through the 1957-62 ABC Western Maverick and several movies, a superstar.

Mike Post wrote the great theme song. Too bad TV studios won't spring for a great one-minute opening like that anymore. The show runs for 6 seasons, until 1980, plus 8 TV-movies from 1994 to 1999. Garner died in 2014.

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James Komack's sitcom Chico and the Man premiered, making a huge star of comedian Freddie Prinze. José Feliciano sang the theme song. Prinze played Chico, who works in a garage in East Los Angeles, owned by Ed, a grumpy old widower played by Jack Albertson, who lets Chico live in a van on the property. Ed had to deal with the neighborhood's changing demographics, while Chico was a part of it.

Prinze suffered from depression, and took his own life shortly before filming for the 3rd season ended. The writers explained that Chico went to visit relatives in Mexico. The show was still getting good ratings, so a 4th season was ordered, with a new "Chico": Raul, a 12-year-old boy played by Gabriel Melgar. It didn't work, and that was the last season.

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The crime drama Police Woman premiered, reminding everyone of what a bombshell Angie Dickinson is, even as she approaches her 43rd birthday. She plays Detective Sergeant Pepper Anderson for 4 seasons. (There is a dispute as to what Pepper's real name was, Suzanne or Lee Ann.)

Police Woman influenced later shows such as Charlie's Angels, which, in 1978, People magazine derided as a "three-shaker imitation." It caused an avalanche of applications for employment from women to police departments around the United States. Sociologists who have in recent years examined the inspiration for long-term female law enforcement officials to adopt this vocation have been surprised by how often Police Woman has been referenced. The show became big enough that President Gerald Ford considered it his favorite show, and rescheduled a press conference so as not to delay its broadcast.

The series ran for 4 seasons. As of September 13, 2022, Dickinson is still alive.

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September 13, 1974 was a Friday -- a Friday the 13th. It didn't seem to bring bad luck to those shows, though. Not immediately, anyway, though Chico and the Man did lose its star too soon.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Woodie Fryman outpitched George "Doc" Medich. Ben Oglivie and Jim Nettles, brother of Yankee 3rd baseman Graig Nettles, hit home runs. Al Kaline, in his last month as an active player, went 0-for-4. Lou Piniella drove in all the Yankees' runs with a home run.

* The New York Mets split a doubleheader with the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. The Mets won the opener, 6-0. Tom Seaver pitched a 4-hit shutout, striking out 11, and outpitching Rick Reuschel. The Cubs won the nightcap, 4-3. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the 7th, when the Mets scored 2 runs. The Cubs scored 3 in the top of the 8th, the Mets scored 1 in the bottom of the 9th, and Ron Dunn won it for the Cubs with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at Jarry Park in Montreal. The Pirates tied the game in the top of the 9th, but in the bottom of the 9th, Barry Foote tripled Ron Woods home. Willie Stargell went 0-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The game went to the 17th inning, when the Cards got 5 runs on 4 singles, 2 walks (1 intentional), and 2 RBI sacrifice flies. The Phils got 1 run back in the bottom of the 17th, but it was far from enough.

* The Baltimore Orioles began a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The O's won the 1st game, 3-2. Mike Cuellar outpitched Dick Bosman.

The Orioles were leading 8-6 in the top of the 9th, when the Indians lodged a protest. The umpires suspended the game, and it was resumed the next night. The game finished with the same score.

Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 3-for-7 with an RBI for the Orioles, and his former Baltimore teammate Frank Robinson went 3-for-9 for the Indians.

* The Chicago White Sox swept the California Angels, 8-0 and 3-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Jim Kaat pitched a 4-hit shutout in the opener.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rico Petrocelli doubled Dwight Evans home with the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, followed by 2 more runs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-3 with 2 walks. Rookie Robin Yount did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 2-for-4 with a walk, and a home run to win the game in the bottom of the 9th inning. Harmon Killebrew struck out as a pinch-hitter. Rookie George Brett went 2-for-5.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 9-0 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Buzz Capra pitched a 6-hit shutout. Hank Aaron did not play.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Pete Rose went 0-for-5, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* And the Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

July 4, 1963: "The Great Escape" Premieres

July 4, 1963: The film The Great Escape premieres, based on the 1950 non-fiction book by Paul Brickell, itself based on an actual event during World War II.

The real story: Stalag Luft III was a prisoner-of-war camp set up by Nazi Germany in Sagan, Lower Silesia, within German borders. Due to the changing borders after the war, the town is now in Poland, and named Żagań. The name "Luft," meaning "Air," indicates that all the prisoners were survivors of Allied planes that had been shot down.

On March 25, 1944, having dug 3 tunnels, codenamed Tom, Dick and Harry, 76 Allied prisoners escaped. All but 3 were quickly recaptured: Bram van der Stok of the Netherlands, and Norwegians Per Bergsland and Jens Müller. van der Stok, due to his language skills and contacts with the French resistance, found safety with the British consulate in neutral Spain. The 2 Norwegians made it to neutral Sweden by train and boat, with the help of friendly sailors. But of the 73 men captured, the Nazis executed 50. Bergsland lived until 1992, van der Stock until 1993, Müller until 1999.

Only 3 of the real escapees were Americans. But, given the nature of Hollywood, Americans were given starring roles in the film, some as foreigners. Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn were veterans of the 1960 Western film The Magnificent Seven.

Bronson, of Lithuanian descent, played a Polish pilot who had volunteered for Britain's Royal Air Force, and stands in for one of the successfully escaped Swedes. Coburn played an Australian. And James Garner played an American who had volunteered for the RAF. Among the British actors, not yet widely known among American audiences, were Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Donald Pleasance and David McCallum. McQueen's character, despite his famed motorcycle jump, was one of those recaptured. But, since McQueen was a big Hollywood hero, his character could not be among the executed, so the film ends with him planning his next escape.

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July 4, 1963 was a Thursday. This was also the day that the English Football League's maximum wage and retain-and-transfer clauses were abolished. I have a separate entry for that.

Baseball player José Oquendo was born. Obviously, the 4th of July is not a holiday in Britain, but it is one in America, traditionally one on which baseball teams played doubleheaders:

* The New York Yankees split with the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 9-1. Whitey Ford, who would have won the American League's Cy Young Award had it not then been a both-Leagues award, outpitched Gary Peters, who went on to be named the AL's Rookie of the Year. Roger Maris and Elston Howard hit home runs.

The White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2. Juan Pizarro outpitched Bill Stafford. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play in either game. Nor did Yogi Berra, who was in his last full season as a player.

* The New York Mets were swept by the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 and 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The only Met run in the 1st game came on a home run by Jim Hickman, who would be a part of the Cubs' 1969 "September Swoon." Other than that, Glen Hobbie allowed only 1 hit, a single by Ron Hunt. Paul Toth pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 1-for-6 with a walk.

* The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 and 5-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Demeter singled pitcher Art Mahaffey home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the 1st game. Mahaffey allowed only 2 hits over 10 innings, a triple to Roberto Clemente and a single to Donn Clendenon. He outpitched Bob Friend, who also went the extra distance.

In the 2nd game, Ryne Duren, previously known as a star Yankee reliever, went the distance for the win. The only run the Pirates scored was on a home run by Clemente.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels in a single game, 7-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5.

* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 2-1 and 3-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Cleveland Indians swept the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 and 7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jerry Kindall won the 1st game with a home run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4 with 2 walks, then came back in the 2nd game to go 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 and 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 3-for-8, and Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5 with a walk.

* The Houston Colt .45s swept the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 and 6-2 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose, who was named National League Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-9. But Frank Robinson did not play. (The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.)

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Stan Musial, in his last season, went 2-for-5.

* And the Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 4-for-5, and Willie McCovey hit a home run.