1986 - OUR GRADUATION YEAR

Headlines:

The U.S. officially observes Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday for the first time. The space shuttle Challenger explodes moments after lift-off killing 6 astronauts and Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire teacher. A major nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union. Japanese video game maker Nintendo introduces its games to America. U.S. warplanes bomb Libyan headquarters in retaliation for terrorist attacks.

Entertainment:

• Nobel Prize Winner (Literature) -Wole Soyinka - Nigeria
• Best Selling Fiction - It, Stephen king
• Best Selling Non-Fiction - Fatherhood, Bill Cosby
• Picture - Platoon, Orion
• Best Director - Oliver Stone, Platoon
• Best Actress - Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God
• Best Actor - Paul Newman, The Color of Money
• Album of the Year – Paul Simon, Graceland
• Song – Various Artists, That’s What Friends are For
• Pop Female Vocalist – Barbra Streisand, The Broadway Album
• Pop Male Vocalist – Steve Winwood, Higher Love

Sports:

• MLB - New York Mets
• NFL - Chicago Bears
• NBA - Boston Celtics
• NHL - Montreal Canadiens
• NCAA-Basketball - Louisville
• KY Derby - Ferdinand
• U.S. Open Golf - Ray Floyd
• U.S. Open Tennis (Men) - Ivan Lendl
• U.S. Open Tennis (Women) - Martina Navratilova