Straight Up 1989

Andy Kious

Were you alive in 1989? Straight up, now tell me what do you really remember? It was nearly 30 years ago! Let’s take walk down memory lane and reminisce about the last year of the 1980’s.

Here’s some athletes that were born in 1989:

Andy Carroll, English footballer
Michael Beasley, American basketball player
Conor Dwyer, American Olympic swmmer
Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Dutch footballer
Jahvid Best, American NFL player
Isaiah Thomas, American basketball player
Rebecca Adlington, British swimmer
Chris Conte, American NFL player
Kosta Koufos, Greek-born American basketball player
Emma, Australian professional wrestler
Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player
Blake Griffin, American basketball player
Theo Walcott, English footballer
Lars Bender, German footballer
Sven Bender, German footballer
James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
Earl Thomas, American football player
Cam Newton, American football player
Rob Gronkowski, American football player
Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice
Bas Dost, Dutch football player
Anna Fenninger, Austrian alpine ski racer
Jeffrey Earnhardt, American race car driver
Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer
Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian tennis player
Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
Shanshan Feng, Chinese golfer
DeMar DeRozan, American basketball player
Anthony Rizzo, American baseball player
Jason Heyward, American baseball player
Ander Herrera, Spanish professional footballer
James Harden, American basketball player
Freddie Freeman, American baseball player
Andrew Luck, American football player
Thomas Müller, German football player
Tyreke Evans, American basketball player
Kimmie Meissner, American figure skater
Viktoria Rebensburg, German alpine skier
Michelle Wie, American golf player
Eric Hosmer, American professional baseball player
Nastia Liukin, American artistic gymnast and Olympic gold medalist
Aaron Hernandez, American football player and convicted murderer (d. 2017)
Giancarlo Stanton, American baseball player
Adam Rippon, American figure skater
Jake Livermore, English footballer
Eric Bledsoe, American basketball player
Catrina Kious, My Amazing Wife

Here are some of the athletes that died in 1989:

Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
Glenna Collett-Vare, American golfer (b. 1903)
Lefty Gomez, Mexican-American baseball player (b. 1908)
Sparky Adams, American baseball player (b. 1894)
Aleksandr Prokopenko, Soviet footballer (b. 1953)
Sugar Ray Robinson, American professional boxer (b. 1921)
Jocko Conlan, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1899)
John Matuszak, American football player and actor (b. 1950)
Lee Calhoun, American Olympic athlete (b. 1933)
Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
Lane Frost, American bull rider (b. 1963)
Joe Collins, American baseball player (b. 1922)
A. Bartlett Giamatti, American President of Yale University and MLB Commissioner (b. 1938)
Grant Adcox, American Race Car Driver (b. 1950)
Giuseppe Antonini, Italian football player (b. 1914)
Ray Morehart, American baseball player (b. 1899)
Haystacks Calhoun, American professional wrestler (b. 1934)
Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)

News of the Year:

Ron Hextall becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to score a goal in the playoffs.
Clint Malarchuk, hockey goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres, suffers an almost fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat in one of the most gruesome sports injuries of all time.
Motorola introduces the Motorola MicroTAC Personal Cellular Telephone, then the world’s smallest mobile phone.
The SkyDome (now known as Rogers Centre) opens in Toronto.
The world’s first HDTV broadcasts commence in Japan, in analog.
An unknown Chinese protestor, “Tank Man“, stands in front of a column of military tanks on Chang’an Avenue in Beijing, temporarily halting them.
The Sega Genesis is released in North America.
Pete Rose agrees to a lifetime ban from the sport following allegations of illegal gambling, thereby preventing his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Construction of the Denver Airport commences.
The first full-length episode of the animated series The Simpsons, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”, is shown on Fox television.
N.W.A are the first gangsta rap group to sell a million copies of an album; their album Straight Outta Compton.
In WrestleMania V, Hulk Hogan defeats Randy Savage to become the WWF Champion.
Kareem Abdul-Jabar becomes first NBA player to score 38,000 points.
Dallas Cowboys fire coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career.
NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announces retirement as NFL commissioner after 29 years.
Investor group led by George W Bush and Edward W Rose purchases controlling interest of Texas Rangers.
New owners of the Texas Rangers left, Rusty Rose and right, George W. Bush during a press conference announcing the sale of the team by Eddie Chiles, center. Rose and Bush bought the team for $89 million with several other in investors.
One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott‘s debut, but lasts only 4 2/3 innings.
Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter (Rickey Henderson).
Wayne Gretzky wins his 9th NHL Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player) in ten years.
First NFL game coached by a black man (Art Shell), his Los Angeles Raiders beat New York Jets 14-7
Minnesota Timberwolves‘ first NBA game, lose to Seattle SuperSonics, 106-94.
Orlando Magic‘s first NBA game, loses to Nets, 111-106.
Michael Jordan made “The Shot” as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland, Ohio.