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Joe Dimaggio
Joe DiMaggio and the New York Yankees go to the World Series five times in the 1940s, winning four of them. -
Period: to
The Past
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Marilyn Monroe
Soars in popularity with five new movies, including The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve, and attempts suicide after the death of friend Johnny Hyde who asked to marry her several times, but she refused respectfully. -
Marlon Brando
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Streetcar Named Desire. -
Elvis Presley
-Elvis Presley signs with RCA Records on November 21, beginning his pop career. -
Mickey Mantle
In the middle of his career as a famous New York Yankees outfielder and American League All-Star for the sixth year in a row. -
New York Giants
California baseball begins as the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants move to California and become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. They are the first major league teams west of Kansas City. -
Buddy Holly
dies in a plane crash on February 3 with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, in a day that had a devastating impact on the country and youth culture. Joel prefaces the lyric with a Holly signature vocal hiccup "uh-huh, uh-huh." -
Bernie Goetz
On December 22, Mr. Goetz shot four young men who he said were threatening him on a New York City subway. Goetz was charged with attempted murder but was acquitted of the charges, though convicted of carrying an unlicensed gun. -
New Jersey
Hypodermics on the shore: Medical waste was found washed up on beaches in New Jersey after being illegally dumped at sea. Before this event, waste dumped in the oceans was an "out of sight, out of mind" affair. This has been cited as one of the crucial turning points in popular opinion on environmentalism. -
Cola wars
- 1989 - Rock-and-roller cola wars: Soft drink giants Coke and Pepsi each run marketing campaigns using rock & roll and popular music stars to reach the teenage and young adult demographic.
