As we’ve studied racing history in the Northeast over the years, we are continually reminded of just how much the world has changed since the Waterford Speedbowl first opened it’s doors on April 15, 1951. Here’s a list in reverse-chronological order of many events in popular culture, professional sports, consumer products and U.S. history that all happened after the shoreline opened over 62 years ago.
| May 10, 2011 | Charlotte Motor Speedway unveils the world’s largest HDTV at 200′ x 80′ and at a cost of $40,000,000 |
| December 18, 2009 | The feature film “Avatar” is released in the U.S. and goes on to become the highest grossing movie in history |
| February 17, 2009 | Broadcasting of analog television signals in the U.S. ceases |
| November 4, 2008 | Barack Obama becomes the first African-American elected to the U.S. Presidency |
| June 29, 2007 | Apple Corp releases the original 1st-generation iPhone, reshaping the smartphone industry |
| February 14, 2005 | The video-sharing website YouTube was launched |
| October 27, 2004 | Boston Red Sox finally win the MLB World Series 86 years after winning their last title in 1918, including four Game 7 World Series losses in between |
| February 4, 2004 | A social network website called “The Facebook” is launched by Mark Zuckerberg & his friends from his Harvard University dorm room |
| June 11, 2002 | A reality competition TV show called “American Idol” premieres on the Fox network and would later be the #1 rated TV show for a record 8 seasons |
| February 3, 2002 | The New England Patriots win their first NFL Super Bowl Championship defeating the heavily favored St. Louis Rams 20-17 on a last second FG |
| September 11, 2001 | al-Qaeda terrorists attack the U.S., including the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City |
| February 18, 2001 | 7-time NASCAR Champion Dale Earnhardt dies from injuries sustained in a last lap crash during the Daytona 500 |
| June 17, 1999 | The management of Riverside Park in Agawam, MA announces the Speedway will close after 50 years of operation at the end of the season |
| October 19, 1997 | The first version of the video game “Grand Theft Auto” is released |
| May 17, 1996 | NY Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera recorded his first of his record 652 career saves against the California Angels |
| May 21, 1992 | MTV’s “Real World” premieres launching the reality TV craze that would eventually take over the network’s programming entirely |
| August 23, 1991 | The World Wide Web project becomes a publicly available internet service via home computer systems |
| May 17, 1990 | Sirius Satellite Radio is founded by Martine Rothblatt, David Margoles and Robert Briskman |
| February 11, 1990 | Mike Tyson loses the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship to James “Buster” Douglas in what is considered one of the biggest upset in the boxing history. |
| November 9, 1989 | Germany’s ‘Peaceful Revolution’ succeeds with the fall of the Berlin Wall |
| October 16, 1989 | Compaq launches the LTE, the first successful consumer laptop in the U.S. |
| October 11, 1989 | The Energizer Bunny made it’s first U.S. television commercial appearance as part Energizer Batteries’ national marketing campaign. |
| July 5, 1989 | NBC airs the pilot episode centering around a stand-up comic’s life in New York City titled “The Seinfeld Chronicles” |
| April 19, 1987 | “The Simpsons” animated program debuts on TV as a segment for Fox’s “Tracey Ullman Show” |
| April 5, 1987 | Rupurt Murdoch launches the Fox Broadcasting Company as the 4th major television network in the U.S. |
| March 29, 1987 | A then-record 93,173 fans attend the WWE’s WrestleMania III event held at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, MI |
| October 24, 1985 | NASCAR Hall of Famer Richie Evans is killed in a crash during practice at Martinsville Speedway after clinching his record 9th NASCAR Modified title |
| October 21, 1985 | David Cook opens the first Blockbuster video rental store in Dallas, TX |
| October 15, 1985 | Nike releases the first version of the “Air Jordan” sneaker to the public with a black & red color design to match Michael Jordan’s uniform with the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. |
| March 31, 1985 | The very 1st NASCAR Modified Tour race is held at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, CT |
| March 14, 1985 | The first NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament with a 64-team bracket begins with 8 first round games. |
| February 15, 1985 | John Hughes’ classic teen film “The Breakfast Club” debuts in movie theatres across the U.S. |
| March 22, 1984 | Mississippi becomes the last U.S. state to ratify the 19th ammendment allowing women to vote |
| June 20, 1983 | Sony releases the first consumer camcorder called the Betamovie BMC-100P which utilized Betamax cassette taps. |
| April 20, 1983 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was founded |
| November 30, 1982 | Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album is released |
| October 24, 1982 | This first Hard Rock Café in the U.S. opens in Los Angeles, CA |
| October 1, 1982 | Billy Joel’s 1978 album “52nd Street” is re-released as the first commercially released album available on compact disc |
| August 1, 1981 | the cable network MTV debuts airing primarily music videos and concerts |
| March 13, 1981 | Guinness Book of World Records holds the 1st Rubik’s Cube World Championships in Munich, Germany |
| October 15, 1980 | The iconic video game “Pac-Man” is released in the United States for the first time |
| September 25, 1980 | Drummer John Bonham dies of asphyxiation. The remaining members of his band Led Zeppelin chose to dissolve instead of find a replacment. |
| March 21, 1980 | The episode “A House Divided” from the TV series Dallas aired on CBS leading to the summer-long suspense of ‘Who Shot JR?’ in popular culture and popularizing the season-ending cliff hangers in primetime television |
| December 15, 1979 | The board game “Trivial Pursuit” was created by Chris Haney & Scott Abbott in Montreal, Canada. |
| September 16, 1979 | The single “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang is released and becomes the first hip-hop single to cross-over into the mainstream |
| September 7, 1979 | The all-sports cable network ESPN debuts with the first airing of it’s flagship program “Sportscenter” |
| May 31, 1979 | The Big East college athletic conference is established and would become a national powerhouse of NCAA Men’s Basketball in the 1980’s |
| February 18, 1979 | The Daytona 500 is broadcast live by CBS for the first time in the event’s history which featured a last lap crash between leaders Cale Yarborough & Donnie Allison and an ensuing fight on the backstreatch also including Donnie’s brother Bobby. |
| November 14, 1978 | The newly rebuilt “Hollywood” sign located on Mount Lee in the Hollywood Hills is unvieled on live television to an audience of 60 million people |
| September 11, 1977 | Atari releases their first home gaming console model 2600 in the U.S. |
| May 25, 1977 | George Lucas’ epic space saga “Star Wars” is initially released in the U.S. by 20th Century Films |
| April 1, 1976 | Apple Corp is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak & Ronald Wayne |
| October 11, 1975 | The long-running comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live debuts on NBC under it’s original title “NBC’s Saturday Night” |
| April 8, 1975 | Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II” becomes the first motion picture sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture |
| April 4, 1975 | Microsoft Corporation is founded by Bill Gates & Paul Allen |
| December 31, 1974 | The first rendition of “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” airs on ABC hosted by the rock band Three Dog Night featuring Dick Clark reporting live from Times Square in New York City for the ball drop event at midnight. |
| August 9, 1974 | Richard Nixon becomes first U.S. President to resign from office |
| April 8, 1974 | The Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s career HR record with his 715th in his MLB career |
| May 18, 1973 | The Sears Tower in Chicago, IL opens as the tallest building in the world at the time. |
| January 14, 1973 | The Miami Dolphins of the NFL defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 in Super Bowl VII to become the 1st undefeated team in the Super Bowl era of the NFL. |
| January 3, 1973 | Cleveland businessman George M. Steinbrenner III buys the New York Yankees from CBS for $8.8 million |
| September 4, 1972 | Bob Barker begins his 35-year run as the host of the TV game show “The Price is Right” on CBS |
| June 12, 1972 | The first Nike sneaker bearing the swoosh logo debuts in U.S. |
| October 1, 1971 | The Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL opens |
| May 1, 1971 | A national passenger train service company called Amtrak opens for business. |
| January 2, 1971 | Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act banning the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio in the U.S. |
| November 15, 1969 | Dave Thomas opens the first Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers restaurant in Columbus, OH |
| July 20, 1969 | U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin become the first men to set foot on the moon |
| June 11, 1969 | George Sweigert, an inventor from Cleveland, was awarded a U.S. patent as developer of the first cordless phone |
| February 9, 1969 | The Boeing Commercial Airplanes 747 becomes the world’s first wide-body commercial airliner to ever take flight |
| January 9, 1969 | New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath makes his famous guarantee that his team with defeat the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in the upcoming Super Bowl III. |
| February 11, 1968 | Madison Square Garden in New York City opens |
| June 1, 1967 | The Beatles release their ground-breaking album Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the U.S. |
| January 15, 1967 | The very first Super Bowl (known then as the NFL-AFL Championship Game) is played with the Green Bay Packers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. |
| September 9, 1965 | The sport drink Gatorade is launched in the U.S. by a group of scientists from the University of Florida |
| August 10, 1965 | Sony CV-2000, the first consumer VCR sold in the U.S., debuts in the market |
| April 9, 1965 | the world’s first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium opens in Houston, TX as the “Houston Astrodome” |
| December 6, 1964 | The longest running TV Christmas special in U.S. history “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” aired for the first time on NBC |
| April 17, 1964 | The Ford Motor Company releases the first version of the Mustang sports car, becoming the most popular Ford model at the time since the Model-T. |
| March 28, 1964 | Douglas Tompkins and his wife start “The North Face” as a mail order company, selling rock climbing & camping equipment |
| March 21, 1964 | John Wooden coaches his UCLA Bruins to the first of 10 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships in the next 12 seasons. |
| February 23, 1964 | Richard Petty wins the 1st of 7 Daytona 500 career victories |
| February 9, 1964 | The Beatles appear on Ed Sullivan Show, starting the British Invasion into America’s rock n’ roll scene. |
| November 22, 1963 | U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, TX |
| August 28, 1963 | Martin Luther King Jr delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C. |
| March 2, 1962 | Wilt Chamberlain scores a record 100 pts in an NBA game playing for the Philadelphia Warriors |
| April 29, 1961 | “Wide World of Sports” aired the first episode of it’s 45 year run on the ABC network. |
| January 1, 1961 | The Coca-Cola Beverage Co. unveils it’s caffeine-free lemon-lime “Sprite” soda in response to the rising popularity of 7-up |
| April 4, 1960 | The epic historical drama film “Ben-Hur” becomes the first feature film to win 11 Academy Awards |
| December 13, 1959 | The 1939 fantasy film “The Wizard of Oz” is broadcast by CBS for the very first time on national TV. |
| August 21, 1959 | Hawaii becomes the 50th state of the United States |
| July 17, 1959 | the first sports instant replay utilizing videotape was shown during New York station WPIX broadcast of a New York Yankee game |
| July 3, 1959 | The landmark “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign was erected roughly 4 miles south of the actual city limits of Las Vegas, NV |
| January 3, 1959 | Alaska becomes the 49th state of the United States |
| December 28, 1958 | The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants for the NFL Championship in overtime in a game largely referred to as “The greatest game ever played” in NFL history. |
| July 10, 1958 | Arthur Melin & Richard Knerr launch their invention called the Hula Hoop creating a national craze for over a decade |
| December 6, 1957 | Burger King restaurant chain launched the first Whopper sandwich at a price of 37¢ |
| September 24, 1957 | The Dodgers MLB baseball club plays it’s last game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, NY before relocating to Los Angeles the following season |
| April 13, 1957 | Bill Russell wins the first of his record 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics |
| October 8, 1956 | New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in MLB World Series history against the Brooklyn Dodgers |
| June 29, 1956 | The Federal Aid-Highway Act is signed into law by President Eisenhower authorizing billions of dollars to be spent of developing the U.S. highway system |
| June 5, 1956 | Elvis Presley’s performance on NBC’s “The Milton Berle Show” created a storm of controversy for his energetic, exaggerated body movements deemed too vulgar for national television at the time |
| July 17, 1955 | Walt Disney’s amusement park Disneyland opens in Anaheim, CA |
| September 27, 1954 | “The Tonight Show” debuts on NBC with Steve Allen as it’s 1st host |
| July 19, 1954 | Elvis Presley’s 1st commercial single “That’s All Right” released |
| September 14, 1954 | Marilyn Monroe’s iconic skirt-blowing scene from the film “The Seven Year Itch” is filmed in front of Manhattan’s Trans-Lux 52nd Street Theate |
| October 1, 1953 | Playboy Magazine is founded in Chicago by Hugh Hefner |
| August 18, 1953 | The oldest continuous operating McDonald’s restaurant in the U.S. opened it’s doors for the first time. |
| July 27, 1953 | A peace agreement is signed between the North and South ending the 3-year long Korean War |
| June 30, 1953 | General Motors began production of the first generation of the Chevrolet Corvette sports car. |
| January 20, 1953 | Dwight Eisenhower takes Oath of Office for his first of 2 terms as the President of the United States |
| October 3, 1952 | “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” debuts on ABC, eventually becoming the longest running sitcom in U.S. history until “The Simpsons” surpassed it in 2004 |
| September 6, 1952 | A show called “American Bandstand” premieres on local Philadelphia station WFIL-TV Channel 6. It would go national soon afterward and run continuously until 1989 primarily on ABC. |
| March 21, 1952 | Cleveland DJ Alan Freed organizes the “Moondog Coronation Ball” at the Cleveland Arena – widely considered the very 1st rock & roll concert ever held in the U.S. |
| October 15, 1951 | “I Love Lucy” television show debuts on CBS |
| October 5, 1951 | “The Honeymooners” debuts as a sketch on the Calvacade of Stars |
| September 18, 1951 | The film “A Streetcar Named Desire” is released featuring a young Marlon Brando in his breakthrough performance |
| June 25, 1951 | CBS airs a program called “Premiere”, the very 1st program in U.S. television history broadcast in color |
| April 17, 1951 | Mickey Mantle plays his first game for the NY Yankees |
| April 15, 1951 | The New London-Waterford Speed Bowl auto racing facility opens in Waterford, CT as a 1/3 oval race track with a crushed blue stone surface |
Construction of the Waterford Speedbowl in early 1951