1965 Annual History Facts

1965 Annual History Facts

  • Sports: Astroturf was invented.
  • The Top Song was (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
  • The Big Movies included The Sound of Music, Doctor Zhivago and Thunderball
  • Introduced in 1965, the Pillsbury Doughboy’s name is Poppin’Fresh.
  • Price of Volkwagon ‘Bug’ Beetle in 1965: $1,595.00
    Bufferin Aspirin: 99 cents/100
    The price of a movie ticket 1.00
  • The World Population was ~ 3,330,000,000
  • Flower of Scotland, the unofficial national anthem of Scotland, was only written in 1965
  • Mystery Date and Trouble (board games) were introduced in 1965.
  • Operation (motor skills game) was also released.
  • And… In 1965, “Slumber Party” Barbie dolls came with a diet book entitled How to Lose Weight, which included text like “Don’t eat!” and a bathroom scale set to 110 lbs.

World Series Champions

Los Angeles Dodgers

NFL Champions

Green Bay Packers

AFL Champions

Buffalo Bills

National Basketball Association Champions

Boston Celtics

NHL Stanley Cup Champions

Montreal Canadiens

US Open Golf

Gary Player

US Open Tennis (Men Ladies)

Manuel Santana/ Margaret Smith

Wimbledon (Men/Women)

Roy Emerson/Margaret Smith

NCAA Football Champions

Alabama & Michigan

NCAA Basketball Champions

UCLA

Bowl Games

Orange Bowl: January 1, 1965 – Texas over Alabama
Rose Bowl: January 1, 1965 – Michigan over Oregon State
Sugar Bowl: January 1, 1965 – LSU over Syracuse

Kentucky Derby

Lucky Debonair

Westminster Kennel Best in Show Dog

Carmichael’s Fanfare

Time Magazine’s Man of the Year

William Westmoreland

Miss America

Vonda Van Dyke (Phoenix, AZ)

Miss USA

Sue Ann Downey (Ohio)

Fashion Icons and Movie Stars

Brigitte Bardot, ‘Wilhelmina’ Cooper, Doris Day, Patty Duke, Barbara Eden, Barbara Feldon, Jane Fonda, Annette Funicello, Audrey Hepburn, Marta Kristen, Julie London, Sophia Loren, Tina Louise, Peggy Moffitt, Elizabeth Montgomery, Mary Tyler Moore, Julie Newmar, Kim Novak, Donna Reed, Diana Rigg, Jean Shrimpton, Elizabeth Taylor, Dawn Wells

“The Quotes”

“Sorry about that, Chief”
– Maxwell Smart

“Caution: Cigarette Smoking May Be Hazardous To Your Health”
– US Surgeon General

“Turn on, tune in, and drop out”
– Dr. Timothy Leary

Johnny Cash’s truck caught fire, triggering a forest fire that burnt several hundred acres in Los Padres National Forest. When the judge asked Cash why he did it, Cash said, “I didn’t do it, my truck did, and it’s dead, so you can’t question it.”

1965 Pop Culture History

Pete Townshend of The Who wrote the lyric “Hope I die before I get old” for My Generation after England’s Queen Mother had his 1935 Packard hearse towed from the front of his home.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to ‘walk’ in space, on March 18th, next to the Voskhod 2.’

Sandy Koufax, Dodgers’s pitcher, refused to pitch in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series due Yom Kippur, (The Day of Atonement). Many people followed his example that day by putting religion before career -skipping work and school.

Hugh Hefner threw a Batman-themed party back in 1965; ABC executive Yale Udoff was in attendance and ended up pitching the idea for the Batman TV show launched in 1966.

Keith Richards came up with the famous guitar riff for “Satisfaction” when he woke up from a deep sleep and sang the riff for 3 seconds into a tape recorder, only then to fall back to sleep again.

When McDonald’s first became a publicly traded company in 1965, many Wall Street brokers were wary as they had never heard of it.

Girls used to buy comic books as often as boys. “Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane” was the third best-selling title in 1965, selling four times as many copies as today’s most popular comic book.

Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old, set the scientifically-documented record for the longest a non-stimulated human has gone without sleep, by staying up over 11 days… all for his science fair project.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s longest interview was with Playboy Magazine. It ran in two parts, with Alex Haley as the interviewer.

The longest recorded time spent awake was set in 1965- Randy Gardner, a 17-year-old high school student, stayed awake for 264 hours.

Muhammad Mahmood Alam, a Pakistani fighter pilot, shot down four enemy aircraft in 30 seconds, then shot another within a minute, and that world record still stands.

Bob Dylan said that if he ever sold out to a commercial interest, it would be “ladies’ garments.” In 2007, he and his music appeared in a Victoria’s Secret commercial.

Finished in 1965, the St Louis Arch’s Height and Width are the same: 630 ft.

Construction of the Duomo of Milan began in 1386 but wasn’t considered complete until the final bronze door was installed in 1965, after nearly 600 years.

T.G.I. Friday’s began in Manhattan in 1965 as one of the world’s first singles bars. It was very successful, in part because 480 stewardesses lived nearby. The restaurant became family-oriented only after expanding to the suburbs.

Ronald Reagan’s first autobiography was titled “Where’s the Rest of Me?” (1965) from a line in the movie King’s Row (1942) where his character wakes up to find that his legs have been amputated.

James Russell invented the compact disc in 1965, although the public first got a first taste of this invention in 1980.

Joseph Licklider’s 1962 idea became a reality with his Intergalactic Computer Network in 1965, the first internet. Al Gore claimed the Court of Public Opinion ‘common knowledge’ Internet creator title in the late 1990s.

US Senator John McCain won Jeopardy in 1965.

Howard Stringer got drafted six weeks after finding a job at CBS in New York in 1965. He complied with the draft notice, spent a year in Vietnam, returned to his job, and became head of the TV network in 1988.

Pop singer Bobby Darin (real name: Walden Robert Cassotto) advocated for civil rights and participated in a 1965 civil rights march to Alabama.

Chris Matulich’s New Orleans restaurant “Chris Steak House” was bought by Ruth Furtel in 1965. Thus, it oddly named “Ruth’s Chris Steak House.”

A Ukrainian farmer dug up the lower jawbone of a mammoth. Further excavations revealed the presence of 4 huts, made up of a total of 149 mammoth bones. These dwellings, dating back some 15,000 years, were determined to have been some of the oldest shelters ever built.

Gatorade was created and named in 1965 by scientists at the University of Florida at the request of the head coach of the football team. When the Gators won the Orange Bowl, the opposing coach said about the loss, “We didn’t have Gatorade. That made the difference.”

RIP, Scandals, Sad and Odd News

January 1, 1965, Soupy Sales, a popular wacky children’s show host, told his young listeners to rob their parents while they slept and send him the dollar bills they found.

Randy Gardner of San Diego is the longest person who has gone without sleep for 11 days in 1965.

Norman Morrison committed suicide in protest of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Before a crowd, he set himself on fire outside the Pentagon.

Jerry Van Dyke starred in a sitcom (1965/1966) in which a used car is the reincarnation of his deceased mother, Gladys – My Mother the Car.

The species of banana eaten today is different from the species eaten pre-1965. The Gros Michel banana became commercially extinct in 1965 due to fungal disease. Today’s main export banana, the Cavendish, is threatened by the same disease.

Charles Linster broke the world record for the most nonstop pushups w/ 6,006. He stopped at 6,006 because his couch didn’t want him to harm himself unknowingly. Sixty-nine days later, he broke his neck, paralyzing him permanently.

NASA astronaut John Young upset Congress by smuggling a corned beef sandwich onto Gemini 3, prompting The House of Representatives appropriations committee to organize a meeting to investigate the “sandwich scandal.”

Pete Best released an album in 1965 called “Best of the Beatles” that contained no Beatles music but fooled so many people into buying it that it was investigated for consumer fraud. The case was dropped because no fraud had been committed; he was Best, of the Beatles.

Firsts and the Biggest Christmas Gifts

Disney Magazine (1965-2005)

Tiger Beat began publication

The Habits

Bouncing Wham-O’s Super-balls
Playing with Troll Dolls (Year 3)
Reading The Source by James A. Michener

United States 1965 Census

Operation, Moon McDare action figures, James Bond Aston Martin from Corgi, Green Ghost Game, Bash! Game, Flea Circus, Super Ball (which could bounce at 92% of the prior bounce), Rock Em’ Sock Em’ Robots, Mystery Date

1965/66 Biggest Television Shows

(according to Nielsen TV Research)
1. Bonanza (NBC)
2. Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. (CBS)
3. The Lucy Show (CBS)
4. The Red Skelton Show (CBS)
5. Batman (Thursday, ABC)
6. The Andy Griffith Show (CBS)
7. Bewitched (ABC)
8. The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS)
9. Hogan’s Heroes (CBS)
10. Batman (Wednesday, ABC)
11. Green Acres (CBS)

Popular Music Artists

The Biggest Pop Artists of 1965 include
Barbara Mason, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Billy Stewart, The Byrds, Gene Chandler, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Fontella Bass, The 4 Seasons, The Four Tops, Freddie & the Dreamers, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Herman’s Hermits, The Impressions, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Jay & the Americans, Joe Tex, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Martha and the Vandellas, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, Otis Redding, Petula Clark, The Righteous Brothers, Roger Miller, The Rolling Stones, Shirley Ellis, Solomon Burke, Sonny & Cher, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptations, Wilson Pickett

(Data is compiled from charts, including Billboard’s Pop, Rock, Airplay, R&B/Dance, and Singles Charts. The Hot 100 is the primary chart used for this list.)

Number One Hits of 1965

December 26, 1964 – January 22, 1965: The Beatles – I Feel Fine

January 23, 1965 – February 5, 1965: Petula Clark – Downtown

February 6, 1965 – February 19, 1965: Righteous Brothers – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’

February 20, 1965 – March 5, 1965: Gary Lewis & The Playboys – This Diamond Ring

March 6, 1965 – March 12, 1965: The Temptations – My Girl

March 13, 1965 – March 26, 1965: The Beatles – Eight Days a Week

March 27, 1965 – April 9, 1965: The Supremes – Stop! In the Name of Love

April 10, 1965 – April 23, 1965: Freddie and the Dreamers – I’m Telling You Now

April 24, 1965 – April 30, 1965: Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders – Game of Love

May 1, 1965 – May 21, 1965: Herman’s Hermits – Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter

May 22, 1965 – May 28, 1965: The Beatles – Ticket to Ride

May 29, 1965 – June 11, 1965: The Beach Boys – Help Me Rhonda

June 12, 1965 – June 18, 1965: The Supremes – Back In My Arms Again

June 19, 1965 – June 25, 1965: Four Tops – I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)

June 26, 1965 – July 9, 1965: The Byrds – Mr. Tambourine Man

July 10, 1965 – August 6, 1965: The Rolling Stones – (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction

August 7, 1965 – August 13, 1965: Herman’s Hermits – I’m Henry VIII, I Am

August 14, 1965 – September 3, 1965: Sonny & Cher – I Got You Babe

September 4, 1965 – September 24, 1965: The Beatles – Help!

September 25, 1965 – October 1, 1965: Barry McGuire – Eve Of Destruction

October 2, 1965 – October 8, 1965: The McCoys – Hang On Sloopy

October 9, 1965 – November 5, 1965: The Beatles – Yesterday

November 6, 1965 – November 19, 1965: The Rolling Stones – Get Off of My Cloud

November 20, 1965 – December 3, 1965: The Supremes – I Hear A Symphony

December 4, 1965 – December 24, 1965: The Byrds – Turn! Turn! Turn!

December 25, 1965 – December 31, 1966: The Dave Clark Five – Over and Over

Popular Movies

A Clockwork Orange, A Patch of Blue, A Thousand Clowns, Alphaville, Beach Blanket Bingo, Cat Ballou, Doctor Zhivago, Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill!, For A Few Dollars More, The Great Race, Help!, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Repulsion, Ship of Fools, The Sound of Music, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours, Tokyo Olympiad
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