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Yesterday: A look at the 60s, 70s & 80s

It is a day of infamy in Phillies’ history, as one of their most lopsided trades in all of baseball occurred.

The transitioning Phillies sent aging shortstop Larry Bowa and a 22-year-old infield prospect named Ryne Sanberg to the Chicago Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. At the time, ex-Phillies skipper Dallas Green was pulling the strings for the Cubs in the front office, and realized Sanberg’s potential.

This latest installment of my look back at YESTERDAY -- a trip back in time to the late 1960s’, 70s’ and sometimes dipping into the early 80s’ -- is a recollection of some of the more memorable events from 1982 involving events, pop-culture situations and items.

As we know, Sandberg had a stellar 15-year career in Chicago that resulted in Hall of Fame induction. DeJesus spent three years with the Phillies, and his best season was in 1984 when he hit .257. Bowa spent four seasons with the Cubs before he ended his career with the Mets in 1985.

The Phillies finished the 1982 season with an 89-73 record under Pat Corrles. Remember him? However, Corrales was fired at the All-Star break the following season with a 43-42-1 record due to numerous lineup changes and platooning. He was replaced by GM Paul Owens, and Owens led them to the 1983 World Series.

The veteran “Wheez Kids,” led by Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Tony Perez lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five games. John Denny posted a 19-6 record with a 2.37 ERA. Thirty-eight-year-old Steve Carlton had a 15-16 mark with a 3.11 ERA and a league-high 275 strikeouts. Carlton had one more effective season before he began to struggle.

At the Box Office and On the Air Waves: During the week of Jan. 27, 1982, “On Golden Pond” a sentimental piece featuring Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn became the top film at the box office after eight weeks, and it would stay in the top slot for the next seven weeks.

A week prior, “Absence of Malice,” a true forgotten masterpiece starring Paul Newman, held the top spot.

Hall and Oates’ “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” Foreigner’s “Waiting for A Girl Like You,” and J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold” were atop the Billboard charts.

Sizzling Sixers: On Jan. 28, the Sixers defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 99-86, behind Julius Erving’s 18 points and Lionel Hollins’ 13. It was their 30th win of the season. Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney came off the bench that season, and it marked the final season for fan favorite Steve “The Mayor of Mixville” Mix.

Billy Cuningham led the team to an overall 58-24 season record, and a hard-fought, seven-game series win over the Boston Celtics. Toney gained the nickname “The Boston Strangler” for his continued dominance over the Celtics in different series.

The Sixers lost in six games to the Lakers in the finals. That would help spark them to sign center Moses Malone, who helped lead them to basketball’s Promised Land the following season.

The Commodore; In early January of that year, the Commodore 64 computer went on sale.

It was the eight-bit home computer. It has been listed as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, selling between 12.5 and 17 million units.

It’s hard to believe that some of us worked on those big, block-type computers of the early 1980s.

Flying Low; For the first time since 1971, the Flyers would fail to make it past the first round of the playoffs. They also were experiencing a transition period with a 32-year-old Bobby Clarke. They did acquire former Maple Leafs’ standout Darry Sittler, and Pete Peeters emerged as a steady netminder. Head coach Pat Quinn was fired during the season, and longtime minor league coach Bob McCammon, who had a successful two-year run, took over. McCammon passed away Dec. 23.

E.T.: After “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial” debuted in June, Skittles and Reese’s Pieces hit the candy market. Reportedly, they were designed as space-shaped candy in regards to the film.

A Unique Pair: Beginning in the early 80s, Levi’s unveiled their acid-washed or stonewashed jeans that provided a marbled look. It was cool for the time being.