1980

1980 was the 109th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

• February 26: Hosea Hudson Day
• Summer: Ruffner Mountain Nature Center hosted its first summer camp.
• August 16: Legion Field hosted the Drum Corps International World Championships.
• The Birmingham Design Review Committee was established.
• Birmingham Festival of Arts Salute to Ireland
• Birmingham Museum of Art expanded gallery space by 28,000 square feet and created an endowment fund for acquisitions.
• Clayton College of Natural Health was established.
• Stancil Handley purchased the Joseph Verchot residence.
• Hoover annexed the Riverchase community.
• The first National Sacred Harp Convention was held at Samford University.
• J. B. Stoner was convicted of planting a bomb at Bethel Baptist Church in 1958.
• Watercress Darter National Wildlife Refuge was established.
• 264 prehistoric vessels were stolen from the University of Alabama's Erskine Ramsay Archaeological Repository at Moundville.
• Representatives from Birmingham approached leaders in Hitachi, Japan about forming a sister city relationship.

Business

• April 5: The Loveman's chain went out of business.
• May 29; Loveman's downtown store closed after a final clearance.
• August 20: University Mall in Tuscaloosa had its grand opening.
• Crawford McWilliams Hatcher Architects was founded.
• Five Mile Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was named "Best Operated Plant" by the Alabama Water Pollution Control Association.
• Harmony Natural Foods became Manna Grocery & Deli.
• Rufus Hibbett sold Hibbett Sporting Goods to the Anderson family of Florence.
• The Irondale Cafe reopened in a newly-rebuilt building.
• Wallace Malone was elected Chairman of the Board of SouthTrust Bank.
• Miles Lounge opened.
• Ownership of Milo's Hamburgers passed from founder Milo Carlton to his son, Ronnie Carlton.
• Pizitz relocated its Eastwood Mall store to Century Plaza and opened a new store in Western Hills Mall.
• The Progressive Farmer Company changed its name to Southern Progress Corporation.
• Dan Puckett became CEO of Central Bank.
• Reed Books opened in Jim Reed's Southside home.
• Joseph South III bought Southern Banknote.
• Stevens Graphics purchased Oxmoor Press.
• Tony's Terrific Hot Dogs opened.
• Valley View Apartments were converted into condominiums.
• Channel 13 was sold by Newhouse's Advance Publications group to Times-Mirror Broadcasting, changing it's call letters from WAPI to WVTM.
• WERC-AM changed from a top 40 to an adult contemporary and news/talk format.
• Joe Langston, James Spann, and Herb Winches became anchors at WVTM.
• George Hadjidakis opened the Vinyl Solution record shop in Tuscaloosa.
• Price Hightower took over Steel City Oldsmobile from his father-in-law.

Sports

• January 1: The Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the Sugar Bowl.
• July 4: The first Peavine Falls Run was held.
• November 15: Stephen Bolt won the Vulcan Run 10K with a time of 29:13.
• November 29: The Crimson Tide defeated the Auburn Tigers 34-18 in the Iron Bowl, its eighth win of a nine-year streak.
• Gardendale High School boys track team won a state championship.
• Vestavia Hills High School won a state football championship.
• Pat Dye replaced Doug Barfield as head football coach of Auburn University.

Works

• Clarke Stallworth began writing his "Alabama Journey" column.
• Gary Smith commissioned Eleanor Bridges to paint a "Cyclorama of Birmingham History".

Books

• Clettus Volume I by Clettus Atkinson
• Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide, second edition
• Ray by Barry Hannah

Buildings

• Bessemer Annex
• Bill Harris Arena
• Camp Hall
• Crestwood Crossings
• Irondale Cafe
• McFarland Mall renovations
• Mountain Brook Shopping Center exterior remodeling
• Park Place Tower
• Queensbury Shopping Center
• University Mall
• Willow Wood Recreation Center renovation and expansion
• Groundbreaking for the UAB University Center.
• The Caldwell Bradshaw residence, Nabers, Morrow & Sinnige building, Blessed Sacrament Academy, First Christian Church, and Waters Building were added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Music

• Garden of Eaton by Cleveland Eaton
• Roses in the Snow by Emmylou Harris
• Half-Moon Silver by Hotel
• Telluride by Telluride
• "First Time" EP by Jim Bob & the Leisure Suits
  • "Birmingham Tonight"

Individuals

• Oscar Adams, Jr was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court.
• Daniel Alarcón moved to Birmingham with his parents and siblings.
• Gerald Bartholow became minister of Unity of Birmingham.
• Robert Brissie assumed the office of Jefferson County Medical Examiner.
• U. W. Clemon became the first African-American federal judge in Alabama.
• Howard Cruse began editing Gay Comix, an anthology for gay and lesbian cartoonists.
• David Cutcliffe became head coach at Banks High School.
• Elizabeth Garner began teaching at Pizitz Middle School.
• Mike Graffeo became administrative assistant to Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr.
• Janet Hall began working at WBRC 6 as a weekend news anchor.
• Vicki Hallman was cast as Miss Honeydew on Hee-Haw.
• Cliff Holman was elected to the Vestavia Hills City Council.
• Hoyt Logan took the pulpit at Avondale United Methodist Church.
• Robert E. Luckie, Jr surplanted W. W. McTyeire, Jr as president of The Club.
• Ben McKinnon was promoted to president of WSGN-AM.
• Michael Moore became pastor of Grace Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
• Irvin Penfield was promoted to full professor of political science at Birmingham-Southern College.
• Frank Skinner was elected Mayor of Hoover.
• Al Sutton, then 17, was ordained as a minister in North Carolina.
• Loxcil Tuck was elected to the Tarrant City Council.
• Gary White was elected to the Homewood City Council.
• Meged Yisra'el moved to Birmingham.

Births

Gucci Mane

• January 18: Shane Sanders, baseball player
• February 2: Gucci Mane, rapper
• February 24: Sam George, musician, writer, editor
• April 8: Josh Newman, police officer
• April 26: Channing Tatum, fashion model and actor
• April 27: Mark Carter, baseball player
• July 7: Deidre Downs, 2005 Miss America
• August 1: Chris Salter, mortgage banker
• October 10: Kapali Swamy, public relations professional and blunt-force trauma victim
• November 5: Nicole Whitehead, Playboy playmate
• December 6: Ehren Wassermann, baseball player
• December 6: Danielle Downey, LPGA golfer and Auburn Tigers women's golf coach
• Victor Ellis, Alabama Crimson Tide football linebacker
• Jennifer Freeman Boyd and Shelly Freeman Carter, the original Dubba Dubba Twins
• Tori LaConsay, artist, illustrator and designer
• Jasika Nicole, actress and comic artist
• Jared Weinstein, special assistant to President George W. Bush

Graduations

• Janet Awtrey earned her doctor of science in nursing at UAB.
• Bill Bryant earned his medical degree at UAB.
• Michael Choy earned his bachelor's degree at UAB.
• Suzanne Collins graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts.
• Hugh Cort earned his master's in social work at the University of Alabama.
• Tim Hollis graduated from Corner High School.
• Alan Jacobs graduated from the University of Alabama.
• Ronald Jenkins earned his Ph.D. in physiology from Auburn University.
• Bernard Kincaid earned his Ph.D. from the University of Alabama.
• Pat Moore obtained her law degree from the Birmingham School of Law.
• Bart Slawson earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Marriages

• Steve Gaines and Donna Dobbs
• Judge Greg Shaw and Samantha Slimp

Awards

• Alabama Academy of Honor: Frank Samford, Jr
• Alabama Business Hall of Fame: George Washington Carver (Tuskegee Institute), George Crawford (Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company), William Rushton (Protective Life Insurance Company), and Frank Spain (Liberty National Life Insurance Company)
• Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame: 20 inductees
• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: Hank Aaron, Bobby Bragan, Cliff Harper, Lee Roy Jordan, Frank Kendall, and Donald Whitmire
• Birmingham Volunteer of the Year: Frances Carter
• Miss Alabama: Paige Phillips
• Miss Samford: Theresa Carver

Retirements

• Del "Twinkles" Chambordon retired from Loveman's.
• Robert M. Ferry retired as Meteorologist-in-Charge of the Birmingham Weather Bureau Office.

Deaths

Cooper Green

• June 15: Lily May Caldwell, Birmingham News entertainment and amusements editor
• July 12: Donald Beatty, aviator, explorer, and inventor
• July 17: Shug Jordan, Auburn Tigers football coach
• July 6: Gail Patrick, actress
• August 9: Jerry Woodard, soul/rockabilly singer
• August 27: John Wilson, baseball player
• December 30: Stuffy Stewart, baseball player
• John Beecher, activist poet
• Cooper Green, politician
• Buster Waits, bookkeeper and former baseball mascot

See also: List of homicides in 1980

Context

In 1980 the U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviet Union at the Winter Olympics. The Voyager 1 probe confirmed the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn. The U.S. boycotted the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Mount St. Helens erupted, killing 57 and causing $3 billion in damage. The video arcade game Pac-Man debuted. Sony introduced the first consumer camcorder. CNN became the first all-news network. A heat wave struck the American midwest, killing 1,700 people. The comic strip Bloom County by Berk Breathed debuted. A then-record number of viewers tuned into the TV soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J.R. Ewing. A magnitude 7 earthquake in southern Italy killed approximately 4,800 people and left 300,000 homeless.

Notable 1980 births include Ben Savage, Jessica Simpson, and Venus Williams. Notable deaths in 1980 included Alfred Hitchcock, John Lennon, Mantovani, Steve McQueen, Jesse Owens, Colonel Sanders, Peter Sellers, and Mae West.

The top films were The Empire Strikes Back, 9 to 5, Stir Crazy, and Airplane!. Ordinary People was Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Top pop singles included Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall", Diana Ross' "Upside Down", Barbra Streisand's "Woman in Love", Lipps Inc's "Funkytown", and John Lennon's "(Just Like) Starting Over".

1980s

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