1962
Class of 1970 is in 5th grade, most classmates are 10 years old
Tom Hayden founds the Students for Democratic Action at the University of Michigan
Johnny Carson takes over the Tonight Show
The Beatles release Love Me Do
The Four Seasons have two #1 hits: Sherry and Big Girls Don't Cry
Ray Charles converts to Country Music with I Can't Stop Loving You, Georgia on My Mind
Marilyn Monroe dies of a drug overdose at Age 36
James Bond (Sean Connery) in Dr. No
West Side Story wins 10 Oscar's at the 34th Academy Awards (1962 Winners)
Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in an NBA basketball game
Boston Celtics win 1962 NBA Championship
Cincinnati (Oscar Robertson) defeats Ohio State for 1962 NCAA Basketball Championship again in repeat of 1961 final
Terry Baker of Oregon State wins Heisman Trophy; USC finishes 11-0 wins NCAA Football Championship and defeats Wisconsin in Rose Bowl 42-37
Rod Laver wins Grand Slam in Tennis
Emile Griffith KO's Bennie Parent for Middleweight Championship, Parent dies 10 days later
Do you remember the Gillette Saturday Night Boxing Fight of the Week?
Decidedly wins Kentucky Derby
Maury Wills breaks Ty Cobb's single season stolen base record
Maury Wills and Dawn Fraser are athletes of the year
Jim Beatty breaks 11 American and 3 World Records (mile under 4 minutes); ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year
Green Bay Packers win 1962 NFL Championship over New York Giants; Detroit Lions win Playoff Bowl over the Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Buntin makes debut for Michigan Basketball as they finish 16-8
Michigan wins 1962 NCAA Championship in Baseball, Don Lund retires after 32 years of service
Arnold Palmer is PGA Player of the Year winning the Master's and The Open
Sonny Liston defeats Floyd Patterson for Heavyweight Boxing Title
New York Yankees defeat San Francisco Giants in 1962 World Series
October 14-November 20: Cuban Missile Crisis
Betty Friedan writes The Feminine Mystique
Telstar satellite launched; 90% of Americans now own a TV
Polaroid introduces an instant camera with a 60 second picture
Hanna-Barbera introduces The Jetsons
Peter Sellers in The Pink Panther
Lolita debuts
Disney introduces Big Red and Moon Pilot
Beverly Hillbillies and The Lucy Show begin on TV along with McHale's Navy, The Virginian, The Match Game and The Merv Griffin Show
John Glenn orbits the earth in Friendship 7
First K Mart and Wal-Mart open
H. Ross Perot begins EDS
1962 Michigan Football Team finishes last in the Big Ten with a 2-7 season suffering 4 shutout losses after beginning the season with great victories over Nebraska who went on to finish 9-2 and #9 Army
On October 12, 1962, two undefeated teams, #2 Ann Arbor Pioneer and #1 Battle Creek Central do battle for the Six-A-League title and State Championship. The score was Battle Creek Central 14 Ann Arbor Pioneer 12; instead of taking a "knee" on the game's final play, the Bearcats call a deep pass. As the clock was running down in the final 20 seconds, an Ann Arbor Pioneer defensive lineman knocks the ball out of the quarterback's hands and picks up the fumble and marches into the end zone as time expires for a 18-14 win. Pioneer finishes the season with wins over Lansing Eastern, Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills and Jackson to cap an undefeated season and state title.
1962 Detroit Lions finish 11-3, defeat the World Champion Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day, it was the only loss of the season for the Pack.
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, a book warning about the dangers of synthetic pesticides
1962 in TV (1961-1962 TV Schedule)
Shows that end include: Sky King, Bachelor Father, Maverick and Thriller
Newsreels Part I II III IV V VI VII
| 1-Jan-62 | University of Michigan | Tom Hayden, Editor of the Michigan Daily, founds the SDS-Students for Democratic Society; later, Hayden would be one of the infamous Chicago 7 at the 1968 Democratic Convention, marry Jane Fonda in 1973 and become a well known California politician from 1982-2000 |
| 20-Feb-62 | n/a | John Glenn becomes first human to orbit the earth |
| 9-Apr-62 | Oscar's | West Side Story wins over Fanny, Judgement at Nuremberg, The Hustler, Guns of Navarone for Best Picture; Maximilian Schell, George Chakiris, Sophia Loren and Rita Moreno are Oscar acting winners at 34th Academy Awards hosted by Bob Hope on ABC (Channel 7 in Detroit). Moon River wins Best Song. West Side Story garners 10 Oscars. |
| 29-May-62 | Grammy's | Moon River (Henry Mancini, Chubby Checker (Let's Twist Again), Jimmy Dean (Big Bad John), Peter & The Wolf (Leonard Bernstein), Ray Charles (Hit the Road Jack) and Judy Garland were winners at the Grammy's |
| 15-Jun-62 | n/a | Michigan's Baseball Team wins NCAA Championship |
| 24-Oct-62 | n/a | Cuban Missle Crisis--near nuclear war |
| 22-Nov-62 | Tiger Stadium | The Detroit Lions give the Green Bay Packers their only loss of the season, 26-14, and end the season 11-3 |