NEWS: 1977

As 1977 begins, it's clear and 16 degrees F at Baltimore's weather station (at BWI Airport). The wind is from the southwest at 14 miles an hour.

In 1977, the three major U.S. commercial television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) reach their peak number of total viewer-hours. (After 1977, cable and satellite channels begin drawing some viewers away from the major networks.)

1977 is the peak year in the U.S. for outdoor television antennas, usually mounted on the roofs of homes. (After 1977, cable and satellite TV start cutting into the need for outdoor antennas.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, then partly cloudy, then clear; breezy/windy (33 mph gusts at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm); High temp. 28 F; Low temp. 14 F; Precipitation: None.  No snow on the ground.

Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner is suspended for one year by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, for Turner's tampering with Gary Matthews' free-aency signing (luring him with incentives to sign with the Braves).

Erroll Garner dies at age 55 in Los Angeles, California. He was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad "Misty", has become a jazz standard. Scott Yanow of Allmusic calls him "one of the most distinctive of all pianists" and a "brilliant virtuoso." He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was born Erroll Louis Garner on June 15, 1921 in Pittsburgh, PA.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear; breezy in the early afternoon; High temp. 34 F; Low temp. 17 F; Precipitation: None.

Apple Computer is incorporated. The founders are Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and Mike Markkula Jr. The company is based in Cupertino, California.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Clear, becoming cloudy with a trace of snow; High temp. 32 F; Low temp. 17 F; Precipitation: Trace (liquid).  No snow on the gorund.

BWI Airport gets 3.6 inches of snow, the greatest snowfall on one day for BWI Airport in 1977.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming clear; snow (3.6 inches) in the morning; breezy/windy in the afternoon and evening (36 mph gust at 4:00 pm); High temp. 37 F; Low temp. 16 F; Precipitation: 0.25 inch (liquid).  3 inches of snow on the ground.

The first episode of "Roots," a TV miniseries based on a novel by Alex Haley, airs on ABC.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 30° F; Low temp. 14° F, Precip.: None.  A trace of snow on the ground.

The eighth (and final) episode of the "Roots" TV miniseries airs on ABC.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 28° F; Low temp. 13° F, Precip.: None.  No snow on the ground.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 32° F; Low temp. 14° F, Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during January 1977 is 1.36 inches, including melted snow and ice, less than half the normal amount for January (3.08 inches).  The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during January 1977 is 30.9 degrees F, well below the normal of 43.2 degrees.  The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during January 1977 is 14.8 degrees F, well below the normal of 25.4 degrees.  A total of 8.5 inches of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during January 1977, above the normal of 6.4 inches.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 48° F; Low temp. 29° F, Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during February 1977 is 0.63 of an inch, including melted snow, well below the normal of 2.90 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during February 1977 is 47.3 degrees F, above the normal of 46.4 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during February 1977 is 25.7 degrees F, below the normal of 26.9 degrees. A trace of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during February 1977, well below the normal of 7.5 inches.

The U.S. House of Representatives adopts a strict code of ethics.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 49° F; Low temp. 25° F; Precip.: None.

The final first-run episode of "Mary Tyler Moore" is shown on CBS television. This sitcom lasted seven seasons.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 54° F; Low temp. 37° F; Precip.: None.

Jacques Chirac, a former French prime minister, is elected mayor of Paris, France. He is Paris' first mayor in more than a century, since 1871. For almost the entire period from 1874 to 1977, Paris was the only city or town in France without a mayor.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then gradually becoming clear; rain showers from mid-morning to mid-evening; a trace of snow in mid-evening; breezy late in the evening (20 mph sustained wind & 28 mph gust at 11:00 PM); High temp. 44° F; Low temp. 40° F; Precip.: 0.16 inch (liquid). No snow on the ground.

The final 11 miles of the Baltimore Beltway -- the Francis Scott Key Bridge and its approaches -- is completed.  The bridge spans the Patapsco River, and connects southern Baltimore and Dundalk. (On March 26, 2024, a major portion of the 1.6-mile Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after one of its supports is hit by a container ship.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 54° F; Low temp. 36° F; Precip.: None.

A Pan Am passenger jet and a KLM passenger jet collide on a runway in fog at the airport in Tenerife, Spain, killing a combined 583 people on board the two planes. It is the deadliest airplane accident in history, up to this point.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 63° F; Low temp. 30° F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore FM radio station WIYY (98Rock) has its first broadcast with these call letters and rock-music format. (It had previously been WBAL-FM beginning in April 1960. It had begun as WFDS-FM on December 7, 1958.)

At the 49th Academy Awards ceremony, "Rocky" receives the Best Picture award. Peter Finch posthumously wins the Best Actor award for his role in "Network" and Faye Dunaway receives the Best Actress award, also for "Network".

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly cloudy; rain showers from early morning to mid-afternoon; High temp. 59° F; Low temp. 46° F; Precip.: 0.13 inch.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 67° F; Low temp. 45° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during March 1977 is 3.93 inches, including melted snow and ice.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during March 1977 is 3.93 inches, including melted snow, below the normal of 4.01 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during March 1977 is 61.5 degrees F, well above the normal of 54.8 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during March 1977 is 38.4 degrees F, well above the normal of 33.9 degrees. A trace of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during March 1977, well below the normal of 2.8 inches.

The U.S. Senate follows the example of the U.S. House of Representatives by adopting a code of ethics requiring financial disclosures and limits on outside income.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 64° F; Low temp. 38° F; Precip.: None.

Jacques Prévert dies at age 77 in Omonville-la-Petite, La Hague, France. He was a French poet and screenwriter, known for his screenplays including Children of Paradise and song lyrics including "Autumn Leaves." He was born on February 4, 1900 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 81° F; Low temp. 43° F; Precip.: None.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 88 degrees F, the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any April 12th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 88° F; Low temp. 56° F; Precip.: None.

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 89 degrees F, the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any April 13th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 89° F; Low temp. 57° F; Precip.: None.

Alex Haley, author of the bestselling book "Roots," visits the Gambian village of Juffure, which he believed was the place where his ancestor Kunte Kinte was captured as a slave in 1767.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 73° F; Low temp. 46° F; Precip.: None.

The musical play "Annie" opens on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre (later the Neil Simon Theatre) in New York, NY, beginning a run of 2,377 performances.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 80° F; Low temp. 48° F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 71° F; Low temp. 39° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during April 1977 is 3.05 inches, including melted snow, below the normal of 3.39 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during April 1977 is 70.4 degrees F, above the normal of 66.5 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during April 1977 is 45.3 degrees F, above the normal of 43.6 degrees. A trace of snow falls at Baltimore's official weather station at BWI Airport during April 1977, above the normal of zero inches.

Seattle Slew wins the Kentucky Derby horse race.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly cloudy, then cloudy, then clear; a light rain shower early in the afternoon; High temp. 72° F; Low temp. 56° F; Precip.: 0.01 inch.

An Israeli Air Force Sikorsky CH-53 Yas'ur helicopter crashes during an exercise in the Jordan Valley, killing all 54 on board, including the 10-member flight crew.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 63° F; Low temp. 43° F; Precip.: None.

Seattle Slew wins the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore after winning the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 86° F; Low temp. 56° F; Precip.: None.

George Willig climbs the outside of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York, NY. He is arrested at the top of the 110-story building.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 84° F; Low temp. 61° F; Precip.: None.

Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 auto race. She ends up in 29th place, but does not complete the entire race. The winner is A.J. Foyt, Jr.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 77° F; Low temp. 61° F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 72° F; Low temp. 61° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during May 1977 is 1.49 inches, below the normal of 3.39 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during May 1977 is 78.7 degrees F, above the normal of 75.5 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during May 1977 is 54.7 degrees F, above the normal of 53.3 degrees.

Radio station WCAO-FM (102.7), a classical-music station, becomes WXYV ("V-103") and begins playing disco and urban music.  But some of the songs it plays on the first day don't fit that format: for example, the country and pop hit "Right Time of the Night" by Jennifer Warnes.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly to mostly cloudy; a rain shower near 5:00 AM; breezy from mid-morning to until evening (16 mph sustained wind & 23 mph gust at 3:00 PM); High temp. 86° F; Low temp. 66° F; Precip.: 0.12 inch.

Brooks Robinson of the Orioles gets the last base hit of his career: a single.  It's hit number 2,842 for Brooks.  Also, in this game, the Orioles execute a game-ending triple play to beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-6.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming clear; light rain just after midnight; breezy much of the day (16 mph sustained wind & 26 mph gust at 11:00 AM); High temp. 88° F; Low temp. 62° F; Precip.: 0.03 inch.High temp. 77° F; Low temp. 54° F; Precip.: Trace.

The VHS (Video Home System) videocassette recorder and VHS videocassette are introduced by JVC in a news conference before the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, IL.  Two years earlier, on May 10, 1975, Sony had introduced another format of videocassette and recorder, called Betamax, also known as Beta.  Both of these formats use magnetic video recording tape housed in a cassette package. These two formats would coexist during the VCR (videocassette recorder) era. Because JVC licensed its technology to other manufacturers, there ultimately were far more VHS VCRs than Betamax ones.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 85° F; Low temp. 49° F; Precip.: None.

The low temperature in Baltimore reaches 43 degrees F, the lowest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any June 8th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 77° F; Low temp. 43° F; Precip.: None.

James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee along with six others. (He is recaptured on June 13, 1977.)

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, becoming mostly clody; light rain after midnight; windy/breezy nearly all day (18 mph sustained wind & 30 mph gust at 11:00 AM); High temp. 71° F; Low temp. 56° F; Precip.: Trace.

Seattle Slew wins the Belmont Stakes horse race, becoming the tenth horse to win the Triple Crown of Throughbread racing: Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. He's the first horse to win the Triple Crown while unbeaten in his career.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 82° F; Low temp. 56° F; Precip.: None.

James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., is recaptured after escaping from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennesse three days before on June 10.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 80° F; Low temp. 65° F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather: Clear, then cloudy to mostly cloudy; a thunderstorm with heavy rain in the evening (a wind gust of 29 mph at 8:00 PM); breezy at times from mid-afternoon to mid-evening; High temp. 85 degrees F, Low temp. 66 degrees F; Precipitation: 0.66 inch.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 86° F; Low temp. 65° F; Precip.: 0.67 inch.

New York Yankees outfielder Reggie Jackson and Yankees manager Billy Martin get into a dugout confrontation at Fenway Park in Boston that is seen on national television. Martin removes Jackson from the game for loafing on a ball hit to the outfield. Jackson questions Martin in the dugout and the two are eventually separated by coach Elston Howard.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then clear, then partly cloudy, then clear; light rain after midnight; High temp. 89° F; Low temp. 65° F; Precip.: Trace.

Menachem Begin of the Likud bloc becomes Israel's sixth prime minister.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 81° F; Low temp. 62° F; Precip.: None.

Elvis Presley performs his last concert. It is held at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was Elvis' 55th show of 1977.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 88° F; Low temp. 67° F; Precip.: None.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: High temp. 90° F; Low temp. 64° F; Precip.: None.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during June 1977 is 3.44 inches, below the normal of 3.98 inches. The average daily high temperature for Baltimore during June 1977 is 82.1 degrees F, below the normal of 84.4 degrees. The average daily low temperature for Baltimore during June 1977 is 60.7 degrees F, below the normal of 62.6 degrees.

Singer-actor Elvis Presley plays "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain" on his piano in private at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennesse. It's the last song he ever performs.

Singer-actor Elvis Presley dies in the afternoon at his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, and is declared dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. Elvis Aaron Presley, also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. He was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

"Thanks, Brooks Day" is held at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore before the Orioles-Red Sox game. There's a ceremony to honor Brooks Robinson, who played his entire major-league career, all or part of 23 years, with the Orioles. Some people make speeches, including Brooks. He rides around the warning track inside the stadium in a 1955 Cadillac, made the same year that Brooks Robinson debuted with the Orioles. Brooks is awarded a new car, a Hawaiian vacation, a vacuum cleaner, and replacements for his Gold Glove trophies (he had given away all but 2 of the 16 he collected  to varous charities). In the game, the Boston Red Sox defeat the Orioles, 10-4. Attendance is 51,798. (The person writing this was in attendance.)

The high temperature in Baltimore reaches 91 degrees F, a tie for the highest temperature ever recorded for Baltimore on any September 18th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. This high temperature ties the 91 degrees F that was recorded in Baltimore on September 18, 1898.

Baltimore gets a trace of snow (less than one-tenth of an inch) in the early morning, in a storm that produces mostly rain. This is the greatest amount of snow for Baltimore on any October 17th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871.

Baltimore weather: Light rain in the morning with a brief interval of snow; then cloudy, then becoming clear; breezy/windy until early evening (46 mph gust at 1:00 pm); Precipitation: 0.15 inch.

The crash of a chartered airplane kills three members of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd along with three others. The crash occurs in a heavily-wooded swamp in Amite County, Mississippi, about five miles northeast of Gillsburg. The cause of the crash is fuel exhaustion through pilot error. Lynyrd Skynyrd's lead vocalist/founding member Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist and vocalist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines (Steve's older sister), assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray all die as a result of the crash while twenty others survive.

Sam Witwer is born in Glenview, Illinois. He's an actor and musician. He is known for playing Crashdown in Battlestar Galactica, Davis Bloome in Smallville, Aidan Waite in Being Human, Mr. Hyde in Once Upon a Time, and Ben Lockwood in Supergirl. He has voiced Starkiller in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the Son in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Rebels. He has voiced Darth Maul in The Clone Wars, Rebels and Solo: A Star Wars Story. In 2019, he joined the cast of Riverdale as Jughead Jones' school teacher Mr. Rupert Chipping. Witwer voiced protagonist Deacon St. John in the game Days Gone released in 2019 by Bend Studio.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy, then partly cloudy, then clear; breezy from late morning until evening; High temp. 63 F; Low temp. 46 F; Precipitation.: None.

Baltimore receives 3.36 inches of precipitation, the most in Baltimore on any December 18th (up to this point) since recordkeeping began in 1871. This is also the record for the most precipitation in Baltimore on any single day in December (up to this point) since recordkeeping began.

Baltimore weather at BWI Airport: Cloudy; rain (heavy at times) until evening and from mid-evening onward; breezy much of the day (20 mph sustained wind & 23 mph gust at 6:00 PM); High temp. 43° F; Low temp. 38° F; Precip.: 3.36 inches.

The total precipitation for Baltimore during December 1977 is 5.76 inches, including melted snow and ice.

Total precipitation for Baltimore in 1977 is 36.39 inches, about 5 and a half inches below normal.