Elliott's $1Million Bonus
Sep 1Bill Elliott claims a $1 million bonus for winning 3 of the 4 crown jewel races on the NASCAR schedule: the Daytona 500, Winston 500 and Southern 500
- Sep 1 Dutch cyclist Joop Zoetemelk becomes the oldest road race elite world champion at 38 years, 8 months, 29 days; beats Greg Lamonde & Marino Argentin in Giavera del Montello
- Sep 1 US-French expedition locates the wreckage of the Titanic off Newfoundland
- Sep 2Jerry Lewis' 20th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $33,100,000
- Sep 3 20th NASA Space Shuttle Mission (51-I): Discovery 6 returns to Earth
- Sep 3 England cricket swing bowler Richard Ellison, with 5 for 76, helps dismiss Australia for 129 in the 6th Test win at the Oval; England regains Ashes 3-1
Baseball Record
Sep 3 NY Mets catcherGary Carter smashes three consecutive home runs in an 8-3 win against San Diego Padres at Jack Murphy Stadium
- Sep 4 New York Mets catcherGary Carter hits two home runs in a 9-2 win in San Diego, tying the MLB record of five home runs in two games
- Sep 4 Russian Igor Paklin sets a new high jump world record at 2.41 m in Kobe, Japan
- Sep 6Mark Messier loses control of his Porsche and totals three cars; he is charged with hit-and-run and careless driving and is ordered to pay a fine
- Sep 6 Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9, crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31
- Sep 7 Mary Decker Tabb Slaney sets a US record in the women's 3000 m (8:25.83)
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 7 US Open Women's Tennis: Hana Mandlíková beatsMartina Navratilova 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 for her first US title
- Sep 8 Alayson Gibbons sets a 24-hour women's swim record of 42.05 miles in a 25-meter pool
- Sep 8 Seven die in a car and train crash in San Jose, California
- Sep 8 Shuttle Discovery flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly Air Force Base
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 8 US Open Men's Tennis: Czech starIvan Lendl wins his first US title, beating New York City home town favoriteJohn McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Sep 8 USA Weekend's first issue appears in 255 newspapers
US Sanctions Against South Africa
Sep 9President Reagan orders sanctions against South Africa, targeting apartheid
- Sep 9 Race riot in Birmingham, England
- Sep 10 U.S. 7th Circuit Court rules Soviet defector Walter Polovchak can't be forcibly returned to parents' country if it's deemed "not in the best interests" of underage defectors
- Sep 11 International Cometary Explorer (ISEE 3) passes Giacobini-Zinner by 7,900 km
- Sep 11Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds gets career hit 4,192 off Eric Show of the San Diego Padres, eclipsing Ty Cobb's record
- Sep 11 Sri Lanka achieves its first Test cricket victory, defeating India by 149 runs
- Sep 12 Flight readiness firing of Atlantis's main engines lasts 20 seconds
Video Music Awards
Sep 13 2nd MTV Video Music Awards: Don Henley,Bruce Springsteen,Tina Turner, and USA for Africa win
- Sep 13 John Williams introduces new Today Show theme
Super Mario Bros
Sep 13 Super Mario Bros game first appears, created byShigeru Miyamoto at Nintendo
The Golden Girls
Sep 14 "The Golden Girls", starringBea Arthur,Betty White, Rue McClanahan, andEstelle Getty, debuts on NBC
- Sep 14 10th Toronto International Film Festival: "The Official Story" directed by Luis Puenzo wins the People's Choice Award
- Sep 14 Susan Akin (Miss), 21, crowned 59th Miss America 1986
Death of a Salesman
Sep 15 CBS premieres its TV adaptation ofArthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", starringDustin Hoffman,John Malkovich, Kate Reid, Stephen Lang, and Charles Durning
- Sep 15 MLB New York Yankees trade 25-year-old pitching prospect Jim Deshaies to Houston Astros for 40-year-old pitcher Joe Niekro
Palme Forms Government
Sep 15Olof Palme forms Sweden minority government
- Sep 15 Ryder Cup Golf, The Belfry: Europe beats US, 16½-11½; first US loss since 1957; Sam Torrance clinches for Europe beating Andy North, 1 up
- Sep 17 Soyuz T-14 carries 3 cosmonauts to Salyut 7 space station
Song and Dance
Sep 18Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Song and Dance," starringBernadette Peters, opens at the Royale Theater in NYC and runs for 474 performances, earning a Tony Award for Peters
- Sep 18 Computer scientists accidentally stumble upon the largest prime number ever discovered, the number 2^216091 - 1, containing 65,050 digits
- Sep 18 TV spy/crime drama "The Equalizer," starring Edward Woodward, debuts in the US on CBS
- Sep 19 Magnitude 8.0 earthquake rocks Mexico City, killing an estimated 10,000 people and leaving 250,000 homeless
Parents Music Resource Center
Sep 19 US Senate holds hearings on labeling records to warn of explicit lyrics; representatives from the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) testify in support, and musicians Dee Snider,Frank Zappa, andJohn Denver speak in opposition
- Sep 20 Curtis Strong is convicted of selling cocaine to professional baseball players
- Sep 20 Walt Disney World's 200 millionth guest
CIA Double Agent
Sep 21 American CIA case officerEdward Lee Howard flees to Russia after being identified as a KGB agent
Spinks vs Holmes
Sep 21 Michael Spinks beatsLarry Holmes in 15 to become Heavyweight Boxing Champion
- Sep 22 37th Emmy Awards: "Cagney & Lacey," "The Cosby Show," and Tyne Daly win
- Sep 22Billy Martin's right arm is broken by pitcher Ed Whitson
Farm Aid Concert
Sep 22 First Farm Aid benefit concert, Champaign, Illinois; organized byWillie Nelson,Neil Young andJohn Mellencamp; performers includedBob Dylan,Tom Petty,Billy Joel,B.B. King, Hoyt Axton,Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, andEmmylou Harris[1]
The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior
Sep 22 French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius appears on TV to confess, "Agents of the DGSE sank this boat [Rainbow Warrior]. They acted on orders"
- Sep 22 Plaza Accord is signed in New York City by France, West Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US to depreciate the US dollar
- Sep 22 St. Louis Cardinals set an unusual streak record by winning 9 of 10 games, each pitched by a different pitcher
- Sep 24 A relay swim team completes the fastest English Channel crossing in 15 hours and 30 minutes
- Sep 24 Apollo Computer Inc. lays off 300 employees
- Sep 24 Montreal ExpoAndre Dawson is the ninth player to get six RBIs in an inning (fifth) and joins Willie McCovey in hitting two home runs in an inning twice
- Sep 25 Akali Dal wins Punjab State election in India
- Sep 25 MLB New York Yankees outfielderRickey Henderson steals a franchise-record 75th base of the season
- Sep 25 Palestinian terrorists kill 3 Israeli sailors in Larnaca, Cyprus
- Sep 26 Tunisia cuts diplomatic relations with Libya
- Sep 27 Hurricane Gloria's 130 mph winds hit the Atlantic coast
- Sep 27 Roof collapses in Brussels supermarket, killing eight
- Sep 28 "Don't Lose My Number" byPhil Collins peaks at #4
- Sep 28 "Every Step Of The Way" single by John Waite peaks at #25
- Sep 28 "Freedom" by Wham! peaks at #3
- Sep 28 NASA launches Intelsat V-A F12
- Sep 28 Riots in Brixton, London, prompted by the police shooting of Dorothy Groce
- Sep 29 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" returns to NBC-TV
Amazing Stories
Sep 29 "Amazing Stories" bySteven Spielberg debuts on NBC-TV
- Sep 29 "MacGyver," starring Richard Dean Anderson, debuts on ABC-TV
- Sep 29 Houston QB Warren Moon is sacked an NFL-tying record 12 times by the Cowboys
- Sep 29 Kansas City Chiefs' Deron Cherry ties an NFL record by recording four interceptions in a 28–7 win against Seattle
- Sep 29 MLB Baltimore Orioles managerEarl Weaver is ejected from both games of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, NYC; Weaver is the only manager to be tossed twice in a day two times
Howard Stern Fired
Sep 30Howard Stern is fired from New York City radio station WNBC-AM
Rain Dogs
Sep 30 Island Records releases "Rain Dogs," the ninth studio album by singer-songwriterTom Waits; the album features guitarist Marc Ribot, guest appearances fromKeith Richards, and one of Waits's most covered songs, "Downtown Train"
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists