Frank Erwin Center 30th Anniversary

A Look Back in Time

As we approach our 30th anniversary in November, we thought it would be fun to check out what was going on in the world the year the Frank Erwin Center was being built (1977).

PRICES
Cost of a new home: $54,200
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.13
Cost of a gallon of regular gas: $0.62
Cost of a dozen eggs: $0.82
Cost of a gallon of milk: $1.68

U.S./WORLD
James Earl Carter, Jr. succeeds Gerald Ford as the 39th president of the United States.
The United States population reaches 220,239,425.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Amnesty International.
The World Trade Center in New York is completed.

TECHNOLOGY
The first Apple II computers went on sale.
The Commodore PET computer is first sold.
The first MRI Scanner is tested in Brooklyn.
Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.

ENTERTAINMENT
The television show “Three’s Company” debuts on ABC.
Star Wars opens in cinemas (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) and becomes a blockbuster hit.
The film Saturday Night Fever is released.
Music icon Elvis Presley dies in Memphis, Tennessee.
Three members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a charter plane crash outside Gillsburg, Mississippi.

SPORTS
Pelé plays the final game of his storied career at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Seattle Slew, ridden by jockey Jean Cruguet, wins the United States Triple Crown Races – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
Reggie Jackson blasts 3 home runs to lead the New York Yankees to World Series victory over the L.A. Dodgers.
Marquette wins 67-59 over North Carolina in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
The Oakland Raiders win 32-14 over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
Chris Evert (tennis) wins the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.

* Retrieved May 14, 2007 from:
http://www.1970sflashback.com/1977/Economy.asp
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1977.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977#Events
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_in_sports