1975

1975 was the 104th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

• February: The first meeting of the Birmingham Citizens Advisory Board was held.
• March 24: Glenn Messer recreated his historic 1925 Birmingham to Chattanooga demonstration flight to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• April 15: John Ed Willoughby joined Tommy Charles' program on WSGN-AM.
• April: Mercy Hospital was re-named Cooper Green Hospital.
• May 17: The Sipsey Wilderness was dedicated through the efforts of the Alabama Conservancy.
• June 12-14: Susie Vaughn was crowned "Miss Alabama" at a three-day pageant at the BJCC Concert Hall hosted by Billy Joe Royal.
• June 23–29: Birmingham hosted the premier of the Thornton Wilder classic “The Skin of Our Teeth” by American Bicentennial Theatre at the BJCC Theater.
• July 4: Lynyrd Skynyrd headlined a concert at Rickwood Field.
• October 23–25: Spirit of Labor Festival was held at Western Hills Mall.
• November: George Wallace announced his fourth and final bid for the presidency.
• December 18: USGA executive Elbert Jemison enrolled President Gerald Ford into the USGA's Associates Program in the Oval Office.
• The Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences was established at UAB.
• American Revolution Bicentennial celebrations began to be held.
• The Birmingham Asian Art Society was founded.
• The Birmingham Festival of Arts celebrated a Salute to Brazil.
• Birmingham University School merged with Brooke Hill School for Girls to form the Altamont School.
• Brookside Junior High School was destroyed by fire.
• Dora High School began awarding the "Andrews Award" to graduating senior athletes.
• The first phase of revitalizing Highland Avenue began.
• Indian Springs School became coeducational.
• Ramsay High School became a magnet school.
• Sea lions Rumplesealskin, Julie, Jaws, and a fourth arrived at the Birmingham Zoo's Sea Lion Pool.
• The Vestavia Hills High School Math Team was founded by Kay Tipton.
• The Jefferson County Department of Health recorded 32-34 cases of St Louis Encephalitis.
• The Birmingham Parking Authority's Lot D opened near the Powell Avenue Steam Plant.

Business

• January 28: Jim White founded White & Company investment bankers.
• March: The Millers discount store chain was liquidated.
• August 8: Century Plaza opened in Eastwood.
• Autrey McMillan opened McMillan's Big & Tall at Century Plaza.
• September 5: Mr P's Deli opened in Bluff Park.
• September 17: The Lamplighter restaurant opened at the Ramada Inn South on Montgomery Highway in Hoover.
• October 16: The proposed development of Riverchase was announced.
• November: O'Carr's started in Homewood as an ice cream parlor.
• Alabama Outdoors was founded.
• Bank of Alabama was founded as Fultondale's first bank.
• The Book-Keepers was sold to new owners.
• The Book Rack opened in Roebuck.
• Aubrey Bushelon founded Bushelon Funeral Home.
• Mortgage Corporation of the South was spun off from Cobbs, Allen, and Hall.
• Harry Crawford purchased what became The Flagman in Columbiana business.
• Dale's Cellar restaurant moved to the Essex House.
• Juana Records was founded by Frederick Knight and Clinton Harris.
• Oak Grove Mine was opened by U. S. Steel in Adger.
• Pike's Hickory Pit opened in Bessemer.
• The Pizitz Management Group purchased the Birmingham location of Gus Mayer and kept the rights to the name.
• Vincent Joseph Sazera bought East Side Barbecue and renamed it VJ's on the Runway.
• Alternative newspaper Southern Style began publication.
• Spiller Furniture purchased the Allen & Jemison Warehouse in Tuscaloosa.
• Stancil R. Starnes and his son, Stan Starnes, co-founded the firm of Starnes & Starnes.
• Thunder City Press was founded by Steven Ford Brown.
• U. S. Steel began shutting down the Ensley Works.
• The Birmingham location of Victoria Station restaurant opened.
• Vinyl-Mark Products Inc. was founded.
• Stuart Shevin succeeded his father as president of Standard Furniture.
• Vaughan-Weil was liquidated.
• Golden Temple Emporium relocated from Homewood to Five Points South.

Government

• July: More than 1,000 Birmingham city workers went on strike.
• Mayor of Hoover O. E. Braddock died in office; John Hodnett was appointed to finish the term.
• Earl Hilliard began his term in the Alabama house.
• Roger McCondichie joined the Brookside Town Council.
• Thomas Stubbs ended his run as Alabama State Senator.
• David Vann succeeded George Seibels as Mayor of Birmingham.

Religion

• June: Joe Moore succeeded J. Grant Parris as pastor of Avondale United Methodist Church.
• September 17: Members of Elyton Baptist Church voted to disband.
• Jerry Butler became pastor of Pelham First Baptist Church.
• Carter Gaston became pastor of Bethel Baptist Church.
• Milton Grafman retired as rabbi of Temple Emanu-El.
• Henry Tuttle succeeded S. Lawrence Johnson as pastor of Pilgrim Congregational Church.

Sports

• January: The WFL revoked the Birmingham Americans' franchise.
• July–October: The Birmingham Vulcans played their only season with the WFL.
• November 27: The first Vulcan Run took place under the name "Bicentennial Run".
• November 29: Alabama defeated Auburn in the Iron Bowl, 28–0.
• The Alabama Crimson Tide won the SEC championship and the Sugar Bowl.
• The Birmingham A's folded.
• Lyman Bostock Jr was promoted to the major leagues.
• Bobby Bragan became president of the the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.
• The Dolls Double Classic tennis tournament began, hosted by the Civiettes Club.
• Coach Robert Higginbotham led the Mountain Brook Spartans to the state football championship.
• Shug Jordan retired as Auburn University's head football coach.
• Legion Field's Poly-Turf was replaced with AstroTurf.
• Tiny Lund is killed in the running of the Talladega 500 in a seventh lap crash.
• Larry McReynolds began his NASCAR career.
• Parker High School won the 4A state basketball championship.
• Shorty White became a member of the coaching staff for the Alabama Crimson Tide football teams.

Individuals

• December: Wendy Holcombe made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.
• Paul Bailey became acting president of Birmingham-Southern College.
• Radio DJ Greg Bass joined Boutwell Studios.
• Bo Berry joined the jazz group Alpaca Phase III.
• Steven Ford Brown became editor of UAB's "Aura Literary Arts Review".
• Tommy Charles returned to WSGN-AM, co-hosting the T. C. and John Ed morning show with newcomer John Ed Willoughby.
• Don Cornutt became principal of Homewood Middle School.
• Samuetta Drew joined the Birmingham City Schools faculty.
• Russ Fine was recruited to UAB by the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine.
• Frank Fleming returned to the University of Alabama as an artist in residence.
• John Floyd began directing Jefferson State Junior College's Agricultural Technology Program.
• Vince Gibson became head football coach at the University of Louisville.
• Cleveland Hammonds took his first position as school superintendent in Inkster, Michigan.
• Cliff Holman was promoted to general manager and vice-president of the Parliament House Hotel.
• Harold Jackson became a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald.
• Juliet Lovoy became chef of Lovoy's Italian Restaurant.
• Lou Marini joined the Saturday Night Live house band.
• Pat Morrow succeeded Freddie Pollard as the director of the Homewood High School band.
• Jack Nelson was promoted to bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times' Washington, D.C. office.
• Wayne Rogers left the TV show M*A*S*H after three seasons.
• Future master engraver Bob Rosser received a book called "The Art of Engraving".
• Carole Samuelson joined the Jefferson County Health Department as a part-time clinic physician.
• Abdulalim Shabazz took his current name.
• Steve Sloan became head football coach at Texas Tech.
• Nelson Smith Jr began serving on the general council for the Baptist World Alliance.
• Richard Thigpen became acting president of the University of Alabama.
• Margaret Tutwiler was called to Washington as Assistant Office Manager for the Fund for Government Investors. She later assumed the job of Executive Director of President Ford's Committee for Alabama.
• Marvin Whiting joined the staff of the Birmingham Public Library.

Births

Bo Bice

• January 28: Monica Graveline, deputy general counsel for Southern Company
• February 6: Jason Buha, professional golfer & Birmingham-Southern College administrator
• April 7: Kenya Marshall, attorney
• April 14: Avner Dorman, composer
• April 25: Lance McDade, Mayor of Lipscomb
• May: Eunice Elliott, comedian and news host
• June 8: Clarence Muhammad, Nation of Islam minister and activist
• July 20: Michael Richard, urban explorer
• August 15: Elaine Luria, U.S. Representative
• August 29: André Natta, publisher
• September 2: Cedric Sparks, Birmingham Department of Youth Services director
• September 30: Van Moody, pastor and author
• October 6: Koundu, gorilla
• November 1: Bo Bice, rock musician
• November 12: Walton Creel, artist
• December 6: Ashley Halfman, attorney and Miss Alabama 1998
• Melanie Bouyer, Mayor of Lipscomb
• Matthew Dent, businessman
• Chris Graves, basketball coach
• Alison Grizzle, math teacher
• Chris Joe, chef
• Corey McKern, opera singer
• Larry Rackley, painter
• Brandee Skinner
• Tommie Watkins, AIDS activist
• Ben Wieseman, planner

Awards

• Alabama Academy of Honor: Rucker Agee, James Allen, Ben Gilmer, Milo Howard, Charles McCallum Jr, George Murray, Julia Russell, William Rushton Jr
• Alabama Business Hall of Fame: Charles Henderson (Troy University), Frank Rushton (City Ice and Delivery & National Coal and Coke Company), Wallace Malone Sr (First National Bank), Louis Pizitz (Pizitz), Ben May (Gulf Lumber Company), Mervyn Sterne (Sterne, Agee and Leach)
• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: Paul Grist, Billy Hitchcock, Frank House, Zipp Newman, Snitz Snider, Travis Tidwell, Pat Trammell, and George Wallace
• Miss Alabama: Susie Vaughn
• Miss Samford: Wynne Wilson
• Mr Crestwood: Murry Davis
• Ed Boutwell won three Clio awards for his jingle for Southern Airlines.
• James Foy was named "Dean of the Year" by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Graduations

• Robert Baker from Gregorian University, graduate degree in dogmatic theology
• William G. Barnes from George Washington University, BS in business administration
• William B. Blount from the University of Alabama, bachelor's
• David Carrington from the University of Houston, master's in business administration
• John L. Carroll from Harvard University, master of laws
• Ouida Fritschi from UAB, BS in psychology
• Anthony Gardner from Hayes High School
• Anthony Greene from the University of Alabama, BS in special education
• Carol Hendrickson from Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Maine
• Harold Jackson from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas, BS in political science and journalism
• Alan Jacobs from Banks High School
• Lonnie Johnson from Tuskegee University, master's in nuclear engineering
• James Jones from the University of Alabama Law Enforcement Academy
• Ed McMahon from Georgetown University Law School, Juris Doctorate
• Branko Medenica completed a master of fine arts at the University of Mississippi.
• J. Gordon Melton from Northwestern University, PhD in the History and Literature of Religions
• Melvin Miller from Indiana University, masters in recreation and parks administration.
• Pat Moore from UAB, bachelor's in accounting
• Dwayne Murray from Stillman College, BS in business administration
• Gene Robinson from the University of Alabama, bachelor's in marketing
• Samantha Shaw from Homewood High School
• Jimmie Stephens from Samford University, master's in business administration
• Anthony Underwood from Jess Lanier High School

Weddings

• September 1: Former Miss Alabama Ann Fowler married ABC Sports president Roone Arledge.
• Lili Gentle to Timothy W. Guerry

Divorces

• Tammy Wynette and George Jones (married 1969)
• Richard Yates and his second wife, Martha Speers

Deaths

• February 4: Howard Hill, archer
• May 7: Bill Durks, sideshow performer
• September 10: Emory Jackson, Birmingham World editor and NAACP leader
• John Mancha, restaurateur
• Fred Arthur Powell, photographer

See also: List of homicides in 1975

Works

• "Fish Circle", painting by Wayne Thiebaud
• The Black Community Game, with graphics by Edward Jennings

Books

• Disturbing the Peace by Richard Yates
• The Gold Disc of Coosa by Virginia Pounds Brown
• The House on Pendleton Block by Ann Waldron
• The Integration of Mary-Larkin Thornhill by Ann Waldron
• Sociobiology: The New Synthesis by E. O. Wilson
• Staying Hard by Charles Gaines
• Yesterday's Birmingham by Malcolm McMillan

Buildings

Postcard of the Hyatt House

• Brookwood Metroplex, phase II
• Century Plaza
• Clara Verner Towers
• Clarion Hotel
• Clarkson Bridge restoration
• Hueytown Public Library relocated to the unused city jail area in Hueytown City Hall
• Hyatt House Birmingham Hotel
• Palmer Norris Center
• Pelham City Hall
• Red Cross Building renovations and expansion
• UAB 13th Street pedestrian bridge
• Added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage: Donnelly House, McDaniel House, Oak Hill Cemetery
• Added to the National Register of Historic Places: Boshell's Mill, Druid City Historic District, Eugene Enslen residence, Isaac Sadler residence, Searcy House

Film

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest featuring Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched
• The film version of Stay Hungry was shot in Birmingham.

Music

• Elite Hotel by Emmylou Harris
• Family Reunion by The O'Jays
• "It's Gonna be a Cold Cold Christmas" by Dana Rosemary Scallon
• Pieces of the Sky by Emmylou Harris, including "Boulder to Birmingham"
• Survival by The O'Jays

Television

• September 6: The Lost Saucer, co-starring Jim Nabors, premiered.

Context

In 1975 the Altair 8800 microcomputer was released. Wheel of Fortune premiered. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–6 in Super Bowl IX. Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began. Microsoft was established. The Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project saw Soviet and American spacecraft dock in orbit for the first time. Jimmy Hoffa went missing. The Louisiana Superdome opened in New Orleans. The AH-64 Apache helicopter made its first flight. Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila boxing match. Saturday Night Live premiered. The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank. The Group of Six (G-6) industrailized nations formed. Peter Gabriel departed the band Genesis, and was replaced on lead vocals by drummer Phil Collins.

Notable births in 1975 included actress Sara Gilbert, rapper Big Boi, singer Brian Littrell, actress Drew Barrymore, actress Eva Longoria, singer Fergie, baseball player Scott Rolen, football player and television correspondent Tiki Barber, singer Enrique Iglesias, football player Ray Lewis, musician Lauryn Hill, rapper André 3000, actress Angelina Jolie, basketball player Allen Iverson, actor Tobey Maguire, rapper 50 Cent, musician Jack White, basketball player Ray Allen, baseball player Alex Rodriguez, race car driver Jimmie Johnson, actress Kate Winslet, cyclist Floyd Landis, singer Ginuwine, poker player Chris Moneymaker, and golfer Tiger Woods.

Notable deaths included actor Larry Fine, writer P. G. Wodehouse, former Soviet premier Nikolai Bulganin, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, Olympic athlete Harold Osborn, photographer Walker Evans, actress Marjorie Main, entertainer Josephine Baker, actor William Hartnell, actor Moe Howard, entertainer Ozzie Nelson, screenwriter Rod Serling, writer James Blish, writer Rex Stout, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, race car driver Graham Hill, playwright Thornton Wilder, and film composer Bernard Herrman.

Notable novels of 1975 included Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, James Clavell's Shōgun, Stephen Kings's 'Salem's Lot, and Bob Shea and Robert Anton Wilson's The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

Top box office hits included Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dog Day Afternoon, and Shampoo. Another notable release was The Rocky Horror Picture Show. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest took Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Miloš Forman), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Albums released in 1975 included Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John, Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin, Elton John's Greatest Hits, and One of These Nights by the Eagles. The Grammy Award for Album of the Year went to Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon. Hit singles included the Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together", Tony Orlando and Dawn's "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)", Neil Sedaka's "Bad Blood", Elton John's "Island Girl", and Silver Convention's "Fly, Robin, Fly".

1970s

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