On March 11, 1989, Cops, a documentary-style television series
that follows police officers and sheriff’s deputies as they go
about their jobs, debuted on Fox. Cops went on to become one
of the longest-running shows in television history. It went off
the air in 2020.

The show, which was created by John Langley and Malcolm
Barbour, was a pioneer in reality television. Crews with
camcorders followed law enforcement officers on patrol,
tracking down suspects and making arrests. The show was
unscripted, which worked in Langley and Barbour’s favor
when they pitched the original concept to Fox: At the time,
there was a writers’ strike in Hollywood, and the network
needed new programming that wouldn’t require writers.

In 1989, the debut episode of Cops featured the men and
women of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department in
Florida. The show

aired over 1,000 episodes and filmed in 140 U.S. cities, as
well as international locations including London and Hong
Kong. With its widely recognized theme song, “Bad Boys”
by the reggae group Inner Circle, Cops had spawned
numerous imitators in addition to parody shows.

Malcolm Barbour

John Russell Langley
(June 1, 1943 – June 26, 2021

SANDY KOZEL

Walter Matthau, left,  and Art Carney on Broadway in Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.

Neil Simon Broadway play The Odd Couple debuted in 1965
and starred Walter Matthau (who would go to play the same
role in the film) and Art Carney as Felix Ungar. Matthau won
a Tony award for his portrayal, one of a slew of accolades
the play received.

(FOXNEWS) – Yellowstone National Park, an almost
mystical  2.2-million acre wonderland of dynamic
hydrothermal activity, breathtaking scenery and
spectacular wildlife, was established on this day in
history, March 1, 1872.        

It was the first national park in the United States and,
to most people around the world, the first known on
the planet. It quickly inspired an international
conservation movement in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution.

This poster was created in 1938 as part of the Works
Progress Administration, or WPA.

Lee Petty, driver of the No. 42 Oldsmobile, poses in front
of his car after winning the first 1959 Daytona 500 race at
the Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25, 1959.

Sunday afternoon’s Daytona 500 will be the 65th running of
what NASCAR self-proclaims as “The Great American Race.”

Cracker Jack started its "prize in every box" promotion on this
day in history, Feb. 19, 1912.

German immigrant F.W. Rueckheim (below) first invented the
now-ubiquitous ballpark treat in the late 19th century. 

It was initially sold at his small candy and popcorn shop,
F. W. Rueckheim & Bro. (SnackHistory.com.) 

Frederich William Rueckheim (1846-1934)