There are no personal computers, E-mail, cell phones,or cable TV. There are no Starbucks, Barnes & Noble or Home Depots.

Eastridge Shopping Center is a golf course. 

The local amusement park is Frontier Village on Monterey Road.

The local toy store is Kiddie World on Stevens Creek & San Tomas.

The intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd and Winchester is dominated by the huge Courtsey Chevrolet sign. Santana Row was the Town & Country Village. 

The San Jose Giants are known as The San Jose Bees.

We were still going to drive-in movies at: The El Rancho, The Tropicana, The Winchester, The San Jose, The Spartan, The Moonlight, The Moffet and The Capitol.

The Five Spot is a popular drive-in diner on First Street.

THE big car show is the San Jose Autorama held in January at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.  

The Santa Clara County Fair is THE big summer attraction. The huge destruction derby on the final day of the fair attracts thousands.

One of the biggest races of the year for the AMA is the legendary San Jose Mile. It is so popular that it is shown on ABC's Wide World Of Sports. 

San Jose International Airport is just plain ole San Jose Municipal.

There are no live auto races on TV. We watched taped delayed events on Wide World Of Sports and we listened to the Indy 500 on the radio. Joe, you never won the big one but you made us so proud ! Way to go champ and thanks for all the memories !

We were watching Creature Features and Dialing For Dollars on KTVU CH 2 and Big Time Wrestling on CH 44.

We listened to KFRC The Big 610, KLIV, KLOK 1170 and KARA in Santa Clara.

Govenor Of California - Ronald Regan

Mayor Of San Jose - Norm Mineta

President - Richard Nixon

San Jose Population - 459,000

Cost Of A Postage Stamp - .06

Unemployment Rate - 3.5%

Average Rent - $140

Cost Of A New Home - $23,450

Gallon Of Gas - .36

Cost Of Sports Illustrated - .15

San Jose Speedway Admission: $2.75 for Adults and .75 for Kids 6-12. 

Super Bowl - Kansas City 23 - Minnesota 7

World Series - Baltimore D Cincinnati 4-1

Monday Night Football Begins

The World Trade Center Is Completed

4 Students Shot At Kent State

First NYC Marathon

Beatles Release Last Album - Let It Be

Charles Manson Is Convicted Of Murder

Jimi Hendrix Dies Of Drug Overdose

Janis Joplin Dies Of Drug Overdose 

Roll Cages become mandatory for USAC

Bruce McLaren dies June 2nd at Goodwood, England testing his new CanAm car.

NASCAR great Curtis Turner dies in a plane crash

On February 28th, the final event of the 1970 BCRA Indoor season, at the Sonoma Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, Jim Humphries is critically injured. He dies in August 1971. 

Jimmy Gordon
SADDEST DAY OF 1970

October 25, 1970

Old Sacramento Fairgrounds 

1 Mile Dirt Track 

3rd Annual U.S. Open Championship For Sprint Cars and Super Modifieds. Sanctioned by C.R.A. Promoted by J.C. Agajanian.

Three drivers would loose their lives on this day. In the semi-final Ernie Purssell, "The Bearded Wonder" from Nevada City driving the Jack McCabe super modified slammed the front straight crash wall just before the first turn. His car began flipping and was hit broadside causing his roll cage to collapse. At the same time Walt Reiff, who had qualified 21st for the feature event in the Hansen Automotive Off, was watching the race from the infield. Upon seeing the accident Reiff rushed to the edge of the track to warn on comming drivers. Reiff was struck by a car driven by Paul Turner. Both Purssell and Reiff were declared dead at the hospital. Jimmy Gordon had just won the West Capital Raceway super modified championship just a few weeks earlier. He was driving the Don Edmunds Research Chevy #96. It was just his second career start in a sprint car. One week earlier Gordon had placed second in his first career start in Phoenix. On lap 35 of the 100-mile event, Gordon tangled with another car entering turn 3. Gordon's car cartwheeled and was struck by the car driven ny Ron Rea. The Impact ripped the fuel tank out of the car causing an inferno. Gordon's roll cage also collapsed. The race was stopped and Jerry Blundy declared as the winner. Gordon died later at the hospital. There would never be another race run at the old Sacramento Fairgrounds track.

Ernie Purssell

Walt Reiff

TOP 10 SONGS OF 1970

1. Bridge Over Troubled Water

    (Simon & Garfunkel) 

2. American Woman

    (The Guess Who)

3. Get Ready

     (Rare Earth)

4. Band Of Gold

     (Freida Payne)

5. Rain Drops Keep Fallin On My 

     Head

     (BJ Thomas)

6. ABC

    (The Jacksons)

7. Let It Be 

     (The Beatles)

8. Close To You 

     (The Carpenters)

9. Mama Told Me Not To Come

    (Three Dog Night) 

10.War

      (Edwin Starr)

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 1970

1. Love Story

2. Airport

3. M*A*S*H

4. Patton

5. Five Easy Pieces

6. Little Big Man

7. Catch - 22

8. Gimmie Shelter

9. Let It Be

10. Woodstock 

TOP 10 TV SHOWS 

1. Marcus Welby MD ABC

2. The Flip Wilson Show NBC

3. Here's Lucy CBS

4. Ironside NBC

5. Gunsmoke CBS

6. The ABC Movie Of The Week

7. Hawaii Five-O CBS

8. Medical Center CBS

9. Bonanza NBC

10. The F.B.I. ABC