Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off 15 sold-out shows at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford on Thursday, July 15, 1999.
Scores of ticketless fans waited for hours in the "drop line" near the arena entrance.
Here's a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.
Five years ago
July 15, 2019: New Jersey became the first state to adopt a permanent law requiring warning labels on opioids, under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.
July 15: The Milltown Little League baseball team made history in the Section 3 Tournament in Toms River, beating Two River East, 5-2, in the loser's bracket, the first win in a Section Tournament in the history of Milltown Little League.
July 16: It was reported The National Weather Service was forecasting high temperatures near 100 degrees for Friday, July 19, 2019, to Sunday, July 21, 2019, the same days President Donald Trump was expected at his Bedminster golf club for the second time that month.
July 17: Federal officials said two New Jersey residents ― from Bergen and Middlesex counties ― had been infected in a multi-state outbreak of E. coli infections linked to buffalo burgers.
July 17: If you bought a home in 2018 at the average New Jersey home value of $323,179, you would pay anywhere from $1,500 to $24,000 in property taxes, depending on where you lived, according to an analysis by the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey, it was reported.
July 19: It was reported that through the first half of 2019, the number of drug deaths in New Jersey had fallen for the first time since fentanyl sent the opioid death toll soaring five years prior.
July 21: The Rolling Stones would perform on Thursday, Aug. 1, and Monday, Aug. 5, 2019, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, it was reported.
10 years ago
July 16: The Rutgers University governing body unanimously approved tuition and fee hikes. Rutgers University students from New Jersey would pay on average $484 more in the upcoming school year.
July 17: Our Lady of Peace School in the Fords section of Woodbridge announced to parents its closing. According to the Diocese of Metuchen, which covers Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Warren counties, 10 Catholic schools had closed since 2009.
July 17: Matt Olivo of St. Joseph broke off a 57-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining to lift the Middlesex County All-Stars to a 34-20 comeback victory over Union County in Snapple Bowl XXI at Sayreville War Memorial Stadium.
July 18: Officials said the state Department of Environmental Protection would receive an additional $3.3 million to complete buyouts and demolition of 196 flood-prone properties in Sayreville.
July 18-20: Marking its 40th anniversary, the Stone Pony in Asbury Park featured 311 on Friday, July 18, 2014, the Bouncing Souls on Saturday, July 19, 2014, and Deltron 3030 on Sunday, July 20, 2014.
July 19: It was reported NJ Transit's board of directors had approved the agency's capital program on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, for Perth Amboy Station, which called for renovations and creating barrier-free accessibility.
1999
July 15, 1999: A Somerset County grand jury indicted John Malecki, 43, the county's traffic safety director, for official misconduct on charges of stealing more than $6,000 in electronic equipment.
July 16: Gov. Christie Whitman signed a regulation prohibiting large interstate trucks from almost all state and county roads.
July 18: Central Jersey churchgoers remembered John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister Lauren Bessette, who had been in a plane crash on Friday, July 16, 1999. The plane took off from Fairfield, New Jersey/
July 19: Firefighters battled a blaze near Long Hill Road in Hillsborough, which claimed 25 acres of brush, for more than an hour before rain began to fall.
July 19: Counting Crows performed at Tradewinds in Sea Bright.
July 20: In the Connie Mack Senior League matchup, the Clinton American Legion baseball team beat Immaculata, 6-5.
1974
July 17, 1974: Spencer S. Zeigen, 49, of Highland Park, a staff architect at Rutgers University, was indicted with extortion and attempted extortion of subcontractors working on two student dormitory projects, and with obstruction of justice.
July 17: The play, "A Doll's House," a drama by Henrik Ibsen, opened at the Foothill Play House in Middlesex.
July 18: The N.J. Bell Telephone Co. asked the state Public Utility Commission to approve a series of rate increases totally $155 million ― the largest total rate hike package the utility had ever requested.
July 18: Kathy Linney of Plainfield Country Club beat three opponents in the final round to win the 21st annual Elizabeth Goss Memorial Golf Tournament by plus 14½ points at Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville.
July 21: A suspicious fire caused extensive heat and smoke damage to the Full Gospel Church of Christ in New Brunswick.
1924
July 15, 1924: In an Industrial Twilight Baseball League game, the Scott team beat the Ransome nine, 1-0, at High School Field in Plainfield.
July 16: Joseph Wicoff, 41, secretary of the Cranbury Fire Company, was injured by a falling brick while fighting a fire, and died on the way to the hospital. The fire destroyed The Dayton Inn and the home of Freeholder Andrew J. Ely and the Ely general store.
July 16: The movie, "Boy of Mine," starring Henry B. Walthall, was shown at Reade's Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.
July 18: The grocery store and meat market of Wiliam Wheeler in Somerville was entered and $20 in silver was taken from the cash register. A large sum of money in a safe was not disturbed.
July 21: A mad dog scare was created in the vicinity of Sherman Avenue in Plainfield when a dog raced through the neighborhood, after biting several dogs.
Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Bruce Springsteen rocks NJ: This week in Central Jersey history, July 15-21
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