April 13: Rick Schroder and Crystal Pepsi

April 13 — Raise a Crystal Pepsi for Ricky Schroder’s birthday …

Ricky Schroder (1970) … er, sorry, RICK Schroder … turns 51. We all knew him as Ricky during his run on “Silver Spoons” (1982–86), but he went and got all big on us. That included a run on “NYPD Blue” (1993–2005). He’s been a big supporter of the military in more recent years, as his production company has produced a show for the Army and developed three war documentaries.

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If you’re in a toasting mood and have any left over, raise a Crystal Pepsi, which began gracing store shelves OTD in 1992. It was part of a “clear craze” in the early ’90s, when soda makers equated clear product with purity. The whole thing was like a big psychological experiment, as the only ostensible difference was the removal of the caramel coloring. That and Coke targeted the initially successful Pepsi Clear with Tab Clear in December 1992, insinuating that Pepsi Clear was a diet drink. Either Coke’s offensive worked, or the fad simply burned itself out, because Pepsi Clear ceased production in 1994. However, nostalgia being what it is, the beverage did “pop” back into stores around North America for a while in August 2016.

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At 21, Tiger Woods became the youngest player to win the Masters in 1997. And he didn’t fluke his way to a razor-thin victory. Woods left no doubt by logging an astonishing 18-under par, outpacing runner-up Tom Kite by 12 strokes. Through last weekend’s Masters, it remains the largest winning margin in the tournament’s history.