Originally Posted by
thumpism
That seems unlikely. Wasn't Cunningham making drop bar MTBs in the '80s, and wasn't the Specialized Rock Combo out before the '90s?
Bridgestone sold their top of the line MB-1 with drop bars in 1987:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridges...ne-1987-14.htm
I think there were early stumpjumpers with drop bars as well, but I'm not positive.