What was going on when I was born?

The owners' bargaining team, reacting to instructions to move faster in an attempt to settle the baseball strike, may be approaching its bargaining limit. If so, the end of the strike, which became 31 days old yesterday, could be far in the future. Two owners and a baseball lawyer told yesterday of some developments at last Thursday's meeting here of the club owners, particularly how they had emerged united and supportive of Ray Grebey, their chief negotiator, and the bargaining team. The meeting generated tremendous optimism; many owners went home believing that the strike would be settled by next Thursday and that the season would resume by the following Thursday. However, much, if not most, of that optimism was diluted by the collapse of the talks Saturday.

The jarring effect on the market after the resignation of a Prime Computer Inc. top executive was powerful, even for the surprise departure of someone widely regarded as an executive thoroughbred. The shares of Prime, one of Wall Street's darlings of 1981, plunged more than 10 points last week amid a shower of sell orders over three days. Nearly $300 million, or 27 percent of its total, was pared from the company's market value. Although the slide was halted in another flurry of trading last Friday, many dismayed Prime watchers were wondering if the fastgrowing maker of high-powered minicomputers can sustain its storybook growth without Kenneth G. Fisher at the helm.

A multibillion-dollar takeover battle intensified yesterday as Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, the liquor company, moved to break up an agreement for the purchase of Conoco Inc., the nation's ninth-largest oil company, by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. In a move anticipated on Wall Street, Seagram offered to pay stockholders $85 a share for a 51 percent interest in Conoco - or nearly $3.8 billion in cash. Less than a week ago, in a transaction that would have been the largest corporate merger in American history, Du Pont reached an agreement to buy all of Conoco's stock for $7.3 billion. However, only $3.1 billion of that amount would be in cash, with the balance in the chemical company's stock. Viewed by Many as Better Although Seagram, the United States subsidiary of the Seagram Company of Canada, is offering $85 a share, compared with Du Pont's $87.50, the liquor company's newest offer will be viewed by many as better. With Conoco shares now quoted at only $73.38 on the New York Stock Exchange, shareholders stand to make a handsome profit if their shares are accepted. Because Seagram will pay cash for more shares than Du Pont, many will perceive that they stand a better chance with Seagram.

The Household Finance Corporation announced on Friday that it intended to acquire a bank in California by taking advantage of a loophole in Federal law. Through the bank, Valley National of Salinas, the finance company could establish a deposit-taking banking operation throughout the state. The only restriction would be that the bank could not grant business loans. By not making commercial loans, the bank no longer would be considered to be a ''bank'' by the Federal Reserve, and, therefore, Household would be allowed to acquire it. But, through its other subsidiaries, Household could continue to extend loans to businesses.

The talks went on for weeks, over the phone, on the telex and across bargaining tables in New York, Lagos, London and Tripoli. There was fist-thumping and threat-making, and bluffing that would have put a poker champion to shame. At least one man lost his job. More than a few established business partnerships broke up in frustration. Such were the negotiations between the international oil companies and the oil-producing countries over prices for the third quarter of 1981. Whatever the outcome, the participants agree, the past few weeks have been incredibly difficult and complex. ''It is a time of changing relationships between the oil companies and the producing countries,'' said the oil buyer for one of the biggest oil conglomerates. ''The negotiations between us have really been tough. It is going to be very interesting to see what new relationships develop.''

Power was restored before dawn yesterday to 39,000 customers on eastern Staten Island who were without electricity following an explosion and fire in a Consolidated Edison power substation late Saturday. The fire, at the Fox Hills substation on Staten Island, was the latest of three at high-voltage substations in New York City in a five-day period last week. Con Edison officials described the blazes at the substations - of which there are 17 in the city - as ''rare.'' They said that the fires, one of which left 12,500 customers in Brooklyn without electricity, had been coincidental and had not been caused by arson or by the heavy drain on power during the extremely hot weather of the last week.

Seagram raised its bid for Conoco to $3.8 billion in cash for 51 percent of the oil company's stock. The bid is designed to top Du Pont's offer of $7.3 billion for all of Conoco, with only $3.1 billion in cash and the rest in Du Pont shares. (Page A1.)

John McEnroe, who opened the Davis Cup round against Czechoslovakia with a loss to Ivan Lendl, moved the United States into the semifinals yesterday with a convincing victory over Tomas Smid. McEnroe, slowly recovering from his Wimbledon ordeal, won by 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, giving up only 2 points on serve in the last two sets. His triumph gave the United States an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the threeof-five-match series. At ease on the hard court at the National Tennis Center, where he won the last two United States Open titles, McEnroe charged in behind an improved first serve and repeatedly baffled his intimidated opponent with sizzling passing shots.

New York City was enveloped in 90-degree heat for its sixth consecutive day yesterday, with no relief expected for today. From the northern Bronx to the southern rim of Staten Island, backyard hoses, cooling showers, pitchers of lemonade and hundreds of illicitly opened fire hydrants helped consume 1.58 billion gallons of water over the 24 hours that ended yesterday morning. As the mercury headed toward a high of 94 degrees, people flocked to the seashore. In Nassau County, the beaches called Jones, Lido, Nassau, Point Lookout and Sunken Meadow started barring cars yesterday. New York City's beaches attracted more than a million people, and Gordon J. Davis, Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, was saying by midafternoon: ''There just isn't any room left.'' Across the city, New Yorkers stayed by air-conditioners in so many apartments, offices and movie theaters that their machines drew a year's high of 8,141 megawatts of electricity on Thursday, 200 megawatts below the record set last July. Demand eased, as always, over the weekend but it was expected to soar again today.

The big trading floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange has become legendary for a hectic pace that has grown more raucous each year. But something unusual is happening this summer. Congestion has eased considerably and the runners are noticebly less frantic. Like the stock and commodity houses, the nation's options exchanges have been hit by a dramatic drop in volume. Options prices have been falling faster than stock prices, and traders say they do not expect any substantial recovery until late this year.

President Francois Mitterrand of France and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany began a two-day conference here today by agreeing that Western Europe should negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of military strength, spokesmen said. ''The balance of power is a condition for peace,'' Mr. Mitterrand said at a news conference after the session. ''I really think that the latest initiatives taken by the Soviet Union - the deployment of SS-20 missiles and Backfire bombers - have resulted in a new superiority of the Soviets. I must conclude that security is threatened when this imbalance occurs.''

Alan Paton, at 78, still goads his beloved country A2 Sixth hunger striker dies in Bel- fast prison A2 South Africans raid black guer- rilla bases inside Angola A2 Salvadoran church official ac- cuses army of 27 murders A3 Cairo is sweltering in the month of the fast A4 Around the World A5 Brandt visit to Moscow troubles Schmidt and NATO A6 Moscow it awaits outcome of Pol- ish congress A7 Four names are on list of candi- ates for Polish congress A7 Growing number of Poles seeking asylum in West A7 Possible delay in approval of for- eign aid bill causes concern A7 Government/Politics U.S. attempts to deal with urban home squatters in Philadelphia A9 Census Bureau in disarray, no di- rector A10 Reagan Administration's record in hiring women criticized A11 Congress gearing up to restrain regulators A11 Women's Political Caucus meet- ing ends A16 Comment by Rep. Pete McClos- key irks Jews A16 City renegotiating with Brooklyn Army Terminal developer B3 General Around the Nation A8 Disappearance of couple leads to a murder charge A9 First of 2 new water pipelines in Newark's aqueduct finished B1 The Region B2 Four agree to repay New York pyramid game losers B3 The City B3 SportsMonday Baseball: Parties in strike may find further concessions hard C1 Basketball: 76ers' new owner ar- rested in 1973 fraud, paper says C5 Boxing: Michael Spinks looks up, not back C6 Columns: Dave Anderson on Mark McCormack C4 Red Smith on Kuhn and Grebey Question Box C9 Football: Year of decision for Todd of Jets and Simms of Giants C1 Golf: Jan Stephenson and her image on the women's tour C4 Debbie Austin wins Mayflower tournament by four shots C4 Playoff scheduled today after three-way tie in Senior Open C5 Haas, despite double bogey on 18, wins Milwaukee golf C5 Horse Racing: Saumell, jockey, accused of having illegal bat- tery C8 Outdoors: Boardsailing is in the race for attention C9 Running: Shorter beats Rodgers in 10,000-meter race C3 Soccer: Cosmos defeat Glasgow Celtic, 2-0, in Challenge Cup C5 Sports News Briefs C9 Statistics C10 Tennis: McEnroe clinches U.S. victory over Czechoslovakia C1 Track: Major mile run on Fifth Avenue is under discussion C3 Obituaries Murray Gross, retired vice presi- dent of garment workers' union D8 Religion clergy support tax protest against nuclear arms A8 A L.I. Presbyterian church takes summer services outdoors B2 Industry/Labor U.S. to seek 'cost-effective' worker safety rules A11 Teachers trying to learn to cope with occupational stress D9 News Analysis Richard Meislin on the end of the New York State Legislature B4 Health/Science New York and other cities using computers to exchange data B3 Arts/Entertainment George Lucas scorns Hollywood and gets away with it C11 Strauss-Hofmannsthal operatic curio at Waterloo Festival C11 The Temptations sing soul nostal- gia at the Savoy C12 Christopher Plummer plays Henry V at Stratford, Conn. C12 Germans seek to ease Brecht heirs' control on plays C14 Joseph Reichler's ''All-Time Baseball Record Book'' C14 Five choreographers show ex- perimental works at festival C14 Striking TV writers to vote tomor- row on new contract C14 Style Thearpy that aids parenting A13 Summer camps: Parents' Times to indulge A13 For children of migrants, a har- vest of language A13 Features/Notes Notes on People B5 Going Out Guide C13 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A14 Still no mother bomb Down the buttery slope Hamlet, with suds Letters A14 Flora Lewis: lost history's cost A15 Gordon B. Smith: Soviet oil A15 William T. Coleman Jr.: still waiting for racial equality A15 Andrew Bergman: royal wedding A15