January 15, 1969: The 1st Jewish Person In Space

Boris Volynov

January 15, 1969: Soyuz 5 is launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. In orbit around Earth, it docks with Soyuz 4, and returns crewmembers from both crafts to the surface.

Vladimir Shatalov was the only person on board Soyuz 4 when it was launched. Soyuz 5 was manned by Boris Volynov, Aleksei Yeliseyev and Yevgeny Khrunov. Yeliseyev and Khrunov transferred to Soyuz 4, and returned to Earth with Shatalov. Volynov returned to Earth alone aboard Soyuz 5.

Volynov was the 1st Jewish person in space. He was born on December 18, 1934, in Irkutsk, a large city in Siberia. At the time of his flight, he was 34 years old, an electrical engineer, and a Colonel in the Soviet Air Force.

He flew in space again in 1976, aboard Soyuz 21. He received many of his country's high honors: Twice a Hero of the Soviet Union, twice the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, the Order For Merit to the Fatherland, and the Order of Friendship.

Yevgeny Khrunov died in 2000. Vladimir Shatalov died in 2021. As of January 15, 2022 Boris Volynov and Aleksei Yeliseyev are still alive.

In 1984, Dr. Judith Resnik became the 1st Jewish American in space. Sadly, she was lost with the rest of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.

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January 15, 1969 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football season had ended 3 days earlier, with the New York Jets' upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

No games were played in the NBA, but there were 4 in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets lost to the Kentucky Colonels, 115-102 at the Louisville Convention Center. Louie Dampier scored 33 for the Colonels.

* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Indiana Pacers, 127-120 in overtime at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium. Cincinnatus "Cincy" Powell -- with a name like that, he should have played for the Cincinnati Royals, but he was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- scored 36 points for the Chaps, who became the San Antonio Spurs in 1973.

* The Denver Rockets beat the New Orleans Buccaneers, 112-107 at the Denver Auditorium Arena. Larry Jones led all scorers on the night with 39 points for the Rockets, who became the Denver Nuggets in 1974.

* And the Los Angeles Stars beat the Miami Floridians, 134-129 in overtime at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. George Stone scored 36 and Larry Miller (not the later Utah Jazz owners) 33 for the Stars, while Donnie Freeman scored 37 for the Floridians.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a tie, 5-5 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Minnesota North Stars, 3-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Oakland Seals beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings were not scheduled.