January 8, 1992: President George H.W. Bush visits Japan, and, as part of a 12-day trade-focused trip to Asia and the Pacific, to discuss America's post-Cold War readjustment of economic relations and policies.
While in Japan on January 8, with Michael Armacost, then the U.S. Ambassador to the country, as his partner, Bush lost a doubles tennis match to Emperor Akihito and his son and heir, Crown Prince Naruhito.
A little embarrassing for Bush, a former athlete, but no big deal, right? It served as a gesture of reconciliation, given that the U.S. and Japan had been enemies in World War II, and Bush had been a U.S. Navy pilot flying missions against the Japanese, and had even survived being shot down. Indeed, losing a tennis match to the current and future Emperors might have helped U.S.-Japanese relations, especially with Japan's economic strength then being at its all-time peak.
The day got worse for the 67-year-old President, who had been in good shape. Perhaps he over-exerted himself on the tennis court. That night, he and First Lady Barbara Bush attended a state event for 135 diplomats held by Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, at the Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (literally, "the Prime Minister's Office"), then the official residence and workplace of the Prime Minister.
Between the second and third courses, Bush, who had been scheduled to give remarks at the dinner, fainted in his chair while vomiting onto Miyazawa's pants. Mrs. Bush held a napkin to her husband's mouth until Agents of the U.S. Secret Service could take over.
While still on the floor, Bush told his personal physician, Dr. Burton Lee, "Roll me under the table until the dinner's over." He assured dinner guests he had "influenza," and left for the evening, taken back to the Akasaka Palace, a state guest house.
If he actually had the flu, then he shouldn't have been playing tennis, and he should have sent his regrets about the dinner and missed it.
When the news got back to the U.S., people began to fear for Bush's health. There was concern that he might die, or have to temporarily step aside from his duties, leaving Vice President Dan Quayle in charge. As Quayle was regarded as both not very smart and much more conservative than Bush, this worried many people.
Mrs. Bush later gave a speech in her husband's place, where she affectionately teased Armacost for the tennis game, and jokingly claimed defeat was something her family was not used to.
The following day, January 9, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said that Bush had a mild case of gastroenteritis, and he was feeling fine. That afternoon, Bush held a news conference with Akihito at the Akasaka Palace.
Still, the Presidential election was about to begin, and the American economy was as sick as Bush was on the night of January 8. If the Bush family wasn't using to losing, then they certainly knew how to prepare for situations where defeat was possible.
Bush would lose the 1992 Presidential election. Having a strong 1st 2 years in office, then a troubled 3rd year, and a disastrous 4th year, having several moments that were comedic, including some that shouldn't have been, being badly beaten in his bid for re-election by a considerably more charismatic candidate who promised a restoration, and then having a long and charitable life after leaving the White House, George H.W. Bush is pretty much the Republicans' version of the Democrats' Jimmy Carter: A President more interesting than consequential.
This incident was the last documented occurrence of a foreign country making a George Bush sick. Since then, it's usually been the other way around.
Japan has seen built a new official workplace for its Prime Minister, though the former workplace is still also the official residence.
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January 8, 1992 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. The NFL was between Playoff rounds. There were 10 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 99-95 at the Boston Garden. Reggie Lewis scored 33 points.
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 103-97 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Houston Rockets 114-104 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 108-106 at the Miami Arena. Michael Jordan scored 40 points.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Sacramento Kings, 114-95 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Indiana Pacers, 104-102 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Utah Jazz, 99-98 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 103-87 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets, 135-114 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
* And the Orlando Magic beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 104-103 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Sam Vincent scored 35 points for the Magic.
And there were 5 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the St. Louis Blues, 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* And the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks, 10-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary. Oddly, the game was 0-0 at the end of the 1st period. The Flames tied an NHL record with goals by 10 different players, a feat pulled off only once before, by the 1965 Detroit Red Wings, and not since. I have a separate entry for this event.
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