March 1, 1969: Jim Morrison In Miami
For the last 2 years, The Doors -- lead singer Jim Morrison, organist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robbie Krieger and drummer John Densmore -- had been one of the best rock bands in the world. But they had also been one of the most controversial, mostly because of Morrison. He acted bizarrely, even when sober and drug-free. Which wasn't often: He was an alcoholic, and loved hallucinogenic drugs, especially LSD. He would leave concerts early, or not show up at all. And he was a compulsive womanizer. And yet, his lyrics marked him as a genius.
By the dawn of 1969, he was noticeably overweight, due to his drinking. His face, once on a poster on the walls of thousands of teenage girls, was now puffy, which he tried to hide with a beard. On March 1, the band was supposed to appear at the Dinner Key Auditorium, a poorly-ventilated, and thus very hot, building with 10,000 temporary seats set up. In his memoir, Manzarek said that he didn't think the building was safe. And Morrison showed up late.
He was unable to remain focused. He stopped in mid-song a few times. At one point, he told the audience, "I was born in Florida! I went to Florida State!" It was true: He was born in Melbourne, not far from Cape Canaveral, while his father, a U.S. Navy officer, was stationed nearby. That got cheers. Then he said, "Then I got smart, and moved to California!" He laughed. The audience booed.
At one point, he yelled, "You wanna see my cock?" Whether he actually showed it to them has been debated ever since. While there are photographs from the concert, showing him sticking his hand in his pants, none has ever been found showing him exposing himself. No film footage of the concert is known to exist. When Oliver Stone made his 1991 film The Doors, he had Val Kilmer, playing Morrison, stick a finger through his fly, making people believe they had see "Little Jim" "break on through to the other side."
In their memoirs, Manzarek and Densmore both denied that he'd done it. As of March 1, 2022, Krieger has not written a memoir, but he has never confirmed the story, either.
But the story got out, and many venues that had booked The Doors canceled. Warrants for Morrison's arrest were issued by the Dade County Public Safety Department. Eventually, Morrison surrendered. On September 20, 1970, he was convicted of indecent exposure and profanity. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. He remained free on appeal, having paid a $50,000 bond.
The appeal trial never happened. Morrison died on July 3, 1971. On December 8, 2010, the 67th anniversary of his birth, Governor Charlie Crist of Florida issued a complete pardon for Morrison.
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March 1, 1969 was a Saturday. Spanish actor Javier Bardem was born.
Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 4 games scheduled in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 115-96 at the new Madison Square Garden.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Diego Clippers, 119-113 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).
* The Phoenix Suns beat the San Francisco Warriors, 119-118 at the Cow Palace, outside San Francisco in Daly City, California.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Cincinnati Royals, 134-122 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Bob Rule scored 47 points for the Sonics. This was no fluke, as he had scored that many the year before, in a game against the Lakers.
There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:
* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Miami Floridians, 122-116 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Louie Dampier scored 46 points for the Colonels. The Floridians had played some of their home games at Dinner Key, but most of them at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
* The New Orleans Buccaneers beat the Los Angeles Stars, 143-105 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
* And the Oakland Oaks beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 107-96 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
And there were 5 games scheduled in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 8-5 at the Boston Garden.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 3-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
* The Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings played to a tie, 2-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* And the Chicago Black Hawks and the Oakland Seals were not scheduled.
And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would one day support, went to Yorkshire, and beat Sheffield Wednesday, 5-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
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