April 13, 1997: The Masters, American golf's most prominent tournament, concludes at its annual site, Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.
NOTE: For a long time, with this project, I resisted putting in references to golf, because of the kind of people who tend to play it. I finally caved in, although I haven't included as many references as I would if it were a real sport, which it is not.
In 1794, English poet William Blake wrote, in "The Tyger":
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
A Tiger burned bright at this Masters. He was born on December 30, 1975 in the Los Angeles suburb of Cypress, California, as Eldrick Tont Woods. His father, who had served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, gave his son the nickname that a South Vietnamese Army friend had: "Tiger."
As the comedian Robin Williams put it, "Son of a black man and a Thai woman. Not even a German geneticist coulda thought that one up! Black athletic ability, Buddhist concentration! Crouching Putter!"
His father taught him to play golf. At the age of 3, he appeared on an NBC special hosted by golf fanatic and occasional entertainer Bob Hope. He first shot a round of under 70 strokes on a regulation course at age 12. He went on to win the Junior World Championships 6 times. He turned professional in 1996, was the PGA Rookie of the Year, and was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
At the 1997 Masters, he shot a 70 on Thursday, finishing 3 strokes behind John Huston. He shot a 66 on Friday, taking the lead by 3 strokes ahead of Colin Montgomerie. He shot a 65 on Saturday, to finish 9 strokes ahead of Constantino Rocca. And on Sunday, he shot a 69, finishing at 270, 12 strokes ahead of 2nd-place finisher Tom Kite. When he parred the 18th and last hole, Jim Nantz of CBS Sports said, "There it is – a win for the ages!"
It was his 1st major championship. It was a tournament record that stood until 2020. He was the 1st nonwhite man to win the Masters, and, at 21, the youngest winner.
Sports Illustrated had never selected a person for Sportsperson of the Year more than once, so they didn't select Woods for 1997, giving something of a "lifetime achievement award" to retiring University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith. But in 2000, Woods won 3 of the 4 majors, and the magazine decided to break from tradition, and give it to him again.
(They have since given it to LeBron James 3 times, and Tom Brady twice. They gave it to Sandy Koufax in 1965. Koufax, James and Woods all share December 30 as their birthday.)
Woods has won 15 majors, 2nd only to the 18 of Jack Nicklaus: The Masters 5 times, in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2019; the PGA Championship 4 times, in 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2007; the U.S. Open 3 times, in 2000, 2002 and 2008; and the British Open 3 times, in 2000, 2005 and 2006.
He became the 1st person to be named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated more than once: In 1996, as the winner of the NCAA Golf Tournament at Stanford, and for winning the U.S. Amateur; and in 2000, for winning 3 of the 4 majors. Through 2021, the only other 2-time winners have been LeBron James, who has 3; and Tom Brady.
The title of "Greatest Golfer of All Time" is usually down to him and Nicklaus. And, having been lured to Nike by Michael Jordan, he revolutionized merchandising in ways that the first real sprots merchandiser -- again, if you consider golf a sport, that would be Arnold Palmer -- could only imagine. He made golf cool to black people, and to young people, like no one had ever even approached before. Like Jordan before him, culturally, he was untouchable, and seemed to be beyond criticism.
But nobody stays untouchable forever. In 2009, Tiger Woods had an argument with his wife, and the façade began to crumble.
*
April 13, 1997 was a Sunday. There were 7 other games in the NHL, on this, the last day of its regular season:
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena). Since the Whalers did not make the Playoffs, this marked their last game, home or otherwise. I have a separate entry for this event. The next season, they moved, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes.
* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-4 at the CoreStates Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres, 8-3 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars, 5-2 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
Football was out of season. There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 132-123 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Despite the defeat, Kerry Kittles scored 40 points for the Nets.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 108-91 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
* The Houston Rockets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 113-73 at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.)
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz, 100-98 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Shaquille O'Neal scored 39 points.
* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-97 at the San Jose Arena. The Warriors played that season there, now known as the SAP Center, while the Oakland Coliseum complex's arena was under renovation.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium, after a rainout the day before. The Yanks won the opener, 3-2. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher. Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams hit home runs. The A's won the nightcap, 7-4. Ariel Prieto outpitched Ramiro Mendoza. Mark Whiten hit a home run for the Yankees. Gerónimo Berroa went 4-for-5 for the A's.
* The New York Mets were swept by the San Francisco Giants in a doubleheader at Shea Stadium, 5-1 and 7-6. As with the Yankees, the Mets had been rained out the day before. Mark Gardner outpitched Mark Clark in the 1st game. Jeff Kent hit a home run for the Giants, and John Olerud hit one for the Mets.
Shawn Estes outpitched Bobby Jones in the 2nd game. Mark Lewis hit 2 home runs, and José Vizcaíno hit 1. Bernard Gilkey hit 1 for the Mets. Over the 2 games, Barry Bonds went 2-for-7 with 2 walks and an RBI.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 9-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Jimmy Key pitched a 6-hit shutout. Jeffrey Hammonds hit 2 home runs, and Cal Ripken and Chris Hoiles also homered.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 14-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. Eddie Murray hit a home run, but Rickey Henderson, in his only season with the Angels, did not play.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins, 6-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.
* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Chicago White Sox won the 1st game, 11-8. The Detroit Tigers led 7-0 after 5 innings, but the South Siders came back, and scored 3 runs in the top of the 9th to send the game to extra innings. Each team scored a run in the 11th. The White Sox scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the top of the 12th, and added 2 more runs. The Tigers won the 2nd game, 4-2.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* And the Montreal Expos beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-3 at Coors Field in Denver.
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