May 9, 1980: The Sunshine Skyway Disaster

May 9, 1980: The Japanese cargo ship MV Summit Venture crashes into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, causing 7 vehicles, including a Greyhound bus, to fall into Tampa Bay, killing 35 people.

The ship's pilot, an American, was soon cleared of wrongdoing, because he was diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, and would eventually die as a result of it.

One of the cars on the bridge actually landed on the deck of the ship, and the driver survived. Among the drivers who weren't hurt, and got out to help, was Granville "Granny" Hamner, the shortstop on the 1950 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies, a.k.a. the Whiz Kids.

The original Sunshine Skyway, which became the northbound span, opened in 1954. The southbound span opened in 1971, and had to be completely replaced after the accident. The new southbound span opened in 1990, and a new northbound span in 1993.

It carries Interstate 275 and U.S. Route 19 over Tampa Bay, between St. Petersburg and Palmetto. In 2005, it was renamed the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, after the Governor of Florida who presided over the 1990 and '93 bridges' design and construction, and later served as a U.S. Senator,

The Sunshine Skyway should not be confused with the W. Howard Frankland Bridge, which also carries Interstate 275, further north, over the Bay between St. Petersburg and Tampa. Named for the Tampa businessman who proposed it, it opened in 1960, with a 2nd span opened in 1990. Traffic on that bridge is so bad (How bad is it?), it is known as "the Howard Frankenstein Bridge" and "The Car-Strangled Spanner."

(UPDATE: In 2025, a new southbound span opened. The former southbound span of 1990 was switched to northbound, and the 1960 northbound span was demolished.)

Just to the south of the Frankland, the Gandy Bridge spans the Bay from Tampa to St. Petersburg, carrying U.S. Route 92, with a 1924 span replaced in 1975, and a 1956 span replaced in 1996. George S. Gandy was the original bridge's designer.

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May 9, 1980 was a Friday. This was also the day the 1st Friday the 13th film premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Football was out of season. The NBA and Stanley Cup Playoffs were both underway, although no games were played on this day. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Guidry outpitched Jerry Koosman. Bob Watson went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Craig Swan outpitched Steve Rogers. Lee Mazzilli doubled home a run in the 3rd inning, and Steve Henderson singled a run home in the 5th.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. 

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. George Brett went 1-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with a walk. Pete Rose went 1-for-4 against his former team, and Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout. Robin Yount went 2-for-4. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 15-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Richie Zisk hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Willie Stargell only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and drew a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Each team scored a run in the 9th. In the top of the 10th, Jason Thompson hit a home run to give the Tigers the win.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at the Oakland Coliseum. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 22. The Jays won the opener, 6-2. The A's won the nightcap, 5-1. Over the 2 games, rookie Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with 2 walks, 2 stolen bases and an RBI.