June 22, 1974: East Germany 1, West Germany 0

The Captains: Franz Beckenbauer (left) and Bernd Bransch

June 22, 1974: The World Cup continues in West Germany. The host country falls victim to one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history: They lose, 1-0, at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg… to East Germany. It is the greatest moment in the steroid-ridden sports history of that country: They beat the imperialist democrats on their own soil.

Around 1,500 East German citizens attended the match, including hundreds of members of the East German secret police, known as the Stasi. These fans were instructed to cheer on East Germany with the chant, "Sieben, acht, neun, zehn, Klasse!" ("7, 8, 9, 10, Great!")

FC Magdeburg were the leading team in East Germany in the early 1970s. One of their players was midfielder Jürgen Sparwasser. He scored in the 77th minute, to give the East the 1-0 win.

On May 8, FC Magdeburg defeated AC Milan, 2-0 at De Kuip in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to win the European Cup Winners' Cup. This turned out to be the only major European trophy won by an East German club.

So why did West Germany lose? Was it overconfidence? Probably. But there's a conspiracy theory: The team that finished at the top of the group, in the First Group Stage, would go into the Second Group Stage in a group with the Netherlands and Brazil: What would later be called a "group of death." So the West Germans, the theory goes, tanked the game, figuring that, if they got the easier Second Group, and won it, and then won the Final, people would remember that, and not that they lost to the Commies on their own ground. Well, people remember both.

 

Also on this day, Australia and Chile played to a 0-0 draw at West Berlin; Scotland and Yugoslavia played to a 1-1 draw at Frankfurt; and Brazil beat Zaire, 3-0, at Gelsenkirchen. So, in the Second Group Stage, it would be the Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina and East Germany in Group A; and West Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia and Sweden in Group B.

In the Second Group Stage, East Germany lost to Brazil, 1-0; lost to the Netherlands, 2-0; and played Argentina to a 1-1 draw. In contrast, West Germany went 3-0, beating Yugoslavia, 2-0; Sweden, 4-2; and Poland, 1-0. Poland went on to win the Third Place Playoff, their best performance ever. They matched that in 1982, but they've never topped it.

That set up a Final between West Germany and the Netherlands, a story unto itself.

West Germany and East Germany never met again at the senior level despite West Germany frequently requesting a rematch but the East declining, despite strong interest from East German players, coaches and fans.

Sparwasser later said, "Rumor had it I was richly rewarded for the goal, with a car, a house and a cash premium. But that is not true." In 1988, he defected to West Germany while taking part in a veterans' tournament there. After his playing career he had a brief managerial career, working as assistant manager at Eintracht Frankfurt in 1988 and 1989, and as head coach at Darmstadt in 1990 and 1991.

With the German reunification, a special game between the two former countries was planned for November 21, 1990 in Leipzig, but was cancelled after a fatal shooting of a supporter at a game between Sachsen Leipzig and Berliner Dynamo by the police on November 3. West Germany and East Germany had been drawn with each other for the qualifying for the 1992 European Championship, but the reunification meant that East Germany ceased to exist, and could no longer compete.

For the 2022-23 season, out of 18 teams in the united Germany's Bundesliga, only 2, Union Berlin and RB Leipzig, are in places formerly controlled by East Germany.

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June 22, 1974 was a Saturday. Actor Donald Faison was born. This was also the day the Sears Tower opened in Chicago. I have a separate entry for that event.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. The game was tied 1-1 after 8 innings, but Dick Tidrow ran out of gas in the 9th inning, also stricken by a rare error by Graig Nettles. Thurman Munson went 4-for-4.

* The New York Mets were swept by the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 and 8-5 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Ron Schueler went the distance in the 1st game, while Harry Parker didn't get out of the 2nd inning. Rusty Staub went 2-for-4 with a home run and both Met RBIs, but the rest of the team only got 3 hits.

Wayne Twitchell was the winning pitcher in the 2nd game, while the Mets' George Stone only lasted 2 innings. Ken Boswell and John Milner hit home runs for the Mets, but it wasn't enough. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 2-for-6 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs.

* A doubleheader was split at Fenway Park in Boston. The Cleveland Indians won the opener, 11-0. Gaylord Perry pitched a 4-hit shutout. The Boston Red Sox won the nightcap, 8-3. Over the 2 games, Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-6 with 2 walks.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-3 with a walk. Johnny Bench went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ken Brett pitched an 8-hit shutout. Willie Stargell went 1-for-5.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4. Rookie Robin Yount hit a home run.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Jorge Orta hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning to win it. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-4. Rod Carew went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 7-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Nolan Ryan went the distance, striking out 10, walking 3.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Joe Ferguson won it by leading off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 2-for-4. Rookie George Brett went 0-for-4.