June 4, 1989: The government of the People's Republic of China (a.k.a. "Red China") sends troops armed with assault rifles, accompanied by tanks, who fire on demonstrators, most of them university students, in Tiananmen Square in the national capital of Beijing.
The protests had started on April 15, following the death of Hu Yaobang, a pro-reform official in the government. This had followed Chinese dictator Deng Xiaoping opening up China's economy, taking it away from traditional Communism, although not away from authoritarianism.
The demonstrators saw themselves as taking the next step forward in making their nation more free, if not fully free. The government saw them as a threat.
We may never know who ordered that the troops be sent in: Deng, or Premier Li Peng, or someone else. Jiang Zemin was soon named General Secretary of the Communist Party, but it almost certainly was not him.
And we may never know how many people were killed. The official government estimate was about 300. The Chinese Red Cross said it was over 2,600.
And we may never know the identity of "Tank Man," who stood in front of a column of tanks to block their advance. One source suggested that his name was Wang Weilin, that he was 19 years old, and that he was arrested and executed. Another source says he was never arrested. Interviewed a couple of years later by ABC News' Barbara Walters, Jiang, in English, said, "This man, I think, never killed."
Indeed, like Sharbat Gula, the teenage Afghan refugee whose face got on the cover of the June 1985 issue of National Geographic; and Vinko Bogataj, the Yugoslavian ski-jumper whose 1970 fall symbolized "the agony of defeat" on ABC Wide World of Sports, he may not even known he is world-famous... if he is still alive. (Vinko and Sharbat later found out; he has embraced his fame, while she has retreated from hers, although she still keeps in touch with photographer Steve McCurry.)
It was a bad day in Russia, too, albeit for a very different reason: A natural gas explosion near Ufa killed 645 people. But it was a good day in Poland, as Solidarity won the election, ending Communist rule in that country. I have a separate entry for that event.
The day before, Ruhollah Khomeini, the Ayatollah of Iran, died after 10 years of rule. Ali Khamenei succeeded him, and would rule Iran for at least the next 33 years. (UPDATE: It turned out to be 37 years.)
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June 4, 1989 was a Sunday. It was the off-season for the NFL. The NHL season was over, as the Stanley Cup was awarded on May 25, as the Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens in the Finals. And the NBA was between the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. The Detroit Pistons went on to sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in 4 straight.
But there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games:
* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 12-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jesse Barfield hit 2 home runs, and homers were also hit by Steve Balboni, Mel Hall and... Deion Sanders. Yes, the football player. Jimmy Jones was the winning pitcher.
* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. Kevin Elster and Mark Carreon hit home runs, in support of Sid Fernandez, but Don Aase (AH-see) ended up as the winning pitcher.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 13-11 at Fenway Park in Boston. Junior Felix won the game with a home run in the top of the 12th inning.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-6 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Scott, usually a starting pitcher, was relieving in the 13th inning, and hit a sacrifice fly to score Rafael Ramirez.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Anaheim Stadium. (Today, the team is named the Los Angeles Angels, and the ballpark is named Angel Stadium of Anaheim.)
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-0 at the Oakland Coliseum. Dave Stewart itched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, but A's manager Tony La Russa was the original pitch-count guy. Todd Burns allowed a hit in a scoreless 8th, and Rick Honeycutt pitched a perfect 9th.
* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 2-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
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