July 2, 1994: Andrés Escobar Is Killed

July 2, 1994: The World Cup continues in America, with the Round of 16. Spain beat Switzerland, 3-0 at RFK Stadium in Washington. And Germany beat Belgium, 3-2 at the old Soldier Field in Chicago.

Unfortunately, the worst thing that could have happened as a result of this World Cup happened: Somebody was killed. Not in the stands, or outside the stadium, in a hooligan fight. Not even on U.S. soil. But because of something that happened inside the stadium. Andrés Escobar was 27 years old.

On ESPN, Steve Levy made the point that we may mock notable sports goats like Ralph Branca and Bill Buckner, but we don't kill them. That was not true with Andrés Escobar.

Born in 1967 in Medellín, he had been a centerback for his hometown team, Atlético Nacional, helping them win the Copa Libertadores, South America's version of Europe's Champions League, in 1989; and Colombia's national league, Primera A, in 1991. He was considered one of the best players in the country.

But Medellín was also the capital of the country's drug trade, home of the Medellín Cartel, run by the unrelated Pablo Escobar, killed in a shootout with the National Police the preceding year. Colombia's drug issues were so bad that, in 1983, having been awarded the 1986 World Cup, the federal government handed it back to FIFA, claiming they could not guarantee the safety of the players and the spectators. It was held in Mexico City instead.

It was suspected that some of the drug lords, in a flash of patriotism, had bet heavily on their national team during the World Cup, and lost big in part due to the own goal committed by Andrés Escobar in the 35th minute of Colombia's 2-1 loss to the U.S. on June 22 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Colombia finished last in their Group. Afterward, Escobar decided to return to Colombia instead of visiting relatives in Las Vegas. On July 1, he called his friends, and they went to the El Indio nightclub. His friends split up.

At approximately 3:00 the next morning, Escobar was alone in the parking lot of El Indio, in his car, when 3 men appeared. They began arguing with him. Two of the men took out handguns. Escobar was shot six times with a .38 caliber pistol. It was reported that the killer shouted "¡Gol!" ("Goal!") after every shot. The group then drove away in a Toyota pick-up truck, leaving Escobar to bleed to death. Escobar was taken to the hospital where he died 45 minutes later.

In 2013, Francisco Maturana, Escobar's manager at Atlético Nacional, denied that Escobar's murder had any connection to football or the World Cup, but rather was due to his being "in the wrong place at the wrong time" at a violent time in Colombia's history. Few people believed him.

In 2001, as Colombia was preparing to host the Copa América, South America's national-team tournament, the city of Medellín inveiled a statue of Andrés Escobar.

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July 2, 1994 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 12-6 at Yankee Stadium. Dave Fleming outpitched Jimmy Key. Ken Griffey Jr. went 5-for-6 with an RBI. Bernie Williams hit a home run.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 4-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Rico Brogna hit a home run for the Mets, but they only had 3 other hits and a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 10-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Mo Vaughn, Tom Brunansky and Wes Chamberlain hit home runs for the BoSox. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-2 before being removed for a pinch-hitter.

* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 2-for-3.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Florida Marlins, 5-0 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Greg Maddux pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished the 4-hit shutout.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Alex Fernandez pitched a 4-hit shutout, no walks, 10 strikeouts.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-6 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-1 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-9 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.