July 27, 1996: The Olympic Park Bombing

July 27, 1996: The Olympic Park in Atlanta is bombed during a concert to celebrate the Olympic Games. One person was killed, 111 injured. While the Olympics have had plenty of controversies, rarely have the troubles of the outside world intruded on the Games. The 1972 Summer Games in Munich were touched by terrorism. So were the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

At first, the FBI investigated Richard Jewell, the security guard who found the backpack containing the 3 pipe bombs. He had also helped to evacuate the area, keeping the deaths and injuries lower than they could have been. But, based on "psychological profiling," the FBI decided that he could have been the bomber, much as some people, including firemen, start fires so they can be heroes.

It took nearly 3 months to clear his name, and he never recovered emotionally. The stress took a toll on his health, and, combined with diabetes and heart disease, led to his death in 2007. He was only 44 years old.

Finally, the FBI determined that this was the work of a man who'd committed 3 other bombings, in protest of America's abortion and gay rights policies. Eric Rudolph, a member of the radical "Christian Identity" movement, was finally caught in 2003, and pled guilty.

As of July 27, 2022, Rudolph is 56 years old, and remains incarcerated at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado. He is serving 2 consecutive life terms, and will never get out of prison except in a coffin. He has since written a letter from prison saying he now prefers the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche to the Bible.

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July 27, 1996 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The Atlanta Braves, the defending World Champions, were on an extended roadtrip from July 18 to August 4, to accommodate the Olympics. They lost to the San Francisco Giants, 10-3 at Candlestick Park (then known as 3Com Park) in San Francisco. Shawn Estes outpitched John Smoltz. Barry Bonds hit a home run for the Giants, while Chipper Jones hit one for the Braves.

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. The Yankees trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, but after a fine start by Kevin Appier, Jason Jacome started the inning by walking Tino Martinez, and Darryl Strawberry hit a home run. This made a winning pitcher of John Wetteland in relief of Dwight Gooden.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Bobby Jones went the distance for the win. Todd Hundley hit a home run.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Jim Thome hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 13th inning. Eddie Murray went 0-for-5 for the O's, and Cal Ripken went 1-for-6. But the Orioles would beat the Indians in the Playoffs, before losing to the Yankees, who beat the Braves in the World Series.

* The Florida Marlins beat the San Diego Padres, 8-2 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Tony Gwynn did not play for the Padres in this game, but another eventual member of the 3,000 Hit Club did: Rickey Henderson went 0-for-2 with 2 walks, but was caught stealing in his only attempt.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-8 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 5-1 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-8 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Montreal Expos, 6-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Jesse Levis singled Jeff Cirillo home with the winning run in the top of the 13th inning.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 1-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Pat Hentgen pitched a 3-hit shutout, to outpitch Ariel Prieto. The only run of the game came on a 6th-inning home run by Carlos Delgado.

* And the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 14-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Cecil Fielder went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Soon, he would be traded to the Yankees. Ken Griffey Jr., who allegedly said he would rather retire than play for the Yankees, went 1-for-3. Alex Rodriguez, who did go on to play for the Yankees, went 2-for-3 with an RBI.