July 30, 1980: The Kozakiewicz Gesture
July 30, 1980: The Olympic Games continue in Moscow. With the United States, West Germany, and many other nations boycotting, in protest of the host country, the Soviet Union, having invaded Afghanistan, the Soviets and other Eastern Bloc or "Warsaw Pact" nations were doing very well.
Poland was not. Poland was going through a crisis in which its government, tightly controlled by the Kremlin, was repressing a genuine "workers' revolution" in the country. People marched in the streets, protesting the Soviet government. As a result, in these Games, the Soviet crowd booed Polish athletes.
One they booed was a pole vaulter, Władysław Kozakiewicz. Born in 1953, to Polish parents in Lithuania, the family was sent to Poland in 1958, as part of the last wave of post-World War II "repatriations" of ethnicities. His older brother Edward was a pole vaulter, before switching to the decathlon (which includes the pole vault), and taught Wład.
Wład became one of the best in the world, winning junior championships, and was favored for a medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, but was injured, and only finished 11th. In 1977, and again in 1979, he won both the European Indoor Championships and the World University Games, known as the Universiade.
He was booed as he took his place for his vault at the Central Lenin Stadium (later renamed the Luzhniki Stadium) for the 1980 Olympic Final. He shook this off, and set a world record with a vault of 18 feet, 11½ inches, to win the Gold Medal. The crowd booed him as he landed from his record vault.
He didn't miss a beat: He got up, and immediately gave them the obscene gesture that the French call "L'bras d'honneur": The Arm of Honor. Spain and Portugal call it the Iberian Slap, and Italy calls it the Italian Salute.
After the Olympics ended, the Soviet Ambassador to Poland demanded that Kozakiewicz be stripped of his medal over his "insult to the Soviet people." The official response of the Polish government was that Kozakiewicz's arm gesture had been "an involuntary muscle spasm caused by his exertion." It was no more truthful than many a statement made by other Communist governments, but, this time, the Kremlin got a taste of its own medicine. Ever since, the Poles have called it Gest Kozakiewicza --Kozakiewicz's gesture.
Interviewed in 2018, Kozakiewicz said:
The Soviet government demanded that he apologize for this action. He refused. Perhaps the backlash got to him, because he was never so good again. He tried to regain his form in time for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, but the Warsaw Pact turned the tables and boycotted those games.
In 1985, a dispute with Poland's athletics (track & field) federation led him to defect to West Germany. He competed for that country until the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea, but Poland refused to give him the necessary permission to compete for another country, effectively ending his career. He remained in Germany after its reunification, and coached athletes, later managing their professional careers, specializing in athletes from former Communist countries.
As of July 30, 2022, he is still alive.
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July 30, 1980 was a Wednesday. It was also the day that J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros, perhaps the best pitcher in baseball at the time, suffered a stroke that ended his playing career. I have a separate entry for that event.
These Major League Baseball games were played:
* In a bit of foreshadowing, without J.R. Richard available, the Houston Astros lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The losing pitcher was... Nolan Ryan. The winning pitcher was Dick Ruthven. Mike Schmidt drew 2 walks and had to leave the game due to injury, but would be named the NL's Most Valuable Player that season. Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. John Castino doubled home Ken Landreaux with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, off Goose Gossage, after Tom Underwood had started. Jerry Koosman went the distance for the Twins. The lone Yankee run came in the 3rd, when Eric Soderholm singled home Bob Watson. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Pat Zachry pitched a 4-hit shutout. Claudell Washington had 3 hits.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with a stolen base. The A's got home runs from Wayne Gross (2 of them), Dave Revering and Jeff Newman.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The California Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Rod Carew only appeared as a pinch-hitter, but, as you might guess, he got a hit.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Robin Yount went 0-for-4. Paul Molitor went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-1 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5. George Brett went 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at San Diego Stadium. It was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium the next year, and Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Willie Stargell did not play. Jerry Reuss pitched a 4-hit shutout, to beat John Candelaria, who also went the distance.
* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the the San Francisco Giants, 4-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. John Fulgham pitched a 5-hit shutout.
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