September 1, 1980: Terry Fox Has to End His Marathon of Hope

September 1, 1980: Terry Fox has to end his "Marathon of Hope" outside Thunder Bay, Ontario, because his cancer has spread to his lungs.

The high school basketball star had started in the easternmost city in North America, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, on April 12, and had intended to go all the way across Canada, intending to finish at Vancouver, hear his home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He had gone 3,339 miles, about halfway through his intended journey.

But it was not to be. The cancer that had already claimed one of his legs returned. Still, he raised $1.7 million for cancer research.  (At the time, the U.S. and Canadian dollars were about equal. In 2020 money, that figure would be a shade over US $6 million.) By the time of his death, on June 28, 1981, only 22 years old, his movement had raised $23 million – nearly matching his goal of $1 for every person in Canada.

There are now statues of Fox in St. John's, at the point where he started running; outside Thunder Bay, at the point where he had to stop running; in the national capital of Ottawa; in Vancouver; and in Victoria, the capital of his home Province of British Columbia.

*

September 1, 1980 was a Monday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-0 at Yankee Stadium. Tom Underwood pitched a 4-hit shutout. Reggie Jackson and Oscar Gamble hit home runs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Rod Carew went 1-for-4 with a walk. Carl Yastrzemski did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Ken Singleton hit 2 home runs, and Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* A doubleheader was split at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Houston Astros won the 1st game, 10-4. The Pittsburgh Pirates won the 2nd game, 7-5. In the 1st game, Bill Madlock hit 2 home runs for the Pirates, Joe Morgan 1 for the Astros. Willie Stargell didn't play in either game.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Johnny Bench went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Robin Yount went 2-for-5. Paul Molitor went 0-for-5. George Brett went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 5-3 at San Diego Stadium (soon to be renamed Jack Murphy Stadium). Dave Winfield went 1-for-4.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.