September 14, 1982: President-elect Bachir Gemayel of Lebanon is assassinated by a car bomb in the national capital of Beirut, at the height of the country’s civil war. He was only 34 years old.
For 6 years, he had led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the social-democratic Kataeb Party, founded by his father, Pierre Gemayel. His older brother, Amine Gemayel, had been elected to Lebanon's national legislature. Bachir had united the country's Christian groups, and had more of an electoral base than the country's Muslims did, resulting in his election as the youngest President in the country's history.
Habib Shartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which was aiding Lebanon's Muslims in an attempt to unite that country in a "Greater Syria," was arrested for the crime. He confessed that he did it because he thought Gemayel had sold Lebanon out to Israel. He served 8 years in prison before being broken out by Syrian thugs during Syria's final offensive in the civil war. He is now 64 years old, and still at large.
Amine Gemayel was elected in his brother's place, with support from America and Israel. He became the country's youngest President, a record he still holds. He served 6 years, and was constitutionally barred from running again. He is still alive, age 80. However, his son, Pierre, who had become Kataeb Party Leader, was assassinated in 2006.
The Civil War raged from 1975 to 1990. It killed about 120,000 people, and caused another 1 million people to leave the country. Today, Lebanon is a country of about 5.3 million people: 57 percent Muslim (almost evenly divided between Sunni and Shi'a), 38 percent Christian (the majority of that being Maronite Catholic), and 5 percent Druze. It is again considered a democratic nation.
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September 14, 1982 was a Wednesday. This was also the day that Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly the actress Grace Kelly, was killed in a car crash. I have a separate entry for that event.
Football was in midweek. The NBA and the NHL were out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees were swept by the Baltimore Orioles, in a doubleheader at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The O's won the opener, 5-4. Willie Randolph and Lee Mazzilli hit home runs in support of Shane Rawley, but Dave Winfield went 0-for-3 with a walk. The O's won the nightcap, 5-3. Andre Robertson hit a home run in support of Mike Morgan. Dave Winfield appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. Storm Davis got the win.
Rookie Don Mattingly did not appear in either game. Eddie Murray went 1-for-8 with an RBI, but Cal Ripken went 2-for-7, including a grand slam in the 2nd game.
* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 12-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski, 43, did not play. Wade Boggs went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. John Stuper needed a 5-out save from Bruce Sutter to complete a 5-hit shutout. Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose each went 1-for-4.
* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Mike LaCoss needed a 6-out save from Frank LaCorte to finish a 2-hit shutout.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 15-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount went 2-for-5. Paul Molitor went 1-for-5 with a walk.
* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Bruce Kison pitched a 7-hit shutout. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with 2 walks. Rod Carew went 1-for-5.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-2 at Royals Stadium (later Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
* And the Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays were rained out at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. It was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Jays swept, 3-2 and 12-11. Dave Baker won the nightcap with a single in the bottom of the 9th. In that game, Jeff Burroughs went 2-for-4 with a home run and 6 RBIs for the Jays, but was taken out for a pinch-runner, Rickey Henderson, in what turned out to be Henderson's only appearance in the series.
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