September 27, 1988: Ben Johnson Is Stripped of His Gold Medal

September 27, 1988: Ben Johnson is stripped of the Gold Medal he won in the 100 meters at the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea 3 days earlier.

Born in Jamaica in 1961, and living in Canada since age 14, he was able to compete for the latter since he hadn't competed for the former. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, he won Bronze Medals in the 100 meters, and as part of the Canadian 4-by-100-meter relay team team. He won the Gold Medal in the 60 meters at the 1985 World Indoor Championships in Paris.

In 1986, he won Gold in the 100 meters at the Goodwill Games in Moscow, and the 100 and the 4-by-100 in the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. And in 1987, he won the 100 at the outdoor World Championships in Rome and the 60 at the indoor World Championships in Indianapolis. So, along with the defending Gold Medalist, American Carl Lewis, he was one of the favorites to win Gold at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

On September 24, Johnson not only beat Lewis, but broke his own world record of 9.83, with a time of 9.79. He was the 1st Canadian to win Gold in the event since Percy Williams in Amsterdam in 1928.

Three days later, the Olympic Doping Control Center announced that Johnson's urine sample contained stanozolol, a banned steroid. He was disqualified, and stripped of both the Gold Medal and his world record. Lewis was awarded the Gold Medal.

Charlie Francis, Johnson's coach, didn't help matters: He said that Johnson couldn't have tested positive for stanozolol, because it made his body "feel tight," and he preferred another steroid, furazabol. When your alibi for robbing a bank is that you were robbing a jewelry store, that's not good.

Johnson was suspended for 3 years, and, upon his return, never won another major race. Meanwhile, Lewis won 2 more Gold Medals in Barcelona in 1992 and another in Atlanta in 1996, although he did not compete in the 100 meters either time.

*

September 27, 1988 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. It was the 170th victory of Ron Guidry's career. It turned out to be the last. The losing pitcher was Curt Schilling. Don Mattingly took Schilling deep twice. Schilling has hated the Yankees ever since. Dave Winfield went 0-for-4. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Shea Stadium. Tommy Barrett singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. Mike Schmidt did not play. Mark Carreon hit a home run. Juan Samuel hit one for the Phillies, 2 years before the Mets would trade Len Dykstra for him. The Phillies got the best out of that trade.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-9 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ernie Whitt hit 2 home runs, and had 6 RBIs. Wade Boggs went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Alex Trevino singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Tom Candiotti threw his knuckleball for a 4-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 1-for-4. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Allan Anderson pitched a 3-hit shutout. Mark McGwire went 0-for-4.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-3.

* The San Diego Padres beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3.