September 28, 1978: Pope John Paul I dies of a heart attack at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. He was 65, young for a Pope, and had been in office only 33 days.
He was born on October 17, 1912 in Canale d'Agordo, in the province of Veneto, Italy, as Albino Luciani. He was ordained as a priest in 1935, and rose to become Patriarch of Venice in 1969. On August 26, 1978, he was elected Pope. He was the 1st Pope to take 2 names, those of the last 2 Popes, both of whom had been very popular: John XXIII and Paul VI, who had died on August 6.
He said he wanted to "humanize" the papacy. Most Popes, recognizing that they were the monarch of the Church, spoke of themselves with "the royal we," but John Paul I publicly called himself "I." Instead of a coronation, he called his ceremony an inauguration, as if he were, instead, a President. He quickly proved popular, and became known as "the Smiling Pope."
And then, on September 29, he was found dead in his bed. It was determined that he had suffered a heart attack the night before. There would have to be a 3rd Pope in a matter of weeks, and on October 16, Karol Wojtyla was elected, taking the name Pope John Paul II. And 1978 became known as "The Year of the Three Popes."
Despite rumors, later encouraged by the film The Godfather Part III, there is no known evidence that Pope John Paul I was murdered. He was beatified in 2022, and is considered a candidate for sainthood.
Although the current Pope, Francis, is of Italian descent, he is from Argentina. Benedict XVI was from Germany, and John Paul II was from Poland. For 455 years, all the Popes had been Italian. John Paul I currently stands as the last Pope from Italy.
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September 28, 1978 was a Thursday. There were 7 Major League Baseball games played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees only got 4 hits, but Thurman Munson got 2 of them. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk. Ron Guidry went the distance to get to 24-3 on the season, and broke Jack Chesbro's team record for strikeouts in a season, 240 in 1904. He would finish 25-3 with 248 strikeouts, and a 1.74 ERA. But that finish would be in a Playoff for the American League Eastern Division title, because...
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. The only run came on a home run by Jim Rice in the 4th inning. It was his 45th of the season, and he would finish with 46. Rice was named the AL's Most Valuable Player, ahead of Guidry, which, by definition -- Guidry carried his team to the Division title, Rice didn't -- was a fraud. Mike Torrez pitched a 3-hit shutout, and would face Guidry in the Playoff game.
On radio station WBCN, in Boston, perhaps the most Catholic city in America, disc jockey Charles Laquidara earned himself a lot of hate mail by beginning his broadcast with this teaser: "Pope dies, Sox still alive."
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 0-for-2, but an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-7 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Dodgers led 4-0 going into the bottom of the 8th, then the Reds scored 2 runs. The Dodgers scored 2 more in the top of the 9th, but the Reds scored 6 in the bottom of the 9th to win it. Pete Rose went 4-for-6 with an RBI. Dave Concepcion and Ken Griffey Sr. each got 3 hits. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-7 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
Also, Peter Cambor, who plays Special Agent Nate Getz on NCIS: Los Angeles, was born on this day.
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