September 29, 1982: Arsenal Football Club are stunned by Spartak Moscow, 5-2 in a UEFA Cup match at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. Spartak are sparked by Fyodor Cherenkov, perhaps the most popular soccer player in Russian history. The following season, he will lead them past another English team in a UEFA Cup match, Birmingham team Aston Villa.
Fyodor Fyodorovich Cherenkov was born on July 25, 1959 in Moscow. A midfielder, "Fedya" had joined the youth setup at Spartak in 1971, and reached the senior team in 1977. He helped them win the Soviet Top League in 1979, 1987 and 1989, and the Russian Premier League in 1993 and the Russian Cup in 1994. He was named Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1983 and 1989.
Because of the decline of Soviet football from its 1960s heights (winning the 1st European Championship in 1960 and finishing 3rd at the 1966 World Cup), Cherenkov never played in a World Cup. But English fans noticed him because of those wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup. He led the Soviet team to the Bronze Medal in the 1980 Olympics in his hometown. (Czechoslovakia won the Gold Medal.)
In his book Spartak: A History of the People's Team in the Workers' State, Robert Edelman described him as "the longest-serving and most beloved of all Spartakovsky":
Navigating between midfield and forward, he played with an originality and eccentricity that endeared him to the public. Cherenkov was an enigmatic and fragile personality whose capacity for unexpected improvisation fit the Spartak image of the player as romantic artist.
A true original, he was the embodiment of what many of Spartak's male Moscow supporters liked to believe about themselves. Lacking great speed but quick on his feet, small of stature but possessed of great guile, Cherenkov seemed to practice a new kind of masculinity, that of the urban trickster. By the time his Spartak career was over, he was the leading point producer (goal plus pass) in the team's history.
"The urban trickster" -- shares of Brazilian soccer's malandro. Michael Yokhin, a Russian who writes on soccer for ESPN, eulogized him on their web page:
Fyodor Cherenkov was the ultimate Russian legend, the most idolized player of all time, and the greatest artist imaginable. He was a ray of light in a ruthless and cynical world, a source of pure joy, and a reminder how people should behave. His death at the age of 55 is a great loss.
Cherenkov was loved by everyone, which is surprising, considering he was a Spartak Moscow hero. They are the most popular team in Russia, and thus, naturally, one of the most hated.
Usually, their players are loathed by Dynamo Kiev, CSKA (Moscow) and Zenit (St. Petersburg) fans, but not Cherenkov. He was universally admired, and Spartak away games were celebrated all over the country as people just wanted to go and watch him play.
Fyodor Cherenkov died on October 4, 2014 in Moscow, as a result of complications from a head injury sustained in a fall. He was only 55 years old, and was coaching the Spartak youth teams at the time. A statue of him has been erected at the team's new Otkrytie Stadium, and one of its stands bears his name.
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September 29, 1982 was a Wednesday. This was also the day the "Tylenol Murders" began. I have a separate entry for this event.
These Major League Baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 13-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Griffey Sr. went 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs, Jerry Mumphrey went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs, and Dave Winfield went 1-for-5, with rookie Don Mattingly driving in a run with a sacrifice fly, all in support of Jay Howell. Nevertheless, the dynasty of 1976-81 was over, as the Yankees had their worst season since 1967.
* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Bill Buckner hit a home run. I don't know if it was his best day at Shea, but the worst was yet to come.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. For the Brew Crew, on their way to their 1st Pennant, Don Money and Ned Yost hit home runs. Robin Yount went 0-for-2, but drew 2 walks and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with a walk. For the BoSox, Jim Rice and Gary Allenson homered, and Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 4-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. It was Win Day: Steve Carlton pitched a 2-hit shutout. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Gary Ward went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, in support of Brad Havens, who allowed 9 hits bur kept the shutout.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell, in his last week as an active player, did not get into the game. In spite of this loss, the Cardinals went on to win the World Series, beating the Brewers in 7 games.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4, but Cal Ripken hit a home run.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. For the Angels, Reggie Jackson and Don Baylor hit home runs, and Rod Carew went 2-for-4.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-5 with an RBI.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Terry Kennedy singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Johnny Bench did not play.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Braves scored 2 runs in the top of the 12th, while the Dodgers could only score 1 in the bottom half.
* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 6-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
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