October 21, 1980: Iranian negotiators, previously offered military equipment by the Carter Administration as part of the exchange for the 52 remaining American hostages from the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran the preceding November 4, turn this offer down.
This followed a meeting with former Republican government officials, including former Deputy Secretary of State William Casey, who told the Iranians that, no matter what, they shouldn't release the hostages before November 4, Election Day.
This denied the last chance of the incumbent President, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, to get the hostages freed before the election, and assured the victory of the Republican nominee, former Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
Although this was not the 1st use of the phrase "October Surprise," it is the best-remembered example. Still, it's not clear that getting the hostages out between October 21 and November 3 would have saved Carter: There were other issues, such as inflation, interest rates, and Carter's handling of the Cold War.
Oh yeah: Reagan rewarded Casey by naming him Director of the CIA, and he became a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal. A previous President, Andrew Jackson, would have called that "a corrupt bargain."
Also on this day, Kimberly Noel Kardashian is born in Los Angeles. Unlike her former friend Paris Hilton, another L.A.-based heiress with an embarrassingly released sex tape, Kim is not an "heirhead." She actually works for a living, and not just as a model: She worked for the music-marketing company that was run by her late father, Robert Kardashian, who had given up being a high-powered L.A. lawyer to do it, returning for one last case in 1994-95 (the murder defense "Dream Team" of O.J. Simpson).
She and her sisters Kourtney and Khloé also run high-end women's clothing stores. Kim was often the main focus of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
What does Kim have to do with sports? Well, after her parents Robert and Kris divorced, Kris married Olympic decathlon Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner, though they split up, and Bruce has "transitioned" into what he, now she, has always considered his, now her, true identity of Caitlin Jenner.
Kim married then-Nets player Kris Humphries, following Khloé's marriage to Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom. However, the Kardashian-Humphries marriage collapsed after 72 days, and Kim later married to Kanye West, and they now have 4 children, but have also split up. Khloé and Lamar split, and Khloé had 2 children with Tristan Thompson, then of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have also now split.
What does Kim have to do with sports? Well, after her parents Robert and Kris divorced, Kris married Olympic decathlon Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner, though they split up, and Bruce has "transitioned" into what he, now she, has always considered his, now her, true identity of Caitlin Jenner.
Kim married then-Nets player Kris Humphries, following Khloé's marriage to Los Angeles Lakers player Lamar Odom. However, the Kardashian-Humphries marriage collapsed after 72 days, and Kim later married to Kanye West, and they now have 4 children, but have also split up. Khloé and Lamar split, and Khloé had 2 children with Tristan Thompson, then of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have also now split.
Previously, Kim dated, among others, running back Reggie Bush, in a relationship the gossip pages liked to call "Kush." And if "Bush" and "Kush" rhyme with a prominent part of Kim's anatomy, that's not my fault!
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October 21, 1980 was a Tuesday. This was also the day the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series for the 1st time, beating the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Game 6. I have a separate entry for that event.
Football was in midweek. There were 8 NBA games played that day:
* The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls, 105-97 at Madison Square Garden. Ray Williams scored 27 for the Knickerbockers.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 121-116 at The Omni in Atlanta.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-95 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center
and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the
UW-Panther Arena.
* The Golden State Warriors beat the Kansas City Kings, 116-11 at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. (It's now named the the Hy-Vee Arena.)
* The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets, 119-117 at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. Moses Malone had 41 points and 26 rebounds for the Rockets.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the San Diego Clippers, 123-120 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. The Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks, 111-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-103 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
There were 4 NHL games:
* The New York Islanders lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 6-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-0 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-5 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* And the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the St. Louis Arena.
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