October 30, 1973: The Bosphorus Bridge Opens

October 30, 1973: The Bosphorus Bridge opens in Istanbul, Turkey, connecting the city's European and Asian sections by road, where, previously, the connections had only been by ferry.

It was the 1st bridge to ever connect one continent with another. It is now 1 of 3 bridges over the Bosphorus Strait, followed by the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in 1988 (named for Sultan Mehmed II, a.k.a. Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered the city, then named Constantinople, in 1453) and the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in 2016.

Every year, on its anniversary, its operating authority hosts a "fun run." It also happens to have opened on the anniversary of Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (Sport Klub), founded on October 30, 1905. 

Part of the nasty rivalry between Turkey's 2 biggest sports clubs, especially its soccer teams, comes from the fact that they are on opposite sides of these 3 bridges: Fenerbahçe (FEN-er-BAH-chah, or "Fener") is in the Kadıköy district on the Asian side, while Galatasaray is in the Galata Palace area on the European side.

In the 2022-23 season, there are 6 Istanbul clubs in the Turkish Süper Lig, but Fener is the only one on the Asian side. Joining Gala on the European side are Beşiktaş, İstanbul Başakşehir, Kasımpaşa and Fatih Karagümrük.

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October 30, 1973 was a Tuesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns, 122-101 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 105-103 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, 112-78 at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-112 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 2 games played in the American Basketball Association. The New York Nets lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 104-92 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. And the Memphis Tams beat the Carolina Cougars, 110-99 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks played to a tie, 3-3 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 7-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 3-2 at the St. Louis Arena.

And there were 3 games played in the World Hockey Association:

* The Chicago Cougars beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago.

* The Houston Aeros beat the Minnesota Fighting Saints, 6-1 at the Sam Houston Coliseum.

* And the Quebec Nordiques beat the Los Angeles Sharks, 6-4 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.