December 25, 1989: Romania Overthrows the Ceaușescus

December 25, 1989: The last domino to fall in this year of revolution in Eastern Europe is Romania. Unlike every other country that overthrew its Communist regime, however, it was not peaceful, and it certainly was not a "bloodless coup." It was closer to the French Revolution of 100 years earlier than to what had happened earlier in the year in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

Nicolae Ceaușescu was born on January 26, 1918 in Scornicești, Romania, a country then in World War I on the side of the Allies, since it was allied with Russia, which had recently fallen to the Bolsheviks, but had not yet dropped out of the war. It remained a monarchy until World War II, when the right-leaning government allied with the Nazis against the Communist Soviet Union. The Soviets invaded on September 12, 1944, and a "Republic" was proclaimed on December 30, 1947.

Ceaușescu served in the war, and had been a prisoner of the Nazis. In the Republic, he was elected to the Great National Assembly, and became a full member of the Politburo in 1954. He was an ally of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1955, effectively the nation's dictator.

When Gheorghiu-Dej died on March 19, 1965, his successor was not obvious, but Ceaușescu used this to his advantage, since he was liked by Gheorghiu-Dej's other allies and not strenuously opposed by any of them. After 3 days, he emerged as the new leader.

Like Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, both Gheorghiu-Dej and Ceaușescu were "Home Communists," espousing far-left policies domestically, but not actively influencing nearby countries. In 1968, he condemned the Soviet Union's invasion of Czechoslovakia. That caught the attention of Richard Nixon, soon to be elected President of the United States.

On August 2, 1969, Nixon visited Romania, the 1st visit by a President to a Communist country, other than Franklin Roosevelt's meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in 1945. In 1973, Ceaușescu and his wife Elena returned the favor, by visiting America, and meeting with Nixon again.

Left to right: Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu, Pat and Richard Nixon

But by that point, Ceaușescu had changed, and the West hadn't noticed. In 1971, he visited China, North Vietnam and North Korea. On July 6, 1971, he delivered a speech before the executive committee of the Romanian Communist Party. This quasi-Maoist speech became known as the July Theses, and he announced a crackdown on culture he considered anti-patriotic.

Slowly, but surely, the people began to resist. A coup failed in 1984, and another, which became known as the Brașov Rebellion, failed in 1987. On November 20, 1989, as the Communist Parties of Eastern Europe were falling all around him, Ceaușescu was re-elected, and made a speech denouncing these revolutions.

Revolution broke out in Timișoara, the largest city in the west of the country. Copying the freedom fighters of 1956 in neighboring Hungary, demonstrators cut the Communist symbols out of their national flags, and carried the "liberated" flags through the streets. They were fired upon, and many died, but it didn't stop them.

Ceaușescu left for a state visit to Iran on December 18. Hearing that things had gotten worse in his absence, he figured he'd better get back, or he might be thrown out of power before he could. He returned on the 20th, and, on the 21st, delivered a speech from the balcony of the former Royal Palace in Bucharest, at this time the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

He denounces the demonstrators of Timișoara as "fascist agitators." Just 8 minutes into the speech, many in the crowd of 100,000 began booing him, and chanting, "Timișoara!" His wife, Elena, herself now unpopular, yelled, "Quiet!" They booed her, too: She had become known as "The Ogeress." The first couple had to be taken back inside, for fear of something happening to them.

It did. Hearing on December 22 that Defense Minister Vasile Milea had committed suicide rather than be taken by revolutionaries, the Ceaușescus escaped by helicopter. The Army, which had abandoned him, forced the helicopter down in Târgoviște.

On Christmas Day, December 25, 1989, the Ceaușescus were tried before a court convened in a small room on orders of the National Salvation Front, Romania's provisional government. They faced charges including illegal gathering of wealth and genocide -- this following reports that, under Ceaușescu's orders, the Army had killed 46,000 people in the last week. He denied the court's authority to try him, but they were both found guilty and sentenced to death.

They demanded to be allowed to die together. The soldiers agreed to this, but not to their refusal to be tied up. A committed Communist to the end, Nicolae Ceaușescu's last words were a singing of "The Internationale." They were executed by a firing squad. Nicolae was 71 years old, Elena 73.

The Ceaușescus' dead bodies were displayed on national television, and the images were shown around the world. They had received the same level of mercy that they had given. At least their corpses were not hung upside-down in a public square like Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci in Milan in 1945.

But Italy's leading newspaper, the Evening Courier,

had no problem putting the dictator's dead body

on its front page.

They had 3 children. Their elder son, Valentin, became a physicist. Their daughter, known to the country as "Comrade Zoia," became a mathematician. Neither was involved in politics. Their younger son, Nicu, was groomed as his father's heir apparent in government, and was already a county leader by 1987. He was known to be an alcoholic and a rapist -- a sadist like his friend, the heir apparent in Iraq, Uday Hussein -- and was imprisoned after the Revolution. He was released in 1992, for health reasons, and his drinking caught up with him in 1996. He was only 45.  

*

December 25, 1989 was a Monday. This was also the day that former baseball manager Billy Martin was killed in a truck crash. I have a separate entry for this event.

Baseball was out of season. There was 1 college football bowl game that day. Number 22 Michigan State beat Number 25 Hawaii, 33-13, in the Aloha Bowl, on Hawaii's home field, Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

On ABC Monday Night Football, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 29-21 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

The NHL does not schedule games for Christmas Day. The NBA does, and there was 1: The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-104 at The Omni in Atlanta.

December 18, 1969: I Was Born

December 18, 1969: Your sometimes-humble author is born at St. Barnabas Medical Center (shown) in Livingston, Essex County, New Jersey.

There's an old saying: "May you be born in interesting times."

Musically, the times couldn't have gotten much more interesting. The Number 1 song in America was by a group that, technically, did not exist: Steam, with "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye." Or, as it's better known, by its chorus: "Na na na na... Na na na na... Hey hey hey... Goodbye!"

Number 3 was "Someday We'll Be Together," the last single of The Supremes with Diana Ross singing lead. Number 7 was "Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday," by Stevie Wonder. Number 19 was "I Want You Back," the debut single of The Jackson 5. Number 20 was a great cover of The Guess Who's "These Eyes," by Junior Walker & The All-Stars. Number 53 was "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me" by The Four Tops. Number 54 was "What You Gave Me," one of the duets by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. Number 76 was "Point It Out," by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.

So, with those 7 songs, it was a good week for Motown Records, and that's before knowing what Michael Jackson, then just 11 years old, would become. Oddly, despite 1969 being a great year for them, chart-wise, including "I Can't Get Next to You" hitting Number 1 in October, The Temptations did not have a song on the Hot 100 that week, not even that one.

Number 4 was the double-sided hit "Come Together" and "Something," by The Beatles. Number 17 was Aretha Franklin's cover of their song "Eleanor Rigby." Number 39 was "Cold Turkey," a solo hit for John Lennon. Number 83 was Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles' "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window."

Number 5 was the double-sided hit "Down On the Corner" and "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the A-side a good-time jam; the B-side an anti-war, anti-greed, anti-conservatism screed.

Number 21 was "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. It would rise to Number 9, making it their biggest hit single in America. It's worth noting, though, that their most famous song, "Stairway to Heaven," was never released as a single.

Number 28 was "Suspicious Minds," which was on its way down. A few weeks earlier, it hit Number 1 for Elvis Presley. As "Come Together" had hit Number 1, this made the Autumn of 1969 the only season in which Elvis and The Beatles had Number 1 hits at roughly the same time. As it turned out, it was his last Number 1 hit. (In 1972, "Burning Love" hit Number 2.) Coming up the charts, at Number 36, was "Don't Cry Daddy."

And Number 82 was Frank Sinatra's cover of Teddy Randazzo's "Goin' Out of My Head," which had been a Top 10 hit for Little Anthony & The Imperials in 1964. So, when I was born, not only were they all actively recording, but Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson all had hit songs at the same time. At no other time in history was that possible.

Five months earlier, man walked on the Moon for the 1st time. Two months earlier, the New York Mets won the World Series. Their star pitcher, Tom Seaver -- who had served in the U.S. Marine Corps, so he was no Commie -- said, "If the Mets can win the World Series, the U.S. can get out of Vietnam." The President was Richard Nixon. He had a plan to get the U.S. out of Vietnam. By the time it was truly carried out, I would be 5 years old, and Nixon would no longer be President.

Mickey Mantle and Bill Russell had retired from their sports earlier in the year. But Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, and the aforementioned Tom Seaver were then active in baseball. Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Deacon Jones, Gale Sayers, Joe Namath, and rookies Roger Staubach, O.J. Simpson and Mean Joe Greene were active in the NFL. Terry Bradshaw was still playing in college.

Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Walt Frazier and rookie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then still using his birth name of Lew Alcindor) were active in the NBA. Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk, Jean Béliveau, Jacques Plante, Frank Mahovlich, Bobby Hull, Rod Gilbert, Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, and rookie Bobby Clarke were active in the NHL.

And active soccer legends included Pelé of Brazil, Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore of England, Billy McNeill of Scotland, John Charles of Wales, George Best of Northern Ireland, Eusébio of Portugal, Johan Cruijff of the Netherlands, Franz Beckenbauer of Germany, Gianni Rivera of Italy, and, in his final season, Lev Yashin of the Soviet Union.

Let's see what was on TV that night:

* ABC: 7:30, The Ghost & Mrs. Muir; 8:00, That Girl; 8:30, Bewitched; 9:00, This Is Tom Jones, a variety show hosted by the Welsh pop singer; 10:00, It Takes a Thief.

* CBS: 7:30, Family Affair; 8:00, The Jim Nabors Hour; 9:00, CBS Thursday Night Movie, in this case The Americanization of Emily.

* NBC: 7:30, Daniel Boone; 8:30, Ironside; 9:30, Dragnet 1969; 10:00, The Dean Martin Show.

Interesting times, indeed.

*

December 18, 1969 was a Thursday, so there were no pro football games played on the day, not in the NFL, and not in the AFL, either. Nor were any college football games played, "bowl" games or otherwise. The Liberty Bowl had been played in Memphis on the 13th, with Colorado beating Alabama; and the Sun Bowl would be played in El Paso on the 20th, with Nebraska beating Georgia. But no bowl games were played on the 18th. It was baseball's off-season, so there were no games in that sport, either.

There were no games played in the American Basketball Association that day, and there was only one NBA game: The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-112, at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum, on the Georgia Tech campus. The Hawks played at the "Thrillerdome" from their 1968 move from St. Louis until the 1972 opening of The Omni.

And there was only one NHL game played that day: The Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues played to a 3-3 tie, at the St. Louis Arena. Those same teams would oppose each other in that season's Stanley Cup Finals: On May 10, 1970, Bobby Orr scored in overtime of Game 4 to give the Bruins a sweep, and their 1st Stanley Cup in 29 years. 

October 18, 1974: The NBA's "First Quadruple-Double"

October 18, 1974: The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 120-115 in overtime at the Chicago Stadium. John Drew of the defeated Hawks led all scorers. But the real story came from a former Golden State Warriors star, making his debut for the Bulls: Nate Thurmond scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, had 13 assists, and blocked 12 shots.

Previously, there had been "triple-doubles" in NBA games: Double figures, 10 or more, in points, assists and steals. This was the first official "quadruple-double."

It wasn't really the first, for one simple season: Nobody recorded blocked shots as an official statistic until the 1973-74 season -- the 1st season since 1958-59 without Wilt Chamberlain playing in the NBA. Coincidence is what the incurious believe in.

(In 1968, Chamberlain had a game in which he reached double figures in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals -- a quintuple-double. That was found in a review of a game shown on television. As far as is known, it's the only such game in NBA history.)

A native of Akron, Ohio, Thurmond starred at Bowling Green University, before being drafted by the San Francisco Warriors in 1963. In 1971, they moved across San Francisco Bay, to Oakland, becoming the Golden State Warriors. He was a 7-time NBA All-Star, and helped the Warriors reach the NBA Finals in 1964 and 1967.

Only 3 other players have ever recorded an official quadruple-double. Alvin Robertson of the San Antonio Spurs did it on February 18, 1986, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals; Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets on March 29, 1990, with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and 11 blocks; and David Robinson of the Spurs on February 17, 1994, with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks. Unlike Thurmond, those 3 men did not need overtime to do it.

Thurmond is 1 of 5 players to average at least 15 rebounds per game for his career, along with Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Bob Pettit and Jerry Lucas. Those are also the only 5 players to average at least 20 rebounds per game during a season, and he did it twice: 21.3 in 1966-67, and 22.0 in 1967-68. 

Along with Chamberlain, Russell and Lucas, he's 1 of 4 players to grab 40 or more rebounds in a game: 42, against the Detroit Pistons, on November 9, 1965 -- the night of the big New York City blackout. And on February 28, 1965, against the Baltimore Bullets, he set an NBA record with 18 rebounds in a single quarter. Chamberlain, first a teammate and then an opponent, called him the toughest opponent he ever faced.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side: For the 1974-75 season, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls, and that would be the season the Warriors won their 1st NBA title since 1956, when they were in Philadelphia. He played 2 more seasons, for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and helped them reach the 1976 Eastern Conference Finals, a Playoff run known as "The Miracle of Richfield."

He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and both the Dubs and the Cavs retired his Number 42. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams. He died in 2016, at the age of 75, having lived just long enough to have been invited to participate in the NBA Championship parades for the 2015 Warriors and the 2016 Cavaliers.

*

October 18, 1974 was a Friday. There were 6 other games in the NBA that night:

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Boston Celtics, 126-119 at the Boston Garden. Ernie DiGregorio, the Providence College star, and the previous season's NBA Rookie of the Year, scored 33 points in this game.

A lot of white NBA fans were hoping he would become the next Pete Maravich. But he was never this good again. Like Maravich, he would end his career with the Celtics before they started winning titles again, and Larry Bird became the player that such fans hoped both Pistol Pete and Ernie D would be.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New Orleans Jazz, 112-99 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. This was the 1st-ever regular-season game of the team that became the Utah Jazz in 1979. Maravich, previously with the Atlanta Hawks, and having played in Louisiana with Louisiana State University, scored 15 points. But Steve Mix scored 33 for the Sixers.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 106-101 at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-90 at The Forum, outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Gail Goodrich scored 34 points.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 131-129... in 4 overtimes at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Austin Carr scored 34 in defeat for the Cavs.

* And the Detroit Pistons beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 100-95 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were 4 games played in the ABA:

* The New York Nets beat the Utah Stars, 105-89 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Denver Nuggets, 117-99 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Indiana Pacers, 129-121 in double overtime at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. James Silas scored 40 points. This was the Pacers' 1st game there, and they would play there until 1999.

* And the Memphis Sounds beat the Spirits of St. Louis, 97-92 at the St. Louis Arena.

The World Series was won the night before, with the Oakland Athletics beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games. There was 1 game in the NHL: The Atlanta Flames beat the Kansas City Scouts, 4-2 at The Omni in Atlanta. And there were 4 games in the WHA:

* The Toronto Toros beat the Indianapolis Racers, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-0 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* The Phoenix Roadrunners beat the Houston Aeros, 6-4 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* And the Chicago Cougars beat the Vancouver Blazers, 2-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.