October 12, 1915: The Martyrdom of Edith Cavell

October 12, 1915: Edith Cavell is executed for treason in Brussels, Belgium. The English nurse's crime was saving the lives of soldiers from both sides of World War I, without discrimination, and helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.

She was born on December 4, 1865 in Swardeston, Norfolk, East Anglia, England. After a period as a governess, including for a family in the Belgian capital of Brussels from 1890 to 1895, Cavell returned home to care for her father during a serious illness. The experience led her to become a nurse after her father's recovery.

She was already considered a pioneer of nursing in Belgium when World War I broke out in August 1914. In November, after Germany occupied Brussels, Cavell began sheltering British soldiers, and funnelling them out of occupied Belgium to the Netherlands, which was neutral in the war.

This placed Cavell in violation of German military law, and she was arrested on August 3, 1915. The night before her execution, she was permitted to take Communion, and she said, "Patriotism is not enough," and, "I can't stop while there are lives to be saved." She was 49 years old.

She became an iconic propaganda figure for military recruitment in Britain, and to help increase favorable sentiment towards the Allies in the United States. Along with the invasion of Belgium, and the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, Cavell's execution was widely publicized in both Britain and North America by Wellington House, the British War Propaganda Bureau.

She was a popular icon because of her sex, her nursing profession, and her apparently heroic approach to death. Her execution was represented as an act of German barbarism and moral depravity, at variance with Cavell's own clearly stated wish to have "no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." She is and is celebrated as a saint by the Church of England. 

Doctors have ignored nationality to aid patients. Bert Shepard, a former minor-league pitcher, who lost a leg when his plane was shot down over Germany in World War II, was treated by a German doctor. He eventually pitched a game for the Washington Senators on a prosthesis. Nearly 50 years later, he went to Germany and was reunited with the doctor who saved his life.

On the TV show M*A*S*H, set during the Korean War in the early 1950s, Hawkeye (Alan Alda) was sometimes admonished for operating on Chinese and North Korean soldiers wounded more severely than American soldiers. He didn't care, saying, "All blood is red." In both of these cases, Edith Cavell would have approved.

Another British person of note to die as a result of the war on this day was Captain Charles H. Sorley, a Scottish poet. He was killed in action in the Battle of Loos, in Hulluch, France, near the border with Belgium. He was only 20.

He wrote this, titled "To Germany":

You are blind like us. Your hurt no man designed,

And no man claimed the conquest of your land.

But gropers both through fields of thought confined

We stumble and we do not understand.

You only saw your future bigly planned,

And we, the tapering paths of our own mind,

And in each other's dearest ways we stand,

And hiss and hate. And the blind fight the blind.

When it is peace, then we may view again

With new-won eyes each other's truer form

And wonder. Grown more loving-kind and warm

We'll grasp firm hands and laugh at the old pain,

When it is peace. But until peace, the storm

The darkness and the thunder and the rain.

*

October 12, 1915 was a Tuesday. There was one score on this historic day, and it was in Game 4 of the World Series. The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1. Ernie Shore outpitched George Chalmers. The Sox wrapped the title up the next day, 4 games to 1.

The previous year, while waiting for their 40,000-seat Braves Field to be completed, the Boston Braves abandoned their 10,000-seat South End Grounds, and rented Fenway Park from the Red Sox for the rest of the season, including the World Series. Braves Field opened on August 18, 1915, and, since it was larger than Fenway, the Braves returned the favor, and the Red Sox played their "home" games of the 1915, 1916 and 1918 World Series at Braves Field. While they played their home games at brand-new Fenway Park in 1912, it would be 1946 before they hosted another Series game there.

May 29, 1985: The Heysel Stadium Disaster

May 29, 1985: The European Cup Final is held at the Heysel Stadium, the national stadium of Belgium in Brussels. It should not have been played there. And, while pregame ceremonies were already underway, it should have been canceled.

In the 1983-84 season, Liverpool F.C., a power in English football for the preceding 20 years, won the Football League, and also the European Cup -- the competitions now known as the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, respectively. Winning either one would have qualified them for the 1984-85 European Cup.

But the 1984 Final was tainted. The Finals are set for neutral sites, much like American football's Super Bowls, but that year's final was set for the Stadio Olimpico in Rome -- and one of that stadium's teams, A.S. Roma, advanced to the Final.

Liverpool beat them, but not before their fans were attacked by Roma thugs, many of them doing not drive-by shootings, but drive-by slashings, riding those little Italian motor scooters past anyone who looked English, and reaching out with switchblade knives.

So when the 1985 European Cup Final turned out to be Liverpool against another Italian team, Turin-based Juventus F.C., the Scouse fans were ready for it.

The game was played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, which was in bad shape and unfit to host such an important event. I've talked to Arsenal F.C. fans who were there for the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, where they lost to Spanish club Valencia CF, and they said it was in bad shape then.

Each team, at the time, was the most hated in the country. Sure, they were the most successful, and that attracted gloryhunters ("frontrunners," as we would say in America), as with American sports teams like the New York Yankees and the football team at the University of Notre Dame; but also many people who were sick of these teams' successes.

A common saying in Italy is, "Amo il calcio, quindi odio Il Juve" -- "I love football, therefore I hate Juventus." Fans of the Rome teams, A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio -- and fans of the Milan teams, A.C. Milan and Internazionale Milano -- will even support their arch-rivals against Juventus. It's called gufare, meaning "to support against": A Milan fan won't support Inter, but he will support against Juve.

Likewise, many English fans' "second team" became Everton F.C., the blue club in Liverpool, or Manchester United, Liverpool's most frequent challenger for national honors. When United finally surpassed Liverpool's record total of League titles, with their 19th in 2011, many celebrated the fact that United had, as their manager Sir Alex Ferguson had said he would do, "knocked Liverpool off their fucking perch." ("Perch" because Liverpool's symbol is a bird, a "Liverbird.")

So, for the 1985 European Cup Final, there were millions of people in the British Isles rooting for Liverpool, but also millions of others rooting for Juventus. Likewise, there were millions in Italy rooting for Juventus, but also millions rooting for Liverpool. And the memory of the fan clashes prior to the previous year's Final was still fresh in everyone's memories.

It's worth noting that 1985 was the depth of England's issue with soccer hooligans. This included the Millwall-Luton riot in an FA Cup Quarterfinal on March 13.

Normally, before a football match, to avoid something like that, barriers are put up to keep each teams' fans in their own separate sections. This time, however, there was a neutral zone, ostensibly set aside for locals and neutrals, and there was no barrier between them and the Juventus fans, and no barrier between them and the Liverpool fans. As it turned out, it was mostly Juventus fans who occupied it.

At around 7:00 PM local time, a group of Liverpool fans ran toward them. Had the Juve fans stood their ground and fought, many of them might have gotten hurt, but it wouldn't have been as bad as what actually happened.

Instead, they ran, and many of them crashed into a wall, which collapsed. People and chunks of concrete fell onto people below, and 39 people died, and over 600 others were hurt.

At the other end of the stadium, Juventus fans began to riot in retaliation for the events in section Z. They stormed the pitch towards the Liverpool fans, and were stopped by the police. It took 2 hours to clear the field, meaning the game started over an hour late. 

Officials from UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, went into each team's locker room, and informed them of the disaster. Officials from both teams recommended that the game be canceled, as playing would be considered disrespectful to the dead. The Royal Belgian Football Association, responsible for staging the event, won the argument by saying that things might get worse between the sets of fans if the game were called off.

The respective team Captains, Liverpool right back Phil Neal and Juventus sweeper Gaetano Scirea, were given microphones to talk to their fans, and plead for calm. Over the years, Neal stuck by his belief that the game should have been called off.

The field was cleared, and the game kicked off at 8:15 PM, Central European Time -- 7:15 PM in Liverpool and the rest of the British Isles, 2:15 on the U.S. East Coast.Each team was in its traditional uniform: Liverpool in all red, Juventus in their black and white stripes, the Mersey Reds vs. the Bianconeri. Both teams were a bit subdued, not really wanting to play, and there were few highlights in the 1st half.

In the 56th minute, Juve's Polish striker, Zbigniew Boniek, was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by centreback Gary Gillespie, who wasn't even supposed to play, but came on as a substitute when Mark Lawrenson was hurt early in the game. Liverpool protested that the foul was outside the penalty area. André Daina, the Swiss referee, awarded the penalty anyway. It was taken by midfielder Michel Platini (despite his Italian roots, he was born and raised in France), and Juve were up 1-0.

In the 74th minute, Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan was brought down in the penalty area by midfielder Massimo Bonini. This time, Daina did not award a penalty. Questionable decisions like these gave rise to the belief, already long present in Italy and maintained to this day, that Juventus cheat, that they buy off referees. They are known as I Ladri: The Thieves.

There were chances for Liverpool the rest of the way, but nothing came of them. Juventus won. Platini took the European Cup. Fans all over Italy declared to it be a Coppa de Sangue: Cup of Blood, won practically on the dead bodies of their own fans.

Michel Platini and the Cup of Blood

Liverpool had previously won it in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, but this was Juve's 1st. They would win another in 1996, without the tragic circumstances, but have generally had bad luck in the tournament: Despite a record 36 Serie A titles, they are 2-7 in European Cup/Champions League Finals, including including 0-5 since the 1996 win. And this includes the 2003 Final, when they became the 1st team ever to lose the Final to a team from their own country, A.C. Milan. (That game was not played in Italy: It was played at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.) No team has lost more CL Finals.

UEFA had previously banned individual English clubs from playing in their various competitions, at first indefinitely, and then limiting it. This had happened to North London team Tottenham Hotspur after the 1974 UEFA Cup Final in Rotterdam, the Netherlands against Rotterdam club Feyenoord. It had also happened to Leeds United after the 1975 European Cup Final in Paris against Bayern Munich.

Both English clubs lost the games in question, and both had their bans lifted after 2 years. This time, instead of just sanctioning the team involved, UEFA banned all English clubs for 5 years, and tacked on an additional year for Liverpool.

This was punishment far beyond the offense: What did any other English club have to do with this? Were they blaming all English clubs for what one club did -- which it didn't actually do?

What did the British government do about this insult? Led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, they actually supported the decision. The Iron Lady (more like the Iron Bitch) hated sports, and particularly viewed football club supporters as undereducated, manners-lacking scum -- and likely to vote for her opponents in the Labour Party, rather than her own Conservative Party, anyway.

For this reason, football-mad areas such as Merseyside (home to Liverpool and Everton), Manchester, Birmingham (home to Birmingham City and Aston Villa), the North-East (home to Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough), and the cities of Scotland and Wales still tend to vote Labour: Because of a backlash against Thatcher that has lasted nearly 40 years, and has not abated since her death.

By this point, even English liberals were angry at Liverpool, blaming them for their clubs not being able to compete in the European Cup (then a tournament for the defending champions of the various countries' national leagues), or the UEFA Cup (for other high-placing teams), or the European Cup Winners' Cup (competed by the winners of the previous season's various national cups like the FA Cup).

The overreaction was staggering. True, 39 fans had died, but not one died as a result of a direct attack by one person on another. Contrary to what fans of teams that hate Liverpool still claim, the Liverpool fans were not, as opposing fans, especially of Manchester United, claim, "murderers."

An unexpected side effect was that Glasgow-based Rangers FC realized that the ban applied only to English clubs, not to British clubs or to English players. They signed several English players by offering them a chance to keep playing in Europe, and hoped that this would allow them to dominate the Scottish League over the next few years, and to win European tournaments.

They signed Ipswich Town centreback Terry Butcher, Tottenham centreback Graham Roberts, Everton's right back Gary Stevens and midfielder Trevor Steven, and former Nottingham Forest forward Trevor Francis and former Chelsea and Man United midfielder Ray Wilkins. (The latter two had gone to Italy in the interim, to keep playing in Europe.)

Results: They won the Scottish League in 1987, 1989 and 1990; and the League Cup in 1988 and 1989. However, they did not win the Scottish Cup. More to the point, they didn't win a European trophy during the Heysel ban. The closest they came was the Quarterfinals of the 1988 European Cup.

Between the Heysel ban (which wasn't entirely Liverpool fans' fault) and Liverpool's perennial success (in 1986 they won the Double), pretty much anybody who wasn't already a Liverpool fan hated Liverpool's guts. (In other words, they were then what Manchester United would become.) When the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster occurred in 1989, causing the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, some fans finally found sympathy with them -- but some doubled down on their hatred of the Mersey Reds, saying they got what they deserved, especially after Heysel.

Relations between Liverpool and Juventus have been cordial since, and the teams have played both European tournament games and friendlies (exhibition games), with some of the proceeds being donated to the families of the victims of Heysel and Hillsborough. This included a Champions League Quarterfinal on April 5, 2005, at Liverpool's home of Anfield, when a plaque was dedicated. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup that time, and in 2019, they made it 6 wins, more than any other British team.

Left to right: Phil Neal, Michel Platini, Ian Rush

Heysel Stadium was demolished in 1990. In 1995, the new King Baudouin Stadium was built on the site. It seats a little over 50,000 people.

It hosts matches for the Belgium national team, and hosted 5 games in the Euro 2000 tournament. As yet, however, it has not hosted the Final of any European tournament.

*

May 29, 1985 was a Wednesday. It was a day off in the Stanley Cup Finals. The next day, the Edmonton Oilers would win the Cup, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 in Game 5 of the Finals at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

It was also a day off in the NBA Finals. Two nights before, Game 1 was played at the Boston Garden, and it became known as the Memorial Day Massacre -- by people who had no idea of what would happen in Brussels 2 days later, and many of them may still not know that it ever occurred. The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 148-114. But it's not margin of victory that matters, only victory: On May 30, the Lakers won Game 2, 109-102. On June 9, in Game 6, the Lakers won, 111-100, becoming the 1st team other than the Celtics to clinch the NBA Championship at the Boston Garden.

Ordinarily, football would have been out of season. However, this was the 3rd and, as it turned out, final season of the United States Football League. Nevertheless, it was a Wednesday, and no games were played. But a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. Phil Niekro knuckleballed his way to 8 shutout innings, before the Halos got 2 runs off reliever Rich Bordi in the 9th. Reggie Jackson appeared as a pinch-hitter in that inning, and grounded into a double play to end the game. Rod Carew did not play.

The Yankees got home runs from Mike Pagliarulo and Omar Moreno. Dave Winfield went 1-for-4, and Don Mattingly went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with 2 walks, but was caught in his only stolen base attempt.

* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd pitched a 5-hit shutout. Wade Boggs went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 2-for-6 with a 2-run homer, and Eddie Murray went 1-for-5. But Darnell Coles won the game for the M's with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mario Soto pitched a 2-hit shutout. Reds manager Pete Rose did not put washed-up player Pete Rose in the game.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-4, Paul Molitor went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Ernie Riles and Jim Gantner hit home runs.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) George Brett hit a home run.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Nolan Ryan was the winning pitcher.

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. (It was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.) Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4.

May 17, 1974: The Only European Cup Final Replay

Ramón "Cacho" Heredia, left; and "Der Kaiser," Franz Beckenbauer

May 17, 1974: For the 1st time -- and, as it turns out, the only time -- a replay is required for the Final of the European Cup, the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League.

The teams involved were polar opposites. Defying West Germany's image as a dour, colorless, defense-first team -- the national team tended to wear all-white kits when they had the choice -- Bayern Munich had scored 20 goals in the 1st 4 ties (8 games) of the tournament, leading to the Final, and had allowed 14. In contrast, Atlético Madrid had scored only goals, but had allowed only 2. Both teams were in the Final for the 1st time.

On May 15, they played each other in the Final, at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Regular time ended scoreless. Luis Aragonés scored for Atlético on a free kick in extra time, the 114th minute, but Hans-Georg "Katsche" Schwarzenbeck scored for Bayern, from 30 yards out, in the 120th and final minute (minus stoppage time). A replay was in order, and was scheduled for the same venue, 2 nights later.

But the at-the-death goal gave Bayern the momentum. And one day's rest wasn't enough for Atlético: The majority of their side were aged over 30. The replay turned out to be no contest: Uli Hoeneß scored in the 28th and 82nd minutes, and Gerd Müller scored in the 56th and 69th. Bayern won, 4-0.

West Germany's team for the World Cup, on home soil, would include Bayern players Schwarzenbeck, Hoeneß, Müller, Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner and Jupp Kapellman. They won the tournament, beating the Netherlands in the Final, 2-1.

Prior to 1974, the only German team to reach the European Cup Final was Eintracht Frankfurt, in 1960, and they got pounded, 7-3 by Real Madrid. But from this point onward, Bayern would win 3 straight European Cups, and would perennially feature in the tournament; while it would be won by Hamburger SV in 1983, Borussia Dortmund in 1997; and Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen would also reach the Final.

While Real Madrid and Barcelona have been dominant sides in European Cup/Champions League play (the rebrand happened in 1992), other Spanish sides haven't been lucky. Atlético lost in the Final again in 2014 and 2016, both times to their crosstown rivals, Real Madrid. The only other Spanish side to reach the Final has been Valencia CF, and they lost to Real Madrid in 2000 and to Bayern in 2001.

UEFA soon abolished replays for tournament finals, instituting penalty kicks as the decider.

The Final would be held at Heysel again in 1985, with disastrous results, and I don’t mean a poorly-played game, although that did also happen.

*

May 17, 1974 was a Friday. It was a violent day, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and not due to any "football hooligans." In Compton, California, a shootout broke out between members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Symbionese Liberation Army terrorist group. The firing of tear gas canisters into the residence was followed by a fire that killed six of the SLA members.

The shootout and fire were broadcast on live television in Los Angeles, preempting national news programming. Three SLA members escaped: William and Emily Harris, and the 20-year-old socialite they had kidnapped, Patty Hearst. She and the Harrises were eventually arrested, convicted of their part in the Hearst kidnapping, and served time in prison.

And the Dublin and Monaghan bombings were carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force, when they explode four car bombs in counties Dublin and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. Their attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300, the highest number of casualties in any single event during "The Troubles." I have a separate entry to cover these 2 events.

Elsewhere in Ireland that day, in Dundalk, County Leith, Andrea Corr was born. She and her siblings formed music group The Corrs, and she was the lead singer.

Game 3 of the World Hockey Association Finals was played. The Houston Aeros, led by Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty, beat the Chicago Cougars, 7-4 at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston. They completed the sweep 2 days later.

Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 5 and 6. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Boston Bruins in Game 6, to win the Cup. The NBA Finals ended 5 days earlier, with the Boston Celtics beating the Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games. The ABA Finals ended 2 days before that, with the New York Nets beating the Utah Stars in 5 games.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. George "Doc" Medich outpitched Clyde Wright. Rookie Rick Dempsey caught for the Yankees instead of Thurman Munson. Rookie Robin Yount had a single and a sacrifice bunt before being pinch-hit for.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver pitched a 5-hit shutout, walking none, striking out 13. Rusty Staub hit a home run.

* The Baltimore Orioles led the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 after 6 innings at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, when the umpires called the game due to rain. Mike Cuellar had a 6-hit shutout going. Tommy Davis hit 2 home runs for the O's. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-3. For the Sox, Carl Yastrzemski also went 1-for-3.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline, in his last year as a player, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Reggie Jackson did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 2-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew each went 1-for-3 with a walk. Frank Robinson, then with the Angels, did not play in the game.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 9-8 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Rookie George Brett went 2-for-2 with 3 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Pete Rose went 2-for-5. Johnny Bench went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Lum doubled home the winning runs in the top of the 11th inning. Hank Aaron, then with 720 career home runs, went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Nate Colbert hit a grand slam. Rookie Dave Winfield went 0-for-3 with a walk, and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. For the Giants, Bobby Bonds went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The game was made up 2 days later, as part of a Sunday doubleheader. The Phils won the opener, 3-2. Jim Lonborg outpitched Dock Ellis. The Bucs won the nightcap, 2-1. Jerry Reuss outpitched Dick Ruthven. Over the 2 games, Mike Schmidt went 0-for-8, and Willie Stargell went 2-for-8 with an RBI.

February 15, 1961: The U.S. Figure Skating Team Crash

Laurence Owen

February 15, 1961: Sabena Flight 548 crashes near Brussels, Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches. This includes 16-year-old Laurence Owen, who had just won the U.S. women's singles championship, and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, dated just 2 days earlier. Her mother and her sister also died in the crash. This was one of the earliest and scariest examples of "The Dreaded SI Cover Jinx."

Later in the year, ABC would begin airing its sports anthology program Wide World of Sports. Throughout its 37-year run, it frequently covered figure skating. But there would be little American presence at major events like the World Championships and the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

It would take a long time for American skating to recover. Peggy Fleming’s Gold Medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics, in Grenoble, France, inspired Dorothy Hamill. But it was Hamill’s Gold Medal, in Innsbruck in 1976, that really got things going again.

*

February 15, 1961 was a Wednesday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA. The St. Louis Hawks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 135-98 at the Philadelphia Arena. Wilt Chamberlain led all scorers with 28 for the Warriors, but it was far from enough. And the New York Knicks beat the Syracuse Nationals, 129-127 in overtime at the old Madison Square Garden.

And there were 2 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium. And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto. The Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings were not scheduled.