September 28, 1994: The Sinking of MS Estonia

September 28, 1994: MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, killing 852 people – including 50 Swedes, 285 Estonians, 1 Canadian and 1 Englishman, but no Americans. There were 137 survivors.

The "cruiseferry" was built in 1980, for the Finnish shipping company Rederi Ab Sally. It was employed on ferry routes between Finland and Sweden by various companies, under the names Viking Sally until 1990, Silja Star until 1991, and then Wasa King until 1993.

At that point, it was sold to Nordström & Thulin, for use on Estline's Tallinn-Stockholm route. The 263-mile ferry trip usually takes about 10 1/2 hours. But on September 28, 1994, according to an official inquiry, failure of the locks on the bow visor caused water to flood the car deck, and quickly capsize the ship.

It remains the worst peacetime maritime disaster in European waters. Memorials have been dedicated in both terminal cities.

*

September 28, 1994 was a Wednesday. Baseball's Strike of '94 was on, football was in midweek, and it was too early for the NBA and NHL seasons to be playing.

But there were games in European soccer's UEFA Champions League, and, since this was an event in Europe, those results are worth posting:

* The most controversial of these games was played at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, a.k.a. the San Siro, in Milan, Italy, AC Milan were playing Austrian team Casino Salzburg, when Casino's goalkeeper, Otto Konrad, was hit on the head with a plastic bottle thrown from the stands. He had to be substituted and taken to the hospital. Milan won, 3-0, but, as punishment for failing to control their fans, UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, docked them 2 points in the CL table, and were banned from playing their next 2 official home matches at the San Siro.

* Manchester United and Galatasaray played to a draw, 0-0 at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Gala's home, in Istanbul, Turkey.

* SL Benfica beat RSC Anderlecht of Belgium, 3-1 at the old Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

* IFK Göteborg beat FC Barcelona, 2-1 at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden.

* Bayern Munich beat Dynamo Kyiv, 1-0 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany.

* AFC Ajax, of Amsterdam, beat AEK Athens, 2-1 at Nikos Goumas Stadium in Athens, Greece.

* Hajduk Split of Croatia beat Steaua București, 1-0 at Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest, Romania.

* And Paris Saint-Germain beat Spartak Moscow, 2-1 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

August 31, 1994: The Russians Pull Their Last Troops Out of the Baltics

August 31, 1994: The Russian Federation pulls the last of its armed forces out of the "Baltic States": Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. These countries had gained their independence from the Russian Empire after World War I, but it didn't last.

On September 28, 1939, under threat of invasion, Estonia signed a treaty of "mutual assistance" with the Soviet Union, which allowed the establishment of Soviet military bases there. Latvia, under similar duress, did so on October 5; Lithuania, on October 10.

On June 14, 1940, the day the Nazis marched into Paris, the Soviets issued an ultimatum to Lithuania, demanding the replacement of the Lithuanian government, and that the Red Army be allowed into the country. The government decided that, with Soviet bases already in Lithuania, armed resistance was impossible and accepted the ultimatum.

The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on August 3, 1940; the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic followed on August 5; the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, on August 6.

During the Eastern European phase of World War II, which the Soviets named the Great Patriotic War, the Nazis killed 120,000 people in Lithuania, 85,000 in Latvia, 10,000 in Estonia.

With the Eastern European revolutions of 1989 in mind, on March 11, 1990, Lithuania's Supreme Council declared independence from the Soviet Union. Latvia did the same on May 4. The Soviets responded with military force, but Lithuania fought them to a stalemate. Latvia's independence was recognized by the United Nations on August 21, 1991, followed by Lithuania's and Estonia's on September 17.

On December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved. On August 31, 1993, the last Russian troops left Lithuania. A year later, the last Russian troops were pulled out of Latvia and Estonia.

*

August 31, 1994 was a Tuesday. Major League Baseball was the only North American sports league that was supposed to be in its regular season, but the Strike of '94 had just begun. So there were no scores on this historic day.

August 23, 1989: The Baltic Way

The chain in Lithuania. Note the flag.

August 23, 1989: On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the Baltic Way, also known as the Chain of Freedom, was undertaken.

A human chain of about 2 million people stretched 420 miles between the capitals of the "Baltic States," which had been under Soviet rule since 1940, except for Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944: Vilnius, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; and Tallinn, Estonia.

For the most part, they got away with it: The Soviets responded with intense rhetoric, but no military or economic action.

But when these same countries tried to break away from the Soviet Union over the next 2 years, they were hit back, hard. But with their domestic situation in disarray, the Soviets couldn't continue, and had to fall back. Lithuania regained its independence on March 11, 1990. Latvia declared independence on May 4, 1990, but the Soviet Union did not recognize it until September 6, 1991, after the August Coup. Estonia's was recognized on August 20, 1991.

*

August 23, 1989 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. Mike Boddicker outpitched Andy Hawkins. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4. Dave Winfield missed the entire season due to a back injury.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. It took 3 Giant pitchers to pitch a 5 hit-shutout: Rick Reuschel allowed 3 hits over 6 innings, Craig Lefferts 2 over 2, and Steve Bedrosian pitched a perfect 9th. David Cone took the loss. Matt Williams hit a home run.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 1-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. This was one of the longest games ever played: 22 innings. Pascual Pérez pitched 8 innings for the Expos, and Orel Hershiser 7 for the Dodgers. Alfredo Griffin went 0-for-9 for the Dodgers, on top of an 0-for-4 the night before, his batting average dropping from .272 to .263 in 2 days. Rick Dempsey, better known as a good-fielding but not really good-hitting catcher for Baltimore, led off the top of the 22nd inning with a home run to end the scoreless duel.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Braves, 3-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4. So did Robin Yount. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Marty Clary pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-4 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 6-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Barry Bonds went 0-for-1 with 3 walk. No, he wasn't yet the big bulky slugger that he would become.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Rookie Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-5 at Wrigley Field in Cincinnati. This was Pete Rose's 4,219th game in a Major League Baseball uniform, as a player and/or a manager. It would also be his last.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-7 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 5-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Dave Stewart outpitched Kevin Brown. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-4 with a walk.