February 19, 1928: The Magic of Sonja Henie

February 19, 1928: Sonia Henie wins the Gold Medal in Ladies' Figure Skating at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, in the Swiss Alps.

"Ladies" may have been a bit of a stretch: She was only 15 years old.

Sonia Henie -- apparently, her entire birth name -- was born on April 8, 1912, in Kristiana, the capital of Norway. The name of the city was changed to Oslo in 1925. Figure skating is an expensive sport to pursue, but her father, Wilhelm Henie was a wealthy furrier.

Just as importantly, he was an athlete, a world cycling champion in 1894, and he encouraged his children, Sonja and her older brother Leif, to take up sports. Sonia did well in tennis, swimming and equestrian events. But skating was where he true talent lay, and after seeing the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova perform in London, she tried to pattern her skating style after her. At the 1st Winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France in 1924, she finished 8th -- and she was only 11 years old.

More than any other region, the Alps have hosted the Winter Olympics: France, Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968, and Albertville in 1992; Switzerland, St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948; Germany, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936; Italy, Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006; and Austria, Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976. Indeed, except for Lake Placid, New York, in the U.S. in 1932, the Winter Games wouldn't be held outside the Alps until 1952, when they were held in Henie's hometown of Oslo.

For the 1928 Winter Games, the Opening Ceremony, on February 11, was hit by a blizzard. Then the opposite happened: The weather quickly warmed up, causing lots of problems, as most events were still outdoors.

Out of a possible 14 events, the U.S. won 2 Gold Medals: In the now-defunct event of the 5-man bobsled, and in the later-discontinued, since-restored event of skeleton, won by Jennison Heaton. In each case, Americans also won the Silver Medal. Switzerland won just 1 medal, a Bronze, which remains the worst performance ever by a host nation at an Olympic Games, Summer or Winter. Norway led the way with 15 Medals, 6 of them Gold, including Henie's.

Henie would also win in 1932, in Lake Placid; and in 1936, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Later in 1936, she starred in the film One In a Million, and made a living in professional skating shows and, for all intents and purposes, playing herself in movies, for which she was paid as much as anybody in Hollywood. The surviving footage shows that her moves would now be considered rather basic; but, at the time, nobody had ever seen anything like it.

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As a European celebrity of the 1930s, she made the acquaintance of the various national leaders of the time, including the Chancellor of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who was rather taken with her, and once gave her a photograph with an autograph and a long inscription. In spite of this, and in spite of her match for the Nordic physical ideal, there is no evidence that she ever accepted the Nazi philosophy.

She married 3 times, but had no children. Her 1st husband was Dan Topping, but she divorced him shortly after he became a part-owner of baseball's New York Yankees. Her 3rd husband was a Norwegian shipping magnate, Niels Onstad, and, together, they built a substantial art collection. She died of leukemia on October 12, 1969, only 57 years old.

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February 19, 1928 was a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. Professional basketball barely existed. There were 2 games in the NHL. The Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers, 2-0 at the new building that would eventually be known as "the old Madison Square Garden." And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Cougars, the team that would become known as the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

January 6, 1994: Harding vs. Kerrigan

January 6, 1994: Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked while preparing to compete in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, at Cobo Hall (now named Huntington Place) in downtown Detroit. It starts one of the greatest "soap operas" in the history of sports -- if, that is, you consider figure skating to be a "sport."

In 1989, at the U.S. Championships, Tonya Harding finished 3rd. In 1990, Kerrigan finished 4th. In 1991, Harding won, while Kerrigan finished 3rd. In 1992, Kerrigan was 2nd, Harding 3rd. In the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Kerrigan finished 3rd for the Bronze Medal, Harding 4th. In 1993, Kerrigan won the U.S. Championship, and Harding was 4th.

In 1994, a Winter Olympic year -- the 1st time it was held in the even-numbered year between Summer Olympic years, instead of in the same year -- both Kerrigan and Harding really, really wanted to win. It could be said that Harding wanted to win in the worst way.

After a practice session, Kerrigan was hit on the right leg, right above the knee, with a police baton. The attack was not captured on video, but its aftermath was, with Kerrigan sitting on the floor holding her knee, surrounded by attendants, and crying out, "Why?" over and over. "Why?... Why?... Why?... "

The assailant was soon captured, and identified as Shane Stant. He was hired by Jeff Gillooly, Harding's ex-husband -- in other words, they were already divorced. I won't get into Harding's personal life here, but that's some dedication to an ex.

Kerrigan had to drop out of the tournament, and Harding won it, with Michelle Kwan finishing 2nd. But the other skaters petitioned the U.S. Figure Skating Association to allow Kerrigan on the team anyway. Since 2 spots were available, Kerrigan was named along with Harding, with Kwan as an alternate, with the very real possibility that Harding could be disqualified.

The media firestorm was intense, and it has since been labeled an event that, had it happened during the era of social media, would have "broken the Internet." It meant that the ladies singles figure skating competition at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway would be among the most-watched sporting events in the history of American television, right up there with the most-watched Super Bowls, watched by more people than had ever watched a baseball game or a basketball game.

Harding had her own moment of tears when she had a problem with the laces on her skates, and could be heard begging for a re-skate: "Please!" She was awarded it, but she only finished 8th.

Say what you want about Tonya, but Karma can be a real bitch.

Kerrigan gave what she thought was the best performance of her life, and the American media, obviously wanting her to win, was nearly unanimous in its belief that she should have won the Gold Medal. She didn't: In a very close decision, the Gold Medal was awarded to Oksana Baiul of Ukraine, who had won the World Championship the year before. In other words: After all that, neither Kerrigan nor Harding won the Gold.

It looks as though gymnast McKayla Maroney,

born the next year, copied Nancy Kerrigan's facial expression.

But McKayla has an Olympic Gold Medal, while Nancy doesn't.

The fact that the final result of figure skating competitions is dependent upon judges, rather than tangible results like time, distance, or runs or points scored, is the reason I believe that, however athletic and artistic it might be, figure skating is not a sport.

Oksana Baiul

Kerrigan and Harding both turned professional after the Olympics, but Kerrigan was in demand on the pro skating circuit, and Harding was not. The USFSA banned her for life.

Harding denied any involvement in the planning of the attack, but later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder the prosecution. She served no jail time. Gilooly made a plea deal, ratting the others out, publicly apologized to Kerrigan, admitting that, "Any apology coming from me rings hollow," and served 2 years.

As of January 6, 2022, Kerrigan is 52 years old, married to her former manager, with 2 sons and a daughter. Harding, 51, is married for the 3rd time, and has a son with her 3rd husband. Baiul, 44, moved to the U.S. shortly after the Olympics, eventually settling in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She is married to her former manager, and has a daughter.

Harding competed on Celebrity Boxing, and did well; while Kerrigan, throwing all irony to the wind, competed on Dancing With the Stars, and was eliminated by the judges 7 weeks in. Baiul did ice shows until she needed to step aside due to a drinking problem, and became a fashion designer.

Although a native of the Boston area, and a Boston Red Sox fan -- she was invited to throw out the ceremonial first ball at Fenway Park for their 1994 home opener -- Nancy is not related to former Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan. Harding is not related to 1920s President Warren Harding.

Figure skating remains the most-watched Winter Olympic sport on American television, ahead of hockey, although it has never again reached the heights of attention that it did in the Winter of 1994.

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January 6, 1994 was a Thursday. Baseball was in the off-season. The NFL was in the week between the end of the regular season and the start of the Playoffs. There were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 92-86 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 116-110 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 102-98 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

And there were 6 games played in the NHL, none involving any of the New York Tri-State Area teams:

* The Boston Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4 at the Boston Garden. Ray Bourque, though a defenseman, had a goal and 3 assists. After assisting on the Bruins' last 5 goals in their previous game, an 8-2 home win over the Washington Capitals 4 days earlier, he had now had a hand in the Bruins' last 9 goals, and that remains an NHL record.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Hartford Whalers, 2-1 -- not at the St. Louis Arena or the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena), but in a neutral-site game, at The Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio. Playing games at neutral sites, as was done in 1992-93 and 1993-94, was understandable, as a way to grow the game. Why these teams, instead of a closer one like Pittsburgh or Detroit, had a game scheduled for the Cleveland suburbs, I don't know. I've looked for an attendance figure, but haven't found one.

* The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-2 at Chicago Stadium. The Ducks were in their expansion season, the Hawks in their 66th and last season at "The Madhouse on Madison."

* The Dallas Stars beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 8-0 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Brothers Neal and Paul Broten both scored for the Stars. Neal added 3 assists, Paul 1.

* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the San Jose Sharks, 10-3 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Center). Ray Sheppard and Vyacheslav Kozlov both had hat tricks. But the Sharks would eliminate the Wings from that season's Playoffs.