October 20, 1982: The Luzhniki Stadium Disaster

October 20, 1982: A UEFA Cup match was scheduled for the Grand Sports Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium, now named the Luzhniki Stadium. Spartak Moscow, the most popular sports team in the Soviet Union, hosted Dutch club HFC Haarlem. (In 2010, the UEFA Cup was rebranded as the UEFA Europa League.)

Unlike some other soccer disasters, including the Hillsborough Disaster in Sheffield, England in 1989, the problem this time wasn't errors or overreactions by the police, despite the reputation of law enforcement under Communism. Nor was it, as was also the case at Hillsborough, due to too many tickets being sold. Even by Russian standards, this was a cold day for October: 14 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit. As a result, a stadium that could then hold as many as 102,000 people sold only 16,643 tickets.

Lenin Stadium, as it appeared at the time

Contrast that with the 1967 NFL Championship Game, known as "the Ice Bowl": It was 13 below at kickoff, but Lambeau Field in Green Bay was still filled to its capacity at the time, 50,861. An NFL Films voiceover covering it for the 1986 video The NFL's Greatest Games said, "It is called 'Russian Winter,' the kind of cold that made Napoleon and Hitler flee in terror from the doorstop of Moscow. But in Green Bay, it is known as 'Packer Weather.'" Are Wisconsans tougher than Russians?

It is believed that only 100 fans had come from the Netherlands to support Haarlem, despite their having a young Ruud Gullit in their ranks. They won the Dutch league, the Eredivisie, in 1946 and had won promotion back into it in 1981 and qualified for the UEFA Cup in 1982. But they were relegated in 1990, and went bankrupt in 2010, and have had to start all over; the new club, named Haarlem Kennemerland, now plays in the Netherlands' 9th division.

Edgar Gess, a Tajik midfielder, scored in the 16th minute. The score remained 1-0 to Spartak nearly the rest of the way, and, not anticipating the poorly-supported visitors to get a late equalizer, hundreds of fans in the East Stand left their seats to leave the stadium and get to the Metro (Moscow's subway).

But in stoppage time, Georgian defender Sergei Shvetsov scored to make it 2-0. The fans leaving heard the remaining fans cheer, and, in what was long believed to be the same setup as the Ibrox Disaster in Glasgow, Scotland in 1971, many of them turned around to head back and see what happened. This led to fans bumping into each other on the stairwell and falling like dominoes.

There is an alternate theory that the reaction to Shvetsov's goal had nothing to do with it: Rather, it was a young woman losing a shoe, going back to pick it up, getting trampled, and a few fans stopping to help her, thus, in trying to make a bad situation better, instead making it far worse: Good Samaritanism gone horribly wrong.

Initially, the Soviet government announced that the number of fatalities was a mere 3. Some had speculated that it was as high as 340. It wasn't until the fall of the Soviet Union, and the declassification of many documents, that the true number of deaths was revealed: 66 -- oddly, the exact same number as the similar Ibrox Disaster. It remains the greatest sporting disaster ever to happen on the European continent.

Four stadium officials, including the stadium's director and its top police officer, were criminally charged. Two of them were never tried, due to illness. The other two were imprisoned for 3 years.

On November 3, the 2nd leg of the UEFA Cup tie was played in Haarlem. Despite Haarlem taking a 1-0 lead, Spartak won the game 3-1, including another goal by Shvetsov, won the tie 5-1, and advanced. On October 20, 2007, the 25th Anniversary, the players gathered at Luzhniki Stadium again, playing a memorial match for charity.

Built in 1956, the Luzhniki Stadium was the main stadium for the 1980 Olympics. Lenin's name was removed in 1992, following the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1996, the stadium was made all-seater, cutting capacity to 81,000, and a roof was added. In 2013, the stadium was demolished, with a new stadium built on the site, opening in 2017, for the 2018 World Cup, whose Final it hosted, with France beating Croatia.

The Luzhniki Stadium today. The building at the left is the Palace of Sport,

which hosted the Soviet side of the 1972 hockey "Summit Series."

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October 20, 1982 was a Wednesday. It was midweek for American football. The NBA regular season wouldn't start for another 9 days.

But on this day, Game 7 of the World Series was played at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. I have a separate entry for this event. The Cardinals, including birthday boy Keith Hernandez, rallied for 3 runs in the 6th innings, to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-3. As far as I know, Hernandez is the only player ever to appear on the winning side of a World Series-winning game on his birthday.

This "pitch invasion" did not result in any injuries.

The Cardinals won their 9th World Series, a total surpassed only by the Yankees. Since then, if you combine their Philadelphia and Oakland titles, it has been matched by the Athletics, although the Cards have now made it 11.

And 8 games were played in the new National Hockey League season:

* The New Jersey Devils, having debuted on October 5, lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 7-4 at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-5 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 3-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-0 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. 

September 29, 1982: The Ballad of Fedya Cherenkov

September 29, 1982: Arsenal Football Club are stunned by Spartak Moscow, 5-2 in a UEFA Cup match at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. Spartak are sparked by Fyodor Cherenkov, perhaps the most popular soccer player in Russian history. The following season, he will lead them past another English team in a UEFA Cup match, Birmingham team Aston Villa.

Fyodor Fyodorovich Cherenkov was born on July 25, 1959 in Moscow. A midfielder, "Fedya" had joined the youth setup at Spartak in 1971, and reached the senior team in 1977. He helped them win the Soviet Top League in 1979, 1987 and 1989, and the Russian Premier League in 1993 and the Russian Cup in 1994. He was named Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1983 and 1989. 

Because of the decline of Soviet football from its 1960s heights (winning the 1st European Championship in 1960 and finishing 3rd at the 1966 World Cup), Cherenkov never played in a World Cup. But English fans noticed him because of those wins over Arsenal and Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup. He led the Soviet team to the Bronze Medal in the 1980 Olympics in his hometown. (Czechoslovakia won the Gold Medal.)

In his book Spartak: A History of the People's Team in the Workers' State, Robert Edelman described him as "the longest-serving and most beloved of all Spartakovsky":

Navigating between midfield and forward, he played with an originality and eccentricity that endeared him to the public. Cherenkov was an enigmatic and fragile personality whose capacity for unexpected improvisation fit the Spartak image of the player as romantic artist.

A true original, he was the embodiment of what many of Spartak's male Moscow supporters liked to believe about themselves. Lacking great speed but quick on his feet, small of stature but possessed of great guile, Cherenkov seemed to practice a new kind of masculinity, that of the urban trickster. By the time his Spartak career was over, he was the leading point producer (goal plus pass) in the team's history.

"The urban trickster" -- shares of Brazilian soccer's malandro. Michael Yokhin, a Russian who writes on soccer for ESPN, eulogized him on their web page:

Fyodor Cherenkov was the ultimate Russian legend, the most idolized player of all time, and the greatest artist imaginable. He was a ray of light in a ruthless and cynical world, a source of pure joy, and a reminder how people should behave. His death at the age of 55 is a great loss.

Cherenkov was loved by everyone, which is surprising, considering he was a Spartak Moscow hero. They are the most popular team in Russia, and thus, naturally, one of the most hated.

Usually, their players are loathed by Dynamo Kiev, CSKA (Moscow) and Zenit (St. Petersburg) fans, but not Cherenkov. He was universally admired, and Spartak away games were celebrated all over the country as people just wanted to go and watch him play.

Fyodor Cherenkov died on October 4, 2014 in Moscow, as a result of complications from a head injury sustained in a fall. He was only 55 years old, and was coaching the Spartak youth teams at the time. A statue of him has been erected at the team's new Otkrytie Stadium, and one of its stands bears his name.

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September 29, 1982 was a Wednesday. This was also the day the "Tylenol Murders" began. I have a separate entry for this event.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 13-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Ken Griffey Sr. went 4-for-4 with 5 RBIs, Jerry Mumphrey went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs, and Dave Winfield went 1-for-5, with rookie Don Mattingly driving in a run with a sacrifice fly, all in support of Jay Howell. Nevertheless, the dynasty of 1976-81 was over, as the Yankees had their worst season since 1967.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Bill Buckner hit a home run. I don't know if it was his best day at Shea, but the worst was yet to come.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. For the Brew Crew, on their way to their 1st Pennant, Don Money and Ned Yost hit home runs. Robin Yount went 0-for-2, but drew 2 walks and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with a walk. For the BoSox, Jim Rice and Gary Allenson homered, and Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 4-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. It was Win Day: Steve Carlton pitched a 2-hit shutout. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Pete Rose went 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Gary Ward went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, in support of Brad Havens, who allowed 9 hits bur kept the shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell, in his last week as an active player, did not get into the game. In spite of this loss, the Cardinals went on to win the World Series, beating the Brewers in 7 games.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4, but Cal Ripken hit a home run.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. For the Angels, Reggie Jackson and Don Baylor hit home runs, and Rod Carew went 2-for-4.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Terry Kennedy singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Braves scored 2 runs in the top of the 12th, while the Dodgers could only score 1 in the bottom half.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 6-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

March 20, 1942: The Starostin Brothers Are Arrested

A young Nikolai Starostin

March 20, 1942: Nikolai Starostin, age 40, is arrested in Moscow. So is his brother, Aleksandr Starostin, 39. So is their brother, Andrey Starostin, 36. So is their brother, Pyotr Starostin, 33.

The charge was conspiracy to kill Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. All 4 of them were, of course, innocent. Eventually, the charge was changed to "lauding bourgeois sport and attempting to drag bourgeois mores into Soviet sport."

All 4 brothers were among the top soccer players in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. In 1934, Nikolai founded Football Club Spartak Moscow, named for Spartacus, leader of a slave revolt in ancient Rome. Compared to CSKA Moscow, the team of the Central Red Army, and Dynamo Moscow, run by the secret police, Spartak seemed to represent the common people of the Soviet capital. (In 2009, Robert Edelman, a history professor who had lived in the Soviet Union, teaching English for a few years, published a book titled Spartak Moscow: A History of the People's Team in the Worker's State.)

And, just as countries later falling under the Soviet sphere would name their army-sponsored teams CSKA and their secret police-based teams Dynamo, there would be teams named Spartak.

It should be noted that, being run by the secret police, Dynamo Moscow were run by Lavrenty Beria, and he didn't like that Spartak was beating Dynamo. So he set the Starostin brothers up. After being held for 2 years, the charge was changed to the nonsense about "bourgeois sport." Specifically, they were convicted of stealing sporting goods from the stores they were supposed to oversee in their "real jobs," and selling them at a profit: Nikolai for 28,000 rubles, Aleksandr for 12,000, and Andrey and Pyotr for 6,000 each.

Because of their celebrity, the brothers were treated comparatively well in the gulag. In 1948, after 6 years, Vasily Stalin, the dictator's son and commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, got them released, mainly so Nikolai could coach the newly-formed air force team, VVS Moscow.

In 1953, Joseph Stalin died, and, in the aftermath, Beria was executed. And VVS were dissolved. The new regime of Nikita Khrushchev appointed Nikolai manager of the Soviet national team. After 2 years, he was permitted to return to Spartak.

An old, restored Nikolai Starostin

Aleksnder Starostin died in 1981, at the age of 78. Andrey died in 1987, at 81. The other brothers lived to see the fall of the Soviet Union. Pyotr died in 1993, at 84. And Nikolai died in 1996, at 94.

Spartak won the Soviet Top League 11 times, and have won the Russian Premier League 11 times. The combined total of 22 titles is 1st among Russian teams. They won the Soviet Cup 9 times, and have won the Russian Cup 5 times, for a combined total of 14, also a record.

(There were teams from outside Russia that won the Soviet Top League. From Ukraine: Dynamo Kyiv in 1961, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986 and 1990; Zorya Luhansk in 1971; Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in 1983 and 1988. From Georgia: Dinamo Tbilisi in 1964, 1978. From Belarus: Dinamo Minsk in 1982.)

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March 20, 1942 was a Friday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL was between the end of its regular season and the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So there were no scores on this historic day.