September 11, 1969: The Sino-Soviet Border Conflict Is Settled

The Soviet Union in purple, China in gold.

With neighboring Mongolia in stripes,

North Korea in red, and Japan in orange.

September 11, 1969: This may well have been the most consequential September 11 in human history, more so even than in 2001. Because there was a Sino-Soviet Border Conflict, and it was getting bad.

On August 13, 1969, President Richard Nixon received a President’s Daily Briefing. In it, the CIA described the conflict, also known as the Ussuri River Conflict, as having "explosive potential," and that "the potential for a war between them clearly exists," including a Soviet attack on Chinese nuclear facilities; while China "appears to view the USSR as its most immediate enemy."

In other words, at this point, each is the other's biggest enemy at the moment, not America or any other Western democracy in either case. For the moment, there seemed little Nixon could do except keep an eye on things.

On September 11, returning from the funeral of North Vietnamese dictator Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin lands in Beijing, and meets with his Chinese counterpart, Zhou Enlai. They manage to straighten things out. In the conflict, the Chinese lost about 100 men; the Soviets, about 300.

But, knowing that the Sino-Soviet split was that bad, Nixon realized that he could "triangulate" them off each other. In 1971 and 1972, he set up meetings with the leaders of both countries, and visited first Beijing in February 1972, meeting Zhou and Mao Zedong; then Moscow, meeting Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev. He got agreements from both sides: The SALT and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaties with the Soviet Union, and an "opening" with China that included their assistance in the peace talks between their ally, North Vietnam, and America's ally, South Vietnam.

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September 11, 1969 was a Thursday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 7-3 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Jim Hannan outpitched Stan Bahnsen. Mike Epstein and Brant Alyea hit home runs for the Senators, while Joe Pepitone and Bobby Murcer hit them for the Yankees. Rookie catcher Thurman Munson went 3-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 4-0 at Shea Stadium. Gary Gentry pitched a 6-hit shutout. The Mets were 2 days past "The Black Cat Game," 13 days short of their 1st-ever 1st-place clinch, 25 days short of their 1st Pennant, and 35 days short of completing their "Miracle."

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Dick Allen, getting booed every day by the home fans, hit a home run. Ernie Banks and Willie Smith homered for the "September Swooning" Cubs. On October 7, Allen would be traded for Curt Flood, and, for once, he wouldn't be the most controversial player involved in an action.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave McNally outpitched Lee Stange. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4. Rico Petrocelli hit a home run for the Red Sox, while Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-3 at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Willie McCovey hit 2 home runs. Willie Mays went 0-for-3 with a walk. For the Braves, Hank Aaron hit his 551st career home run.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Veale outpitched Steve Carlton. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-3 with a walk. Willie Stargell went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Luis Tiant outpitched Denny McLain. Al Kaline did not play for the Tigers.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 6-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Joe Horlen pitched a 3-hit shutout. Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Claude Osteen pitched a 4-hit shutout, outpitching Don Wilson.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angeles, 3-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Wally Bunker allowed only 1 hit, a single to Jay Johnstone in the 7th.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Pilots, 6-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. Sal Bando and Bob Johnson homered for the A's. Reggie Jackson did not play.

March 2, 1969: The Ussuri River Skirmish

March 2, 1969: The Ussuri River Skirmish begins. It lasts until September, when Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, on his way home from the funeral of North Vietnamese dictator Ho Chi Minh, met with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in Beijing, and they decided to stop the fighting and keep the prewar borders.

Most Americans, taught to believe that the Communist world was completely united against them, didn't know at the time that this conflict was even happening. Nor were most Americans aware of "the Sino-Soviet Split," which occurred sometime after Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 "de-Stalinization" speech, to which Mao Zedong, still overall in charge of mainland China by 1969, did not react kindly.

For most Americans who were watching the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China from 1964 onward, when China got the atomic bomb, the fear was that either one of them would start World War III by launching nuclear missiles at us. It didn't occur to most of us that they could go to war with each other.

There were, however, some people who did think of it. Australian writer Morris West published The Shoes of the Fisherman in 1963. Robert J. Serling, brother of Twilight Zone creator and host Rod Serling, published The President's Plane Is Missing in 1967. Both came out before the Ussuri River Skirmish. These were filmed in 1968 and 1973, respectively. Both featured a protagonist (a new Pope in the former, the President of the United States in the latter), trying to prevent a dispute between the Soviets and the Chinese from turning into World War III.

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March 2, 1969 was a Sunday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-92 at the Boston Garden. Jerry Sloan, later the Hall of Fame coach of the Utah Jazz, scored 36 points in defeat for the Bulls.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 112-108 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum (now the McCamish Pavilion) in Atlanta.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons, 126-112 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit. Hal Greer scored 39 for the Sixers.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Francisco Warriors -- not then, and still not now, much of a rivalry despite the usual rivalry between the cities -- 107-92 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

There were 5 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets lost to the Kentucky Colonels, 106-94 at the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Mavericks, 133-128 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis. Mel Daniels scored 39 points for the Pacers.

* The Miami Floridians beat the Minnesota Pipers, 136-132 in overtime at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Les Hunter scored 32 for the Floridians, Charlie Williams 39 for the Pipers.

* The Denver Rockets beat the New Orleans Buccaneers, 147-120 at the Denver Auditorium Arena. Larry Jones scored 37 for the Rockets, who became the Denver Nuggets in 1974, in anticipation of being admitted to the NBA, who already had the Houston Rockets.

* And the Dallas Chaparrals beat the Los Angeles Stars, 112-95 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0 at the Boston Garden.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* And the Philadelphia Flyers and the Oakland Seals played to a tie, 4-4 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

February 21, 1972: President Richard Nixon visits China

February 21, 1972, approximately 9:00 AM local time (8:00 PM February 20 on the U.S. East Coast): Air Force One touches down in Shanghai, beginning the visit of President Richard Nixon, and First Lady Pat Nixon, to the People's Republic of China.

This would have seemed impossible until very recently. Nixon had made his political name as one of the foremost anti-Communists in the U.S. Congress, and had remained a dedicated Cold Warrior. Nominated for Vice President by the Republican Party in 1952, he pointed to the Communist Revolution in China in 1949, on the watch of President Harry S Truman, a Democrat, and was one of many Republicans who asked the key question: "Who lost China?"

President Chiang Kai-shek, the country's corrupt dictator, lost China. Not Truman, or any official working for him. (The Republicans tended to rotate the blame among those officials.) Things had gotten to the point where the Communists, led by Mao Zedong (his name usually written as "Mao Tse-tung" in those days), seemed to the people of China like the better option.

In 1960, after years of threatening the offshore island of Taiwan, to which Chiang and his Nationalists had fled, 2 much smaller islands, Quemoy and Matsu, were threated by mainland China, or "Red China." Those islands became a key part of that year's Presidential debates between Vice President Nixon, now nominated for President, and the Democratic nominee, Senator John F. Kennedy.

President Kennedy and, after his assassination, President Lyndon B. Johnson were accused by Republicans of being "soft on Communism," including Red China, including not going harder in the Vietnam War for fear of angering the much larger nation. In 1964, on LBJ's watch, China "joined the club": They successfully tested a nuclear weapon.

Nixon tried again in 1968, and was elected President. On July 15, 1971, he stunned the world by announcing that an agreement had been reached for him to visit China the following year. The world's most famous anti-Communist visiting the world's largest Communist nation? He may have been the only President, or potential President, with the credibility to do it.

Nixon was met by Chinese officials upon touching down in Shanghai, and then made the final leg of the flight to the capital, formerly known in the West as Peiping, then known as Peking, now Beijing. He was met by Premier Zhou Enlai (whose name was then usually written in the West as Chou En-Lai).

That afternoon, Nixon met with Chairman Mao. Knowing that Mao had led a successful revolution, and was a student of history, Nixon asked him about an event that began 183 years earlier: "What do you think of the French Revolution?" Mao, taking the long view as many Asian leaders tend to do, said, "It is too soon to tell."

That night, Zhou hosted Mr. and Mrs. Nixon at a banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Nixon and Zhou met each day of the tour, and visited the Great Wall on February 24. On the 27th, Nixon and Zhou released the Shanghai Communiqué, announcing their intention to work toward the normalization of their relations, without affirming the status of Taiwan. The archconservative wing of the Republican Party never forgave Nixon for this. The Nixons returned to America the next day.

Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev took notice of Nixon's outreach to China, and, not wanting China to surpass his country as America's foreign policy priority, invited him to Moscow for a summit. On May 26, Nixon and Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement, what became known as SALT I, including the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty that lasted for 30 years.

By "triangulating" the Soviets and the Red Chinese against each other, Nixon achieved more to bring the Cold War to a victory for the West in 3 months than any other President did in 4 or even 8 years. Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan did what they had to do to stand up to the Soviets; and Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan each took steps toward "thawing the Cold War."

But Nixon, with the aid of National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger -- whom he trusted more than, and eventually appointed to replace, Secretary of State William P. Rogers -- showed the kind of deft operation that made all further Cold War gains considerably easier to achieve.

As this was going on, the Democratic candidates to replace Nixon were campaigning in the New Hampshire Primary, and looked weak and indecisive by comparison. Nixon essentially won the election in China.

Unfortunately, he didn't see it that way, and took the actions that led to the Watergate break-in in June. Had he been as smart at running his re-election campaign as he was at running his foreign policy, he would have been able to serve out his 2nd term. Instead, he had to resign about halfway through it, because he made himself a crook.

In the years to come, "Nixon goes to China" became a phrase meaning, "This person is the only person who could do this action." It was used when Ronald Reagan, also an intense anti-Communist, signed a treaty with the Soviet Union, reducing each country's nuclear stockpile. It was used when Bill Clinton, a very liberal Democratic President, signed a welfare reform bill. And it was used in Britain, when Tony Blair, the 1st Labour Party leader to become Prime Minister in a generation, fused traditional Labourite ideas with those of the Conservative Party to form a "Third Way."

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February 21, 1972 was a Monday. Baseball and football were out of season. And no NHL games were played that day. Only 1 game was played in the NBA: The Baltimore Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 102-101 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena). Archie Clark scored 30 points for the Bullets, the team now known as the Washington Wizards.

There were 2 games played in the American Basketball Association. The New York Nets beat the Dallas Chaparrals, 104-95 at the brand-new Nassau Coliseum. And the Utah Stars beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 149-140 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

Zelmo Beaty scored 63 points for the Stars. That was a new ABA record, but it didn't last long: Larry Miller scored 67 for the Carolina Cougars against the Memphis Pros on March 18. At the time, that was a record, in any league, for a guard. Beaty also had 15 rebounds.

The Condors folded at the end of the season. The Chaps became the San Antonio Spurs in 1973. They, the Nets, the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers were brought into the NBA in 1976. The Stars moved to become the Spirits of St. Louis in 1974, and were not part of the 1976 mini-merger.