Sunday, February 19, 1984
The Lexington Herald-Leader
HOW WE GOT HERE
A timeline of the war's effects on the sports world up to today's final scheduled events:
January
29--a KLM airliner is shot down by an Warsaw Pact-affiliated interceptor plane. The Soviets deny responsibility.
The International Olympic Committee decides to postpone the Winter Olympics scheduled to begin February 8 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
30--The English Football Association, after discussion with U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, representatives of the Ministry of Defence, and representatives of MI5 and MI6 came to a policy that the FA schedule would postponed in the event that 10 Downing Street initiates Emergency Powers.
The West German Bundesliga, in consultation with the West German government, also followed the lead of the English FA.
In response, the Union of European Football Associations announced that all European Cup and UEFA Cup matches will be postponed and rescheduled at this time, due to the high possibility of teams having to travel across the Iron Curtain.
February
1--National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern (on his first day on the job succeeding Larry O'Brien) announced that the NBA schedule will continue day-to-day, after direct consultation with President Ronald Reagan.
2--The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) made their policy public: they would leave regular season competition and conference tournament decisions up to their member conferences. Winter season NCAA Championships, including basketball, will be contested as scheduled for the time being. Spring sports would also play as schedule for the time being.
3--National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) chief executive officer Bill France, in a press conference at Daytona International Speedway, confirmed that the February 19th running of the Daytona 500 is still on. Like the NBA and the NHL, NASCAR will make decisions as situations warrant them. Most teams are already in Daytona preparing for Daytona Speedweeks.
9--An incident between Soviet Spetsnaz agents and West German GSG-9 agents leaves four dead.
10--An explosion aboard an airplane carrying dependents of U.S. Air Force personnel explodes at the airport in Munich, West Germany; all onboard are lost. The U.S. moves to DEFCON2.
11--UEFA orders postponement for all European leagues. The "Big Four" leagues (FA First Division, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera, West German Bundesliga) called for the total continent-wide ban.
The Federation Internationale du Automobile (FIA) announced that calendars for all championships, including Formula 1, World Rally Championship and World Endurance Championship will be "provisionally postponed". The Rally of Sweden, was started Friday February 10 and will continue as scheduled.
Major League Baseball maintained their position in a statement that they will consult with the individual clubs and the Major League Baseball Players Association regarding suspension of play. Most teams are preparing to open spring training camps on Wednesday, February 15.
The Ivy League was the first NCAA Division I conference to suspend competition, with a unanimous vote of all eight member schools, effective Monday February 13.
12--NASCAR racing began at Daytona with the exhibition 50-mile 20-lap Busch Clash. Neil Bonnett won the all-star event, composed of pole position and race winners from the previous season.
Swede Stig Bloomquist and co-driver Bjorn Cederberg led an Audi Quattro sweep of the podium at the Rally of Sweden. France Michele Mouton with co-driver Fabrizia Pons was second. Swede Per Eklund with co-driver Dave Whitlock was third.
The Big Eight Conference announced that all competition would be postponed after February 12th, in anticipation of order school closings in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado over the next 5 days.
13-- The states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado order the closings of public schools and universities effective February 14th in Nebraska and Kansas, 15th in Oklahoma and 16th in Colorado. College conferences that have member schools in those states — the Midwestern City Conference; the Missouri Valley Conference; and the Western Athletic Conference; voted to suspend competition until further notice.
The sanctioning bodies of the high schools in those states and the NCAA Division I East Coast Conference, ECAC Metro, ECAC North Atlantic and ECAC South conferences followed suit.
DePaul, which will close its doors on the 14th, was the first of the major independents to suspend play; the Blue Demons, at 19-0, are the only unbeaten major college basketball team.
“Our players are hurt. They understand why the school made its decision, and are greatly concerned about the international situation, but they don’t like it. I don’t, either. I hear some schools are talking about playing in the spring, if things get better and the NCAA allows it. I just hope we have the chance.”—DePaul head coach Ray Meyer.
Boston College's men's basketball team plays what will be its last game, a 68-65 loss to Big East rival St. John's.
14--Following the lead of the Big Eight Conference, the Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference both voted to suspend play after games scheduled on Friday February 17, 1984. The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Southern Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference voted to suspend competition immediately.
The Associated Press men’s and women’s polls are released. North Carolina tops the men’s poll, followed by DePaul, Georgetown, Houston, UNLV and Kentucky. Texas is No. 1 in the women’s poll, followed by Louisiana Tech, USC, Georgia and Old Dominion. The United Press International coaches polls have the same top teams ranked in the same order.
They will turn out to be the final polls released by the AP and UPI.
The Pro Bowlers Association suspends its season indefinitely, beginning with Saturday’s True Value Open at Peoria, Illinois.
The ATP men’s tour opts to play the Congoleum Classic in La Quinta, California. The WTA tour cancelled the U.S. Women’s National Indoor Championship in East Hanover, N.J., and postponed its season indefinitely.
The San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles sections of the California Interscholastic Federation opt to suspend play effective immediately. The other seven CIF sections follow suit; with the regular season having ended, the postseason for basketball is officially suspended. The CIF releases a statement that the basketball playoffs could be pushed back as late as May, pending a resolution of international tensions and reasonable assurances of student and fan safety.
"Some of the kids want to play, of course, and they're all scared. Honestly, I'm scared, too. This is the right decision." -- Santa Ana Mater Dei boys' basketball coach Gary McKnight
Iowa, Missouri and New Mexico's high school sanctioning bodies also suspend competition. Many of the lower-profile major independents suspended play as well.
15 -- With the Soviet Union's announcement of an ultimatum to the NATO alliance. Major League Baseball ordered all teams to postpone spring training pending a resolution of the crisis. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn said the plans are in the works for a rescheduling of the season to play a full 162 game season, but there are also contingency plans for a 144-game slate if necessary. The minor leagues follow suit.
The Akai Gold Challenge men's tennis tournament, which was to start today in Sydney, Australia, was cancelled. Several international stars -- among them American John McEnroe; Czech Ivan Lendl; Argentine Guillermo Vilas; and Swede Mats Wilander -- had withdrew in the past two days.
Several international players, among them American Calvin Peete, withdrew from the Australian Masters golf tournament in Melbourne, scheduled to begin play this week.
The United States Football League announced it would postpone the start of its season to March 24, to allow for hostilities to cease, then play a shortened 14-game season.
Independents Notre Dame and Marquette and The Big Sky Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, Trans America Conference and the West Coast Conference voted to suspend play effective immediately as did all NCAA Division II and III and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) conferences and most minor independents.
Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming suspend high school athletic competition.
16--New York State governor Mario Cuomo closes all public schools in the state; the New York City public school league suspends competition indefinitely. The private schools follow suit. Arizona, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin also suspend high school competition.
The Major League Baseball Players Association announces that exhibition games for peace will be played at an unspecified number of American and National League stadiums Sunday, February 21, pending approval by the owners and local officials.
Nine MLB stadiums were announced as hosts for MLBPA games:
- Arlington Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
- Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, California
- Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California
- Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
- Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
The twin 125-mile qualifying races at Daytona are run in front of the largest crowd in history of the qualifying races which rivaled a Daytona 500 race crowd. Prior to the races there was a massive anti-Soviet demonstration outside of the Speedway in protest to the Soviet ultimatum to NATO.
"Today by racing, were going to send them Russians a message that they can kiss our American asses." -- NASCAR team owner Junior Johnson
The Atlantic 10 Conference and Mid-American Conference voted to suspend play immediately.
The Sun Belt Conference voted 7-1 to suspend play but allow member schools to schedule games against anyone who would play them, as a concession to Western Kentucky which cast the lone vote against suspending play.
Dayton, the last independent to still play, picked up three games against ACC opponents — at Georgia Tech tonight, at Virginia on Saturday and at North Carolina on Sunday. UNC was to host Maryland, but Maryland told the conference its administration had directed the Athletic department to end play after the 18th.
"It's a chance for our kids to play. They all voted for it, the administration and the athletic department is behind us, we have some fans following us. It's an opportunity to showcase our program against great competition. But we all hope they settle things over there peacefully, and we can get back to normal. Life is too precious."--Don Donoher, head coach of the Dayton men's basketball program.
"We all have what's going on in the back of our minds. Getting out there and playing helps us deal with that, and we're like every other team. We don't want it to end."--Larry Schellenberg, Dayton guard, from Floyds Knobs, Indiana
Georgia Tech, whose game against Metro Conference member South Carolina on the 16th had been cancelled, picked up Dayton as a replacement. The Yellow Jackets' season ended with a 73-64 win.
The PGA's Los Angeles Open begins at Riveria Country Club and will play three rounds, with Sunday's final round being cancelled. Eleven players withdraw before play begins, citing safety concerns. Four will withdraw after Thursday's opening round and three more after Friday's second round.
"I have family and friends back home in Kentucky. I don't want to be away from them if something bad were to happen."--Russ Cochran, PGA golfer and native of Paducah, Kentucky who withdrew right before Thursday's opening round
17--The last major high school sanctioning bodies -- Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas (UIL and TAPPS) suspend competition effective Sunday, February 19. Most schools, especially those near military bases, cancel all scheduled games immediately.
Indiana and Kentucky officially postpone the high school basketball postseason (boys and girls for Kentucky, boys for Indiana) with the possibility of contesting it later in March, April or May. The semistate tournaments for girls' basketball in Indiana play on, although the Final Four (scheduled for next weekend in Indianapolis) will be postponed indefinitely, while the Kentucky state wrestling tournament is still held but moved to Frankfort's Franklin County High School, with the unrest in Louisville.
The National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the North American Soccer League’s indoor competition suspend all games scheduled from February 18 forward until further notice, due to the outbreak of war and the high possibility of a nuclear attack.
The Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big East Conference and the Southeastern Conference will play their weekend slate of games, then postpone their schedules from February 20th forward.
In a meeting Friday night, NASCAR's teams voted to postpone the Goody's 300 and the Daytona 500. The
Florida Times-Union reported that 28 of the teams scheduled to race had decided to stay and assist with Emergency Management Services.
The North Carolina women's basketball team beat Duke 69-66 in overtime; it's the last game they'll play before the suspension of play.
The LSU men beat Alabama 54-50 in both teams' last game.
18--beginning of the Third World War's conventional combat stage, in Western Europe.
The ACC, Big East and SEC men and women play, as do some Division II and III and NAIA schools in the south and Great Lakes region.
MEN
ACC
Clemson 67, Maryland 66, OT -- Herman Veal missed a last-second tip-in, and the visiting Tigers escaped with the win over the Terrapins. Anthony Jenkins's 19 points led the Tigers.
Duke 79, Wake Forest 71 -- West German native Detlef Schrempf had 28 points and nine rebounds, lifting the host Blue Devils past the Demon Deacons. Duke's administration considered cancelling the game, but relented hours before tip-off; still, Cameron Indoor Stadium had just 2,700 fans in attendance.
North Carolina 91, North Carolina State 75 -- Michael Jordan had 32 points to lead the top-ranked and host Tar Heels past the defending national champion, and archrival, Wolfpack before 17,000 fans.
Virginia 63, Dayton 55 -- Olden Polynice had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Jim Miller added 16 points as the host Cavaliers sent the Flyers to their second straight loss. Dayton replaced Houston, which was scheduled to play the Cavaliers but had already suspended play along with the other Southwest Conference teams.
BIG EAST
Providence 72, Georgetown 66, OT -- Otis Thorpe played inspired basketball, pouring in 32 points to lead the host Friars to the upset of the third-ranked Hoyas. Patrick Ewing had 26 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in regulation.
St. John's 68, Pittsburgh 60 -- Chris Mullin has 28 points as the Redmen hold off Pitt before a crowd of 2,000 at Alumni Hall. Security was tight, and the New York Police Department had its hands full keeping the area around the arena safe.
Syracuse 72, UConn 70 -- Howard Triche hit a 12-footer with one second left to lift the host Orangemen past the Huskies before a crowd of 22,000 at the Carrier Dome.
Villanova 72, Seton Hall 66 -- Harold Pressley's 24 points and 11 rebounds helped the Wildcats hold off a second-half rally by the Pirates before a crowd of 5,200 at the Meadowlands. The New Jersey National Guard was present at the arena, but the mood was calm considering the war had begun hours earlier.
SEC
Auburn 81, Georgia 67 -- Chuck Person had 23 points and Charles Barkley 16 points and 14 rebounds as the No. 16 Tigers pulled away late in the game from the visiting Bulldogs.
Mississippi State 72, Ole Miss 56: Five players scored in double figures, and the visiting Bulldogs beat their archrival Rebels.
Florida at Tennessee, cancelled — citing security and travel concerns, Florida opted not to make the trip to Knoxville; Tennessee spoke with Alabama, Western Kentucky and Sewanee about playing on Saturday night or Sunday, but none of the schools agreed to play.
"What if we go up there and something bad happens? You and I both know what I mean. I don't want my players caught away from campus. Honestly, I want them back with their families. Basketball isn't important right now."
--Norm Sloan, Florida men's basketball head coach
"I would've loved to play just one more game. I understand where Norm's coming from. We all have higher priorities right now. I just hope the world gets to a point where we can restart basketball soon."
--Don DeVoe, Tennessee men's basketball head coach
WOMEN
ACC
Clemson 59, Wake Forest 51 -- Janet Knight had 25 points for the visiting Tigers.
Maryland 65, NC State 62 -- Mareta Richardson's 32 points led the host No. 18-ranked Terrapins. Linda Page had 36 points for the No. 13 Wolfpack.
Campbell at Duke, cancelled
Virginia-Georgia Tech, cancelled
BIG EAST
St. John’s 64, Seton Hall 54
Villanova at Boston College, cancelled
Iona at Connecticut, cancelled
SEC
Ole Miss 63, Mississippi State 61 -- Jennifer Gillom's 27 points led the No. 7 Lady Rebels past the host Lady Bulldogs. Ole Miss hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes.
PGA
Jack Nicklaus won the shortened PGA Los Angeles Open event with a four-under 209, one stroke ahead of Jack Renner. Nicklaus birdied No. 18 while Renner bogeyed the last hole. It was Nicklaus's first win since the summer of 1982.
LOS ANGELES OPEN
At Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Riveria Country Club, par-71
Purse: $400,000
Final round leaders
Jack Nicklaus..............68-71-70--209
Jack Renner................71-72-67--210
Fred Couples...............71-71-70--212
T.C. Chen..................72-72-69--213
Jim Colbert................71-74-73--218
"We're professionals. We're supposed to block everything out and focus on the course. That's impossible. I couldn't help but think of the war. My thoughts are with the soldiers in Europe fighting for our country and for everything it stands for. I hope sanity prevails, and that life will return to normal very soon."
--Nicklaus, talking to CBS golf reporter Ken Venturini after the network's coverage of the final hole.
In Melbourne, Australia, Greg Norman wins the shortened three-round Australian Masters tournament at the Huntingdale course with a four-under 215.
HORSE RACING
Hawthorne, Latonia, Santa Anita and most other major horse racing tracks ended competition after Saturday’s races.
TENNIS
Jimmy Connors and Jimmy Arias won their semifinal matches in the Congoleum Classic ATP tournament in La Quinta, California. Marty Davis and Chris Dunk beat Scott Davis and Ferdie Taygan 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the doubles final.
BASEBALL
Eight of the MLPBA exhibition games were officially cancelled; seven of the stadiums weren't ready for baseball. Busch Stadium in St. Louis was, but city officials cancelled the game, citing deteriorating conditions in downtown St. Louis. Only the game at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium -- organized with the help of former Cincinnati Red and current Montreal Expo Pete Rose -- is still scheduled for Sunday.
"These games were wishful thinking. Everyone's got more important things to do right now anyway."
--Dickie Thon, Houston Astros shortstop, who was supposed to play in the MLPBA exhibition at Houston's Astrodome.
"I know there's a war going on. But baseball played on during World War II. It was a morale booster. People here in Cincinnati, here in America need a morale booster of their own right now. I think in our own way, we can give them that booster."
--Pete Rose, contracted to the Montreal Expos, a Cincinnati native and a former player with the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies
(OOC:
@Chipperback wrote the original version of this timeline in his Land of Flatwater thread. I've added to and edited the timeline.)
