1984 - Sports

Sports

Los Angeles beats Washington 38 to 9 at Tampa January 22 in Super Bowl XVIII. Al Davis, maverick owner of the L.A. Raiders, has moved his team from Oakland and challenged the leadership of NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle in a court battle that has cost the NFL about $50 million, but Rozelle presents the traditional trophy after the game and congratulates Davis in the locker room.

John McEnroe wins both the U.S. and British men's singles titles, Martina Navratilova the women's titles.

The Olympic Games at Los Angeles attract a record 7,800 from 140 nations despite a boycott by 14 Soviet bloc countries. The International Olympic Committee set up a trust fund late in 1981 at the urging of track star Edwin Moses to subsidize athletes and end the long-abused rule against acceptance of financial help (see Helsinki, 1952). Olympic swimming champion (and Tarzan portrayer) Johnny Weissmuller has died of heart disease at Acapulco, Mexico, January 20 at age 79. U.S. athletes win 83 gold medals, West German athletes 59 in the first privately funded games. West Virginia-born gymnast Mary Lou Retton, 16, wins the gold in the women's all-round with a perfect 10 in the vault, and Brooklyn, N.Y.-born North Carolina basketball player Michael Jordan, 21, plays on the team that wins the gold in that event. Birmingham, Ala.-born runner Carl Lewis, 23, matches Jesse Owens's 1936 record at Berlin by winning four gold medals—for the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter, the long jump, and the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay. San Diego-born diver Greg Louganis, 24, wins the springboard and platform competitions. South African athletes have been banned but South African runner Zola Budd, 18, has been accorded British citizenship in April because of her parental background, she has refused to condemn apartheid, and has run 5,000 meters in a record 15:01.83, but her career comes to an end after an accidental collision with Flemington, N.J.-born, California-raised runner Mary Decker, 26. The games turn a profit of $200 million, thanks to effective marketing efforts.

Running enthusiast Jim Fixx dies of a heart attack July 20 at age 52 while jogging at Hardwick, Vt. An autopsy shows that he has suffered previous myocardial infarctions.

Cincinnati General Motors dealer Marge Schott, 56, buys the local National League baseball franchise for an estimated $11 million (she has inherited her late husband's business). The Reds lost $4 million last year; Schott (and player-manager Pete Rose) will increase attendance by 85 percent to 2.4 million by 1990 (see 1993).

The Detroit Tigers win the World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres 4 games to 1.

The Breeders' Cup horserace has its first running at California's Hollywood Park in October. Upstate New York-born pet food heir and National Thoroughbred Association founder John R. Gaines, 56, proposed the multi-million-dollar event 2 years ago as a way to clean up the image of racing after a series of scandals.

Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan scores 16 points October 26 in his first National Basketball Association game (the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 109 to 83). As a freshman at the University of North Carolina in March 1982, Jordan made a jump shop that beat Georgetown to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. The Bulls made Jordan their number three draft pick in June (Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston and Sam Bowie of Portland were first and second), but Jordan will win the NBA Rookie of the Year award in April of next year.

Maryland-born Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie, 22, throws a Hail Mary pass in the closing seconds of a November 23 game against Miami and scores an upset victory, beating Miami 47 to 45.