February 24, 1980
Two days prior on February
22, 1980 was the "Miracle on Ice". The U.S. men's ice hockey team, led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet Union team, 4 - 3. The Soviet Union team, who were
considered to be the best international hockey team in the world, they entered
the Olympic tournament as heavy favorites, having won every ice hockey gold
medal since 1964, and all but one gold medal since 1956. On February 9, the American and Soviet teams met for an exhibition
match at Madison Square Garden in order to practice for the upcoming competition.
The Soviet Union won (10-3) so the odds were in favor of the Russians.
The day before the match,
columnist Dave Anderson
wrote in the New York Times,
"Unless the ice melts, or unless the United States team or another team
performs a miracle, as did the American
squad in 1960, the
Russians are expected to easily win the Olympic gold medal for the sixth time
in the last seven tournaments."
The game ended with Al
Michaels delivering the most famous call in Hockey history, "Eleven
seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up
to Silk...five seconds left in the game... Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!"
Though the Olympic Games are
supposed to be an arena free of politics the Soviet and American teams were
long time rivals due to the Cold War.
At the same time there was
another international drama playing out. Despite President Carter’s initial
refusal to admit the Shah of Iran into the United States, on October 22, 1979,
he finally granted the Shah entry and temporary asylum for the duration of his cancer treatment. In response to the Shah's entry into the
U.S., Iranian militants seized the American embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days from
November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981.
The "Miracle on
Ice" was a shot in the country’s morale during a time of great
uncertainty.
February 25, 1950
Although the show lasted only four seasons, it became a
classic of television's golden era, featuring comedy by future stars Carl
Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and others. The series was one of
television's Top 20 hits for three of its four years.
February 27, 1940
The actor is best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in
Cincinnati and schoolteacher
Charlie Moore on Head of the
Class.
February 24, 1980
The U.S. Hockey Team won its “Do you believe in
miracles?” gold medal during the 1980
Olympic Winter Games beating Finland (4-2) in
their final medal round game. The
Soviet Union took the Silver Medal by beating Sweden in their final game. Sweden took home the Bronze
Medal, with Finland finishing fourth.
Two days prior on February
22, 1980 was the "Miracle on Ice". The U.S. men's ice hockey team, led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet Union team, 4 - 3. The Soviet Union team, who were
considered to be the best international hockey team in the world, they entered
the Olympic tournament as heavy favorites, having won every ice hockey gold
medal since 1964, and all but one gold medal since 1956. On February 9, the American and Soviet teams met for an exhibition
match at Madison Square Garden in order to practice for the upcoming competition.
The Soviet Union won (10-3) so the odds were in favor of the Russians.
The day before the match,
columnist Dave Anderson
wrote in the New York Times,
"Unless the ice melts, or unless the United States team or another team
performs a miracle, as did the American
squad in 1960, the
Russians are expected to easily win the Olympic gold medal for the sixth time
in the last seven tournaments."
The game ended with Al
Michaels delivering the most famous call in Hockey history, "Eleven
seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up
to Silk...five seconds left in the game... Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!"
Though the Olympic Games are
supposed to be an arena free of politics the Soviet and American teams were
long time rivals due to the Cold War.
President Jimmy Carter was considering a U.S. boycott of the 1980
Summer Olympics, to bheld in
Moscow out of protest to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
President Carter eventually confirmed the boycott on March 21, 1980.
At the same time there was
another international drama playing out. Despite President Carter’s initial
refusal to admit the Shah of Iran into the United States, on October 22, 1979,
he finally granted the Shah entry and temporary asylum for the duration of his cancer treatment. In response to the Shah's entry into the
U.S., Iranian militants seized the American embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days from
November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981.
The "Miracle on
Ice" was a shot in the country’s morale during a time of great
uncertainty.
February 25, 1950
Comedy program Your Show of Shows, hosted by
Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, first airs.
Although the show lasted only four seasons, it became a
classic of television's golden era, featuring comedy by future stars Carl
Reiner, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, Woody Allen, and others. The series was one of
television's Top 20 hits for three of its four years.
February 27, 1940
Howard Hesseman is born.
The actor is best known for playing disc jockey Johnny Fever on WKRP in
Cincinnati and schoolteacher
Charlie Moore on Head of the
Class.
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
To quote the Bicentennial Minute, "And that's the way it was".
Stay Tuned
Tony Figueroa
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