Where Were You When - Sports

Sports Jackie Robinson signs with Brooklyn Dodgers . . . . . . .1947 Shot heard around the world . . . . .1951 Joe Namath prediction . . . . .1969 Launch of Monday Night Football .1970 Marshall Football Team tragedy .1970 Munich Olympics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1972 Secretariet wins Triple Crown . .1973 Notre Dame beats undefeated UCLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1974 Hank Aaron hits 715 homeruns .1974 Nadia Comaneci scores a perfect 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 Billy Jean King vs.

Bobby Riggs . .1973 Thrilla in Manila . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975 Miracle on Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1980 Olympic basketball dream team . . .1992 Nancy Kerrigan/ Tonya Harding incident . . . . . . .1994 Tiger Woods wins his first Masters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 Payne Stewart’s plane crash . . . .1999 Death of Dale Earnhart . . . . . .2001 Barbaro . . . . .2007 Michael Phelps wins 14th gold medal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2008

October 2010

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Fair Oaks Care Center . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg06 Forest Park Manor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg02 Get Framed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg07 Goldenrod Manor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg03 Johnson Tire & Muffler . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg09 McQueen’s Carpet Cleaning . . . . . . .Pg06 Moreland Furniture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pg06 Nordland Insurance Agency . . . . . . .Pg04 Ozark National Life Insurance . . . . .Pg08 Page County Federal Savings Assoc. Pg05 Whip’s Steakhouse and Saloon . . . . .Pg06

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Memories of

October 2010 3

SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD 1951 Memories of

JACKIE ROBINSON SIGNS WITH BROOKLYN DODGERS 1947

Bobby Thomson became a celebrity for hitting a game-winning home run (nicknamed the "Shot Heard 'Round the World") in a playoff game, off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca.

Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Virgil Briggs Clarinda Doug Poland Clarinda That was the year I was born. As I grew up I learned what a great man of courage he was.

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I was in class in high school, and heard about the event on radio sports news that night. Bobby

Thomson of the New York Giants hit a game-winning three-run home run in the ninth inning to defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant.

Doug Poland Clarinda The best ‘walk-off’ in baseball history.

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Memories of

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JOE NAMATH PREDICTION 1969

After boldly guaranteeing a victory prior to the game, Jets quarterback Joe Namath completed 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards, and was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda

Doug Poland Clarinda

I was in high school when this happened. I couldn’t believe he did it, but there was something about the way he said it that made you think maybe.

I had a college friend, Randy Rasmussen, from Kearney State College in Kearney, Neb., that started for the Jets at guard. During the regular season Randy got sideline passes for his brother, my roommate and I. We were literally on the

Jets bench for the whole game watching the Kansas City greats like Bobby Bell, Len Dawson and Willie Lanier, and the future Super Bowl champs. After the game we went to the Jets locker room where we got to meet Broadway Joe. My most vivid memory was how small his surgically repaired knees and legs

were. They looked like an old man’s legs.

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda I was working at F and M Café in Madison, S.D. I didn’t think an AFL team could beat an NFL team so I was kind of astounded.

LAUNCH OF MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 1970 Memories of the

Monday Night Football originally on the ABC network from 1970 to 2005. Monday Night Football was the second longest-running prime time show on American broadcast network television.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda It was my first year in college and I was very curious.

They used a unique group

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concept to work the game.

Doug Poland Clarinda What a novel idea and a great way to spend Monday

night. I could have done without Howard Cosell, but Dandy Don signing ‘turn out the lights, the party’s over’ was priceless.

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda I was watching the football game as I preparing to be drafted in the United States Army.

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Memories of MARSHALL FOOTBALL TEAM TRAGEDY 1970

October 2010 5

Memories of MUNICH OLYMPICS

1972

The Games were largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the Munich massacre when eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village and took hostages.

The plane was carrying 37 members of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football squad.

The team was returning home after a 17–14 loss against the East Carolina Pirates.

Will Ackerman Omaha It was a good year. My mom got remarried, and my stepfather adopted my sister and me.

Shelly Smith Clarinda

Doug Poland, Clarinda I read about it in Life magazine at my grandparents’ house in Sidney. It was unbelievable.

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Munich Marathon and we finished the race in the Olympic Stadium on the track and got to swim in the Olympic pool after the race.

It was not my fastest marathon; I guess it was my big Olympic moment!

Doug Poland Clarinda

I remember watching the stand off with kidnappers of the Olympic athletes from Israel on TV. It was a tragedy to politicize a peaceful event meant to bring nations together in healthy competition. Later when my husband and I were stationed in Germany in the U.S. Army I ran the

Bruce Ketcham, Dale Owens and I were in Munich that day on our way to the track events when we were told what happened and all the events were postponed. While we were there it was hard to get the complete picture of the tragedy.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda I was at home during college summer break and watched it on TV as it unfolded. I felt disbelief, horror and grief all at one time. It changed how I looked at the Olympics and its athletes from then on.

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda I was bicycling down the west coast with two Army friends after my release from the Army. I was shocked to hear about it.

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SECRETARIAT WINS TRIPLE CROWN 1973

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Memories of

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The Triple Crown consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse.

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Memories of

NOTRE DAME BEATS UNDEFEATED UCLA 1974

The UCLA–USC rivalry is between two universities located in Los Angeles, California: the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California.

HANK AARON HITS 715 HOMERUNS 1974

Memories of

In Atlanta on April 8, 1974, in front of a crowd of 53,775 people, a Braves attendance record, Aaron hit career home run number 715 in the fourth inning off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Al Downing.

NADIA COMANECI SCORES A PERFECT 10 1976

Memories of

Nadia Elena ComĂŁneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and the first gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event.

Shelly Smith Clarinda Watched it on TV. She was awesome. She paved the way for others to attain the same score. She was the 1st gymnastics superstar. Who knew that someday we would have a gymnastics superstar from Iowa, Shawn Johnson.

On April 8, 1974, I watched the game on TV at home and saw Hank hit the famous home run.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda It was my first year in Clarinda. The courage it

took among the death threats will always make me a fan of Hank Aaron.

Doug Poland Clarinda I was home watching the game on TV. He hit it off former Yankee pitcher Al Downing. He is a man of great dignity and will be remembered by me as the

I watched it with my 4-year-old son Ian and infant daughter Courtney every night.

I was pretty excited when she got the perfect 10 and thought she deserved it.

all-time home run leader.

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda I was assistant manager of Chrome Country Inn restaurant in Algona. I thought the record was broken solely because of the length of his career.

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Memories of

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BILLY JEAN KING VS. BOBBY RIGGS 1973

King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. She is known for "The Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, in which she defeated Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men's singles champion.

Shelly Smith Clarinda I watched this on TV and of course rooted for Billy Jean. I think everyone rooted against Bobby, because he was so obnoxious. It was all a publicity stunt, but it was the start of women’s equality in sports. We didn't even have girl’s sports in High School back then. A couple of years later we got basketball and track. Now there are even more sports opportunities for girls and women. I think girls can

even wrestle and play football in Iowa if they want to.

I wrote a paper in high school about women's equality in sports and used the tennis match as a reference. Professionally in some sports women are nearly equal to men now in dollar rewards. In many sports there are girls who can beat the boys.

Judy Strough Bobby was not a good male role model.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda I was in a college at a comedy show in the dome. I had to watch, but was ashamed for all manhood.

Doug Poland Clarinda I was at grad school and wondered how this old guy, who we hadn’t heard of, could pull this off. Billie Jean just toyed with him.

THRILLA IN MANILA 1975

Memories of

The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World

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Steve Shilhanek Clarinda I was at my parents visiting. It was Ali at his best. Both fighters fought with such heart that any other boxer would have lost to them.

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Memories of

October 2010 9

MIRACLE ON ICE 1980

Team USA went on to win the gold medal by winning its final match over Finland, who finished 4th. The Soviet Union took the silver medal by beating bronze medal winner Sweden in its final game.

Bob Eschliman Clarinda

Matt McClarnon Braddyville

The 1980 Winter Games, and following Team USA was what led to my love for the game of hockey. Prior to that year, I had no idea what it was, or how it was played. I barely knew the players, but I never missed a chance to see the team play.

We watched it on TV and my mom and dad’s house. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t wait for the game to end.

Steve Shilhanek Clarinda I was here in Clarinda. It was a surprise like no other.

I felt pride as never before because the mighty have

fallen.

Doug Poland Clarinda I watched it at home with my family. I remember Al Michaels proclaiming ‘Do you believe in miracles?

Yes!’ Jason Armstrong Clarinda I was watching the game.

OLYMPIC BASKETBALL DREAM TEAM 1992 Memories of

The 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team, nicknamed the "Dream Team", was the first American Olympic team to feature active NBA players. Sometimes considered the greatest team assembled in any sport, it defeated its opponents by an average of almost 44 points

Greg Eckstrom Boone

Van Gilmore Clarinda

Doug Poland Clarinda

It was the summer that I was 10-years-old, and I remember watching this team on TV, with a stack of U.S. Dream Team basketball cards next to me, and thinking, “Wow, this is unfair. These guys are too good.” As one my earliest memories of U.S. Olympic basketball teams, I remember growing up with the mindset that this was the norm.

I was 13-years-old. I remember watching the games in my living room.

At that time the U.S. was so much better than everyone else it was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters.

I watched several of the games. It was a fitting end to the end of the careers for Larry and Magic.

Clint Driftmier Des Moines I watched as many games as I could and I wished I could be as good as MJ. Matt McClarnon Braddyville I was in Korea in the Air Force. They destroyed everybody. It wasn’t even close.

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Memories of

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NANCY KERRIGAN/TONYA HARDING INCIDENT 1994

Harding became notorious when she attacked her competitor Nancy Kerrigan. The widely publicized attack took place during a practice session for the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.

Will Ackerman Omaha

John Teget

I was stationed in the Air Force in England. I remember thinking how crazy it was that athletes would resort to this kind of violence over the will to win.

Shelly Smith Clarinda Watched it all unfold on TV the ultimate in poor sportsmanship. Too bad it was a terrible blight on America.

More security for athletes is obviously needed in modern times.

Stephanie McGinnis Tonya tried to knock Nancy out of the competition.

Clint Driftmier Des Moines

I think Tonya’s boyfriend did the knee knocking.

Bruce Hullman Nobody knows where Nancy is, but Tonya is on The Smoking Gun about 10 times a week.

Greg Eckstrom Boone

Not sure where I was when it happened, but I remember being mad because it took a lot of time on SportsCenter.

Matt McClarnon Braddyville I was living in Rapid City, S.D. I thought she was psycho when I heard it.

This was, honestly, the first thing I'd ever heard about skating. I wasn't terribly concerned with all the minute details, but I remember wondering why they used a tire iron. It seems like an oddly shaped item to use for sabotage.

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda When I heard about it I thought, “My, how important a victory must be.”

Jason Armstrong Clarinda I heard about it while at work.

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TIGER WOODS WINS HIS FIRST MASTERS 1997

Memories of

Tiger Woods won his first major championship and Masters Tournament by 12 strokes over Tom Kite. Woods broke the four-day tournament low record with an -18 (270). Woods also became the first non-white person to win at Augusta.

Judy Strough Did not watch it.

Judy Crawford Hilton

hoopla until he shot the 66 on Friday. After his 65 on Saturday, he definitely had my attention, and I watched the entire broadcast Sunday on TV.

Who knows, who cares.

Bob Eschliman Clarinda I watched the 1997 Masters not because I was a huge fan of Tiger Woods, but because I liked the game of golf. In fact, his first nine holes were nothing to get worked up about. He had never led a major tournament prior to this, so there wasn’t much

Matt McClarnon Braddyville I watched it on TV while I was in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. I knew there would be

PAYNE STEWART’S PLANE CRASH 1999

Memories of

was an American professional golfer who won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months beforehe died in an airplane accident at the age of 42.

more to come.

Jason Armstrong Clarinda I was sitting at home watching the tournament.

Clint Driftmier Des Moines I watched it at home with my dad. It was the first of many majors I watched him win.

October 2010 11

Doug Poland Clarinda I had been at the Masters when Tiger played the year before. Already the crowds were drawn to him.

My son, Aaron, and I spent an hour just watching him on the practice putting green.

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Will Ackerman Omaha

Amy Jardon Cedar Falls, Iowa

I was working in the public affairs office at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. We received a call from the Omaha media who wanted to do a story about the effect of loss of the aircraft pressurization could potentially affect the consciousness of someone on a plane, since this was the speculation as to the cause of the accident. We had several news outlets come to our altitude chamber at the base to experience the effects of the chamber.

We were at home that year, which was the year and month of our wedding, and the news came on that his plane had crashed.

I remember him, as he was the knicker pants golfer who was always fun to watch for his attire (We don't follow golf, however).

In today’s' post 9/11 world, I wonder if the plane would have been allowed to fly for so long on autopilot without communication w/ the pilots.

Steve Driftmier Clarinda I remember seeing the crash site as we drove by

hauling cattle home from Montana shortly after it happened.

Clint Driftmier Des Moines I was only a freshman in high school. It was a sad day. He was a truly good guy.

Matt McClarnon Braddyville I was in the car and heard it on the radio.

Jason Armstrong Clarinda I heard about it the day after it happened on SportsCenter.

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October 2010 12

Memories of

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DEATH OF DALE EARNHART 2001

Earnhardt was a seven-time series champion and one of NASCAR's most storied drivers. Earnhardt was the fourth driver to die in NASCAR competition following Adam Petty's death in May 2000.

Memories of

Amy Jardon Cedar Falls, Iowa

seen him racing around the track and now he was gone.

My husband, Mike, sister Melinda, and her husband, Chris, were in Madison WI for the weekend at a model train show. We stopped at a restaurant in a small Wisconsin town and had a late lunch. The race was going on and we watched it.

We left the restaurant and came home, turned on the television to finish watching the race and learned that Dale was in an accident and passed away. It was unbelievable. We had just

Bob Eschliman Clarinda

BARBARO 2007

Barbaro was an American thoroughbred that decisively won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but shattered his leg two weeks later in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, ending his racing career and eventually leading to his death.

In his pre-race interview, Dale Earnhardt told Dick Berggren, “We’re going to give them something they’ve never seen before.”

And, he was right. When the crash initially happened, I didn’t think it looked like much, but Darrell Waltrip’s reaction had me concerned, so I kept watching the fledgling NASCAR.com website for

I have watched every Triple Crown race since I was a child — perhaps 8 years old — because I’ve always been in awe of the power and majesty of a horse running full-tilt.

When I lived in Florida, I got to see a few races,

learned the extent of his injuries. It’s too bad they couldn’t repair the damage. He definitely had the heart of a champion.

Jason Armstrong Clarinda I was watching the Preakness when he broke his leg.

I remember seeing the ticker come across the screen notifying me of this. Not being a racing fan, I just exhaled and thought of how

Matt McClarnon Braddyville I was watching the race and thought it was just a normal crash. I was shocked that he died.

Jason Armstrong Clarinda I was in Omaha at the mall when I heard about the accident.

MICHAEL PHELPS WINS 14TH GOLD MEDAL 2008

Michael Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008.

Shelly Smith Clarinda

Vaughn Hiaring Clarinda

What about Mark Spitz gold medal record of seven!

I saw that back in 1972. He was one of the 1st big Olympic media/poster stars and we all saw Michael Phelps break his record.

The big news was that he ate so much, because he worked out around 15 hours a day.

We watched his races during the Olympics and we started serving Phelps’ Pancakes, which were chocolate chip pancakes like he ate every morning for breakfast.

Amazing, absolutely amazing.

which hooked me to the sport even more. After watching the Kentucky Derby, I was certain this was going to be the Triple Crown winner we had been waiting for. I knew there was something horribly wrong when his jockey pulled him up and immediately dismounted, and it broke my heart when I

Greg Eckstrom Boone

this was going to change the mood of the sport for a long time.

Memories of

Amy Jardon Cedar Falls, Iowa

Bob Eschliman Clarinda

updates. It was about two hours later that they announced he had died. I have always been a Mark Martin fan, but I got to meet The Intimidator at a pre-Daytona event in 1993, and had some deep respect for him. It was a pretty sad day for auto racing.

Greg Eckstrom Boone I remember thinking how this guy is superhuman, and wondering what he’s on.

When I later found out, I started wondering if the ’92 Dream Team was also filled with a bunch of potheads.

After all, Scottie Pippen did kind of give off that impression.

Van Gilmore Clarinda I thought it was an amazing feat. I remember the media describing how he was perfect for the sport, extremely flexible if not double-jointed, tall with an unusually long wingspan and his lung capacity. Also, how many calories he consumed each day to keep his body fueled.

Matt McClarnon Braddyville I watched several of his races and the one that was most amazing to me was when he came back to win the relay race. He’s just sick. He has to be half dolphin.

Clint Driftmier Des Moines I was overseas in Germany.

It was a pretty cool event.

Doug Poland Clarinda He’s up there with Jesse Owens as the greatest Olympic athlete.