1996: THE YEAR IN REVIEW : For All the High Points, It Will Be Remembered for Olympic Terror

Nineteen ninety-six was a glorious year for glamorous teams, the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bulls among them. It was also a year for famous individuals to sacrifice their titles, from Don Shula and Tommy Lasorda stepping aside to Mike Tyson being knocked flat.

But when a homemade bomb exploded July 27 at an Atlanta public park, interrupting the first Summer Olympics held in any U.S. city other than Los Angeles since 1904, the unforgivable joined the unforgettable, earning a place in history alongside Michael Johnson’s running, Kerri Strug’s vaulting and Muhammad Ali’s billion-witness bonfire.

For as a medal-winning wrestler, Matt Ghaffari, would say ruefully once the 100th-anniversary Games resumed, “Now, when people say 1996, they’re not going to remember the medals won. They’re going to remember that this was the place where they had the terrorist attack.”

Directly responsible for one death and indirectly for another--a European journalist collapsed from a fatal heart attack, while reporting the story--the pipe bomb planted in Centennial Park was detonated shortly after midnight. Among its repercussions: 88 days of public scrutiny of an Olympic security guard, the FBI’s prime suspect, before he was officially cleared.

Tragic as it was, the incident did not tarnish the gold, silver and bronze accumulated by the likes of Russian gymnast Alexei Nemov, who won six medals of various hues, or American swimmer Amy Van Dyken, who panned four golds. Of an unprecedented 197 nations that took part, only 13 won more gold medals than Van Dyken did by herself.

As for the site, Atlanta had to endure not only terrorism but innumerable complaints of inefficiency, until by the closing ceremony, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee’s president, forsook his usual habit of proclaiming each Games the best ever, by instead lip-servicing Atlanta’s as “most exceptional.”

It is an apt description of the year 1996 itself.

Among its most riveting moments, Pete Sampras played a tennis match for the ages against 22-year-old Spaniard Alex Corretja in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, requiring 4 hours 9 minutes to win it, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). Not only had Sampras recently lost his coach, Tim Gullikson, who died of brain cancer two weeks before the French Open, but Sampras was so ill himself that, during the fifth-set tiebreaker, he vomited on the court. Corretja lost the final point on a double fault.

In golf, the drama was provided by Greg Norman at the links where he’s jinxed, Augusta National, where he frittered away a six-shot lead on the final day and again lost the Masters. The excitement was provided by Eldrick “Tiger” Woods, 20, who at half Norman’s age won his third U.S. Amateur title, turned pro, then took the PGA by storm to the point that a national magazine anointed him sportsman of the year.

Team sports were dominated not only by the Yankees, Cowboys and Bulls, but by a team with virtually no tradition, the Colorado Avalanche, which won hockey’s Stanley Cup.

As for the teams that were literally America’s, the ones in the Olympics, they were particularly well represented by women, who were victorious in basketball, soccer and softball, as well as both track relays, all three swim relays and team gymnastics. Women were responsible for a high percentage of the 44 gold medals won by the United States, more than twice as many as any nation but Russia (26).

Other large nations were not so successful: Britain, for example, won one gold medal, Argentina none. Syria won a gold, Hong Kong a gold, Burundi a gold, Iran a gold, even Ecuador won a gold, but Mexico didn’t.

And then there was a bronze medal won in the 100-meter freestyle by American swimmer Angel Martino, who promptly gave it away to Trisha Henry, a 20-year-old cancer patient. “I think she’s a hero,” said Martino, of whom Henry said likewise.

There were winners and losers in all walks of life, from the sublime to the absurd. The return to active duty of Dodger outfielder Brett Butler while being treated for throat cancer was a heart-tugging moment for many. And few stories were more astounding than that of Troy (Ala.) State college football players Steven Kelley, 22, and Joe Jackson, 19, two running backs who, upon noting a resemblance to one another, compared family roots and discovered to their amazement that they were brothers.

Nutty moments of ‘96?

Well, few will forget presidential candidate Bob Dole complimenting the “Brooklyn Dodgers” on pitcher Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter. A 12-year-old boy cost the Baltimore Orioles a home run at a Yankee Stadium playoff game, basketball player Dennis Rodman appeared in public in a wedding dress, and the Magic Johnson Theater marquees featured a film called “Celtic Pride.”

This was also a year for streakers to reveal themselves, one disrupting Wimbledon’s championship match between Richard Krajicek and MaliVai Washington, plus another in the person of U.S. Olympic soccer goalkeeper Brianna Scurry, who kept a promise that if she won a gold medal, she would run naked down an Athens, Ga., street.

Here is a brief, sport-by-sport rundown of 1996 highlights and lowlights:

BASEBALL

After the collapse and death of umpire John McSherry postponed an opening-day game at Cincinnati, owner Marge Schott of the Reds said: “Snow this morning, and now this. I don’t believe it. Why are they calling the game?”

Paul Molitor got his 3,000th hit--the first man to do so with a triple--and Eddie Murray his 500th home run. Nomo’s no-hitter came in Colorado, a hitter’s paradise, and equally unlikely was a no-hitter by Dwight Gooden for the Yankees, coming after years of inactivity and drug rehab.

The Dodgers and Rockies played an astonishing series in Denver, one with 25 home runs. It was capped by a 16-15 Colorado victory, even though three L.A. players hit homers back-to-back-to-back.

Ten-time All-Star outfielder Kirby Puckett retired with a patch over his eye, from permanently blurred vision. An aneurysm caused pitcher David Cone to have a vein grafted from his leg to his armpit. Weeks apart, a Dodger player, Butler, thinking he needed his tonsils out, learned he had cancer, while a mild heart attack led to the retirement of Lasorda after nearly 20 years as Dodger manager.

More homers were hit than in any previous season, 20-year-old shortstop Alex Rodriguez of Seattle hit 36 of them, plus a sizzling .358, and pitcher John Smoltz won more games than anyone, 24.

After losing the first two games of the World Series by a combined score of 16-1, the Yankees swept the next four, John Wetteland saving each. It was their 23rd championship, but first in 18 years.

Nastiest moment of the year: Baltimore’s Roberto Alomar drew a five-game suspension for spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck, over a called third strike. As umpires threatened to walk off the job unless Alomar’s suspension began immediately, Alomar hit a 12th-inning homer to oust Cleveland from the American League playoffs.

PRO BASKETBALL

The Chicago Bulls took their fourth NBA title in six years, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen being joined by the eccentric Dennis Rodman, of whom comedian Jay Leno said, “He puts his panties on one leg at a time, just like everyone else.”

Before the playoffs, Chicago won 72 of 82 games, gaining mention as perhaps the greatest team of all time.

Upon failing to eliminate the Bulls as they had the previous year, the Orlando Magic suffered a bigger loss when Shaquille O’Neal became a Laker, for $120 million. General Manager Jerry West of the Lakers put the signing on a par with “the birth of my children.”

Also becoming a Laker, fresh out of high school, was Kobe Bryant, who at 18 was nonetheless not the youngest player in the NBA, Portland’s Jermaine O’Neal his junior by a matter of weeks.

A controversy arose when Denver Nugget guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, citing religious reasons, declined to stand for the national anthem.

Less understandable to some was a sudden spate of violence toward officials, with Rodman head-butting one, Nick Van Exel shoving one and Magic Johnson bumping one, after 49 years without a similar NBA incident. Johnson made a brief comeback, but re-retired after the Lakers’ first-round elimination in the playoffs.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Another of sport’s glamour programs, the Kentucky Wildcats, went, like the Yankees, 18 years without an NCAA championship before defeating Syracuse, 76-67.

Player of the year Marcus Camby fainted before a game, but came back to lead Massachusetts to a 31-1 record in the regular season and a trip to the Final Four, where its season ended with a seven-point loss to Kentucky.

Defending NCAA champion UCLA was shocked by Princeton in the opening round of the Southeast Regional, a going-away present for retiring Pete Carril, the Princeton coach.

Months later, before a new season began, UCLA’s coach, Jim Harrick, would be abruptly dismissed over an expense-account flap.

In women’s basketball, the same Final Four teams returned--unprecedented in NCAA play--but Tennessee unseated Connecticut as champion, as Coach Pat Summitt earned her fourth national title.

PRO FOOTBALL

Although Emmitt Smith was limited to 49 yards rushing, the Dallas Cowboys became NFL champions for the third time in four years, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, 27-17.

Ahead by only six points at halftime, Dallas preserved its victory thanks to two interceptions by Larry Brown, who was voted MVP and subsequently left the team to sign with Oakland.

Jerry Jones, the maverick Dallas owner, created a stir by making exclusive deals with corporations not linked to the league’s marketing agreement, and was sued by his fellow owners for $300 million. Jones had enough money left to pay $35 million to Deion Sanders, making him the NFL’s richest defensive player ever.

Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to a new address, Baltimore, and named them the Ravens because the poet Edgar Allan Poe is buried there.

Seattle’s owner, Ken Behring, said he wanted to move his team to Los Angeles because he wasn’t sure Seattle’s Kingdome could withstand an earthquake.

Don Shula relinquished his 26-year job with the Miami Dolphins in January, and son David relinquished his with the Cincinnati Bengals in midseason. The elder Shula won more games than any other NFL coach, 347.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Quarterback Tommie Frazier’s 199 yards rushing led Nebraska to a 62-24 victory over Florida in the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl, for a 12-0 record and a national championship.

The only distraction came before the game, when Coach Tom Osborne elected to reinstate running back Lawrence Phillips, who had been suspended for assaulting a woman on campus. Phillips ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

More gripping news for Nebraska came with the death of popular quarterback Brook Berringer, in an April 18 airplane crash.

Despite the efforts of Northwestern alumnus Charlton Heston--presenting the team a tablet with the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Lose”--the Wildcats lost to USC in the Rose Bowl.

Lou Holtz voluntarily left Notre Dame as coach in November, not explaining his reasons and not going to a bowl game. Gene Stallings quit another prestige coaching position, at Alabama.

HOCKEY

To some, more exciting than the Stanley Cup was the new World Cup, where a longshot U.S. team coached by Ron Wilson defeated a Russian team in the semifinals, then Canada for the championship.

Game one of the finals was a thriller, with Eric Desjardins of Canada accidentally tipping the U.S. team’s game-tying shot past his own goaltender with 6.3 seconds remaining. Canada won that game, in overtime.

Favored to be in the Stanley Cup’s finals were the Detroit Red Wings, whose 62 victories established an NHL record. But Detroit was upset in the playoffs, and now has gone 41 years without a championship.

Mario Lemieux returned from a year’s absence because of Hodgkin’s disease to win the NHL scoring title, with 161 points.

Wayne Gretzky, the NHL’s top scorer of all time, played for three teams in 1996, first traded from the Kings to St. Louis on Feb. 27, then joining the New York Rangers for the 1996-97 season.

Unable to succeed with or without Gretzky, St. Louis fired Coach/General Manager Mike Keenan last week.

GOLF

Ordinarily, the U.S. Open triumph of Steve Jones would have been golf’s story of the year. Seriously injured in a dirt-bike accident five years ago, Jones was so nervous on the final hole at Oakland Hills, his knees were knocking when he sank the winning putt.

Tom Lehman’s anxious final round of the British Open, where his six-shot lead was reduced to two before he pulled it together, was another nice story.

But the sport’s breaking story was newcomer Tiger Woods, who created a sensation in more ways than one. His golf had everybody talking, and so did his withdrawal from the Buick Challenge tournament because of “exhaustion,” weeks after the 20-year-old turned pro.

Woods quickly established himself as one of the ranking players on the pro tour. He racked up a reported $60 million in endorsements, then won two tournaments.

Nick Faldo’s 67 closing round at the Masters proved costly to Greg Norman, who faded to a 78 after dominating play for three days. Norman lost 11 strokes on the final day to Faldo, who hugged him at the 18th green.

The LPGA had a Tiger of its own in Karrie Webb, 21, a tour rookie from Australia who became one of the year’s leading money winners. Annika Sorenstam won the U.S. Open by six shots.

TENNIS

Steffi Graf, 27 but in peak form, won three-fourths of the Grand Slam after sitting out the Australian Open, ignoring the continuing distraction of her father’s legal problems. Peter Graf spent most of the year in a German jail, accused of tax fraud.

Men’s tennis had a bigger selection of stars, with surprise developments including a wild Wimbledon in which the unseeded Washington made it to the semifinals with 13th-seeded Todd Martin, then won a five-setter in the rain, 10-8 in the final set.

In the finals, Krajicek, having already upset Sampras in straight sets, defeated Washington the same way, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Another surprise came in Paris. At 22, Yevgeny Kafelnikov won with unpredictable ease, taking his last two matches from Sampras and Michael Stich in straight sets.

Lindsay Davenport had the thrill of her career, defeating Arantxa Sanchez Vicario for the Olympic gold medal. Andre Agassi seemed equally thrilled with his men’s gold.

Three top players retired, Stefan Edberg from the men’s circuit, Gabriela Sabatini and Kimiko Date from the women’s.

OLYMPICS

The memories are too many to mention, but the ones that linger include:

--Michael Johnson becoming the first man to win the 200 and 400 meters in track, the former with a world-record time (19.32).

--Kerri Strug, 18, on one foot, before 32,040 spectators, doing a vault in pain because it was not yet certain whether the U.S. women’s gymnastics squad had enough points to defeat Russia’s. After landing on both feet, Strug collapsed to all fours, then was carried off by Bela Karolyi, her coach.

--Michelle Smith, 26, of Ireland, won four medals--three gold--to the surprise of most of the swimming community.

--Carl Lewis got his ninth gold medal, winning the long jump for the fourth time.

--Dan O’Brien became the first American to win the decathlon in 20 years.

--Kim Rhode, 17, of El Monte, became the youngest women’s Olympic shooting champion ever, in double trap (two clay targets, released at once).

--Fu Mingxia, also 17, of China, won both women’s diving events.

--In basketball, the U.S. women’s team won the title game by 24 points, played 60 games after being formed as a team and won them all.

--Justin Huish, 21, of Simi Valley, trained by shooting arrows from across the street, through a garage door and into his backyard. He went to Atlanta and brought back two gold medals.

--Cuba won all nine baseball games, despite three top players defecting.

--Van Dyken, an asthma sufferer, swam fourth in her first event, then won the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and two relays.

Janet Evans passed the Olympic torch to Muhammad Ali, while Joe Frazier did a burn. “If I’d been with him,” Frazier said of his old boxing rival, “I would have pushed him in the fire.”

All in all, it was a most exceptional Olympics and a most exceptional year in sport. A new soccer league was launched, a rival race lured top drivers away from the Indy 500 and a horse named Cigar was retired after his 16-race winning streak ended.

And finally, after appearing in 2,238 consecutive games and breaking Lou Gehrig’s record, Baltimore infielder Cal Ripken Jr.’s nose was broken at the All-Star game . . . by a teammate’s elbow, during the team photo.

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Winners’ Circle

A look at the champions of 1996:

BASEBALL

* World Series: New York Yankees defeat Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2. (MVP: John Wetteland)

* All-Star Game: National League 6, American League 0. (MVP: Mike Piazza, Dodgers)

PRO BASKETBALL

* NBA finals: Chicago Bulls defeat Seattle SuperSonics, 4 games to 2. (MVP: Michael Jordan)

* All-Star Game: East 129, West 118. (MVP: Michael Jordan)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

* NCAA Final Four (Men): Kentucky 76, Syracuse 67. (MVP: Tony Delk)

* NCAA Final Four (Women): Tennessee 83, Georgia 65. (MVP: Michelle Marciniak)

PRO FOOTBALL

* Super Bowl XXX: Dallas Cowboys 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 17. (MVP: Larry Brown)

* Pro Bowl: NFC 20, AFC 13. (MVP: Jerry Rice, San Francisco)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

* Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska 62, Florida 24.

* Rose Bowl: USC 41, Northwestern 32.

Orange Bowl: Florida State 31,

Notre Dame 26.

* Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech 28, Texas 10.

* National champion: Nebraska (12-0).

GOLF

* Masters: Nick Faldo.

* U.S. Open: Steve Jones.

* British Open: Tom Lehman.

* PGA: Mark Brooks.

* U.S. Women’s Open: Annika Sorenstam.

* U.S. Senior Open: Dave Stockton.

HOCKEY

* Stanley Cup: Colorado Avalanche defeat Florida Panthers, 4 games to 0. (MVP: Joe Sakic)

* All-Star Game: East 5, West 4. (MVP: Ray Bourque, Boston)

* NCAA: Michigan 3, Colorado College 2.

HORSE RACING

* Kentucky Derby: Grindstone and jockey Jerry Bailey.

* Preakness: Louis Quatorze and Pat Day.

* Belmont: Editor’s Note and Rene Douglas.

* Breeders’ Cup Classic: Alphabet Soup and Chris McCarron.

AUTO RACING

* Indy 500: Buddy Lazier.

* U.S. 500: Jimmy Vasser.

* Daytona 500: Dale Jarrett.

* Formula One: (World Championship) Damon Hill.

SOCCER

* Major League Soccer: D.C. United 3, Los Angeles Galaxy 2, OT. (MVP: Marco Etcheverry)

* U.S. Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup: Mexico.

TENNIS

* Wimbledon: Men--Richard Krajicek. Women--Steffi Graf.

* U.S. Open: Men--Pete Sampras. Women--Steffi Graf.

* French Open: Men--Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Women--Steffi Graf.

* Australian Open: Men--Boris Becker. Women--Monica Seles.

CYCLING

* Tour de France: Bjarne Riis, Denmark.

They Passed Our Way

Prominent sports figures who died in 1996:

* Kathy Ahern, pro golfer, 47.

* Mel Allen, broadcaster, 83.

* Al Barlick, umpire, 80.

* John Beradino, baseball player, actor, 79.

* Brook Berringer, football player, 22.

* Scott Brayton, auto racer, 37.

* Billy Bruton, baseball player, 69.

* Charlie Conerly, football player, 74.

* Harry Coyle, television director, 74.

* Roger Crozier, hockey player, 53.

* Rodney Culver, football player, 26.

* Dan Duva, boxing promoter, 44.

* Minnesota Fats, billiards, age uncertain.

* Charlie Finley, baseball executive, 77.

* Chet Forte, TV director, radio host, 60.

* Bill Goldsworthy, hockey player, 51.

* Tim Gullikson, tennis player, coach, 44.

* Dan Hafner, sportswriter, 74.

* Hord Hardin, Masters golf chairman, 84.

* Robert Kerlan, surgeon, team physician, 74.

* Jeff Krosnoff, auto racer, 31.

* Allan Malamud, sportswriter, 54.

* John McSherry, umpire, 51.

* Tom Mees, ESPN sportscaster, 46.

* F. Don Miller, U.S. Olympic Committee chief, 75.

* Bill Nyrop, hockey player, 43.

* Paul Pryor, umpire, 68.

* Dave Schultz, Olympic wrestler, 36.

* Mike Sharperson, baseball player, 34.

* C. Arnholt Smith, baseball owner, 97.

* Derek Smith, basketball player, 34.

* Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, handicapper, sportscaster, 76.

* Al Stump, sportswriter, 79.