[IMPORTANT…Bar Chat will resume its regular schedule,
Wednesday]
Southern Cal Quiz: Hey, why not? Name the 6 U.S.C. grads
(well, actually, I don”t know if they really graduated.but you get
the picture) who played at least part of their career in the decade
of the 60s, and beyond, and made it to the NFL Hall of Fame.
[O.K. I”ll give you one.lineman Ron Mix (played from 1960-
71). The other 5 were all well-known players…two defense,
three offense…the latter could include a lineman.]
The 1968 Summer Olympics
[Note: The editor, moi, is on vacation. I originally wrote the
following piece as part of two previous Bar Chats in August
1999. Aside from giving myself a little break on the research
front, I thought many of you who are new to the site would enjoy
this.]
I was ten years old the summer of ”68. I remember being
mesmerized by all that was transpiring across the country as I
became increasingly aware of more than my immediate
surroundings. The ”68 Summer Games were emblematic of the
chaos sweeping the land and the world. The following is a
summary of a great HBO special that focused in on the Tommie
Smith / John Carlos black power salute incident that polarized the
nation. It is impossible to write about this without using the N-
word. [I will abbreviate, using ”n-” to denote usage as employed
by the players in the story themselves.] Personally, I”m not taking
a stand. This is just a report.
Back in 1968, many black track athletes had to deal with the
feeling among the white track hierarchy (and the fans) that, “I
don”t care how fast or how far you can jump, you”re just another
n-.” America seemed to be on the eve of destruction. Vietnam,
racial inequality, poverty; these were just some of the issues
roiling our country.
Enter three athletes who were to emerge in the spotlight in
Mexico City; Tommie Smith, Lee Evans and John Carlos. Smith
and Evans were farm laborers in California with experience
picking cotton. They were humble youths who ran fast as hell.
Carlos, on the other hand, was a boisterous, cocky Harlem
youngster who, as described by his teammates, you didn”t want as
your enemy. Athletics gave all three the chance to escape poverty
and they ended up as teammates at San Jose State.
Smith was described as gazelle-like, Evans was a ferocious
competitor but with a style that looked like he was “drunk on
roller skates,” and Carlos was a wine-drinking, pot smoking type
whose attitude seemed to say, “C”mon, sucker, I wanna see what
you got.” Smith and Carlos were to make their names in the 200
meters while Evans specialty was the 400.
At San Jose State, “Speed City,” Smith joined the ROTC, was
studious and religious, and not the least bit rebellious. And, in
reality, San Jose State was a racist campus which somewhat
tolerated the track athletes. Also at SJS was a black sociology
professor by the name of Dr. Harry Edwards. Edwards taught,
“Once you take off that uniform, you”re just another n-,” as he
strove to turn the black athletes into advocates. The Olympics
was the target and, specifically, a movement titled the “Olympic
Project For Human Rights.” Soon, it was hoped that there would
be a boycott of the Summer Games by the track athletes. “Why
run in Mexico City and crawl at home?” [The Boycott eventually
failed and the movement turned to how best to demonstrate in
Mexico City.]
Edwards became the chief target of the conservatives in the
States. White athletes like Bob Seagren thought Edwards was a
radical whose movement was doomed to failure. But the
movement did gain some white support and all black athletes
were urged to take a stand.
[One who took a stand and decided he would definitely play (and
without protest) was Charlie Scott, a spectacular basketball
player for the University of North Carolina (and the only black at
the school.I think I have my facts straight on this). Scott was
going to be on the Olympic team and he felt that if he was
“revolutionary,” he would be closing the doors to everyone
behind him.]
And then there was International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Chairman Avery Brundage. Brundage was known as the “Bull
Connor” of the Olympic Games. He couldn”t begin to understand
the Olympic Project. Brundage was labeled “pro-fascist” and a
racist who “represented the generation that tried to keep Negroes
in their place.” It was Brundage who said, “If they (”the boys”)
demonstrate (at the Games), they”ll be promptly sent home.”
As the year went on, the death of Martin Luther King had a
catalytic effect on the black athletes. Coupled with the
assassination of Robert Kennedy, the black athletes were more
willing to sacrifice. And down in Mexico City, the local
government was having their own problems with the kinds of
student protests that were sweeping the world. Just prior to the
Games, the police in Mexico City gunned down 300-500 students
in a Tiennamen Square-type slaughter. Trying to “gussie up” the
city for the world press that would be covering the Games, the
army decided to clear the streets of the daily protesters. [The
government claimed that “only” 37 were killed. Most experts
now agree on the 300-500 number.] The army burned the bodies
or threw them in the Pacific to keep the world from learning the
true story. When the athletes of the world met a few days later,
they walked into an armed camp. The stage was set for Smith,
Carlos, and the others.
So as the black U.S. track athletes headed to Mexico City, the big
question was whether or not they would have an organized or
uniform protest. Since they couldn”t agree on whether or not
they would all wear black socks or armbands, it was decided that
everyone could do their own thing.
1968 was a banner year for the U.S. track team. Superstar
performances were turned out by the likes of Bill Toomey, Bob
Seagren and Dick Fosbury (whose revolutionary “Fosbury Flop”
in the high jump was ridiculed until he won the gold). And
perhaps the best single performance in the history of track and
field was witnessed in Mexico City as well.
Bob Beamon long jumped 29 feet, 2 and one-half inches in a
stupendous effort that has to be seen on video to be believed.
Beamon”s leap broke the old record by almost 2 feet! It still
stands as the Greatest Percentage Improvement, 6.6%, over a
world record.
But, of course, it was Tommie Smith and John Carlos who
garnered most of the attention. In the 200 meters, Smith blazed
to the first sub 20-second time, 19.83. Carlos finished third.
[Trivia: Peter Norman of Australia was second.] Smith and
Carlos then decided to wear black gloves on their right hands in a
black power salute as they stood on the awards stand. While
Smith later claimed that he was “giving glory to God” and
“praying for freedom,” others didn”t see it that way. The move
was met by boos, whistles, and just a few muffled cheers.
The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) was furious and, under
intense pressure from IOC Chairman Brundage, was forced to
act. Smith and Carlos were sent home and banned for life from
further competition. Smith said he was rather “pissed,” to put it
mildly.
Next up was Lee Evans and the 400 meters. Evans had received
death threats and he was contemplating going home. Smith and
Carlos convinced him to run. And run he did as he, too, captured
gold for the U.S. In fact, the U.S. finished 1-2-3 with Larry
James and Ronnie Freeman finishing 2nd and 3rd. The three of
them decided to wear black berets, popularized back in the States
by the Black Panthers, when they took to the awards stand.
However, during the playing of the U.S. national anthem, all three
took them off.
Evans was shocked to learn that many of his fellow black athletes
and the militants back home thought he hadn”t done enough.
“Heck, I was the one who received the death threats. They
should have tried out for the team and come here and run if they
wanted more,” Evans said.
The Games were turning into one miserable, negative experience.
The USOC brought hero Jesse Owens in to talk to the athletes
and Jesse preached about the virtues of patriotism. Evans said
Owens was “pitiful.” Other athletes called Owens an “old
Negro.” Owens was crushed by the reaction and wasn”t the same
afterwards.
Then along came George Foreman to save the day for America.
In a titanic fight, heavyweight Foreman captured the gold medal
in a bout against the hated Russian. [For those of you who are
too young to remember the Olympics during the height of the
Cold War, you missed something.] During his victory
celebration, Foreman pulled out a little American flag and waved
it as he paraded around the ring, bowing at each corner. Foreman
was branded a traitor by the Black Movement. George was
startled by the reaction.
“In ”64, I was a mugger and a thief. Now, I had an opportunity
to turn my life around.”
It was no wonder then that the “hated” Foreman was not a
favorite of many blacks in his historic ”74 fight in Zaire against
Muhammad Ali. Ali”s dusting of Foreman helped solidify the Ali
legend in more ways than one. [Editor: I am a huge Ali fan and
just reciting the facts here.]
The ”68 Summer Games were truly symbolic of the turbulent
times in which we lived, not just in America but the World.
Tommie Smith felt he wanted simply to do his part when he “saw
wrong and tried to right it.” Smith ended up being taken
advantage of by his fellow blacks when he returned to the States.
At one point he worked in a car wash with his job being to sign
autographs for customers who wanted it. Today, Smith is a track
coach at Santa Monica College. Carlos is living somewhere in
California, having suffered through his wife”s suicide. Evans has
coached for years in Madagascar (hey, someone has to do it).
Foreman has his Lean Mean Machine which makes an awesome
burger. One other sidelight, Professor Harry Edwards of San
Jose State, referred to in the 8/18 installment, was criticized
heavily by the militants for not showing up in Mexico City and
basically being AWOL for the 3 months leading up to the Games.
Edwards claimed he couldn”t attend because of death threats. He
ended up being fired by SJS. [If memory serves me, he”s back
there today.]
Finally, I can”t blame Smith et al for acting the way they did. But
neither can you condone the mistreatment of Foreman and
Owens. The times were different then. We don”t want to repeat
them.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/6/69: #1 “Honky Tonk Women”
(The Rolling Stones) #2 “A Boy Named Sue” (Johnny Cash)
#3 “Sugar, Sugar” (The Archies)
Southern Cal Quiz Answer: Aside from Ron Mix, the other 5
who made it to the Hall of Fame were: Frank Gifford, Ronnie
Lott, Anthony Munoz, O.J. Simpson, and Willie Wood.
There will be no Bar Chat for Monday, Sept. 4. Next Bar Chat,
Wednesday, Sept. 6.
