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Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany two Israelis were shot and 9 taken hostage by members of the Black September, the Palestinian terrorist movement demanding the release of political prisoners by the Israeli government.
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A landmark decisiion issued by the United States Supreme Court
that criminalized or restricted access to abortion. -
The Miami Dolphins, coached by Don Shula, win Super Bowl VII and become the only NFL team in history to win a championship with an undefeated record.
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In an act of standing up for equality between sexes, Billie Jean King accepted to take on a tennis match with Bobby Riggs, a former tennis champion from the 30's and 40's era. Margaret Court actually ended up playing the match and won. A rematch was held 4 months later with King accepting personally and winning the match.
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Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s career home run record, hitting home run number 715 at Atlanta’s Fulton county stadium.
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Elvix Presley died by assisted physicians deat proven by his autopsy which found several pharmeceutical drugs in his system.
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Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees hits his third home run of the game, leading the Yankees to a World Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Earning his nickname, “Mr. October”, Jackson and the Yankees would repeat as champions the following year.
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During the Winter Olympics, the U.S team took home gold after beating the USSR in hockey, the team with an unpenetrated record of winning.
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Princess Dianba and Prince Charles get married.
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On this day, MTV is first launched with the first word on the show being, "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll." the first music video was The Buggles's "Video Killed the Radio Star" to air on the show.
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This was the result of a faulty design by the Soviets made by plant operators in Ukraine. This was one of the direct consequences of the Cold War.
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After 16 years of consecutively breaking the rules of the NCAA, on this day the NCAA punished SMU taking away their privileges to play any football games that year. Since then, the college has had one winning year in a matter of 20 years.
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After winning the Stanley Cup, Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Los Angeles Kings to bring in more money for Peter Pocklington. His arrival to the new team helped them win their first Stanley Cup and made hockey more popular in California, making it the most important trade in NHL history.
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In the Summer Olympics, Ben Johnson came in first place in the 100 meter dash. Only day after completing this astounding accomplishment, not to mention world record breaking achievement, the athlete failed the drug test and lost his gold medal.
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Thespokesman for the East Berlin's Communist party decided to chnge their relations with the West. At midnight, citizens of the GDR would be allowed to cross borders