1982’s “Disgrace of Gijón” refers to one of the most controversial World Cup matches ever, and it caused FIFA to change how matches are scheduled to avoid a recurrence. The Disgrace of Gijón was a group stage first round match between West Germany and Austria at the El Molinón stadium in Gijón (Spain) on 25 June 1982. The match also involved (or affected) another team in the same group, Algeria. This was Alferia’s first-ever appearance in a World Cup.
Before the match, Algeria had already played their final group game the day before, and West Germany and Austria both knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify both countries, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. Also, in a major upset, Algeria had previously beaten powerhouse West Germany who were the reigning European Champions.
In the Disgrace of Gijón match, West Germany took an early 1-0 lead. After that, the remainder of the disgraceful match consisted of no attacking defense and no attacking shots on goal — each team, when they had the ball, simply stalled the game and passed the ball easily to another teammate. When the other team stole the ball, they did the same thing. When either team got near the opponent’s goal they would take a lackluster shot that was obviously easy for the opposing goalie to stop. This protected the 1-0 score and guaranteed both teams advancing to the second round.
When fans realized what was happening they lit fires in the stadium in protest by burning flags and money and game programs and clothes. One German fan was so upset by his team’s display that he burned his German flag in disgust. The performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans.
After the match, the game was referred to as the Disgrace of Gijón, or in German the match is known as Nichtangriffspakt von Gijón (Non-aggression pact of Gijón) or Schande von Gijón (Disgrace of Gijón. In Algeria it is known as the Anschluss in reference to the unification of Austria and Nazi Germany in 1938.
In an attempt to avoid a similar recurrence, FIFA changed how matches are scheduled: the final two games in group play would be held simultaneously.
In the Sound of Music, Captain Von Trapp and Maria return from their honeymoon after the Anschluss to find a large swastika flag on their home. Von Trapp pulls it down and rips it up.
While anti-abortion groups often compare abortion to the Holocaust, the simple truth of the matter was that Adolph Hitler was very opposed to any woman’s individual right to chose whether to have a child or terminate her pregnancy. He believed the government should have the right to force Aryan women to give birth and non-Aryan women to abort their “inferior” babies.
The Queen’s great-great-grandfather was named Adolphus, an English variant of Adolph. Prince Adolphus was Duke of Cambridge, a title now carried by his great-great-great-great grandson, Prince William.
Harpo Marx had changed his name from Adolph to Arthur by 1911. This was due primarily to his dislike for the name Adolph (as a child, he was routinely called “Ahdie” instead). Urban legends stating that the name change came about during World War I due to anti-German sentiment in the US, or during World War II because of the stigma that Adolf Hitler imposed on the name, are groundless.
Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, was named Duke of York upon the occasion of his wedding to Miss Sarah Ferguson in 1986, four years after he won some renown for his service in the Royal Navy during the Falklands War.
…where his Ship HMS Invincible followed the example of its namesake of 1907 in earning a great victory in the Falklands (during WW1) but fortunately avoided that ships ultimate fate; being blown up in battle with few survivors.
During the 1914 Battle of the Falkland Islands, HMS Invincible and her sister HMS Inflexible sank the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau almost without loss to themselves, despite numerous hits by the German ships.
Mike Battle was a defensive back for the New York Jets, know to fans for two things – hurtling over Giants defenders when returning a punt in the first meeting of the two clubs, and eating glass.*
*He would bite pieces off beer glasses, chew them up, and swallow them.
In 1980, Oakland Raiders defensive back Lester Hayes was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year after he intercepted 13 passes during the regular season and five more in the playoffs as the Raiders went on to win Super Bowl XV. That was the last year the NFL allowed a sticky, gooey substance called stickum to be used. Intended to be rubbed lightly on the hands to enhance grip, stickum was instead slathered by Hayes on his hands and arms and uniform, so much so that it visibly dripped off of him. A year later in 1981, the NFL banned stickum from the league, and it has remained banned since then.
While the liturgical colour for Advent is violet, an exception is made for the third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday), when rose-coloured vestments are permitted. This Sunday takes its name from the first word of its entrance chant: Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete (“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice”).
Violet Jessop survived the sinking of the Titanic and later the sinking of the ship built to replace her, the Britannic, having earlier survived a collision on board the other sister ship, the Olympic.
In racquetball, any player about to execute a return who believes that striking the opponent with the ball or racquet is likely, may immediately stop play and request a dead-ball hinder. This call must be made immediately and is subject to acceptance and approval of the referee. (The referee will grant a dead-ball hinder if it is believed the holdup was reasonable and the player would have been able to return the shot, and the referee may also call an avoidable hinder if warranted.)