Fifty-two years ago this week, a group of eight Palestinian militants from the group known Black September compromised Israeli quarters in the Olympic Village during the Munich Summer Games, killed two and took nine others hostage. It led to the first suspension of the Games in modern Olympic history.
Nearly 24 hours later, a shootout occurred at a nearby airport as the terrorists attempted to flee to Cairo, Egypt. The incident at the airport led to all nine hostages dying as well five terrorists and one West German police officer.
Here is Britannica’s account of this horrific episode.
The 1972 Games were the first in Germany since the controversial 1936 Berlin Games which most historians agree allowed Fuhrer Adolf Hitler to expand the Nazi movement.
Interestingly, Avery Brundage was the President of the U.S. Olympic Committe in 1936 when the United States, somewhat controversially, chose to participate in Hitler’s Games. In 1972 he was the International Olympic Committee Chair who, somewhat controversially, announced fewer than 36 hours after the botched hostage rescue attempt that “the games must go on …” to what was a memorial service for the deceased athletes, coaches, and police officer before 80,000 gathered in the Olympic Stadium. After serving as IOC Chair for 20 years, Brundage retired following the Munich Games.
If you’ve not done so, we highly recommend checking out Malcolm Gladwell‘s recent season of “Revisionist History” which takes an episodic deep dive into the 1936 Olympics. Brundage figures prominently in this season.
And if you’re interested in one fan’s rationale for heading back in time to witness these Games in person, here’s my case from December 2023 for doing just that.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.