University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 1984 Page: 4 of 10
ten pages : ill. ; page 23 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
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UNIVERSITY PRESS September 7,1984*4
Los Angeles was a paradise for pin
traders. One collector displays the
assortment of pins he collected during
the two weeks.
Los Angeles native Paul Gonzales poses
with his gold medal after winning the
106-pound Olympic boxing competition.
htr%x/ andPhotos
y CL YDS HUGHES
Flames ignite the rings on the Coliseum
tower after being lit by 1960 decathalon
winner Rafer Johnson. Seconds after the
photo was taken, the flames ignited the
Olympic Torch, which remained lit
throughout the games’ entirity.
Color, excitement highlight
1984 Los Angeles Olympics
Editor’s note:
Lamar 1984 graduate Clyde Hughes
served as press intern this summer
for the XXIIIrd Olympiad in Los
Angeles. A former UP staff writer,
sports editor and managing editor,
Hughes is now employed in the
publicity department with the Gulf
Star Athletic Conference.
From July 28 to August 12, the city
of Los Angeles played host to the
world as the 23rd edition of the Sum-
mer Olympic Games took place.
Athletes from 140 nations came to
Southern California to take part in
what is considered still the ultimate
event in athletic competition. The
1984 Olympics, even with the boycott
of 16 communist-bloc countries, pro-
ved to be just that.
Opening ceremonies set the mood
for what many were to call after-
wards the best Olympics ever.
Ceremonies revealed the history of
America in music and dance and set
the stage for the entry of the real
stars of the show, the Olympic
athletes.
The symbolic torch was brought
into the stadium by Gina Hemphill,
granddaughter of Jesse Owens, win-
ner of four gold medals in the Berlin
Olympic Games of 1936. She handed
to flame to Rafer Johnson, 1960
decathalon winner, who made the
final run to the stadium platform.
The song “Reach Out and Touch
Somebody’s Hand,” sung by Vicki
McClure of Los Angeles, sent
athletes and fans literally dancing in
the stadium as President Ronald
Reagan officially opened the games.
The United States made an im-
pressive showing in many of the
Olympic events, winning medals in
some events for the first time ever.
Attendance records were set night
after night at different venue sites as
“Olympic fever,” which one Los
Angeles radio station called it,
spread through the City of Angels
and its suburbs.
If there had been a record for pin
trading and collecting, a couple of
those would have been broken also.
Trading pins were the hottest item
at the games. Some pins were selling
for as much as $200 and $300.
The most popular sites, other than
the venue sites, were the Olympic
villages, where the athletes stayed.
Even though tight security
prevented people from entering the
villages, set up at the University Of
Southern California, UCLA and the
University of Califomia-Santa Bar-
bara, spectators still crowded the
entrances just to catch a glimpse of
their favorite athletes.
The Los Angeles Olympic Organiz-
ing Committee closed with a gala
that included fireworks, a laser
show and even a spaceship. For
92,000 fans, and many more wat-
ching on television around the world,
the 1984 Summer Games will remain
an event of color and excitment not
to be forgotten.
A*
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Foster, Donna. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 61, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 1984, newspaper, September 7, 1984; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499598/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.