1995 Year in Review

Highlights:

• See Athens 1994-97 Blog)

U.S. Events

·         Criminal trial of O. J. Simpson opens in California (Jan. 24).

·         Scores killed as terrorist's car bomb blows up block-long Oklahoma City federal building (April 19); Timothy McVeigh, 27, arrested as suspect (April 21); authorities seek second suspect, link right-wing paramilitary groups to bombing (April 22).

·         Los Angeles jury finds O. J. Simpson not guilty of murder charges (Oct. 3).

·         Pope John Paul II visits US on whirlwind tour (Oct. 4-8).

·         Million Man March draws hundreds of thousands of black men to capital (Oct. 16).

World Events:

·         US rescues Mexico's economy with $20-billion aid program (Feb. 21).

·         Russian space station Mir greets first Americans (March 14). US shuttle docks with station (June 27).

·         Nerve gas attack in Tokyo subway kills eight and injures thousands. The Aum Shinrikyo ("Supreme Truth") cult is to blame (March 20). Background: International Terrorism

·         Death toll 2,000 in Rwanda massacre (April 22).

·         Fighting escalates in Bosnia and Croatia (May 1). Warring parties agree on cease-fire (Oct. 5);   sign peace treaty (Dec. 14).

·         France explodes nuclear device in Pacific; wide protests ensue (Sept. 5). Background: nuclear weapons

·         Israelis and Palestinians agree on transferring West Bank to Arabs (Sept. 24). Israeli Prime   Minister Yitzhak Rabin slain by Jewish extremist at peace rally (Nov. 4).

Movies:

Best Picture "Forrest Gump";  Best Actor Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump"; Best actress Jessica Lang "Blue Sky"; Best supporting actor Ed Landau in "Ed Wood"; Best supporting actress Dianne West in "Bullets over Broadway".  Director Robert Zemeckis "Forrest Gump". Music "The Lion King" 

Super Bowl

In Super Bowl XXIX the 49ers defeated the Chargers by the score of 49–26, becoming the first team to win five Super Bowl championships. The game was played on January 29, 1995 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida (now part of the suburb of Miami Gardens, which became a separate city in 2003).  This game is regarded as 49ers quarterback Steve Young's final leap out of the shadow of his predecessor, Joe Montana, who had won four Super Bowls with the 49ers (in 1981, 1984, 1988, and 1989), two with Young as the backup quarterback. With Young at the helm, and a defense consisting of several veteran free agents who joined the team during the previous offseason, San Francisco finished the regular season with a league-best 13–3 record, and led the league in total points scored (505). The Chargers, on the other hand, were regarded as a "Cinderella" team, and advanced to their first Super Bowl after posting an 11–5 regular-season record and overcoming halftime deficits in both of their playoff wins.

This was the first Super Bowl in which both teams scored in all four quarters. The combined aggregate score of 75 points and the ten total touchdowns both remain Super Bowl records. Still, the 49ers controlled most of the game, with Young completing touchdown passes in each of the 49ers' first two drives. The Chargers were able to cut the deficit late in the first quarter, 14–7, on a 13-play, 78-yard drive, but could not slow down San Francisco afterwards. Young was named the Super Bowl MVP, throwing a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes, and completing 24 out of 36 passes for 325 yards. This was the first Super Bowl of the 1990s to not feature the Buffalo Bills.

World Series

In the 1995 World Series the Braves defeated the Indians in six games to capture their third World Series championship in franchise history (along with 1914 in Boston and 1957 in Milwaukee), making them the first team to win at least one crown in three different cities. This was also Cleveland's first Series appearance in 41 years and marked the resumption of the Fall Classic after the previous year's Series was canceled due to a players' strike. The Series was also remarkable in that five of the six games were won by one run, including the clinching sixth game, a 1–0 combined one-hitter by Tom Glavine (MVP) and Mark Wohlers.