Year in Sports Review: 1997 – International Year of Mystery

The year was 1997.

Bill Clinton started his 2nd term as President. We found out there was a cloned sheep. The top 4 tv programs in America were not football related. The top shows you ask? They were Seinfeld, ER, Veronica’s Closet, and Friends. Then, at a measly #5 was Monday Night Football.

In the music world, Toni Braxton was asking us to un-break her heart, The Spice Girls informed us of what it took to be their lover, and Jewel was letting me know that I was meant for her. Then the movies informed us that Leonardo DiCaprio became king of the world (and subsequently…our hearts), Mike Myers introduced us to Austin Powers, and you may not remember the Men in Black, but I do. They were nice.

Here’s some of the stuff that happened in the sports world during that magical mystery year.

Here’s some athletes that were born in 1997:

Jérémie Boga, French footballer
Hilary Palma, Peruvian volleyball player
Izzy Brown, English footballer
Lamar Jackson, American football player
Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
Kyle Tucker, American baseball outfielder
Rheed McCracken, Australian wheelchair racer
Yang Yang, Chinese paralympic swimmer
Sophie Hahn, English paralympic sprinter
Noah Hanifin, American ice hockey player
Gedion Zelalem, American footballer
Jack Roslovic, American hockey player
Joel Eriksson Ek, Swedish hockey player
Shim Suk-hee, South Korean speed skater
Saquon Barkley, American football player
Jaire Alexander, American football player
Leighton Vander Esch, American football player
Josh Jackson, American basketball player
Josh Rosen, American football player
Mike Hughes, American football player
Deondre Francois, American football player
Mitchie Brusco, American professional skateboarder
Jamal Murray, Canadian basketball player
Jessica Rogers, American wheelchair athlete
Simone Biles, American gymnast
Katie Ledecky, American swimmer
Rūta Meilutytė, Lithuanian swimmer
Harry Wilson, Welsh footballer
Josh Sweat, American football player
Pavel Zacha, Czech ice hockey player
Roquan Smith, American football player
D. J. Moore, American football player
Donny van de Beek, Dutch footballer
Kim Hae-jin, South Korean figure skater
Lydia Ko, South Korean-born New Zealand golfer
Denzel Ward, American football player
Mitchell Marner, Canadian ice hockey player
Lauri Markkanen, Finnish basketball player
Da’Ron Payne, American football
Sam Darnold, American football player
Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player
Madison Kocian, American artistic gymnast
Derrius Guice, American football player
Shakur Stevenson, American boxer
Marquese Chriss, American basketball player
Bryce Love, American football player and sprinter
Bam Adebayo, American basketball player
Kayli Barker, American race car driver
Ronald Jones II, American football player
Kyler Murray, American football player
Renato Sanches, Portuguese footballer
Brandon Ingram, American basketball player
Forrest Whitley, American baseball pitcher
Tammy Abraham, English footballer
Lonzo Ball, American basketball player
James Whitley, British paralympic skier
Dennis Smith Jr., American basketball player
Shoma Uno, Japanese figure skater
Ronald Acuña, Venezuelan baseball outfielder
De’Aaron Fox, American basketball player
Ana Konjuh, Croatian tennis player

Here are some of the athletes that died in 1997:

Carol Habben, American baseball player (b. 1933)
Curt Flood, American baseball player (b. 1938)
Henry Picard, American golfer (b. 1906)
Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
Helen Jacobs, American tennis champion (b. 1908)
Don Hutson, American football player (b. 1913)
Chūhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (b. 1904)
Frank Parker, American tennis champion (b. 1916)
Ben Hogan, American golf champion (b. 1912)
Johnny Vander Meer, American baseball player (b. 1914)
Rod Milburn, American athlete (b. 1950)
Shirley Crabtree, British professional wrestler (b. 1930)

News of the Year:

Interleague play begins in baseball, ending a 126-year tradition of separating the major leagues until the World Series. The first series featured the San Francisco Giants vs the Texas Rangers.
Bill Clinton is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States.
In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned, and was born in July 1996.
Divorce becomes legal in the Republic of Ireland.
The Comet Hale–Bopp makes its closest approach to Earth. In San Diego, 39 Heaven’s Gate cultists commit mass suicide at their compound.
Tiger Woods creates an uproar with his record 12-shot victory at the Masters, and becomes the first Masters winner of African-American descent. He set the record for the lowest to-par score of −18, and the lowest 72-hole score of 272. He also rises to the No. 1 ranking on June 15, in only his 42nd week as a professional – the fastest ascent to the No. 1 ranking.
A Pegasus rocket carries the remains of 24 people into earth orbit, in the first space burial.
In Denver, Colorado, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Bloomsbury Publishing publishes J. K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in London.
The WNBA tipped its inaugural season with a game that game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles.
Liz Heaston becomes the first woman to both play and score in a college football game
NASA‘s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales: Diana, Princess of Wales is taken to a hospital after a car accident shortly after midnight, in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris. She is pronounced dead at 3:00 am.
The International Olympic Committee picks Athens, Greece, to be the host city for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Mike Tyson bites off a piece of the ear of Evander Holyfieldin the third round of their WBA Heavyweight title fight, getting disqualified by referee Mills Lane.
Mike Myers’ Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and James Cameron’s Titanic premiere in the U.S. Titanic quickly starting a trip to becoming the highest grossing film that year and for the 12 following years.