Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa expressed outrage today over the reported kidnapping of a popular, pro-Solidarity priest and said the priest’s abductors would bear “a terrible responsibility” if they harm him. The priest, the Rev. Jerzy Popiełuszko, 37 years old, has been missing since Friday, when he was abducted by unidentified assailants near Torun, according to the Polish press agency. Polish television broadcast police telephone numbers today for people to call with information about the whereabouts of Father Popiełuszko, who has been the target of frequent attacks by the Government for his sermons advocating the ideals of the now-outlawed Solidarity labor union movement. Mr. Walesa attended the midmorning mass in Warsaw normally offered by Father Popiełuszko. After the service, he stepped to the pulpit to enthusiastic applause from the more than 2,000 worshipers and declared: “If priest Jerzy loses only one hair from his head, someone will take on himself a terrible responsibility.”
Western intelligence analysts say they have received reports that the Soviet Union may have begun deploying a new land-based intercontinental ballistic missile comparable to the United States Minuteman. The analysts say that according to the reports, which they said came from a variety of sources, the missile, known as the SS-25, is being installed in the western military districts of the Soviet Union. According to a senior European intelligence source, the SS-25’s are being deployed among established sites for SS- 20’s, which are medium-range missiles. The SS-25, like the SS-20, is a mobile missile. and some intelligence sources say its deployment would increase the likelihood that the Soviet long-range missile arsenal would survive an attack.
Albania’s Communist Party leader, Enver Hoxha, who had not been seen in public since May, has reappeared in public at a rally after months of speculation in the West that he was in poor health. Mr. Hoxha, who was 76 years old this month, joined a rally of 24,000 young people in the National Stadium in the capital, Tirana, on Saturday, Albania’s official press agency said.
OPEC oil ministers began gathering in Geneva to prepare for their emergency meeting, called for next Monday after three countries cut oil prices last week. Several of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are expected to draft a plan to try to avert a price war. Some oil-producing countries that are not members of the organization have also been invited to participate in the talks. In a weekend statement released by OPEC at its Vienna headquarters, the organization said its members were “determined to maintain and strengthen the price and will take every necessary measure in this respect.” The only way OPEC can do this, oil analysts say, is to slash production immediately.
Diplomatic recognition of Israel by Pope John Paul II is reportedly being urged by a group of prelates, most of them Polish. But several Vatican officials said a move toward formal ties with Israel was unlikely.
Israel announced the death of its 600th soldier in the Lebanon war. Alon Tsur, a 30-year-old corporal from the northern border settlement of Shamir, was killed in a guerrilla attack near the Zahrani River in southern Lebanon, the army said. The latest casualty came as Israeli armed forces radio reported that the Cabinet on October 28 will discuss proposals to bring Israeli troops home.
Twenty-six American employees of the United States Embassy left Lebanon in the last two days amid continuing security threats, diplomatic sources said. Eighteen of the employees were flown out today by Navy helicopter, a well-placed source said. Eight others were flown out Saturday, and more are to be taken out Monday, the source said. State Department Decision On Saturday, the State Department said a decision had been made to reduce the size of the embassy staff significantly with the aim of reducing the number of official American personnel to 30 from the 45 who were said to be in Lebanon as of Friday.
Libyan authorities are negotiating with Soviet officials for the construction of Libya’s first nuclear power station, the official Libyan news agency reported. It said talks are under way in the Soviet Union on a plant that will consist of two hydraulic reactors with a total capacity of 800 megawatts. Libya’s energy secretary said the program intends to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
The Libyan-backed delegation from Chad’s main rebel group refused today to attend a working session of peace talks among rival groups fighting for power in the African desert nation. But the rebel group, the Government of Chad National Unity, said it would join the talks on Monday since it had received assurances from the Congolese authorities that the conference was being held under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity.
Both Iran and Iraq claimed victory after four days of heavy fighting for control of strategic border heights overlooking Iraq, on the central front of the Persian Gulf war. Both sides appeared to have suffered heavy casualties. Iran said its troops smashed two Iraqi units trying to regain land. seized in an Iranian ground offensive. Iraq denied this, saying it has recouped control of all territory lost since the fighting began.
Several Indian opposition groups merged to launch a new political party today and its leaders vowed it would unseat Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s ruling Congress Party in national elections due by January. H. N. Bahuguna, leader of the Democratic Socialist Party, said at a news conference that the new party would be led by former Prime Minister Charan Singh, whose Lok Dal Party has joined forces with the Democratic Socialists. The other members are a breakaway faction of the Congress Party and segments of the Janata Party.
The deaths of some U.S. servicemen in the invasion of Grenada last year were concealed, according to two former military intelligence agents. The two former officers assert that the deaths of the men were concealed because they were members of a secret special operations group. NBC News said it has learned there were 22 more casualties in last year’s U.S. invasion of Grenada than the Defense Department reported, but the Pentagon denied it. Citing three unidentified analysts, NBC said six U.S. commandos were killed and 16 wounded in a firefight with Cuban troops during an unsuccessful early-morning raid on October 25, 1983, designed to clear an airport runway. It did not identify the casualties. A Pentagon spokesman said, “We completely deny there were any more than 19 servicemen killed in Grenada.” The department said 90 servicemen were wounded.
The opposition Independent Liberal Party withdrew from the November 4 Nicaraguan elections, and the Conservative Democratic Party appears likely to follow, threatening to turn the vote into a one-party contest. The Independent Liberals announced that they could not participate until Nicaragua’s state of siege is lifted and press freedom restored. The Democratic Coordinating Council, a conservative coalition and the only real challenger to the ruling Sandinistas, earlier announced a boycott.
President Reagan would dismiss any U.S. official who developed or approved the Central Intelligence Agency’s manual advising Nicaraguan rebels to commit political assassinations, according to the White House national security adviser. Asked if the CIA’s director, William J. Casey, will be dismissed if the investigation shows that he was involved, the adviser, Robert C. McFarlane said, “Whoever was involved ought to be fired.”
Nicaragua’s economic troubles are growing, and Government leaders are predicting that shortages and other hardships will continue for several more years. The Sandinistas charge that the United States has played a major role in creating these difficulties by cutting off foreign aid, restricting purchases of Nicaraguan goods and opposing Nicaragua’s loan applications.
Salvadoran leftist guerrillas attacked an electrical installation north of the capital, killing 12 soldiers and wounding seven. Thirty rebels died and 30 were wounded as soldiers repelled the attack, a military spokesman said. The guerrillas partially destroyed the transformer station at Las Delicias, part of the state power monopoly. Meanwhile, in a Sunday homily, Msgr. Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the auxiliary archbishop of San Salvador, deplored the renewed violence a week after President Jose Napoleon Duarte and rebel leaders held initial peace talks. He called for a “peace caravan” Nov. 21 from the capital to San Miguel, in the east.
Former Argentine guerrilla leader Mario E. Firmenich arrived in Buenos Aires after being extradited from Brazil. Firmenich, 35, was secretary general of the Montonero guerrillas, who violently opposed Argentina’s right-wing military regimes in the 1970s. He faces trial on seven terrorism-related counts, including the 1970 assassination of former President Pedro Aramburu. The Brazilian Supreme Court last week rejected Firmenich’s appeal to delay the extradition despite arguments that his life would be in danger from right-wing groups.
Bishop Desmond Tutu, preaching in an Anglican parish church for the first time since winning the Nobel Peace Prize, said today that blacks were “on our way to victory, on our way to freedom” in the struggle for equal rights in South Africa. Bishop Tutu said he wanted to tell the ruling white minority: “If you think you can stop us, you are going to be stampeded, you are going to be overrun. We don’t want you to be overrun. We say: ‘Come join us. Join the winning side.’ “
President Reagan participates in the second 1984 Presidential Debate with Democratic Presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale. The final Presidential debate between President Reagan and Walter F. Mondale was marked by sharp exchanges on foreign policy and Mr. Reagan’s competence. Mr. Mondale sought to undermine the President’s leadership by assailing him for not curbing the Central Intelligence Agency’s activities in Central America, not protecting Americans in Lebanon and not mastering the subject of nuclear arms control. Mr. Reagan linked the former Vice President to economic and military policies that he said were rejected four years ago.
“The Main Event,” on posters in Kansas City, Missouri, advertising the meeting between President Reagan and Walter Mondale, mirrored the verbal jabs and thrusts that marked the candidates’ second confrontation. Outside the arena, there was a modest anti-abortion rally and an anti-Reagan rally led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
The President and First Lady attend a reception hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Seeking to encourage elderly voters, Walter Mondale has stressed the differences between his social service policies and those of President Reagan. Since voters over the age of 64 may provide an edge the Democrats need, Mr. Mondale has focused on concern that Mr. Reagan will trim Social Security and other programs for the elderly.
A controversy over three grants recently awarded by the Legal Services Corporation has grown as two House Democrats assert that money Congress appropriated to support legal services for poor people is being granted to organizations more interested in promoting Reagan Administration policies.
American fishermen are angry over a decision by the World Court giving to Canada fishing grounds in the productive waters of the Georges Bank area of the North Atlantic, where New Englanders have fished for more than 200 years. The fishermen fear that they will be crowding their limited waters and that increasing imports from Canada will depress the price they get for their catches.
A strike by Canadian auto union members against General Motors is straining relations with the American members of the United Automobile Workers, union officials said. The five-day-old strike by 36,000 Canadian members has caused a shortage of parts made only in Canadian factories, and may force the layoff of 10,000 American workers, who recently voted to ratify a three-year contract with G.M.
About 9,200 members of the United Automobile Workers walked off their jobs today at four plants of Mack Trucks Inc. in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey over a contract dispute with the heavy-duty truck manufacturer. Negotiations that began August 13 failed to produce a master contract to replace the two-year agreement that expired at midnight, and no new talks were scheduled. Bill Casstevens, the director of the union’s Mack Truck Department, said after talks broke off that the company and the union “remain far apart on several key issues, most notably job security and economics.” The affected plants are in Hagerstown, Maryland, Bridgewater, New Jersey, Macungie, Pennsylvania, and Allentown. A Mack plant in Canada was not included in the strike.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s presidential library in Atlanta is already being built, but the plans for the road leading to it are the subject of a trial scheduled to open today in federal court. The trial has been scheduled in two lawsuits filed by local and national groups seeking to stop construction of the $20-million, 2.4-mile Presidential Parkway, which the suits contend would hurt several city areas and parks. The controversy has pitted neighborhood groups against city, state and federal agencies as well as the former President, who has threatened to take the library elsewhere if the four-lane road is not built.
Recent concession agreements have eroded the power and prestige of American unions, James Craft, professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Business, said. Craft has completed a study that included interviews with more than 100 union leaders and members involved in concession negotiations. Union solidarity and the credibility of labor leaders have been eroded by “givebacks” and, in many cases, local union leaders were voted out of office because of their roles in the concessions, Craft said.
A spokesman for the Salvation Army in The Dalles, Oregon, said his organization is trying to feed and house 64 “street people” from Rajneeshpuram while also attempting to raise enough money to send them home. During a stormy meeting in Rajneeshpuram with most of the 3,500 street people the day before, Ma Anand Sheela, personal secretary of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, said troublemakers and those who did not want to participate in the commune’s activities would have to leave.
One of 12 demonstrators who began a hunger strike across the street from the White House last month was hospitalized suffering from malnutrition, officials said. Louis Jeluke, 51, was listed in fair condition at George Washington University Medical Center, where he was admitted after experiencing irregular heartbeats associated with malnourishment, a hospital spokeswoman said. Jeluke was one of 12 members of the Community for Creative Non-Violence who began a fast of protest September 15 in Lafayette Park, the group’s leader, Mitch Snyder, said.
Public school students in Twin Falls, Idaho, were told they might be able to return to class, but students in four other states were still affected by teacher strikes. The school board in Twin Falls said it would open schools today if the teachers agreed not to disrupt classes with demonstrations on the district’s refusal to increase a pay package. Meanwhile, teachers in Louisiana, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania were expected to be back on the picket lines this week.
A man who died deep inside a gold mine filled with toxic gas had not attached a required safety line that could have been used to pull him to safety, the mine’s owner said today. “He had the proper belt, and the safety lines were there, but for some reason he didn’t attach them to himself,” said Allen Herron, owner of the Pac West Development Company. After a 34-hour rescue effort, Roy Madsen, 42 years old, was declared dead late Saturday. His body remained in a narrow passage 175 feet underground in the Governor Mine. The mine was sealed today and the body may not be retrieved for some time. Mr. Madsen apparently fell down the shaft Friday morning. Rescue workers groping through narrow, unlighted passages got to within 10 feet of him, but he had not moved or spoken since he fell, the authorities said.
Landlords who failed to provide heat and hot water to tenants in 128 buildings in New York last year have been targeted by the city for legal action. Mayor Edward I. Koch announced that he will ask a Municipal Court for injunctions ordering 122 landlords to provide tenants with heat and hot water required under city law. The landlords were cited last winter for violations of the housing laws, and some paid fines of up to $250 a day.
Fallen leaves provided fuel for brush fires raging in four New England states, leaving hundreds of acres charred. Helicopters in Connecticut battled a stubborn mountaintop blaze, dozens of firefighters and volunteers fought smoldering fires in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and a wilderness area burned in New Hampshire. Arson was suspected in several of 20 new fires in western Connecticut. In western Massachusetts, firefighters were fighting an underground fire on the Appalachian Trail in the October Mountain State Forest.
Fast-moving thunderstorms erupted yesterday over the lower Mississippi Valley, spinning off tornadoes and dumping rain on parts of Texas and Louisiana that already were saturated from waves of storms the day before. Tornadoes touched down in eastern Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and other possible twisters were detected by radar, the National Weather Service said. One man was killed in a tornado late Saturday, the nation’s 11th storm-related death in a week. Two plane crashes in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in snowstorms claimed two lives over the weekend. Investigators were trying to determine whether the bad weather caused the crashes. A severe thunderstorm watch was posted yesterday for parts of southeastern Texas and much of southwestern Louisiana, with flash-flood watches in some areas of both states and in southwestern Mississippi.
Francois Truffaut, the director, died of cancer at a hospital in a Paris suburb. The 52-year-old film director was a leader of the New Wave group of French movie makers and was considered one of the most important film directors of the 20th century.
Steve Jones runs the Chicago Marathon in a world record 2:08:05.
Austrian Ferrari driver Niki Lauda becomes a 3-time Formula 1 World Drivers champion when he finishes 2nd in the season ending Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril; wins title by just 0.5 from Alain Prost.
NFL Football:
Cleveland Browns’ Steve Cox sets a club record with a 60-yard field goal.
Chicago Bears 44, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9
Cleveland Browns 9, Cincinnati Bengals 12
New Orleans Saints 27, Dallas Cowboys 30
Denver Broncos 37, Buffalo Bills 7
Detroit Lions 16, Minnesota Vikings 14
Pittsburgh Steelers 16, Indianapolis Colts 17
Los Angeles Raiders 44, San Diego Chargers 37
Miami Dolphins 44, New England Patriots 24
Kansas City Chiefs 7, New York Jets 28
New York Giants 10, Philadelphia Eagles 24
Washington Redskins 24, St. Louis Cardinals 26
San Francisco 49ers 34, Houston Oilers 21
Seattle Seahawks 30, Green Bay Packers 24
For only the second time this season, Walter Payton failed to gain 100 yards. But he scored twice and Jim McMahon passed for three touchdowns as Chicago (5–3) took a two-game lead over the Buccaneers (3–5) in the National Football Conference Central Division, as the Bears crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 44–9. “We won the game and that’s what counts,” said Payton, who gained 72 yards on 20 carries. “We knew we had to win this one.” The rout started early. The Bears scored on their first three possessions and the Buccaneers were called for seven penalties in the first quarter alone.
The Cincinnati Bengals edged the Cleveland Browns, 12–9. It was a day of field goals between two teams searching for their second victory. Jim Breech kicked a 33-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, as time ran out to give Cincinnati (2–6) the victory. Earlier, Steve Cox kicked a 60-yard field goal, the second longest in National Football League history. Only Tom Dempsey’s 63-yarder for New Orleans in 1970 was longer. Breech connected on all four of his field-goal attempts. And Matt Bahr added two — a 47-yarder and a 50- yarder – for Cleveland. Bahr tied the score at 9–9 with a 47- yard field goal with 2:02 to play, but Turk Schonert quickly drove Cincinnati into range for Breech’s winning kick, hitting the wide receiver Mike Martin with a 42-yard pass.
Rafael Septien kicked a 41-yard field goal 3:42 into overtime to climax an amazing Dallas comeback, as the Cowboys beat the New Orleans Saints, 30–27. The improbable victory allowed the Cowboys to move into a first-place tie in the National Football Conference East with Washington and St. Louis. New Orleans owned a 27–6 advantage going into the final quarter, but Dallas stormed back by turning a blocked punt into a touchdown, driving 88 yards for another score and tying the game when the defensive end Jim Jeffcoat recovered a Ken Stabler fumble in the end zone. The fourth-quarter comeback featured the quarterbacking of Danny White in place of the starter Gary Hogeboom.
The Denver Broncos’ defense set up two touchdown passes by John Elway as the Buffalo Bills (0-8) were routed, 37–7. But Elway, who threw a 52-yard scoring pass to Steve Watson and a short, roll-out touchdown to Clarence Kay, suffered a bruised shoulder late in the second quarter and left the game. The Bronco wide receiver Clinton Sampson was taken to Buffalo General Hospital after suffering a concussion. He was listed in stable condition. The Broncos (7-1) also got a 3-yard touchdown scramble from the back- up quarterback Gary Kubiak, a short touchdown pass from Kubiak to Sammy Winder and three field goals by Rich Karlis, all at least 40 yards.
Overcoming 14 penalties, a 14–0 halftime deficit and the loss of the running back Billy Sims in the third quarter, the Detroit Lions managed to win on a 41-yard field goal by Eddie Murray with 49 seconds left in the game, prevailing 16–14 over the Minnesota Vikings. Murray’s field goal, his third of the game, was set up by an 18-yard pass from Gary Danielson to Leonard Thompson. He had kicked another 41- yard field goal earlier in the period to make the score 14–13. The game was costly to both teams. The Viking quarterback Tommy Kramer left in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. He did not return, although team physicians said X-rays of Kramer’s shoulder were negative. As for the Lions, this was a Pyrrhic victory. Sims suffered a catastrophic right knee injury; he will never play another NFL down. Without him, the Lions are in for hard times for the rest of the decade.
Ray Butler grabbed a deflected pass on the run and completed a 54-yard touchdown play with 34 seconds remaining in the game, capping a drive that began on the Colts’ 20 with 1:35 to go, as Indianapolis upset the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17–16. On third down and 24 yards to go from their own 46, Pagel hurled a pass that was almost intercepted by the Steelers’ Sam Washington. The Steeler defensive back bobbled the ball and it fell into Butler’s hands at the Steelers’ 40. Raul Allegre’s extra- point kick gave the Colts the lead for the first time in the game. The Steelers (4–4) had David Woodley back at quarterback. He had missed a game with a concussion. Indianapolis (3–5) was not able to move until Pagel replaced newly reactivated Mark Herrmann at quarterback. Pagel completed 13 of 17 passes for 178 yards.
Even for the Los Angeles Raiders it was a wild game. Before the largest crowd to ever watch a San Diego Charger home game, Marc Wilson ripped apart the San Diego secondary for 332 yards and five touchdowns as the Los Angeles Raiders held on to defeat the Chargers today, 44–37. The Chargers lost more than the game. In the final minutes, the Kellen Winslow, the National Football League’s leading receiver, tore a knee ligament. He will be out for the season. The Raiders (7–1), who scored four times in a seven-minute span of the third quarter, withstood a 17-point Charger rally in the fourth quarter, and San Diego (4–4) missed a chance to send the game into overtime when Earnest Jackson’s 4-yard touchdown run was nullified by a holding penalty against the tight end Eric Sievers. Ted Watts then intercepted a Dan Fouts pass in the end zone with only seconds left. A crowd of 57,442 saw the game at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The Raiders overcame three first- half turnovers with the 20-point third period surge. Wilson, making his second start since Jim Plunkett suffered torn abdominal muscles, completed 24 of 37 passes, including scoring passes of 51 and 45 yards to Malcolm Barnwell.
Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins continued on their merry way today, remaining as the only undefeated team in the National Football League halfway through the season. With Marino passing for four touchdown, the Dolphins beat the New England Patriots, 44–24. Marino completed 24 of 39 passes to nine different receivers for 316 yards. This was the fifth game this season for the Dolphins (8–0) in which he threw for three or more touchdowns and the fourth in which he threw for more than 300 yards. One of his passes was intercepted, but he was not sacked. He made the critical plays when he had to make them, especially after the Patriots had tied, 10–10, with 1 minute 55 seconds left in the first half. Marino then used all but the last 6 seconds of the half to drive the Dolphins 80 yards, the scoring play a 19-yard pass to Moore that provided the lead for good, even though the Patriots’ Julius Adams blocked Uwe von Schamann’s extra-point kick. “He did today what he has been doing all year long in making the big plays,” said Coach Don Shula. “He doesn’t seem to be awed or intimidated by anybody. That big play right before the half that just another example of Marino coming through.” He came through in the second half, as well, as twice the Patriots scored after the Dolphins did, to trail by only 30–24 with 11:27 to play. From that point, the Dolphins were able to score twice more to defeat the Patriots for the second time this season and win here for only the second time in the last nine seasons.
It took the Jets half the season, but they finally controlled a game today, gaining a 28–7 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Giants Stadium. The Jets’ record now stands at 6–2, a heady achievement for a team that had seemed to be going nowhere in the preseason. Yet this was only the first time that they did not trail in a game. They will need such winning imprints on their psyche for the second half of the season, in which they face the Miami Dolphins twice. There was little chance of failure today. Rarely had each Jet unit performed so well — Pat Ryan, in a spectacular effort, dominating an offense that played without Freeman McNeil, the American Conference’s leading rusher, who was rested because of bruised ribs; Mark Gastineau spearheading the defensive line; Chuck Ramsey punting so deep and high that the Chiefs began only one of their 12 drives in Jet territory. The defense was so aggressive, with pressure from all over, that the Chiefs failed to convert all 10 of their third-down attempts. For Gastineau, now playing on a different level from the players opposite him, it was the third consecutive game-breaking performance. He participated in two sacks of Bill Kenney, snared a runner 5 yards behind the line, and insured the victory when he outraced his teammate, Ron Faurot, for a Kenney fumble in the end zone for a score that gave the Jets a 21–0 lead in the third quarter.
For more than 52 minutes of their 60-minute game, the Giants and the Eagles battered each other today and were tied, 10–10. Then came two big plays, both by the Eagles, and they turned them into touchdowns and a 24–10 victory. With 7 minutes 53 seconds remaining, the Eagles jarred the ball loose from Phil Simms, the Giants’ quarterback, and recovered on the Giants’ 8-yard line. Three plays later, Ron Jaworski passed 11 yards to Mel Hoover, a 1981 Giants’ reject, for a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 17–10 lead. Little more than a minute later, with the Giants on their 46, Simms passed over the middle for Tom Mullady. Ray Ellis intercepted, and the Eagles wrapped up the victory on Jaworski’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Tony Woodruff with 64 seconds left in the game. Woodruff and Hoover played more than usual because Kenny Jackson, a rookie starter at wide receiver, suffered a separated right shoulder just before halftime and will be sidelined six weeks. In the first quarter, Jaworski combined with Jackson on an 83- yard touchdown pass, actually a 9-yard pass followed by a 74-yard run. “The big difference in the game,” said Lawrence Taylor, the Giants’ all-pro linebacker, “was that their defense caused two turnovers and ours didn’t cause any.” The Giants reached the halfway mark of the National Football League season with a 4–4 record and dropped from a second-place tie in the National Conference’s Eastern Division. The Eagles, winning for the third straight week, are also 4–4.
Neil O’Donoghue, making up for two earlier misses, booted a 21-yard field goal with three seconds remaining, lifting the St. Louis Cardinals to a 26–24 triumph today over the Washington Redskins. The field goal by O’Donoghue, who missed a 40-yard attempt with 2 minutes 53 seconds remaining, capped a 63-yard drive by St. Louis (5–3). Neil Lomax connected with the wide receiver Pat Tilley for a 21-yard gain that set up the winning kick. With 11:31 remaining, O’Donoghue had missed an extra-point conversion that would have tied the score at 24–24. The Cardinals had scored on an 83-yard pass from Lomax to Roy Green. Lomax completed 20 of 37 passes for 361 yards and the Cardinal offense gained a total of 481 yards. Excellent running by John Riggins and a fumble recovery by the tackle Dave Butz rallied the Redskins (5–3) after St. Louis had taken a 10–7 edge at halftime. Riggins’s touchdown, his ninth of the year, capped a 75-yard drive at the beginning of the second half. Then Butz recovered a fumble by Lomax and Joe Theismann led the Redskins on a touchdown drive for an 11-point lead. St. Louis trimmed the Redskins’ lead to 21–17 when Lomax and Doug Marsh connected on a 19-yard scoring play late in the third quarter. Mark Moseley kicked a 39-yard field goal with 11:51 remaining following a 36-yard pass play between Theismann and Clint Didier. Ten seconds later, Roy Green caught the touchdown pass from Lomax.
Joe Montana threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 34–21 victory over the winless Houston Oilers. The 49ers (7–1) took the opening kickoff and drove 83 yards in 10 plays for a 7–0 lead. Montana passed for 52 yards in the drive, including an 11-yard touchdown to tight end Russ Francis. Ray Wersching’s 26-yard field goal on San Francisco’s next possession made it 10–0. Cornerback Steve Brown intercepted a Montana pass at the Houston 35 and returned 26 yards to set up Houston’s first score. Warren Moon (25 of 33, 356 yards, two touchdowns) threw 24 and 15 yards before Tim Moriarity scored from the one to make it 10–7. Moon was intercepted by Dana McLemore in the second quarter, San Francisco then drove 97 yards in 18 plays with Montana throwing a screen pass to Wendell Tyler for a 26-yard touchdown and a 17–7 lead. On the second play of the second half, San Francisco defensive end Lawrence Pillers recovered Moriarity’s fumble at the Oilers’ nine-yard line. A three-yard touchdown run by Tyler (108 yards, 23 carries) was nullified by a holding penalty and the 49ers settled for a 22-yard field goal and a 20–7 lead. The Oilers (0–8) drove from their 37 to score in six plays and cut the lead 20–14 on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Moon to Tim Smith. The drive was aided by a third-down pass interference call against rookie safety Jeff Fuller. After Houston’s Florian Kempf missed a 33-yard field goal, San Francisco fullback Roger Craig finished an 80-yard drive with a five-yard scoring run. Montana completed three passes to Dwight Clark for 39 yards on the march. The Oilers cut the lead to 27–21 when Moon threw 29 yards to tight end Jamie Williams with 5:18 left in the game. However, Montana and Clark had an 80-yard score to clinch the Oilers’ defeat, their 30th in their last 33 games. Montana victimized the Oilers’ young secondary for 25 completions in 35 attempts. He threw one interception and was sacked once.
Dave Krieg fired two touchdown passes and the Seahawk cornerback Terry Jackson intercepted a pass by Lynn Dickey in the end zone with 24 seconds left in the game as the Green Bay Packers (1–7) lost their seventh straight game, bowing to the Seattle Seahawks, 30–24. On the final drive, the Packers moved the ball from their own 29 to the Seattle 10, but sacks by John Harris and Mike Fanning pushed Green Bay back nine yards before Jackson made the interception. Krieg completed 22 of 35 passes for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Steve Largent had 7 catches for 129 yards and 1 touchdown. The Seahawks’ Franco Harris gained only 16 yards on 6 carries. The Seahawks drove the ball 75 yards on seven plays on their first possession of the second half to go ahead, 27–17. Krieg completed the march with a 25-yard pass to Daryl Turner. Dickey pulled the Packers to within 27–24 on an 8-yard touchdown pass to Gerry Ellis with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter.
Born:
Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, French Canadian women’s short track speed skater (Olympics, silver medal, women’s 3000m relay, and bronze medal, 500m short track, 2006), in Prévost, Quebec, Canada.
Jose Lobaton, Venezuelan MLB catcher (San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs), in Acarigua, Venezuela.
Danny Herrera, MLB pitcher (Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets), in Odessa, Texas.
Marvin Mitchell, NFL linebacker (NFL Champions, Super Bowl 44-Saints, 2009; New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings), in Norfolk, Virginia.
Tom Brandstater, NFL quarterback (St. Louis Rams), in Turlock, California.
Died:
Francois Truffaut, 52, director (“Fahrenheit 451”), of brain cancer.
Dalibor Cyril Vačkář, 78, Czech composer (Smoking Symphony).
[Ed: Sims suffered what would ultimately be a career-ending knee injury later in this game. He will never play another regular-season NFL game.]
History Diaries 