No. 10: Keith Smart sinks the Orangemen, March 30, 1987

It only makes sense the movie “Hoosiers” was released during the 1986-87 season. The Hoosiers staged some Hollywood-style drama of their own to beat Syracuse for the NCAA title. Keith Smart scored 12 of Indiana’s final 15 points, including a feathery 16-foot jumper from the left side in the final seconds that capped a 74-73 win. Smart play, magical finish.

 

The funny comment I heard from the Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim who said that after this game mentioned above, Bobby Knight told jim that he would get his national championship. Boeheim said he didn’t think at the time it would take 21 years later to do it.

See remarkable video of John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt and go behind the scenes to see how the White House managed a crisis that lifted the president to new heights of public approval.

 

 

William Browning wrote the article “Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt Key Players” (March 26, 2011) for Yahoo News. Browning is a research librarian. Below is a portion of that article.

The assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan occurred a mere 69 days into his administration March 30, 1981. He is the only president to survive taking a bullet thanks to surgeons at George Washington University Hospital.

Many key people were involved in the shooting that day. Had the assassination attempt never happened, many of the key figures surrounding the event would not be known today.

President Ronald Reagan

Reagan finished giving a speech to the AFL-CIO at the Washington Hilton. Just before 1:45 p.m., a man brandishing a gun called out to Reagan and then fired six bullets, four of which found their marks on four separate individuals. Reagan spent nearly two weeks in the hospital recovering at George Washington University Hospital.

John W. Hinckley, Jr.

John W. Hinckley, Jr. was determined to get the attention of actress Jodie Foster. After failing to get to know her at Yale University when she attended classes, the young man’s obsession took on a psychotic twist. He checked into a Washington, D.C., hotel the day before he attempted to kill Reagan after writing a letter to Foster. Hinckley hit four people by his bullets. A jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity over a year later. He currently resides at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Washington and has limited freedom.

Network coverage of President Ronald Reagan being shot March 30, 1981. Part 5 of 11.