Time Warp: 1997

On September 29 1997, I turned sixteen years old.  Here's a quick look at some of the big headlines for that year.  

1997 Recap

• April 13: Tiger Woods wins the Masters Golf Tournament, finishing a full twelve strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Kite.  At the age of twenty, Woods is the youngest person to ever win the competition (1).  

• May 11: IBM's "Deep Blue" computer defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game series, taking the victory by a score of three and a half games to two and a half games.  The achievement is a major milestone in the development of artificial intelligence (2).  

• June 28: During a heavyweight boxing title fight, Mike Tyson bites the ear of opponent Evander Holyfield.  Tyson loses the bout by disqualification; subsequently, his boxing license is suspended for a year (3, 4).  

(Note: The following video may be difficult for some to watch...discretion is advised)

• July 5: Scottish scientists announce that they have successfully cloned a female sheep.  "Dolly" becomes the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell (2).  

• August 14: Convicted of the Oklahoma City Bombing, Timothy McVeigh is sentenced to death by lethal injection.  The sentence will be carried out on June 11, 2001 (5).

• August 31: Diana, Princess of Wales and companion Dodi Fayed are killed in a Paris car crash.  At the time of the accident, the car that Diana was traveling in was being pursued by press photographers.  The Princess was thirty-six years old; Fayed was forty-two (2, 6).  

• October 26: The upstart Florida (now Miami) Marlins win the 1997 World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians four games to three.  It is the first of two world championships for the Marlins; they will also take the title in 2003.  With the victory, Florida becomes the first wild card team to win a World Series (7, 8).  

Next up, we take a special look at 2000; the year that saw my nineteenth birthday, as well as the turn of the millennium.  

Sources:

1. "1997 Masters Tournament - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Masters_Tournament. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

2. "What Happened In 1997 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices And Events". Thepeoplehistory.Com, https://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1997.html. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

3. "Evander Holyfield Vs. Mike Tyson II - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evander_Holyfield_vs._Mike_Tyson_II. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

4. YouTube User "BoxingNews" (from original broadcast of Sky Box Office).  Mike Tyson Bites Holyfields Ear Clean Off. 2016, https://youtu.be/zKPMVex-UKk. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

5. "Timothy Mcveigh - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_McVeigh. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

6. YouTube User "D Harrell" (from original broadcast of MSNBC/the National Broadcasting Company).  MSNBC BREAKING NEWS - PRINCESS DIANA CRASH & DEATH 08/31/1997. 2016, https://youtu.be/9chSLKEU1IY?t=81. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

7. "1997 World Series - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_World_Series. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.

8. Major League Baseball (from original broadcast of the National Broadcasting Company).  WS1997 Gm7: Fish Win First WS On Renteria's Walk-Off. 2014, https://youtu.be/2FR5c8p1GCI. Accessed 19 Sept 2021.