end to the dynasty of Greg LeMond in 1990 but the
beginning of seven-time champion Lance Arm-
strong’s reign in 1999.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto
Racing (NASCAR) also had some ups and downs.
Early in the decade, Dale Earnhardt dominated the
field, winning four major championships and finally
capturing the elusive Daytona 500 race in February,
- The sport also witnessed the emergence of the
popular Jeff Gordon. He and the Earnhardt dynasty
helped catapult NASCAR into the limelight in 1995,
and the sport branched out internationally in 1996
with the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. NASCAR cele-
brated its fiftieth anniversary two years later, in 1998.
The sport was not without loss, however, as Alan
Kulwicki and Davey Allison were killed in separate
aviation accidents in 1993.
At the end of the decade, horse racing, and partic-
ularly the Triple Crown races, would regain glory. In
1997, the gray colt Silver Charm narrowly missed
winning the final leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont
Park. The following year, another near miss by Real
Quiet further promoted horse racing. In 1999, the
29-1 long shot Charismatic won the Kentucky Derby
and the Preakness and then broke down in the
Belmont, failing to win the last leg of the Triple
Crown but reviving fan support in the search for a
champion.
Impact Sports in the 1990’s were a time of tragedy
and triumph. The story of Dennis Byrd, the New
York Jets football player who was paralyzed in a game
with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1992 and later made a
full recovery, was heartwarming and gave faith to
many that they could overcome any obstacle. Nolan
Ryan’s seventh and final career no-hitter in 1991,
Cal Ripken, Jr.’s eclipse of Lou Gehrig’s consecutive
games played streak in 1998, and the U.S. domi-
nance at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta were
positive memories of the role of sports in society.
However, stories such as the final-hole collapse of
French golfer Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British
Open with a three-stroke lead, the Olympic Park
bombing of 1996, the O. J. Simpson trial of 1995,
and the deaths of great athletes such as American
football player Red Grange and Croatian basketball
player Drazen Petrovic were reminders of how sports
is not always about happy endings. Nevertheless,
sports played a crucial role in giving hope to many
Americans.
Further Reading
Brown, Gerry, and Mike Morrison, eds.ESPN Sports
Almanac. New York: Ballantine, 2009. A definitive
source for statistics and trivia.
Layden, Joe. The Great American Baseball Strike.
Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press, 1995. A book
designed for young adults that examines the
1994-1995 baseball strike within the context of
the history of the game and its past labor prob-
lems.
McNeil, William.The Single-Season Home Run Kings:
Ruth, Maris, McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds. Jefferson,
N.C.: McFarland, 2002. Reviews the careers of
each player and his record-breaking season.
Keith J. BellSee also Agassi, Andre; Armstrong, Lance; Auto
racing; Bailey, Donovan; Barkley, Charles; Baseball;
Baseball realignment; Baseball strike of 1994; Bas-
ketball; Bowl Championship Series (BCS); Boxing;
Browning, Kurt; Devers, Gail; Dream Team; Foot-
ball; Gordon, Jeff; Griffey, Ken, Jr.; Hamm, Mia;
Hockey; Holyfield, Evander; Home run race; John-
son, Magic; Jordan, Michael; Kerrigan, Nancy;
McGwire, Mark; Malone, Karl; Olympic Games of
1992; Olympic Games of 1994; Olympic Games of
1996; Olympic Games of 1998; O’Neal, Shaquille;
Ripken, Cal, Jr.; Salt Lake City Olympics bid scandal;
Sampras, Pete; Seles, Monica; Soccer; Sosa, Sammy;
Stojko, Elvis; Strug, Kerri; Tennis; Tyson, Mike;
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA);
Woods, Tiger; World Cup of 1994; Yamaguchi, Kristi. Star Wars: Episode I—The
Phantom Menace
Identification Science-fiction adventure film
Director and writer George Lucas (1944- )
Date Released on May 19, 1999
A long-awaited fourth film in theStar Warssaga and the
first stor y in the chronology, this prequel was met with
mixed reviews by fans and critics. Nevertheless, the film’s vi-
sual artistr y earned praise from a number of reviewers.
The Phantom Menacewas the firstStar Warsmovie to
be released in sixteen years, followingStar Wars
(1977; later retitledStar Wars: Episode IV—A New
Hope),Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back
(1980), andStar Wars: Episode VI—Return of the JediThe Nineties in America Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace 803