Three Seconds in Munich: The Controversial 1972 Olympic Basketball Final

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One. Two. Three.  That’s as long as it took to sear the souls of a dozen young American men, thanks to the craziest, most controversial finish in the history of the Olympics—the 1972 gold-medal basketball contest between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world’s two superpowers at the time. The U.S. team, whose unbeaten Olympic streak dated back to when Adolf Hitler reigned over the Berlin Games, believed it had won the gold medal that September in Munich—not once, but twice. But it was the third time the final seconds were played that counted. What happened? The head of international basketball—flouting rules he himself had created—trotted onto the court and demanded twice that time be put back on the clock. A referee allowed an illegal substitution and an illegal free-throw shooter for the Soviets while calling a slew of late fouls on the U.S. players. The American players became the only Olympic athletes in the history of the games to refuse their medals. Of course, the 1972 Olympics are remembered primarily for a far graver matter, when eleven Israeli team members were killed by Palestinian terrorists, stunning the world and temporarily stopping the games. One American player, Tommy Burleson, had a gun to his head as the hostages were marched past him before their deaths. Through interviews with many of the American players and others, the author relates the horror of terrorism, the pain of losing the most controversial championship game in sports history to a hated rival, and the consequences of the players’ decision to shun their Olympic medals to this day.   List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Cast of Characters 1. The Guns of September 2. A Noble History 3. “The Games Must Go On” 4. Team Building 5. Going for Gold 6. Hornswoggled 7. “And This Time It Is Over” 8. Was the Fix In? 9. Taking a Stand 10. Picking Up the Pieces 11. Joyous Reunion 12. Searching for a Silver Lining Notes Bibliography Index Illustrations 1. Players trying out for the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team 2. Hank Iba 3. Johnny Bach 4. Don Haskins 5. Herbert Mols 6. M. K. “Bill” Summers 7. Members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team preparing for an exhibition game 8. Michael Bantom 9. Jim Brewer 10. The U.S. basketball contingent posing for a photo in the Olympic Village in Munich 11. Tommy Burleson 12. Kenny Davis 13. U.S. players, coaches, and others gather at one end of the Olympic basketball court 14. Jim Forbes 15. Dwight Jones 16. Dwight Jones and Alexander Belov battling for the opening tip-off 17. Tom Henderson 18. Kevin Joyce 19. Kevin Joyce stymied by a Soviet defender 20. Bobby Jones 21. Doug Collins 22. Doug Collins shoots one of his two free throws with three seconds remaining 23. Ed Ratleff 24. Tom McMillen 25. Tom McMillen, Tom Henderson, and others join in the U.S. celebration 26. Alexander Belov making the final basket for the USSR during the third time the final three secon 27. U.S. coach Hank Iba pleading the Americans’ case 28. Kenny and Rita Davis enjoying a welcome-home ceremony in Kentucky 29. Doug Collins embracing Kenny Davis after giving a talk at the fortieth reunion 1