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During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1EQ fighter launched two Exocet missiles, hitting the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Stark and severely damaging the vessel. The Stark was in international waters in the Persian Gulf at the time of the attack. President Ronald Reagan had ordered a U.S. naval fleet to the Persian Gulf to monitor the area.

Baseball Player. Randall David Johnson was born in Walnut Creek, California, on September 10, 1963. He and his family soon moved to Livermore, southeast of San Francisco, where he grew up. The most noticeable feature of the Johnson family men was their height. His father, Rollen Johnson, was a 6-foot 6-inch police officer, and Randy and his brothers grew tall quickly. Self-conscious because of his height—he was nearly 6 feet at the age of twelve—J played the clown in school in search of popularity. His teachers found him disruptive, and his strict parents had to correct him frequently. His father noticed that as Randy practiced for Little League baseball by throwing a tennis ball against the garage, the nails popped out of the wall.

SPORT: Football

During 1974, the World Football League (WFL) was formed by Gary Davidson, who had already been involved with other sports leagues, including the American Basketball Association and the World Hockey Association. Davidson intended for the WFL to spread American-style football across the world. On January 14, 1974, the league held its first organizational meeting, with team owners from twelve cities in attendance. Some of the owners had connections to other professional sports, so their participation gave some credibility to the WFL. Most of the twelve cities represented at that first meeting took on WFL franchises; some teams eventually moved to different cities for financial reasons.

SPORT: Ice hockey