1969 Buffalo Bills season
The 1969 Buffalo Bills season was the team’s tenth season, and was the final season of the American Football League before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger. The Bills played an AFL-record seven games against opponents that went on to reach the postseason; Buffalo lost all seven of these games.


1969 Buffalo Bills season
The 1969 season was the first for running back O. J. Simpson, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career.


1969 Buffalo Bills season
Although Buffalo only won four games, their penultimate win—a Week Ten victory against the Miami Dolphins—would be their last victory against the Dolphins until the 1980 season. After the win, the Bills suffered against Miami an NFL-record twenty consecutive games lost by one team to another.


1969 Buffalo Bills season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972. This was the final year of the AFL The Baltimore Colts would join the AFL eastern teams and become the AFC East in 1970.


1969 Buffalo Bulls football team
The 1969 Buffalo Bulls football team represented the University at Buffalo in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Bulls offense scored 174 points while the defense allowed 89 points.


1969 Bulgarian Cup Final
The 1969 Bulgarian Cup Final was the 29th final of the Bulgarian Cup (in this period the tournament was named Cup of the Soviet Army), and was contested between CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia on 30 April 1969 at Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. CSKA won the final 2–1.


1969 CFL season
The 1969 Canadian Football League season is considered to be the 16th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it was officially the 12th Canadian Football League season.


1969 CFL season, CFL News in 1969
The 1969 Grey Cup game started play on a Sunday for the first time in CFL history; all Grey Cup games since (except for 1970) have been played on a Sunday. (The CFL did play a Grey Cup game on Sunday before, in 1962, when the original Saturday Grey Cup game was delayed due to heavy fog that caused the final 9 minutes and 28 seconds to be played the following day.)


1969 CFL season, CFL News in 1969
The Grey Cup was held in Montreal, Quebec for the first time since 1931.


1969 CFL season, CFL News in 1969
A new logo was introduced to the league on November 26, four days before that year's Grey Cup game: A white helmet with a one-bar face mask with a maple leaf in the centre and the word CFL in white in the maple leaf. It replaced the leaf/football/ribbon logo used since the league's formation in 1958, and would be used until 2002.


1969 CFL season, CFL News in 1969
Records: The Rough Riders' Margene Adkins set the record for average gain per pass in a season with 25.0 yards. The record stood for 28 years, until Milt Stegall broke it.


1969 CFL season, Regular season standings, Final regular season standings
Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pts = Points


1969 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The 1969 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 5th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's football club champion in the CONCACAF region.


1969 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The tournament was played by 10 teams of 9 nations: Netherlands Antilles, Bermuda, El Salvador, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. It was played from 25 April till 30 September 1969 under the home/away match system and for the first time, the teams were not split into zones, playing in a straight round system.


1969 CONCACAF Champions' Cup
Cruz Azul from Mexico won the final after beating Guatemalan club Comunicaaciones 1–0 in the second leg, becoming CONCACAF champion for the first time in its history.


1969 CONCACAF Championship
The 1969 CONCACAF Championship was the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Championship, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). The tournament was held between 23 November to 8 December. Six teams participated in the tournament.


1969 CONCACAF Championship
The event was hosted by Costa Rica in the city of San José. Seven team qualified, but Haiti's disqualification left six teams to play in the round-robin format to determine the winner. The tournament was won by the host nation, for the second time after 1963, by tying defending champions Guatemala 1–1 in the deciding final match.


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification
A total of 12 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Costa Rica, as the hosts, and  Guatemala, as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 4 spots open for competition. The 10 teams were divided into 5 groups of 2 in which one of them will advance to the final tournament.


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
20 April 1969, Port-au-Prince, Haiti –  Haiti 2 - 0 United States


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
11 May 1969, San Diego, United States –  United States 0 - 1 Haiti


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
21 October 1969, Mexico City, Mexico –  Mexico 3 - 0 Bermuda


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
2 November 1969, Hamilton, Bermuda –  Bermuda 2 - 1 Mexico


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
11 April 1969, Kingston, Jamaica –  Jamaica 1 - 1 Panama


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
11 May 1969, Kingston, Jamaica –  Panama 1 - 2 Jamaica


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
Honduras was disqualified due to Football War with El Salvador, so  Netherlands Antilles advanced to the tournament automatically.


1969 CONCACAF Championship qualification, Preliminary round
El Salvador was disqualified due to Football War with Honduras, so  Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the tournament automatically.


1969 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
The 1969 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season.


1969 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
Cal Poly competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). For the 1969 season the CCAA changed significantly. Three schools left the conference and moved up to the University Division in the new Pacific Coast Athletic Association. Those schools were Fresno State, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal State Los Angeles. They were replaced in 1969 by Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside and in 1970 by Cal State Fullerton.


1969 Cal Poly Mustangs football team
The team was led by second-year head coach Joe Harper and played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California. They finished the season as CCAA champion, with a record of six wins and four losses (6–4, 2–0 CCAA). This would begin a streak of five consecutive CCAA championships for the Mustangs.


1969 Cal Poly Mustangs football team, Team players in the NFL
The following Cal Poly Mustangs were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.


1969 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team
The 1969 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team represented California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season.


1969 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team
Cal Poly Pomona competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). For the 1969 season CCAA football changed significantly. Three schools left the conference and moved up to the University Division in the new Pacific Coast Athletic Association. Those schools were Fresno State, Long Beach State, and Cal State Los Angeles. They were replaced in 1969 by Cal Poly Pomona and UC Riverside and in 1970 by Cal State Fullerton. Cal Poly Pomona had joined the CCAA in 1967, but its football team was not considered a conference member since they didn't play a full slate of conference games in 1967 or 1968.


1969 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team
Cal Poly Pomona was led by first-year head coach Roy Anderson. They played home games at Kellogg Field in Pomona, California. The Broncos finished the season with a record of two wins and eight losses (2–8, 1–2 CCAA). Overall, the team was outscored by its opponents 110–287 for the season.


1969 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal Poly Pomona players were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.


1969 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team
The 1969 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team represented California State College at Hayward in the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. Cal State Hayward competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).


1969 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team
The Pioneers were led by fourth-year head coach Les Davis. They played home games at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward, California. The Pioneers finished the season as champion of the FWC, with a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1, 5–0 FWC). They outscored their opponents 262–165 for the 1969 season.


1969 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team
The 1969 team was the most successful in the 29 years of Cal State Hayward football (1965 to 1993). They defeated two Top 20 (Small College) teams and finished the season #15 in the UPI Small College rankings. They had the most wins (nine) and fewest losses (one). It was the only season they were undefeated in the conference and won the conference championship outright.


1969 Cal State Hayward Pioneers football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal State Hayward Pioneers players were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.


1969 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team
The 1969 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team represented California State University, Los Angeles during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season.


1969 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team
This was Cal State LA's first year in the University Division and was the inaugural season for the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The team was led by Walt Thurmond in his first, and only year as head coach. They played only two home games, both at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The team finished the season with a record of zero wins and nine losses (0–9, 0–4 CCAA). The Diablos were shutout four times in 1969, and scored only 67 points for the season while giving up 329.


1969 Cal State Los Angeles Diablos football team, Team players in the NFL
No Cal State Los Angeles players were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.


1969 Calgary Stampeders season
The 1969 Calgary Stampeders finished in 2nd place in the Western Conference with a 9–7 record. They appeared in the Western Semi-Final where they lost to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.


1969 California Angels season
The 1969 California Angels season was a season in American baseball. In the first season following the split of the American League into two divisions, the Angels finished third in the newly established American League West with a record of 71 wins and 91 losses.


1969 California Angels season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 California Angels season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 California Angels season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 California Angels season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 California Angels season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 California Golden Bears football team
The 1969 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. In their sixth year under head coach Ray Willsey, the Golden Bears compiled a 5–5 record (2–4 against Pac-8 opponents), finished in sixth place in the Pac-8, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 182 to 180.


1969 California Golden Bears football team
The team's statistical leaders included Dave Penhall with 874 passing yards, Gary Fowler with 741 rushing yards, and Jim Fraser with 335 receiving yards.


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby
The 1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby   was won by the selection of   Buenos Aires that beat in the final the selection of  Cordoba.


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Results
Change the format: the selection of the union that host the "final four" was admitted directly to semifinals.


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Results, Semifinals
Buenos Aires: D. Morgan, M. Walther,  A. Rodríguez Jurado,  A. Travaglini,  M. Pascual,  C. Martínez,  L. Gradin,  H. Silva (cap. ),  H. Miguens,  R. Loyola,  A. Anthony,  A. Otaño,  M. Farina,  R. Handley,  L. García Yáñez. Cuyo: J. Castro, J. Villanueva,  R: Tarquini,  E. Gandía,  C. Magnani, C. Navessi,  l. Chacón,  R. Portabella,  E. Casale,  E. Martínez, H. Martín,  C. González, O. Bempo,  L. Ramos,  R. Fariello (cap.)


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Results, Semifinals
Cordoba: F. Mezquida,  J. Faya,  E. Meta,  H. Espinosa,  P. Barrios,  J. Ulla,  J. Vera,  E. Vaca Narvaja,  A. Resella,  R. Byleveld,  R. Campra (cap. ),  R. Pasaglia,  C. Abud,  H. Bianchia,  G. Ribeca. Rosario= Seaton,  A. Quetglas,  C. Blanco,   J. Benzi,  E. España (cap. ),  E. Ferraza,  O. Aletta de Sylva,  J. Imhoff,  J. L. Imhoff,  M. Chesta,  R. Suárez,  H. Suárez,  S. Furno,  R. Seaton,  F. Lando


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Results, Third place final
Cordoba: F. Mezquida,  L. Capell,  E: Mato,  M. Cappel,  H. Espinosa,  J. Tejo,  J. Vera,  R. Byleveld,  J. Aguirre,  E. Vaca Narvaja,  R. Campra (cap. ),  R: Pasaglia,  G. Ribecca,  H. Bianchi,  C. Abud. Cuyo: Gandía,  C. Magnani,  R. Villanueva,  R. Fernández,  J. Villanueva,  C. Navessi,  L. Chacón,  E. Martínez,  A. Granata,  E. Casale,  H. Martín,  C. González,  R. Fariello (cap. ),  L. Ramos,  O. Bempo.


1969 Campeonato Argentino de Rugby, Results, Final
Buonos Aires : D. Morgan,  M. Walther,  A. Rodríguez Jurado,  A. Travaglini,  M. Pascual,  T. Harris Smith,  A. Etchegaray,  H. Silva (cap. ),  H. Miguens,  R. Loyola,  A. Anthony,  A. Otaño,  R. Casabal,  R. Handley,  L. García Yáñez. Rosario J. Seaton,  A. Quetglas,  C. Blanco,  J. Benzi,  E. España (cap. ), E. Ferraza,  O. Aletta de Sylva,  J. L. Imhoff,  M. Chesta,  J. Imhoff,  R. Suárez,  H. Suárez,  S. Furno,  R: Seaton,  F. Lando.


1969 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The 1969 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the 1969 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa) was the 13th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. It began on 6 September and ended on 7 December. Santos came as the defending champion having won the 1968 season and Palmeiras won the championship, the 4th national title of the club at 10 years of tournament contention.


1969 Campeonato Carioca
The 1969 edition of the Campeonato Carioca kicked off on March 8, 1969 and ended on June 22, 1969. It was organized by FCF (Federação Carioca de Futebol, or Carioca Football Federation). Twelve teams participated. Fluminense won the title for the 19th time. no teams were relegated.


1969 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A
The 1969 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol (English: Ecuadorian Football Championship) was the 11th national championship for football teams in Ecuador. LDU Quito won their first national title.


1969 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol Serie A, Record match
The Serie A record for the largest margin of victory was set this season on October 26. LDU Quito beat América de Ambato 11–0 in Ambato. In this game, Uruguayan Francisco Bertocchi also set a record for individual goalscoring in a single match with 8 goals.


1969 Campeonato Paulista
The 1969 Campeonato Paulista da Divisão Especial de Futebol Profissional, organized by the Federação Paulista de Futebol, was the 68th season of São Paulo's top professional football league. Santos won the title for the 12th time. no teams were relegated and the top scorer was Santos's Pelé with 26 goals.


1969 Can-Am season
The 1969 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the fourth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 1, 1969, and ended November 9, 1969, after eleven rounds.


1969 Can-Am season
This was the first season of Can-Am following the demise of the similar United States Road Racing Championship. With several USRRC events choosing to continue on under Can-Am, the series schedule was greatly expanded beyond its normal six event season. This also meant that the season was run over a greater period of time, rather than just being run in the autumn.


1969 Can-Am season
The season was swept by McLaren, whose founder Bruce McLaren won the championship over teammate and fellow New Zealander Denny Hulme. McLaren won six races to Hulme's five, winning the championship by a mere five points.


1969 Can-Am season, Drivers Championship
Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Only the best nine finishes out of eleven rounds counted towards the championship. Points earned but not counting towards the championship are marked by parenthesis.


1969 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1969 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on September 20, 1969. It was race 9 of 11 in both the 1969 World Championship of Drivers and the 1969 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 90-lap race was won from pole position by Belgian driver Jacky Ickx in a works Brabham-Ford, with teammate Jack Brabham second and Jochen Rindt third in a works Lotus-Ford.


1969 Canadian Grand Prix
In this race, Al Pease who drove a privately entered Eagle-Weslake in what would be its final F1 appearance became the only driver in F1 history to be disqualified for driving too slowly.


1969 Canadian Open (tennis)
The 1969 Canadian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in Toronto in Canada. The men's tournament was held from August 9 through August 15, 1969, while the women's tournament was played from August 16 through August 23, 1969.


1969 Canadian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's Doubles
Ron Holmberg /  John Newcombe defeated  Butch Buchholz /  Raymond Moore 6–3, 6–4


1969 Canadian Open (tennis), Finals, Women's Doubles
Brenda Nunns /  Faye Urban defeated  Jane O'Hara Wood /  Vivienne Strong 6–1, 6–1


1969 Canadian federal budget
The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 1969-1970 presented by Minister of Finance Edgar Benson in the House of Commons of Canada on 3 June 1969. This was Canada's last balanced budget  until Paul Martin's budget of 1997-98.


1969 Cannes Film Festival
The 22nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 23 May 1969. At this festival a new non-competitive section called Directors' Fortnight was added, in response to the cancellation of the 1968 festival.


1969 Cannes Film Festival
The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to If.... by Lindsay Anderson. The festival opened with Sweet Charity, directed by Bob Fosse.


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Jury
The following people were appointed as the Jury of the 1969 film competition:


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, In competition - Feature film
The following feature films competed for the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film:


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Films out of competition
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Official selection, Short film competition
The following short films competed for the Grand Prix International du Festival:


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, International Critics' Week
The following feature films were screened for the 8th International Critics' Week (8e Semaine de la Critique):


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Parallel sections, Directors' Fortnight
The following films were screened for the 1969 Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalizateurs):


1969 Cannes Film Festival, Awards, Official awards
The following films and people received the 1969 Official selection awards:


1969 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics
The 1969 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio Juan Abrantes in Havana, Cuba between 17–19 August.


1969 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
The 1969 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. In their third season under head coach Roy Kramer, the Chippewas compiled a 7–3 record (2–1 against IIAC opponents) and outscored their opponents, 254 to 147. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bob Miles with 305 passing yards, tailback Jesse Lakes with 1,263 rushing yards, and Dave Lemere with 239 receiving yards.


1969 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
On September 27, 1969, Lakes set a school record, rushing for 343 yards (and also scored five touchdowns) in a 41-6 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Lakes broke Jim Podoley's record of 254 yards set in 1954. Lakes' record was broken in 1994 by Brian Pruitt. Tight end Dave Farris received the team's most valuable player award. Nine Central Michigan players (Lakes, Farris, defensive tackle Ralph Burde, guard Fred Ferguson, linebackers Tom Hahnenberg and Bump Lardie, defensive back Bob Markey, and tackles Mike Post and Jim Prisk) received first-team honors on the All-IIAC team.


1969 Chadian parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Chad on 14 December 1969. The country was a one-party state at the time, with the Chadian Progressive Party as the sole legal party. It therefore won all seats in the National Assembly, which was enlarged from 75 to 101 seats. Voter turnout was 95.11%.


1969 Chadian presidential election
Direct presidential elections were held in Chad for the first time on 15 June 1969. Previously the President had been elected by an electoral college, but in an attempt mobilise support, incumbent François Tombalbaye initiated direct elections. The country was a one-party state at the time, with the Chadian Progressive Party as the sole legal party and Tombalbaye ran unopposed. Voter turnout was 93.0%.


1969 Championship of Australia
The 1969 Championship of Australia was the 13th edition of the Championship of Australia, an ANFC-organised national club Australian rules football match between the champion clubs from the VFL and the SANFL.


1969 Charleston hospital strike
The Charleston hospital strike was a two-month movement in Charleston, South Carolina that protested the unfair and unequal treatment of African American hospital workers. Protests began after twelve black employees were fired for voicing their concerns to the president of Medical College Hospital, which is now the Medical University of South Carolina. The strike was one of the last campaigns of the civil rights movement in South Carolina, and the first of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the year before.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Background
Five years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African Americans in Charleston's Medical College Hospital were still treated more poorly than white employees. Several African American hospital workers had been attempting to meet with Dr. William McCord, the president of the hospital, to discuss low wages, discrimination, and verbal abuse on the job. One nurse, Mary Grimes-Vanderhorst, claimed that she was unjustly demoted from a nurse to a nursing assistant because of her race, consequentially reducing her pay.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Background
Other African American nurses and hospital workers stated that they were being paid less than white employees who did the same work, receiving $1.30 per hour, 30¢ below the minimum wage. Black employees often complained that racial slurs and racist comments had been used against them and that the hospital had taken no action to discipline employees who made such comments. Some African American workers were prohibited from eating their lunch in break rooms because of segregation, and were forced to eat outside or in boiler rooms.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Background
In September 1968, some hospital workers contacted Local 1199, a national health care workers' union. Local 1199 agreed to establish a chapter in Charleston, named Local 1199B, with Mary Moultrie as its president. Moultrie was also an employee of the hospital. The Local 1199B union, with assistance from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), requested formal recognition from the hospital's president, which was rejected. On March 18, 1969, President McCord agreed to meet with Moultrie and several other employees during their lunch break. But McCord brought an anti-union delegation outnumbering Moultrie’s group.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Background
Moultrie and her colleagues walked out of the meeting knowing that compromise would not be possible with the anti-union delegation's presence. Moultrie and eleven other workers briefly took over the president’s office in protest. The twelve workers were accused of leaving their patients unattended and were terminated that day. However, according to Louise Brown, one of the African American women who was fired, the twelve workers were on their lunch break; their patients, as usual, were already covered by other hospital staff.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Strike
In response to the firing of the twelve African American employees, on March 19, 1969, over sixty African American hospital employees walked off of their jobs and led a strike against the hospital. Both hospital employers, the State of South Carolina and Charleston County, committed to using any means at their disposal to avoid unionization. Within a few hours of the beginning of the strike, the Medical College prohibited all picketing, which was later amended to require picketers to stand no fewer than twenty yards apart.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Strike
One nurse, Naomi White, created a group called Hell's Angels, which went to hospital workers' homes to encourage them to strike or protest, though Moultrie and the SCLC were unaware of the Angels. Governor Robert McNair prohibited the Medical College and Charleston County from compromising with the strikers and to urged them to avoid anything that would appear to be collective bargaining. McNair feared that the strike would lead to more strikes in other fields of work around the state.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Strike
On April 25, 1969, Governor McNair ordered over 1,000 state troopers and National Guardsmen, imposed a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, and declared a state of emergency. Some protesters defied the curfew and led the strike into the night. By early summer, armored personnel carriers and soldiers with fixed-bayonets had arrived in the city. Violence increased against strikers: one union member's hotel room was firebombed and mysterious fires erupted around the city. Mary Moultrie moved out of her home for her family’s safety and slept on a cot at the union hall under the guard armed youths. William Bill Saunders, a Korean War veteran who participated in the strike, observed that police arrested dozens of people daily. Over 1,000 people were arrested throughout the civil conflict.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Strike
By the end of April, the movement gathered the support of Coretta Scott King and SCLC members Andrew Young and Ralph Abernathy. In an April 30 address at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, King stated, "I feel that the black woman in our nation, the black working woman is perhaps the most discriminated against of all of the working women, the black woman." After the speech, King, alongside Mary Moultrie, led a 2,000-person march. The following week on Mother's Day, over ten thousand people, including five U.S. Congressmen, marched in downtown Charleston. The tourist industry of Charleston was strained as a result of these marches as protesters clogged public streets and markets. Local 1199B created advertisements that sought to encourage locals to purchase only food and medicine to further disrupt the city's economy.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Strike
Most politicians in South Carolina agreed with Governor McNair's response to the strike, though his constituents grew increasingly frustrated by the ongoing fallout. Many businesses in Charleston were negatively affected by the strikes, both by strikers blocking establishments and the imposed 9 p.m. curfew. Some businesses reported revenue reductions by as much as 50%, including the Holiday Inn and other hotels that were forced to cancel events and conferences. Additionally, the South Carolina Task Force for Community Uplift noted that the use of national guard forces required $10,000 daily (approximately $71,000 in 2020 dollars).


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Settlement and Aftermath
A federal investigation charged the Medical College Hospital with 37 instances of civil rights violation and threatened to cut off $12 million in federal funding. President McCord yielded, and on June 27, 1969, he announced that a settlement had been made between the hospital and the strikers. The Medical College Hospital promised to rehire strikers the following week, including the original twelve employees who had been fired, and to abide by a newly established six-step grievance process, and to provide modest pay increases.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Settlement and Aftermath
Though the union was never formally recognized by the Hospital or by any level of government, the strike was considered a success. Consequently, African Americans at the Medical College received higher pay and a more transparent system of hiring. Within a few months of the strike's end, Local 1199 withdrew its support from Charleston after failing to secure legal recognition. The 1970 political documentary I Am Somebody, directed by Madeline Anderson, highlighted the Charleston strikes on a national level.


1969 Charleston hospital strike, Settlement and Aftermath
On August 15, 1969, two hundred black Charleston city sanitation workers led a similar strike to protest and demanded better wages and improved working conditions. After two months, the strike was resolved with a compromise.


1969 Chatham Cup
The 1969 Chatham Cup was the 42nd annual nationwide knockout football competition in New Zealand.


1969 Chatham Cup
Early stages of the competition were run on a regional basis. In all, 89 teams took part in the competition. Note: Different sources give different numberings for the rounds of the competition: some start round one with the beginning of the regional qualifications; others start numbering from the first national knock-out stage. The former numbering scheme is used in this article.


1969 Chatham Cup
The announcement of the start of the New Zealand National Soccer League in 1970 led to changes in the organisation of the Chatham Cup, and this was the last year prior to the creation of a more open draw.


1969 Chatham Cup, The 1969 final
The last Chatham Cup to be decided on the old regional champions basis was 1969, and it again saw Eastern Suburbs reach the final, this time to face final debutants New Brighton. Despite the efforts of the southern defence, marshalled ably by keeper Derek Phillips, Suburbs had the better of the contest and scored two goals, one each from 1968 scorer John Wrathall and Billy de Graaf.


1969 Chattanooga Moccasins football team
The 1969 Chattanooga Moccasins football team was an American football team that represented the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. In their second year under head coach Harold Wilkes, the team compiled a 4–6 record.


1969 Chester Professional Tournament
The 1969 Chester Professional Tournament was an invitational non-ranking snooker tournament, which took place from 21–23 July 1969 at the Upton-By-Chester British Legion, Chester. Jackie Rea won the tournament by defeating John Spencer 4–3 in the final.


1969 Chester Professional Tournament
The tournament was part of the City of Chester Sports Fortnight, which had a programme encompassing twenty different sports. Snooker events were organised by the Chester & District League and were held at the Upton-By-Chester British Legion, with the snooker tournament featuring four professional players who competed, in a knockout format, from 21–23 July 1969.


1969 Chester Professional Tournament
In the semi-finals, Rea defeated Kingsley Kennerley 4–1, and Spencer eliminated David Taylor 4–0. In the first frame of the final, Rea was leading, but missed an attempted pot, and Spencer won the frame with a break of 62. After Rea had won the second frame, Spencer compiled a break of 56 in the third frame, but lost the tip from his cue and had to borrow a cue, during which Rea won the following two frames. Spencer was able to use his cue again in the sixth frame, but Rea won that frame as well to achieve a winning margin at 4–2. The last frame of the match went to Spencer, leaving the final score 4–3.


1969 Chester Professional Tournament, Final
Scores in bold indicate winning frame scores. Breaks over 40 are shown in parentheses.


1969 Chevron Paradise 6 Hour
The 1969 Chevron Paradise 6 Hour was an endurance race for Sports Cars and Touring Cars. The event was held at the Surfers Paradise circuit in Queensland, Australia on 2 November 1969. Entries were divided into the following classes:


1969 Chicago Bears season
The 1969 Chicago Bears season was their 50th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a franchise-worst 1–13 record. This occurred despite the exploits of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, who had torn the ligaments in his right knee in November 1968. After surgery, he went through a physical rehabilitation program with the help of teammate Brian Piccolo. In 1969, Sayers led the league in rushing once again with 1,032 yards, but lacked his previous speed, and averaged only 4.4 yards per carry.


1969 Chicago Bears season
An already poor season was compounded in late November. Undersized fullback Piccolo had scored a touchdown in each of his final three games (November 2, 9, 16), but a persistent cough was diagnosed as cancer and he underwent chest surgery; he succumbed to the disease seven months later at age 26.


1969 Chicago Bears season, Roster, Preseason
On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Bears played the AFL's Buffalo Bills, while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.


1969 Chicago Bears season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1969 Chicago Cubs season
The 1969 Chicago Cubs season was the 98th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 94th in the National League and the 54th at Wrigley Field. The season involved the Cubs gaining renown as "the most celebrated second-place team in the history of baseball." In the first season after the National League was split into two divisions, the Cubs finished with a record of 92–70, 8 games behind the New York Mets in the newly established National League East. Caustic 64-year-old Leo Durocher was the Cubs manager. The ill-fated season saw the Cubs in first place for 155 days, until mid-September when they lost 17 out of 25 games.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Offseason, The new National League
With further expansion to the league, the 1969 season marked the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves (along with the Cincinnati Reds) were placed in the NL West division, despite being located further east than the 2 westernmost teams in the NL East Division, the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. This was because the New York Mets wanted to be in the same division as the reigning power in the NL, which was the Cardinals at the time (to compensate for playing against the Dodgers and Giants fewer times each season).


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Offseason, The new National League
The Cubs consequently demanded to be in the NL East as well in order to continue playing in the same division as the Cardinals, one of the Cubs' biggest rivals. A side effect of this alignment is that it set the stage for what is considered one of the greatest pennant races – and comebacks in such a race – in MLB history.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary
Hoping to improve on the previous year's 84–78 record, the Cubs began the 1969 season by winning 11 of their first 12 games, and on August 16, they were 75–44, up by a season high nine games over second place New York. By September 2, they had soared to an 84–52 record, well on pace to exceed the previous season's mark, but their lead over the Mets had fallen to five games. From there the Mets went on a tear.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary
The Cubs ultimately lost 17 of the last 25 games of the season, while the Mets went 23–7 to overtake the Cubs and finish eight games ahead of them. It was one of the most astounding late season collapses in history, with the seventeen-game turnaround being one of the biggest ever. The Cubs finished 92–70, while the Mets won the National League East and would go on to win the World Series.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, Summer of '69
Throughout the summer of 1969, led by future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and the game calling skills of Randy Hundley behind the plate, the Chicago Cubs had built a substantial lead in the newly created National League East. At the conclusion of each victory 3rd baseman Santo would jump and click his heels in celebration. After starting pitcher Ken Holtzman's no-hitter on August 19, the Cubs led the division by 8+1⁄2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and 9+1⁄2 games over the New York Mets.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, The Rise
The 1969 season was bookended by a pair of homers that were memorable in a good and bad way respectively. On opening day at Wrigley Field, April 8, the Cubs trailed the Phillies 6–5 in the bottom of the 11th inning. With a runner on base, Willie Smith hit a game-winning home run into the right field bleachers. This event essentially "lit the fuse" to the Cubs' successful first five months of the season. They would win the next three games, and 11 out of their first 12, and create a cushion that would extend to 8+1⁄2 games in mid-August.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, The Fall
After the game of September 2, the Cubs' record was 84–52 with the Mets in second place at 77–55. But then a losing streak began just as a Mets winning streak was beginning. The Cubs lost the final game of a series at Cincinnati, then came home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates (who would finish in third place). After losing the first two games by scores of 9–2 and 13–4, the Cubs led going into the ninth inning in the series finale.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, The Fall
A win would be a positive springboard since the Cubs were to play a crucial series with the Mets the very next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a 2-out, 2-strike pitch from the Cubs' ace reliever, Phil Regan, onto Sheffield Avenue to tie the score in the top of the ninth. The Cubs would lose 7–5 in extra innings. Meanwhile, the Mets had taken two of three against Philadelphia over the same weekend.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, The Fall
Burdened by a four-game losing streak, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium on September 8 for a short two-game set. The Mets won both games, and the Cubs left New York with a record of 84–58 just 1⁄2 game in front. Disaster followed in Philadelphia, as a 99-loss Phillies team nonetheless defeated the Cubs twice, to extend Chicago's losing streak to eight games. In a key play in the second game, on September 11, Cubs starter Dick Selma threw a surprise pickoff attempt to third baseman Ron Santo, who was nowhere near the bag or the ball. Selma's throwing error opened the gates to a Phillies rally.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, The Fall
After that second Philly loss, the Cubs were 84–60 and the Mets had pulled ahead at 85–57. The Mets would not look back. The Cubs' eight-game losing streak finally ended the next day in St. Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-game winning streak, and the Cubs, wilting from team fatigue, generally deteriorated in all phases of the game. The Mets (who had lost a record 120 games in their inaugural season 7 years earlier), would go on to win the World Series. The Cubs, despite a respectable 92–70 record, would be remembered for having lost a remarkable 17+1⁄2 games in the standings to the Mets in the last quarter of the season.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, Bad luck
Banks stated, however, that after an error by Young, Santo "went crazy. Young was so upset, he ran out ... I had never seen something so hurtful". According to Banks, "They say one apple can spoil the whole barrel, and I saw that", with the incident dividing the team into factions. The Book Baseball Hall of Shame 2 places the blame squarely (and perhaps unfairly) at the feet of one man, stating, "In the heat of battle, Leo Durocher, field general of the Cubs, went AWOL once too often.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, Bad luck
It was because of his lack of leadership that his team lost the fight for the 1969 pennant." Durocher did not believe in using the platoon system. He believed in putting his best eight players on the field every day. Five of the Cubs' regular players finished the season with over 150 games played. Two more had more than 130 games played. In his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, baseball historian Bill James cited manager Durocher's method of using his regular players everyday without any rest days as a factor in the Cubs' collapse.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, Bad luck
Overuse of the pitching staff may have played a part. During the first 118 games (74–43 record on August 13), the Cubs averaged about 4.7 runs a game and gave up only 3.5 runs per game, a 1.2 run per game advantage over the opposition. The last 45 games (18–27 record) saw a major reversal, with 3.7 runs per game for the team and 4.5 runs per game for the opposition (average Cub score would be a negative −0.8 runs per game versus opponents, almost a complete reversal from earlier play). Both the hitters and pitchers may have wilted as the season wound down.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Regular season, Season summary, Bad luck
Perhaps most ominously, during one of the Cubs' games against the Mets, a black cat ran onto the field near Santo, and after the cat appeared, the Cubs' collapse began. This only fueled the myth of the Curse of the Billy Goat for many years afterwards.


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos. = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Chicago Cubs season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Chicago White Sox season
The 1969 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 69th season in the major leagues, and its 70th season overall. They finished with a record 68–94, good enough for fifth place in the newly established American League West, 29 games behind the first-place Minnesota Twins.


1969 Chicago White Sox season
The White Sox nearly left Chicago in 1969. White Sox owner Arthur Allyn, Jr. considered overtures from Bud Selig and other Milwaukee interests to move the club to County Stadium. Instead, he sold to his brother, John. The newly established Seattle Pilots would move there a year after their inaugural season.


1969 Chicago White Sox season, Regular season, Move to Milwaukee?
In 1969, the White Sox schedule in Milwaukee was expanded to include 11 home games (one against every other franchise in the American League at the time). Although those games were attended by slightly fewer fans (198,211 fans, for an average of 18,019) they represented a greater percentage of the total White Sox attendance than the previous year – over one-third of the fans who went to Sox home games in 1969 did so at Milwaukee County Stadium (in the remaining 70 home dates in Chicago, the Sox drew 391,335, for an average of 5,591 per game). Bud Selig felt this fan support lent legitimacy to his quest for a Milwaukee franchise, and he went into the 1969 owners meetings with high hopes.


1969 Chicago White Sox season, Player stats, Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


1969 Chicago White Sox season, Player stats, Pitching
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


1969 Chichester by-election
The Chichester by-election of 22 May 1969 was held following the death of Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Walter Loveys. The seat was retained for the Conservatives by Christopher Chataway, who had previously been MP for Lewisham North from 1959 to 1966.


1969 Chico State Wildcats football team
The 1969 Chico State Wildcats football team represented Chico State College during the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. Chico State competed in the Far Western Conference in 1969. They played home games at College Field in Chico, California.


1969 Chico State Wildcats football team
The 1969 Wildcats were led by second-year head coach Pete Riehlman. Chico State finished the season with a record of eight wins and two losses (8–2, 3–2 FWC). The Wildcats outscored their opponents 271–121 for the season.


1969 Chico State Wildcats football team, Team players in the NFL
No Chico State players were selected in the 1970 NFL Draft.


1969 Chico State Wildcats football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their Chico State career in 1969, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1969 Chilean parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Chile on 2 March 1969. The Christian Democratic Party lost their majority in the Chamber of Deputies, but remained the largest party in both houses.


1969 Chilean parliamentary election, Electoral system
The term length for Senators was eight years, with around half of the Senators elected every four years. This election saw 25 of the 50 Senate seats up for election.


1969 Cincinnati Bearcats football team
The 1969 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented University of Cincinnati during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Bearcats, led by first-year head coach Ray Callahan, participated in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and played their home games at Nippert Stadium.


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
The 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's second year as a franchise, and their final season in professional football's American Football League (AFL).


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach Paul Brown drafted quarterback Greg Cook of the University of Cincinnati in the first round.


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
The Bengals jumped out to a 3–0 record, but finished 4–9–1 in their final season at Nippert Stadium, before moving to their brand new facility the following season.


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
The November 9, 1969 Bengals vs. Oilers game at the Astrodome in Houston is unique in Bengals history, as it is the only non-overtime tie game. Cincinnati played its first regular-season tie that afternoon, catching the Oilers at 31–31 on kicker Horst Muhlmann's 18-yard field goal with 0:22 left in the fourth quarter. Regular-season overtime was not in the rule book at that time.


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
The oldest season record in Bengals history, and the only one still standing from the Nippert Stadium years, is QB Greg Cook's average of 9.41 yards gained per passing attempt in 1969. The only other average of more than nine yards was 9.21 by QB Boomer Esiason in 1988. Cook went on to pass for 1,854 yards and led the Bengals to wins over the Oakland Raiders and the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.


1969 Cincinnati Bengals season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1969 Cincinnati Open
The 1969 Cincinnati Open (also known as the Western Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States. The tournament was held from July 14 through July 21, 1969. Third-seeded Cliff Richey won the singles title and the accompanying $5,000 first-prize money.


1969 Cincinnati Open, Finals, Doubles
Bob Lutz /  Stan Smith defeated  Arthur Ashe /  Charlie Pasarell 6–3, 6–4


1969 Cincinnati Reds season
The 1969 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Reds finishing in third place in the newly established National League West, four games behind the NL West champion Atlanta Braves. The Reds were managed by Dave Bristol, and played their home games at Crosley Field, which was in its final full season of operation, before moving into their new facility in the middle of the following season. The Reds led the major leagues this year with 798 runs scored.


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Offseason, Divisional alignment
1969 not only marked the 100th anniversary of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings being the first fully professional baseball team, but it also marked the first year of divisional play in Major League Baseball. The Reds (along with the Atlanta Braves) were placed in the National League West division, despite being located further east than the two westernmost teams in the NL East division, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Offseason, Divisional alignment
This was because the New York Mets wanted to be in the same division as the reigning power in the NL, which were the Cardinals at the time (to compensate for playing against the Dodgers and Giants fewer times each season). The Cubs consequently demanded to be in the NL East as well in order to continue playing in the same division as the Cardinals, one of the Cubs' biggest rivals. A side effect of this alignment is that it set the stage for what is considered one of the greatest pennant races – and comebacks in such a race – in MLB history (see 1969 New York Mets season for more info).


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Cincinnati Reds season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Clemson Tigers football team
The 1969 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. In its 30th and final season under head coach Frank Howard, the team compiled a 4–6 record (3–3 against conference opponents), tied for third place in the ACC, and was outscored by a total of 250 to 178. The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.


1969 Clemson Tigers football team
Frank Howard retired as head coach after the 1969 season, although he remained athletic director until 1971. In 1974, the playing field at Memorial Stadium, which he helped to build, was named in his honor.


1969 Clemson Tigers football team
Defensive end Ivan Southerland and running back Charlie Tolley were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Tommy Kendrick with 1,457 passing yards, running back Ray Yauger with 968 rushing yards and 66 points (11 touchdowns), and end Charlie Waters with 738 receiving yards.


1969 Clemson Tigers football team
Three Clemson players were selected by the Associated Press as first-team players on the 1969 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team: Ray Yauger; Charlie Waters; and Ivan Southerland.


1969 Cleveland Browns season
The 1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with the National Football League and the last before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.


1969 Cleveland Browns season
The Browns made it to the 1969 NFL Championship Game, where they fell to the Minnesota Vikings. The 1969 season would be the last year that Cleveland would win a postseason game until 1986. In addition, that victory over Dallas would also be the last time the Browns won a postseason game on the road until the 2020–21 playoffs. This was also the last season in which the Browns made it to the league championship game, as they have failed to reach the Super Bowl after the merger.


1969 Cleveland Browns season, Preseason
On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Chicago Bears (with All-Pro running back Gale Sayers) played the AFL's Buffalo Bills (with rookie running back O. J. Simpson), while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.


1969 Cleveland Browns season, Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1969 Cleveland Indians season
The 1969 Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The club finished in last place in the newly established American League East with a record of 62 wins and 99 losses. The 1969 season seemed hopeful before the season started, based on the Indians modest 86-75 record the previous season, along with their solid pitching. However, a 1-15 start shattered any illusions of a successful season. Not helping, was that the Indians strong pitching the previous season fell apart. Luis Tiant fell to 9-20 in 1969, and didn't look like same pitcher from 1968, when he went 21-9, with a 1.60 ERA. Sam McDowell stayed solid at the very least, going 18-14, with a 2.94 ERA.


1969 Cleveland Indians season, Player stats, Batting, Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 Cleveland Indians season, Player stats, Batting, Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in


1969 Cleveland Indians season, Player stats, Pitching, Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Cleveland Indians season, Player stats, Pitching, Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Cleveland Indians season, Player stats, Pitching, Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts


1969 Cleveland mayoral election
The Cleveland mayoral election of 1969 saw the reelection of Carl Stokes.


1969 Colgate Red Raiders football team
The 1969 Colgate Red Raiders football team was an American football team that represented Colgate University as an independent during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. In its second season under head coach Neil Wheelwright, the team compiled a 4–5 record. Alan Klumpp was the team captain.


1969 Colgate Red Raiders football team
The Red Raiders scheduled 10 games, but only played nine, as Holy Cross canceled its trip to Hamilton after a hepatitis outbreak on the Crusader team.


1969 Colgate Red Raiders football team
The team played its home games at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.


1969 Colgate Red Raiders football team, Leading players
Two trophies were awarded to the Red Raiders' most valuable players in 1969:


1969 College Baseball All-America Team
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889.


1969 College Baseball All-America Team
From 1947 to 1980, the American Baseball Coaches Association was the only All-American selector recognized by the NCAA.


1969 College Football All-America Team
The 1969 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1969.


1969 College Football All-America Team
The NCAA recognizes six selectors as "official" for the 1969 season. They are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the Central Press Association (CP), (4) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (5) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and (6) the United Press International (UPI). Four of the six teams (AP, UPI, NEA, and FWAA) were selected by polling of sports writers and/or broadcasters. The Central Press team was selected with input from the captains of the major college teams. The AFCA team was based on a poll of coaches. Other notable selectors, though not recognized by the NCAA as official, included Football News, a national weekly football publication, Time magazine, The Sporting News (TSN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WC).


1969 Colorado Buffaloes football team
The 1969 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 276 points while the defense allowed 227 points. Led by head coach Eddie Crowder, the Buffaloes competed in the Liberty Bowl.


1969 Colorado State Rams football team
The 1969 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the Western Athletic Conference during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. In their eighth season under head coach Mike Lude, the Rams compiled a 4–6 record.


1969 Columbia Lions football team
The 1969 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Columbia tied for last in the Ivy League.


1969 Columbia Lions football team
In their second season under head coach Frank Navarro, the Lions compiled a 1–8 record and were outscored 237 to 84. Kenneth Alexander and Richard Alexander were the team captains.


1969 Columbia Lions football team
The Lions' 1–6 conference record tied for last in the Ivy League standings. Columbia was outscored 170 to 68 by Ivy opponents.


1969 Columbia Lions football team
Columbia played its home games at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.


1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
The 1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference was the 17th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom in January 1969, and was hosted by that country's Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.


1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Five newly independent member countries participated for the first time: Botswana, Barbados, Lesotho, Mauritius and Swaziland.


1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
On the issue of the rogue colony of Rhodesia, Britain re-committed itself to the policy of No independence before majority rule (NIBMAR) which it had adopted at the last Prime Ministers' conference in September 1966.


1969 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference
Also discussed was the Biafra crisis in Nigeria and discrimination against South Asian communities living in Africa and Black and Asian immigrants living in the UK.


1969 Connecticut Huskies football team
The 1969 Connecticut Huskies football team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1969 NCAA College Division football season. The Huskies were led by fourth year head coach John Toner, and completed the season with a record of 5–4.


1969 Continental Football League season
The 1969 COFL season was the fifth and final season of the Continental Football League (COFL). Following the season, nine of the league's remaining teams split from the league, with five forming the Trans-American Football League and four joining the Atlantic Coast Football League.


1969 Continental Football League season, Regular season
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against


1969 Copa Argentina
The 1969 Copa Argentina was played between February 1969 and July 1969. The tournament was played as a knockout competition, with the participation of 32 teams; 19 of the Primera División, 1 of the Primera B, 12 of the Regional leagues.


1969 Copa Argentina Final
The 1969 Copa Argentina Finals were the final series that decided the champion of the 1969 Copa Argentina. The finals were contested in two-legged format between Boca Juniors and Atlanta. Both matches were played at San Lorenzo de Almagro's venue, Estadio Gasómetro, located in Buenos Aires.


1969 Copa Argentina Final
Boca Juniors won the first match 3-1, and Atlanta won the second match 1-0, but in the aggregate Boca Juniors won 3-2 to claim their first Copa Argentina Title. The champions was automatically qualified to the Copa Ganadores de Copa, but Boca had already qualified to 1970 Copa Libertadores, so the runners-up, Atlanta, took place in the competition.


1969 Copa Libertadores
The 1969 Copa Libertadores de América was a football competition contested between the top clubs of the CONMEBOL federation. Estudiantes won the competition defeating Nacional 4–0 on points over two-legs. The CBD declared that no Brazilian club would play in the 1969 Copa Libertadores de América, since Brazil disagreed on the format of the tournament, whose dates would conflict with the preparation of the national team for the 1970 World Cup Qualifying matches.


1969 Copa Libertadores Finals
The 1969 Copa Libertadores Finals were the two-legged final that decided the winner of the 1969 Copa Libertadores, the 10th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL.


1969 Copa Libertadores Finals
The finals were contested in two-legged home-and-away format between Argentine team Estudiantes de La Plataand Uruguayan team Nacional. The first leg was hosted by Nacional at Estadio Centenario of Montevideo on May 15, 1969, while the second leg was played at Estudiantes Stadium in La Plata on May 22, 1969.


1969 Copa Libertadores Finals
Estudiantes won the series 3-0 on aggregate, winning their 2nd. Copa Libertadores title.


1969 Copa Perú
The 1969 Copa Perú season (Spanish: Copa Perú 1969), the promotion tournament of Peruvian football.


1969 Copa Perú
In this tournament after many qualification rounds, each one of the 24 departments in which Peru is politically divided, qualify a team. Those teams plus de team relegated from First Division on the last year, enter in two more rounds and finally 6 of them qualify for the Final round, staged in Lima (the capital).


1969 Copa Perú
The champion, Carlos A. Mannucci was promoted to play in 1969 Torneo Descentralizado.


1969 Copa Perú, Finalists teams
The following list shows the teams that qualified for the Regional Stage.


1969 Copa de las Americas
The 1969 Copa de las Americas (Cup of the Americas) was an artistic gymnastics tournament held in Mexico City, Mexico, July 12–15, 1969. The competition was a follow up to the North American Championships, held from 1964 until 1968, and changed its name from North American Championships to Cup of the Americas so that South American countries would be allowed to enter. At least one South American nation, Brazil, intended to compete, but eventually the even was attended only by North American nations.


1969 Copa del Generalísimo
The 1969 Copa del Generalísimo was the 67th staging of the Spanish Cup. The competition began on 4 May 1969 and concluded on 15 June 1969 with the final.


1969 Copa del Generalísimo Final
The Copa del Generalísimo 1969 Final was the 67th final of the King's Cup. The final was played at Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, on 15 June 1969, being won by Club Atlético de Bilbao, who beat Elche CF 1-0.


1969 Coppa Italia Final
The 1969 Coppa Italia Final was the final group of the 1968–69 Coppa Italia. From 1968 to 1971, FIGC introduced a final group instead of semi-finals and finals. In the final group, four teams played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matches were played from 30 April – 29 June 1969. The group winner was Roma.


1969 Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship
The 1969 Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship was the 60th staging of the Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Cork County Board in 1909.


1969 Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship
Youghal won the championship following a 3–07 to 0–13 defeat of Cobh in the final. This was their second championship title overall and their first title since 1955.


1969 Cork Senior Football Championship
The 1969 Cork Senior Football Championship was the 81st staging of the Cork Senior Football Championship since its establishment by the Cork County Board in 1887. The draw for the opening round fixtures took place on 26 January 1969. The championship began on 6 April 1969 and ended on 26 October 1969.


1969 Cork Senior Football Championship
On 26 October 1969, University College Cork won the championship following a 0-09 to 0-08 defeat of St. Nicholas' in the final. It was their 7th championship title overall and their first title since 1964.


1969 Cork Senior Hurling Championship
The 1969 Cork Senior Hurling Championship was the 81st staging of the Cork Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Cork County Board in 1887. The championship ended on 21 September 1969.


1969 Cork Senior Hurling Championship
On 21 September 1969, Glen Rovers won the championship following a 4-16 to 1-13 defeat of University College Cork in the final. This was their 22nd championship title and their first in two championship seasons.


1969 Cornell Big Red football team
The 1969 Cornell Big Red football team was an American football team that represented Cornell University during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Cornell finished fourth in the Ivy League .


1969 Cornell Big Red football team
In its second season under head coach Jack Musick, the team compiled a 4–5 record and was outscored 162 to 148. Theo Jacobs and Dennis Huff were the team captains.


1969 Cornell Big Red football team
Cornell's 4–3 conference record placed fourth in the Ivy League standings. The Big Red outscored Ivy opponents 127 to 113.


1969 Cornell Big Red football team
Cornell played its home games at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, New York.


1969 Cotton Bowl Classic
The 1969 Cotton Bowl Classic featured the Texas Longhorns versus the Tennessee Volunteers.


1969 Cotton Bowl Classic, Background
In the 1951 Cotton Bowl Classic, the Volunteers upset the Longhorns 20–14. In the 1953 Cotton Bowl Classic, Texas beat Tennessee 16–0. This was the third Cotton Bowl between the two teams. Texas was Southwest Conference co-champions due to losing to Texas Tech early in the season, thus they shared it with Arkansas. Tennessee finished 2nd in the Southeastern Conference to Georgia due to losing to Auburn late in the season.


1969 Cotton Bowl Classic, Game summary
It may have been a matchup of top 10 teams, but Texas beat them like any ordinary team as they scored 28 points in the first half while allowing none. Steve Worster, Ted Koy, and Chris Gilbert each had touchdown runs, and Cotton Speyrer caught two touchdown passes from James Street, the last one making it 36–6. In the second half, Tennessee scored on a Gary Kreis catch from Bobby Scott to make it 28–6 and Mike Price caught a touchdown pass to narrow it to 36–13, but by that point, there was only two minutes left in the game.


1969 Cotton Bowl Classic, Aftermath
Texas went unbeaten the following season and returned to the Cotton Bowl Classic to face off against Notre Dame, winning that game, and with it, the National Championship.


1969 County Championship
The 1969 County Championship was the 70th officially organised running of the County Championship. Glamorgan won the Championship title in a season which saw games played reduced from 28 to 24.


1969 Coupe de France Final
The 1969 Coupe de France Final was a football match held at Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes on May 18, 1969, that saw Olympique de Marseille defeat FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2–0 thanks to an own goal by Gérard Papin and a goal by Joseph Yegba Maya.


1969 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
The 1969 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, also known as the 1969 Criterium of the Six Provinces, was the 21st edition of the cycle race and was held from 25 May to 31 May 1969. The race started in Avignon and finished at Lyon. The race was won by Raymond Poulidor of the Mercier team.


1969 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Teams
Ten teams, containing a total of 100 riders, participated in the race:


1969 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season
The 1969 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks season was the 3rd in the club's history. They competed in the NSWRFL's 1969 premiership.


1969 Cup of the Alps
1969 Coppa delle Alpi shows the results of the 1969 tournament that was held in Switzerland in the preseason 1969/70. The Coppa delle Alpi (translated as Cup of the Alps) was a football tournament, first organized by the Italian national league to start the season 1960/61 and then they aided by the Swiss League after 1962. This competition ran from 1960 until 1987.


1969 Cup of the Alps
Most of the games in the 1969 competition were played in Switzerland, three were played in Hof, one in Rüsselsheim. The teams taking part were Lausanne Sports, Zürich, Basel and Biel-Bienne. From Belgium K.S.V. Waregem were qualified and from Italy were Bologna, Hellas Verona, Sampdoria and Napoli. Qualified from Germany were Alemannia Aachen, Eintracht Frankfurt  and Bayern Hof. Two teams from each country were divided into each of the two groups. Teams did not play compatriots; Waregem did not play Eintracht.


1969 Cupa României Final
The 1969 Cupa României Final was the 31st final of Romania's most prestigious football cup competition. It was disputed between Steaua București and Dinamo București, and was won by Steaua București after a game with 3 goals. It was the 9th cup for Steaua București.


1969 Curaçao Tennis Championships
The 1969 Curaçao Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Curaçao Sport Club in Willemstad, Curaçao, Dutch West Indies. It was the 4th edition of the tournament, the second edition of the Open Era, and was held from 24 February through 2 March 1969. Cliff Richey and Julie Heldman won the singles titles.


1969 Curaçao Tennis Championships, Champions, Men's Doubles
Manuel Orantes /  Ray Ruffels defeated  Ove Bengtson /  Mark Cox 6–4, 6–3


1969 Curaçao Tennis Championships, Champions, Women's Doubles
Margaret Court /  Judy Tegart defeated  Julie Heldman /  Nancy Richey 6–4, 6–2


1969 Curaçao uprising
The 1969 Curaçao uprising (known as Trinta di Mei, "Thirtieth of May", in Papiamentu, the local language) was a series of riots on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, then part of the Netherlands Antilles, a semi-independent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The uprising took place mainly on May 30, but continued into the night of May 31 –  June 1, 1969. The riots arose from a strike by workers in the oil industry. A protest rally during the strike turned violent, leading to widespread looting and destruction of buildings and vehicles in the central business district of Curaçao's capital, Willemstad.


1969 Curaçao uprising
Several causes for the uprising have been cited. The island's economy, after decades of prosperity brought about by the oil industry, particularly a Shell refinery, was in decline and unemployment was rising. Curaçao, a former colony of the Netherlands, became part of the semi-independent Netherlands Antilles under a 1954 charter, which redefined the relationship between the Netherlands and its former colonies. Under this arrangement, Curaçao was still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Anti -colonial activists decried this status as a continuation of colonial rule but others were satisfied the political situation was beneficial to the island.


1969 Curaçao uprising
After slavery was abolished in 1863, black Curaçaoans continued to face racism and discrimination. They did not participate fully in the riches resulting from Curaçao's economic prosperity and were disproportionately affected by the rise in unemployment. Black Power sentiments in Curaçao were spreading, mirroring developments in the United States and across the Caribbean, of which Curaçaoans were very much aware. The Democratic Party dominated local politics but could not fulfill its promise to maintain prosperity. Radical and socialist ideas became popular in the 1960s. In 1969, a labor dispute arose between a Shell sub-contractor and its employees. This dispute escalated and became increasingly political. A demonstration by workers and labor activists on May 30 became violent, sparking the uprising.


1969 Curaçao uprising
The riots left two people dead and much of central Willemstad destroyed, and hundreds of people were arrested. The protesters achieved most of their immediate demands: higher wages for workers and the Netherlands Antillean government's resignation. It was a pivotal moment in the history of Curaçao and of the vestigial Dutch Empire. New parliamentary elections in September gave the uprising's leaders seats in parliament, the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles. A commission investigated the riots; it blamed economic issues, racial tensions, and police and government misconduct.


1969 Curaçao uprising
The uprising prompted the Dutch government to undertake new efforts to fully decolonize the remains of its colonial empire. Suriname became independent in 1975 but leaders of the Netherlands Antilles resisted independence, fearing the economic repercussions. The uprising stoked long-standing distrust of Curaçao in nearby Aruba, which seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. Papiamentu gained social prestige and more widespread use after the uprising. It was followed by a renewal in Curaçaoan literature, much of which dealt with local social issues and sparked discussions about Curaçao's national identity.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Curaçao is an island in the Caribbean Sea. It is a country (Dutch: land) within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1969, Curaçao had a population of around 141,000, of whom 65,000 lived in the capital, Willemstad. Until 2010, Curaçao was the most populous island and seat of government of the Netherlands Antilles, a country and former Dutch colony composed of six Caribbean islands, which in 1969 had a combined population of around 225,000.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
In the 19th century the island's economy was in poor shape. It had few industries other than the manufacture of dyewood, salt, and straw hats. After the Panama Canal was built and oil was discovered in Venezuela's Maracaibo Basin, Curaçao's economic situation improved. Shell opened an oil refinery on the island in 1918; the refinery was continually expanded until 1930. The plant's production peaked in 1952, when it employed around 11,000 people. This economic boom made Curaçao one of the wealthiest islands in the region and raised living standards there above even those in the Netherlands.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
This wealth attracted immigrants, particularly from other Caribbean islands, Suriname, Madeira, and the Netherlands. In the 1960s, the number of people working in the oil industry fell and by 1969, Shell's workforce in Curaçao had dropped to around 4,000. This was a result both of automation and of sub-contracting. Employees of sub-contractors typically received lower wages than Shell workers. Unemployment on the island rose from 5,000 in 1961 to 8,000 to 1966, with nonwhite, unskilled workers particularly affected. The government's focus on attracting tourism brought some economic growth but did little to reduce unemployment.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
The rise of the oil industry led to the importation of civil servants, mostly from the Netherlands. This led to a segmentation of white, Protestant Curaçaoan society into landskinderen—those whose families had been in Curaçao for generations, and makamba, immigrants from Europe who had closer ties to the Netherlands. Dutch immigrants undermined native white Curaçaoans' political and economic hegemony. As a result, the latter began to emphasize their Antillean identity and use of Papiamentu, the local Creole language. Dutch cultural dominance in Curaçao was a source of conflict; for example, the island's official language was Dutch, which was used in schools, creating difficulties for many students.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Another issue that would come to the fore in the uprising was the Netherlands Antilles', and specifically Curaçao's, relationship with the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles' status had been changed in 1954 by the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Under the Charter, the Netherlands Antilles, like Suriname until 1975, was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but not of the Netherlands itself.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Foreign policy and national defense were Kingdom matters and presided over by the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consisted of the full Council of Ministers of the Netherlands with one minister plenipotentiary for each of the countries Netherlands Antilles and Suriname. Other issues were governed at the country or island level.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Although this system had its proponents, who pointed to the fact that managing its own foreign relations and national defense would be too costly for a small country like the Netherlands Antilles, many Antilleans saw it as a continuation of the area's subaltern colonial status. There was no strong pro-independence movement in the Antilles as most local identity discourses centered around insular loyalty.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
The Dutch colonization of Curaçao began with the importation of African slaves in 1641, and in 1654 the island became the Caribbean's main slave depot. Only in 1863, much later than Britain or France, did the Netherlands abolish slavery in its colonies. A government scholarship program allowed some Afro-Curaçaoans to attain social mobility but the racial hierarchy from the colonial era remained largely intact and blacks continued to face discrimination and were disproportionately affected by poverty.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Although 90% of Curaçao's population was of African descent, the spoils of the economic prosperity that began in the 1920s benefited whites and recent immigrants much more than black native Curaçaoans. Like the rest of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao was formally democratic but political power was mostly in the hands of white elites.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
The situation of black Curaçaoans was similar to that of blacks in the United States and Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. The movement leading up to the 1969 uprising used many of the same symbols and rhetoric as Black Power and civil rights movements in those countries. A high Antillean government official would later claim that the island's wide-reaching mass media was one of the uprising's causes. People in Curaçao were aware of events in the US, Europe, and Latin America.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Many Antilleans, including students,  traveled abroad and many Dutch and American tourists visited Curaçao and many foreigners worked in Curaçao's oil industry. The uprising would parallel anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist movements throughout the world. It was particularly influenced by the Cuban Revolution. Government officials in Curaçao falsely alleged that Cuban communists were directly involved in sparking the uprising, but the revolution did have an indirect influence in that it inspired many of the uprising's participants. Many of the uprising's leaders wore khaki uniforms similar to those worn by Fidel Castro. Black Power movements were emerging throughout the Caribbean and in the US at the time; foreign Black Power figures were not directly involved in the 1969 uprising but they inspired many of its participants.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Local politics also contributed to the uprising. The center-left Democratic Party (DP) had been in power in the Netherlands Antilles since 1954. The DP was more closely connected to the labor movement than its major rival, the National People's Party (NVP). This relationship was strained by the DP's inability to satisfy expectations it would improve workers' conditions. The DP was mainly associated with the white segments of the working class and blacks criticized it for primarily advancing white interests. The 1960s also saw the rise of radicalism in Curaçao.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Background and causes
Many students went to the Netherlands to study and some returned with radical left-wing ideas and founded the Union Reformista Antillano (URA) in 1965. The URA established itself as a socialist alternative to the established parties, although it was more reformist than revolutionary in outlook. Beyond parliamentary politics, Vitó, a weekly magazine at the center of a movement aiming to end the economic and political exploitation of the masses thought to be a result of neo-colonialism, published analyses of local economic, political, and social conditions. Vitó started being published in Papiamentu rather than in Dutch in 1967, and gained a mass following. It had close ties with radical elements in the labor movement. Papa Godett, a leader in the dock workers' union, worked with Stanley Brown, the editor of Vitó.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
Although the progressive priest Amado Römer had warned that "great changes still need to come through a peaceful revolution, because, if this doesn't happen peacefully, the day is not far off when the oppressed [...] will rise up", Curaçao was thought an unlikely site for political turmoil despite low wages, high unemployment, and economic disparities between blacks and whites. The relative tranquility was attributed by the island's government to the strength of family ties.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
In a 1965 pitch to investors, the government ascribed the absence of a communist party and labor unions' restraint to the fact that "Antillean families are bound together by unusually strong ties and therefore extremist elements have little chance to interfere in labor relations". Labor relations, including those between Shell and the refinery's workers, had indeed generally been peaceful. After two minor strikes in the 1920s and another in 1936, a contract committee for Shell workers was established. In 1942, workers of Dutch nationality gained the right to elect representatives to this committee. In 1955, the Puerto Rican section of the American labor federation Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) aided workers in launching the Petroleum Workers' Federation of Curaçao (PWFC). In 1957, the Federation reached a collective bargaining agreement with Shell for workers at the refinery.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
The PWFC was part of the General Conference of Trade Unions (AVVC), the island's largest labor confederation. The AVVC generally took a moderate stance in labor negotiations and was often criticized for this, and for its close relationship to the Democratic Party, by the more radical parts of the Curaçaoan labor movement. Close relations between unions and political leaders were widespread in Curaçao, though few unions were explicitly allied with a particular party and the labor movement was starting to gain independence.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
The Curaçao Federation of Workers (CFW), another union in the AVVC, represented construction workers employed by the Werkspoor Caribbean Company, a Shell sub-contractor. The CWF was to play an important role in the events that led to the uprising. Among the unions criticizing the AVVC was the General Dock Workers Union (AHU), which was led by Papa Godett and Amador Nita and was guided by a revolutionary ideology seeking to overthrow the remnants of Dutch colonialism, especially discrimination against blacks. Godett was closely allied with Stanley Brown, the editor of Vitó. The labor movement before the 1969 uprising was very fragmented and personal animosity between labor leaders further exacerbated this situation.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
In May 1969, there was a labor dispute between the CFW and Werkspoor. It revolved around two central issues. For one, Antillean Werkspoor employees received lower wages than workers from the Netherlands or other Caribbean islands as the latter were compensated for working away from home. Secondly, Werkspoor employees performed the same work as Shell employees but received lower wages. Werkspoor's response pointed to the fact that it could not afford to pay higher wages under its contract with Shell. Vitó was heavily involved in the dispute, helping to keep the conflict in the public consciousness. Though the dispute between CFW and Werkspoor received the most attention, that month significant labor unrest occurred throughout the Netherlands Antilles.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
On May 6, around 400 Werkspoor employees went on strike. The Antillean Werkspoor workers received support and solidarity from non-Antilleans at Werkspoor and from other Curaçaoan unions. On May 8, this strike ended with an agreement to negotiate a new contract with government mediation. These negotiations failed, leading to a second strike that began on May 27. The dispute became increasingly political as labor leaders felt the government should intervene on their behalf.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
The Democratic Party was in a dilemma, as it did not wish to lose support from the labor movement and was wary of drawn-out and disruptive labor disputes, but also felt that giving in to excessive demands by labor would undermine its strategy to attract investments in industry. As the conflict progressed, radical leaders including Amador Nita and Papa Godett gained influence. On May 29, as a moderate labor figure was about to announce a compromise and postpone a strike, Nita took that man's notes and read a declaration of his own.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Labor dispute
He demanded the government resign and threatened a general strike. The same day, between thirty and forty workers marched to Fort Amsterdam, the Antillean government's seat, contending that the government, which had refused to intervene in the dispute, was contributing to the repression of wages. While the strike was led by the CFW, the PWFC under pressure from its members, showed solidarity with the strikers and decided to call for a strike to support the Werkspoor workers.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
On the morning of May 30, more unions announced strikes in support of the CFW's dispute with Werkspoor. Between three and four thousand workers gathered at a strike post. While the CFW emphasized that this was merely an economic dispute, Papa Godett, the dock workers' leader and Vitó activist, advocated a political struggle in his speech to the strikers. He criticized the government's handling of the labor dispute and demanded its removal. He called for another march to Fort Amsterdam, which was seven miles (11 km) away in Punda in downtown Willemstad.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
"If we don't succeed without force, then we have to use force. [ ...] The people is the government. The present government is no good and we will replace it", he proclaimed. The march was five thousand people strong when it started moving towards the city center. As it progressed through the city, people who were not associated with the strike joined, most of them young, black, and male, some oil workers, some unemployed. There were no protest marshals and leaders had little control over the crowd's actions. They had not anticipated any escalation.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
Among the slogans the crowd chanted were "Pan y rekonosimiento" ("Bread and recognition"), "Ta kos di kapitalista, kibra nan numa" ("These are possessions of capitalists, just destroy them"), and "Tira piedra. Mata e kachónan di Gobièrnu. Nos mester bai Punda, Fòrti. Mata e makambanan" ("Throw stones. Death to the government dogs. Let's go to Punda, to the fort. Death to the makamba"). The march became increasingly violent. A pick-up truck with a white driver was set on fire and two stores were looted.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
Then, large commercial buildings including a Coca-Cola bottling plant and a Texas Instruments factory were attacked, and marchers entered the buildings to halt production. Texas Instruments had a poor reputation because it had prevented unionization among its employees. Housing and public buildings were generally spared. Once it became aware, the police moved to stop the rioting and called for assistance from the local volunteer militia and from Dutch troops stationed in Curaçao. The police, with only sixty officers at the scene, was unable to halt the march and ended up enveloped by the demonstration, with car drivers attempting to hit them.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The police moved to secure a hill on the march route and were pelted with rocks. Papa Godett was shot in the back by the police; he later said the police had orders to kill him, while law enforcement said  officers acted only to save their own lives. Godett was taken to the hospital by members of the demonstration and parts of the march broke away to follow them. One of two fire trucks dispatched to assist the police was set on fire and pushed towards the police lines. The striker steering it was shot and killed.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The main part of the march moved to Punda, Willemstad's central business district where it separated into smaller groups. The protesters chanted "Awe jiu di Korsou a bira konjo" ("Now the people of Curaçao are really fed up") and "Nos lo sinja nan respeta nos" ("We will teach them to respect us"). Some protesters crossed a bridge to the other side of Sint Anna Bay, an area known as Otrabanda. The first building burned in Otrabanda was a shop Vitó had criticized for having particularly poor working conditions. From this store, flames spread to other buildings. Stores on both sides of the bay were looted and subsequently set on fire, as were an old theater and the bishop's palace. Women took looted goods home in shopping carts. There was an attempt to damage the bridge that crossed the bay.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The government imposed a curfew and a ban on liquor sales. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles Ciro Domenico Kroon went into hiding during the riots while Governor Cola Debrot and the Deputy Governor Wem Lampe were also absent. Minister of Justice Ronchi Isa requested the assistance of elements of the Netherlands Marine Corps stationed in Curaçao. While constitutionally required to honor this request under the Charter, the Kingdom's Council of Ministers did not officially approve it until later.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The soldiers, however, immediately joined police, local volunteers and firemen as they fought to stop the rioting, put out fires in looted buildings, and guarded banks and other key buildings while thick plumes of smoke emanated from the city center. Many of the buildings in this part of Willemstad were old and therefore vulnerable to fire while the compact nature of the central business district further hampered firefighting efforts. In the afternoon, clergymen made a statement via radio urging the looters to stop. Meanwhile, union leaders announced that they had reached a compromise with Werkspoor. Shell workers would receive equal wages regardless of whether they were employed by contractors and regardless of their national origin.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
Although the protesters achieved their economic aims, rioting continued throughout the night and slowly abated on May 31. The uprising's focus shifted from economic demands to political goals. Union leaders, both radical and moderate, demanded the government's  resignation and threatened a general strike. Workers broke into a radio station, forcing it to broadcast this demand; they argued that failed economic and social policies had led to the grievances and the uprising. On May 31, Curaçaoan labor leaders met with union representatives from Aruba, which was then also part of the Netherlands Antilles.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The Aruban delegates agreed with the demand for the government's resignation, announcing Aruban workers would also go on a general strike if it was ignored. By the night of May 31 to June 1, the violence had ceased. Another 300 Dutch marines arrived from the Netherlands on June 1 to maintain order.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The uprising cost two lives—the dead were identified as A. Gutierrez and A. Doran—and 22 police officers and 57 others were injured. The riots led to 322 arrests, including the leaders Papa Godett and Amador Nita of the dock workers' union, and Stanley Brown, the editor of Vitó. Godett was kept under police surveillance while he recovered in the hospital from his bullet wound. During the disturbances, 43 businesses and 10 other buildings were burned and 190 buildings were damaged or looted. Thirty vehicles were destroyed by fire. The damage caused by the uprising was valued at around US$40 million.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The looting was highly selective, mainly targeting businesses owned by whites while avoiding tourists. In some cases rioters led tourists out of the disturbance to their hotels to protect them. Nevertheless, the riots drove away most tourists and damaged the island's reputation as a tourist destination. On May 31, Amigoe di Curaçao, a local newspaper, declared that with the uprising, "the leaden mask of a carefree, untroubled life in the Caribbean Sea was ripped from part of Curaçao, perhaps forever".


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The riots evoked a wide range of emotions among the island's population; "Everyone was crying" when it ended, said one observer. There was pride that Curaçaoans had finally stood up for themselves. Some were ashamed it had come to a riot or of having taken part. Others were angry at the rioters, the police, or at the social wrongs that had given rise to the riots.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Uprising
The uprising achieved both its economic and political demands. On June 2 all parties in the Estates of the Netherlands Antilles, pressured by the Chamber of Commerce that feared further strikes and violence, agreed to dissolve that body. On June 5, the Prime Minister Ciro Domenico Kroon submitted his resignation to the Governor. Elections for the Estates were set for September 5. On June 26, an interim government headed by new Prime Minister Gerald Sprockel took charge of the Netherlands Antilles.


1969 Curaçao uprising, Aftermath
Trinta di Mei (Thirtieth of May in Papiamentu) became a pivotal moment in the history of Curaçao, contributing to the end of white political dominance. While Peter Verton as well as William Averette Anderson and Russell Rowe Dynes characterize the events as a revolt, historian Gert Oostindie considers this term too broad. All of these writers agree revolution was never a possibility. Anderson, Dynes, and Verton regard the uprising as part of a broader movement, the May Movement or May 30 Movement, which began with the strikes in early 1969 and continued in electoral politics and with another wave of strikes in December 1969.