1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, Medal rosters
4 Kevin Pritchard, 5 Larry Johnson, 6 Gary Payton, 7 Stephen Thompson, 8 LaBradford Smith, 9 Lionel Simmons, 10 Scott Williams, 11 Stacey Augmon, 12 Robert Brickey, 13 Ron Huery, 14 Dwayne Schintzius, 15 Brian Williams (Head coach: Larry Brown)


1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, Medal rosters
4 Sandro Brusamarello, 5 Nando Gentile, 6 Riccardo Pittis, 7 Massimiliano Aldi, 8 Stefano Rusconi, 9 Andrea Niccolai, 10 Michele Zeno, 11 Davide Pessina, 12 Alberto Ballestra, 13 Gustavo Tolloti, 14 Giovanni Savio, 15 Genaro Palmieri (Head coach: ?)


1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship
The FIFA U-16 World Championship 1987, the second edition of the tournament, was hosted by Canada and held in the cities of Montreal, Saint John, St. John's, and Toronto between 12 July and 25 July 1987. Players born after 1 August 1970 could participate in this tournament.


1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, Venues
The cities of Montreal, Saint John, St. John's, and Toronto hosted tournament matches.


1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, Squads
For full squad lists for the 1987 U-16 World Championship see 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship Squads.


1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, Goalscorers
Moussa Traoré of Ivory Coast won the Golden Shoe award for scoring five goals. In total, 82 goals were scored by 54 different players, with none of them credited as own goal.


1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, Final ranking
FIFA awarded the Golden Boot to Moussa Traoré because Côte d'Ivoire had scored fewer goals than USSR.


1987 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of the three other semi-finalists, and eliminated the defending champions Brazil. The tournament took place in four venues:  Antofagasta, Valparaíso, Concepción and Santiago.


1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, Squads
For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship squads


1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, Group stages
The 16 teams were split into four groups of four teams. Four group winners, and four second-place finishers qualify for the knockout round.


1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, Goalscorers
Marcel Witeczek of West Germany won the Golden Shoe award for scoring seven goals. In total, 86 goals were scored by 51 different players, with none of them credited as own goal.


1987 FIFA World Youth Championship squads
Below are the rosters for the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship tournament in Chile. Those marked in bold went on to earn full international caps.


1987 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup
The 1987 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup was the fifth edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation (FINA). The event took place in Thessalonica, Greece. Eight teams participated to decide the winner of what would be a bi-annual event until 1999.


1987 FINA Synchronised Swimming World Cup
The 3rd FINA Synchronised Swimming World Cup was held 1987 in Cairo, Egypt. It featured swimmers from 10 nations, swimming in three events: Solo, Duet and Team.


1987 FIRS Intercontinental Cup
The 1987 FIRS Intercontinental Cup was the third edition of the roller hockey tournament known as the Intercontinental Cup, played in December 1987. HC Liceo La Coruña won the cup, defeating Concepción PC.


1987 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship
The 1987 FIVB Women's U20 World Championship was held in Seoul and Pusan, South Korea from September 2 to 13, 1987. 13 teams participated in the tournament.


1987 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship, Pools composition
South Korea Brazil Canada Chinese Taipei France Soviet Union Cuba *


1987 Family Circle Cup
The 1987 Family Circle Cup was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in the United States and was part of the Category 4 tier of the 1987 WTA Tour. It was the 15th edition of the tournament and ran from April 6 through April 12, 1987. First-seeded Steffi Graf won her second consecutive singles title at the event and earned $60,000 first-prize money.


1987 Family Circle Cup, Finals, Doubles
Mercedes Paz /  Eva Pfaff defeated  Zina Garrison /  Lori McNeil 7–6(8–6), 7–5


1987 Family Circle NSW Open
The 1987 Family Circle NSW Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia that was part of the Category 3 tier of the 1987 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the 95th edition of the tournament and was held from 5 January until 11 January 1987. Sixth-seeded Zina Garrison won the singles title.


1987 Family Circle NSW Open, Finals, Doubles
Betsy Nagelsen /  Elizabeth Smylie defeated  Jenny Byrne /  Janine Tremelling 6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–1


1987 Fatehabad bus massacre
1987 Fatehabad bus killings was a massacre of Hindu bus-passengers by Sikh anti-Government terrorists. It occurred on 7 July 1987 near Fatehabad, in the northern state of Haryana, India.


1987 Fatehabad bus massacre
The militants attacked two buses and killed 34 bus passengers. The militants created roadblock by using a car and a Jeep. They singled out Hindu passengers and dragged them off to shot them to death. The Khalistan Commando Force claimed responsibility for the attacks.


1987 Federation Cup (tennis)
The 1987 Federation Cup was the 25th edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. The tournament was held at Hollyburn Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from 26 July – 2 August. West Germany won their first title, defeating the United States in the final. This was their first victory after four previous final appearances.


1987 Federation Cup (tennis), Qualifying round
All ties were played at Hollyburn Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on hard courts.


1987 Federation Cup (tennis), Qualifying round
Winning nations advance to Main Draw, losing nations play in Consolation Rounds.


1987 Federation Professional League season
The 1987 Federation Professional League season started on 4 April and ended on 25 November 1987. It was won by Lightbody's Santos.


1987 Fiesta Bowl
The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that served as the final game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Part of the 1986–87 bowl game season, the 1987 Fiesta Bowl also served as the National Championship Game, between the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes, and the No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions. It was the bowl's 16th edition, played annually since 1971 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.


1987 Fiesta Bowl
Played at night on Friday, January 2, it matched the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes and #2 Penn State Nittany Lions. As the first part of NBC's tripleheader of bowl games on New Year's Day in the previous five years, the Fiesta Bowl had kicked off at 11:30 a.m. MST and led into the Rose Bowl. Since this year's game would determine the national championship, organizers decided to play it a day later on January 2; the kickoff was just after 6 p.m. MST, prime time in the Eastern and Central time zones.


1987 Fiesta Bowl
It drew a 25.1 rating for NBC, which the bowl organizers claimed was a record for any college football game; the 1980 Rose Bowl, which NBC also aired, drew a 28.6 rating but was seen in fewer homes than the Fiesta Bowl, which was viewed in 21.9 million versus the 21.8 million the Rose Bowl had been viewed in.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
The Fiesta Bowl had been played on New Year's Day since the 1982 game. This was because, despite its relatively new status, it frequently featured matchups between highly-ranked conference runners-up or major independents.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
Despite its growing prestige, the Fiesta was not considered by many to be a major bowl game. Instead, that distinction was given to four other New Year's bowls— the Cotton, Rose, Sugar, and Orange were all considered major bowls. Each of these bowls was required to take at least one conference's champion as per their charters regardless of the team's rank; the Southwest Conference champion hosted the Cotton, the Big Ten Conference and Pac-10 Conference matched up in the Rose, the Big 8 Conference champion hosted the Orange, and the Southeastern Conference champion hosted the Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl had a tie in with the Western Athletic Conference for its first seven years, but not since. Since its debut in December 1971, one team from the West was often invited, but the Fiesta Bowl was not bound by geography.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
The climate of college football was different in 1986, as there were twenty-four independents, as opposed to four in 2017. Some high-profile programs were among those twenty-four teams, with Penn State and Miami being two of them. Since these teams had no ties to any conference, bowl committees were free to invite them as they saw fit. For instance, Penn State was invited to the previous year's Orange Bowl, while Miami received an invite to the Sugar Bowl.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
If an independent was either first or second in the rankings, their bowl matchup would be determined by what bowl game the other team in the top two was tied to and that bowl would serve as the national championship game. In fact, both Penn State and Miami's previous national championships were won this way. The 1982 Penn State squad, ranked second, defeated #1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The next season, Miami had a chance to win the national title in their home stadium against #1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl and did.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
In 1985, both Penn State and Miami finished the regular season ranked first and second. However, by the time the final polls were released both schools had already made arrangements. As noted above, Penn State went to the Orange Bowl and faced #3 Oklahoma while Miami took on #9 Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. While the possibility existed for a split national championship, neither team won their bowl game.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
In 1986, the situation once again arose where both schools finished the regular season atop the polls. This time, there would be a matchup between Miami and Penn State, requiring a different plan as to how to resolve where the game would be taking place. All of the bowl games had been set except for the one that Miami and Penn State would be playing in for the national championship.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
The Fiesta Bowl selection committee's only opposition came from the organizers of the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, which like the Fiesta Bowl was not locked in to taking anyone from a conference. The bidding process resulted in the game being awarded to the Fiesta Bowl. As a result, the Fiesta Bowl's growing national prestige increased even further, ultimately propelling it to major-bowl status (and depending on the source, even replacing the Cotton Bowl as the fourth major bowl). The Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Alliance and Bowl Championship Series years later, and is today part of the New Year's Six.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
As noted above, the Fiesta Bowl was usually played in the early afternoon (MST). At the time, the structure of the New Year's Day games saw the Fiesta and Cotton Bowls played first, with the Rose Bowl starting around 4:45 pm EST and the Orange and Sugar Bowls played at night at the same time. (The Orange moved to night in 1965, the Sugar in 1982).


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl selection
NBC at the time was the television home for three of the aforementioned bowls, and if the national title was to be decided in one of them, airing the Fiesta Bowl early in the day would have been of little benefit. This brought about the shift in dates to January 2, which ensured the game would not face any competition from any other bowl game that might have been played at the time and helped it gain the record-setting audience it pulled in.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Teams
Oklahoma and Michigan began the season ranked at #1 and #2 respectively, but the Wolverines slipped to #3 behind Miami following the Hurricanes 23–15 defeat of #13 Florida on September 6. A 28–16 defeat of Oklahoma by #2 Miami on September 27 pushed Miami into the #1 ranking, with Alabama moving into the #2 spot. However, Alabama lost to Penn State 23–3 on October 25, a result that jumped the Nittany Lions to the #2 spot behind Miami.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Teams
Michigan regained the #2 spot after their 31–7 victory over Purdue, coupled with Penn State's close 17–15 victory over unranked Maryland that same day. But, the following week, Penn State once again found itself ranked #2 following Minnesota's 20–17 upset victory at Michigan. Penn State then finished out the regular season on November 22 with a 34–14 victory over in-state rival Pitt, while Miami finished their season the following Thursday with a 36–10 victory over East Carolina to set up the #1 vs. #2 showdown.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Teams, Miami Hurricanes
Miami entered the game with a seemingly unstoppable team. The Hurricanes had outscored their opponents during the season 420–136 en route to a perfect regular season. They had held the #1 ranking since handing the reigning champion (and eventual #3) Oklahoma Sooners their only loss in late September. The 1986 Heisman Trophy winner, Vinny Testaverde starred at quarterback. The team also featured All-Americans Jerome Brown, Dan Sileo, and Bennie Blades on defense, future NFL Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin at wide receiver, and fullback Alonzo Highsmith, the third overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Teams, Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State came into the game with a different pedigree. Also 11–0 and undefeated, the Nittany Lions had nonetheless looked rather beatable, with close wins against Cincinnati, Maryland, and Notre Dame, all teams with .500 records or worse. However, the Lions relished their underdog status and their ability to shut teams down with a stifling, highly rated defense. They had All-Americans at linebacker (Shane Conlan), defensive tackle (Tim Johnson), running back (D.J. Dozier), and offensive tackle (Chris Conlin). "We were a team that couldn't be intimidated, and that's what Miami liked to do to other players," linebacker Pete Giftopoulos later observed. "How are you going to intimidate a bunch of steel-town kids from Pittsburgh, Ohio, Pennsylvania? You just can't do that."


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl arrangements
An Arizona State win over Cal, combined with a UCLA loss to Stanford, enabled the Sun Devils to clinch the Pac-10 and Rose Bowl Berth on November 8. The early clinching of the Rose Bowl bid for Arizona State began a scramble for all the Bowl games to confirm teams before the bids were to be extended on November 22. The Michigan loss on November 15 set Miami and Penn State at #1 and #2. The Cotton Bowl offered to take the loser of the Michigan–Ohio State game, as the winner went to the Rose Bowl. With Penn State and Miami already written off to the bidding winner between the Fiesta and Citrus bowls, the other bowls made similar arrangements to take second-place teams.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl arrangements
With Miami and Penn State the top two teams in the nation, and both independents unaffiliated with any conferences or bowl tie-ins, there was an opportunity to create a #1–2 matchup in what were widely seen as a second-tier bowls By November 17, The Citrus Bowl, which had planned to pay $875,000 per team, was offering about $2.6 million apiece to Miami and Penn State to land the game; the Fiesta, which normally pays $1.1 million per, was offering around $2.4 million and was poised to go higher. The Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, and Orange Bowl all had payouts in the neighborhood of $2 million. The Rose Bowl paid $6 million per team.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Bowl arrangements
This was only the 21st time since 1936 that #1 would face #2, and only the seventh time in a bowl game. It was only the fifth time in college football history that there had been two #1 vs #2 games in the same football season.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
The game was described by many commentators as a battle between "Good versus Evil." With Penn State considered the "good" and Miami considered the "evil."


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
On the flight to the game the entire Miami Hurricane team changed into military-style fatigues to play into the "warfare" element of the contest. The game had been referred to as the "Duel in the Desert."


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Pre-game buildup
Reggie Taylor of the Cincinnati Bearcats, who had played both teams said, "It's harder to run against Penn State. They're so disciplined you can't exploit their weaknesses as much." Defensive tackle Bob Leshnak said, "Miami's center [Gregg Rakoczy] is the best I've faced. Our line moves a lot, and it gave Penn State problems." Cincinnati coach Dave Currey said, "The only place Miami  has a big edge is quarterback. If Penn State  can control the ball, it has less chance of beating itself. In a game like this, you've first got to not beat yourself."


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Telecast
Instead of reassigning its primary football broadcast team of Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen from its Rose Bowl telecast, NBC allowed Charlie Jones to be the play-by-play voice for his eighth consecutive Fiesta Bowl even after the contest became the national championship game. The color commentators with Jones were Bob Griese and Jimmy Cefalo, the latter completing his first full year as a game analyst with the network. NBC also added a 15-minute pregame show co-hosted by Bob Costas and Ahmad Rashad. A live interview with President Ronald Reagan aired at halftime.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Telecast
NBC was generally lauded for stressing the magnitude of the event while keeping the broadcast simple. Jim Sarni of the South Florida SunSentinel wrote that Jones "kept the telecast flowing with his controlled style" and "did not get carried away by the delirious finish," Griese "supplied the key insight" and "was able to express himself again" after working an entire football season alongside a loquacious Marv Albert and Cefalo "got better as the telecast went on" despite being "overexcited."


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
Penn State wore their blue home jerseys, while Miami wore their white road jerseys.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
Miami outgained Penn State on the field, 445 yards to 162, with 22 first downs compared to the Nittany Lions' eight. However, the Hurricanes were hampered by seven turnovers, including five interceptions of the Heisman-winning Testaverde.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
The majority of the game was a seesaw battle. Miami's only touchdown was the result of a John Shaffer fumble that the Hurricanes recovered at the Penn State 23. Miami then took four plays to score the go-ahead touchdown.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
The Nittany Lions responded with their only sustained drive of the night, going 74 yards in 13 plays, culminating in Shaffer's four-yard scamper into the end zone. The halftime score was a 7–7 tie.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
After Miami scored a field goal to retake the lead, Shane Conlan grabbed his second interception of the night, returning it 39 yards to the Miami five. The first Penn State snap was fumbled, but the Nittany Lions recovered. D. J. Dozier then followed with a six-yard run for the Lions' first lead.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
Miami still had over eight minutes on the clock, but fumbled on their next possession. With Penn State unable to move the ball, Miami began their last drive on their own 23 with 3:07 left in the game. A fourth down completion to Brian Blades went for 31 yards and moved Miami into Penn State territory. With a minute left, Testaverde hit Michael Irvin at the Penn State 10. The connection put the Hurricanes inside the five with 45 seconds left.


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
Even with a national championship at stake, though, Penn State linebacker Pete Giftopoulos said the Penn State defense stayed calm. "We had some great leaders – (seniors) Shane Conlan, Timmy Johnson, Bob White," he said. "They were key character people. To not see any fear in their eyes helped me as a junior and helped the other players to play the game. ... Nobody was losing it in the huddle, nobody was screaming. Everyone was like, 'Here's the play; let's do it.'"


1987 Fiesta Bowl, Game summary
On second-and-goal, Testaverde dropped back, but Tim Johnson broke free and sacked him. On third down, Testaverde threw incomplete into the flat. On fourth-and-goal, with 18 seconds left, Testaverde threw to the end zone, but was intercepted by Giftopoulos. The interception, Giftopoulos' second of the game (and Testaverde's fifth), ensured Penn State's second national title in five years.


1987 Fijian coups d'état
The Fijian coups d'état of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup d'état, in which Bavadra was deposed, took place on 14 May 1987; a second coup d'état on 28 September ended the monarchy, and was shortly followed by the proclamation of a republic on 7 October. Both military actions were led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, then third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. Depending on perspective, one may view the event either as two successive coups d'état separated by a four-month intermission, or as a single coup begun on 14 May and completed with the declaration of the republic.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Background
Both before and after Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, tensions between the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian ethnic groups (comprising an estimated 46% and 49% of the 1987 population, respectively) continually manifested themselves in social and political unrest. The Fijian general election of April 1987 resulted in the replacement of the indigenous-led conservative government of Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara with a multi-ethnic Labour-led coalition supported mostly by the Indo-Fijian plurality and Rabuka claimed ethnic Fijian concerns of racial discrimination as his excuse for seizing power. Many authorities doubt the veracity of this, however, given existing constitutional guarantees.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, May coup
On the morning of 14 May, around 10 am, a section of ten masked, armed soldiers entered the Fijian House of Representatives and subdued the national legislature, which had gathered there for its morning session. Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, dressed in civilian clothes, approached Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra from his position in the public gallery and ordered the members of parliament to leave the building. They did so without resisting. The coup was an apparent success and had been accomplished without loss of life.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, May coup
At around 11 am, Radio Fiji announced the news of the military takeover. Rabuka was reported to have gone to Government House to see the Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. He was seeking recognition of the military action and the overthrow of the Bavadra government. A caretaker government was to be named shortly, and the public was urged to "remain calm and continue with their daily work." At the meeting, the Governor-General (who was Rabuka's paramount chief) gave a mild rebuke to Rabuka. He asked him "What have you done?" and "You mean I have no job?" He added that Rabuka should have given the deposed government more time. The meeting ended with Ratu Sir Penaia stating "Good luck, I hope you know what you are doing."


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, May coup
Following the coup, the Governor-General commissioned a Constitution Review Committee, led by Sir John Falvey, to look at the "deficiencies" of Fiji's 1970 constitution.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, May coup
The commission was to begin hearings on 6 July and deliver its recommendations to the Governor-General by 31 July. Its terms of reference were to "strengthen the representation of indigenous Fijians, and in so doing bear in mind the best interests of other peoples in Fiji." The Commission received 860 written and 120 oral submissions, and produced a report recommending a new unicameral legislature comprising 36 Fijians (28 elected and 8 appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs), 22 Indo-Fijians, 8 General electors, 1 Rotuman, and up to four nominees of the Prime Minister. National constituencies, ethnically allocated and elected by universal suffrage, were to be abolished, and all voting was to be communal. The Prime Minister's post was to be reserved for an indigenous Fijian.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, May coup
The Governor-General dissolved Parliament and granted amnesty to Rabuka, while promoting him to the position of commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. The actions of the Governor-General were viewed with suspicion by the deposed government and Bavadra challenged Ratu Sir Penaia's decision in the Supreme Court of Fiji.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, September coup
From independence in 1970, Fiji's head of state was the Queen of Fiji, Elizabeth II. The Fijian Supreme Court ruled the coup to be totally unconstitutional, and the Governor-General attempted to assert executive reserve power. He opened negotiations known as the Deuba Talks with both the deposed government and the Alliance Party, which most indigenous Fijians supported. These negotiations culminated in the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which provided for a government of national unity, in which both parties would be represented under the leadership of the Governor-General.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Coups d'etat, September coup
Fearing that the gains of the first coup were about to be lost, Rabuka staged a second coup on 25 September. Rabuka then declared Fiji a republic on 7 October 1987, abrogating the Constitution of Fiji and stating that he had removed the Governor-General from office, and declaring himself Head of the Interim Military Government. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau resigned as Governor-General on 15 October, although he was made the first President of Fiji on 6 December 1987.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, International involvement
Australia and New Zealand, the two nations with foremost political influence in the region, were somewhat disquieted by the event, but ultimately took no action to intervene. They did, however, establish a policy of non-recognition regarding the new government, suspending foreign aid in concert with the United States and the United Kingdom.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, International involvement
The Australian labour movement, taking the ousting of a Labor Party-led government as an affront to the worldwide labour movement, instituted an embargo against shipments to Fiji. As Australia was Fiji's largest foreign trading partner, this resulted in a large diminution in Fiji's international trade.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the second coup, the United Nations denounced the coup, demanding that the former government be restored. The Commonwealth responded with Fiji's immediate expulsion from the association.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Aftermath
Fiji's economy contracted by as much as 7.8% between 1987 and 1988, due to a major downturn in tourism and sugar production.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Aftermath
A new constitution was ratified in 1990, in which the offices of President and Prime Minister, along with two-thirds of the Senate and a substantial majority of the House of Representatives, were reserved for indigenous Fijians. These racially  discriminatory provisions were eventually overturned by a constitutional revision in 1997. Fiji became a Commonwealth republic in late 1997.


1987 Fijian coups d'état, Aftermath
The coups triggered much emigration by Indo-Fijians (particularly skilled workers), making them a minority by 1994. Today, however, though Fiji struggles economically, the country has been able to slowly recover from this loss of necessary skills.


1987 Fijian general election
General elections were held in Fiji between 4 and 11 April 1987. They marked the first electoral transition of power in Fijian history. Despite receiving just under 50% of the vote, the Alliance Party of longtime Prime Minister, Kamisese Mara was defeated by a coalition of the Fiji Labour Party (contesting a general election for the first time) and National Federation Party, which won 28 seats to the Alliance's 24. The Labour Party's Timoci Bavadra became Prime Minister.


1987 Fijian general election
Bavadra's 28-member parliamentary caucus included only seven ethnic Fijians, all of them elected with predominantly Indo-Fijian support from national constituencies. His fourteen-member cabinet included six Fijians, seven Into-Fijians and one European. Effective Indo-Fijian control of the government caused widespread resentment among the ethnic Fijian community, and after less than a month in office, the new government was deposed on 14 May in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka.


1987 Fijian general election, Electoral system
The 52 members of the House of Representatives were elected from two types of constituency, with candidature in each limited to one of three ethnic groups; Fijians, Indo-Fijians and General electors, generally of European or Chinese descent.


1987 Fijian general election, Electoral system
Twenty-seven members were elected from communal constituencies (12 Fijians, 12 Indo-Fijians and 3 general) in which voters voted for someone of their own ethnicity, with the remaining twenty-five elected from national constituencies (10 Fijian, 10 Indo-Fijian and 5 general) in which candidature was limited by ethnicity but all registered voters in a constituency could vote for.


1987 Fila German Open
The 1987 Fila German Open was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in West Berlin, West Germany that was part of the Category 3 tier of the 1987 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the 18th edition of the tournament and was held from 11 May through 17 May 1987. First-seeded Steffi Graf won the singles title, her second consecutive at the event, and earned $29,000 first-prize money.


1987 Fila German Open, Finals, Doubles
Claudia Kohde-Kilsch /  Helena Suková defeated  Catarina Lindqvist /  Tine Scheuer-Larsen 6–1, 6–2


1987 Fila Trophy
The 1987 Fila Trophy was a men's professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at a new venue, Palazzo Trussardi in Milan, Italy. The event was part of the 1987 Nabisco Grand Prix. It was the tenth edition of the tournament and was played from 30 March until 4 April 1987. Total attendance was almost 48,000. First-seeded Boris Becker won the singles title and earned $55,000 first-prize money.


1987 Fila Trophy, Finals, Doubles
Boris Becker /  Slobodan Živojinović defeated  Sergio Casal /  Emilio Sánchez 3–6, 6–3, 6–4


1987 Fine Gael leadership election
The Fine Gael leadership election of March 1987 was held to find a successor to Garret FitzGerald who resigned following the party's defeat in that year's general election.


1987 Fine Gael leadership election
It was the first time that a formal election by the parliamentary party had taken place, previous leaders having emerged through a consultation process and were then elected unopposed. This procedure was not used in 1987 as a number of eligible candidates emerged.


1987 Fine Gael leadership election
Three candidates immediately emerged for the party leadership – Alan Dukes, former Minister for Justice; John Bruton, former Minister for Finance and the Public Service; and Michael Noonan, former Minister for Industry and Commerce. An early unofficial ranking of candidates had put Dukes slightly ahead with Noonan trailing in a distant third. Peter Barry, the deputy leader of the party, refused to announce his candidacy immediately, however, he eventually entered the leadership race as Michael Noonan refused to go stand due to a lack of support.


1987 Fine Gael leadership election
82 TDs, Senators and MEPs from the Fine Gael parliamentary party were entitled to cast their vote. The rules in place required the victor to reach 42 votes (half the total vote plus one). The results were not made public after the election.


1987 Fine Gael leadership election
On 21 March Alan Dukes was elected leader of Fine Gael by a significant majority. John Bruton, who would eventually success Dukes as leader, was said to have come second with Peter Barry trailing in third.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Finland on 15 and 16 March 1987.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election
The results saw a rightwards shift in Finnish politics, although it was uncertain how far, because the voter turnout — at a comparatively low 75% — hurt the left more than the right and had a variable impact. The centre-right National Coalition Party (KOK) increased its vote share by only 1% yet gained nine seats in the Eduskunta, almost overtaking the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the largest party. The SDP vote share dropped by 3%, with 100,000 fewer votes, yet they lost only one seat due to the way their votes were distributed across the country.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election
The Centre Party's vote share remained stable and it gained two new seats. The Greens, who had registered a significant gain in the 1984 municipal elections gained two seats, far fewer than expected. Weakened perhaps from its membership in the long-lived government, the Finnish Rural Party (SMP) lost more than one-third of its support and almost half of its seats.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election, Aftermath
Faced with these inconclusive results, negotiations about the shape of the new government began. After six weeks of talks and attempts to put together a completely non-socialist government, a pathbreaking combination was formed that included conservatives and socialists in the Council of State, joined by the dependable and successful Swedish People's Party and the battered and desperate SMP.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election, Aftermath
The new government, consisting of nine centrist and conservative and eight socialist ministers and headed by the KOK's Harri Holkeri, surprised some observers because a non-socialist government was possible and seemed appropriate given the election results. The outcome angered others, who contended that Koivisto had misused presidential powers when he brokered a government that had his former party as a member despite its considerable electoral losses. Koivisto countered that he had behaved properly and had let the parties themselves argue out a workable combination.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election, Aftermath
One explanation for the unusual government was that animosity against the Centre Party (Kesk) leader, Paavo Väyrynen, was so common in both the SDP and the KOK that neither party was willing to form a government with him. Thus, Kesk was deprived of its traditional "hinge" role. Another consideration was that the SDP and the KOK were not so much at odds with each another as socialist and conservative parties elsewhere might have been.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election, Aftermath
Both parties had moved toward the centre, and they were in agreement about most issues, especially about the need to reduce the agricultural subsidies that had always been defended by Kesk. The resulting "red-blue" government had as program objective the preservation of the social welfare system, the improvement of Finland's competitive position in international trade, a fundamental reform of the tax system, and adherence to the Paasikivi-Kekkonen Line in foreign affairs. The SFP fitted in easily with this program.


1987 Finnish parliamentary election, Aftermath
The formerly rightist, but now moderate, SMP was included because it strengthened the government slightly and because it was likely to be dependable, because it had no other place to go. Koivisto informed the new government that it would not have to resign after the presidential election of 1988, and observers expected the cabinet to serve its full term until the 1991 parliamentary elections.


1987 Five Nations Championship
The 1987 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played over five weekends between 7 February and 4 April. This was the last time the championship would be interrupted by weather conditions until the Six Nations of 2012. France won with a Grand Slam, for the fourth time, while England won the Calcutta Cup, in their only win.


1987 Florida Citrus Bowl
The 1987 Florida Citrus Bowl was held on January 1, 1987 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The #10 Auburn Tigers defeated the USC Trojans by a score of 16–7.


1987 Florida Citrus Bowl
The first score of the game came when the Trojans intercepted an Auburn pass and returned it 24 yards to take the lead. No other scoring took place in the first quarter, which ended 7–0. The second quarter saw Auburn retaliate, as the Tigers found the end zone twice (a 3-yard pass and a 4-yard run) to lead 14-7 at halftime. The third quarter saw no scoring and Auburn capped off the game with a safety in the fourth quarter, and the game ended 16-7.


1987 Florida Citrus Bowl
Auburn finished the game with 9 more first downs, 156 more rushing yards, and 133 more total yards. However, the Trojans out-passed the Tigers by 23 yards.


1987 Florida Gators football team
The 1987 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Galen Hall as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Hall's 1987 Florida Gators posted a 6–6 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, placing sixth among ten SEC teams.


1987 Florida Gators football team
The season was the debut of freshman running back Emmitt Smith. Smith went on to break the 1,000-yard barrier in the seventh game of his freshman season, the fastest any running back had ever broken that barrier to begin his college career, and was named SEC and national freshman of the year. This was the last year until 2017 that Florida opened the season away from Gainesville.


1987 Florida State Seminoles baseball team
The 1987 Florida State Seminoles baseball team represented Florida State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Seminoles played their home games at Seminole Stadium. The team was coached by Mike Martin in his eighth season as head coach at Florida State.


1987 Florida State Seminoles baseball team
The Seminoles reached the College World Series, their ninth appearance in Omaha, where they finished tied for fifth place after recording a win against Arizona State and losses to eventual semifinalists LSU and Texas.


1987 Florida State Seminoles football team
The 1987 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium. The team was selected national champion by Berryman.


1987 Football Cup of Ukrainian SSR among KFK
The 1987 Football Cup of Ukrainian SSR among KFK  was the annual season of Ukraine's football knockout competition for amateur football teams.


1987 Football League Cup Final
The 1987 Football League Cup Final was a football match played on 5 April 1987 between Arsenal and Liverpool. The match, played in front of 96,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium, was won by Arsenal 2–1. Ian Rush opened the scoring for Liverpool with a side foot finish to the corner of the net, before Charlie Nicholas equalised, turning in a cross from the right in a crowded penalty area. Nicholas was credited with scoring the winning goal in the second half from a Perry Groves cross. His off-target shot deflected off Ronnie Whelan and was diverted past Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar's outstretched hand and into the left corner of the net.


1987 Football League Cup Final
Arsenal also finished fourth in the First Division, but were unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup as UEFA voted for the ban in English clubs in European competitions to continue for a third season.


1987 Football League Cup Final
Ian Rush's goal was his first to be scored on the losing side in any competition. It ended Liverpool's 144-match unbeaten streak in matches he had scored in.


1987 Football League Cup Final, Road To Wembley
Semi-final 1st leg: Arsenal 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1. 2nd leg: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 2. Semi-final replay: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 2. Arsenal reached the final after winning a replay at White Hart Lane.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final
The 1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final was an association football match contested by Aldershot and Wolverhampton Wanderers over two legs on 22 May 1987 and 25 May 1987 to determine which club would play the next season in the Third Division. Aldershot had finished in sixth place in the Fourth Division while Wolverhampton Wanderers were fourth. They were joined in the play-offs by fifth-placed Colchester United and Bolton Wanderers, who had finished in 21st position in the division above. Aldershot defeated Bolton Wanderers in their semi-final, consigning the latter to relegation, while Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Colchester United in the other semi-final.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final
The first leg of the final was played at Recreation Ground in Aldershot, in front of a crowd of 5,069. An early goal from Ian McDonald and a second-half penalty from Bobby Barnes gave Aldershot a 2–0 lead heading into the second leg. Three days later, at Molineux, 19,962 people saw Barnes score the only goal of the game to give Aldershot a 3–0 aggregate victory and promotion to the Third Division. Crowd violence followed the second leg with more than 40 people being arrested.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final
Aldershot ended their following season in 20th position in the Third Division, one place and one point above the relegation play-off position. Wolverhampton Wanderers' next season saw them finish as champions of the Fourth Division, gaining automatic promotion to the Third Division for the 1988–89 season.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Route to the final
This was the inaugural season of the Football League play-offs, which were introduced as part of the "Heathrow Agreement", a ten-point proposal to restructure the Football League. For the first two years of the play-offs, the team which had finished immediately above the relegation places in the Third Division competed with three clubs from the Fourth Division immediately below the promotion positions for promotion to the second tier of English football for the following season.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Route to the final
The play-offs were not universally lauded: Oldham Athletic manager Joe Royle was scathing of them after losing in the semi-final of the Second Division play-offs, saying "We finished seven points clear of Leeds. So to go out on away goals to them means there is something unjust. I welcomed the play-offs but possibly hadn't considered the long-term ramifications." The Swindon Town manager Lou Macari was also dissatisfied with the play-offs, arguing "we have proved ourselves the better team over 46 games this season but then see our future decided in Cup-style matches".


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Bolton Wanderers had finished the 1986–87 season in 21st place in the Third Division, one position above the relegation zone. Wolverhampton Wanderers ended the season in fourth position in the Fourth Division, one point behind Southend, who were automatically promoted in third place, eleven behind Preston North End who were promoted as runners-up, and twenty behind champions Northampton Town. Colchester United finished nine points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers in fifth place while Aldershot ended the season in sixth, also nine points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers but with inferior goal difference to Colchester United. Bolton, along with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Colchester United, and Aldershot thus competed in the play-offs.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Aldershot's opposition in their play-off semi-final were Bolton Wanderers, with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at the Recreation Ground in Aldershot on 14 May 1987. The match ended 1–0 to Aldershot as Gary Johnson scored the only goal of the game in the 77th minute. The second leg was held three days later at Burnden Park in Bolton. Tony Caldwell scored a 50th minute penalty to level the tie on aggregate before Darren Anderson scored for Aldershot in the 76th minute. Caldwell's 81st minute goal meant extra time was required to decide the result. Glenn Burvill gave Aldershot the lead in the 103rd minute, and with no further goals, the tie ended 3–2 to Aldershot on aggregate. They progressed to the final while Bolton were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Wolverhampton Wanderers faced Colchester United in the other semi-final, with the first leg being played at Layer Road in Colchester on 14 May 1987. Rob Kelly gave the visitors the lead in the 28th minute when he headed in a deflected cross from Steve Bull. Five minutes later, Bull himself scored when he converted a shot from Andy Thompson which had rebounded off the Colchester United goalpost. Mark Kendall, the Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper, made a number of saves to keep a clean sheet and his side won 2–0. The second leg took place three days later at Molineux in Wolverhampton. The match ended goalless and Wolverhampton Wanderers progressed to the final with a 2–0 aggregate victory.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Wolverhampton Wanderers had been involved in numerous promotions and relegations in the seasons leading up to this one. Having been relegated to the Second Division in the 1981–82 season, they were promoted the following year after finishing as runners-up. Three consecutive relegations followed, in 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86 to leave them in the Fourth Division, the lowest tier of English football in which they had ever played. Aldershot had played in the Fourth Division since being relegated in the 1975–76 season. Wolverhampton Wanderers won both matches between the sides during the regular season. The game at the Recreation Ground in August 1986 ended 2–1 and the return match at Molineux in February 1987 saw Wolverhampton win 3–0.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
The referee for the first leg, played on 22 May 1987 at the Recreation Ground in Aldershot in front of 5,069 spectators, was Allan Gunn. Conditions underfoot were poor with a heavily waterlogged pitch, and the first goal came about in the fourth minute when a number of players slipped, including Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Floyd Streete, and Ian McDonald scored. Kendall made a number of saves including one in the 40th minute to deny Mike Ring which Mike Ward, writing in the Sandwell Evening Mail, described as a "rescue act of quite stunning brilliance".


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
Bull saw two attempts to score denied by Aldershot defenders before half-time and within thirty seconds of the start of the second half, Streete was adjudged to have handled the ball from a clearance by Nicky Clarke, his teammate. Bobby Barnes scored the resulting penalty. Bull then missed an opportunity to score in the 70th minute and the match ended in a 2–0 victory for Aldershot.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
The referee for the second leg, played on 25 May 1987 at Molineux in Wolverhampton in front of a crowd of 19,962, was Keith Hackett. Wolverhampton Wanderers concentrated their efforts on playing long balls forward to their attackers, but according to Mike King of the Sandwell Evening Mail, they were met with "an unflinching Aldershot defence". In the ninth minute, Bull struck a shot high over the Aldershot crossbar and two minutes later, Barry Powell's strike from distance was tipped away by Tony Lange, the Aldershot goalkeeper.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
Just before the hour mark, Thompson shot high and off-target before Lange made another save, this time from a strike which took a deflection off Jon Purdie. With nine minutes of the match remaining, Barnes scored for Aldershot to give them a 1–0 win, and a 3–0 aggregate victory, securing promotion to the Third Division. After the final whistle, hundreds of Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters rushed on the 2,000 travelling Aldershot fans, attacking them and the police. Ten officers and a police horse were injured in the riot while forty-two people, including one Aldershot supporter, were arrested.


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Post-match
Graham Turner, the Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, was disappointed and bemoaned the new method of determining the final team to be promoted, saying "I'm bitterly disappointed. We ended nine points clear of Aldershot in the table with a better goal difference, so that makes it even harder to swallow at the moment". His counterpart Len Walker was sympathetic, noting "It's sad Wolves finished fourth and we finished sixth, but we all knew the rules to start with". After the game, Aldershot teammates Giorgio Mazzon, Burvill and Anderson were involved in a road traffic accident which eventually led to Mazzon's retirement. Goalscorer Barnes later talked of the violence at Molineux, noting "Crowd trouble was frequent in the Eighties ... I'd played at Newcastle and had bananas thrown at me so I wouldn't have been phased by the trouble that day at Molineux."


1987 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final, Post-match
Aldershot ended their following season in 20th position in the Third Division, one place and one point above the relegation play-off position. Wolverhampton Wanderers' next season saw them finish as champions of the Fourth Division, gaining automatic promotion to the Third Division for the 1988–89 season.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The 1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final was an association football match contested between Leeds United and Charlton Athletic over two legs on 23 May 1987 and 25 May 1987 to determine which club would play the next season in the First Division. Charlton Athletic had finished fourth from the bottom in the First Division, while Leeds United finished fourth in the Second Division. They were joined in the play-offs by the teams that had finished third and fifth in the Second Division: Charlton Athletic defeated Ipswich in their play-off semi-final, while Leeds United defeated Oldham Athletic in the other semi-final.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The first leg of the final was played at Selhurst Park in London, in front of a crowd of 16,680. Jim Melrose scored the game's only goal to give Charlton Athletic a 1–0 win. Two days later, at Elland Road in Leeds, 31,395 fans saw Brendon Ormsby score the game's only goal as Leeds United won the match 1–0. This meant arranging a replay held at St Andrew's in Birmingham, which was played on 29 May 1987. After full-time, the score remained 0–0. Extra-time was played with John Sheridan scoring first for Leeds in the 99th minute. Peter Shirtliff then scored twice in the 113th and 117th minutes to give Charlton Athletic a 2–1 victory and to preserve their place in the top tier of English football.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final
The following season, Charlton Athletic finished one spot above the relegation zone in the First Division ahead of Chelsea by goal-difference. Leeds United ended their next Second Division campaign in seventh position, eight points below the play-offs.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Charlton Athletic finished the 1986–87 season in 19th place in the First Division. They avoided automatic relegation by defeating Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season and finished two points ahead of relegated team Leicester City. Leeds United finished the season in fourth place in the Second Division, ten points behind Portsmouth who were automatically promoted to the First Division along with Derby Country. Both Charlton Athletic and Leeds United, along with Oldham Athletic and Ipswich Town, entered the play-offs to determine who would play in the First Division in the 1987–88 season.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Leeds United hosted the first leg of the semi-final at Elland Road in Leeds on 14 May 1987 as they faced Oldham Athletic, who were attempting to gain promotion to the top flight where they had last played in 1923. Kick off was delayed by 15 minutes as a result of the large crowd of 29,742. Leeds' Mark Aizlewood received a booking in the 13th minute for a late tackle while Oldham's Mike Milligan was booked a minute later.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
The best chance of the first half fell to Sheridan whose curling free kick was caught by Andy Goram in the Oldham goal. The only goal of the game came in the 89th minute when Keith Edwards, who had come on as a substitute 17 minutes earlier, scored a header at the near post to give Leeds a one-goal advantage. The second leg of the semi-final was played three days later at Boundary Park. Oldham opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Gary Williams headed in a cross from Denis Irwin.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
It would take until the 89th minute before Oldham's substitute Mike Cecere headed in from another Irwin cross to put his team ahead 2–0. A minute later, Baird knocked down a cross from Sheridan for Edwards to score through a group of players, making the aggregate score 2–2, and sending the game into extra time. No further goals were scored, and Leeds progressed to the final on the away goals rule.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
In the second play-off semi-final, Charlton Athletic's opponents were Ipswich Town with the first leg being held at Portman Road in Ipswich on 14 May 1987. It was the clubs' first league meeting in nearly twenty years. In the tenth minute, Ipswich's goalkeeper Paul Cooper made his fifth penalty save of the season after denying Colin Walsh's spot kick. The Charlton goalkeeper Bob Bolder made a save from Kevin Wilson before Jim Melrose hit the Ipswich crossbar.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Bolder then made a double save, first from Jason Dozzell and then denying the headed rebound from Tony Humes, and the match ended 0–0. The second leg took place at Selhurst Park three days later. Melrose scored the opening goal of the game with a 15-yard (14 m) header from a John Humphrey cross. Two minutes later Melrose doubled the lead with another header, this time from a Paul Miller pass. In the 85th minute, Ipswich midfielder Steve McCall scored after a shot from Mich d'Avray rebounded from the post, but Charlton Athletic qualified for the play-off final 2–1 on aggregate.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
This was the inaugural season of the English Football League play-offs which was introduced as part of the "Heathrow Agreement", a ten-point proposal to restructure the Football League, which included this mechanism by which the number of clubs in the First Division could be reduced from 22 to 20. For the first two years of the play-offs, one relegation place was decided upon using a single-elimination tournament where each round was played as a two-legged tie: one club from the First Division competed with three clubs from the Second Division for a place in the top tier of English football.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
The play-offs were not universally lauded: Oldham Athletic manager Joe Royle was scathing of them after losing to Leeds in the semi-final, saying "We finished seven points clear of Leeds. So to go out on away goals to them means there is something unjust. I welcomed the play-offs but possibly hadn't considered the long-term ramifications."


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Leeds United had played in the second tier of English football since they were relegated in the 1981–82 season. Billy Bremner had been appointed as their manager in October 1985, replacing Eddie Grey. After leading the club to 14th position in the league that season, Bremner made a number of changes to playing staff, including bringing in at least ten players. Along with the fourth-place finish in the league, Bremner oversaw Leeds' run to the semi-final of the 1986–87 FA Cup where they lost to Sheffield Wednesday.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Background
Charlton Athletic had been promoted to the First Division the previous season, having spent five seasons in the Second Division. Their manager Lennie Lawrence had been moved into the caretaker role at the club in November 1982 after Ken Craggs was sacked with them fifth-from-bottom in the Second Division. Despite finishing in 18th place in the First Division, Lawrence's team had made it to the 1987 Full Members' Cup Final where they were defeated by Second Division Blackburn Rovers 1–0 at Wembley Stadium.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
The first leg of the play-off final was delayed from a scheduled Friday evening kick-off to a Saturday afternoon game to avoid traffic congestion at a supermarket local to Selhurst Park. The match was played in front of a crowd of 16,680 in damp conditions and was refereed by Roger Milford. Andy Peake's strike from outside the penalty area just flew over the Leeds crossbar before Melrose headed a cross from Walsh goalbound which was saved by Mervyn Day in the Leeds goal. The game was described in The Guardian by Michael Ralph as "an unending series of squabbles" in which both Charlton's Miller and Leeds' Aizlewood were booked.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
Charlton dominated the match but it took until the 87th minute when Melrose scored the opening goal of the afternoon, and his seventeenth of the season, to give them a 1–0 lead. Charlton manager Lennie Lawrence said after the match, "I can't recall us having less room to play any time this season."


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
The second leg was played on 25 May 1987 Elland Road in front of a crowd of 31,395 and was refereed by Brian Hill. Leeds' John Pearson was ruled out with an injury and was replaced in the starting eleven by Bob Taylor.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
The first half saw several robust challenges with former Charlton player Aizlewood receiving a yellow card after he fouled Peake. Leeds held possession for most of the first half, but Taylor missed a rebound that came from a Sheridan challenge with Charlton goalkeeper Bolder. But the ball hit the woodwork and Taylor missed the rebound. In the second half, Leeds United forward Brendon Ormsby scored in the 53rd minute; it was to be the only goal of the game.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
The aggregate score of 1–1 meant a replay had to be played four days later at St Andrew's in Birmingham, a neutral venue. Lawrence reflected on the nature of the match: "It was fiercely contested but you cannot help that when there's so much at stake. It was a good game and we haven't played better than that and lost all season ... there are worse sides in the First Division."


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
The replay was held at St Andrew's, the home of Birmingham City, on 29 May 1987 in front of a crowd of 15,841, and was refereed by Allan Gunn. Lawrence chose a blue kit for Charlton for the replay, as he believed that should any neutral supporters be present at the ground, they would support the team in the same colour as the host club. The West Midlands Police had mobilised at least 300 officers, some mounted and some with dogs, in anticipation of the arrival of at least 13,000 Leeds United supporters.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
Two years prior, Leeds United fans had rioted at St Andrew's, causing a wall to collapse and resulting in injuries to 96 policemen. Only 2,000 Charlton fans were expected to make the journey to Birmingham. Leeds were hoping that Pearson had recovered from a rib injury while Charlton's only selection dilemma was between Shirtliff and Thompson who was recovering from an Achilles injury.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
During normal time Charlton dominated, but after 90 minutes the game remained goalless with Crooks and Melrose having chances to score. Leeds were a defender down after their captain Ormsby left the field before half-time with an injured leg. In the ninth minute of extra time, Sheridan scored from a free kick to give Leeds the lead. But in the second-half of extra time, two goals from Shirtliff made it 2–1 to Charlton. First, in the 113th minute, he struck a low shot past Day in the Leeds goal. His second goal came in the 117th minute from a Peake free kick as his header was unchallenged. The match ended 2–1 to Charlton who retained their place in the top tier of English football.


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
After the result, the Charlton manager Lawrence said in an interview, "The play-offs are exciting. I just think the format is wrong." Shirtliff had scored 15 goals in his 17-year career before scoring the two in the play-off final replay. He later said "I had never scored more than one goal in a game before and have never done it since! We were by far the better side so we just carried on playing and showed good patience."


1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final, Post-match
The following season, Charlton Athletic finished in 17th place, one place above the relegation zone after finishing their season with a 1–1 draw to Chelsea with only goal difference separating the two teams. Leeds United finished the following campaign in seventh place, eight points behind the play-off spots and it would not be until 1989 where they were automatically promoted into the top flight.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final was an association football match contested by Gillingham and Swindon Town over two legs on 22 and 25 May 1987, followed by a replay on 29 May, to determine which club would play the next season in the Second Division. Gillingham had finished in fifth place in the Third Division while Swindon finished third. They were joined in the play-offs by fourth-placed Wigan Athletic and Sunderland, who had finished 20th in the division above. Gillingham defeated Sunderland in their semi-final on away goals and Swindon defeated Wigan in the other semi-final.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final
Swindon had previously had two spells in the Second Division, but Gillingham were aiming to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in their history. The 1986–87 season was the first in which the teams who had missed out on automatic promotion had the opportunity to compete in play-offs for a further promotion place.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The first leg of the final was played at Priestfield Stadium, in front of a crowd of 16,775. Dave Smith scored the only goal of the game to give Gillingham a one-goal lead heading into the second leg. Three days later at the County Ground, 14,382 people saw Karl Elsey score the opening goal of the match in the 17th minute, to double Gillingham's lead. This was followed by two goals from Peter Coyne and Charlie Henry to give Swindon a 2–1 victory in the match. Although Gillingham's semi-final had been decided on away goals, the same rule did not apply in the final, so a replay was held at Selhurst Park, where two goals from Steve White secured Swindon a place in the Second Division.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The following season, Swindon finished in 12th position in the Second Division and Gillingham finished 13th in the Third Division, only nine points ahead of the relegation zone.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Background
Gillingham and Swindon Town were competing to be promoted from the Football League Third Division to the Second Division for the 1987–88 season. The 1986–87 season was the inaugural season of the Football League play-offs, which were introduced as part of the Heathrow Agreement, a ten-point proposal to restructure the Football League. For the first two years of the play-offs, the club which had finished immediately above the automatic relegation places in the Second Division competed with three clubs from the Third Division for a place in the Second Division for the following season.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Background
The play-offs raised an extra £1 million in revenue in their first year, half of which would be shared by all member clubs, and a spokesman for the Football League dubbed them "a phenomenal success". They were criticised by some in the game, however. Oldham Athletic manager Joe Royle was scathing of them after losing in the semi-final of the Second Division play-offs, saying "We finished seven points clear of Leeds. So to go out on away goals to them means there is something unjust. I welcomed the play-offs but possibly hadn't considered the long-term ramifications." The Swindon manager Lou Macari was also dissatisfied with the play-offs, arguing "we have proved ourselves the better team over 46 games this season but then see our future decided in Cup-style matches".


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Background
Swindon had played in the Second Division between 1963 and 1965 and between 1969 and 1974, but Gillingham were aiming to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in their history. After being relegated to the Fourth Division in 1982, Swindon had slumped to a lowest-ever finish of 17th in the Football League's lowest division in 1984, after which Macari was appointed as the club's new manager.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Background
Two years later he had led the team to the championship of the Fourth Division with a Football League record total of 102 points, and was aiming for a second consecutive promotion. Under manager Keith Peacock, Gillingham had come close to promotion from the Third Division in both the two previous seasons, having finished in fourth place in 1984–85 and fifth in 1985–86. The teams had met twice during the regular season; Swindon had won 3–1 at Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium in December, and the match at Swindon's County Ground in May had ended in a 1–1 draw. According to bookmakers, Swindon were clear favourites to secure promotion to the Second Division.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Swindon finished in third place in the Third Division, seven points behind Middlesbrough and ten behind Bournemouth, both of whom were promoted automatically. At Christmas 1986, Gillingham had been in second place, but the team's form declined in the second half of the season, with 9 defeats in 20 games between January and April. As a result, Gillingham ended the regular season in fifth place, 9 points behind Swindon and 16 points outside the automatic promotion places.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Gillingham's opposition for their play-off semi-final were Sunderland, who finished the 1986–87 season in 20th place in the Second Division. The first match of the two-legged tie took place at Priestfield Stadium in Gillingham on 14 May 1987. Mark Proctor scored a penalty kick to give Sunderland a 1–0 lead at half-time, but in the second half Tony Cascarino scored a hat-trick to put Gillingham 3–1 up. Proctor scored a second goal late in the game to make the final score 3–2. The second leg was held at Roker Park in Sunderland three days later.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
After just four minutes, Howard Pritchard scored for Gillingham, but two goals from Eric Gates put Sunderland in front. In the second half, a goal from Cascarino made the scoreline 2–2 on the day and 5–4 on aggregate, but with less than a minute remaining, Gary Bennett of Sunderland brought the aggregate scores level to send the game into extra time. Both teams scored one more goal in the extra period, making the score 6–6 on aggregate, but as Gillingham had now scored more away goals, they progressed to the final. Sunderland were thus relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in the club's history.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
In the other semi-final, Swindon faced Wigan Athletic, and the first leg was held at Springfield Park in Wigan on 14 May 1987. The home side took an early lead after two minutes when Chris Thompson scored from around 20 yards (18 m). Wigan doubled their lead after 15 minutes when Swindon's goalkeeper Fraser Digby dropped a free kick, allowing Bobby Campbell to put the loose ball into the Swindon goal. In the second half, Digby saved from Paul Jewell and Swindon started to dominate.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Route to the final
Wigan's goalkeeper Roy Tunks dived at the feet of Jimmy Quinn to deny a goalscoring chance, but the ball fell to Dave Bamber, who scored. In the 80th minute, Quinn equalised with a firm header from a Steve Berry free kick. With two minutes remaining, Swindon's Mark Jones crossed from the right and Peter Coyne scored with a header, making the final score 3–2. The return leg took place at the County Ground three days later. As the match ended in a 0–0 draw, Swindon progressed to the final with a 3–2 aggregate score.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match
Alf Buksh was selected as the referee for the first leg and Lester Shapter for the second. The latter referee had caused controversy when he disallowed a goal in a match involving Swindon earlier in the season; Macari had been reported to the Football Association, the governing body of the sport in England, for his comments about Shapter after the match. Tickets for both legs went on sale before the first, and such was the demand that fans camped outside Priestfield Stadium overnight to secure them. David Powell of The Times highlighted the clash between Gillingham's Colin Greenall and Swindon's Bamber, close friends off the pitch, as a potential key element of the final. Clive King of the Swindon Evening Advertiser said that his local team's main concern would be preventing Cascarino from scoring.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
The first leg of the final drew a crowd of 16,775 and gate receipts of £49,377, a new record for Priestfield Stadium. Chris Kamara was an injury doubt for Swindon, and Gillingham's Steve Lovell, Joe Hinnigan, Mark Weatherly and Irvin Gernon were all out. Gillingham manager Peacock told the press "Everyone here is very excited to be so close, but Lou Macari has done a terrific job at Swindon, and you can be sure any team he fields will run for 90 minutes. We will have our hands full." Before the match, trouble flared between rival groups of fans and two British Transport Police officers were injured by thrown projectiles.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, First leg, Summary
Having scored five goals in the semi-final, Gillingham centre-forward Cascarino found himself closely marked by Swindon's Tim Parkin and Colin Calderwood. Phil Kite made two saves from Kamara before Quinn headed over the bar and Bamber's goal was disallowed for offside. Quinn was later substituted after receiving a strong tackle from Gillingham defender Les Berry. According to Powell of The Times, Swindon were "superior in all departments except the telling ones – finishing and goalkeeping", and Kite made two further saves, both from Steve Berry. The game remained goalless until the 81st minute when Gillingham took the lead. Dave Smith received the ball on the edge of the Swindon penalty area following Trevor Quow's free kick and hit a fierce shot past Swindon goalkeeper Digby, to give his team a one-goal lead going into the second leg.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
Both teams made one change for the second leg, which took place three days later. Gillingham manager Peacock picked Steve Lovell in place of goalscorer Smith, who was named as a substitute. Swindon's Macari brought in Coyne in place of Quinn.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
Gillingham took the lead in the 17th minute against the run of play. Paul Haylock played a cross towards the edge of the Swindon penalty area which Karl Elsey struck on the volley into the net past a static Digby. Swindon's Kamara sustained an injury during the first half and was replaced by Charlie Henry. Bamber, Parkin and Henry all had headers saved by Kite in the Gillingham goal, who was described in The Guardian as "unbeatable ... for a good hour".


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
Further goalbound efforts from both White and Henry struck the Gillingham crossbar before Swindon equalised just after the hour mark. Henry controlled a pass from Berry with his chest and passed to Coyne, who took the ball past two Gillingham players before hitting a fierce shot into the goal from around 15 yards (14 m). Gillingham attacked again after Smith came on in place of Elsey, but Swindon's defenders closed down their opponents. In the 79th minute, Swindon's Dave Hockaday crossed for Henry to score with a left-footed drive from the edge of the Gillingham penalty area, making the final score on the day 2–1 to Swindon and the aggregate score across the two legs 2–2.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
If the rules governing the play-off final had been the same as the semi-final, Gillingham would have won on away goals; the rules for the final, however, stated that if the aggregate scores were level at the end of the second leg, away goals would not be taken into consideration but instead a replay would take place at a neutral stadium. Robert Armstrong, writing in The Guardian, described the second leg as "an epic battle, in the best Anglo-Saxon tradition of the knockout competition".


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Second leg, Summary
After the match, Peacock said "It was disappointing to give away two goals after getting ourselves into a commanding position....we must now pick ourselves up and prepare for the game on Friday." Macari said "I knew that if we could keep them under the kind of pressure we were putting them under they would have to crack."


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
The replay took place at Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace, four days after the second leg; the game was scheduled for the slightly later than usual time of 8.00 pm to allow the two sets of fans time to travel to the ground.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
As a result of their participation in the FA Cup and Football League Cup, and a run to the southern section semi-finals of the Associate Members' Cup, all alongside the Football League programme, it was Gillingham's 63rd match of the season, a new record for the most games the team had played in a season since joining the Football League. Both teams again made one change for the replay. Swindon's Henry, who had come on as a substitute in both previous games, was named in the starting line-up in place of Kamara, who was hospitalised after his injury in the previous match. Gillingham brought in Martin Robinson in place of Lovell. Swindon remained the bookmakers' favourites to win promotion.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
Swindon took the lead after just two minutes, when an error by the Gillingham defence allowed Steve White to score. A long pass from a King free kick was headed on by Henry to White who outran Berry to score past Kite in the Gillingham goal. Neither side dominated the first half; just before half-time, Elsey played a one-two with Quow, but his shot went outside the far post. The second half saw Gillingham begin to dominate possession and Digby saved a Cascarino header at full stretch. A shot from Shearer then passed over the bar with Digby motionless in the goal.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Match, Replay, Summary
Midway through the second half Swindon's Bamber began an attack and Leigh Barnard played the ball to White, who scored again to double his team's lead. Gillingham increased the pressure, Digby denying Pritchard and then saving from Quow before punching away a header from Cascarino. With seven minutes remaining Gillingham's Smith set up a goal-scoring opportunity for Dave Shearer but his close-range shot went wide of the goal.


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
Despite his team's victory, Swindon manager Macari was sympathetic to his opposition because of the manner in which they missed out on promotion: "Nothing can compensate for the feeling of disappointment in the Gillingham dressing room at this moment." He was critical of the play-off system, saying "This is one of the greatest moments of my career, but I never want to go through a game like this again. The League should scrap the play-offs."


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
After he led the team to a second consecutive promotion, reporters asked Macari if he would be joining a more high-profile club, but he was focused on the play-off victory: "This is the greatest feeling of triumph in my career, even better than playing at the FA Cup Final at Wembley." Gillingham manager Peacock called the play-offs "good for the game", but noted that he felt "as low as I have ever felt in football". Roy Wood, chairman of Gillingham's board of directors, said "we are bloody disappointed, but we are not going to sit down and cry".


1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final, Post-match
The following season, Swindon began the season strongly in the Second Division and in October were in 4th place, challenging for a third consecutive promotion. Their performances declined in the second half of the season, and they finished in 12th position. Gillingham began the season mounting another challenge for promotion from the Third Division, including defeating Southend United 8–1 and Chesterfield 10–0 on consecutive Saturdays, but the team's form slumped and manager Peacock was sacked in December 1987. Gillingham finished the 1987–88 season in 13th place in the Third Division, only nine points above the relegation zone. They finally reached the second tier of English football in 2000.


1987 Football League play-offs
The Football League play-offs for the 1986–87 season were held in May 1987, with the two-legged finals taking place at the finalists home stadiums. The play-off semi-finals were also played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th and 5th place in the Football League Second Division and Football League Third Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th placed teams in the Football League Fourth Division table, along with a team from the league above. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches either gaining promotion or avoiding relegation for the following season.


1987 Football League play-offs, Background
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places. For the first three seasons the final was played over two legs but this was changed to a single match at Wembley Stadium from 1990. Additionally, for the 1986–87 and 1987–88 play-offs the semi-finals included a team from the next league who had finished above the relegation positions up, e.g. one team from the first tier and three teams from the second tier. The team from the higher division would be relegated if they failed to win the play-offs, with the play-off winner being promoted in their place.


1987 Football League play-offs, Second Division, Semi-finals
Oldham Athletic 2–2 Leeds United on aggregate. Leeds United won on away goals.


1987 Football League play-offs, Third Division, Semi-finals
Sunderland 6–6 Gillingham on aggregate. Gillingham won on away goals.


1987 Formula One World Championship
The 1987 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 41st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1987 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 12 April and ended on 15 November. The World Championship for Drivers was won by Nelson Piquet, and the World Championship for Constructors by Williams-Honda. The season also encompassed the Jim Clark Trophy and the Colin Chapman Trophy, which were respectively contested by drivers and constructors of Formula One cars powered by naturally aspirated engines.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
At first, the 1987 championship was a four-way battle between Williams drivers Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell, Lotus driver Ayrton Senna, and McLaren driver and defending two-time champion Alain Prost. Eventually, it became a straight fight between Piquet and Mansell, who between them finished with nine wins from the season's sixteen races. Mansell took six wins to Piquet's three; however, he only recorded three other points finishes while Piquet recorded nine (including seven second places). The duel was settled in Piquet's favour at the penultimate race of the season in Japan, when Mansell crashed heavily in practice and injured his back, ending his season and handing Piquet his third Drivers' Championship.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
Senna finished third having won at Monaco and Detroit; the latter was the 79th and final win for the original Team Lotus. Prost finished fourth despite winning three races; his victory in Portugal took him past Jackie Stewart's record of 27 Grand Prix victories. Ferrari's Gerhard Berger won the final two races of the season, in Japan and Australia, to finish fifth.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
The Constructors' Championship was comfortably won by Williams, with McLaren second, Lotus third and Ferrari fourth.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
For 1987 only, there were two other championships, contested by drivers and constructors of cars powered by naturally aspirated engines: the Jim Clark Trophy for drivers, and the Colin Chapman Trophy for constructors. These championships encouraged teams to switch to such engines, ahead of the ban on turbos from 1989 onwards. Tyrrell were the only team to run two "atmo" cars for the entire season and thus easily won the Colin Chapman Trophy, while their drivers Jonathan Palmer and Philippe Streiff came first and second respectively in the Jim Clark Trophy.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
With the return of the naturally aspirated engines, and the aforementioned turbo ban in mind, the FIA introduced new rules for 1987 in an effort to reduce costs and slow down the cars with a resultant increase in safety, as well as to increase competitiveness between the two engine types. Turbo-powered cars now had to feature a pop-off valve which restricted boost to 4.0 bar, thus limiting engine power.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
However, advances in engine development, aerodynamics, tyres and suspension meant that the leading teams such as Williams, McLaren and Ferrari nonetheless frequently recorded faster times than they had in 1986, when turbo boost was unrestricted. The FIA also banned super-soft (and sticky) qualifying tyres for 1987, thus eliminating the unpopular practice of having to find a clear lap on tyres which were good for two flying laps at best.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season summary
Pirelli's withdrawal from F1 at the end of 1986 meant that Goodyear was the sole tyre supplier for 1987 and thus this was the first season since 1963 that the sport featured a standard single tyre supplier.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Drivers and constructors
The following drivers and constructors competed in the 1987 season. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Goodyear.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Belgian Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix swapped places on the calendar so that the Monaco round follows the Belgian Grand Prix.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The British Grand Prix was moved to the Silverstone Circuit after they signed a five year deal to host the Grand Prix.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Spanish Grand Prix was moved from mid April to late September.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Japanese Grand Prix returned after a 10 year absence, it will be hosted at the Honda owned Suzuka International Racing Course on 1 November.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Canadian Grand Prix was originally schedule to held on 14 June but was cancelled due to a dispute between two rival breweries, Labatt and Molson in sponsoring the race.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
The dramatic end to the 1986 season in Australia, with Alain Prost winning the World Championship at the last gasp created tension between Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet but the combination was still potent and with the British Mansell and the Brazilian Piquet staying with the team it was still a powerful challenger. McLaren was without John Barnard but had gained the services of Gordon Murray and Neil Oatley and had retained Alain Prost while Keke Rosberg's retirement had opened the way for Swede Stefan Johansson to join the team, having been dropped by Ferrari in favor of Gerhard Berger.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
Benetton had hired Thierry Boutsen to replace Berger as Teo Fabi's partner and with the Haas Lola team having closed down the team took over the factory Ford turbo engines, which had improved considerably over their rushed development time. Team Lotus changed color with JPS being replaced by Camel and landed a Honda engine deal for drivers Ayrton Senna and Satoru Nakajima. Martin Brundle left Tyrrell to join Christian Danner at Zakspeed while Zakspeed's Jonathan Palmer joined Philippe Streiff at Tyrrell, which had gone back to using Cosworth DFZ engines.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
The only BMW engines left were the factory supply to Brabham, these being the units which the cylinders angled to create a low profile for the BT55. Derek Warwick left Brabham to join F1 returnee Eddie Cheever at Arrows with rebadged upright BMW engines which were now known as Megatrons. The team also got a new technical director Ross Brawn joining from the Haas Lola team. Riccardo Patrese was joined at Brabham by Andrea de Cesaris while his place alongside Sandro Nannini at Minardi was taken by wealthy Spanish newcomer Adrian Campos.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
Osella had only one Alfa Romeo-engined car in Brazil for Alex Caffi. Ligier was due to run new Alfa Romeo four-cylinder turbo engines for Rene Arnoux and Piercarlo Ghinzani but things went badly wrong: Arnoux made disparaging remarks about the Italian company's new four-cylinder turbo engine, referring to them as "used food". Alfa Romeo had only recently been acquired by FIAT which was not keen on the Alfa name being in F1.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
As a result, Alfa Romeo cited a clause in the Ligier contract stating that Ligier should not do anything to damage the image of Alfa Romeo and quit the team. The news was disastrous for Ligier and the team had to miss Brazil while modifying its cars to run Megatron engines. With the rules restricting turbo engines more and more and fewer turbo engines available several teams went back to Cosworth power and the FIA decided to introduce a separate competition for the normally-aspirated cars, introducing a Jim Clark Trophy for drivers and a Colin Chapman Trophy for teams.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Pre-season report
Four teams would be eligible: Tyrrell, AGS, March and the new Larrousse Lola team, which did not appear in Brazil. March had backing from Leyton House and Ivan Capelli driving an uprated Formula 3000 car while AGS had hired Pascal Fabre to drive. The overall entry was down to 23 cars and with Pirelli having withdrawn there was only one tire supplier, Goodyear.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 1: Brazil
The first race in April at the fast, rough and abrasive Jacarepagua Riocentro Autodrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil resulted in a dominant showing from Williams-Honda with Mansell ahead of Piquet. Then came Senna, Fabi, Prost, Boutsen, Berger, Warwick, Alboreto and Johansson.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 1: Brazil
The March team suffered a setback on race morning when it ran out of engines, and so the field was down to 22. At the start, Piquet took the lead from the fast-starting Senna while Mansell made a bad start and had to fight his way back to third. on lap seven Piquet suddenly went into the pits, his car having picked up paper in its radiators. he rejoined back in 11th position, leaving Senna to lead Mansell although the British driver was soon in the pits as well to have his radiators cleared.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 1: Brazil
He rejoined behind Piquet and the pair then began to climb through the field. Senna pitted because of handling trouble and so Prost went into the lead and when he stopped for new tyres Boutsen briefly led before Piquet went back into the lead before his second stop. Prost then went ahead again and led for the rest of the afternoon, never looking threatened as he did not have a third tire stop while his rivals Senna and Piquet did. Mansell's race was disrupted by a puncture while Senna went out with engine failure and so Prost came home to win ahead of Piquet, Johansson, Berger, Boutsen and Mansell.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 2: San Marino (Imola, Italy)
After the season-opening race in Brazil there was a three-week gap during which March finished building the first 871 chassis for Capelli. Osella expanded to two cars with the second being run by a youngster called Gabriele Tarquini, while Brundle had the first of Zakspeed's new 871 chassis. Ligier was back in action with Megatron-engined cars for Rene Arnoux and Piercarlo Ghinzani. In addition there was another new team in the form of Gerard Larrousse's Lola-Ford/Cosworth team which had employed Philippe Alliot.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 2: San Marino (Imola, Italy)
But come the San Marino Grand Prix held at the fast Autodromo Dino Ferrari in Italy, Nelson Piquet had a huge accident at the flat out Tamburello corner when he suffered a tire failure during qualifying and was forbidden from racing by F1 doctor Sid Watkins. Goodyear decided that in the interests of safety it would fly in new tyres overnight for Saturday qualifying. On Saturday afternoon Ayrton Senna took pole position in his Lotus-Honda with Nigel Mansell second quickest in his Williams-Honda.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 2: San Marino (Imola, Italy)
The second row featured Teo Fabi (Benetton-Ford) and Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG) with the Ferraris of Michele Alboreto and Gerhard Berger together on the third row. The top 10 was completed by Stefan Johansson (McLaren), Riccardo Patrese (Brabham-BMW) and the two Arrows-Megatrons of Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever. Senna led from the start but on the second lap at Tosa, Mansell swept into the lead and began to pull away. On Lap 6 Prost found a way ahead of Senna and then clawed his way up behind Mansell and stayed there.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 2: San Marino (Imola, Italy)
Prost's race ended, however, on Lap 15 when the McLaren suffered an alternator failure. By then Alboreto had got ahead of Senna and so was in second place with Senna third and Patrese fourth. Mansell stopped earlier than planned for new tyres but was still ahead when everyone reemerged from their first stops. Patrese had moved to second with Alboreto and Senna chasing. In the closing laps Patrese dropped back because he had used too much fuel and so Alboreto was second until he lost boost pressure and Senna went ahead again. Mansell took the flag just under half a minute ahead of Senna with Alboreto third. Johansson was fourth, Martin Brundle fifth (scoring Zakspeed's first points) and Satoru Nakajima picking up sixth in his Lotus-Honda.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 3: Belgium
The high-speed circuit tour kept coming, and next was the Belgian Grand Prix at the magnificent and fast Spa-Francorchamps public road circuit near Liege. The field was much as it had been at the San Marino GP a fortnight earlier, although Osella was back to one car again. Nelson Piquet was back in action after his huge crash at Imola while Zakspeed had two 871 chassis for Martin Brundle and Christian Danner, the German having used an older car in the two previous races.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 3: Belgium
Qualifying saw the two Williams-Hondas at the front with Mansell on pole by nearly 1.5 seconds while Ayrton Senna was third in his Lotus-Honda ahead of the two Ferraris of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto, Alain Prost's McLaren-TAG/Porsche, Thierry Boutsen's Benetton-Ford/Cosworth, Riccardo Patrese's Brabham-BMW, Teo Fabi's Benetton and Stefan Johansson in the second McLaren. At the start Mansell took the lead and led Senna, Piquet, Alboreto and Prost. At the start of the second lap Philippe Streiff lost control of his Tyrrell at Raidillon and smashed into the barriers, the impact tearing the engine from the car.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 3: Belgium
Jonathan Palmer then arrived on the scene in the second Tyrrell and smashed into the wreck of Streiff's car. The race was stopped but both men were unhurt, although the Tyrrell team's cars were demolished. At race was restarted which was good luck for Berger and home favorite Boutsen who had collided at the Bus Stop chicane. This time Senna took the lead from Mansell although halfway around the first lap Nigel tried to overtake and the two cars collided and both spun. Senna was out but Mansell was able to get going again.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 3: Belgium
This put Piquet into the lead and Mansell at the back. He would continue until damage from the incident caused him to stop on lap 17, and after he retired, he marched to the Lotus pits to confront Senna, resulting Mansell grabbing Senna by the throat and then the two drivers got into a fist fight. Both had to be separated Second place belonged to Alboreto with Prost third, Boutsen fourth and Fabi fifth after Berger went out with an engine failure.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 3: Belgium
Piquet went out with an engine failure after 10 laps and with Alboreto stopping with a broken CV joint, Prost went into the lead with Boutsen second and Johansson third, the Swede having overtaken Fabi. Stefan then closed on Boutsen and moved to second on lap 17. The pits stops changed little but in the latter part of the race Boutsen fell behind a charged-up Andrea de Cesaris (Brabham-BMW). Boutsen finally retired with a broken CV joint which left fourth place to Eddie Cheever (Arrows-Megatron) with Satoru Nakajima's Lotus-Honda and Rene Arnoux sixth in the Ligier-Megatron.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 4: Monaco
There we no changes in the entry after the Belgian GP and so it was business as usual at Monaco where the three leading Honda-engined cars were at the front as usual with Nigel Mansell taking pole in his Williams, Ayrton Senna second in the Lotus and Nelson Piquet third in the second Williams. Alain Prost was fourth for the McLaren-TAG team with Michele Alboreto fifth in his Ferrari.


1987 Formula One World Championship, Season Review, Race 4: Monaco
Sixth place was a surprise in the form of Eddie Cheever's Arrows-Megatron while the top 10 was completed by Stefan Johansson (McLaren-TAG), Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Thierry Boutsen (Benetton-Ford) and Riccardo Patrese (Brabham-BMW). Alboreto had a spectacular crash when he ran into the back of Christian Danner's Zakspeed on the climb after Ste Devote. The Ferrari flew through the air but fortunately landed back on the track. With 26 cars starting at Monaco for the first time there were worries about safety in the race.