The 1984 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from May 8 until July 28, prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. It was commonly referred to as the AT&T Olympic Torch Relay, reflecting the lead sponsor of the event. The relay crossed the United States from New York City to Los Angeles, with 3,636 torchbearers running with the torch along a route. It was by far the longest Olympic torch relay that had been organized up to that point, creating the precedent for the Olympic flame to tour all parts of the host country rather than traveling directly to the opening ceremony.
It was the first torch relay to be funded primarily by corporate sponsorships, a decision which received backlash from Greek organizers, who threatened not to light the flame until days before the relay began. It was also the first time in Olympic history that ordinary members of the public, rather than carefully selected teams of runners, were permitted to carry the Olympic torch. That changed in LA as any person could become the torchbearer. Through the "Youth Legacy Kilometer" program, any person or group which donated $3,000 to selected charities would be permitted to run with the torch for . The program raised nearly $11 million for the YMCA of the USA, the Boys Club of America, the Girls Club of America, and the Special Olympics.
The relay culminated in the Olympics' opening ceremony on July 28. Rafer Johnson was the final torchbearer who lit the cauldron, becoming the first black athlete in history to do so.
Torch
The aluminum torch, designed with a brass finish and leather handle that gave it an antique look, was long and weighed . Etched on the ring of the torch were the words of the Olympic motto ("Citius, Altius, Fortius") with the Olympic rings between each word. They were manufactured by Turner Industries of Sycamore, Illinois,"Turner Brass Olympic Torch Collection", DeKalb County History Center. and each one was numbered. After the trial run in March, the original design of the torch was found to be flawed. The valve was found to be recessed too deeply inside the bowl of the torch and was extinguished too easily. The type of propane and the valve used for its release were also adjusted to ensure that it would remain lit wherever possible.
Organization Planning for the relay began in 1981, when the idea of the Youth Legacy Kilometer program was first conceived. Under this program, individuals and organizations could sponsor a kilometer of the relay, which would give them the right to carry the torch along that segment of the route or to choose others who would be allowed to do so. The cost to sponsor a kilometer was $3,000, the proceeds of which would be donated to charity. Peter Ueberroth, chair of the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (LAOOC), later wrote that he first conceived of the idea of running the torch across the length of the country, which had not been done before. There was no torch relay when Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1932; the only previous Olympic torch relays in the United States had been in the lead-up to the 1960 Winter Olympics, where it was taken from Los Angeles to a ski resort near Lake Tahoe, and the 1980 Winter Olympics, traveling from Yorktown, Virginia, to Lake Placid, New York. A closer precedent had occurred in 1963, when an unofficial Olympic-inspired flame was run from Los Angeles to Detroit to promote that city's bid for the 1968 Summer Olympics, which was unsuccessful. Although his fellow organizers were extremely skeptical that a cross-country relay would be practical, Ueberroth continued to push for it and eventually succeeded.
Shortly after AT&T became a sponsor of the Olympic Games in 1982, organizers tasked the company's Long Lines Division with handling the logistics of the relay event. AT&T employees would also be responsible for carrying the flame in areas where a sponsor had not been found. AT&T's role in the relay coincided with the company being forced to divest its regional operating companies at the beginning of 1984; the Long Lines Division was not affected by the divestiture. The Boys Club of America, the Girls Club of America, and the YMCA of the USA shared responsibility for marketing the event and for disbursing the funds raised as part of the relay. Additional sponsors included Burson-Marsteller, the PR agency of AT&T, which helped to organize the relay provided the majority of the staffing for the events; Levi Strauss & Co., which provided the runner uniforms; Converse, which supplied the shoes; and General Motors, which built custom GMC and Buick vehicles to follow and support the runners, specially designed to travel at slow speeds for long periods of time.
At the 86th IOC Session in New Delhi, India, in March 1983, the LAOOC presented its plans for the relay. Under the LAOOC's initial proposal, the relay would have started in early April and lasted for nearly four months, more than twice the length of any previous Olympic torch relay. The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), responsible for lighting the flame in Olympia, conveying it to Athens, and handing it over to the host nation, opposed the plan, claiming that the sponsorships were commercializing the symbol of the Olympic flame. Furthermore, the HOC refused to stage its portion of the torch relay so early, since the torch had traditionally been carried through Greece by children who would still be in school in April.Reich, Kenneth. "L.A. Group, Greece at Odds Over Olympic Torch Relay", Los Angeles Times, April 29, 1983, Part II, page 1.Reich, Kenneth. "Greek Leader's Wife Downplays Olympic Torch Relay Dispute", Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1983, Part II, page 4. As a result, the relay was scaled back to last less than three months, but the dispute over the sponsorship program remained unresolved.Ueberroth, Peter. Made in America: his own story, William Morrow and Company, 1985.
Plans for the relay and a preliminary route were first publicly announced on July 28, 1983, one year before the Games' opening ceremony, in two simultaneous press conferences in New York City and Los Angeles. The proposed route would have begun on May 8, 1984, in New York, then passed through all 50 states (Alaska and Hawaii being visited only by branch routes which would split off from the main torch in Seattle) before arriving in Los Angeles for the opening ceremony.Kendall, John. "Olympic Torch Rite Will Raise Funds for Youths", Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1983, Part II, pages 1 and B-2.
However, given the later start date, organizers realized that this route, covering over , would require runners to carry the torch 24 hours a day and would be logistically impractical. Additionally, the Youth Legacy Kilometer program had fallen below expectations, with only 2,000 of the available 10,000 kilometers sponsored by the end of 1983.King, Peter H. "Olympic Torch Relay Route Shortened", Los Angeles Times, January 5, 1984, Part II, page 18. Political consultant Wally McGuire was tasked with designing a more realistic route, which was shortened to through 33 states and the District of Columbia. McGuire presented his proposal to the LAOOC on January 3, 1984, and details about the new route were made public the next day. Two advance teams, one starting from New York and one starting from Los Angeles, surveyed and finalized the route, meeting in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on February 15.
On February 1, Kimon Koulouris, the Greek minister of sports, announced that the government would not allow the flame to be used for commercial purposes, jeopardizing the relay plans. The mayor of Olympia, Spyros Foteinos, added that the town also would not agree to participate in the event if it was commercialized,"Greeks put damper on Olympic torch run", UPI, via Roseville Press-Tribune, February 2, 1984, page 11. saying that the American delegation would have to light the flame themselves. During IOC meetings at the Winter Olympics which began a few days later in Sarajevo, this opposition continued.Reich, Kenneth. "L.A. Olympic Group Surprised as Soviet Official Praises Effort", Los Angeles Times, February 7, 1984, Part II, pages 1 and 6. In response, the LAOOC agreed to stop accepting new sponsorships on March 20, and the Greek delegation tentatively agreed to participate in the relay.King, Peter H. "Accord Reached With Greeks in Dispute Over Olympic Torch Relay", Los Angeles Times, March 21, 1984, Part I, pages 3 and 2. In order to keep Greek participation in the relay to a minimum, and to avoid the possibility of protests along the route there, organizers considered transmitting the flame to New York in the form of a laser beam by satellite, as had been done in 1976 between Athens and Montreal.
LAOOC general manager Harry Usher insisted that "we have not commercialized the torch run" and that "the object is to carry the torch with the same dignity it has always had in Olympic tradition." This reputation was further damaged, however, after the Caesars Tahoe Palace casino resort sponsored 50 kilometers of the Nevada route and announced that it would raffle them off to customers, who would win a place in the relay, a two-night stay at the resort, and a cash prize of $1,984. The LAOOC forced Caesars to scale back its promotion.King, Peter H. "Casino Told to Scale Down Olympic Torch Relay Raffle", Los Angeles Times, January 25, 1984, Part II, pages 1 and 2. Ultimately, seven of the kilometer segments were given to winning customers, 42 went to local organizations, and the remaining kilometer was given to 1976 decathlon winner Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn Jenner), who had signed a promotional contract with Caesars.
A test run for the relay was held from March 18 through March 24, from Trenton, New Jersey, to Cleveland, Ohio, following the same route on the same days of the week as the relay. Based on this experience, the design of the torch was modified to ensure that the flame would not go out during the run, and other logistical changes were made.
Despite the compromise that had been worked out between Greek and American officials, on April 25, eight days before the planned lighting ceremony at Olympia, the Hellenic Athletics Federation told its members not to participate in the relay to Athens in protest. The next day, the Olympia ceremony was abruptly canceled. According to Peter Ueberroth's memoirs, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who had assured the LAOOC throughout the dispute that the flame would be handed over without problems, dispatched two students to Olympia, where they lit their own Olympic flame and brought it back to IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. With their leverage over the flame removed, Ueberroth wrote, the Greek organizers agreed to hold an official lighting ceremony. Reportedly, American organizers also threatened not to allow Greek athletes to walk in the Parade of Nations first at the opening ceremony, as is traditional.Herskowitz, Mickey. One with the Flame : Carrying the Olympic Torch Across America, New American Library, 1985.
Relay and notable torchbearers