Shot heard round the world
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "Shot heard 'round the world" is a phrase that has come to represent several historical incidents throughout world history. The line is originally from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (1837), and referred to the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Later, in Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, the phrase became synonymous with the shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and plunged Europe into World War I.
Contents |
[edit] American Revolutionary War
The phrase is in the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (1837), and describes the impact of the battle at Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. The entire stanza is:
- "By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
- Their flag to April's breeze unfurled;
- Here once the embattled farmers stood,
- And fired the shot heard 'round the world."
Emerson wrote the "Concord Hymn" for the dedication of a battle monument very close to his family's home, and the words are meant to emphasize that a critical event happened at this location that triggered something of global importance.
[edit] Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
In Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, the phrase "The Shot heard around the World" has become associated with Gavrilo Princip's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, an event considered as one of the main causes of World War I.
While Princip in fact fired two shots, one hitting Duchess Sophie with the second hitting Archduke Franz, it was the death of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne that propelled Europe and its allies into what had become known as the "War To End All Wars".
[edit] Communist Revolution in Russia
October Revolution in Russia was started by shot from the cruiser Aurora.[citation needed]
[edit] In sports
The phrase has been applied to several dramatic moments in sports history.
- Most commonly, in baseball, it refers to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the 1951 National League pennant for the New York Giants.[1]
- In golf, it is used most often to describe Gene Sarazen's albatross on the fifteenth hole at the 1935 Masters Tournament, which helped propel him into a 36-hole playoff with Craig Wood. Sarazen would win the playoff by five strokes.[2]
- In college basketball, it refers to the last second shot by Ernie Calverley of the University of Rhode Island against Bowling Green State University which tied the 1946 National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game and sent it into overtime. Rhode Island went on to win the game 82-79.[3]
- In U.S. soccer, it is used to describe the goal scored by Paul Caligiuri for the United States against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain in 1989. The win propelled the team to the 1990 FIFA World Cup, helping to start a resurgence of American soccer, which has seen the U.S. appear in every World Cup since that time, including its hosting of the 1994 World Cup, which in turn led to the creation of Major League Soccer.[4]
- Ironically, outside the U.S. the phrase is most commonly applied to another upset by the United States men's national team. This was when the U.S. defeated a heavily favored England side, at the time considered the best team in the world[citation needed], at the 1950 World Cup. Joe Gaetjen's was the winner and the only goal of the game. In England and the rest of Europe the result was so unexpected that many newspaper editors assumed the cables from Brazil reporting the score were a mistake and papers across Europe reported the score as a 10-0 England victory. The match remains a famous sporting event around the world, yet went virtually unreported in the United States.
[edit] In popular culture
- Schoolhouse Rock also used the event in a song for their morning program in a song entitled "Shot Heard 'Round the World."[5]
- Various sources have made the play-on-words "herd shot 'round the world" in reference to rocketry and cows.[6][7]
[edit] In Media
- During the 2009 swine flu outbreak the New York Times referred to 'patient zero', a 5-year-old Mexican boy named Édgar Hernández, as the source of "Coughs Heard Round the World"[8]
- In 2006, the phrase was used by Newsweek, and other news outlets in describing Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of Harry Whittington while quail hunting in Texas.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Peretz, Howard G. (1999). It Ain't Over 'Till The Fat Lady Sings: The 100 Greatest Sports Finishes of All Time. New York: Barnes and Nobles Books. pp. 4–5. ISBN 0-76071-7079.
- ^ Peretz, pp 214-215
- ^ Peretz, pp 44-45
- ^ Robledo, Fred J (1999-11-19). "Kick Start: Ten years later, one goal still means a lot". The (Los Angeles) Daily News. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/KICK+START%3B+TEN+YEARS+LATER,+ONE+GOAL+STILL+MEANS+A+LOT.(Sports)-a083629709. Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
- ^ "The Shot Heard Round the World". Schoolhouse Rock. http://www.school-house-rock.com/Shot.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "Dog Story". Time. Time Inc.. 1957. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,868045-2,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ David, Leonard (2000). "The National Reconnaissance Office has designed, built and operated the U.S. fleet of spy satellites since 1961". Space.com. Imaginova Corp. http://www.space.com/news/spacehistory/nro_first_side_000926.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Lacey, Marc (2009-04-28). "From Édgar, 5, Coughs Heard Round the World". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/world/americas/29mexico.html?hp. Retrieved on 2009-04-29.
- ^ Thomas, Evan (2006-02-07). "The Shot Heard 'Round the World". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/56896. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
