# 2049 - 1983 13c Los Angeles Summer Olympics: High Jump

U.S. #2049
1983 13¢ High Jump
Los Angeles Summer Olympics

• Issued to promote the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics
• Paid the 13¢ postcard rate
• Issued exactly one year before the games opened

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Series:  Olympics
Value:  13¢, postcard rate
First Day of Issue:  July 28, 1983
First Day City:  South Bend, Indiana
Quantity Issued:  98,856,000
Printed by:  Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Printing Method:  Photogravure
Format:  Panes of 50 in sheets of 200
Perforations:  11

Why the stamp was issued:  To fulfill the postcard rate and promote the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  The USPS issued a set of 12 Airmails (#C101-12) as well as a postal card and aerogramme in preparation for the 1984 Olympics.

About the stamp design:  Robert Peak designed all the stamps promoting the 1984 Olympics.  He started with black and white sketches and then created final images with water colors and opaque inks.  The High Jump stamp shows a female high jumper doing a back-over-the-bar jump.

First Day City:  The First Day ceremony for these stamps was held at the Center for Continuing Education at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana.  The school was hosting the Junior Olympic Games at the time, from July 28-30, 1983.  

Unusual fact about these stamps:  Full 50-stamp panes have been found with horizontal perforations through the stamp vignettes.

About the 1983 Summer Olympics Stamps:  The other designs include:

The Discus stamp (#2048) shows a male discus thrower shortly after spinning for momentum, ready to hurl the discus into the air.

The Archery stamp (#2050) pictures a female archer preparing to release her arrow.

The Boxing stamp (#2051) depicts two male boxers in the middle of a fight.

About Olympics Stamps:  In 1932, the US Post Office Department issued its first stamp honoring the Olympics Games.  1932 marked the third time the Winter Olympic Games were held, and the first time the event was held in the US. The games were held in Lake Placid, a small town in upstate New York that was home to less than 3,000 year-round residents.

Less than five months later, the Post Office issued its second and third Olympics stamps, honoring the summer games. Both stamps were issued on June 15, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, the site of the games. 

It would be nearly 30 years before the US issued another stamp honoring the Olympics. That issue commemorated the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California. Since 1972, the USPS has issued stamps for most Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

History the stamp represents:  On July 28, 1984, the Summer Olympic Games opened in Los Angeles, California.

By the late 1970s, few countries were interested in hosting Summer Olympics following the deaths of Israeli athletes at the 1972 games and the large financial debts of Montreal in 1976.  By 1978, only Los Angeles and Tehran were interested, and Tehran withdrew their bid following policy changes in the country.

The games of the XXIII Olympiad officially opened on July 28, 1984, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.   Some 92,516 fans attended the ceremonies, which were formally opened by President Ronald Reagan.  This was the first time a sitting US president opened an Olympic Games in person.  Following the ringing of church bells and cannon fire, the games officially opened with a welcome demonstration.  An 800-member marching band played and then a ballet performance honoring the American Old West followed.  The next presentation, called the Dixieland Jamboree, honored the American South and included a performance of “When the Saints Go Marching In” by Etta James.

This was followed by a performance featuring George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with accompaniment by 85 grand pianos.  Then a big band orchestra played a number of popular songs including “Sing, Sing, Sing,” “Steppin’ Out with My Baby,” the theme from Fame, and Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.”  The performance ended with “America the Beautiful.”

Next occurred the parade of nations and a performance of John Williams’s “Olympic Fanfare and Theme,” which later earned him a Grammy.  After a series of speeches, the cauldron (the same one used in LA in 1932) was lit by a torch runner.  Beginning its trip in Greece, the Olympic torch traveled from New York City through 33 states, across 9,320 miles, and was carried by 3,636 runners.

In all 6,829 athletes (5,263 men and 1,566 women) from 140 nations participated in 221 events in 21 sports.  A total of 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the games in response to America’s boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.  Even still, the number of participating nations was a record at the time.  China participated in the Olympics for the first time since 1952.

Among the highlights was Carl Lewis, who made his first of four Olympic appearances, matching Jesse Owens’s 1936 performance, winning four gold medals.  Joaquim Cruz of Brazil set a record in the 800-meter run and Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco became the first female Olympic champion from a Muslim nation in the 400-meter hurdles.  Portugal’s Carlos Lopes set a record for the marathon that stood for 24 years

For most Americans, the highlight of the 1984 Olympics came from women’s gymnastics, when Mary Lou Retton received perfect scores in her final two events and won the individual gold medal.

During games, the US set the record for most gold medals won in a single Summer Olympics with 83.  That beat the previous record set by the Soviet Union in 1980.

The 1984 Olympics were the first to have corporate sponsors.  This action was taken after the 1976 Montreal Olympics ran into serious financial problems.  The 1984 games made a healthy profit of $200 million – the highest up to that time.  They were the first games to make a profit since the 1932 Olympics.

The games officially ended on August 12.  Over the course of the games, the US had the most gold medals (83) and the most overall medals (174), followed by Romania and West Germany.