"What a great moment for me, my son, the world. What you have made possible for so many people defies all reason." LOWELL WEICKER, JR.
Former United States Senator

1968 Games

July 1968 was a fertile time for change, a time when the culture was open to new ideas, a time to bend the old norm and shape a new one. The Chicago Games, in short, united people with intellectual disabilities with so many others (women, minorities, the young) who were also searching for their basic civil rights, never mind freedom.

As Eunice and her army of young advocates began to raise awareness about the abilities of citizens with intellectual disabilities-the old way was only to see their limitations-barriers began to tumble. People with intellectual disabilities don't have to be locked away in rooms? They can socialize and participate in summer camps without being a danger to themselves or others? They have talents and dreams and aspirations just like everyone else?

Thus, the progression toward people with intellectual disabilities participating in organized athletics became inevitable, if overly due. It's always like that in sports, though. Women were kept from competing in the Olympics in track and field until 1928. Blacks never played in the major leagues until Jackie Robinson broke the barrier in 1947.

In the early 1960s Eunice and the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation worked with Dr. William Freeberg, chairman of the recreation and outdoor education department at Southern Illinois University to develop workshops focused on the principle that everyone, including people with disabilities, benefits from recreation.

Inspired by the knowledge gained from these workshops, Anne Burke, an instructor with the Chicago Parks District sent a proposal to the Kennedy Foundation to hold a one-time citywide track meet in 1967 modeled after the Olympics. You give Eunice "one-time" and she sees "annual." You give Eunice "citywide" and she sees "nationwide." She immediately saw the potential of the idea and the Foundation asked Burke to expand its scope to include more sports and athletes from across the United States. Soon, there were Foundation staffers in Chicago planning the event with Burke.

On July 20, 1968, Eunice opened what was then known as both the "Chicago Special Olympics" and the "First International Special Olympics Games." Though the mainstream press largely ignored it, Eunice, and others made sure it was a first-rate, well-organized event. It was held in Chicago's Soldier Field, a legendary sporting venue. About 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada competed in track and field, floor hockey and swimming.