Index: smartypants.py
===================================================================
--- smartypants.py	(revision 2870)
+++ smartypants.py	(working copy)
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@
 	str = re.sub(r"""'"(?=\w)""", """‘“""", str)
 
 	# Special case for decade abbreviations (the '80s):
-	str = re.sub(r"""\b'(?=\d{2}s)""", r"""’""", str)
+	str = re.sub(r"""\B'(?=\d{2}(s|\b))""", r"""’""", str)
 
 	close_class = r"""[^\ \t\r\n\[\{\(\-]"""
 	dec_dashes = r"""–|—"""