Which 8-bit micros? avr-gcc, PIC microchip C, HC11 gcc, SDCC (for HC11, 8051, Z80, etc.) all have 16-bit ints.

Also, the C standard "Sizes of Integer Types" section sets out minimum ranges each type must allow, and I think int has always been +/-32767. ie see the section at http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n1124.pdf