Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 1991, the Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship in the team’s 25-year history with a 108-101 Game 5 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. MVP Michael Jordan scored 30 points, Scottie Pippen scored 32 points, and John Paxson scored 20 points.
On this date:
1920 – Man O’War wins the 1 3/8-mile Belmont Stakes in 2 minutes, 14 1/5 seconds, beating the world record by 3 1/5 seconds and setting an American dirt course record for that distance.
1930 – In New York, Max Schmeling defeated Jack Sharkey by disqualification in the fourth round for the vacant heavyweight title. Schmeling became the first German and European to become a world heavyweight champion.
1939 – Byron Nelson wins the U.S. Open in a three-way playoff against Craig Wood and Denny Shute.
1948 – Eddie Arcaro rides Citation to win the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown by eight lengths over Better Self, marking Arcaro’s second Triple Crown victory. In 1941, he rode Willaway.
1948 – Ben Hogan wins the U.S. Open with a record-breaking score of 276, five strokes shorter than Ralph Guldahl’s 1937 record.
1954 – Milwaukee Braves starting pitcher Jim Wilson shuts out the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0, to pitch the first no-hitter in County Stadium history.
1979 – Bobby Orr becomes the youngest inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame in NHL history. At 31, Orr was inducted a few months after his NHL career officially ended, waiving the usual three-year waiting period for the Hall of Fame.
1981 – Larry Holmes knocks out Leon Spinks in three rounds for the WBC heavyweight title in Detroit.
1983 – Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA Championship, beating Sandra Haney by two strokes.
1984 — 38th NBA Championship: The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 3, to win the championship title.
1990 – Egypt, odds of 500-1, pull off a stunning victory over World Cup favourites the Netherlands, earning a 1-1 draw thanks to Magdi Abdel Ghani’s penalty kick eight minutes from time.
2002 — NBA Finals: The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the New Jersey Nets 113-107 to win their third straight championship with four straight wins. MVP: Shaquille O’Neal reaches his third straight Finals series.
2005 – Annika Sorenstam wins the LPGA Championship by three strokes over Michelle Wie, finishing with a 1-over 73. The 15-year-old Wie finished second with a 69. It is the best result by an amateur in a major championship since 20-year-old Jenny Chuasiripong lost a playoff to Se Ri Park in the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open.
2008 – The Boston Celtics overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 97-91 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. No team had ever overcome a 15-point deficit or more after the first quarter, and the Celtics recorded their largest Finals comeback since 1971.
2009 – Pittsburgh’s Max Talbot scores two goals in the second period and the Penguins beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to win the Stanley Cup.
2011 – The Dallas Mavericks win Game 6 of the Finals in Miami, 105-95, to win their first NBA title. Jason Terry scored 27 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points, and the Mavericks won four of the final five games of the series.
2013 – Andrew Shaw scores on a deflection in triple overtime to lead the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Blackhawks overcame a 3-1 deficit in the third period with goals from Dave Bolland and Oduya.
2016 – Sidney Crosby assists Kris Letang on the game-winning goal midway through the second period as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the San Jose Sharks 3–1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals to win the fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
2017 — Kevin Durant caps off a spectacular first season with the Warriors by taking home the NBA championship. Durant, who joined Golden State the previous July, scored 39 points in a 129-120 Finals win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
2019 — Stanley Cup Final, TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts: The St. Louis Blues defeat the Boston Bruins, 4-1, to take the series 4-3 and win their first championship in franchise history.
2021 — Danish football midfielder Christian Eriksen goes into cardiac arrest during the match against Finland at Euro 2020 in Copenhagen. Eriksen is resuscitated with a defibrillator and the match continues, despite controversy, with Finland winning 1–0.
2023 — NBA Finals: The Denver Nuggets defeat the Miami Heat 94-89 to win the franchise’s first championship, winning the series 4-1. MVP: Denver C Nikola Jokic.
