May 31
1927 — Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun records an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning to end the 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Neun grabs a Homer Summa line drive, tags Charlie Jamieson at first and outruns Glenn Myatt to tag second.
1938 — Henry Armstrong beats Barney Ross for the world welterweight title.
1942 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, beating Jim Turnesa in the final round 2 and 1.
1949 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, defeating Johnny Palmer in the final round 3 and 2.
1965 — Jim Clark becomes the first non-U.S. driver in 49 years to win the Indianapolis 500.
1967 — Bayern Munchen of West Germany wins 7th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rangers of Scotland 1-0 in Nuremberg.
1972 — 16th European Cup: Ajax beats Internazionale 2-0 at Rotterdam.
1983 — The Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA championship with a 115-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, completing a four-game sweep.
1987 — The Edmonton Oilers win their third Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Game 7.
1992 — Ayrton Senna wins his fourth consecutive Monaco Grand Prix to end Nigel Mansell’s season-opening winning streak at five races.
1997 — Ila Borders becomes the first woman to pitch in a regular-season professional baseball game, in the sixth inning of the St. Paul Saints’ Northern League game against Sioux Falls. She struggles, giving up three earned runs without getting an out.
2001 — Pat Day becomes the third jockey to reach 8,000 wins by guiding Camden Park to a one-length victory on the turf in the sixth race at Churchill Downs. The 47-year-old Day trails only Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,147) and Bill Shoemaker (8,833).
2002 — Jason Kidd becomes the first player in 35 years to record three triple-doubles in an NBA playoff series, and the New Jersey Nets finish off the Boston Celtics with a 96-88 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. He joins Oscar Robertson (1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (1967) as the only players with three triple-doubles in a series.
2007 — LeBron James scores a career playoff-high 48 points to lead Cleveland to a 109-107, Game 5 win over Detroit in two overtimes. James is the first player to score 25 straight points for a team in the postseason while scoring 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points.
2008 — Usain Bolt sets the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Bolt is .02 seconds faster than the old record held by fellow Jamaican, Asafa Powell.
2009 — Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten run at the French Open ends when the four-time defending champion loses to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the fourth round. Nadal’s record winning streak at Roland Garros ends at 31 matches.
2009 — Stephen Cardullo sets a tournament record with seven hits, including three of Florida State’s NCAA-record 15 doubles, as the Seminoles routs Ohio State 37-6 to advance to the super regionals.
2011 — Austrian player Daniel Koellerer is been banned for life by a tennis anti-corruption unit for attempting to fix matches. Koellerer, who was ranked No. 55 in 2009, is found guilty of three violations of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program between October 2009 and July 2010.
2012 — Kevin Durant scores 22 points, Thabo Sefolosha sets playoff career-bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snap San Antonio’s 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
2018 — Zinédine Zidane announces his resignation as Real Madrid manager after 3 successive Champions League titles.
2021 — Naomi Osaka pulls out of the French Open citing her mental health, after refusing to appear at compulsory post match press conferences.
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June 1
1925 — Lou Gehrig bats for Pee Wee Wanninger in the eighth inning and replaces Wally Pipp at first base to start his streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
1946 — Assault, ridden by Warren Merhtens, wins the Belmont Stakes to become the seventh horse to capture the Triple Crown.
1968 — Stage Door Johnny, ridden by Heliodoro Gustines, wins the Belmont Stakes in a record time of 2:27 1-5 and spoils the Triple Crown bid of Forward Pass, who finishes 1 1/4 lengths behind.
1975 — Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitches his fourth no-hitter to tie Sandy Koufax’s record, beating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0.
1975 — Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA tournament by one stroke over Sandra Haynie.
1977 — Dutch soccer club FC Volendam is established as a result of split up with RKSV; 6-time Eerste Divisie champions.
1979 — NBA Finals: Seattle Supersonics beat Washington Bullets, 97-93 for a 4-1 series victory; Seattle’s first major pro sports championship win.
1986 — Pat Bradley wins the LPGA tournament and becomes the first to win all four major women’s tournaments, beating Patty Sheehan by one stroke.
1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 for a four-game sweep.
1993 — Phoenix Suns guard Dan Majerle sets a then NBA Playoff record by sinking 8 three-pointers during the Suns’ 120-114 win over Seattle in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
1994 — Indiana guard Reggie Miller drills an NBA Playoff record 5 three-pointers in the 4th quarter of the Pacers’ 93-86 win over host New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
1996 — The LSU women win their 10th consecutive NCAA track team title with 81 points, the longest victory string in women’s college sports.
2002 — Detroit advances to the Stanley Cup finals for the fourth time in eight years with a 7-0 win over Colorado in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Colorado becomes the first NHL team to play in four consecutive Game 7s. Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek sets an NHL record by recording his fifth shutout of the playoffs.
2002 — In a battle of former heavyweight boxing champions in Atlantic City, Evander Holyfield beats Hasim Rahman by TKO; fight stopped 1:40 into 8th round because of giant welt above Rahman’s left eye.
2004 — Detroit and Indiana combine for just 60 first-half points in the Pistons’ 69-65 victory, breaking the NBA playoff record of 62 set by the Pistons and Nets during the second round.
2008 — Hillary Will is the 11th woman in NHRA history to win a national event when she takes the Top Fuel event at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals. Will drives her dragster to a 4.744-second run at a top speed of 304.53 mph, beating No. 1 qualifier Larry Dixon for her first career win in Top Fuel.
2010 — French Open upset specialist Robin Soderling strikes again, rallying past defending champion Roger Federer in a rainy quarterfinal, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The loss ends Federer’s record streak of reaching the semifinals in 23 consecutive major events.
2012 — Johan Santana throws first no-hitter in the New York Mets’ 50-year MLB history when he beats the St. Louis Cardinals, 8 – 0.
2012 — Jonathan Crawford pitches the seventh no-hitter in NCAA tournament history, shutting down Bethune-Cookman in a 4-0 victory in the opener of the Gainesville Regional.
2012 — Alex Miklos hits a go-ahead RBI triple in the 21st inning as Kent State outlasts Kentucky 7-6 in the second-longest game in NCAA tournament history.
2019 — Mexican-American boxer Andy Ruiz Jr produces a huge upset when he stops English champion Anthony Joshua in 7 at Madison Square Garden; wins IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA world heavyweight titles.
2019 — UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Liverpool beats Tottenham, 2-0 for Reds’ 6th title.
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June 2
1896 — Hastings, ridden by H. Griffin, edges Handspring by a neck to capture the Belmont Stakes.
1908 — Royal Tourist, ridden by Eddie Dugan, posts a four-length victory over Live Wire in the Preakness Stakes.
1909 — Joe Madden, ridden by Eddie Dugan, wins the Belmont Stakes by eight lengths over Wise Mason.
1935 — Babe Ruth, 40, announces his retirement as a player.
1935 — French Championships Men’s Tennis: Englishman Fred Perry wins his only French title, beating Gottfried von Cramm of Germany 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.
1942 — Red Sox star Ted Williams enlists as a US Navy aviator.
1947 — After a six-year layoff, 13-year-old Honey Cloud wins the second race at Aqueduct. His jockey, Clarence Minner, takes his first ride in 10 years.
1962 — French Championships Women’s Tennis: In an all-Australian final Margaret Smith beats doubles partner Lesley Turner 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
1971 — European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Ajax beats Panathinaikos, 2-0; Dutch champions begin 3-year period of domination.
1985 — Nancy Lopez beats Alice Miller by eight strokes to win the LPGA championship.
1991 — Andrettis finish 1-2-3 in the Miller 200 at Wisconsin State Fair Park Speedway in Milwaukee. Mario Andretti finishes third, his son Michael wins the race and his nephew John finished second.
1996 — Annika Sorenstam closes with a 4-under 66 to win her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Open. Sorenstam’s 8-under 272 is the best ever in the Open.
2002 — Annika Sorenstam matches the LPGA record for margin of victory in a 54-hole event while winning the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic. Sorenstam finishes at 21-under 195 to win by 11 strokes.
2005 — Jockey Russell Baze records his 9,000th career victory aboard Queen of the Hunt in the eighth race at Golden Gate Fields.
2007 — Daniel Gibson scores a career-high 31 points as Cleveland beats Detroit 98-82 to advance to the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers are the third team to come back from an 0-2 deficit in a conference finals, joining the 1971 Baltimore Bullets and 1993 Chicago Bulls.
2008 — Pittsburgh outlasts Detroit 4-3 in three overtimes of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. Petr Sykora scores at 9:57 of the third overtime ending the fifth-longest finals game in NHL history.
2010 — Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers loses his bid for a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admits he blew. First baseman Miguel Cabrera cleanly fields Jason Donald’s grounder to his right and makes an accurate throw to Galarraga covering the bag. The ball is there in time, and all of Comerica Park is ready to celebrate the 3-0 win over Cleveland, until Joyce emphatically signals safe.
2011 — Dirk Nowitzki makes the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Dallas Mavericks roar back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 95-93 and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece. The Mavs outscore the Heat 22-5 down the stretch and pull off the biggest comeback win in an NBA finals since 1992.
2019 — US Open Women’s Golf, CC of Charleston: Lee Jeong-eun of South Korea wins her first major title; beats runners-up Lexi Thompson, Agel Yin and Ryu So-yeon by 2 strokes.
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June 3
1932 — Lou Gehrig becomes the first major league player to hit four consecutive home runs in a game, giving the New York Yankees a 20-13 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Gehrig’s feat, however, is overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants for 30 years.
1944 — Bounding Home, ridden by G.L. Smith, wins the Belmont Stakes by one-half length over Pensive, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
1959 — European Cup Final, Stuttgart: Real Madrid beats Stade de Reims, 2-0; 4th consecutive title for Los Blancos.
1961 — Sherluck, ridden by Braulio Baeza, wins the Belmont Stakes. Carry Beck, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, finishes seventh.
1972 — French Open Women’s Tennis: American icon Billie Jean King wins her only French singles title; beats Evonne Goolagong of Australia 6-3, 6-3.
1980 — NY Mets draft Darryl Strawberry, 18, #1 overall.
1984 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by a record 10 strokes over Beth Daniel and Pat Bradley.
1991 — Thomas Hearns becomes a world champion for the sixth time, capturing the World Boxing Association’s light-heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Virgil Hill.
1992 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores a record 35 points, including a record six 3-pointers, in the first half as the Bulls beat Portland 122-89 in the opening game of the NBA Finals. Jordan finishes with 39 points and Chicago is only two points shy of the largest victory margin in the finals.
1995 — Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitches nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos’ 1-0 win.
1999 — Four days after her first LPGA Tour victory, Kelli Kuehne ties the Women’s U.S. Open record with an 8-under 64 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster.
2001 — Karrie Webb wins the U.S. Women’s Open in a runaway for the second year in a row. Webb shoots a 1-under 69 for an eight-stroke victory, the largest margin at a Women’s Open in 21 years.
2004 — Calgary ties an NHL record with its 10th road win of the playoffs with a 3-2 overtime victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. The New Jersey Devils also won 10 road playoff games during their championship seasons of 1995 and 2000.
2006 — Jeff Burton has the biggest come-from-behind win ever in a Busch race, overcoming a 36th-place starting position in the Dover 200 for his second victory of the season.
2006 — Russia’s Nikolai Valuev retains his WBA heavyweight title in Hanover, Germany, stopping Jamaican challenger Owen Beck with a right uppercut in the third round.
2011 — Roger Federer ends Novak Djokovic’s perfect season and 43-match winning streak, beating him 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semifinals. Federer advances to the title match against five-time champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal reaches his sixth final in seven years at Roland Garros by defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
2012 — Tiger Woods won his 73rd PGA tour victory with a two-stoke win over Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course.
2017 — UEFA Champions League Final, Cardiff: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as defending champions Real Madrid thrash Juventus, 4-1 for 12th title; Juventus loses 5th consecutive final.
2018 — Stephen Curry, Golden State, broke Ray Allen’s NBA Finals record for the most 3-pointers with nine in the Warriors 122-103 Game 2 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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