Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 1997, the Chicago Bulls won their fifth NBA championship in the past seven years with a 90-86 Game 6 victory over the Utah Jazz thanks to a last-minute shot by Steve Kerr.
On this date:
1908 – Canadian champion Tommy Burns retained the world heavyweight boxing title with a knockout of Australian Bill Squires in the eighth round at the Bowling Palace of Neuilly in Paris.
1913 – James Lowe, who had won consecutive Belmont Stakes races as a jockey from 1872 to 1873, guided Prince Eugene to victory, setting a new record for the most Belmont Stakes wins by a trainer with eight.
1935 – Jim Braddock defeats Max Baer by a 15-round unanimous decision in New York to win the world heavyweight title.
1953 – Ben Hogan beat Sam Snead by six strokes to win his fourth U.S. Open.
1956 — First European Cup Final, Paris: Hector Rial scores twice as Real Madrid beat the Stade de Reims 4-3 to win their first title.
1959 – Billy Casper defeats Bob Rosberg to win the U.S. Open golf tournament.
1971 – Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA Championship, beating Kathy Ahern by four strokes.
1982 – Jean Stevenson wins the LPGA Championship by two strokes over Joan Kerner.
1989 — 43rd NBA Championship: The Detroit Pistons defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in four games.
1991 – The National, Japan’s first daily sports newspaper, ceases publication.
1992 – Sergei Bubka of Ukraine breaks his own outdoor world record in the pole vault with a leap of 20 feet and 1/2 inches. The jump marks Bubka’s 30th indoor or outdoor record, beating the previous record of 29 set by Finnish long-distance runner Pavo Nurmi in the 1920s.
1993 – Patty Sheehan wins her third LPGA Championship, shooting a 2-under 69 to beat Lauri Marten by one stroke.
2002 – Stanley Cup Final, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan: The Detroit Red Wings defeat the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-1, to take a 4-1 series lead. The Red Wings win their 10th championship. Manager Scotty Bowman retires with a record 9th championship.
2010 – Zenyatta’s 17th consecutive win, the longest streak in unlimited races by a Thoroughbred in the modern era. Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, the 6-year-old filly won the $200,000 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park by half a length over St. Trinian’s. With the win, Zenyatta surpassed the previous record of 16 consecutive wins held by Cigar, 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, and Mr. Friskies.
2011 — Boston scores four goals in a 4:14 span of the first period to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden and tie the best-of-seven series. Behind efforts from Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, Andrew Ference and Michael Ryder, Boston led 4-0 midway through the first period.
2012 – Matt Cain pitches the 22nd perfect game in MLB history and the first for San Francisco, striking out a career-high 14 batters and helping to make two running catches by outfielders Melky Cabrera and Gregor Blanco in a 10-0 victory over the Houston Astros.
2014 – The Netherlands thrash Spain 5-1 in a shocking first World Cup match, outwitting an ageing team that had dominated world football for the past six years and avenging their loss in the 2010 final.
2014 – The Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers 3-2 in Game 5 to win their second Stanley Cup in three years.
2016 — LeBron James had 41 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, Kyrie Irving also added 41 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, riding a Warriors offensive surge without suspended star Draymond Green, avoided elimination in the NBA Finals with a 112-97 Game 5 victory. James and Irving became the first teammates to score 40 points in an NBA Finals game, and the Cavs went up 3-2 and sent the best-of-seven series home to Ohio.
2017 – The Golden State Warriors defeat the Cavaliers 129-120 to win their second NBA title in three years.
2019 – The Toronto Raptors defeat the defending champion Golden State Warriors 114-110 to win the franchise’s first championship.
2021 — French Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins his 19th Grand Slam singles title, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
2023 — Stanley Cup Final, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas: The Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Florida Panthers 9-3 to take the series lead, 4-1, winning the franchise’s first title in its sixth season in the NHL. MVP: Jonathan Marchessault (VGK forward).
