Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 1980, Larry Bird beat Magic Johnson to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
On this date:
1922 – The Supreme Court rules that organized baseball is primarily a sport, not a business, and therefore not subject to antitrust laws or interstate commerce regulations.
1946 — Two-year-old mares Chacoola and Ureta become the first thoroughbreds to complete a transcontinental flight, flying from New York to Inglewood, California on an American Air Express flight, but bad weather caused the 2,446-mile journey to take 20 hours.
1968 — European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Bobby Charlton scores twice as Manchester United beat Benfica 4–1 to become the first English club to win the Cup.
1971 – Al Unser wins the Indianapolis 500 for the second consecutive year with a time of 157.735 mph, beating Peter Revson by 22 seconds. Eldon Palmer’s pace car crashes into the grandstand, injuring 20 people.
1977 — A.J. Foyt becomes the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times and Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman to win the race. Guthrie is forced to retire after 27 laps due to mechanical problems.
1977 – Australian Sue Prell becomes the first female golfer to achieve consecutive holes-in-one on the 13th and 14th holes at Chatswood Golf Club in Sydney.
1983 – Tom Sneba, after three second-place finishes, wins the Indianapolis 500 by 11 seconds over three-time winner Al Unser.
1985 — 29th European Cup: Juventus beat Liverpool 1-0 in Brussels.
1988 – Rick Mears overcame an early one-lap delay then outmaneuvered the other drivers to win his third Indianapolis 500. Mears’ performance gave team owner Roger Penske an unprecedented seventh victory and his fourth in five years.
1989 – Philadelphia Phillies 12-time All-Star third baseman Mike Schmidt retires from MLB at age 39.
1990 – Top seeds Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker are eliminated in the first round of the French Open by two European teenagers, marking the first time that the two top-seeded men’s players have been eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament. Edberg loses in straight sets to 19-year-old Sergi Bruguera of Spain, while Becker loses to 18-year-old Goran Ivanisevic of Yugoslavia.
1990 – Rickey Henderson steals his 893rd base, breaking Ty Cobb’s record.
1991 — 35th European Cup: Red Star Belgrade beat Marseille in Bari (0-0, 5-3 on penalties).
1993 – Wayne Gretzky’s overtime goal leads the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Western Conference Finals. The Kings become the first NHL team to play all 21 games in the first three rounds.
1998 – 18-year-old Marat Safin, ranked 116th in the world and making his Grand Slam debut, defeats defending champion Gustavo Kuerten 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the second round of the French Open.
2002 – Roger Clemens strikes out 11 batters in seven innings against Chicago, recording his 100th career double-digit strikeout. Only Nolan Ryan (215) and Randy Johnson (175) have more games with 10 or more strikeouts.
2005 – Dan Wheldon won the Indianapolis 500 after a stunning run by Danica Patrick. Patrick was the first woman to lead at Indy, leading three times for a total of 19 laps. But Wheldon easily held on to his lead, passing Patrick with seven of the remaining 200 laps.
2006 – Rafael Nadal overtakes Guillermo Vilas as clay court king, seeking his second consecutive French Open title. Nadal defeats Robin Soderling in straight sets in the first round at Roland Garros, breaking the Open era record he shared with Vilas and recording 54 consecutive clay court wins.
2010 – Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game in major league history, beating the Florida Marlins 1-0. Halladay struck out 11 batters and got the count to 3-1 or 3-2 in the seventh inning, and faced only three batters to get the count to 3-1 or 3-2 twice more in the first inning of the game.
2011 – J.R. Hildebrand was one turn away from winning the Indianapolis 500 when he crashed into the wall on the final corner, allowing Dan Wheldon to pass him and incredibly win his second Indy 500 in the first race of the year.
2011 – Roger Federer sets a new record by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, while Novak Djokovic comes close with two quarterfinal appearances. Federer beat Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to extend his record of reaching major quarterfinals to 28. Djokovic continues his unbeaten season at 41-0, beating Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to extend his career win tally to 43.
2012 – Serena Williams lost in the first round of a major tournament for the first time, losing 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to France’s Virginie Razzano at the French Open. Williams came into the match with a 46-0 record in first-round Grand Slam matches.
2016 – Alexander Rossi wins the 100th Indianapolis 500 race.
2017 – Tiger Woods is arrested and charged with DUI in Jupiter, Florida.
2021 — UEFA Champions League Final, Porto: Kai Havertz scores just before half-time to give Chelsea a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the all-English final, sealing the Blues’ second Champions League title.
