Events in Sport
Event of Interest
1884 Fred Spofforth takes 7-34 & 7-3 v England XI in 4 hours
Fred Spofforth
- 1894 Emanuel Lasker (26) becomes World Champion chess player
- 1896 1st American intercollegiate bicycle race, Manhattan Beach, NY
- 1898 32nd Belmont: F Littlefield aboard Bowling Brook wins in 2:32
- 1907 Chicago White Sox Ed Walsh no-hits NY Highlanders, 8-1 in 5 inning game
- 1917 Walt Cruise hit 1st HR out of Braves Field
- 1923 1st Le Mans Grand Prix d'Endurance is run
- 1956 French Championships Women's Tennis: American Althea Gibson wins her only French singles title; beats Angela Mortimer of England 6-0, 12-10
Tennis Open
1963 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Roy Emerson beats home favourite Pierre Darmon 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Roy Emerson
- 1963 French Championships Women's Tennis: Australian Lesley Turner wins the first of 2 French titles; beats England's Ann Jones 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
Boxing Title Fight
1972 Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
Joe Frazier
- 1974 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins in 3:09:10.094 (255.224 km/h)
- 1975 Tennis game in Surrey championships lasts 31 minutes
- 1980 Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany ties high jump record at 7'8"
- 1980 Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st NLer to record 6, 1-hitters
- 1982 26th European Cup: Aston Villa beats Bayern Munich 1-0 at Rotterdam
- 1983 29th Walker Cup: US, 13½ - 10½
- 1983 LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws
- 1985 Indianapolis 500: Danny Sullivan wins by 24 seconds following a spin
- 1988 Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers sweep Boston Bruins in 4 games
Event of Interest
1990 Philadelphia Phillies retire Mike Schmidt's uniform #20
Mike Schmidt
Event of Interest
1996 Laura Davies wins J C Penney/LPGA Skins Golf Game
Laura Davies
Baseball Record
1997 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park HRs
Sammy Sosa
- 1997 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2
- 1999 7th UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester United beats Bayern Munich 2-1 at Barcelona
- 2000 NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3
- 2001 Fullback Andrew Walker kicks 5 penalties and 3 conversions as the ACT Brumbies win their first Super 12 Rugby title; beat Coastal Sharks (Durban), 36-6 at Bruce Stadium, Canberra
- 2002 Indianapolis 500: Hélio Castroneves wins in 3:00:10.871 (267.954 km/h)
- 2004 12th UEFA Champions League Final: Porto beats AS Monaco 3-0 at Gelsenkirchen
- 2009 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Carolina Hurricanes, 4 games to 0
- 2013 Golfer Matteo Manassero wins the BMW PGA Championship
- 2013 Indianapolis 500: Tony Kanaan wins in 2:40:03.4181 (301.644 km/h)
- 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Eastern Conference
- 2018 UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid beats Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, Ukraine for third straight title. Zinédine Zidane first manager to win 3 consecutive titles
Birthdays in Sport
- 1863 Robert Fitzsimmons, English boxing champion, born in Helston, England (d. 1917)
- 1876 Jack Root, Austrian-American boxing's 1st light heavyweight champion, born in Frahelž, Bohemia, Czech Republic (d. 1963)
- 1909 Matt Busby, Scottish soccer coach (Manchester United)
- 1918 Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (d. 1985)
- 1920 Jack Cheetham, cricketer (South African batsman, Test capt early 50's)
- 1921 Frank Mooney, cricketer (dependable wicket-keeper for NZ in 13 Tests)
- 1939 Brent Musburger, sportscaster (CBS-TV)
- 1943 Erica G Terpstra, Dutch swimmer and politician (VVD)
- 1944 Sam Posey, American race car driver, TV commentator and author
- 1947 Glenn Turner, cricketer (masterful NZ opening batsman)
- 1948 Geoff Greenidge, cricketer (no relation to Gordon, WI opener 1972-74)
- 1949 Dan Pastorini, NFL quarterback (Houston Oilers, Raiders) [or Dec 25]
- 1953 Dan Roundfield, American basketball forward (3-time NBA All Star), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2012)
- 1955 Wesley Walker, American football player
- 1959 Brian Peaker, rower (Olympics 1996), born in London, Ontario
- 1959 Nancy White-Brophy, Montague PEI, LPGA golfer (1994 McCall's-25th)
- 1960 Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1961 Stephen Robert Pate, Ventura CA, PGA golfer (1987 Southwest Classic)
- 1963 Eddie Martin Jr, jockey
- 1964 Kevin Kennedy, baseball manager (Texas Rangers)
- 1965 Greg Lloyd, NFL linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 1965 Jacqueline Mary Nelson, New Zealand points race cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Wellington, New Zealand
- 1966 Anthony Edwards, NFL wide receiver (Arizona Cardinals)
- 1966 Grant Bradburn, cricketer (son of Wynne NZ off-spinner 1990- )
- 1966 Zola Budd Pieterse, Bloemfontein South Africa, track star (Olympics 1988)
- 1967 Jean Bartholomew, LPGA golfer (1989 Duke U Champ), born in Queens, New York
- 1968 Rachael Sporn, Australian basketball forward (Olympic bronze 1996)
- 1968 Steve Sedgley, English footballer
- 1970 Sam Mack, NBA forward/guard (Houston Rockets, Vancouver Grizzlies)
- 1970 Sebastian Barrie, NFL defensive tackle (San Diego Chargers)
- 1971 Darwin Ireland, NFL linebacker (Chicago Bears)
- 1971 Lewis Capes, WLAF defensive tackle (London Monarchs)
- 1971 Steven Rice, NHL right wing (Hartford Whalers), born in Kitchener, Ontario
- 1974 Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 1975 Christopher Lindsey Donaldson, 100m/200m runner (Olympics 1996), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
- 1975 Travis Lee, baseball 1st baseman (Olympic bronze 1996), born in San Diego, California
- 1976 Markus Wieland, hockey defenseman (Team Germany 1998)
- 1976 Scott Humphries, Greely Colo, tennis star (1995 doubles Binghampton)
- 1977 Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1979 Mehmet Okur (Memo), Turkish basketball player
- 1988 Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
Weddings in Sport
- 2006 Soccer star player Joshua Kennedy (23) weds Australian Opals player Jacinta Hamilton at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Port Melbourne
Deaths in Sport
- 1944 C M Francois, cricketer (WWII, 252 runs in 5 Tests for South Africa), dies
- 1954 Lionel Conacher ["The Big Train"], Canadian athlete and politician, dies from a heart attack at 54
- 1955 Alberto Ascari, Italian auto racer (World F1 champion 1952, 53), dies in a testing accident at 36
- 1956 Al Simmons, outfielder (A's)/lifetime batting avg of .334, dies at 54
- 1959 Ed Walsh, baseball pitcher (1.82 ERA), dies at 78
- 1969 Paul Hawkins, Australian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 1974 Silvio Moser, Swiss racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 Edgar Moon, Australian tennis player (Australian C'ships 1930), dies at 71
- 1989 Don Revie, English footballer and soccer manager (Leeds and England), dies at 61
- 2001 Vittorio Brambilla, Italian racing driver (b. 1937)
- 2002 Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian marathoner (Olympic gold 1968), dies at 69
- 2005 Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2006 Kevin O'Flanagan, Irish athlete and physician (b. 1919)
- 2006 Ted Schroeder, American tennis player (US Open 1942, Wimbledon 1949), dies of cancer at 84
- 2009 Peter Zezel, Canadian professional hockey player (b. 1965)
- 2010 Jarvis Williams, American football player (b. 1965)
- 2017 Jim Bunning, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, politician (perfect game vs Mets 1965, Rep. Senator-Ky), dies of a stroke at 85
- 2017 John Severson, founder of 'Surfer' magazine and artist (known for his depictions of surf culture), dies of cancer at 83
May in History
President Falls From Grace
Paul Deschanel had the makings of a fine President of France – until a series of bizarre incidents culminated in him falling out the window of a moving train.
May 23, 1920
Ship that Changed the Face of Britain
Britain was on its knees after the Second World War, its economy and infrastructure in tatters. For help the Mother Country turned to the Commonwealth.
May 27, 1948
A Modern Major-General of Light Entertainment
William Gilbert, celebrated as the unique lyricist behind the highly popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, met his death in highly unexpected circumstances.
May 29, 1911
Voltaire: Writer, Wit, Philosopher and Rebel
They burned his books, sent him to the Bastille and into exile, but Voltaire, who died on this day, remained rich, successful – and defiant.
May 30, 1778