Events in Sport
- 1859 Philadelphia A's organize to play "town ball" became baseball 20 years later
- 1868 Dr James Moore (UK) wins 1st recorded bicycle race, (2k) velocipede race at Parc fde St Cloud, Paris
- 1880 League of American Wheelmen (1st US bicycle association), forms in Newport, Rhode Island
- 1900 Tom Hayward scores 1,000th cricket run of season (sets record 1074)
- 1902 Australia Cricket all out 36 v England, Edgbaston, their lowest ever
- 1914 Chicago White Sox Joe Benz no-hits Cleveland Indians, 6-1
- 1915 Indianapolis 500: Ralph DePalma wins in 5:33:55.619 (144.583 km/h)
- 1919 Indianapolis 500: Howdy Wilcox wins in 5:40:42.930 (141.703 km/h)
- 1920 Indianapolis 500: Gaston Chevrolet wins in 5:38:31.901 (142.617 km/h)
- 1926 Indianapolis 500: Frank Lockhart wins in 5:12:48.768 (154.343 km/h)
- 1927 Tiger 1st baseman Johnny Neun makes an unassisted triple play
- 1928 Charlie Hallows scores his 1,000th run of Cricket season
Donald Bradman
- 1931 French Championships Men's Tennis: Jean Borotra wins his only home title; beats fellow Frenchman Christian Boussus 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Tennis Open
1931 36th Women's French Championships: Cilly Aussem beats Betty Nuthall (8-6, 6-1)
Betty Nuthall
PGA Championship
1942 PGA Championship, Seaview CC: Sam Snead beats Jim Turnesa 2 & 1 for his first PGA Tour major title
Sam Snead
- 1947 79th Belmont: Ruperto Donoso aboard Phalanx wins in 2:29.6
- 1948 Indianapolis 500: Mauri Rose wins in 4:10:23.286 (192.822 km/h)
- 1949 PGA Championship, Hermitage CC: Sam Snead beats fellow American Johnny Palmer 3 & 2; first time reigning Masters champion wins PGA Championship in the same calendar year.
- 1950 Indianapolis 500: Due to rain, race shortened to 345 miles, Johnny Parson wins
- 1950 Laker takes 14-12-2-8 in Test Cricket trial
- 1954 Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich wins in 3:49:17.261 (210.567 km/h)
Event of Interest
1956 Mickey Mantle HR just misses clearing Yankee Stadium's roof
Mickey Mantle
- 1958 French Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first and only French title; beats Luis Ayala of Chile 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
- 1958 57th Women's French Championships: Zsuzsi Kormoczy beats Shirley Bloomer (6-4, 1-6, 6-2)
- 1961 6th European Cup: Benfica beats Barcelona 3-2 at Bern
- 1964 SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins)
- 1965 Jim Clark becomes 1st foreigner in 49 years to win Indianapolis 500 - 3:19:05.370 (242.506 km/h)
- 1967 Bayern Munchen of West Germany wins 7th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rangers of Scotland 1-0 in Nuremberg
Event of Interest
1967 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt wins in 3:18:24.211 (243.344 km/h)
A. J. Foyt
- 1972 16th European Cup: Ajax beats Internazionale 2-0 at Rotterdam
- 1973 Glenn Turner scores his 1,000th run of English cricket season
- 1983 37th NBA Championship: Philadelphia 76ers sweep LA Lakers in 4 games
- 1984 Viv Richards hits 189* (170 balls) v England, ODI cricket record
- 1985 New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000
- 1987 Saul Ballesteros drives 3 golf balls off Mt McKinley, Alaska
- 1987 Stanley Cup Final, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Oilers beat Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 to win title 4 games to 3: Oilers' 3rd SC
- 1994 Padres scores 13 in 2nd vs Pirates
- 1997 Blues win their second straight Super 12 Rugby title with a 23-7 victory over the ACT Brumbies at Eden Park, Auckland; fullback Adrian Cashmore lands 3 penalties and 2 conversions for the home team
- 1999 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
- 2002 The New Jersey Nets defeat the Boston Celtics 96-88 in Game 6 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Championship, winning the series 4 games to 2 to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance.
- 2002 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 3
- 2008 Canterbury Crusaders claim their 7th Super 14 Rugby title with a 20-12 win over NSW Waratahs at AMI Stadium, Christchurch; Dan Carter kicks 4 penalties and a dropped goal for the home team
- 2015 Harriette Thompson aged 92 and 65 days becomes the oldest woman to complete a marathon (Suja Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego)
Birthdays in Sport
- 1905 Roy Peaches Davis, baseball pitcher
- 1909 Thor Thorvaldsen, Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic gold 1948, 52)
- 1920 Edward Bennett Williams, American lawyer/team owner (Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1988)
- 1924 Russell Endean, cricketer (28 Tests for South Africa, handled the ball 1956)
- 1926 Probir Sen, cricket wicketkeeper (India in late 40's/early 50's)
- 1928 Pankaj Roy, cricketer (Indian opener, 413 partnership w/Vinoo Mankad)
- 1934 Bent Peter Rasch, Danish canoeist (Olympic gold 1952), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- 1935 Bruce Bolton, cricketer (two Tests NZ v England 1959)
- 1941 Gil Morgan, American golfer (Senior Players C'ship 1998, The Tradition 1997, 98), born in Wewoka, Oklahoma
- 1942 Happy Hairston, NBA star (Cin, Detroit, LA)
- 1943 Joe Namath, PA, NFL quarterback (NY Jets), $400,000 man (1969 Superbowl)
- 1946 Steve Bucknor, cricketer (West Indian Test umpire, FIFA referee)
- 1954 Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
- 1955 Laura Baugh, American golfer, writer, broadcaster (LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1973), born in Gainesville, Florida
- 1957 Jim Craig, hockey goalie (Olympic gold 1980), born in North Easton, Massachusetts
- 1958 Gary Hallberg, American golfer (3 PGA Tour titles), born in Berwyn, Illinois
- 1960 Norm Johnson, NFL place kicker (Seattle Seahawk, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 1960 Peter Winterbottom, British rugby player
- 1962 Henry Williams, CFL receiver (Edmonton Eskimos)
- 1962 Joe Orsulak, Glen Ridge NJ, outfielder (Florida Marlins)
- 1965 Annette Renee Peters, [nee Hand], Reno Nevada, 1500/3000 runner
- 1966 Jessica Monroe, Canadian rower (Olympics 1996), born in Palo Alto, California
- 1966 Roshan Mahanama, cricketer (Sri Lankan opening batsman)
- 1967 Kenny Lofton, E Chicago Indiana, outfielder (Cleveland Indians)
- 1968 Duane Causwell, NBA center (Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings)
- 1969 Juliet Haslam, Australian hockey midfielder (Olympics 1996), born in Adelaide
- 1970 Cory Mantyka, CFL guard (BC Lions)
- 1971 Brad Elberg, CFL running back (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
- 1971 Lenny McGill, NFL cornerback (Atlanta Falcons)
- 1971 Murray Hocking, Victoria Australia, badminton player (Olympics 1996)
- 1971 Troy Malave, Cumana Venezuela, outfielder (Boston Red Sox)
- 1972 John Godina, American shot putter (World C'ship gold 1995, 97, 01; Olympic silver 1996), born in Fort Still, Oklahoma
- 1972 Bryan Walker, safety (Washington Redskins)
- 1972 Eileen Richetelli, Milford Conn, diver (Olympics 1996)
- 1972 Dave Roberts, American baseball player
- 1973 Dominique van Roost, Verviers Belg, tennis star (1995 Futures-GBR)
- 1973 Marty Janzen, American pitcher (Toronto Blue Jays), born in Miami, Florida
- 1973 Tyrone Williams, NFL defensive back (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
- 1974 Bindi Mansfield, Mooerbank NSW Australia, diver (Olympics 1996)
- 1974 Jim Carey, Dorchester MA, NHL goalie (Washington Capitals)
- 1974 Steve Martin, defensive tackle (Indianapolis Colts)
- 1974 Chad Campbell, American golfer (US masters 2009 runner-up, 4 PGA Tour titles), born in Andrews, Texas
- 1976 Matt Harpring, American basketball player
- 1977 Joachim Olsen, Danish athlete
- 1977 Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
- 1977 Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
- 1977 Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player
- 1977 Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
- 1977 Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 Jake Peavy, American baseball player
- 1983 Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
- 1984 Nate Robinson, American basketball player
- 1985 Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
- 1986 Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
- 1989 Marco Reus, German football player (Borussia Dortmund, German national team), born in Dortmund, West Germany
Deaths in Sport
Terry Sawchuk
1970 Terry Sawchuk, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender (4-time Vezina Trophy & Stanley Cup winner), dies from liver injuries at 40
Terry Sawchuk
Jack Dempsey
1983 Jack Dempsey, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1919-26), dies of heart failure at 86
Jack Dempsey
May in History
![Ship that Changed the Face of Britain]()
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]()
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]()
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![Cloak And Dagger World of Walter Raleigh]()
Cloak And Dagger World of Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh's secret marriage to a lady-in-waiting was uncovered on this day. It ruined his career, but things were to get much worse.
May 31, 1592
