April 2, 1984: The Redemption of Georgetown

Fred Brown (left) hugged by John Thompson

April 2, 1984: Georgetown beat the University of Houston, 84-75 at the Kingdome in Seattle, and win the NCAA basketball tournament. The Hoyas become the 1st team in the Chesapeake region to win the National Championship. John Thompson becomes the 1st black head coach to win it.

As soon as the clock runs out, instead of hugging his best player, Patrick Ewing, he hugs Fred Brown, whose mistake helped cost Georgetown the title game 2 years earlier.
 

For the 3rd straight year, Houston's "Phi Slama Jama" of Hakeem "the Dream" Olajuwon and Clyde "the Glide" Drexler made the Final Four, but didn't win it. Over those 3 years, the Cougars went 88-16, including 71-12 in the regular season.

It must have been especially frustrating for head coach Guy Lewis, who had coached Houston to the Final Four in 1967 and 1968, with Elvin Hayes as his star. Now, he was 0-for-5 in Final Fours. He coached the Cougars from 1956 to 1986, and died in 2015. UH did not return to the Final Four until 2021.

(UPDATE: In 2025, they got back to the NCAA Final, but lost to Florida, making them 0-for-7 in Final Fours and 0-4 in Finals. No other team has been to 4 NCAA Tournament Finals without winning any.)

Georgetown would return to the title game in 1985, but lost to Villanova in one of the greatest games and greatest upsets in basketball history. Over Ewing's 4 years, the Hoyas went 121-23, including 69-6 in their last 2 years, which included a 29-game winning streak from February 25, 1984 to January 23, 1985. It was one of the best 4-year stretches in college basketball history, including 3 title games, but only 1 title.

In 1994, Olajuwon would lead the Houston Rockets to the NBA title, beating Ewing's New York Knicks. The following year, Drexler, after a Hall of Fame career with the Portland Trail Blazers, joined Olajuwon on the Rockets, and they won another title. Ewing never won one.

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April 2, 1984 was a Monday. This was the Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season, and 3 games were played:

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mario Soto outpitched Mike Torrez.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Since Baltimore was then the closest MLB city to Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan attended, and revived the Presidential tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first ball. Previously, Presidents did so from "the Presidential box" in Washington. Reagan wore an Orioles jacket over a bulletproof vest, and threw the first ball from the mound, which had never been done by a President before, but has been done by them since.

Cal Ripken Jr. hit a home run. Eddie Murray went 1-for-4 with the Orioles' other RBI.

* The California Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rod Carew went 2-for-4. Reggie Jackson did not play.

One game was played in the United States Football League (USFL): The Birmingham Stallions beat the New Orleans Breakers, 31-17 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

The NHL was between its regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There were 2 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-113 at Madison Square Garden. Quintin Dailey scored 44 in defeat for the Bulls. And the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets, 111-100 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Adrian Dantley scored 37 for the Jazz.