May 14, 2011: The greatest day in the history of Manchester soccer -- "football," as they would say.
Manchester United clinch their 19th League title, breaking the record they shared with Liverpool FC. They needed only a draw in 1 of their last 2 games of the season, or a loss by Manchester City and a loss by Chelsea FC in either of their last 2 League games, and the title was theirs. They got their draw, 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in Blackburn, Lancashire.
But Man City, with the wealth of the United Arab Emirates' royal family and government behind them, win their 1st trophy of any kind in 35 years, and their 1st FA Cup in 43 years, defeating Stoke City of Staffordshire in the Final at the new Wembley Stadium in West London.
Yaya Touré scores the game's only goal, in the 74th minute. Rather than a member of the royal family, as is usually the case, City's Captain, Carlos Tevez, who had famously left United for City, received the Cup from a recent hero of the British Army's effort in the War On Terror in Afghanistan, Corporal Mark Ward.
It begins a run that has now reached 12 seasons with 6 League titles, 2 FA Cups, 6 League Cups (including this season's), and a berth in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. As for Stoke, it remains the only FA Cup Final in their history. They have been playing since 1863, and have just 1 major trophy, the 1972 League Cup.
Yaya would have set a new record for highest uniform number worn in an FA Cup Final, 42, had not his teammate Mario Balotelli worn 45. That would remain a record until, 11 years later to the day, Trent Alexander-Arnold wore 66 for Liverpool in the 2022 Final. (UPDATE: The record was broken again in 2025, by Manchester City left back Nico O'Reilly, who wore 75. Alexander-Arnold remains the highest-numbered player for a winning team.)
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May 14, 2011, like all FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the TD Garden in Boston. The Bruins went on to win the series, and the Cup, anyway.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 at the new Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett allowed 4 hits over 6 shutout innings, Matt Albers 2 over 2, and Rich Hill 1 in the 9th, outpitching CC Sabathia. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4. Adrián González hit a home run for the Sox.
* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 7-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. J.A. Happ outpitched R.A. Dickey. Daniel Murphy hit a home run for the Mets.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Anibal Sánchez pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Juan Carlos Oviedo completed the 4-hit shutout.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Martín Prado and Nate McLouth hit home runs for the Braves.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brad Bergesen pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mark Reynolds and Jake Fox hit home runs.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Brad Penny pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and José Valverde pitched a perfect 9th.
* The San Francisco Giants were leading the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 after 6 innings, when the game was called due to rain. Ryan Vogelsong had allowed 7 hits over 6 shutout innings.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis. José Bautista hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 11th inning, opening the gates to a 6-run inning.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-7 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Diamondbacks does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4: Josh Collmenter allowed 2 runs over 6 innings, Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect 7th, David Hernandez allowed a hit in the 8th, and J.J. Putz allowed a hit in the 9th.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Overstock Coliseum).
* And the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners were rained out at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 23.
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