May 17, 1983: The New York Islanders Win Their 4th Straight Stanley Cup.

Captain Denis Potvin

May 17, 1983: The New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum, and complete a 4-game sweep of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Isles thus become the 1st team other than the Montreal Canadiens to win 4 straight Stanley Cups.

This was the era when the Coliseum was known as Fort Neverlose. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the Finals in 1980, the Minnesota North Stars in 1981, the Vancouver Canucks in 1982, and the Oilers in 1983. In the Playoffs from the 1st round in 1980 to the Conference Finals in 1984, they went 71-22 in the Playoffs. But the Coliseum wasn't quite an impenetrable fortress: Over that stretch, the Isles went 40-9 at home. It was the Finals sweeps of 1982 and 1983 that reinforced the image.

Some players were on all 4 Cup-winning teams: Goaltender Billy Smith (Hall of Fame); defensemen Denis Potvin (Captain, Hall of Fame), Ken Morrow, Gord Lane, Dave Langevin, Mike McEwen and Stefan Persson; centers Bryan Trottier (Hall of Fame), Butch Goring and Wayne Merrick; right wings Mike Bossy (Hall of Fame), Bobby Nystrom, Duane Sutter and Anders Kallur; and left wing Clark Gillies (Hall of Fame). Center Brent Sutter, Duane's brother, won his 2nd Islander Cup. The team was coached by Al Arbour, and built by general manager Bill Torrey.

The Conn Smythe Trophy, for the Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs, went to Trottier in 1980, Goring in 1981, Bossy in 1982, and Smith in 1983.

For the Oilers, including Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey and Grant Fuhr, their "dynasty" had to wait 1 more year, when they stopped the Islanders' "Drive for Five" in the Finals.

Every time I've seen the New Jersey Devils play the Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum, I've seen a car in the parking lot, New York license plate 4STAN, in honor of those 4 Stanley Cups. But since that 1984 Finals, they've been 0-3 in Conference Finals.

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May 17, 1983 was a Tuesday. Basketball player Channing Frye was born.

The NBA Playoffs, and the 1st season of the United States Football League (USFL), were in progress, but no games were scheduled for either on this day.

These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Former Tiger Steve Kemp hit a home run in the top of the 11th inning, making Rich "Goose" Gossage a winning pitcher in relief of Jay Howell. Dave Winfield went 4-for-5 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres, 6-4 at Shea Stadium. Tom Seaver, in his brief return to the Mets, gained his 267th win. Darryl Strawberry, on his way to being named National League Rookie of the Year, hit a home run.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Tom Niedenfuer walked Bryan Little with the bases loaded, forcing Andre Dawson home with the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 4-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. George Brett went 0-for-4. Carl Yastrzemski, in his final season, did not play.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk. Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 and 5-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mike Boddicker pitched a 5-hit shutout in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Eddie Murray went 4-for-8 with 2 RBIs, and Cal Ripken went 3-for-7 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Mario Soto outpitched John Candelaria. Johnny Bench, in his final season, went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 9-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Paul Molitor was injured, and did not play.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and 2 stolen bases.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 8-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Jim Sundberg singled Larry Parrish home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* And the California Angels beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Rod Carew went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk.