May 17, 1997: West London club Chelsea win the FA Cup, defeating Middlesbrough 2-0 at the old Wembley Stadium in London.
It was only the 5th major honor in their 92-year history, following the 1955 League title, the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup. They had won just those 4 in their 1st 91 years of play. This was before a Russian politician and energy tycoon bought the team, and a few English referees.
Roberto Di Matteo scored a screamer in the game's 1st 45 seconds. He would help Chelsea win the Cup again in 2000, and manage them to the Cup, and the UEFA Champions League, in 2012.
Ruud Gullit, the Dutch genius who had played for Chelsea, became the 1st manager from outside the British Isles to win a major British trophy, beating Arsène Wenger to it by a year. Chelsea Captain Dennis Wise, only 5-foot-6, received the Cup from Katharine, Duchess of Kent.
Middlesbrough, of North Yorkshire, and managed by former Manchester United Captain Bryan Robson (who played 1 game for Boro that season), had reached the Final of both domestic cups that season, but lost both, and finished 19th out of 20 teams in the Premier League, and thus were relegated.
It might have been the most frustrating season any English soccer team has had in the Premier League era. The 2004 League Cup remains the only major trophy -- if you can call the League Cup a "major trophy" -- in the Teesside club's history.
Known as the "Smoggies" for the dark clouds that seem to hover over their city, Middlesbrough was the hometown of 2 of England's greatest strikers of the post-World War II era: Don Revie, who would go on to FA Cup glory with Manchester City before managing Leeds United to bigger things; and Brian Clough, who also went into management with great success after a knee injury with Sunderland cut short his playing career. From 1903 until this 1996-97 season, they played at Ayresome Park, which served as one of the venues for the 1966 World Cup. They would begin the next season in the 2nd division, but also in a new home, the Riverside Stadium.
The Steve Vickers who played for Middlesbrough in this game is not related to the former New York Ranger hockey player of the same name.
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May 17, 1997, like all FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. There was 1 game played in the NBA Playoffs: The Houston Rockets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 96-91.
There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Detroit Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 11-5 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Ramiro Mendoza, usually a reliever, started, pitched 5 innings, and won. Tino Martinez and Paul O'Neill hit home runs. Derek Jeter batted 7th, and went 0-for-5 with a walk.
* The New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-1 at Shea Stadium. Bobby Jones was the winning pitcher. Carlos Baerga went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 8-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-6 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 8-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.
* The Florida Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4. Shawon Dunston had 3 of the Cubs' 7 hits. Sammy Sosa had none of them.
The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-2 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Tom Gordon, usually a reliever, pitches a 4-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rickey Henderson, in his only season with the Angels, did not play.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-6 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).
* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Cal Ripken Jr. went 0-for-4 with a walk. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Alex Rodriguez hit a home run.
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