May 19, 1984: The Edmonton Oilers win their 1st Stanley Cup. They beat the New York Islanders, 5-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Wayne Gretzky, the biggest star in the game at the time, already with several scoring records under his belt, scores 2 goals.
The Islanders, winners of the last 4 Stanley Cups, had swept the Oilers in 4 straight the season before. This time, in their "Drive for Five," an attempt to match the 1956-60 Montreal Canadiens for the most consecutive Cups, they won Game 2, 6-1. But the Oilers won the other games: 1-0, 7-2, 7-2 and 5-2.
It was the 1st Cup won by a team west of Chicago since the 1925 Victoria Cougars. Centers Gretzky and Mark Messier, right wings Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson, defensemen Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe, goaltender Grant Fuhr, and head coach and general manager Glen Sather would all be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Defenseman Lee Fogolin Jr., who was also with the Oilers to win the Cup the next year, was the son of Lee Fogolin Sr., a defenseman who was a member of the Detroit Red Wings when they won the Cup in 1950.
This began a string of 5 Cups in a span of 7 years for the Oilers. They won the Cup again in 1985, beating the Philadelphia Flyers; missed the Finals in 1986; and beat the Flyers in the Finals again in 1987. Coffey was traded, but they won again in 1988, beating the Boston Bruins in the Finals. Gretzky engineered his trade to the Los Angeles Kings, and Andy Moog replaced Fuhr as the starting goalie. They missed the Finals in 1989, and won the Cup again in 1990, again over the Bruins, with Sather still the general manager, but he had hired John Muckler to succeed him as head coach.
It was a great time for hockey in Alberta: In 1986 and 1989, the years in that stretch that the Oilers did not win the NHL Clarence Campbell Conference (forerunner of the Western Conference), the Conference was won by the Calgary Flames, their Provincial arch-rivals. The Flames lost the Finals to the Montreal Canadiens in 1986, then beat the Canadiens in 1989.
The Oilers would not reach the Finals again until 2006, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes. Through the 2021-22 season, they have not won the Cup since 1990.
UPDATE: Led by Connor McDavid, the Oilers won the Western Conference title in 2024 and 2025, but lost the Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers both times.
On September 7, 2022, the Oilers announced the establishment of their own club Hall of Fame. From their WHA years, they have honored defenseman Al Hamilton, retiring his Number 3.
From their 1980s dynasty, they have honored defenseman Kevin Lowe, retiring Number 4; defenseman Paul Coffey, retiring Number 7; right wing Glenn Anderson, retiring Number 9; center Mark Messier, retiring Number 11; right wing Jari Kurri, retiring Number 17; goaltender Grant Fuhr, retiring Number 31; and, of course, center Wayne Gretzky, retiring Number 99.
They also honored defenseman Lee Fogolin, though not retiring his Number 2; center Craig MacTavish, though not retiring his Number 14; defenseman Randy Gregg, though not retiring his Number 21; defenseman Charlie Huddy, though not retiring his Number 22; head coach Glen Sather, although they have not retired the Number 6 he wore as a player for them in their WHA years; and broadcaster Rod Phillips, with a banner bearing the number of games he announced for them: 3,542.
From the 1990s, they have honored center Doug Weight, though they have not retired his Number 39. From their 2006 Stanley Cup Finalists, they have honored left wing Ryan Smyth, though they have not retired either of the numbers he wore, 10 and 94.
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May 19, 1984 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 4-0 at Yankee Stadium. Geoff Zahn allowed 9 hits, but completed the shutout, outpitching Phil Niekro. Dave Winfield got 1 of those 9 hits. Don Mattingly did not. For the Angels, Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk, and Rod Carew did not play.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 8-3 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Mets led 3-0 going into the bottom of the 6th, and blew it. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dave Henderson hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning. Unlike the one he would hit in Shea Stadium 2 1/2 years later, this one didn't just look like it would win the game, it actually did. For the O's, Eddie Murray went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and 2 RBIs, while Cal Ripken went 1-for-5.
* The Atlanta Braves were leading the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, when the game was stopped due to rain in the 7th inning. It was not resumed, and the Braves were the winners.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Tom Seaver went the distance, but lost. In contrast, it took 4 Jays pitchers to pitch a 3-hit shutout -- in the 1st Reagan term. Jim Gott went the 1st 6 2/3rds, Roy Lee Jackson got the last out in the 7th and the 1st 2 in the 8th, Bryan Clark got the last out in the 8th, and Dennis Lamp pitched the 9th. The only run came from a Dave Collins RBI single in the 3rd.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jaime Cocanower pitched 7 innings of 1-hit shutout ball, while Rollie Fingers allowed 2 hits over the last 2. Robin Yount went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Paul Molitor did not play.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Pete Rose, in his brief tenure with the Expos, went 1-for-4.
* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI.
This was the 2nd of the 3 seasons of the United States Football League (USFL), and 3 games were played in it that day:
* The Philadelphia Stars beat the Jacksonville Bulls, 45-12 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Arizona Wranglers beat the Denver Gold, 41-6 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.
* And the Oakland Invaders beat the Memphis Showboats, 29-14 at the Oakland Coliseum.
There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-100 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA. This gave the Celtics a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. They won the series in 5 games, and then beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the title.
And in English soccer, the FA Cup Final was held, at the old Wembley Stadium in West London. Everton FC, of Liverpool, beat Watford FC, of Hertfordshire in the London suburbs, 2-0.
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