May 25, 1989: Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Calgary Flames beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, and win the series by the same figure. It is the 1st Cup won by the franchise, which was the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1980. It remains their only Cup.
Coached by Terry Crisp, who'd won the Cup as a player with the 1974 and '75 Philadelphia Flyers, the Flames included 5 future members of the Hockey Hall of Fame: Captain Lanny McDonald, Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Joe Mullen and Al MacInnis; plus All-Stars Brad McCrimmon, Gary Roberts, Theoren Fleury, Gary Suter, Joel Otto and goaltender Mike Vernon.
It was the 1st and only Cup for McDonald, who was retiring, win or lose. Having previously starred with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he had only been to the Stanley Cup Finals once before, with the Flames in 1986, losing to the Canadiens.
His last year was his most rewarding: In addition to the Cup, he also notched his 500th goal and his 1,000th point. When the team gathered for the concluding surrounding-the-Cup photo, Lanny was right in the middle, and CBC announcer Brian MacFarlane, who'd broadcast so many games for the Leafs when Lanny was their biggest star, said, "You've done it, Lanny, you've done it!"
It would also be the only Cup for Gilmour, Fleury and MacInnis. Vernon would win 2 more with the Detroit Red Wings. Mullen would win 2 more with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nieuwendyk would become one of the few players to win the Cup with 3 different teams, also doing it with the 1999 Dallas Stars and the 2003 New Jersey Devils.
Gary Suter was also a member of those Cup-winning Flames. His brother Bob hadn't played in the NHL, but had been a member of the U.S. Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal in 1980.
This was the only time the Canadiens lost a Finals-clinching game at the Montreal Forum. But one other team won a Cup at the Forum: The New York Rangers, who eliminated the Montreal Maroons there in 1928. (The Maroons went out of business in 1938, victims of the Depression.)
Through the 2021-22 season, the Flames haven't won the Cup since: Their only Finals appearance has been in 2004, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 7 games, and lots of people believe that Cup was stolen.
UPDATE: The Flames have a team hall of fame, called "Forever a Flame." From the 1989 Cup winners, they have Lanny McDonald, whose Number 9 is retired; Mike Vernon, whose Number 30 is retired; Al MacInnis, whose Number 2 is not retired; Joe Nieuwendyk, whose Number 25 is not retired.
From their 2004 Cup Finalists, they have Jarome Iginla, whose Number 12 is retired; and Miikka Kiprusoff, whose Number 34 is retired.
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May 25, 1989 was a Thursday. Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in the Conference Finals, though no games were scheduled for this day. The Detroit Pistons would sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
And these games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 8-6 at Yankee Stadium. Don Mattingly, Jesse Barfield and Mike Pagliarulo hit home runs for the Yankees, making Dale Mohorcic a winning pitcher in relief of Tommy John. Having just turned 46, John was released 5 days later, and this was his 760th and last major league appearance. He retired with a record of 288-231. He won 124 games before the surgery that now bore his name, and 164 after it. Bill Schroeder hit 2 home runs for the Angels.
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Ed Whitson outpitched David Cone. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Mike Smithson allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout. Despite the high score, the Sox hit no home runs, but Mike Greenwell went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs. Wade Boggs went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and an RBI. For the M's, Rookie Ken Griffey Jr. went 3-for-4.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Paul Molitor went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-6 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4. Four days later, frustrated at batting only .203 at age 38, the greatest 3rd baseman of all time retired, with 548 home runs, 10 Gold Gloves, and 3 National League Most Valuable Player awards.
* And the Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Dennis MartÃnez got into a little trouble in the 9th inning, and needed Tim Burke to get the last out of a 5-hit shutout.
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