May 27, 1964: F.C. Internazionale Milano, a.k.a. Inter Milan, defeat Real Madrid 3-1 at the Praterstadion in Vienna, Austria, and win the European Cup for the first time.
The Nerazzurri (Black & Blues), also known as La Grande Inter, were managed by Italo-Argentine Helenio Herrera. They were led by 2 goals from midfielder Sandro Mazzola, possibly the best player in club history, and the son of Valentino Mazzola, one of the leaders of the great Torino team that was killed in the Superga air disaster of 1949.
Inter succeeded their intra-city rivals, AC Milan, as Champions of Europe. Milan had won the 1963 edition with a tight defense, but Inter's was even better. The style became known as "catenaccio," meaning "padlock." With Giuliani Sarti in goal, Tarcisio Burgnich at right back, Giacinto Facchetti at left back, Carl Tragnin as a defensive midfielder, Aristide Guarneri at centerback, and Armando Picchi as sweeper and Captain, it might have been the best defense the world had ever seen to that point.
The offense was also sensational. Mazzola was in central midfield, along with Spaniard Luis Suárez. No relation to the later Uruguayan star known for his diving and his biting of opponents, this one had previously starred for FC Barcelona. They were bracketed by Brazilian right wing Jair da Costa and Italian left wing Mario Corso, who was nicknamed "Mandrake the Magician" and "God's Left Foot." Up top was forward Aurelio Milani.
May 27, 1965, 1 year later to the day: Inter won the European Cup Final on home soil, at the San Siro in Milan, defeating S.L. Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal 1-0. Brazilian star Jair da Costa scored the only goal, despite Benfica having the great Mozambican player Eusébio.
They won Serie A, the Italian national league, again in 1966, and again in 1971. But they then went into a terrible decline, made all the worse by the glories of their San Siro housemates and the team both of them loved to hate, Turin's Juventus. Inter would only win 2 of the next 24 Serie A titles, in 1980 and 1989, and that 1980 title was largely seen as aided by a scandal that got AC Milan temporarily relegated to Serie B. Inter had won the Coppa Italia, Italy's version of the FA Cup, in 1939, but they didn't win it again, not even in their Grande Inter years, until 1978, then again in 1982, and then not again for another 23 years.
They reached the European Cup Final again in 1967, but were unable to make it 3 out of 4 titles, as they lost to Glasgow Celtic. They made it again in 1972, but lost to AFC Ajax of Amsterdam, the stodginess of Catenaccio defeated by the creativity and joy of Total Football. They won the UEFA Cup, European soccer's secondary tournament, in 1991, 1994 and 1998, but it wasn't the same thing.
AC Milan fans, Juventus fans, fans of pretty much every club in Italy, including those who, themselves, never or rarely won began to taunt them with a chant: "Non vincerai mai!" (You never win.) It would take the arrival of Jose Mourinho before they once again won the Coppa Italia in 2005, won 5 straight Serie A titles starting in 2006, and won the rebranded European Cup, the UEFA Champions League, as part of the first-ever "European Treble" won by an Italian team, in 2010.
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May 27, 1964 was a Wednesday. Talk show host Adam Carolla was born.
These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. Al Downing went the distance for the win. Roger Maris and Clete Boyer hit home runs. Mickey Mantle was rested, since it was a day game after a night game.
* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-8 at Fenway Park in Boston. Dick Phillips singled Jim King home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. The Senators got home runs from former Yankee Bill "Moose" Skowron and Chuck Hinton. Dick Stuart hit 2 home runs, and "Dr. Strangeglove" did not make an error at 1st base. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Al Kaline hit a home run. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-5.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Art Mahaffey pitched a 4-hit shutout. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-4.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Joe Nuxhall pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Sandy Koufax. Frank Robinson went 0-for-1 with 2 walks. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Houston Colt .45s, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Fischer pitched a 4-hit shutout. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3. The Colts became the Houston Astros the next year.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Juan Marichal allowed 7 hits, but no walks, and struck out 11, outpitching Bob Gibson. Willie Mays went 0-for-3. Willie McCovey went 0-for-4. Duke Snider, running out the string with, of all teams, the Giants, hit his 405th career home run. He would hit just 2 more.
* A doubleheader was split at Dodger Stadium, where the Los Angeles Angels were groundsharing with the Dodgers until their Anaheim stadium could open. The Angels won the opener, 4-1. The Minnesota Twins won the nightcap, 4-3. Don Mincher won it with a home run in the top of the 13th inning. Over the 2 games, Harmon Killebrew went 3-for-8 with a solo home run.
* And the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Athletics were rained out at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 13. The ChiSox won the opener, 8-6. The A's won the nightcap, 8-7. Wayne Causey singled Dick Green home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.
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