June 9, 1985: After 8 losses to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers finally beat them.
The teams had first met in the NBA Finals in 1959, when the Lakers were still in Minneapolis. The Celtics won, and beat them again in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969. The Lakers finally won an NBA Championship in Los Angeles in 1972, but it was against the New York Knicks. They won again in 1980 and 1982, in each case against the Philadelphia 76ers. They played the Celtics in the Finals again in 1984, but lost.
That 1984 Finals was the 1st between Larry Bird, who had led the Celtics to the 1981 title over the Houston Rockets; and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who had starred as a rookie in the 1980 Finals and again in 1982. They had played each other in the 1979 NCAA Tournament Final, with Johnson's Michigan State beating Bird's Indiana State.
Game 5 of the '84 Finals was a classic example of New England teams' cheating: The Celtics turned off the air conditioning in the visiting team's locker room at the Boston Garden. It was 97 degrees inside the old barn, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 37 years old, was seen on the bench, taking in air from an oxygen tank. Referee Hugh Evans got dehydrated, and fainted in the 1st half, and had to be replaced by reserve referee John Vanak. The Celtics won, 121-103.
The Celtics took Game 7 at home, 111-102. Actor Jack Nicholson, a New Jersey native who kept his Yankee fandom after moving to Hollywood, but had long since switched his basketball allegiance from the Knicks to the Lakers, had gotten courtside season tickets at The Forum in Inglewood, and was at the Boston Garden for Game 7. During a TV timeout, the Celtic fans gave him a hard time, and --we may never know if he knew CBS had gone to a commercial, but Boston station WRKO hadn't, and broadcaster Johnny Most, the biggest Celtic fan of them all, saw this and made a federal case out of it -- Nicholson dropped his pants and mooned the crowd.
The 1985 Finals would be redemption for the Laker franchise, and for Kareem in particular. Not at first, though: Because the Celtics had a slightly better regular-season record, 63-19 to the Lakers' 62-20, the Celtics would have the home court for Games 1 and 2, and, if necessary, Games 6 and 7. And Game 1, on May 27, Memorial Day, was a 148-114 smackdown by the Celtics. It became known as the Memorial Day Massacre, and it seemed to be setting up yet another Celtic Finals win over the Lakers.
And yet, the series was nearly all Lakers the rest of the way. It was as if "The Luck of the Leprechaun" had been all used up in Game 1. The Lakers won Game 2 at the Boston Garden, 109-102. At The Forum, the Lakers took Game 3, 136-111. The Celtics won Game 4, barely, 107-105. In Game 5, Kareem scored 36, and the Lakers won, 120-111, so they needed to win only 1 of 2 in Boston.
Game 6 was tied at halftime, 55-55. But the Lakers outscored the Celtics in the 3rd quarter, 27-18. When it was over, the Lakers had won, 111-100. Only once before had the Celtics been eliminated from a Playoff series on the famed parquet floor of the Boston Garden, and that was by the 1973 New York Knicks. But this was in the Finals, and it would be the only time the Celtics ever lost a Finals-clinching game at the old barn.
Kareem scored 29 points in the clincher, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. He was 38 years old, and was still one of the top 3 players in the NBA, behind Magic and Bird. Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year.
To put that in perspective: At age 38:
* Tim Duncan won his 5th and last title, so he was at roughly the same level as Kareem.
* LeBron James was resting from games for "load management."
* Hakeem Olajuwon was entering his last season, and was clearly in decline.
* Shaquille O'Neal was at the same point as Olajuwon.
* Kobe Bryant retired.
* Johnson had been retired, for the last time, for 1 year.
* Julius "Dr. J" Erving had also been retired for 1 year.
* Bird had been retired for 2 years.
* Wilt Chamberlain had also been retired for 2 years.
* Jerry West had also been retired for 2 years.
* Oscar Robertson had also been retired for 2 years.
* Bill Russell had been retired for 3 years.
* Walt Frazier had been retired for 4 years.
* Michael Jordan had just come out of his 2nd retirement, to make a comeback with the Washington Wizards, which turned out to be ill-advised.
(UPDATE: At 38, Steph Curry was still playing well, but was in noticeable decline.)
The Celtics won the title in 1986, over the Houston Rockets, who beat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. In 1987, the Lakers got back to the Finals, and beat the Celtics in 6 games. Although they won Game 4 in Boston, they clinched in Game 6 at home in Inglewood. In 1988, they became the 1st team since the 1968-69 Celtics to repeat as NBA Champions. The Celtics have won only 1 title since, in 2008, at the TD Garden, which replaced the Boston Garden in 1995.
UPDATE: In 2022, the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Championship, beating the Celtics in the Finals, clinching in Game 5 at the TD Garden. In 2024, the Celtics won another title, beating the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
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June 9, 1985 was a Sunday. This was during the 3rd and final season of the United States Football League (USFL). Two games were played. The San Antonio Gunslingers beat the Los Angeles Express, 31-27 at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio. And the Denver Gold beat the Houston Gamblers, 16-13 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
The hockey season had ended on May 30, when the Edmonton Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 9-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Paul Molitor went 2-for- 2 with 2 walks. For the Yankees, Rickey Henderson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base. Dave Winfield went 1-for-5. Don Mattingly went 2-for-5.
* A doubleheader was split at Shea Stadium. The New York Mets won the opener, 6-1. Dwight Gooden outpitched Bob Forsch. The St. Louis Cardinals won the nightcap, 8-2.
* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Expos, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 12-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd pitched a 3-hit shutout, giving up 2 singles to Floyd Rayford and 1 to Cal Ripken. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4. Jim Rice hit a home run for the BoSox.
* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 10-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-3 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Ex-Yankee Graig Nettles hit a home run. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5. Pete Rose went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and got closer to the all-time hits record. Rose retired with 1,115 more hits, and, as of June 9, 2022, is still alive at age 81, while Gwynn died at age 54. On the other hand, Gwynn lived to see himself be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and was never banned from baseball.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants, 5-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Joe Niekro pitched a 2-hit shutout.
* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 1-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ron Romanick allowed 6 hits and a walk over 7 innings, and Donnie Moore allowed 2 hits an dno walks over the last 2 innings. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-2 with a walk. Rod Carew did not play. George Brett appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.
* And a doubleheader was split at the Oakland Coliseum. The Texas Rangers won the 1st game, 8-4. The Oakland Athletics won the 2nd game, 6-5.
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