July 27, 1993: The Death of Reggie Lewis

July 27, 1993: Reggie Lewis dies of a heart attack during an off-season basketball practice at Brandeis University in the Boston suburb of Waltham, Massachusetts. He was 27 years old, and had collapsed on the court during a Boston Celtics playoff game 3 months earlier, but defied doctors' recommendations that he retire from the sport.

Reginald C. Lewis was born on November 21, 1965 in Baltimore. where he played at Dunbar High School with future NBA players Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues and David Wingate as teammates. Over his junior and senior years, they went 60-0, and were ranked Number 1 in the country by USA Today in 1983.

The guard went to Northeastern University in Boston, and remains the school's all-time leading basketball scorer. The Celtics drafted him in the 1st Round of the 1987 NBA Draft, and he was named to the 1992 All-Star Game.

The Celtics made his Number 35 the last number they retired before moving from the Boston Garden next-door to what's now named the TD Garden. Northeastern also retired his Number 35.

His rookie season was 1987-88, which would have been Len Bias' 2nd season had he not died from drugs. Let's be clear about something: Having a still-living Bias and Lewis wouldn't have changed much. He would not have started ahead of Kevin McHale in 1987, and his coming off the bench as a rookie wouldn't have made a difference against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

After that, the Celtics got old. Having Bias and Lewis together wouldn't have helped much, with the Eastern Conference being taken over first by the Isiah Thomas-led Detroit Pistons, then by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. Throw in such teams as the Patrick Ewing-led New York Knicks, the Brad Daugherty-led Cleveland Cavaliers, the Shaquille O'Neal-led Orlando Magic, and the Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers, and they could have played until 2003, when Bias would have been 40 and Lewis 37, and they still might not have gotten back to the Finals.

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July 27, 1993 was a Tuesday. Golfer Jordan Spieth was born. But then, golf is not a sport. Baseball is, and these games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Jim Abbot went 8 innings for the win, and was supported by a home run from Danny Tartabull. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. Jeff Kent hit 2 home runs in support of Dwight Gooden. But after the game, in the Mets' locker room, Bret Saberhagen, once a star pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, but now with the New York Mets, fired a water gun full of bleach at a highly critical sports columnist, Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger, giving a new meaning to the term "bleacher bum."

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Dave Hollins hit a home run, and John Kruk went 5-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Paul Molitor hit a home run for the Jays, while Cal Ripken and Harold Baines hit them for the O's.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-6 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-4 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-0 at Wrigley field in Chicago. Yes, both Chicago teams were at home on the same day. Andy Benes pitched a 5-hit shutout. Phil Clark hit a home run for the Padres, and Tony Gwynn went 5-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals, 1-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Kenny Rogers nearly pitched a 9-hit shutout, but needed Tom Henke to get the last out for him. The only run came in the 7th inning, on a home run by Rafael Palmeiro. Whether he had begun using steroids by then is as yet unknown.

* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-5 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 10-5 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The California Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 15-8 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Tim Salmon hit 2 home runs for the Halos, while he and Chad Curtis each had 4 RBIs. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI for the A's.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-8 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam.