Eusébio (left) and Mario Coluna
May 1, 1962: Sport Lisboa e Benfica, of Lisbon, Portugal, defeats Real Madrid, 5-3, to successfully defend the European Cup, at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Since the tournament began in 1955-56, Real Madrid (1956-60) and Benfica (1961-62) are the only clubs to have won it, a pattern that will be broken the next season by Italy's AC Milan.
Ferenc Puskás, the Hungarian "Galloping Major," and possibly the best player in the world for the last 10 years, scored a hat trick for Madrid, giving them a 3-2 lead. But a pair of geniuses from Portuguese East Africa, now Mozambique, are the heroes: Mario Coluna, a.k.a. O Monstro Sagrado (the Sacred Monster – what a great nickname!), ties the game; and Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (known universally by just his first name) scores 2 goals in 3 minutes to win it.
Béla Guttmann, Puskás' fellow Hungarian, managed Benfica to both of those European Cup wins. He rarely stayed at a club longer than two seasons, and was quoted as saying, "The third season is fatal."
After the 1962 title, he asked for a raise, didn't get it, and quit. Supposedly, he then said, "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European Champions again."
there is no documentary evidence on Guttmann saying anything related to a curse and that the first mention of such was in May 1988, by newspaper Gazeta dos Desportos, on the day of the 1988 European Cup Final, which Benfica lost to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven.
Supposedly, before the 1990 European Cup Final, played in Vienna, where Guttman had died in 1981, Eusébio reportedly prayed at Guttmann's grave, and asked for the curse to be broken. It didn't work: Benfica lost to AC Milan. In 2011, Eusébio gave an interview in which he said the story of Guttmann placing a curse on the team was a lie.
Not in 100 years? Through the 2012-22 season, 60 years, he remains right: Between the Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League, they have lost their last 8 finals in European competition. Nevertheless, a statue of him now stands outside Benfica's Estádio da Luz (Stadium of Light).
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May 1, 1962 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Bill Stafford was the winning pitcher. Elston Howard hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3 with 2 walks. Roger Maris went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Yogi Berra did not play.
* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 8-2 at the Polo Grounds. Joey Jay not only went the distance for the win, but helped his own cause with a home run. Frank Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk.
* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3.
* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Camilo Pascual, who had perhaps the best curveball in the American League while Sandy Koufax had the best one in the National League, not only went the distance for the win, but helped his own cause with a home run. Harmon Killebrew did not play. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 6-4 at the first Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 3-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Vic Wertz singled Jake Wood and Al Kaline home in the top of the 10th inning. Jerry Lumpe -- a former Yankee described by manager Casey Stengel as, "He looks like the greatest player in the world, until you play him" -- hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th, but the A's couldn't find another run. Kaline had homered earlier in the game. Jim Bunning went all 10 innings for the win.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Cubs tied the game in the 8th inning. There was no further scoring until the 15th, when both teams scored 2 runs. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially
the leadoff variety. Daryl Spencer led off the bottom of the 16th with a walk, and was singled to 2nd base by Willie Davis. They were both bunted over by former Yankee 3rd baseman Andy Carey, and Doug Camilli (son of former Brooklyn Dodger All-Star Dolph Camilli) singled Spencer home to win it.
Duke Snider went 1-for-6 with 2 walks. For the Cubs, Ernie Banks went 0-for-7, while George Altman went 4-for-7 with an RBI.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Orlando Cepeda hit a home run. Willie Mays went 1-for-3 with a walk. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4.
* And the Milwaukee Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies were supposed to play at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, but, according to Baseball-Reference.com, despite it being May, the game was postponed due to cold. It was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 20. The Braves won the opener, 7-5. The Phils won the nightcap, 3-2. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 3-for-9 with a solo home run.
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