December 16, 1899: Soccer Comes to Italy

Herbert Kilpin

December 16, 1899: The Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club is founded in Milan, Lombardy. Its founder is an expatriate Englishman, Herbert Kilpin. It is the 1st professional soccer team in Italy.

Kilpin, a 29-year-old native of Nottingham, had played for Notts Olympic, and went to Italy to work for a textile merchant linked with his employer in Nottingham. There, he joined Internazionale FC Torino. (Both teams were defunct by 1916.) He founded the Milan club, giving it the English Cross of St. George as its crest, and shirts of red and black stripes, giving it the nickname Il Rossoneri, the Red and Black. He said, "We will be a team of devils. Our colours will be red like fire and black like the fear we will invoke in our opponents." 

He led the team to Italian titles in 1901, 1907 and 1909, and married an Italian woman, before dying from the effects of alcoholism in 1916, only 46 years old. In 1908, a dispute led to some players leaving the team, and forming a new one, Internazionale Milano, or "Inter." They chose black and blue stripes, making them Il Nerazzurri, the Black and Blue. The existing team became Associazione Calcio Milan, or "A.C. Milan," or just "Milan."

Since 1926, A.C. Milan have played their home games at a stadium in the San Siro neighborhood, and it is called "The San Siro." Inter have played there since 1947. Ironically, its official name is Estadio Giuseppe Meazza, after an Inter player who helped Italy win the 1934 and 1938 World Cups. Although it is the most famous sports venue in the country, both teams have expressed interest in replacing it, with plans being suggested that they would collaborate, or build separate stadiums.

The San Siro, prior to an AC Milan match

in the UEFA Champions League

Through the 2021-22 season, A.C. Milan have won Italy's national league, Serie A, 19 times, including in said 2021-22 season; the Coppa Italia, Italy's version of the FA Cup, 5 times, most recently in 2003;  and the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 7 times, more than any team except Real Madrid: In 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007.

Inter have also won Serie A 19 times, and the Coppa Italia 8, including in 2021-22. Unlike A.C. Milan, they have won the League and Cup "Double," in 2006 and 2010. They have won the European Cup/Champions League 3 times, in 1964, 1965 and 2010 -- meaning that, in 2010, they won the only "European Treble" in Italian history. (UPDATE: In 2023, Inter won a 9th Coppa Italia; in 2024, a 20th Serie A title.)

Inter's badge

Both teams trail the 30 Serie A titles won by Turin-based Juventus Football Club, and their 14 Coppi Italia, althtough both have exceeded Juve's 2 Champions League titles, of 1985 and 1996. (UPDATE: Juve won a 15th Coppa Italia in 2024.)

Calendar year 1899 was a great year for soccer, as, in addition to A.C. Milan, several other legendary clubs were founded:

* January 8: SK Rapid Wien, in Vienna, Austria.

* March 8: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Victoria von 1899, the predecessor of Eintracht Frankfurt, in Frankfurt, Germany.

* May 3: Ferencvárosi Torna Club, commonly known as Ferencváros, in Budapest, Hungary.

* May 13: Esporte Clube Vitória, in Salvador, Brazil.

* May 14: Club Nacional de Football, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

* May 27: Rangers Football Club, in Glasgow, Scotland.

* August 31: Olympique de Marseille in Marseille, France.

* November 29: FC Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain.

*

December 16, 1899 was a Saturday. Actor and playwright Noël Coward was born.

In North America, baseball and football were out of season, basketball barely existed, and hockey was still all-amateur. In England, the soccer team I would one day support, then known as Woolwich Arsenal, Burton Swifts of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to a 1-1 draw at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, South-East London.

September 19, 1926: The San Siro Opens

September 19, 1926: Nuovo Stadio Calcistico San Siro -- San Siro New Football Stadium -- opens in the San Siro section of Milan, Italy, about 3 miles west of the center of town. Unlike most sports stadiums in Europe at the time, it was designed specifically for soccer -- known in Italy as "calcio," not a variation of "football" -- without a running track.

The 1st match is a Milan Derby -- or Derby della Madonnina, as Milan is known as "The Madonna's City" -- and Internazionale Milano defeats Associazione Calcio Milan, 6-3. A full house of 35,000 attends.

A.C. Milan, known as simply Milan for short, and as the Rossoneri for their shirts of red and black stripes, have played their home games there ever since. Inter Milan, or just Inter, known as the Nerazzurri for their shirts of black and blue stripes, began playing home games there in 1947.

Expansions were undertaken in 1935 and 1955. In 1987, a renovation began to prepare the stadium for the 1990 World Cup. A minor renovation was undertaken in 2015-16. Current capacity is 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy, as well as the most famous.

The stadium hosted 3 games of the 1934 World Cup, which Italy won, as they did in France in 1938, in large part due to Giuseppe Meazza, the Milan-born Inter striker. He died in 1979. The following year, the stadium was officially renamed Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. But it is still called "The San Siro" around the world, and it has surpassed the Duomo as Milan's most famous building.

Since moving in, both Milan teams have been remarkably successful. AC Milan have won 19 league titles, 16 of them in Italy's Serie A since moving in: 1951, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1968, 1979, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2022. They have won the Coppa Italia 5 times: 1967, 1972, 1973, 1977 and 2003 -- although they've never won "The Double," the league and the cup in the same season. They've won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League 7 times, 2nd only to Real Madrid: 1963, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003 and 2007.

Inter have also won 19 titles, with both Milan teams tied for 2nd among Italian teams behind Juventus. They've won 14 since moving into the San Siro: 1953, 1954, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1980, 1989, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2021. They've won the Coppa Italia 8 times, 7 since moving in: 1978, 1982, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2022. (UPDATE: They won it again in 2023.) This means they've won 2 

Doubles, in 2006 and 2010. And they've won the European Cup/Champions League 3 times: Back-to-back titles in 1964 and 1965, and in 2010, making them the 1st, and still the only, Italian team to win a "European Treble."

The 1960s was the golden age of Italian soccer, with both Milan teams practicing "catenaccio," meaning "padlock," a supreme defensive strategy. Between them, Milan and "Il Grande Inter" won 4 European Cups, and Inter lost 1 other Final, in 7 seasons.

Milan's fans sit in the Curva Sud, the south end; Inter's in the Curva Nord, the north end. Unlike such other Italian rivalries as Roma-Lazio and Juventus-Torino, this rivalry tends to be mostly talk, and violence is rare.

The San Siro hosted 3 games of UEFA Euro 1980, 6 games of the 1990 World Cup, and 4 Finals of the European Cup: 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016.

By a coincidence that I, as a fan of theirs, have enjoyed, North London team Arsenal F.C. became the 1st British team to beat each of the hosts at the San Siro, both in Champions League play: Inter in 2003, and AC Milan in 2008.

In 2019, a plan to build a new 70,000-seat stadium next door, to be used by both teams, was put forward, intended to be ready for the 2022-23 season. As of September 19, 2022, construction has not yet begun.

UPDATE: It has been announced that the San Siro will also host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will be divided between Milan and 1956 hosts Cortina d'Ampezzo. In 2023, AC Milan announced plans for a separate stadium, next to their club headquarters in the city's southern suburbs. This would leave the new San Siro, if it is ever built, to be home to Inter only. As of the close of the 2023-24 season, construction had still not begun.

*

September 19, 1926 was a Sunday. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider was born. So was Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Babe Ruth went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs. Lou Gehrig went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Tris Speaker, also the Indians' manager, went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at the Polo Grounds. Bill Terry went 0-for-4. Frankie Frisch went 1-for-4. Rogers Hornsby, also the Cardinals' manager, went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.

The Cardinals went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series. After the season, each having worn out their welcome with team management, Frisch and Hornsby were traded for each other. Hornsby wore out his welcome with the Giants in only 1 year, and was traded again; Frisch became not just a bigger star in St. Louis, but the manager.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931) lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-4 at Ebbets Field. Paul Waner went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. He was a rookie then, and his brother Lloyd came up the next season. Zack Wheat only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Washington Senators, 8-7 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Walter Johnson only lasted 6 innings, although he was not the losing pitcher. The Senators scored 3 in the top of the 9th to bail him out. But in the bottom of the 9th, Ty Cobb, also the Tigers' manager, singled home Johnny Neun and Heinie Manush to win it.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Ken Williams hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, to score Gene Robertson with the winning run.

* Because professional sports on Sunday was still illegal in the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, the Boston Braves, who were at home, had the day off, having finished a home series with the Chicago Cubs the day before, and starting a new one with the Cincinnati Reds the next day.

* Likewise, the Philadelphia Phillies had finished one with the Cardinals on Saturday the 18th, and started one with the Pirates on Monday the 20th.

And the NFL season opened, with these 4 games:

* The Chicago Cardinals beat the Columbus Tigers, 14-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Milwaukee Badgers, 10-7 at Borchert Field in Milwaukee.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Panthers, 21-0 at City Stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

* And the Duluth Eskimos beat the Kansas City Cowboys, 7-0 at Athletic Park in Duluth, Minnesota.

August 8, 2012: Real Madrid Beats AC Milan at Yankee Stadium

August 8, 2012: Real Madrid beats AC Milan, 5-1 -- at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. I was there, part of a crowd of 49,474 that was also about 5 to 1 in Real's favor for this exhibition game, or "friendly." I took this photo from my seat behind the north goal in the upper deck -- left field in the Stadium's usual configuration.

Milan had won Italy's national league, Serie A, in 2011, but fell apart after that, into a long period of mediocrity that ended with another Serie A title last season. Real had been battling with FC Barcelona for supremacy in not just Spain's La Liga, but in the UEFA Champions League, for the preceding 20 years. Milan treated the game like a glorified friendly, which it was. Real treated it like a Champions League match in New York.

I took the photo above from my seat behind the north goal in the upper deck -- left field in The Stadium's usual configuration.

Ángel Di María of Argentina opened the scoring for Real in the 24th minute, and Brazilian star Robson de Souza, a.k.a. Robinho, equalized for Milan in the 33rd. The score remained level at halftime.

But Real came out for the 2nd half like a house afire, as Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese superstar who treats goalkeepers, the rules of soccer, women and tax collectors as toys to play with, scored in the 49th, and again in the 66th.

Cristiano, not even the greatest Ronaldo

to play for Real Madrid in the 21st Century.

Chased here by Alessandro Nesta and Daniele Bonera.

(Contrast this with the other contender for the title of greatest player of this generation: When I saw Lionel Messi live, for Argentina at the Meadowlands, a rather ordinary U.S. defense totally shut him down. That 2011 match, in which Ángel Di María also played, ended in a 1-1 draw.)

Sergio Ramos, Real's Spanish Captain and a master of the "horror tackle" that would get him suspended if the rules applied to Real, scored in the 81st. And José Callejón, also from Spain, added the cherry on the sundae in the 89th.

The biggest cheers of the night were for Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, a.k.a. Kaká, who had helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup, was now with Real, and had previously starred for Milan (and would later return to them). The Real fans treated him like a special player (which he had once been), and the Milan fans treated him as a team legend (which he still was).

Real Madrid have won the Champions League 13 times. AC Milan, 7. The next closest team, Liverpool FC of England, have also won 7. Put them together, and that's 27 titles. That's as many titles as the New York Yankees have all by themselves.

*

August 8, 2012 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-8 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Curtis Granderson hit a home run. He and Robinson Canó each had 3 hits. Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira and Eric Chavez each had 2 hits. All this was in support of CC Sabathia.

* The New York Mets lost to the Miami Marlins, 13-0 at Citi Field. Three Marlin pitched tossed a 5-hit shutout, and Met starter Chris Young got knocked out of the box in the 5th inning. Giancarlo Stanton went 4-for-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs for the Marlins. And this wasn't the worst baseball beating of the night.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-9 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 12-6 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 7-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 15-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Marco Scutaro went 3-for-6 with 7 RBIs, including a grand slam. Ryan Vogelsong pitched 7 3-hit shutout innings, with 2 relievers completing the 4-hit shutout.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-0 at Petco Park in San Diego. Clayton Richard pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels, 9-8 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the O.co Coliseum).

May 24, 1995: Patrick Kluivert Saves Ajax

May 24, 1995: The UEFA Champions League Final is held at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in a rainy Vienna, Austria. A.C. Milan, the defending Champions, had done well the last few years with Dutch players, such as Marco van Basten, formerly of Amsterdam team AFC Ajax; Frank Rijkaard, and Ruud Gullit.

But this time, they were almost entirely Italian, including Captain Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta at centreback, Paolo Maldini at left back, and Roberto Donadoni in midfield. The only non-paesans were black Frenchman Marcel Desailly and Croatian Zvonimir Boban in midfield.

Perhaps their drift away from Dutch total football made it poetic justice that they would play Ajax in the Final. Aside from a pair of Nigerian forwards, starter Finidi George and backup Nwankwo Kanu, and Finnish midfielder Jari Litmanen, they were all Dutch, including a returned Rijkaard, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, centreback and Captain Danny Blind, twin brothers Frank de Boer at left back and Ronald de Boer at forward, Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids in midfield, and Marc Overmars at forward.

The game turned out to be less modern Dutch total football and more old Italian catenaccio: It was 0-0 until the 85th minute. It was a substitute, Patrick Kluivert of Ajax, who scored the game's only goal. Ajax were 1-0 winners, and claimed their 4th European Cup, after the 3 straight with Johan Cruijff in 1971, '72 and '73.

But as has so often happened, Ajax were able to build a great team, but not keep it together: van der Sar would later star for Manchester United; Kluivert, Rijkaard, the de Boer twins and Winston Bogarde for Barcelona; Davids for Juventus, Overmars and Kanu for Arsenal, George for Real Betis; and Seedorf, with some irony, for Milan. Ajax returned to the Champions League Final the next season, and the Semifinal the year after that, but lost to Juventus both times. They've only gotten as far as the Semifinals once since, in 2019.

*

May 24, 1995 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 3-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Jack McDowell blew a 1-0 lead as the Halos scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-0 at Shea Stadium. Pedro Astacio pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Tony Gwynn was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-5 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 14-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* A doubleheader was split at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox won the opener, 10-8. The Texas Rangers won the nightcap, 13-6.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-5 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. It looked like Mike Mussina would outpitch Dave Stewart, but the A's scored 2 runs in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to win it, making a winning pitcher out of Jim Corsi. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

Football was out of season. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 106-95 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

And there were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, both Eastern Conference Semifinals, within 7 miles of each other.. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden. And the New Jersey Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-1 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands. 

May 24, 1989: Totalvoetbaal + Catenaccio = Campeoni

Ruud Gullit raises the Cup

May 24, 1989: AC Milan defeat Steaua București, 4-0, to win the European Cup at Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. The Rossoneri's Dutch connection does the business against the champions of Romania, as Marco van Basten and the dreadlocked Surinamese, Ruud Gullit, each score twice.

Managed by Arrigo Sacchi, Milan would win the Cup again the next year -- and any Arsenal fan who thinks the Gunners would have beaten them if the Heysel ban hadn't been in effect is kidding himself. With van Basten, Gullit, and the other Dutch/Surinamese star, Frank Rijkaard; a defensive set of captain Franco Baresi, future captain Paolo Maldini, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta; and midfielders Roberto Donadoni and Carlo Ancelotti, the 1989 & '90 Milan team might just might have been the best club team in soccer history.

It was basically a combination of the Dutch idea of Totalvoetbaal, or "Total Football," in which positions became virtually meaningless, allowing for greater offensive creativity as shown by AFC Ajax of Amsterdam in the early 1970s; and the Italian defensive idea of Catenaccio, or "Padlock," a defense-first philosophy exemplified by AC Milan's rivals, Internazionale Milano, in the mid-1960s. So Totalvoetbaal plus Catenaccio equalled Campeoni di Europa: Champions of Europe.

AC Milan had previously combined a Catenaccio idea with a strong attack, and won the European Cup in 1963 and 1969, in the latter defeating Ajax, still on the rise by not quite there yet, still working out the kinks to become, along with the 1989 and '90 Milan squad, one of the best club teams of all time.

van Basten and Rijkaard had played together on Ajax's Eredivisie (Dutch league) winners of 1982, '83 and '85, while Gullit had played for their arch-rivals, Feyenoord of Rotterdam, winning that league in 1984. As with the Netherlands team that reached the 1974 World Cup Final, Sacchi had proven that Ajax and Feyenoord stars could work well together.

Speaking of Ancelotti, May 24 must be a good day for him: On that date in 2022, he managed Real Madrid to win the European Cup under the tournament's successor name, the UEFA Champions League. "Carletto," the man with the greatest-ever raised left eyebrow (Leonard Nimoy has the best on the right side), had previously managed Milan to the CL in 2003 and '07. His win tied Bob Paisley, Liverpool manager of 1977, '78 and '81, and Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid manager of 2016, '17 and '18, as the only men to manage 3 European Cup winners.

Two nights after this game, Liverpool would host Arsenal, with the title of England's Football League on the line. It was up for grabs then.

*

May 24, 1989 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played on the night. The Stanley Cup Finals were between Games 5 and 6. In Game 6, the Calgary Flames clinched, beating the Montreal Canadiens.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 11-4 at Yankee Stadium. Jim Abbott, later to be a good pickup for the Yankees, outpitched Richard Dotson, who the Yankees thought would be a good pickup for them, but wasn't. Lance Parrish and future Yankee Charles "Chili" Davis hit home runs for the Halos. Don Mattingly went 4-for-5 with a solo home run. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Dave Winfield missed the entire season with a back injury.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 3-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Ron Darling pitched 6 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and Rick Aguilera completed an 8-hit shutout, outpitching Bruce Hurst. Mark Carreon and Kevin McReynolds hit home runs. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Mike Boddicker outpitched Erik Hanson. Wade Boggs went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. For the M's, Rookie Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Glenn Wilson doubled home the winning runs in the top of the 14th inning. Barry Bonds went 0-for-6.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 10-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Four days later, the Jays played their last game at "The X," and moved into the SkyDome, later renamed the Rogers Centre.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Lou Whitaker singled Gary Pettis home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Jay Tibbs pitched 6 innings of 7-hit shutout ball, and Mark Williamson finished an 8-hit shutout. Mickey Tettleton hit a home run. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 0-for-4. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. George Brett did not play.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 3-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Eddie Murray went 0-for-3 for the Dodgers. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-4. Five 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, 1-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Kevin Gross pitched a 5-hit shutout.

May 22, 1963: The Triumph of "Catenaccio"

May 22, 1963: The European Cup Final, the championship game of European soccer, is held at the old Wembley Stadium in London. This was the 1st year that Wembley had its familiar roof going all the way around the stadium.

Benfica, of Lisbon, Portugal, had won the last 2 titles, and were back for an attempt at a 3rd. They are known as Os Encarnados for their red shirts, As Águias for the eagle on their crest, and O Glorioso for their "glorious" success. Tapping into Portugal's African colonies, Benfica were led by Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, the Mozambique-born striker known as the Black Pearl. His quick-strike ability meant that, to put it in baseball terms, Benfica were always in scoring position.

Their opponents were Associazione Calcio Milan. (The Italian word for "soccer" is "calcio," rather than any variation on the word "football," like it is in most countries.) Known as the Rossoneri for their red-and-black-striped uniforms, A.C. Milan had lost the European Cup Final to Real Madrid in 1958. The year before, Fiorentina, of Florence, had lost to Real Madrid. So Milan were aiming to become the 1st Italian team to win the Cup.

Their manager, Nereo Rocco, had a tight defensive style. So did the team with whom they shared a stadium, the San Siro: Internazionale Milano, known as the Nerazzurri, for their shirts of blue and white stripes. Managed by Helenio Herrera, an Argentine of Italian descent, they were also one of the era's best defensive teams. The style became known as "catenaccio," meaning "padlock."

Each team had a sensational attacker: Milan with forward Gianni Rivera, and "Inter" with midfielder Sandro Mazzola. But it was the defense that defined each team, with Milan captained by centre-halfback Cesare Maldini (whose son, Paolo Maldini, would later star for them); and Il Grande Inter by fullbacks Tarcisio Brugnich and Giacinto Facchetti, and their sweeper and Captain, Armando Picchi.

The Milan clubs had come to dominate Italian soccer to the point that Gianni Brera, the Milan-based sportswriter who dominated Italian soccer coverage for the latter half of the 20th Century, liked to say that the ideal football match would end 0-0. (Brera, knowing that it would be professional suicide to say he supported either team, and not the other, claimed to be a Genoa fan.)

With Benfica wearing all red, Milan wore their "change strip" of all white. Eusébio scored in the 19th minute. Given the nature of Milan's play, this would seem to have locked Benfica in to victory. It didn't: José Altafini, a Brazilian of Italian descent, tied the game in the 58th, and gave Milan the lead in the 69th. Benfica never recovered from this dual assault, and Milan held the 2-1 lead until the final whistle.

Inter went on to win the next 2 European Cups, and lost the Final in 1967 and 1972. AC Milan won the European Cup again in 1969. Between them, they spread the word of catenaccio worldwide. It would take until the late 1980s, when AC Milan brought in Dutch players, before either team became known for attack rather than defense. The European Cup was renamed the UEFA Champions League in 1992. Milan have won it 7 times, Inter 3.

*

May 22, 1963 was a Wednesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-7 at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers scored 7 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, oddly without a home run. Bill Stafford took a shutout into the top of the 8th, then fell apart: Between them, Stafford, Marshall Bridges and Ralph Terry allowed 6 runs. Terry gave up a home run to future Met Ed Charles in the 9th.

Mickey Mantle led off the bottom of the 11th against Bill Fischer. He hit a rocket high into the night in right field. No player had ever hit a fair ball completely out of Yankee Stadium. Mantle had come close twice in 1956, both times to right field. He and Frank Howard had both come close to left field. Yogi Berra jumped out of his seat, and, thinking this one was going out, yelled, "My God, that's it!"

It wasn't it. The ball smashed into the frieze atop the roof, maybe 6 inches from the top, and rebounded all the way back to the infield. The spot it hit was 374 feet from home plate. Somebody suggested at the time that, had there been no obstruction, it would have gone 620 feet. Mantle later called it the hardest ball he ever hit, and it was the closest anybody ever came to hitting a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. More importantly, it won the game, making a winning pitcher out of Steve Hamilton. I have a separate entry for this event.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Duke Snider hit a home run for the Mets against his former team. But Tommy Davis and Frank Howard hit home runs in support of Don Drysdale.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Steve Barber, proving that his arm was neither sore nor a little stiff (Ball Four reference), outpitched Jim Bunning. The Orioles' Brooks Robinson and the Tigers' Al Kaline, in his hometown, each went 1-for-3.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Washington Senators, 9-3 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (D.C. Stadium would be renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Angels led 6-0 going into the bottom of the 4th inning, and blew it. But in the top of the 11th inning, Gary Bell loaded the bases, and forced in the winning run by hitting Lee Thomas with a pitch. (Bell would later to be Barber's teammate on the 1969 Seattle Pilots, and a featured figure in Ball Four, since he roomed with the book's author, Jim Bouton.)

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Stan Musial, in his final season, went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBI. Ernie Banks only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. Lou Brock went 2-for-5 with a walk -- for the Cubs, as that epic trade had not yet been made. Ken Aspromonte singled Brock home with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Colt .45s, 4-3 at Colt Stadium in Houston. The Colts took a 3-0 lead into the top of the 9th, and blew it, capped by a pinch-hit 2-RBI single by Roberto Clemente. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* And the Milwaukee Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were postponed at Milwaukee County Stadium -- according to Baseball-Reference.com, due to cold weather. In late May. Anyway, it was rescheduled for July 29. The Braves won, 8-2. Warren Spahn went the distance for the win. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs -- just another day at the office. Home runs were also hit by the Braves' Lee Maye (not to be confused with future Reds and Orioles star Lee May), and by the Reds' Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson.

April 12, 2005: Fireworks at the San Siro

Marco Materazzi of Inter (left) and Rui Costa of AC Milan

April 12, 2005: The two main soccer teams from Milan, Italy face each other in a Quarterfinal tie of the UEFA Champions League. It becomes the most famous game in Italy's most famous sports rivalry.

Associazione Calcio Milan -- "Calcio" is the Italian name for the sport that Americans call "soccer," but most of the world calls "football" -- or AC Milan, or simply "Milan," were founded in 1899. With their red and black stripes, they are known in Italian as the Rossoneri.

Football Club Internazionale Milano, or Inter Milan, or simply "Inter," were founded in 1908, when some members left AC Milan in a dispute. With their black and blue stripes, they are known as the Nerazzurri. The rivalry between these teams is known as the Derby della Madonnina, after one of the symbols of the city of Milan, a statue of the Virgin Mary atop the city's cathedral, the Duomo.

AC Milan built a stadium in the San Siro neighborhood in 1926. They have played there ever since, except for 1941 to 1945, when Italian football was suspended due to World War II. They sold the stadium to the City of Milan in 1935. Inter have played there since 1947. In 1980, the stadium was renamed Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, after the Inter star who helped the Italy national team win the World Cup in 1934 and 1938. Despite this name, most people still call it "The San Siro." At 80,018, it is easily the largest stadium in Italy.

Through the 2021-22 season, AC Milan and have each won Italy's national league, Serie A, 19 times. Only Juventus, of Turin, with 36, have won it more times. As is frequently the case in various sports, "Juve," wearing white and black stripes, the Bianconeri, as the most successful team in their league, are the most-loved team, but also the most-hated, and there are more people who hate them. As intense as the Milan-Inter rivalry is, their fans will team up to oppose Juve.

In the 1960s, with both teams using a defensive style called "catenaccio" (meaning "padlock"), the Milan clubs not only dominated Italian football, but made their mark continent-wide: AC Milan won the European Cup, the tournament known since 1992 as the UEFA Champions League, in 1963 and 1969. Inter won it in 1964 and 1965, and were runners-up in 1967 and 1972.

AC Milan fans in the south end, the Curva Sud

But while Milan were able to have the occasional European breakthrough over the rest of the 20th Century, Inter found it difficult, though they did win the secondary European tournament, the UEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League), 3 times in the 1990s.

Internazionale Milano fans in the north end, the Curva Nord

In 2005, both teams reached the Quarterfinals of the Champions League. So both the "home leg" and the "away leg," for each team, would be held at the San Siro. Milan were the hosts for the 1st leg, and won, 2-0, on goals by Dutch centreback Jaap Stam and Ukrainian forward Andriy Shevchenko.

Six days later, the teams played the 2nd leg at the San Siro, in front of 82,734 fans. Inter needed to score 2 goals, without Milan scoring an "away goal," to send the game to extra time. Any goal by Milan, and even scoring 3 goals would not have helped Inter, as Milan would have won on "away goals."

The talent on the pitch was staggering. For Inter: Italian defender Marco Materazzi, Croatian defender Siniša Mihajlović, Argentine defender Javier Zanetti, Serbian midfielder Dejan Stanković, Argentine midfielders Juan Sebastián Verón and Esteban Cambiasso, and Italian forward Christian Vieri.

For Milan: Brazilian goalkeeper Dida, Italian defenders Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, Brazilian defender Cafu, Dutch defender Jaap Stam, Georgian defender Kakha Kaladze, Italian midfielders Andrea Pirlo (who had previously played for Inter) and Gennaro Gattuso, Brazilian midfielder Kaká, Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf, Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa, Argentine forward Hernán Crespo, and Ukrainian forward Andriy Shevchenko.

The game was fairly even for the 1st half-hour, but Shevchenko scored in the 30th minute. That made it 3-0 Milan on aggregate, and Inter were pretty much done, with the rest of the game a seeming formality. Not that they didn't try, but Dida put on a masterclass in goal; while Cafu, Nesta, Staam and Maldini were so tight in defense, it brought back memories of the catenaccio defense of both Milan teams of the 1960s.

But the individual match would not end benignly. In the 71st minute, Cambiasso thought he had scored an equalizer (for the game, though not for the tie), but the referee, Markus Merk of Germany, waved it off. He ruled that Julio Cruz, Inter's Argentine forward, had fouled Dida.

This was in front of the Curva Nord (North Stand), where Inter's most fervent fans stand (and rarely sit). Milan's equivalent are in the Curva Sud (South Stand). Those Inter fans began throwing flares onto the pitch. One hit Dida on the shoulder, then bounced up and off his head. He went down like a ton of bricks. When he got up, he held his shoulder, and walked off the field.

Merk called Captains Maldini and Zanetti over, and told them the game was abandoned and forfeited to the visiting team, since the home team could not control their fans and keep the pitch playable. Officially, the game ended 3-0 to Milan, and the tie 5-0 to Milan.

Zanetti and Veron, who had seen plenty of displays like this in their native Argentina -- in spite of it being a Spanish-speaking country on a mostly-Spanish-speaking continent, their largest ethnic group is Italians -- and assisted the firemen in removing the flares. A photographer took the famous photo above, of Materazzi and Rui Costa watching the smoke from the flares. It wasn't quite Pelé and Bobby Moore swapping shirts at the 1970 World Cup, but it was a sign that one of the roughest "derbies" in the sport could still have some sportsmanship, even at its worst moment to date.

UEFA fined Inter, and ordered them to play their next 4 European games behind closed doors: Everybody necessary for the operation of the stadium during the match would be admitted, but no fans.

It has been alleged that Dida was never the same since that incident, especially in light of losing the penalty phase of the Champions League Final to Liverpool. However, 2 years later, in 2007, Milan reversed that result, beating Liverpool in the Final, with Dida keeping a clean sheet until the 89th minute.

Milan won Serie A in 2011, then went into a down period. Although they won Serie A again in 2022, they have never again been to a CL Final. Inter won the CL in 2010, becoming the 1st Italian team to win a "European Treble": Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the Champions League. But they have never been back to the CL Final. (UPDATE: They got back in 2023, losing to Manchester City.)

In 2019, AC Milan announced plans for a new stadium, next-door to the San Siro, to be home to both teams. The plan fell through, as the city government intends to keep the stadium open through the 2026 Winter Olympics, at which point the oldest parts of the stadium will be 100 years old. The current plan is for a shared stadium, away from the San Siro area.

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April 12, 2005 was a Tuesday. There was 1 other Champions League Quarterfinal that day: Bayern Munich beat Chelsea, 3-2 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. However, Chelsea, of West London, won the tie on aggregate, 6-5. In the Semifinals, Liverpool beat Chelsea, and Milan beat Dutch team PSV Eindhoven. In the Final, Liverpool came from behind to beat Milan, a story worthy of its own entry.

The NHL team owners locked their players out, and Commissioner Gary Bettman canceled the entire 2004-05 season, so there were no games on this day.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta). Two days later, the Nationals, who had been the Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004, played their 1st home game in Washington.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 7-6 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-2 at Dolphins Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 13-8 at Ameriquest Field (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies, 4-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 9-8 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Giants led 8-5 going into the bottom of the 9th, but Armando Benitez melted down, as he so often did, until Milton Bradley singled home the winning run. Barry Bonds did not play for the Giants in this game.

* And the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum).

March 28, 1994: The Rise of Silvio Berlusconi

March 28, 1994: Media mogul Silvio Berlusconi leads his party, Forza Italia, to victory in the Italian parliamentary elections, making him the next Prime Minister.

He was born in Milan on September 29, 1936, while Benito Mussolini was Italy's Fascist dictator. He graduated from law school, and got a job singing on a cruise ship. He had a daughter and a son with his 1st wife, 2 daughters and a son with a mistress, and 2 daughters and a son with his 2nd wife.

Like Donald Trump, he was involved in construction and real estate before going into politics. Unlike Trump, he didn't need his father's money to make money: He actually was a good businessman. Also unlike Trump, he knew he was going bald, and didn't try to hide it.

He went into the media business, turning a small cable-TV network into the national network Canal 5 (pronounced "Can-AL SIN-kwa"). His fortune was aided by Bettino Craxi, leader of the Italian Socialist Party, Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, and the best man at Berlusconi's 2nd wedding.

From 1986 to 2017, Berlusconi owned A.C. Milan. One of the top soccer teams in Italy, and his favorite team, he made it one of the best in the world. Under his ownership, they won the UEFA Champions League (Europe's top club competition) 5 times, and Serie A (the Italian national league) 8 times, but the Coppa Italia (Italy's version of the FA Cup) only once. He also wrote the team's anthem with Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis.

His ownership of the Rossoneri -- named for their shirts of red and black stripes -- posed a problem for some fans. Milan traditionally have a left-of-center fanbase (as opposed to their fellow occupants of the San Siro Stadium, Internazionale Milano, or "Inter," whose fans tend more to the right), but while the fans loved him for building one of the greatest teams in the world, many of them despised him for his politics.

Because, as it so often is for such men, having unlimited money, any woman you want, and a measure of influence over your country is not enough. Silvio Berlusconi wanted power. He formed a conservative political party, Forza Italia -- meaning "Force" or "Strength" for Italy. Still thinking of himself as an entertainer, he wrote the party's anthem with opera director Renato Serio.

Representing the district of Lazio 1, in the national capital of Rome, he ran for the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the national legislature, because he had to have a seat in it in order to be Prime Minister, and led Forza Italia into the national election of March 27 and 28, 1994. He ran as a reform candidate, an anti-Communist candidate, and as a unifier for the Pentapartito, the 5 parties that had, between them, governed Italy on and off since the fall of Fascism and the end of World War II. His reform message went far in the wake of the 1992 Tangentopoli ("Bribe City") scandal. Hundreds of Italian political figures were arrested, and 12 are known to have committed suicide rather than face prison.

Forming what he called "the Pole of Freedoms," a coalition between Forza Italia, the Christian Democratic Centre, the National Alliance and the neo-Fascist Lega Nord (Northern League), and running countless campaign commercials on the networks he owned, Berlusconi's movement won 366 seats in the Chamber, enough for a majority, and enough to make him the Prime Minister, the most conservative head of government in Italy since... well, since Mussolini.

Berlusconi took office on May 11, 1994, and began his reforms quickly. But the scandal that had allowed him to take power soon enveloped him, too. Apparently, he had done the campaign-contribution version of placing bets on every horse. The self-righteous Lega Nord backed out, and on January 17, 1995, the Berlusconi government fell.

On March 6, a center-left coalition called The Olive Tree was founded, and it bided its time while the caretaker government straightened things out and called a new election for April 21, 1996. The Olive Tree won it, making Romano Prodi the Prime Minister. It was able to hold office for 5 years, until another election had to be called. By that point, Berlusconi had been able to shore up his support, and won the election of May 13, 2001, returning as Prime Minister.

Italian governments are like Italian soccer team managers: They rarely stay in power for very long. A full 5 years is an eternity, and in the ensuing 5 years, Berlusconi continued to anger pretty much anybody who wasn't, as we would say in America, a staunch conservative. On April 10, 2006, Italians went to the polls again. It was close, and Prodi claimed victory, his coalition having won 341 seats to Berlusconi's 281, although the Senate race was very close, Prodi leading 158-156.

Berlusconi never conceded, things remained a mess, and Prodi lost a vote of no confidence. He was replaced as leader of the center-left coalition by former Mayor Walter Veltroni of Rome. He couldn't match Berlusconi for message or charisma, and, on April 14, 2008, Berlusconi became Prime Minister for a 3rd time.

But the scandals piled up. Berlusconi was already the most-loved and the most-hated man in the country. Pier Luigi Bersani, a Cabinet minister under Prodi and Veltroni, built a new center-left coalition, Italy Common Good, and, on February 25, 2013, ended Berlusconi's last run for Prime Minister. He moved from the Chamber of Deputies to the Senate, where he was allowed to be Party Leader, but not Prime Minister.

Five months later, on August 1, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud, but his sentence was commuted to community service due to his age. He was expelled from the Senate, although managed to win a seat in the European Parliament in 2019. In 2017, he sold AC Milan. Italy is scheduled to hold an election on September 25, 2022, and Berlusconi is attempting to regain his Senate seat. He will be 4 days short of his 86th birthday.

UPDATE: The election was won by Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), a far-right coalition that includes Forza Italia and Lega Nord. In spite of its masculine-sounding name, its leader is a woman, Giorgia Meloni. On October 22, 2022, she was sworn in as the 1st female Prime Minister of Italy. She is one of many female leaders who has proven that electing women to run governments is no guarantee of progress: She has surpassed Berlusconi as the farthest-right Italian leader since Mussolini.

Berlusconi did win his Senate seat back. But he did not enjoy it for long: He died on June 12, 2023, of leukemia.

Electing a corrupt right-wing businessman as your head of government, just because he's very rich and charismatic, and panders to the people who like a show, including sports. How could a supposedly modern country be so stupid? Wait a minute…

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March 28, 1994 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA. The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-93 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Denver Nuggets, 111-97 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Florida Panthers, 5-4 at the Miami Arena.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Murray Craven scored the winning goal with 1:03 left in overtime.