December 18, 2022: The Crowning of Lionel Messi

December 18, 2022: A controversial World Cup comes to an end with a classic Final, won by Argentina, lifting its biggest star, Lionel Messi, into a legitimate place in the discussion for the title of the greatest player in the history of soccer.

The tournament never should have been given to Qatar. We all know that this country -- bigoted toward women, Jews and gays -- never should have been considered, let alone given the tournament. But the country's royal family guaranteed FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, its most profitable World Cup ever, and got it. As with Russia 2018, it was a bribe.

Throw in the moving of the tournament from late Spring and early Summer to late Autumn, due to the intense Middle East heat, the fact that the construction of these stadiums was a reminder of the plight of migrant labor, and even a reminder that there are places in this world where slavery still exists, and it was, clearly, the worst World Cup ever, from an administrative standpoint, surpassing the ones hosted by fascist governments in Italy in 1934, Argentina in 1978, and Russia in 2018.

The time zone differences were a minor issue. Certainly, it was more workable than in 2002, when Japan and South Korea teamed to hold it. If Australia -- with or without New Zealand stepping in as co-hosts -- want to host it in 2030 or beyond, that will have to be dealt with. The tournament has to be convenient for the hosts, but the rest of the world's needs also need to be taken into consideration. (At least Australia is a free country, and, due to having held the Olympics in 2000, and having a thriving A-League, would have the infrastructure already in place.)

(UPDATE: In 2023, FIFA awarded the World Cup for 2030 to a joint effort by the neighboring nations of Spain, Portugal and Morocco, because it was Europe's "turn," and Morocco was a bone thrown to Africa, which lasted hosted in South Africa in 2010. And they awarded the 2034 edition to Saudi Arabia, for the same reason as in 2018 and 2022: Money.)

Fox broadcast the tournament in America. A defeat during the Group Stage doesn't necessarily mean disaster. Argentina were upset by Saudi Arabia. It ended up not mattering, any more than did the most embarrassing Group Stage loss ever, West Germany falling to political (if not footballing) arch-rival East Germany on West German soil in 1974.

The English love to remind the Americans of certain things. "It's called 'football,' not 'soccer.'" The English love to remind us that they invented the sport. They did not. They invented its organization, but even that was a co-invention with the Scots. They love to remind us that they've won the World Cup, and we haven't. Well, we've won 4 World Cups. When they hear that, They say the women's game doesn't count. Then that means that their women's team, which has been more successful recently than their men's team, gets insulted.

And England claiming superiority because they've won 1 of the 17 World Cups, and that 1 being 56 years ago, is like Toronto Maple Leafs fans claiming 13 Stanley Cups, when they haven't even made the Finals since 1967. At least the New York Yankees have won 7 of their 27 World Series since England '66 and Toronto '67, and that's still the most since then, as well as overall.

And when the game was played, the U.S. did not play well, and England controlled the game most of the way. And still, it ended 0-0. It had all the markings of a Premier League game where Arsenal dominate but still can't find a win. England were better, but couldn't prove it on the scoreboard.

It was better for England than the 2010 match in South Africa, which became a 1-1 draw thanks to Rob Green's "Hand of Clod" mishandling of a Clint Dempsey shot. That was reminiscent of an Arsenal failure to win because of a fluke goal that never should have happened. For the vast majority of English fans, who like to mock Arsenal, the shoe seems to go on the other foot every 4 years.

Throw in the biggest upset in World Cup history, America's 1950 win over England in Brazil, and the record is as follows: American wins, 1; draws, 2; England wins, exactly none. For all their braggadocio, England have never beaten America at the World Cup.

The draw with England was encouraging, but it followed a draw with England's neighbors, Wales. That was depressing: We led 1-0 after 80 minutes, but indiscipline took over, and we gave away a stupid penalty.

This put us in a position where we had to beat Iran, which had the world supporting them as their people finally seem to have taken the initiative in challenging their evil religious-fanatic government. We won, but it was a very sluggish 1-0, and we felt like the least deserving team in the last 16.

And then we had to play the Netherlands, one of the teams that always seems to grab the world's attention at the World Cup. Haji Wright's goal to pull us within 2-1 was quickly canceled out, and the Dutch won, 3-1.

After not making the tournament at all the time before, making the knockout stage this time was a success. But the Dutch showed us that the difference between Top 16 and Top 8 is big. Manager Gregg Berhalter earned the right to be the man to bridge that difference, but, bridge it, he must, if we are to go any further than this on home soil in 2026.

To go with superstar midfielder Christian Pulisic, we need an out-and-out scorer, and we need stronger defenders. And it's not like "club football," where we can just go out and buy them. They have to be trained. Maybe Berhalter can bring Arsène Wenger in as a consultant, to help them develop "the quality" and "the mental strength." Because, for now, as to either one, we can truthfully say, "I did not see it."

One person who will never get to see it is Grant Wahl, a journalist who did as much as anyone in the MLS era to spread knowledge of soccer through America. The 49-year-old native of the Kansas side of the Kansas City area, a Princeton graduate, wrote the 2002 Sports Illustrated cover story that introduced the world to a high school basketball star named LeBron James, and continued to write for SI on the subject of soccer, for which Fox Sports hired him as a studio analyst.

He was in the press box watching the Quarterfinal between Argentina and the Netherlands, which Argentina won on penalties (of course: When it comes to penalties, the Dutch are famously as useless as the English), when he collapsed in his seat. Despite his detainment by Qatari authorities after flouting their rules against political statements, and subsequent death threats, it was quickly determined that his claims of feeling unwell were due to an aortic aneurysm, which ruptured.

After showing Senegal the difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16, England had to face France, and were lucky to be level going into the 78th minute, when former Arsenal star Olivier Giroud scored for France.

In the 84th minute, the Three Lions were awarded a penalty, and, of course, it would be Harry Kane, golden boy for England and Tottenham Hotspur, who took it. But his former Tottenham teammate, France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, stopped him. After his giveaway performance in Russia 2018, and now this, any discussion of whether Kane, a known diver for penalties, is "world class" needs to end.

Of course, Kane wasn't the only choker. England haven't had a good defense in 30 years, and, once again, their attack tightened up after falling behind. For England, at least historically, the difference between Teams 1 through 4 and Teams 5 through 8 might be bigger than the U.S.'s difference between Teams 1 through 8 and Teams 9 through 16.

No team from the African continent had ever reached a World Cup Semifinal. The only Muslim-majority country to have done so was Turkey in 2002. But Morocco won Group F. Then, avenging their geopolitical defeat of the Middle Ages, they beat Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopping 3 penalties. "Bono" then played his club soccer in Spain, for Sevilla.

They faced Portugal in the Quarterfinal. Portugal were expected to play hard in what was to be the last World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo. But Morocco held them, and Bounou's Sevilla teammate Youssef En-Nesyri scored in the 42nd minute, and Morocco were through to the Semifinal.

Which meant that they would face their former colonial overlords, France, the defending Champions. The dream ended quickly, as France scored in the 5th minute, and Morocco never looked like scoring. France added a goal to make the final 2-0.

As Croatia had done in the previous tournament by reaching the Final and holding their own in it, Morocco had won the world's hearts, but someone else would win the World Cup. It would be between, France, Les Bleus, and Argentina, La Albiceleste (the Sky Blues), at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, in Lusail, outside the Qatari capital of Doha. 

Only once before had a player scored 3 goals -- known among hockey fans as a "hat trick," and the term has drifted to soccer -- in a World Cup Final. That was Geoff Hurst of England in 1966, and the 2nd of those goals remains controversial.

Kylian Mbappé was a big reason why France won in 2018. He stood to be an even bigger reason why France won in 2022, had they done so. For the 1st 80 minutes of the Final, France did practically nothing in attack. They couldn't: Argentina just controlled the ball the whole way. There was no doubt in my mind that Argentina were the better team.

That said, it was a very rough game. Argentina have been accused of dirty tactics by the world's English-language media since their performance in England in 1966, and this game was no exception. Eventually, the French began replying with their own roughhousing.

I watched the game at Jack Doyle's, a bar in Midtown Manhattan, supporting France but surrounded by Argentina fans. A few of them had been in America long enough to get the joke, adapted from comedian Rodney Dangerfield's line about going to a prizefight: "I went to the World Cup, and a hockey game broke out!" The fact that this bar was only 2 blocks from Madison Square Garden deepened the connection.

Argentina's 1st goal was a penalty, given after an obvious dive by Ángel Di María. No surprise there, because he's spent most of his career at teams where cheating is the norm: Real Madrid, Manchester United, and was then with Juventus. Of course, the penalty was taken by their premier player, Messi.

It would have been hard to say Argentina cheated their way to victory, though, had the subsequent score of 2-0 held up: In the 36th minute, they had a strong setup, leading to a very nice goal by Di María, totally legit. "Ballgame," I said at the time. "France are not coming back from this."

And, until the 80th minute, it looked like I was right. But Randal Kolo Mouani was brought down in the box. That gave France a penalty and a lifeline. Mbappé took it and scored, and France had a chance. Just 1 minute later, Mbappé scored brilliantly from open play. It was 2-2. Argentina had blown a game they had controlled for its 1st 87 percent. As the old English soccer saying goes, "Two-nil, and they fucked it up!"

The last 10 minutes were nervy. And, as usual, given the heat and the injury stoppages, there were 8 minutes of stoppage time, but neither team could find a 3rd goal. On to extra time.

In the 108th minute, Messi fired. The ball crossed the goal line, but was kicked out by a France player before it could reach the back of the next. VAR (Video-Aided Refereeing) showed that the goal was complete, and it was properly awarded. Argentina, again, had it won.

Except, again, they didn't. A handball in the box by Gonzalo Montiel meant another penalty for France. Mbappé took it, and it was 3-3. After 123 minutes -- 134 minutes, counting all the stoppage time -- referee Szymon Marciniak of Poland blew his whistle, and this insane game was not over yet. It went to penalties.

France won the toss, and elected to kick first, against Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, of Aston Villa of Birmingham, England -- and, formerly, of Arsenal. There was no question that Mbappé was going to take the 1st one for them, even if it wouldn't be credited as a record-breaking 4th goal in a Final. He made it. Likewise, there was no question that the 1st Argentine to shoot toward Lloris would be Messi. He made it.

But in the 2nd Round, Martínez stopped Kingsley Coman. Paulo Dybala made it 2-1 Argentina. And then, after having a great tournament for France, Real Madrid's Aurélien Tchouaméni missed the net completely, shooting wide left. Leandro Parades made it 3-1. Kolo Muani converted to keep France going, but Montiel, a right back for Sevilla in the club game, converted to give Argentina the 4-2 win, and their 3rd World Cup.

And to give Lionel Messi the World Cup that had previously been denied to him, as he'd been with Argentina as they lost to Germany in penalties at the 2006 Quarterfinals; were knocked out by Germany in regular time at the 2010 Quarterfinals; lost to Germany yet again, in extra time, in the 2014 Final; and were knocked out by France in the Round of 16 in 2018. Finally, the "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time) had removed the only doubt as to that title, by winning the biggest trophy of all, the one that had, until now, eluded him.

Pelé -- whose illness prevented his attendance at the World Cup for the 1st time since 1954, and who died before the month was out -- won 3 World Cups, was definitively the best player in the world longer than the debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has raged; and, unlike Messi and Cristiano, never had to cheat, or to benefit from his teammates' cheating.

But Messi and Argentina had the World Cup. Although I didn't like the result, it was a great way to end a very shady tournament.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 11th, citing the shadiness of the background, but also the upsets, and the atmosphere brought by the fans of the upsetting teams.

*

December 18, 2022 was a Sunday. As crazy as the World Cup Final was, in America, it was, beyond any doubt, the craziest weekend in NFL history, and I have a separate entry for that.

There were no college football bowl games. Baseball was out of season. There were 7 games in that NBA that day: 

* The New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 109-106 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The Brooklyn Nets beat the Detroit Pistons, 124-121 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 95-92 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors, 126-110 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Chicago Bulls, 150-126 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 119-115 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Wizards, 119-117 at the Crypto.com Arena.

And there were 5 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-1 at the United Center in Chicago. The Rangers pulled off the unusual feat of having 7 different scorers: Filip Chytil, Artemi Panarin, Kaapo Kakko, Jacob Trouba, Vincent Trochck, Vitali Kravtsov and Jonny Brodzinski.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

* And the Seattle Kraken beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg.

November 2, 1924: Death In South American Soccer

November 2, 1924: Uruguay, which recently won the Gold Medal in soccer at the Olympics in Paris, playing Argentina at home at Parque Central in Montevideo. The game ends in a 0-0 draw. That's good enough to clinch the South American Championship, the tournament now known as the Copa América, for Uruguay.

That night, a group of Argentine fans gathered at the door of the Colón Hotel, where the Argentina delegation were staying. The fans began to sing, and the players came out to salute them. A bit noisy, perhaps rude, for the locals at such an hour, but it shouldn't have been that big a deal.

It became one when a Uruguayan began a counterdemonstration, and, as had so often happened before in soccer fandom, and has since, the songs and the insults flew. Soon, also flying were fists and objects. Then came some shooting, and 3 men were wounded. One of them, Pedro Demby, a 26-year-old Montevideo bank clerk who had been punching Argentines, died.

He went down as the 1st man ever to die as a result of violence connected to South American soccer. He would not be the last, as fan groups, including Argentina's Barras bravas (meaning "fierce gangs") have attempted to show that, contrary to common sense, sports, especially soccer, can be war.

*

November 2, 1924 was a Sunday. These NFL games were played that day:

* The Frankford Yellow Jackets, of Northeast Philadelphia, beat the Buffalo Bisons, 24-0 at Bison Stadium in Buffalo.

* The Cleveland Bulldogs beat their fellow Ohioans, the Dayton Triangles, 35-0 at League Park in Cleveland.

* The Columbus Tigers beat their fellow Ohioans, the Akron Pros, 17-6 at Indianola Park in Columbus.

* The Chicago Bears and the Rock Island Independents, both of Illinois, played to a tie, 3-3 at Cubs Park in Chicago. (The stadium was renamed Wrigley Field 2 years later.)

* The Milwaukee Badgers beat the Chicago Cardinals, 17-8 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Green Bay Packers beat their fellow Wisconsans, the Racine Legion, 6-3 at Bellevue Park in Green Bay.

* The Duluth Kelleys beat their cross-State rivals, the Minneapolis Marines, 6-0 at Nicollet Park in Minneapolis.

* The Hammond Pros, from a city in Indiana just outside Chicago, beat the Kansas City Blues, 6-0 at Muehlebach Field (later Municipal Stadium) in Kansas City.

Of all of these teams, only 3 still exist: The Bears, the Packers, and the Cardinals, who have moved twice, from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960, and to Arizona in 1988.

July 30, 1930: The 1st World Cup Final

The Uruguay team that won the 1930 World Cup

July 30, 1930: The Final of the 1st FIFA World Cup is held at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The host nation had advanced to it, to play Argentina, the nation across the Rio de la Plata from Montevideo. (Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires is accessible from Montevideo by ferry, 130 miles, taking 9 hours.)

Only 13 countries competed in that 1st World Cup. The only European countries that did so were France, Belgium, Yugoslavia and Romania. Britain's "Home Nations" -- England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- refused to play, due to a dispute with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the governing body of world soccer, and would continue to refuse until 1950.

No Asian nations took part. Nor did any African nations. The United States of America took part. So did Mexico. The other 6 were all from South America: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile.

The main reason for this was the distance involved. The 1934 and 1938 World Cups were held in Europe, and the tournament was canceled for 1942 and 1946, due to the effects of World War II. (Most of Europe was in no condition to hold qualifying matches in 1945, even after V-E Day.) By 1950, the world situation had stabilized, and air travel had become a lot safer. Still, only 13 countries went to Brazil. The next time it was held in South America, in 1962, there were a full 16 teams.

The tournament began on July 13. Argentina won Group 1, over Chile, France and Mexico. Yugoslavia won Group 2, over Brazil and Bolivia. Uruguay won Group 3, over Romania and Peru. And the U.S. won Group 4, beating Belgium 3-0 on July 13, and Paraguay 1-0 on July 17.

On July 26, Argentina beat the U.S. 6-1 in one Semifinal. In the other, on July 27, Uruguay beat Yugoslavia by the same score. The U.S. has never been so close to winning the World Cup again. Neither would Yugoslavia, nor any sub-nation thereof, get that close again until 2018, when Croatia lost to France in the Final.

The 1930 World Cup Final was held on July 30, before a crowd of 68,346. Pablo Dorado, an outside right for Bella Vista, scored in the 12th minute. Carlos Puecelle, an outside right for Sportivo Buenos Aires, tied it for Argentina in the 20th. Guillermo Stábile, a forward for Huracán, scored in the 37th, and it was 2-1 Argentina at halftime.

Pedro Cea, an inside left for Nacional, equalized for Uruguay in the 57th. Santos Iriarte, an outside left for Racing Montevideo, gave Uruguay the lead in the 68th minute. Héctor Castro, a forward for Nacional, capped the scoring in the 89th. Uruguay 4, Argentina 2.

Alberto Suppici was the winning manager. José Nasazzi, a right back from Bella Vista, was the winning Captain. Ernesto Mascheroni, a left back from Olimpia, lived until 1984, making him the last survivor of the winning team. Francisco Varallo, an inside right from Gimnasia, was the last survivor from Argentina, making it all the way to 2010, age 100.

Uruguay won the World Cup again in 1950, in a shocking upset of Brazil. Along with Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina, France and Spain, they remain 1 of only 8 countries to win the World Cup. Along with Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France, they remain 1 of only 6 countries to win it more than once.

They reached the Semifinals in 1954, 1970 and 2010. They reached the Quarterfinals in 1966 and 2018. They reached the Round of 16 in 1986, 1990 and 2014. The got into the Group Stage in 1962, 1974 and 2002. They did not enter in 1934 and 1938; and did not qualify in 1958, 1978, 1982, 1994, 1998 and 2006.

The Estadio Centenario still stands, seating 60,235.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this 1st one 22nd, next-to-last, citing the lack of competition, and there not being any real sense of talent level.

 

*

July 30, 1930 was a Wednesday. It was the off-season for the NFL and the NHL, and the NBA hadn't been founded yet. But there were Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. They won the 1st game 8-2, in 10 innings. Herb Pennock went the distance. So did former Yankee Milt Gaston, whom they pounded for 6 runs in the 10th inning, including home runs by Lou Gehrig (of whom you've surely heard) and Harry Rice (of whom you probably haven't).

They won the 2nd game 10-1, with George Pipgras going the distance. No home runs were hit. Over the doubleheader, Gehrig went 3-for-10 with 4 RBIs, and Babe Ruth went 4-for-9 with 3 RBIs.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 5-2 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Robins swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. "Dem Bums won the opener, 9-5; and the nightcap, 9-4. After 1 more season, Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson, for whom the team was then named, would be fired, and the old name of "Dodgers" would be restored.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 7-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-5 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at League Park in Cleveland.

* The St. Louis Browns swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in Chicago. They won the 1st game, 3-2, on Oscar Melillo's sacrifice fly in the 10th inning. They won the 2nd game, 6-1.

* And the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds were not scheduled. 

June 22, 1986: Diego Maradona's "Hand of God"

June 22, 1986: A World Cup Quarterfinal match is played between England and Argentina, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. In the 51st minute, Argentina's star, Diego Maradona, slaps the ball with his left hand, and it goes past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.

The referee, Ali Bin Nasser of Tunisia, gave the goal. There was no Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in those days. Maradona's postgame comments gave the goal its name: "The Hand of God." It is the most famous cheat in the history of sports on planet Earth.

Five minutes later, with the England players still in angry shock, Maradona scored again, a dizzying display of dribbling ending with a great shot that became known as "The Goal of the Century." Gary Lineker scored in the 81st minute, but England got no closer, and were out, 2-1.

If Nasser had correctly waved the 1st goal off, would Maradona have scored the 2nd? Would the England players have been able to stop him? Would they then have won 1-0 thanks to Lineker's goal? Would they then have beaten Belgium in the Semifinal, as Argentina did? Would they then have beaten West Germany in the Final, as Argentina did? We'll never know.

Maradona died last year, a few days after his 60th birthday. His unrepentant treachery lives on.

*

June 22, 1986 was a Sunday. Another World Cup Quarterfinal was played that day: At Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Belgium beat Spain 5-4 on penalties, after regulation play ended 1-1.

It was the off-season for the NFL. The NBA season had recently wrapped up, with the Boston Celtics having beaten the Houston Rockets for the title. The NHL season was also over, with the Montreal Canadiens having beat the Calgary Flames for the Stanley Cup.

It was the 10th time the Celts and the Habs had won their leagues' titles in the same year. It remains the last. That's the most times any pairings of champions has happened in North American sports. (The Yankees and the Canadiens have both won 5 times, the Yankees and Celtics only 3 times.)

There was a full slate of Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees, at least in terms of the scoreboard, had an even worse day than England. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 15-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Current Yankee star Willie Randolph hit a home run off future Yankee star Jimmy Key in the 1st inning. That was all the Yanks would get, as the Jays pounded Joe Niekro, Bob Shirley and Ed Whitson.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Shea Stadium.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Storm Davis (7 2/3rds innings) and Don Aase combined on a 3-hit shutout.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 7-4 at Royals (now Kauffman) Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland athletics, 5-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The era of Sunday doubleheaders was long past, but one was played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants swept the Houston Astros, winning the 1st game 4-2 and the 2nd game 3-2. 

May 24, 1964: The Lima Football Disaster

May 24, 1964: What is believed to be the world's greatest sporting disaster takes place, in Lima, the capital of Peru.

The setting was a soccer game, a qualifying match for the 1964 Olympics, set for Tokyo, Japan. The national teams of Peru and Argentina were playing at the Estadio Nacional (National Stadium). The stadium, which opened in 1952, seated 53,000, and was sold out.

In the 84th minute, Argentina led, 1-0, when Peru appeared to have scored. But the referee disallowed the goal. Angry fans charged the pitch. The police fired tear gas canisters, and the fans turned around and headed for the exits.

Rather than standard gates, the stadium had solid corrugated steel shutters at the bottom of tunnels that connected the street level, via several flights of steps, to the seating areas above. These shutters were closed, as they normally were at every game. Panicked spectators moving down the enclosed stairways pressed those in the lead against the closed shutters, but this was not visible to the crowd pushing down the stairwells from behind. The shutters finally burst outward as a result of pressure from the crush of bodies inside.

Officially, the death toll was 328. This makes it, probably, the deadliest occurrence ever connected with a sporting event on planet Earth. I say, "Probably," because the death toll from the Luzhniki Disaster in Moscow in 1982 is still in dispute: Officially, it is 66, but one estimate had it as high as 340.

No one who stayed inside the Nacional died, although there were over 500 non-fatal injuries. Out in the streets, fans rioted, damaging cars and storefronts. But Argentina's 1-0 lead stood.

Argentina advanced to the Olympics, but were eliminated in the Group Stage. Hungary defeated Czechoslovakia for the Gold Medal.

The Peruvian government decided to convert the stadium to all-seater, reducing capacity to 42,000. A 2011 renovation returned capacity to 53,000.

There is no memorial to the victims at the stadium.

*

May 24, 1964 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Los Angeles Angels at Yankee Stadium. The Angels won the opener, 3-0. On his way to the Cy Young Award, Dean Chance pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Jim Bouton. The Yankees won the nightcap, 8-5. Mickey Mantle and Clete Boyer hit home runs. Over the 2 games, Mantle went 3-for-7 with a home run, a walk, and an RBI; while Roger Maris went 2-for-7 with a walk and an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Colt .45s, 5-0 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Bob Bruce pitched a 4-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking none. The Colts became the Houston Astros the next season.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Kansas City Athletics, 6-2 and 3-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-5 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins, 2-0 and 7-6 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Robin Roberts pitched a 5-hit shutout in the opener. In the nightcap, the O's led 4-1 after 7 innings, but the Twins came back, and led 6-4 going to the bottom of the 9th. But the O's scored 3 runs, including a home run by Jerry Adair, and the winning run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Aparicio. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-6 with a walk and an RBI sacrifice fly. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-7 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-5-at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 and 12-4 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4 with 3 walks and 2 RBIs. Pete Rose went 4-for-9 with a walk and 3 RBIs. Ernie Banks went 3-for-6 with a home run and an RBI. 

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Buster Narum pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Milwaukee Braves swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 and 10-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. In the 2nd game, Denny Lemaster pitched a 3-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking none. Joe Torre supported him with 2 home runs. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 3-for-8 with a home run, a walk and an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Joe Moeller had a 1-hit shutout going into the 7th inning, but allowed 2 hits. Dodger manager Walter Alston brought Sandy Koufax in to relieve, and he allowed just 1 baserunner, a single, the rest of the way.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the San Francisco Giants, 3-0 and 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Bob Veale pitched a 2-hit shutout in the 1st game. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-8 with a walk and an RBI. Willie Mays went 1-for-5 with 3 walks.