May 14, 2011: Manchester Football's Greatest Day

May 14, 2011: The greatest day in the history of Manchester soccer -- "football," as they would say.

Manchester United clinch their 19th League title, breaking the record they shared with Liverpool FC. They needed only a draw in 1 of their last 2 games of the season, or a loss by Manchester City and a loss by Chelsea FC in either of their last 2 League games, and the title was theirs. They got their draw, 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in Blackburn, Lancashire.

But Man City, with the wealth of the United Arab Emirates' royal family and government behind them, win their 1st trophy of any kind in 35 years, and their 1st FA Cup in 43 years, defeating Stoke City of Staffordshire in the Final at the new Wembley Stadium in West London.

Yaya Touré scores the game's only goal, in the 74th minute. Rather than a member of the royal family, as is usually the case, City's Captain, Carlos Tevez, who had famously left United for City, received the Cup from a recent hero of the British Army's effort in the War On Terror in Afghanistan, Corporal Mark Ward.

It begins a run that has now reached 12 seasons with 6 League titles, 2 FA Cups, 6 League Cups (including this season's), and a berth in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final. As for Stoke, it remains the only FA Cup Final in their history. They have been playing since 1863, and have just 1 major trophy, the 1972 League Cup.

Yaya would have set a new record for highest uniform number worn in an FA Cup Final, 42, had not his teammate Mario Balotelli worn 45. That would remain a record until, 11 years later to the day, Trent Alexander-Arnold wore 66 for Liverpool in the 2022 Final. (UPDATE: The record was broken again in 2025, by Manchester City left back Nico O'Reilly, who wore 75. Alexander-Arnold remains the highest-numbered player for a winning team.)

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May 14, 2011, like all FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were in progress, but no games were played. One game was played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the TD Garden in Boston. The Bruins went on to win the series, and the Cup, anyway.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 6-0 at the new Yankee Stadium. Josh Beckett allowed 4 hits over 6 shutout innings, Matt Albers 2 over 2, and Rich Hill 1 in the 9th, outpitching CC Sabathia. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with a walk. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4. Adrián González hit a home run for the Sox.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 7-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. J.A. Happ outpitched R.A. Dickey. Daniel Murphy hit a home run for the Mets.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Washington Nationals, 1-0 at Nationals Park in Washington. Anibal Sánchez pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Juan Carlos Oviedo completed the 4-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Martín Prado and Nate McLouth hit home runs for the Braves.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brad Bergesen pitched a 4-hit shutout. Mark Reynolds and Jake Fox hit home runs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Comerica Park in Detroit. Brad Penny pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and José Valverde pitched a perfect 9th.

* The San Francisco Giants were leading the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 after 6 innings, when the game was called due to rain. Ryan Vogelsong had allowed 7 hits over 6 shutout innings.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-2 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-3 at Target Field in Minneapolis. José Bautista hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 11th inning, opening the gates to a 6-run inning.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 9-7 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. How many Diamondbacks does it take to pitch a 4-hit shutout? This time, 4: Josh Collmenter allowed 2 runs over 6 innings, Aaron Heilman pitched a perfect 7th, David Hernandez allowed a hit in the 8th, and J.J. Putz allowed a hit in the 9th.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Overstock Coliseum).

* And the Cleveland Indians and the Seattle Mariners were rained out at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 23.

May 14, 1995: The Blackburn Title

Alan Shearer (left) and Blackburn Captain Tim Sherwood

May 14, 1995: The Premier League title is not yet decided. Blackburn Rovers of Lancashire can win it, making it their 1st League title since 1914. But they lose, 2-1, to Liverpool, at Anfield, the former club and former home ground of their current manager, Kenny Dalglish. The crowd believes that the title has been blown.

But soon, word comes that Manchester United, 2-time defending Champions, having only managed a 1-1 draw, away to East London team West Ham United, and that gives Blackburn the title by 1 point. Team Captain Tim Sherwood accepts the PL trophy.

Liverpool fans, who hate Manchester United, and not especially thrilled with the thought of handing the title to them, gratefully give the new Champions a standing ovation.

It turns out to be the only major trophy won by Blackburn's striker, Alan Shearer, who later moves to Newcastle United, and becomes the Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer.

Elsewhere in English soccer, an embarrassing season ends for North London team Arsenal with a 2-1 loss to crosstown opponent Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in West London. The Gunners finish 12th, and that remains their worst performance since 1976.

United went on to lose the FA Cup Final as well, to Everton, the blue club in Liverpool. They became the 8th team to "achieve" a "Runner-Up Double," finishing 2nd in the League and losing the FA Cup Final in the same season:

* 1928: Huddersfield Town of Yorkshire finished 2 points behind Everton, and lost the Final 2-1 to Blackburn.

* 1932: Arsenal finished 2 points behind Everton, and lost the Final 2-1 to North-East team Newcastle United.

* 1939: Wolverhampton Wanderers, of the Birmingham area, finished 1 point behind Everton, and lost the Final 4-1 to Hampshire team Portsmouth.

* 1962: Lancashire team Burnley finished 3 points behind Suffolk team Ipswich Town, and lost the Final 3-1 to North London team Tottenham Hotspur.

* 1965: Yorkshire team Leeds United lost the league title to Manchester United on goal average (the 1st tiebreaker at the time, now goal difference), and were defeated in the Final, 2-1 after extra time, by Liverpool -- meaning they came the closest of these teams to winning either, let alone both.

* 1970: Leeds did it again, finishing 9 points behind Everton, and lost the Final 2-1 to West London team Chelsea after a replay.

* 1986: Everton finished runners-up to Liverpool in both competitions, the only time a club has run 2nd in each to the same team. Liverpool beat them by 2 points in the League, and 3-1 in the Final.

* 1995: Manchester United finished 1 point behind Blackburn, and lost the Final 1-0 to Everton.

Oddly, Everton were involved 6 of the 8 times, once as victim, and 5 times as beneficiary.

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May 14, 1995 was a Sunday. Actress Rose Lavelle was born.

An embarrassing season ends for Arsenal with a 2-1 loss to crosstown opponent Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge in West London. The Gunners finish 12th, and that remains their worst performance since 1976.

There were 3 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the New York Rangers, 4-2 at Le Colisée de Québec, and close their 1st Round Stanley Cup Playoff match to 3 games to 2. But the Rangers won Game 6, eliminating the Nordiques, who are moved to Denver the next season, to become the Colorado Avalanche. I have a separate entry for this event.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals, 6-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Luc Robitaille scored the winning goal, 4:30 into overtime. The Penguins won the series in Game 7.

* And after 67 years, the last competitive sporting event is held at the Boston Garden. The Boston Bruins lose Game 5 of the 1st Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 3-2, and are eliminated. The last goal is scored by Adam Oates. The team that eliminates the Big Bad Bruins? The New Jersey Devils.

There were 3 games played in the NBA Playoffs:

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic, 106-95 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 114-110 at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.) Kevin Johnson scored 43 points for the Suns.

* And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 80-71 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jack McDowell started for the Yankees, Zane Smith for the Sox. The Yanks scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, but Mike Macfarlane hit a home run off Steve Howe in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

* The New York Mets lost to the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Mark Grudzielanek grounded out to 1st base in the top of the 13th inning, allowing Mike Lansing to score the winning run. Rico Brogna hit a home run for the Mets.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Orel Hershiser outpitched Arthur Rhodes. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Ron Gant hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 10th inning to win the game.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 6-3 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Andújar Cedeño hit 2 home runs. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-5.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 12-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

* The California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 8-3 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Brian Jordan singled Scott Cooper home with the winning run in the top of the 11th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Darren Lewis singled Royce Clayton home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Barry Bonds went 0-for-4, but had an RBI on a groundout.

* And the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a solo home run. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-2 before being pinch-hit for.