October 31, 1903: Hampden Park Opens

October 31, 1903: Hampden Park opens in Glasgow, and becomes Scotland's national stadium. The previous facility with the name had been home to Queen's Park Football Club, the 1st professional sports team in Scotland, since 1873.

Queen's Park have played on the current site since 1903, the Scottish Cup Final has been held there since 1904, the national team has used it as their main home since 1906, and the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe played there from 1998 to 2004.

The east and north stands of the stadium were redeveloped as all-seater in 1994, in time for Glasgow team Celtic to use Hampden while their own Celtic Park was redeveloped in the 1994-95 season. The rest of the stadium was upgraded by 1999. A record crowd of 149,415 saw a Scotland vs. England game in 1937, but the capacity is now 51,866.

Hampden hosted the Final of the European Cup in 1960 (Real Madrid beating Eintracht Frankfurt), 1976 (Bayern Munich beating Saint-Étienne), and 2002 (by which point the tournament had been renamed the UEFA Champions League, with Real Madrid beating Bayer Leverkusen). It was used as a venue for Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021 due to the COVID pandemic).

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October 31, 1903 was a Saturday. Baseball season was over. Basketball barely existed, and hockey hadn't yet turned professional. These other noteworthy games were played in college football:

* The universities of Michigan and Minnesota played to a 6-6 tie at Northrop Field in Minneapolis. This led to the rivalry known as "The Little Brown Jug." I have a separate entry for that event.

* The game that was supposed to be played between Indiana University and Purdue University was canceled, due to the Purdue Wreck. I have an entry for that event as well.

* Army beat Vermont, 32-0 on The Plain in West Point, New York.

* Penn State beat Navy, 17-0 at Worden Field in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Yale beat Columbia, 25-0 at the Polo Grounds.

* Harvard beat the Carlisle Indian School, 12-11 at Soldier's Field in Boston. Jim Thorpe was too young to play on the Carlisle varsity, but they almost didn't need him. Two weeks later, on November 14, Harvard Stadium opened, and Harvard lost to Dartmouth. They still play there today.

* The University of Pennsylvania beat Bucknell, 47-6 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. A new stadium by that name would be built on the same site in 1922.

* Lafayette beat New York University, 8-6 at Ohio Field in The Bronx.

* Princeton beat Cornell, 44-0 at University Field in Princeton, New Jersey.

* And Rutgers beat Stevens Institute, 36-6 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

October 27, 1999: The Yankees Close Out as the Team of the Century

"Past Tense," a two-part episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, aired on December 31, 1994 and January 7, 1995. It was a time-travel episode set in 2024, and when the subject of the greatest baseball team ever came up, one of the characters who belonged to that time said it was the 1999 New York Yankees. Another said it was the 2015 London Kings, and Captain Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, agreed with him.

In real life, at the dawn of 1995, the Yankees hadn't won the World Series since 1978. But they won in 1996, and put together an all-time great season in 1998, before winning it all again in 1999 and 2000. The '96 team is remembered as the one that ended a drought, the '98 team is often held up as one of the best ever, and the 2000 team is remembered as winning a "Subway Series" against the crosstown New York Mets. But the '99 Yankees kind of got lost in the shuffle. So they got more respect before they played than after!

October 27, 1999: The Yankees defeat the Atlanta Braves‚ 4-1 at Yankee Stadium‚ to win their 25th World Championship. Roger Clemens gets the win‚ hurling 4-hit ball before leaving the game in the 8th inning, to finally get his first World Series ring, 13 years after his only previous appearance, with the ill-fated '86 Red Sox.

Mariano Rivera gets the save‚ his 2nd of the Series. Jim Leyritz hits a solo homer in the 8th, the last home run, and the last run, in baseball in the 20th Century. The last out is Keith Lockhart flying out to left field, where the ball is caught by Game 3's hero, Chad Curtis. Rivera wins the Series' Most Valuable Player award.

It is also the last major league game for New York baseball legend -- if not quite "hero" -- Darryl Strawberry, who goes 1-for-3 as the Yankees' designated hitter, his last hit a single off John Smoltz in the 2nd inning.

Four years earlier, as the final out was registered of the 1995 World Series, NBC's Bob Costas called the Braves "The Team of the Nineties." That label made sense at the time. Going into this Series, in the decade, the Braves had won 8 Division Titles and 5 Pennants, but just that 1 World Series; the Yankees had won 3 Division Titles (4 counting the strike-shortened 1994), 3 Pennants and 2 World Series.

This Series decided it, and in indisputable fashion, as the Yanks were now 2-0 over the Braves in Series play in the decade. This time, after the final out, Costas got it right: "The New York Yankees. World Champions. Team of the Decade. Most successful franchise of the Century."

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October 27, 1999 was a Wednesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA season started 6 days later. There were 7 games in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Florida Panthers, 6-3 at the National Car Rental Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0 at the Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre) in Montreal.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-0 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 5-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* And the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-1 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (now the Honda Center). Teemu Selänne scored the winning goal with 1:22 left in overtime.

Among the games played that night in the Group Stage of European soccer's UEFA Champions League, AFC Fiorentina, the team in Florence, Italy, beat Arsenal, 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in London. This defeat essentially knocked Arsenal out of the competition, "relegating" them to that season's UEFA Cup (the tournament now known as the UEFA Europa League), in which they reached the Final before losing.

With the recent expansion of the CL to include teams that hadn't won their country's national league the season before, the team's ownership decided that their North London stadium, the 38,000-seat Highbury, was too small to meet the demand for tickets, so they moved their home CL games to the old Wembley, where crowds exceeded 73,000.

But that stadium was badly in need of replacement, and closed a year later, to be torn down and replaced by a new stadium that opened in 2007. That forced Arsenal to hold future CL games at Highbury, which led them to decide to build a larger stadium. The 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium opened in 2006.

September 28, 1994: The Sinking of MS Estonia

September 28, 1994: MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, killing 852 people – including 50 Swedes, 285 Estonians, 1 Canadian and 1 Englishman, but no Americans. There were 137 survivors.

The "cruiseferry" was built in 1980, for the Finnish shipping company Rederi Ab Sally. It was employed on ferry routes between Finland and Sweden by various companies, under the names Viking Sally until 1990, Silja Star until 1991, and then Wasa King until 1993.

At that point, it was sold to Nordström & Thulin, for use on Estline's Tallinn-Stockholm route. The 263-mile ferry trip usually takes about 10 1/2 hours. But on September 28, 1994, according to an official inquiry, failure of the locks on the bow visor caused water to flood the car deck, and quickly capsize the ship.

It remains the worst peacetime maritime disaster in European waters. Memorials have been dedicated in both terminal cities.

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September 28, 1994 was a Wednesday. Baseball's Strike of '94 was on, football was in midweek, and it was too early for the NBA and NHL seasons to be playing.

But there were games in European soccer's UEFA Champions League, and, since this was an event in Europe, those results are worth posting:

* The most controversial of these games was played at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, a.k.a. the San Siro, in Milan, Italy, AC Milan were playing Austrian team Casino Salzburg, when Casino's goalkeeper, Otto Konrad, was hit on the head with a plastic bottle thrown from the stands. He had to be substituted and taken to the hospital. Milan won, 3-0, but, as punishment for failing to control their fans, UEFA, the governing body for European soccer, docked them 2 points in the CL table, and were banned from playing their next 2 official home matches at the San Siro.

* Manchester United and Galatasaray played to a draw, 0-0 at Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Gala's home, in Istanbul, Turkey.

* SL Benfica beat RSC Anderlecht of Belgium, 3-1 at the old Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

* IFK Göteborg beat FC Barcelona, 2-1 at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden.

* Bayern Munich beat Dynamo Kyiv, 1-0 at the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany.

* AFC Ajax, of Amsterdam, beat AEK Athens, 2-1 at Nikos Goumas Stadium in Athens, Greece.

* Hajduk Split of Croatia beat Steaua București, 1-0 at Stadionul Steaua in Bucharest, Romania.

* And Paris Saint-Germain beat Spartak Moscow, 2-1 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.

September 22, 1993: The Marseille Match-Fixing Scandal

September 22, 1993: The 1st French team to win the European Cup is hit with one of the biggest scandals in soccer history.

In 1992, Olympique de Marseille won France's top soccer league, then known as Division 1. That was hardly surprising, since it was their 4th straight title. It qualified them for the 1992-93 edition of the tournament that had been known as the European Cup (and the trophy still is), but, for the 1st time, it was known as the UEFA Champions League.

On May 26, 1993, managed by Raymond Goethals, "L'OM" defeated A.C. Milan, 1-0 at the Olympiastadion in Munich. Basile Boli scored the game's only goal in the 44th minute. The team also included central midfielder Didier Deschamps, who would go on to both play for and manage France to World Cup wins; goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, centreback Marcel Desailly, and German forward Rudi Völler.

Despite being heavily favored, Milan could not win this one. It was the last game for their Dutch forward, Marco van Basten, who had to retire due to a recurrence of his ankle injury. He was only 28, and, was, essentially, the Bobby Orr of European soccer.

But on September 22, Olympique de Marseille, and their president, Bernard Tapie, was found to have been involved in a match-fixing scandal during the 1992–93 season. They were punished by being relegated to France's 2nd division, and banned from European play the next season. But since the scandal affected only their domestic schedule, they were not stripped of their European title.

Marseille were hit hard by the sanctions. It took them 2 seasons to get promoted back to the 1st division. They have won only 1 major trophy since, the 2010 Ligue 1 title. They have been surpassed as France's most successful team by their arch-rivals, Paris Saint-Germain, a rivalry known as Le Classique. And their scandal remains the biggest in the history of French football. But they remain the only French team ever to win the European Cup, under either tournament name.

UPDATE: In 2025, Paris Saint-Germain became the 2nd French team to win the Champions League. Interestingly, they beat the other Milan team, Internazionale.

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September 22, 1993 was a Wednesday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Kevin Tapani outpitched Scott Kamieniecki. Kent Hrbek and Pedro Muñoz hit home runs for the Twins. For the Yankees, Mike Gallego hit a home run. Don Mattingly, disappearing in September as usual, went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Charlie O'Bren hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 10th inning. The Bucs pulled a run back in the bottom of the 10th, but it wasn't enough.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Rob Deer hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Florida Marlins, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Dave Hollins singled Tony Longmire home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount, in his last few days as an active player, pinch-hit, and did not reach base.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-9 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. Bill Swift pitched 8 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and Rod Beck completed the 5-hit shutout. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 11-4 at Mile High Stadium in Denver. Jerald Clark hit a home run. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 1-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Wilson Álvarez pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Roberto Hernández pitched a hitless 9th. Robin Ventura drove in the only run with a sacrifice fly that scored Ellis Burks in the 4th inning.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Kevin Kosloski hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 7-4 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Nolan Ryan started for the Rangers, and gave up a single, 3 straight walks and a grand slam. Clearly, he was injured. He left the game, and that was his last major league appearance. Ken Griffey went 0-for-2 with 2 walks, 1 of them being 1 of Ryan's walks.

June 13, 1956: The 1st European Cup Final

Francisco Gento with the 1956, 1957, 1958,

1959, 1960 and 1966 European Cups

June 13, 1956: The Final of the 1st European Champion Clubs' Cup is held at Parc des Princes in Paris, France.

On April 27, 1895, for the 1st time, the Champions of 2 different European soccer leagues met. It was an All-British affair, played at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh, Scotland. The hosts, Scottish Champions Heart of Midlothian, a.k.a. "Hearts," took on the English Champions, Sunderland, from the North-East. Actually, it was an All-Scottish contest: Known as "The Team of All Talents," every one of Sunderland's players was Scottish. (The Wearside city is less than 60 miles from the England-Scotland "border.") Sunderland won, 5-3.

In 1897, the Challenge Cup was founded, competed for by teams from across the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which included not just the entirety of present-day Austria and Hungary, but all of present-day Czechia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, and parts of present-day Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Italy. Vienna Cricket and Football Club won the 1st one. The tournament ran until 1911.

The Mitropa Cup was founded in 1927. As the name suggests -- "Mitropa" is an abbreviation of "Mitteleuropa," or "Middle Europe" -- it was played for by teams in Central Europe only. Sparta Prague won the 1st one. This tournament continued despite the rise of the European Cup and other tournaments, until 1992, when the European Cup became the Champions League.

In 1930, the Coupe des Nations was founded, held in Geneva, Switzerland, and was won by Újpest of Budapest, Hungary. But the Great Depression doomed this early effort at a continent-wide soccer championship tournament.

In 1949, with the Depression and World War II behind them, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy came together and founded the Latin Cup. Barcelona won the 1st one. This tournament did not long survive the establishment of the European Cup, being dissolved in 1957.

But the real key came in 1948, with the South American Championship of Champions, won by Vasco da Gama of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gabriel Hanot, editor of the French sports-themed newspaper L'Equipe, wanted such a tournament for Europe.

Once again, Hungary had a major role. After beating England badly, both home and away, and reaching the Final of the 1954 World Cup, Hungary's national team was established as a power. On December 13, 1954, a small measure of revenge was taken when England's titleholders, Wolverhampton Wanderers, beat Hungary's, Honvéd of Budapest, 3-2 in Wolverhampton, outside Birmingham. "Wolves" manager Stan Cullis called his team "Champions of the World."

Since the rest of Europe was sick of hearing England brag about their teams, both club and national, especially after their pathetic performances in the 1950 and '54 World Cups, the "football associations" of the various European countries finally listened to Hanot's request for a real European championship, to be played in the 1955-56 season, by each European country's 1954-55 Champions.

Wolves did not compete in the tournament -- because they didn't win England's Football League Division One in 1954-55. Chelsea, of West London, did. But they also chose not to compete. Of the 4 British "Home Nations," only Scotland sent their Champions. With some irony, it was Hibernian, a.k.a. Hibs, Edinburg rival of Hearts, who set everything in motion 60 years earlier.

Only 16 teams competed. So there were only 4 rounds, with home-and-away legs, of this single-elimination tournament. In the Round of 16, Partisan of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, beat Sporting Clv.ube de Portugal, of Lisbon; Vörös Lobogó of Budapest, now named MTK, beat Anderlecht of Belgium; Real Madrid of Spain beat Servette of Switzerland, hosts of the 1930 Coupe des Nations; Hibernian beat Rot-Weiss Essen of West Germany; Djurgården of Stockholm, Sweden beat Gwardia Warszawa of Warsaw, Poland; Stade de Reims of France beat Aarhus of Denmark; Rapid Wien of Vienna, Austria beat PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands; and AC Milan of Italy beat Saarbrücken, of the Saar Protectorate, a section of Germany then governed by France, but soon returned to West Germany.

In the Quarterfinals, Hibs beat Djurgården; Reims beat Vörös Lobogó; Real Madrid beat Partizan; and Milan beat Rapid. In the Semifinals, Reims beat Hibs, and Real Madrid beat Milan.

The Final was set for June 13, at the Parc des Princes in Paris. The original stadium on the site opened in 1897. This was the 2nd, opening in 1932. A 3rd was built on the site, and opened in 1972. Today, it is the home of the leading "football club" in France, Paris Saint-Germain.

The 1932-1972 version of the Parc des Princes

Reims, wearing red shirts with white sleeves like North London team Arsenal, were managed by Albert Batteux, captained by Robert Jonquet, and featured the best player in France, a son of Polish immigrants, Raymond Kopa.

Raymond Kopa, in uniform for France

at the 1958 World Cup

Real Madrid, dressed in all white, and thus known as Los Blancos and Los Merengues, were even more loaded. Manager José Villalonga could call on Captain Miguel Muñoz, and the man who may have then been the best player in the world, the Argentine forward known as El Saeta Rubia (The Blond Arrow): Alfred Di Stéfano.

Alfred Di Stéfano, in the all-whites of Real Madrid

Arthur Ellis of England, the referee at the Final of the 1950 World Cup, was chosen to officiate at this match as well. With 38,239 paying customers looking on, he blew his whistle at 8:30 PM local time -- also 8:30 PM in Madrid, 7:30 PM in London, and 2:30 PM in New York -- and the match was on.

Reims, with a lineup of all Frenchmen, didn't waste any time showing Real Madrid that they belonged on the same pitch. Michel Leblond scored just 6 minutes into the match. Jean Templin made it 2-0 in the 10th minute. But the Spanish side, all Spaniards except for Di Stéfano, were unfazed: The Arrow himself tallied in the 14th minute. Héctor Rial equalized at the half-hour, and it remained 2-2 at halftime.

Michel Hidalgo, a Normandy native with a Spanish father, gave Reims the lead shortly after the hour. But Marcos Alonzo Imaz, a centreback known as Marquitos, made it 3-3 in the 67th minute. It began to look like a replay might be necessary, until the 79th minute, when Di Stéfano made it 4-3 in Real's favor.

And so it remained when Ellis blew the final whistle. Real Madrid were the 1st true Champions of Europe, and could make a case for being the best side in the world. It would take until 1960 for an Intercontinental Cup to be founded, to be contested by the winners of the European Cup and the South American continental championship, now named the Copa Libertadores.

In 1992, the Union of European Football Associations renamed their signature tournament the UEFA Champions League, although the trophy retains the name "European Cup" (and the nickname "Ol' Big Ears," because of its large handles). In 1998, UEFA began admitting teams that had finished high in their leagues, but had not won them.

Real Madrid won the 1st 5 European Cups, and have won it more than any other team, 13 times, most recently in 2018.

Francisco "Paco" Gento played on each of those 1st 5 winners, and also on their next in 1966. He remains the only man to play on 6 European Cup winners. He was also the last survivor of both the 1956 and 1957 European Cup winners, living until January 18, 2022.

UPDATE: When Real Madrid won the 2024 Champions League title, it added 4 players to Gento's formerly unique status of playing on 6 European Cup winners: Team Captain Nacho Fernández, Luka Modrić, Dani Cavajal and Toni Kroos. Kroos had won 1 with Bayern Munich, 5 with Real Madrid. The others each won all of theirs with Real Madrid.

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June 13, 1956 was a Wednesday, and this (along with Tuesday) became the traditional day of the week for European Cup/Champions League matches. American football, basketball and hockey were all out of season. But there were Major League Baseball games played on the day.

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 7-5 at Yankee Stadium. Ron Northey and Larry Doby hit home runs for the South Siders. Mickey Mantle went 2-for-5 with an RBI, but it wasn't enough.

* The New York Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Willie Mays hit 2 home runs, but, for the Cubs, former Giant Monte Irvin got 2 hits, and former Brooklyn Dodger Eddie Miksis hit a home run. Ernie Banks went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Paul Foytack pitched 7 shutout innings, but Steve Gromek became the winning pitcher when Charlie Maxwell hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 13-4 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Del Crandall and Eddie Mathews hit home runs for the Braves. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians were tied 8-8 after 11 innings, when the game was stopped. Baseball-Reference.com does not say why. There is no mention of rain. Fenway Park had lights installed in 1947, so it couldn't have been called due to darkness. And it was a weekday, so there was no Sunday "blue law" with a curfew in effect. At any rate, Vic Wertz hit 2 home runs for the Tribe, while Ted Williams went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the BoSox.

* A game was rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, and made up on July 23. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals appear not to have been scheduled, needing a travel day. 

May 29, 1985: The Heysel Stadium Disaster

May 29, 1985: The European Cup Final is held at the Heysel Stadium, the national stadium of Belgium in Brussels. It should not have been played there. And, while pregame ceremonies were already underway, it should have been canceled.

In the 1983-84 season, Liverpool F.C., a power in English football for the preceding 20 years, won the Football League, and also the European Cup -- the competitions now known as the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, respectively. Winning either one would have qualified them for the 1984-85 European Cup.

But the 1984 Final was tainted. The Finals are set for neutral sites, much like American football's Super Bowls, but that year's final was set for the Stadio Olimpico in Rome -- and one of that stadium's teams, A.S. Roma, advanced to the Final.

Liverpool beat them, but not before their fans were attacked by Roma thugs, many of them doing not drive-by shootings, but drive-by slashings, riding those little Italian motor scooters past anyone who looked English, and reaching out with switchblade knives.

So when the 1985 European Cup Final turned out to be Liverpool against another Italian team, Turin-based Juventus F.C., the Scouse fans were ready for it.

The game was played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, which was in bad shape and unfit to host such an important event. I've talked to Arsenal F.C. fans who were there for the 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, where they lost to Spanish club Valencia CF, and they said it was in bad shape then.

Each team, at the time, was the most hated in the country. Sure, they were the most successful, and that attracted gloryhunters ("frontrunners," as we would say in America), as with American sports teams like the New York Yankees and the football team at the University of Notre Dame; but also many people who were sick of these teams' successes.

A common saying in Italy is, "Amo il calcio, quindi odio Il Juve" -- "I love football, therefore I hate Juventus." Fans of the Rome teams, A.S. Roma and S.S. Lazio -- and fans of the Milan teams, A.C. Milan and Internazionale Milano -- will even support their arch-rivals against Juventus. It's called gufare, meaning "to support against": A Milan fan won't support Inter, but he will support against Juve.

Likewise, many English fans' "second team" became Everton F.C., the blue club in Liverpool, or Manchester United, Liverpool's most frequent challenger for national honors. When United finally surpassed Liverpool's record total of League titles, with their 19th in 2011, many celebrated the fact that United had, as their manager Sir Alex Ferguson had said he would do, "knocked Liverpool off their fucking perch." ("Perch" because Liverpool's symbol is a bird, a "Liverbird.")

So, for the 1985 European Cup Final, there were millions of people in the British Isles rooting for Liverpool, but also millions of others rooting for Juventus. Likewise, there were millions in Italy rooting for Juventus, but also millions rooting for Liverpool. And the memory of the fan clashes prior to the previous year's Final was still fresh in everyone's memories.

It's worth noting that 1985 was the depth of England's issue with soccer hooligans. This included the Millwall-Luton riot in an FA Cup Quarterfinal on March 13.

Normally, before a football match, to avoid something like that, barriers are put up to keep each teams' fans in their own separate sections. This time, however, there was a neutral zone, ostensibly set aside for locals and neutrals, and there was no barrier between them and the Juventus fans, and no barrier between them and the Liverpool fans. As it turned out, it was mostly Juventus fans who occupied it.

At around 7:00 PM local time, a group of Liverpool fans ran toward them. Had the Juve fans stood their ground and fought, many of them might have gotten hurt, but it wouldn't have been as bad as what actually happened.

Instead, they ran, and many of them crashed into a wall, which collapsed. People and chunks of concrete fell onto people below, and 39 people died, and over 600 others were hurt.

At the other end of the stadium, Juventus fans began to riot in retaliation for the events in section Z. They stormed the pitch towards the Liverpool fans, and were stopped by the police. It took 2 hours to clear the field, meaning the game started over an hour late. 

Officials from UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, went into each team's locker room, and informed them of the disaster. Officials from both teams recommended that the game be canceled, as playing would be considered disrespectful to the dead. The Royal Belgian Football Association, responsible for staging the event, won the argument by saying that things might get worse between the sets of fans if the game were called off.

The respective team Captains, Liverpool right back Phil Neal and Juventus sweeper Gaetano Scirea, were given microphones to talk to their fans, and plead for calm. Over the years, Neal stuck by his belief that the game should have been called off.

The field was cleared, and the game kicked off at 8:15 PM, Central European Time -- 7:15 PM in Liverpool and the rest of the British Isles, 2:15 on the U.S. East Coast.Each team was in its traditional uniform: Liverpool in all red, Juventus in their black and white stripes, the Mersey Reds vs. the Bianconeri. Both teams were a bit subdued, not really wanting to play, and there were few highlights in the 1st half.

In the 56th minute, Juve's Polish striker, Zbigniew Boniek, was brought down on the edge of the penalty area by centreback Gary Gillespie, who wasn't even supposed to play, but came on as a substitute when Mark Lawrenson was hurt early in the game. Liverpool protested that the foul was outside the penalty area. André Daina, the Swiss referee, awarded the penalty anyway. It was taken by midfielder Michel Platini (despite his Italian roots, he was born and raised in France), and Juve were up 1-0.

In the 74th minute, Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan was brought down in the penalty area by midfielder Massimo Bonini. This time, Daina did not award a penalty. Questionable decisions like these gave rise to the belief, already long present in Italy and maintained to this day, that Juventus cheat, that they buy off referees. They are known as I Ladri: The Thieves.

There were chances for Liverpool the rest of the way, but nothing came of them. Juventus won. Platini took the European Cup. Fans all over Italy declared to it be a Coppa de Sangue: Cup of Blood, won practically on the dead bodies of their own fans.

Michel Platini and the Cup of Blood

Liverpool had previously won it in 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1984, but this was Juve's 1st. They would win another in 1996, without the tragic circumstances, but have generally had bad luck in the tournament: Despite a record 36 Serie A titles, they are 2-7 in European Cup/Champions League Finals, including including 0-5 since the 1996 win. And this includes the 2003 Final, when they became the 1st team ever to lose the Final to a team from their own country, A.C. Milan. (That game was not played in Italy: It was played at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.) No team has lost more CL Finals.

UEFA had previously banned individual English clubs from playing in their various competitions, at first indefinitely, and then limiting it. This had happened to North London team Tottenham Hotspur after the 1974 UEFA Cup Final in Rotterdam, the Netherlands against Rotterdam club Feyenoord. It had also happened to Leeds United after the 1975 European Cup Final in Paris against Bayern Munich.

Both English clubs lost the games in question, and both had their bans lifted after 2 years. This time, instead of just sanctioning the team involved, UEFA banned all English clubs for 5 years, and tacked on an additional year for Liverpool.

This was punishment far beyond the offense: What did any other English club have to do with this? Were they blaming all English clubs for what one club did -- which it didn't actually do?

What did the British government do about this insult? Led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, they actually supported the decision. The Iron Lady (more like the Iron Bitch) hated sports, and particularly viewed football club supporters as undereducated, manners-lacking scum -- and likely to vote for her opponents in the Labour Party, rather than her own Conservative Party, anyway.

For this reason, football-mad areas such as Merseyside (home to Liverpool and Everton), Manchester, Birmingham (home to Birmingham City and Aston Villa), the North-East (home to Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough), and the cities of Scotland and Wales still tend to vote Labour: Because of a backlash against Thatcher that has lasted nearly 40 years, and has not abated since her death.

By this point, even English liberals were angry at Liverpool, blaming them for their clubs not being able to compete in the European Cup (then a tournament for the defending champions of the various countries' national leagues), or the UEFA Cup (for other high-placing teams), or the European Cup Winners' Cup (competed by the winners of the previous season's various national cups like the FA Cup).

The overreaction was staggering. True, 39 fans had died, but not one died as a result of a direct attack by one person on another. Contrary to what fans of teams that hate Liverpool still claim, the Liverpool fans were not, as opposing fans, especially of Manchester United, claim, "murderers."

An unexpected side effect was that Glasgow-based Rangers FC realized that the ban applied only to English clubs, not to British clubs or to English players. They signed several English players by offering them a chance to keep playing in Europe, and hoped that this would allow them to dominate the Scottish League over the next few years, and to win European tournaments.

They signed Ipswich Town centreback Terry Butcher, Tottenham centreback Graham Roberts, Everton's right back Gary Stevens and midfielder Trevor Steven, and former Nottingham Forest forward Trevor Francis and former Chelsea and Man United midfielder Ray Wilkins. (The latter two had gone to Italy in the interim, to keep playing in Europe.)

Results: They won the Scottish League in 1987, 1989 and 1990; and the League Cup in 1988 and 1989. However, they did not win the Scottish Cup. More to the point, they didn't win a European trophy during the Heysel ban. The closest they came was the Quarterfinals of the 1988 European Cup.

Between the Heysel ban (which wasn't entirely Liverpool fans' fault) and Liverpool's perennial success (in 1986 they won the Double), pretty much anybody who wasn't already a Liverpool fan hated Liverpool's guts. (In other words, they were then what Manchester United would become.) When the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster occurred in 1989, causing the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, some fans finally found sympathy with them -- but some doubled down on their hatred of the Mersey Reds, saying they got what they deserved, especially after Heysel.

Relations between Liverpool and Juventus have been cordial since, and the teams have played both European tournament games and friendlies (exhibition games), with some of the proceeds being donated to the families of the victims of Heysel and Hillsborough. This included a Champions League Quarterfinal on April 5, 2005, at Liverpool's home of Anfield, when a plaque was dedicated. Liverpool went on to win the European Cup that time, and in 2019, they made it 6 wins, more than any other British team.

Left to right: Phil Neal, Michel Platini, Ian Rush

Heysel Stadium was demolished in 1990. In 1995, the new King Baudouin Stadium was built on the site. It seats a little over 50,000 people.

It hosts matches for the Belgium national team, and hosted 5 games in the Euro 2000 tournament. As yet, however, it has not hosted the Final of any European tournament.

*

May 29, 1985 was a Wednesday. It was a day off in the Stanley Cup Finals. The next day, the Edmonton Oilers would win the Cup, defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 8-3 in Game 5 of the Finals at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

It was also a day off in the NBA Finals. Two nights before, Game 1 was played at the Boston Garden, and it became known as the Memorial Day Massacre -- by people who had no idea of what would happen in Brussels 2 days later, and many of them may still not know that it ever occurred. The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 148-114. But it's not margin of victory that matters, only victory: On May 30, the Lakers won Game 2, 109-102. On June 9, in Game 6, the Lakers won, 111-100, becoming the 1st team other than the Celtics to clinch the NBA Championship at the Boston Garden.

Ordinarily, football would have been out of season. However, this was the 3rd and, as it turned out, final season of the United States Football League. Nevertheless, it was a Wednesday, and no games were played. But a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. Phil Niekro knuckleballed his way to 8 shutout innings, before the Halos got 2 runs off reliever Rich Bordi in the 9th. Reggie Jackson appeared as a pinch-hitter in that inning, and grounded into a double play to end the game. Rod Carew did not play.

The Yankees got home runs from Mike Pagliarulo and Omar Moreno. Dave Winfield went 1-for-4, and Don Mattingly went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with 2 walks, but was caught in his only stolen base attempt.

* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd pitched a 5-hit shutout. Wade Boggs went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 2-for-6 with a 2-run homer, and Eddie Murray went 1-for-5. But Darnell Coles won the game for the M's with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Mario Soto pitched a 2-hit shutout. Reds manager Pete Rose did not put washed-up player Pete Rose in the game.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 2-for-4, Paul Molitor went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and Ernie Riles and Jim Gantner hit home runs.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Texas Rangers, 6-2 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) George Brett hit a home run.

* The Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Nolan Ryan was the winning pitcher.

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. (It was renamed Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.) Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4.

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 21, 2008: John Terry's Slip

May 21, 2008: The UEFA Champions League Final is held. For the 1st time, 2 English teams play each other in it. So, of course, the venue is… the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. As with the Super Bowl, the site is chosen years in advance, in the hopes that it will be a neutral site.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United and Frank Lampard of Chelsea traded goals in the 1st half. There were no more goals in the 2nd half or in extra time. The game went to penalties, with United's Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar facing Chelsea's Czech keeper Petr Čech.

United won the coin toss, and chose to kick first. Carlos Tevez made his kick, while Michael Ballack made his. Each goalie went in the correct direction, but neither could stop the shot. In the 2nd round, both Michael Carrick and Juliano Belletti -- brought on by Chelsea manager Avram Grant in the last minute of extra time, specifically to make him available for penalties -- successfully converted. This time, each goalie went in the wrong direction.

Cristiano tried to play a mind game with Čech, stopping short, and starting again, kicking to his own left. He outsmarted himself: Čech dove in the right direction, and knocked it away. Lampard converted, past van der Sar, going in the right direction, putting Chelsea up, 3-2. Owen Hargreaves and Ashley Cole each converted, despite each goalie getting a fingertip on it. It was 4-3 Chelsea.

In the 5th and last round of regular penalties, needing to convert to keep United alive, Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, a.k.a. Nani, converted, despite Čech going the right way. It was up to Chelsea's Captain, John Terry, already infamous for his racism and for the drunken abuse that he and Lampard had given stranded American tourists at an airport hotel after the 9/11 attacks -- but not yet having had an affair with the girlfriend of teammate Wayne Bridge -- to make Chelsea the Champions of Europe.

Ordinarily, the Luzhniki had artificial turf. In order to qualify as a host for a European tournament final, real grass had to be laid down. It was too newly laid down, and it was wet from the rain that fell throughout the game. Terry slipped as he made contact, and the ball glanced off the right goalpost. It was 4-4.

The penalties went to sudden death. Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira, like many Brazilian players known by just his first name, another end-of-game, in-case-it-goes-to-penalties sub, kicked it down the middle, with Čech going to his left. Salomon Kalou sent van der Sar the wrong way, and it was 5-5.

Ryan Giggs kicked to his left, and Čech went the other way. It was 6-5, and it was up to Nicolas Anelka for Chelsea. He kicked to his left, and van der Sar saved it. United had won.

The already-knighted Sir Alex Ferguson

with the European Cup, a.k.a. "Ol' Big Ears"

Chelsea regard Terry as "Captain, Leader, Legend." But even after Chelsea finally won the Champions League in 2012, after spending so many of Roman Abramovich's petrodollars -- a Final that Terry missed due to injury -- the defining moment of his career isn't his bad behavior, on and off the pitch, but that slip in Moscow.

The Luzhniki, formerly the Lenin Stadium, joined the Olympic Stadiums of Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Munich and Athens, and London's original Wembley Stadium, as stadiums hosting an Olympic Games and a European Cup/Champions League Final. However, it did not join old Wembley and the Olympic Stadiums of Berlin, Rome and Munich as stadiums hosting an Olympics, a European Cup Final and a World Cup Final. The old stadium has been demolished and replaced, and it was the new Luzhniki Stadium that hosted the 2018 World Cup Final.

*

May 21, 2008 was a Wednesday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were in progress, but no games were scheduled for this day. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 89-85 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-0 at Yankee Stadium. Darrell Rasner pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, and Joba Chamberlain allowed 1 hit over the last 2 innings. Alex Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 0-for-3 with a walk, and had an RBI on a groundout.

* The New York Mets lost to the Atlanta Braves, 11-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Jair Jurrjens outpitched Mike Pelfrey. Chipper Jones bedeviled the Mets again, hitting a home run. So did Jeff Francoeur.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals, 12-2 at Nationals Park in Washington. The Phils scored 6 runs in the 6th inning. Ryan Howard went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs, a walk, and 4 RBIs. Both Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino also had 3 hits including a home run. Jamie Moyer was the winning pitcher.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-1 at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 10-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver. Omar Vizquel, the longtime superb shortstop for Cleveland, drives Ray Durham home with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 11-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-1 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the McAfee Coliseum).

May 20, 1992: Barcelona Fulfill the Dream

May 20, 1992: The last European Cup Final under the old format is played at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Starting next season, it will become the UEFA Champions League, although the trophy, nicknamed Ol' Big Ears, will still be known as the European Cup.

FC Barcelona play UC Sampdoria, of Genoa, Italy. It's hard to imagine now, but, then, Barça were a team that couldn't win the big one. With their defeat in the 1986 Final still smarting, and with arch-rivals Real Madrid CF having won it 6 times already, they were desperate to finally win it.

The match ends scoreless, and it goes to extra time (or, as we would say, overtime). In the 112th minute (8 minutes left), Ronald Koeman -- a Dutchman who came to star for Barcelona, as had his manager, Johan Cruijff -- scores the goal that makes the Catalan club Champions of Europe at last. It launches Catalonia in a year that also sees their city host the Olympics.

Cruijff, who had won the European Cup 3 straight times with Ajax Amsterdam in the early 1970s, becomes the 1st man to win it as both a player and a manager. He has since been followed by Carlo Ancelotti of Milan, Cruijff's protege Pep Guardiola (who played in this game), and Zinedine Zidane of Real Madrid.

*

May 20, 1992 was a Wednesday. Actor Jack Gleeson, best known for playing Joffrey Baratheon on Game of Thrones, and definitely no to be confused with Jackie Gleason, was born on this day.

American-style football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were underway, but no games were played. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Game 3 of the Clarence Campbell Conference Finals was played at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3. Jeremy Roenick scored the winning goal, 2:45 into overtime.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Charlie Hayes doubled Jesse Barfield home with the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning, making John Habyna a winning pitcher in relief of Scott Kamieniecki. Jim Abbott started for the Angels. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 12-6 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 2-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 8-7 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Pat Borders singled Kelly Gruber home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 1-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. José Guzmán pitched 8 1/3rd innings of 5-hit shutout ball, before Jeff Russell got the last 2 outs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount went 2-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. George Brett went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds, still with the Pirates, went 1-for-4.