February 15, 1995: Lansdowne Road Stadium in Dublin is the venue for a soccer game between the Republic of Ireland and England, a matchup fraught with political implications.
Ireland took the lead in the 22nd minute on a goal by David Kelly -- ironically, a native of England who, within the rules, chose to play for Ireland due to his ancestry, since he was unlikely to make the England team, which was then good. A lot better than it is now.
Lansdowne Road
Most likely, what happened next was due not to Kelly's choice, but to a reaction against the perception that the Ireland team supported the Irish Republican Army's attacks on Great Britain. Between the relationship between the countries, and the fact that it was a night game and there was more time for fans to drink before the game, something bad was bound to happen.
It did. A group of right-wing extremists calling themselves Combat-18 started a riot. The game was abandoned, and the 2 countries would not play each other again until 2013.
It's worth noting that, at the time, Ireland's manager was Jack Charlton, one of the heroes of English soccer's signature triumph, the 1966 World Cup (as was his brother Bobby).
Lansdowne Road has since been demolished, and the new Aviva Stadium has been built on the site.
*
February 15, 1995 was a Wednesday. Rapper Meghan Thee Stallion was born.
Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA:
* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 101-97 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic, 100-99 in overtime at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Detroit Pistons, 114-88 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Bullets, 107-92 at the United Center in Chicago.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-113 in overtime at the America West Arena (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix. Charles Barkley led all scorers on the night with 35 points.
* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-96 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 116-115 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
And there were 8 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 2-1 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 4-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.
* The Hartford Whalers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).
* The Florida Panthers beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-0 at the Miami Arena.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-1 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
* And the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at the San Jose Arena (now the SAP Ceter).
