June 15, 2004: Larry Brown's "Double" Shocks the L.A. "Superteam"

Left to right: Larry Brown, Rip Hamilton,

Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace

June 15, 2004: The NBA Championship is awarded to the best team in the league. Not the best collection of players, but the best team.

From 1972 to 2010, Larry Brown coached 10 different ABA or NBA teams (a record), and also coached 3 different college basketball teams. He took UCLA to the 1980 NCAA Final, and the University of Kansas to the Final Four in 1986 and 1988, winning the National Championship in 1988.

Brown was from Long Island, New York. As a teenager, he was a camp counselor there, and one of his students was Tony Kornheiser, later a great sportswriter and, with Michael Wilbon, co-host of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. A lifelong friendship was formed.

Here's how Kornheiser once described Brown's genius for coaching: "He took the Clippers to the Playoffs! Nobody takes the Clippers to the Playoffs!" From 1976, when the Los Angeles Clippers were still known as the Buffalo Braves, until 2012, when a change in management made them a perennial Playoff team, the only coaches to take them to the Playoffs were Larry Brown in 1992 and 1993, Bill Fitch in 1997, and Mike Dunleavy in 2006. That's it: 4 times, and Brown provided 2 of them.

And it wasn't just the Clippers: He took the NBA's other "little brother team," the New Jersey Nets, to the Playoffs in 1982. That was the good news. The bad news is that he never seemed to stay in one place too long. He either didn't like the job, or he angered somebody in management. But somebody was always willing to hire him. He got the Denver Nuggets to the last ABA Finals in 1976, and the Western Conference Finals in 1978; the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and 1994; and the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals in 2001.

But Brown and the Sixers' top player, Allen Iverson, couldn't co-exist. So, in 2003, Brown resigned, and took the head job with the Detroit Pistons. Despite this, in 2005, Iverson admitted, "I love him as a man. The coach, that's totally different. Yeah, I like him as a coach. He's the best coach in the world. I can't say it enough. He's the best in the world."

Joe Dumars, the guard who had led the Pistons' defense in their "Motor City Bad Boys" period -- losing the Finals to the Lakers in 7 games in 1988, then winning back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 -- was now the general manager. He had built a team with guards Chauncey Billups, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Lindsey Hunter; forwards Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Corliss Williamson; and center Ben Wallace.

The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the New Jersey Nets in the next round, and the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Finals. Now, the NBA Finals were in front of them. Standing between them and glory: The Los Angeles Lakers.

Coached by Phil Jackson, and led by center Shaquille O'Neal and guard Kobe Bryant, the Lakers had won 3 straight NBA Championships: 2000, 2001 and 2002. There had been discussion of the Lakers getting favorable, but incorrect, calls from referees, especially in the Playoffs.

In 2003, the Lakers lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. Their general manager, former Laker forward Mitch Kupchak, was determined to get the title back. He decided to build a "superteam." He signed 3 free agents: Karl Malone, who built a career as one of the all-time great power forwards with the Utah Jazz; Gary Payton, who had been a superstar point guard with the Seattle SuperSonics; and forward Horace Grant, who had helped Jackson win 3 titles as a forward with the Chicago Bulls, and teamed with O'Neal to get the Orlando Magic to the 1995 Finals.

Everything pointed to the Lakers going through the league like a hot knife through butter. But first, Bryant needed knee surgery in the off-season. He went to Colorado to get it. At his hotel, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee. The case was dropped, and, eventually, NBA fans decided, pretty much the way baseball fans did with David Ortiz and his steroid cheating, that it simply never happened, and that the man in question was a wonderful guy.

Eventually. But not in the 2003-04 season. Bryant heard it from fans all over the league, and he missed a few games. While the Lakers' record of 56-26 was enough to win the Pacific Division, it was not historically notable, and they only finished 2nd overall in the Western Conference to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They knew they would truly be measured by what they did in the Playoffs, and they did raise their game: They beat the Houston Rockets in the 1st round, the Spurs in the next round, and the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals, to set up the Finals matchup with the Pistons.

Few people gave the Pistons the chance. The Lakers were considered a team of destiny. They forgot that a collection of players can be beaten by a team. The Pistons won Game 1 in Los Angeles, 87-75, despite 34 points from Shaq, and the basketball world was stunned. They pushed the Lakers to overtime in Game 2, with the Lakers winning 99-91, with Kobe scoring 33.

But getting a split in L.A. energized the Pistons. At The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Lakers never had a chance. The Pistons won Game 3, 88-68. The Lakers were never in the game. Shaq had 36 points and 17 rebounds in Game 4. But Rasheed Wallace had 26, and he and Ben Wallace (no relation) each had 13 rebounds. The Pistons won, 88-80. Malone did not play in Game 5, and he retired after the Finals, so this was the last game for "The Mailman."

Game 5 was played at The Palace on June 15. The Pistons led 25-24 after the 1st quarter, but pulled away in the 2nd, pulled away further in the 3rd, and the Lakers simply couldn't come back. The Pistons won, 100-87, and the World Champions were, as the chant echoing through Auburn Hills said, "DEE-troit BAS-ket-BALL!"

The Pistons had done this despite not having a single player on their roster who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame until Ben Wallace was elected in 2021. Billups was named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals. Brown finally had his 1st NBA Championship, as either a player or a coach, at the age of 63. (He had won the 1969 ABA Championship while playing for the Oakland Oaks.) He remains the only head coach to win championships in both the NCAA and the NBA.

There was actually another "Double" going on: Bill Davidson was the owner of the Pistons, and also of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had won the Stanley Cup 8 days earlier. This made him the 1st owner of 2 World Championship teams at once since Edward Bennett Williams of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles and Washington Redskins; and the 1st ever NBA-NHL double-title owner.

Born in Detroit in 1922, William Morse Davidson founded Guardian Industries, manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass, 2 good fields for someone from Detroit to be in. He bought the Pistons in 1975, and the team's court, first at The Palace and, since 2017, at the Little Caesars Arena, is named for him. He owned the Lightning from 1999 to 2007, and died in 2009.

The Lakers? They were now the biggest flop in NBA history -- or, at least, since their 1969 edition, when Wilt Chamberlain was added to Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Gail Goodrich, and lost Game 7 of the Finals at home.

And after the season, Bryant told the team's owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, that he could no longer coexist with either O'Neal or Jackson. Jackson told Buss that Bryant was "uncoachable." So Buss told Kupchak to appease Bryant. He did: O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. And Jackson resigned.

With Bryant as "The Man," The Lakers fell apart. And Shaq, along with Dwyane Wade, helped the Miami Heat win the 2006 NBA Championship. In 2007, the Lakers got knocked out by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round. Shaq was recorded rapping in a nightclub, saying, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste!" (The implication was not that Kobe could kiss Shaq's ass, but that he already had.)

Sportswriter Dave Zirin wrote, "Kobe did to the Lakers what Jimmy Hoffa did to the Teamsters: Both made them a national force & ruined them forever." (Ironically, when Hoffa disappeared, it was in the northern suburbs of Detroit, at a restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, then Machus' Red Fox, now named Andiamo, just 14 miles from where The Palace would be built.)

Well, not forever, as it turned out. Shaq's teasing was the wakeup call that Bryant needed. He made peace with Jackson, who returned. The Lakers got Pau Gasol. Together, they got back to the Finals in 2008, and won the title in 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, O'Neal never won another. The final total: Bryant 6 titles, O'Neal 5; separately, Kobe 2, Shaq 1.

Kobe and Shaq made peace with each other before Kobe's death in a helicopter crash in 2020.

*

June 15, 2004 was a Tuesday. Football was out of season. The Stanley Cup had been won 8 days earlier, by the Tampa Bay Lightning, controversially (especially in Game 6) in 7 games over the Calgary Flames.

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-2 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Gary Sheffield hit a home run. He, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams each had 3 hits. Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The New York Mets beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-2 at Shea Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Montreal Expos, 8-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Florida Marlins, 7-5 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. In the top of the 10th inning, Nate Bump walked Miguel Olivo with the bases loaded, then gave up an RBI single to Kelly Dransfeldt.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Texas Rangers, 5-4 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Barry Larkin singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 3-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Victor Santos pitched 7 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, and 2 relievers finished the 2-hit shutout. Ichiro Suzuki did not get either of those 2 hits, going 0-for-3.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3 at SBC Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

May 7, 2002: Allen Iverson and Larry Brown Disagree About Practice

May 7, 2002: Following the Philadelphia 76ers' defeat to the Boston Celtics in the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs, Sixers coach Larry Brown criticizes his star player, Allen Iverson, for missing practice.

At that point, Larry Brown was 62 years old. Born in Brooklyn, and raised in nearby Long Beach, Long Island, New York, he had starred as a player at North Carolina. He was considered too small to play in the NBA, but he played in the ABA, winning the Championship with the 1969 Oakland Oaks, and started coaching there. He coached the Denver Nuggets to the 1976 ABA Finals. He coached UCLA to the Final of the 1980 NCAA Tournament.

He took both of the NBA's "little brother" franchises to the Playoffs -- twice: The New Jersey Nets in 1982 and '83, and the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992 and '93. As Tony Kornheiser of The Washington Post and ESPN, a fellow Long Islander who once had Brown as a camp counselor, put it, "He took the Clippers to the Playoffs! Nobody takes the Clippers to the Playoffs!" Indeed, from the time they moved from San Diego to Los Angeles in 1984, Brown was the only man to coach them to the Playoffs until Bill Fitch in 1997, and then they didn't make it again until 2006 under Mike Dunleavy.

The big mark against Brown is that he was always moving around. He left the Nets to take on one of the top college jobs, the University of Kansas. He led them to the Final Four in 1986 and the National Championship in 1988. He then left for the San Antonio Spurs, and took them to the Playoffs. He left them for the Clippers. He left them for the Indiana Pacers, and took them to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 1997, he left them for the 76ers.

A native of Hampton, Virginia, outside Norfolk, Iverson got into legal trouble in high school, leading many colleges to shy away from offering him a scholarship. John Thompson of Georgetown thought he could handle him, and, for 2 years, he did. Then Iverson declared for the NBA Draft. The 76ers took him. In 2001, with Brown as his head coach, he led the NBA in scoring average and won its Most Valuable Player award, and the Sixers won the Eastern Conference Championship. But they lost the Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Still, Iverson was just 26, and was being coached by Larry Brown, playing in a great basketball city for a historic team. People all over the Delaware Valley were wearing his Number 3 jersey. The sky appeared to be the limit. His nickname was already "The Answer."

But the 2001-02 season did not go well. The Sixers had injury issues, and, despite Iverson winning his 2nd straight scoring title, only went 43-39, losing in the 1st Round to their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics.

After that defeat, Brown criticized Iverson, the biggest star in Philadelphia basketball since the retirement of Julius Erving, 25 years earlier, for missing team practices.

Let's be clear about something: If you defy your coach, even if he's wrong, you're still more wrong. Brown can be difficult, but he was the coach, no player is bigger than the coach, and Iverson had to obey the rules.

But he didn't. And, on May 7, they had a shouting match outside the team's practice facility. A few hours later, there was a press conference. Iverson sat there, wearing a Boston Red Sox cap. (When asked about that years later, Iverson admitted that he didn't really follow baseball, but, despite growing up in the market of the NFL's Washington Redskins, now Commanders, said he rooted for the Dallas Cowboys.)

He spoke about something that had happened a few months earlier, and was now coming to a head: Rahsaan Langeford had been Iverson's best friend in Hampton, and had been shot and killed a few months earlier. It had weighed on his mind all season long, although that doesn't explain why he again led the NBA in scoring. At any rate, the trial for his killer had begun, and was still in progress at the time of the bustup with Brown.

Iverson mentioned that at the press conference, and then said:

We sitting in here. I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talking about practice. I mean, listen: We talking about practice. Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We talking about practice. Not a game. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it's my last. Not the game. We talking about practice, man.

John Smallwood, who covered the 76ers for the Philadelphia Daily News, was at the conference, and reported that Iverson was drunk: "If he had been sober, he would have been able to get himself out of that. He never would've gone down that path. Maybe you had to have been around him all the time to know the difference, but we all knew."

Brown did not punish Iverson any further. Team management further broke up the roster that had reached the 2001 Finals, and while the Sixers won their 1st Round matchup in 2003, they lost the next round. Brown resigned, and Iverson was free of him.

Brown was hired by the Detroit Pistons. He took them to the 2004 NBA Championship, and to Game 7 of the 2005 Finals. He remains the only coach ever to win titles in both the NCAA and the NBA.

Iverson stayed 3 more seasons with the 76ers, played 2 seasons in Denver, 1 in Detroit (Brown had already left), a few games in Memphis, returned to Philadelphia for the 2009-10 season, and played a season in Turkey's league, before retiring in 2011. He was named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players in 2021. The 76ers retired his Number 3.

Both he and Brown were elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. They have reconciled. Brown has said that Iverson could have been the greatest player of all time if things had been handled perfectly -- possibly an admission of some responsibility on his own part. Iverson has called Brown the "best coach ever."

*

May 7, 2002was a Tuesday. Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The New Jersey Nets beat the Charlotte Hornets, 102-89 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 88-85 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

There were 2 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Donald Audette scored the winning goal, 2:26 into overtime. And the St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red wings, 6-1 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mike Mussina outpitched Paul Wilson. Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 5-1 at Shea Stadium. Russ Ortiz outpitched Steve Trachsel. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with 2 walks. Former Met Jeff Kent went 2-for-5. Jay Payton went 3-for-4 with the Mets' only RBI.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Jeff Conine grounded out in the bottom of the 10th, but that was enough to get Jerry Hairston Jr. home with the winning run.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-5 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. The game went 16 innings, before Paul Lo Duca grounded into a force play that allowed Marquis Grissom to score the winning run. Brian Jordan went 4-for-7, including 2 solo home runs.

* The Florida Marlins beat the San Diego Padres, 12-4 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Adam Dunn and Sean Casey hit home runs, but Ken Griffey Jr. was injured and did not play.

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Kerry Wood pitched a 4-hit shutout, striking out 9. Alex Gonzalez went 1-for-4, but had 4 RBIs, on a bases-loaded double and a groundout.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 11-6 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-6 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Anaheim Angels, 3-0 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Seth Greisinger pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, and José Paniagua and Juan Acevedo completed the 5-hit shutout.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 9-7 at the Network Associates Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known). Pedro Martínez outpitched Cory Lidle. A's legend Rickey Henderson was with the Red Sox that season, but did not play in this game.

* And the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Roy Halladay outpitched James Baldwin. (Not the author.) Ichiro Suzuki went 1-for-4.

May 7, 1969: The Oakland Oaks Win the ABA Championship

May 7, 1969: The Oakland Oaks, named for the city's former baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, win the Championship of the American Basketball Association. They beat the Indiana Pacers, 135-131, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, and win the Finals, 4 games to 1.

The Oaks were owned by S. Kenneth Davidson; Dennis A. Murphy, who would later co-found the World Hockey Association with Davidson's brother, Gary Davidson; and singer Pat Boone. Boone was basically just there to have his name on the letterhead: Based in Nashville, Tennessee, he had no involvement with the team, and rarely even went to Oakland to attend games.

They were coached by Alex Hannum, who had won NBA Championships as head coach of the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks in 1958 and the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967. He and Bill Sharman would be the only coaches to win titles in both leagues.

The Oaks' players included Rick Barry, Warren Armstrong (he would later rename himself Warren Jabali), and future coaching legends Larry Brown and Doug Moe. Hannum, Barry and Brown are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

But the owners mismanaged them like crazy, they never proved as popular as the NBA’s San Francisco (soon to be renamed “Golden State”) Warriors, and moved: They became the Washington Caps in 1970, and the Virginia Squires in 1971.

The Pacers would be back, and would win the ABA Championship in 1970, ’72 and ’73. They, the New York (now Brooklyn) Nets, the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs would be admitted to the NBA in 1976. The Squires, the former Oaks, were not admitted, and folded.

But it is noteworthy that, from the Giants' Pennant of October 3, 1962 to the 49ers' NFC Championship of January 10, 1982, the City of San Francisco had no league champions in any sport, while the City of Oakland had 8: The 1967 AFL Champion Raiders; the 1969 ABA Champion Oaks; the 1972, 1973 and 1974 World Series Champion Athletics; the 1975 NBA Champion Warriors; and the 1976 and 1980 NFL Champion Raiders.

*

May 7, 1969 was a Sunday. Singer Eagle-Eye Cherry was born.

The NBA season had ended 2 days earlier, with the Boston Celtics winning Game 7 of the Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers. The NHL season had ended the day before that, with the Montreal Canadiens completing a 4-game Stanley Cup Finals sweep of the St. Louis Blues. Football was out of season.

These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 4-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Tom Murphy outpitched Stan Bahnsen. Jay Johnstone went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, well before becoming a Yankee. Bobby Murcer hit a home run.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Jim Merritt allowed 3 hits over 7 1/3rd shutout innings, and Clay Carroll completed the 3-hit shutout, outpitching Gary Gentry. Pete Rose went 0-for-2 with a walk. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Jimmy Wynn went 2-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Gary Peters outpitched Mike Cuellar. Carlos May went 3-for-5 with a solo home run. Frank Robinson went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4 with an RBI. This game was an anomaly: The O's went 109-53, and the Pale Hose went 68-94.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at Atlanta Stadium (later Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Hank Aaron went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Bob Veale allowed 8 hits and 2 walks, but still took a shutout into the 9th inning, having struck out 13. Chuck Hartenstein got the last 2 outs. Roberto Clemente did not play. Willie Stargell went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 10-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jim Kaat, a man with almost no windup, beat Luis Tiant, who had perhaps the most exaggerated windup in baseball history. Harmon Killebrew hit 2 home runs. Rod Carew went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Mickey Lolich outpitched Jim Rooker. Al Kaline went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Dodgers scored 3 runs in the top of the 12th inning, including 2 on a home run by Willie Davis. The Cubs only scored 1 in the bottom of the 12th. Jim Brewer was the winning pitcher, in relief of Claude Osteen. Fergie Jenkins went all 12 innings for the loss. Ernie Banks went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Gaylord Perry outpitched Nelson Briles. Willie Mays entered the game late as a defensive replacement, and didn't get to bat. Willie McCovey didn't play at all. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 5-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Sal Bando hit a home run. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Pilots, 5-4 at Sick's Stadium in Seattle. Sonny Siebert outpitched Gary Bell. Rico Petrocelli hit a home run. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-1 with 3 walks. Tony Conigliaro continued his comeback, going 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. I guess Bell didn't smoke them inside.

April 4, 1988: Kansas' "Hometown" Upset

Danny Manning (left) and Larry Brown

April 4, 1988: The NCAA Final Four was held in Kansas City to celebrate its 50th renewal (although not its 50th Anniversary, which would come the next season), going back to the city that had hosted the most Final Fours.

This was K.C.'s 10th. The 1st 9 were held at the Kansas City Municipal Arena. This one was held at the Kemper Arena, just over the Missouri side of the Kansas State Line, and now named the Hy-Vee Arena. Only once more, in Denver in 1990, was the Final Four was played at a building with less than 20,000 seats.

Opened in 1974, the arena was named for local banking executive Rufus Kemper, who donated $3.2 million of the $23 million it took to build the arena. In 2018, it was renamed the Hy-Vee Arena, for a Midwestern supermarket chain.

As part of the 50th Tournament celebrations, many of the sport's icons showed up for a pregame ceremony, including University of Kansas legends Wilt Chamberlain (lost the 1957 Final to North Carolina) and Clyde Lovellette (won the 1952 Final over St. John's); UCLA coach John Wooden and some of his stars, including Bill Walton (but not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was still active with the Los Angeles Lakers); and Howard Hobson, coach of the winners of the 1st Tournament in 1939, the University of Oregon. (Hobson lived until 1991.)

Having a virtual home-court advantage, the Kansas Jayhawks, based 40 miles to the west in Lawrence, pulled a big upset of the University of Oklahoma, 83-79. Danny Manning was the star for the Jayhawks, and Larry Brown, frequently mocked for how he never stayed at any coaching job for too long, won the National Championship, having previously lost the Final with UCLA against Louisville in 1980.

Brown would later coach the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 NBA title, and remains the only coach to win both an NCAA and an NBA title. Manning went on to play 15 seasons in the NBA, including under Brown on the Los Angeles Clippers and the Pistons. He later returned to Kansas as an assistant coach, and has been the head coach at the University of Tulsa, Wake Forest and Maryland.

*

April 4, 1988 was a Monday, as NCAA Tournament Finals tend to be. As they also tended to be in the late 20th Century, they coincided with Major League Baseball's Opening Day, and these games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 10-6 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Dwight Gooden outpitched Dennis Martinez. Darryl Strawberry went 4-for-4 with 2 solo home runs and a walk. One of the homers was the longest ever hit at Le Stade Olympique, crashing into the right field roof, 535 feet from home plate.

Lenny Dykstra (3 RBIs), Kevin Elster and Kevin McReynolds (4-for-5 with 3 RBIs) also hit home runs. Former Met Hubie Brooks homered for the Expos.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Jack Morris and Roger Clemens both went 9 innings, but the game went to a 10th, where Lee Smith gave up a home run to Alan Trammell. Mike Henneman mopped up for Morris. Matt Nokes also homered for the Tigers. For the Sox, Wade Boggs went 2-for-5, and Brady Anderson went 3-for-5.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 12-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. It was a bad omen for the O's: They lost their 1st 21 games of the season, an all-time record, and 107 games over the course of the season.

Teddy Higuera outpitched Mike Boddicker. Dale Sveum went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Robin Yount went 1-for-4 with a walk. Paul Molitor went 1-for-4 with 2 walks. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Jeff Treadway led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a walk, and eventually scored on a single by Kal Daniels. Joe Magrane was the starting pitcher for the Cards, and hit a home run, but did not figure in the decision.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 8-5 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ricky Horton outpitched Mike Witt. Ken Williams, later to be the general manager who built the White Sox' 2005 World Series winners, went 2-for-3 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Jimmy Key outpitched Bret Saberhagen. George Brett went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Pete O'Brien hit 2 homers, to make a winning pitcher out of Charlie Hough. He and the Indians' starter, Tom Candiotti, were both knuckleballers, but it would be Chris Codiroli who blew the lead for Candiotti.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Dave Dravecky outpitched Fernando Valenzuela. Brett Butler went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. The only Dodger run came on a home run by Steve Sax.

The Giants had won the National League Western Division the year before, and would win it the year after, and the Pennant, too. Not this year: The Dodgers went on to win the World Series.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Dave Stewart outpitched Mark Langston. José Canseco and Dave Henderson hit home runs for the A's.

* The New York Yankees opened the next day, April 5, beating the Minnesota Twins, 8-0 at Yankee Stadium. Rick Rhoden pitched a 3-hit shutout, beating Frank Viola. Mike Pagliarulo and Rickey Henderson hit home runs. Willie Randolph and Roberto Kelly each went 3-for-4. Dave Winfield went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Don Mattingly went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates also opened the next day. The Pirates won, 5-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Dunne outpitched Shane Rawley. Barry Bonds hit his 13th career home run. There would be 749 more. Mike Schmidt hit his 531st career home run. There would be 17 more.

* The Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves also opened the next day. The Cubs won, 10-9 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Rick Sutcliffe and Rick Mahler started, but neither lasted into the 6th inning. Manny Trillo hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the 13th inning, to score Vance Law with the winning run, making a winning pitcher of Mike Bielecki.

* And the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres also opened the next day. The Astros won, 6-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Mike Scott outpitched Ed Whitson. Glenn Davis hit a home run. Tony Gwynn went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

Football was out of season. No games were played in the NBA. And the NHL was between its regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This was also the day that Evan Mecham of Arizona became the 1st Governor of any State to be removed through impeachment by his State's legislature. I have a separate entry for that event.

March 24, 1980: Louisville's Doctors of Dunk

March 24, 1980: The Final of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is held at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. The University of Louisville won its 1st National Championship, as Denny Crum's Cardinals beat UCLA, 59-54. The Cardinals were known as the Doctors of Dunk, and their star, Darrell Griffith, was known as Dr. Dunkenstein.

Crum had been a player under John Wooden at UCLA in the late 1950s, and then an assistant coach under him, helping him lead the Bruins to the National Championship in 1969, '70 and '71. He was then hired at Louisville, and got them to the Final Four in his 1st season, 1972, and again in 1975.

Denny Crum

Led by guards Griffith and Jerry Eaves, forwards Derek Smith and Wiley Brown, and center Rodney McCray, the Cardinals went into the 1980 Final at 32-3, having lost only by 2 points away to Utah, by 12 to Illinois in a holiday tournament in Hawaii, and by 17 to Iona at Madison Square Garden. They went undefeated in the Metro Conference, and won its Tournament, and beat Kansas State, Texas A&M, Louisiana State and Iowa in the NCAA Tournament.

UCLA were coached by Larry Brown, early in a great coaching career. They came in at 22-9, led by forward Kiki Vandeweghe, son of former NBA star Ernie Vandeweghe. They had close losses away to Notre Dame (which had previously done that to UCLA teams in 1971 and 1974), at home to DePaul, and at home to Arizona State and Washington. Their other losses were not as close. They failed to win the regular-season title of the Pacific-10 Conference, which, at the time, did not have a tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, they beat Old Dominion, DePaul, Ohio State, Clemson and Purdue.

UCLA had previously lost in the Semifinal in 1962, 1974 and 1976. But they had never lost a Final before: They were 10-0. In this Final, UCLA led at the half, 28-26. But Louisville rode Griffith's game-high 23 points to win, 59-54. After watching their arch-rivals, the University of Kentucky, win 5 National Championships, Louisville fans finally had one of their own.

UCLA would later be forced to vacate all 5 of their wins in the Tournament, and their loss in the Final, after players representing the school were declared ineligible by the NCAA. They were placed on two years' probation, which included a one-year NCAA tournament ban.

How much responsibility Larry Brown bears for that is uncertain, but he remained as UCLA coach for 1 more season, then left to take a much higher-paying pro job, holding it for 2 years, before returning to the college ranks at Kansas. So it couldn't have been so bad that no college would hire him again.

He got them to the Final Four in 1986, and won the title in 1988. In 2004, he led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA title. As of the 2020-21 season, he remains the only coach to win both the NCAA and the NBA title.

Crum led Louisville to the Final Four again in 1982 and 1983, and to a 2nd National Championship in 1986. He retired after the 2001 season, with a 675-295 record, 15 regular-season Conference Championships, 11 Conference Tournament wins, 6 Final Four appearances and 2 National Championships. Crum was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994; Brown, in 2002.

Griffith went on to star with the Utah Jazz, becoming the 1981 NBA Rookie of the Year. Both UL and the Jazz retired Number 35 for him. UL has named him a "university ambassador" -- basically, a schmoozer for potential donors. Eaves played 5 years in the NBA, and went into coaching, and has been the head coach at historically-black schools North Carolina A&T and Simmons College.

Rodney McCray played 10 seasons in the NBA, reaching the Finals with the 1986 Houston Rockets, making the All-Defensive First Team in 1988, and winning the title with the 1993 Chicago Bulls. Wiley Brown only played pro basketball at the minor-league level, but also played football at Louisville, and was a defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles for 2 years. In 2022, he is the head basketball coach at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.

Derek Smith played 9 seasons in the NBA. In 1996, he was an assistant coach for the Washington Bullets, and was on a cruise for season ticket holders for the Bullets and the NHL's Washington Capitals, both then owned by Abe Pollin, when he suffered a heart attack and died. He was only 34 year old. In 2010, his son, Nolan Smith, won a National Championship at Duke. The Smiths are 1 of 4 father-son pairs to win National Championships, along with Marques and Kris Johnson, Henry and Mike Bibby, and Scott and Sean May.

UPDATE: Later in 2022, Nolan Smith joined the coaching staff at the University of Louisville. Denny Crum died the next year. In 2025, Nolan Smith was named the head coach at Tennessee State.

*

March 24, 1980, as NCAA Tournament Finals usually are, was a Monday. This was also the day that Óscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, was assassinated. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA scheduled no games for the day. There were 2 games in the NHL. The St. Louis Blues beat the Hartford Whalers, 7-5 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena). And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Washington Capitals, 6-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.