May 25, 1991: Mario and Pittsburgh Win the Cup

May 25, 1991: The Pittsburgh Penguins win their 1st Stanley Cup, taking Game 6 of the Finals against the Minnesota North Stars by a whopping 8-0, at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. Few teams have ever been so badly battered in their own house in a postseason game as the Stars were.

Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr win their 1st Stanley Cup. So does longtime Hartford Whaler star Ron Francis. So does Korean-born, Toronto-raised Jim Paek, who scores in this game. He was the 1st person of Korean descent to play in the NHL, and the 1st native of Asia to win the Cup.

Joe Mullen wins his 2nd, having also won with the 1989 Calgary Flames. Paul Coffey, the former Edmonton Oilers star, wins his 4th. And Bryan Trottier, formerly of the New York Islanders, wins his 5th.

Their coach, Bob Johnson, was known as Badger Bob, having previously led the University of Wisconsin, whose teams are known as the Badgers, to 3 National Championships. He thus became the 1st coach to win an NCAA title and an NHL title. But over the Summer, he was diagnosed with cancer, and died the following November 26. Scotty Bowman was brought in, and he led the Penguins to win the 2nd of back-to-back Cups.

Technically, this game gave Pittsburgh titles in all 4 sports: The Pirates had won 5 World Series, the Steelers had won 4 Super Bowls, and the Pittsburgh Pipers had won the 1968 American Basketball Association Championship, led by Connie Hawkins. However, the Pipers were gone after 1972, and the city has only had an NBA team in the league's 1st season, 1946-47, the Pittsburgh Ironmen. Their best player was Press Maravich, later the father and coach of Pistol Pete.

As for the Stars, they will be moved to Dallas just 2 years later. By the time they finally win the Cup in 1999, only 1 player from this team will still be there: Mike Modano.

*

May 25, 1991 was a Saturday. Football was out of season. There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 113-107 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Michael Jordan scored 33 points. The Bulls were about to end the Pistons' 3-year reign as Eastern Conference Champions, and their 2-year reign as NBA Champions, and begin a run of 6 titles in 8 seasons.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. This was a back-and-forth game, including the Yankees scoring 2 runs in the 9th inning and the Orioles 1. Steve Farr was the winning pitcher, in relief of Pascual Pérez. Don Mattingly and Cal Ripken hit home runs.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2 at Shea Stadium. Ken Hill outpitched Wally Whitehurst. Howard Johnson hit a home run.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-6 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Orlando Merced hit a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Tribe scored 2 runs in the 9th to come from behind. Robin Yount went 2-for-4. Paul Molitor went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins, 11-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. George Brett went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 4-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. It was 1-1 after 9 innings. Scott Coolbaugh hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning, and scored 2 more runs. The Astros pulled one back in the bottom of the 10th, but got no closer. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The California Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-0 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Kirk McCaskill pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, Mark Eichhorn allowed a hit in the 8th, and Bryan Harvey pitched a perfect 9th. Dave Winfield went 1-for-4.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the Oakland Coliseum. José Canseco hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-6 at the Kingdome in Seattle. In the top of the 11th, Gary Pettis singled home 2 runs, and Juan González hit a 2-run homer. In the bottom of the 11th, Jay Buhner hit a 2-run homer, but the M's got no closer. Ken Griffey Jr. also homered for them.

April 13, 1993: The End of the Minnesota North Stars

Mike Modano

April 13, 1993: The Minnesota North Stars lose to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center, in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. It is the Stars' last home game: Their owner, Norm Green, is moving them to Texas, to become the Dallas Stars.

Russ Courtnall scored the team's last goal, with 23 seconds left in the game. The 1st home game had been on October 21, 1967, also at the Met Center, a 3-1 win over the Oakland Seals, with Bill Goldsworthy scoring the 1st goal.

The North Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, losing to the New York Islanders; and in 1991, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They also got to the Playoffs' round of 4 in 1968, 1971, 1980 and 1984. They finished 1st in the Norris Division in the regular season in 1980 and 1982.

But the Met Center was built next-door to Metropolitan Stadium, in Bloomington, 9 miles south of downtown Minneapolis, and 11 miles southwest of downtown St. Paul. Transit links were not good at the time. The arena, which looked more like a giant 1960s bank than one of the 1920s arenas used by the NHL's "Original Six" teams, didn't have the kind of amenities that were being put into the new NHL and NBA arenas of the 1980s and '90s. And attendance was never all that good.

In contrast, Dallas was a fast-growing metropolitan area, had the new Reunion Arena, and was planning a larger, better arena, which became the American Airlines Center, opening in 2001.

What's more, Norm Green, who had previously moved the Atlanta Flames to his hometown of Calgary in 1980, and bought the North Stars in 1990, fell into a sex scandal, and decided that leaving Minnesota was the best thing for himself, but he didn't want to give up ownership of the team, not caring about the effect the move would have on the fans. 

The team played one more game under the Minnesota name, losing to the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on April 15. (By a weird coincidence, the last game of the original Winnipeg Jets, in the 1996 Playoffs, would also be against the Red Wings, albeit as a home game for the departing team, who became the Phoenix, now Arizona, Coyotes.)

In 1995, for financial reasons, Green sold the Stars. They won the Stanley Cup in 1999, and reached the Finals again in 2000, without him. The year 2000 also saw the restoration of Minnesota to the NHL, as the Xcel Energy Center opened on the site of the St. Paul Civic Center, which had been home to the World Hockey Association's contradictorily-named Minnesota Fighting Saints. The new team's name was also odd: The Minnesota Wild. Not Wildcats, not Wild Dogs, not Wildmen, not Wild Things, just "Wild."

The Dallas Stars -- who should have been named the Dallas Lone Stars -- reached the Stanley Cup Finals again in 2020. The Wild reached the Western Conference Finals in 2003, only their 3rd season, but, despite usually making the Playoffs, as of the 2021-22 season, they have not reached the Stanley Cup Finals.

The North Stars retired 2 numbers: 8, for right wing Bill Goldsworthy; and 19, for center Bill Masterton, the only NHL player to die as the result of an in-game injury, on February 15, 1968. Since the move, the Stars have retired 2 more numbers for players who were with them in Minnesota, both centers: Neal Broten and Mike Modano.

*

April 13, 1993 was a Tuesday. There were 8 games in the NHL that night:

* The New York Islanders and the Hartford Whalers played to a tie, 3-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-2 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St. Louis Blues, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Peter Zezel scored the winning goal with 3:14 left in overtime.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Brian Bellows -- the Number 1 overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft, and recently let go by the North Stars after 10 seasons -- scored the winning goal, with 1:10 left in overtime.

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Winnipeg Jets, 5-3 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* The Calgary Flames beat their arch-rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-4 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

There were 8 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Washington Bullets, 93-85 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 96-90 at the Boston Garden.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 112-109 in double overtime at The Omni in Atlanta. The Cavs overcame 35 points and 25 rebounds by Kevin Willis.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 110-91 at the Orlando Arena. Dennis Scott scored 41.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 126-107 at The Summit in Houston. (It's now the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.)

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings, 110-100 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 101-99 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 129-95 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

Football was out of season. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the Colorado Rockies, 8-4 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 9-6 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-5 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics, 20-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Tigers were already up 8-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning, when they scored 8 runs. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-1, had an RBI on a bases-loaded walk, and then left the game.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-0 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Alex Fernandez pitched a 3-hit shutout.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Diego Padres, 6-4 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Florida Marlins, 3-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds did not play.

* And the New York Yankees, the California Angels, the Kansas City Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers were not scheduled.