November 27, 2011: The Tragedy of Gary Speed

Note the White Rose of the House of York,

still the symbol of Yorkshire, on Leeds' badge.

November 27, 2011: Gary Speed, the Welsh soccer star who became one of Britain's greatest TV studio analysts for the sport, takes his own life. He was 42 years old.

Gary Andrew Speed was born on September 8, 1969 in Mancot, Flintshire, Wales. He grew up on the street where Kevin Ratcliffe, then captain of Liverpool-based team Everton Football Club, lived. As Liverpool is near Wales, many people in the Principality support Everton, and many others support Liverpool FC. Also from Wales, and on the great Everton teams of the 1980s, were goalkeeper Neville Southall and left back Pat Van Den Hauwe. So was midfielder Barry Horne, a star (along with Southall) of their 1995 FA Cup winners.

A midfielder, with pace to match his name, Speed was signed by Yorkshire club Leeds United, and helped them win the Football League Division One title in 1992 -- the last title under the old banner, before the English top flight became known as the Premier League.

In 1996, he was sold to the club he loved growing up, Everton. A year later, Howard Wilkinson, his manager at Leeds, became his manager again, but their relationship soured. In 1998, he was sold to Newcastle United, and helped them reach the FA Cup Final that year (although they lost to North London team Arsenal) and the next (losing to Man United). In 2002, he helped Newcastle qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

He was sold to Lancashire team Bolton Wanderers in 2004, and stayed with them until 2008. They sold him to Yorkshire team Sheffield United, and he played the last 2 seasons of his career with them. He scored 104 goals in his career, and was known for scoring with headers.

He appeared 85 times for the Wales national team between 1990 and 2004, eventually serving as their Captain 44 times. Rarely troubled by injury or suspension, at the time of his retirement, he held the record for the most appearances in the Premier League at 535, until it was surpassed by David James; and only his Everton teammate Southall had made more appearances for Wales.

He retired as a player when Sheffield United named him manager. Only 4 months later, on December 11, 2010, he was named manager of his national team. As usual, Wales struggled, and by August 2011, they were ranked 117th in the world (out of 211 "nations" recognized by FIFA, the world's governing body for soccer). But 2 wins in the Autumn got them up to 45th.

Speed as Wales manager,

with one of his successors as team Captain,

Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal.

He married Louise in 1996, and had sons Tommy and Eddie. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE: Member of the Order of the British Empire.

On November 26, 2011, still manager of Wales, he appeared on the BBC One TV show Football Focus, and joined his former Newcastle United teammate Alan Shearer to watch that team play Manchester United, at Man U's Old Trafford. No one seemed to think anything was wrong.

The next day, Louise found him dead in the garage at their home in Huntington, Cheshire, England. He had hanged himself.

He seemed to have so much to look forward to, and so much respect among his peers, and so many friends. He didn't leave a suicide note, so no one really knows why he did it. It has been suggested that he was depressed. It is also possible that, with his reputation for heading the ball, he may have sustained brain damage, similar to American football players, and a few other British soccer stars. He was cremated, so there is no gravesite.

*

November 27, 2011 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. These games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills, 28-24 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New England Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-20 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

* The Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings, 24-14 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

* The Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-13 at EverBank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-17 at LP Field (now Nissan Stadium) in Nashville.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 23-20 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the Indianapolis Colts, 27-19 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the St. Louis Rams, 23-20 at the Edward Jones Dome (now The Dome at America's Center) in St. Louis.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 13-9 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Denver Broncos beat the San Diego Chargers, 16-13 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

* The Oakland Raiders beat the Chicago Bears, 25-20 at the O.co Coliseum (as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was then known).

* The Washington Redskins beat the Seattle Seahawks, 23-17 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* Three days earlier, on Thanksgiving Day, the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions, 27-15 at Ford Field in Detroit; the Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins, 20-19 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas; and the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers, 16-6 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

* And on ESPN Monday Night Football, the New Orleans Saints beat the New York Giants, 49-24 at the Superdome.

The NBA team owners had locked the players out, and the season did not begin until Christmas Day. But there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 2-1 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Minnesota Wild, 5-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Anaheim Ducks, 5-2 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

July 4, 1963: George Eastham Breaks the Maximum Wage

George Eastham

July 4, 1963: The Football League's maximum wage is legally overturned, thanks to the efforts of George Eastham and Jimmy Hill.

George Edward Eastham was born on September 23, 1936 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The son and nephew of professional soccer players, the forward starred for North-East club Newcastle United, starting in 1956. But he is best known for challenging English football's version of what was known as the reserve clause in baseball, and also the maximum wage.

Hill had starred as a midfielder at West London team Fulham F.C., and later became Chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, the players' union. At the time of the case, Hill was the manager of Midlands team Coventry City. Despite now managing a team, he recognized that the players and the managers had a common "enemy" in the team owners.

Jimmy Hill

The maximum wage was £20 per week -- with inflation, equivalent to about £322 in 2022, or, with the current exchange rate, about $421. That's not even enough to rent your own apartment, not in the suburbs of New York or London, let alone in either city.

And Eastham fell out with Newcastle management, and wanted to be sold, but they didn't want to sell. As with baseball's reserve clause, English soccer's version, known as "retain-and-transfer," bound a player to a team for life unless the club wanted to sell, and NUFC didn't. They didn't care if he was happy: The wanted him available and compliant.

Like Curt Flood would in baseball a decade later, Eastham compared it to slavery:

Most people called it the "slavery contract." We had virtually no rights at all. It was often the case that the guy on the terrace not only earned more than us – though there's nothing wrong with that – he had more freedom of movement than us. People in business or teaching were able to hand in their notice and move on. We weren't. That was wrong.

Eastham went on strike at the end of the 1959-60 season, moving south to work for an old family friend, selling cork in Guildford, Surrey, a venture which earned him more money than his Newcastle contract paid. Finally, in October 1960, Newcastle relented, and sold Eastham to North London team Arsenal F.C. for £47,500, an enormous sum for the time.

But Eastham had only gotten one thing he wanted, and considered the rest, freedom of movement and the abolition of the maximum wage, worth fighting for. Hill convinced the PFA to provide £15,000 to pay for Eastham's legal fees, and he took NUFC to the High Court.

In Eastham v. Newcastle United, Eastham argued that retain-and-transfer was an unfair restraint of trade, and that Newcastle owed him £400 in unpaid wages and £650 in unpaid bonuses. The judge, Richard Wilberforce, later a Baron, ruled that, since Eastham had gone on strike, he was not entitled to the money. So Eastham did not gain personally, other than getting the transfer he wanted, which he already had.

Mr Justice Wilberforce

But Mr Justice Wilberforce ruled that the retain-and-transfer system was unreasonable, and struck it down. Eastham had won. This makes him English soccer's Curt Flood and its Andy Messersmith.

Eastham starred for Arsenal for 6 years, although it was a down period for the team. He, Joe Baker, Geoff Strong and Alan Skirton formed a great attack, but they had a poor defense. It would take a complete rebuilding process for Arsenal to become a power again.

Eastham was the only Arsenal player named to the England team that won the 1966 World Cup on home soil, although he didn't play in the tournament. He did play for England in the 1962 World Cup. After the '66 edition, he was sold to Staffordshire club Stoke City, and, along with fellow '66 England hero Gordon Banks in goal, helped the club win their only major trophy in their 159-year history, the 1972 League Cup.

He later moved to South Africa, set up a sportswear business, and defied the apartheid government by teaching the game to black kids. He became the chairman of the South African Arsenal Supporters' Club. As of July 4, 2022, he is still alive.

Hill went into broadcasting, working on ITV's The Big Match from its 1968 premiere until 1973, moving to the BBC for Match of the Day until 1988. He died in 2015.

UPDATE: George Eastham died in 2024.

*

July 4, 1963 was a Thursday. This was also the day the film The Great Escape premiered. I have a separate entry for that event.

Baseball player José Oquendo was born. Obviously, the 4th of July is not a holiday in Britain, but it is one in America, traditionally one on which baseball teams played doubleheaders:

* The New York Yankees split with the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the opener, 9-1. Whitey Ford, who would have won the American League's Cy Young Award had it not then been a both-Leagues award, outpitched Gary Peters, who went on to be named the AL's Rookie of the Year. Roger Maris and Elston Howard hit home runs.

The White Sox won the nightcap, 4-2. Juan Pizarro outpitched Bill Stafford. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play in either game. Nor did Yogi Berra, who was in his last full season as a player.

* The New York Mets were swept by the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 and 3-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The only Met run in the 1st game came on a home run by Jim Hickman, who would be a part of the Cubs' 1969 "September Swoon." Other than that, Glen Hobbie allowed only 1 hit, a single by Ron Hunt. Paul Toth pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 1-for-6 with a walk.

* The Philadelphia Phillies swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 1-0 and 5-1 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Don Demeter singled pitcher Art Mahaffey home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the 1st game. Mahaffey allowed only 2 hits over 10 innings, a triple to Roberto Clemente and a single to Donn Clendenon. He outpitched Bob Friend, who also went the extra distance.

In the 2nd game, Ryne Duren, previously known as a star Yankee reliever, went the distance for the win. The only run the Pirates scored was on a home run by Clemente.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels in a single game, 7-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5.

* The Washington Senators swept the Kansas City Athletics, 2-1 and 3-2 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (D.C. Stadium was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Cleveland Indians swept the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 and 7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Jerry Kindall won the 1st game with a home run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-4 with 2 walks, then came back in the 2nd game to go 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers swept the Minnesota Twins, 5-3 and 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 3-for-8, and Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5 with a walk.

* The Houston Colt .45s swept the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 and 6-2 at Colt Stadium in Houston. Over the 2 games, Pete Rose, who was named National League Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-9. But Frank Robinson did not play. (The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.)

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-7 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers scored 8 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Stan Musial, in his last season, went 2-for-5.

* And the Milwaukee Braves beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Hank Aaron went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Willie Mays went 4-for-5, and Willie McCovey hit a home run.

May 16, 1998: The 2nd Arsenal Double

The famous "Back Four." Left to right: Lee Dixon,

Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn.

The trophies: The FA Cup, the Premier League Trophy,

and the FA Charity Shield.

May 16, 1998: Arsenal defeat Newcastle United, 2-0, to win the FA Cup at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Having already won the Premier League title, Arsenal thus win "The Double." It is their 2nd time doing so, after 1971.

Arsenal had last finished 1st in England's top flight in 1991, under the label of The Football League Division One. In 1992, the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League. The rise of Manchester United prevented their return to the top of the League.

But Arsène Wenger, the innovative Frenchman who managed Arsenal, had David Seaman in goal, with a big mustache, a long ponytail, and the safest pair of hands in England. He had the best back four in Europe: Right back Lee Dixon, centrebacks Tony Adams (also the team Captain) and Steve Bould, and left back Nigel Winterburn. His midfield was anchored by Senegal-born Patrick Vieira, who was about to help France win the World Cup. And up front was a Dutch genius named Dennis Bergkamp.

On March 14, 1998, trailing United by 9 points, they went to United's ground, Old Trafford, and a late goal by Dutch winger Marc Overmars gave them a victory that started a 12-game winning streak. On April 3, at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London, they beat Liverpool team Everton 4-0, and clinched the title.

They had won the Football Association Cup as recently as 1993, and got back into the Final. Their opponents would be Newcastle United, the pride of England's North-East, led by forward Alan Shearer, and manager by Liverpool FC playing legend Kenny Dalglish. Together, Shearer and "King Kenny" had led Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995. Now, they were trying to build another great team on Tyneside. And with Arsenal's superstar Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp unavailable due to injury, "The Toon" thought they had a chance.

That chance didn't last long. Overmars scored in the 23rd minute. That lead held until the 69th, when Nicolas Anelka, a black forward from France who had just turned 19, put the game away. Arsenal won, 2-0. Centreback Tony Adams raised the FA Cup for the 2nd time, having previously raised 3 League title trophies, a League Cup, and a European Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1999, Arsenal would finish just short of the League title, losing to United, and lose to United in the Semifinal of the FA Cup. Anelka had a great season, and wanted more money. So Wenger sold him to the richest team in the world, Spain's Real Madrid.

With the money he got for Anelka, he bought another French forward, Thierry Henry, who would become the team's all-time leading goalscorer; and build the team's new training ground at London Colney. So, despite only playing 2 seasons for Arsenal, Anelka turned out to be a key player in the team's history. Arsenal would win a 3rd "Double" in 2002, win the Cup again in 2003 and 2005, go unbeaten in winning the League in 2004, and reach the Final of the UEFA Champions League in 2006.

As for Newcastle, they reached the Final again in 1999, but lost to United. Dalglish and team management fell out, and Bobby Robson was named manager. He got the Geordies high enough in the League to qualify for the Champions League, but no major trophies. Through the 2021-22 season, Newcastle's last major trophy remains the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; their most recent FA Cup, 1955; and their most recent League title, 1927.

Shay Given, then 22, was Newcastle's goalkeeper in the 1998 FA Cup Final. In 2015, 17 years later, the native of Ireland's County Donegal would be in goal in the FA Cup Final again, for Birmingham team Aston Villa -- and, again, lost to Arsenal and Arsène Wenger.

UPDATE: In 2025, Newcastle United won the League Cup, beating Liverpool, and ending their major trophy drought at 56 years, and their domestic cup drought at 70 years.

*

May 16, 1998, like most FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team that would become the New York Red Bulls, beat their arch-rivals, the Washington club, D.C. United, 4-3 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

American football was out of season. There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

And there was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-77 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ramiro Mendoza outpitched former Yankee Bob Tewksbury. Derek Jeter went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. The next day, David Wells pitched a perfect game against the Twins.

* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Alberto Castillo hit a home run for the Mets. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. It took 3 pitchers to finish a 4-hit shutout: Steve Avery (5 innings), Rich Garces (2 2/3rds) and Tom Gordon (1 1/3rd). Damon Buford and Mo Vaugh hit home runs.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Wade Boggs went 2-for-4 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 10-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Sammy Sosa hit his 8th home run of the season. At the time, hardly anyone outside of the Chicago metropolitan area cared when Sosa hit one.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-6 with an RBI.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 16th home run of the season. He was on a pace for 65. Little did anyone know...

* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Craig Biggio hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, wasting a good performance from Braves starter Greg Maddux.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). The Phils led 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, but an error by pitcher Mark Leiter allowed the tying run, and the winning run was driven in by a single by Greg Myers.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

April 30, 1927: Newcastle's Last League Title

This photo is colorized -- or "colourised" -- but it's real.

April 30, 1927: Newcastle United, under manager Frank Watt, defeat their North-East England arch-rivals, Sunderland, 1-0 at St. James Park, and clinch the Football League title.

It is the 4th title won by "The Toon" (that's "The Town" in Geordiespeak), "The Geordies" (a nickname for people from the Newcastle area, and from the North-East in general), or "The Magpies" (for their black and white stripes). They have never won another.

Among their players was halfback Tom Curry, who would later be the trainer for Manchester United, and was killed in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958; and the great Scottish forward Hughie Gallacher, whose life would end in a very different kind of tragedy the year before, driven to suicide by an easily avoidable scandal. As far as I can tell (a lot of these guys seemed to "disappear into history"), the last survivor was outside right Jimmy Boyd, who lived until 1991.

Newcastle won the League in 1905, 1907, 1909 and 1927. Infamously, they blew a big lead in 1996, and finished 2nd that season, and again in 1997. They won the FA Cup in 1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952 and 1955; losing in the Final in 1905, 1906, 1908, 1911, 1974, 1998 and 1999. They lost the Final of the League Cup in 1976. In 1969, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League.

Since then, they have only won minor trophies: The 1973 Anglo-Italian Cup, the 1974 and 1975 Texaco Cup, and the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Why are these trophies considered "minor"? They already were at the time, but they have all been discontinued: The Texaco Cup after Newcastle's win in 1975, the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1996, and the Intertoto Cup in 2008.

UPDATE: Newcastle again lost the League Cup Final in 2023, but won it in 2025, their 1st major trophy since 1969.

*

April 30, 1927 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 3-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. Hal Wiltse outpitched Urban Shocker. Babe Ruth went 2-for-3 with a walk. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-4.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 8-7 at the Polo Grounds. The Giants had a 6-1 lead after 4 innings, but blew it, trailing 7-6 going to the bottom of the 9th. Andy Reese led off with a single, Edd Roush walked, Rogers Hornsby singled Reese home, Bill Terry bunted the runners over, George Harper was intentionally walked, and Doc Farrell singled Roush home with the winning run.

* The Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known from 1914 to 1931, in honor of manager Wilbert Robinson) beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 at Ebbets Field. Jesse Petty outpitched Hal Carlson.

Harper went 3-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, plus that walk. Hornsby went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Terry went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Cubs scored 2 in the 8th to tie the game, the Bucs 1 in the 8th to retake the lead, then the Cubs 2 more in the 9th to win it, on a home run by Lewis "Hack" Wilson.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Navin Field (later Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. 

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 2-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ted Blankenship pitched a 4-hit shutout. George Sisler went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* A doubleheader was split at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The St. Louis Cardinals won the opener, 8-4. Jesse Haines outpitched Eppa Rixey. The Cincinnati Reds won the nightcap, 9-8. Frankie Frisch hit 2 home runs, but it wasn't enough.

* And the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators were rained out at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 21. The Senators won the 1st game, 5-4. Hollis Thurston didn't finish the 5th inning, but, under the rules of the time, was credited as the winning pitcher. For the A's, Eddie Rommel didn't get an out in the 3rd inning. Jimmie Foxx only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and struck out. He did not appear in the 2nd game.

The A's won the 2nd game, 8-2. Rube Walberg went the distance, outpitching Walter Johnson. Despite it being his last season, Johnson also pitched a complete game, and went 1-for-2 with a walk and both Senator RBIs.

Over the 2 games, for the A's, Al Simmons went 3-for-9 with an RBI, Mickey Cochrane went 1-for-6 with a walk, former Brooklyn star Zack Wheat went 4-for-9 with 2 RBIs, and former Detroit star Ty Cobb did not appear in either game. For the Senators, player-manager Bucky Harris went 2-for-8, former Boston and Cleveland star Tris Speaker went 1-for-7 with 2 RBIs (on a sacrifice fly and a groundout), and Goose Goslin went 2-for-8.

April 29, 1996: Kevin Keegan Would Love It If Newcastle Beat Manchester United

April 29, 1996: Newcastle United defeat Leeds United, 1-0 at Elland Road in Leeds, Yorkshire, to remain in the race for the Premier League title. Newcastle had a huge lead in the table (or, as we would say, the standings) over Manchester United, but had blown it.

In January, "The Toon" -- that's "The Town" in the "Geordie" dialect of the North-East of England -- got knocked out of both the FA Cup and the League Cup. But, as of February 10, they had lost only 3 League games all season, all away: To Southampton, Chelsea, and Manchester United. They were 9 points ahead of Man U, and had a game in hand.

Then came an 8-game stretch where they won 2 (beating West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers at home), drew 1 (away to Manchester city), and lost 5 (away to West Ham, Arsenal, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, and, at home on March 4, 1-0 to Man United). They had now bounced back, winning 3 straight, home to Aston Villa and Southampton, and away to Leeds. Man U now led them by 3 points, although Newcastle still had a game in hand: 2 games remaining, to Man U's 1.

Interviewed on Sky Sports after the Leeds game, Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan, once one of the club's greatest players, went on an epic rant about Man U's manager, the master of mind games, Alex Ferguson. Ferguson stoked tensions when he cast doubt on the commitment of the likes of Leeds and Nottingham Forest to try as hard against Newcastle as they did against his Manchester United team, suggesting that Forest, who were due to play the Magpies for Stuart Pearce's testimonial, might even "let Newcastle win."

Keegan was incensed, and, when the opportunity arose after his side's hard-fought win over Leeds, he could not contain his fury:

When you do that with footballers, like he said about Leeds, and when you do things like that about a man like Stuart Pearce, I've kept really quiet, but I'll tell you something, he went down in my estimation when he said that.

We have not resorted to that, but I'll tell you, you can tell him now if you're watching it, we're still fighting for this title, and he's got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and -- and -- I'll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, love it!

Pretty much everybody who didn't love Man United loved hearing him say it. But pretty much everybody, regardless of how they felt about Man United, thought that King Kev had fallen victim to Fergie's mind games -- that he had, as they say in England, "lost the plot."

On May 2, Newcastle went to the City Ground in Nottingham, and could only manage a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, handing the League title to the idle Man United. On May 5, at home at St. James' Park, they closed the season by drawing 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur, while Man United beat Middlesbrough, 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium.

United won the title by 4 points, and went on to win "The Double" by winning the FA Cup Final on May 11, beating Liverpool, 1-0 at Wembley Stadium in West London. But it wouldn't have mattered if Newcastle had won those last 2 games, giving them 82 points, the same number as United: United would have won the title on the 1st tiebreaker, goal difference, +38 to +29 -- or, more accurately, +31, had Newcastle won those last 2 games by 1 goal each.

They would have needed a net improvement of 10 goals over those last 2 games to win the title, unless United had dropped points at Middlesbrough, who were in 12th place. Barring a tremendous upset by Boro, the title had already been lost in that February 21 to April 8 run.

Keegan was one of the great British soccer players of his generation, but he never reached the same heights as a manager. For many fans, this postgame rant symbolized his time as a field boss. And this was before the American football coaches Jim Mora, Herman Edwards and Dennis Green did their famous press conference rants. (Respectively: "Playoffs?" "You play to win the game!" and "They are who we thought they were!")

*

April 29, 1996 was a Monday. Actress Katherine Langford was born.

American football was out of season. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but no games were played on this day. There were 2 games in the NBA Playoffs. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Indiana Pacers, 90-83 at The Omni in Atlanta. And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz, 94-91 in overtime at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland. Karl Malone scored 35 points in defeat for the Jazz.

And these 7 Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 3-2 at Shea Stadium. Pete Harnisch was the winning pitcher.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 8-7 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the California Angels, 4-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now named Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-6 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 2-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Joey Hamilton pitched a 4-hit shutout. Uncharacteristically, Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

April 28, 1951: The Milburn Final

April 28, 1951: The FA Cup Final is held at the old Wembley Stadium in London. It features two of the most popular players in the country, but neither has yet won a major trophy: Jackie Milburn of North-East side Newcastle United, in their black-and-white-striped shirts that got them nicknamed the Magpies; and Stanley Matthews, "the Wizard of Dribble," for Lancashire team Blackpool, whose fans like to say of their main color, “It’s not orange, it’s tangerine.”

The game was scoreless until early in the 2nd half, when Milburn, a local lad known as "Wor Jackie" -- "Our Jackie" in the Geordie dialect of English, and a cousin of later stars Bobby and Jack Charlton -- scored twice in a span of 5 minutes, giving Newcastle a 2-0 win. Captain Joe Harvey received the Cup from King George VI – who will be dead in less than a year.

Milburn would lead Newcastle to victory in the Cup again in 1952, and again in 1955, scoring 45 seconds, not minutes, into the game. But Football League success eluded them: Since their last title in 1927, they had been relegated from the First Division to the Second Division in 1934, promoted again in 1948, but never finished higher than 4th in the First Division in Milburn's tenure with them, 1943 to 1957, doing so in 1949 and 1951.

Along with later stars Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer, Milburn remains one of the most popular players in Newcastle history, with a statue on Strawberry Place, across from their stadium, St. James' Park.

Charlie Crowe was the last surviving player from the 1951 Newcastle team, living until 2010.

Matthews would lead Blackpool to the FA Cup in 1953, defeating Bolton Wanderers, including another longtime English star who had never won a trophy, Nat Lofthouse. He finally led Bolton to the Cup in 1958.

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April 28, 1951 was, like all FA Cup Final days, a Saturday. This baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 6-4 at Yankee Stadium. Tom Morgan outpitched Al Sima. Joe DiMaggio, in his last season, went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Mickey Mantle, in his 1st season, went 2-for-4. Yogi Berra, in his prime, went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 8-4 at Ebbets Field. Preacher Roe outpitched Roger Bowman. Jackie Robinson and Carl Furillo hit home runs. Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky hit them for the Dodgers.

On August 11, the Dodgers would be 13 1/2 games ahead of the Giants. In the end, things were different.

* The Boston Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Braves Field in Boston. Max Surkont allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching Russ Meyer.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Dom DiMaggio (Joe's brother) and Lou Boudreau hit home runs. Ted Williams went 1-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ralph Kiner went 0-for-4 with a walk.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium).

* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Hank Sauer and Andy Pafko hit home runs. Stan Musial went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 12-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

April 23, 1932: The Jack Allen Game

April 23, 1932: Newcastle United defeat Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London, thanks to a goal by Jack Allen that should have been disallowed due to the pass from Jimmy Richardson coming from out of bounds.

This may have been the first instance of Arsenal being cheated out of a major trophy, or at least a good shot at one. It was not the last.

Arsenal had won the Cup in 1930, and the Football League in 1931. But in 1932, they finished 2nd in the League, and lost the Final. Thus, they finished one place of each competition, instead of winning both and "doing The Double." It would take until 1971 for Arsenal to do that, and they did it again in 1998 and 2002.

Huddersfield Town were the 1st team to have a Runner-Up Double, in 1928. They have been followed by Arsenal in 1932, Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1939, Leeds United in 1965 and 1970, Everton in 1986, Manchester United in 1995 and 2018, and Manchester City in 2013.

The winning goalscorer, Jack Allen, had previously helped Sheffield Wednesday win the Football League title in 1929 and 1930. He died in 1957.

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April 23, 1932 was a Saturday. Fashion designer Halston (born Roy Halston Frowick) and running advocate Jim Fixx were born on this day.

These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 16-5 at Yankee Stadium. The A's knocked Gordon Rhodes out of the box with 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning, and a rookie named Ivy Andrews (that was his real name) pitched the rest of the way.

The Yankees struck back with 6 runs in the bottom of the 1st, chasing Rube Walberg, and coasted. Babe Ruth went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Lou Gehrig went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. For the A's, Jimmie Foxx went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs before leaving the game.

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Chuck Klein and Les Mallon hit home runs for the Phils. Bill Terry and Mel Ott both went 1-for-5.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Boston Braves, 7-1 at Braves Field in Boston.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 5-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Carl Fischer pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-9 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Paul Waner went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and an RBI, while Lloyd Waner went 2-for-5.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-7 at League Park in Cleveland. The Tigers led 7-4 going into the bottom of the 8th, but the Indians tied it, and then Earl Averill singled Wes Ferrell home in the bottom of the 9th, to win the game, and to make Ferrell the winning pitcher.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Reds shortstop Leo Durocher mishandled Billy Herman's grounder, allowing Charlie Grimm to score. 

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-6 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

February 5, 2011: Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal

Cheick Tioté after his equalizer

February 5, 2011: Arsenal Football Club lead Newcastle United, 4-0 in the 67th out of 90 minutes. And end up not winning the game.

On September 18, 2010, Arsenal were leading Sunderland 1-0. But in the 55th minute, referee Phil Dowd sent Alex Song off with a highly questionable 2nd yellow card, leaving Arsenal down to 10 men. After 90 minutes, and Arsenal still up 1-0. 4 minutes of stoppage time were awarded. At 4:15 into stoppage time, Darren Bent, formerly playing for Arsenal's arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, scored an equalizer for Sunderland, taking 2 points away from the Gunners.

Five months later, Dowd would strike again, and in far more blatant fashion.

The Gunners went into the game with 49 points in Premier League play, placing them 2nd in the table, 5 points behind Manchester United. They had played 24 out of the 38 League games, so there was still plenty of time to make up the difference, including a potential title decider at the Emirates Stadium in North London on May 1. (They had already lost away to United, 1-0, in December.)

Arsenal had also advanced to the 5th Round of the FA Cup, the Final of the League Cup, and the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. No English team has ever come close to winning all 4 trophies -- although Celtic, of Glasgow, did it in Scottish football in 1967 -- but the chances of winning a trophy, or even more than one, were there.

In contrast, Newcastle were going nowhere: They were stuck in the middle of the pack, with 30 points, and were in a downward spiral: From a January 5 win over East London team West Ham United until the end of the season, a 3-3 draw with Birmingham-area team West Bromwich Albion on May 22, the Magpies (for their black-and-white-striped shirts) played 17 League games, and won only 3 of them, plus 9 draws, for 18 out of a possible 51 points.

They had been knocked out of the League Cup on October 27, when a less-than-full-strength Arsenal team came to St. James' Park, and beat them, 4-0. And they had been knocked out of the FA Cup on January 8, losing to Stevenage, a Hertfordshire team in League Two, the 4th division of English football.

Newcastle hadn't won a trophy of any kind since the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, a tournament that meant so little, it is no longer conducted. Their last trophy of any consequence was the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Europe's 2nd-largest competition, which has since had its name changed twice, to the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Europa League. Their last FA Cup win was in 1955. And their last League title was in 1927.

But they have one of the biggest stadiums in England: St. James' seats 52,305. And they have one of the most passionate fanbases, though this sometimes gets taken to excess. An American sportswriter compared the "Geordies," people in the North-East of England who root for "The Toon" ("The Town" in the Geordie dialect) to Philadelphia Eagles fans in terms of intensity of rooting amid long-term failure by the team.

So when Newcastle hosted Arsenal on February 5, 2011, things seemed to be going in Arsenal's favor. So often in an "injury crisis" by this point of the season, Arsenal were mostly healthy: Of their usual intended starting XI, manager Arsène Wenger was able to start everyone but Samir Nasri, replacing him with fellow French midfielder Abou Diaby, ironically so often injured himself. But having Diaby in the lineup would prove more significant than anyone could have imagined.

The game could not have begun any better for Arsenal. English forward Theo Walcott scored just 40 seconds after the kickoff. Swiss centerback Johan Djourou scored in the 3rd minute, a header off of a free kick by Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin. Dutch forward Robin van Persie scored in the 10th, and again in the 26th. The Gunners were blowing the Magpies away. Could this thing end 10-0?

It was still 4-0 at the half. A lot of Geordies had left St. James'. There seemed to be little reason to stay. It would take an extraordinary turn of events for Newcastle to avoid defeat.

They got it. However, "extraordinary" doesn't necessarily mean "virtuous." Joey Barton, a midfielder from Liverpool, had received a 4-month suspended sentence for assaulting a Manchester City teammate on the training ground in 2007; had served 74 days in prison for assault in 2008; and, having been acquired by Newcastle, had punched Blackburn Rovers player Morten Gamst Pedersen in the stomach during a game.

Especially telling in that last case was the fact that the referee said he didn't see it, but video evidence proved it, and Barton was suspended for the next 3 matches, as would have happened had he correctly been given a straight red card and been thrown out of the game.

Joey Barton -- pretending to be Italian?

While noting Barton's history, it's also important to note Arsenal's, especially Diaby's. In 2006, less than 4 months after Arsenal acquired him, he got his ankle broken by a tackle from Sunderland player Dan Smith. Diaby missed 8 months. Two years after that, Brazilian forward Eduardo da Silva had his leg broken by Martin Taylor of Birmingham City. Eduardo missed one full year. Two years after that, Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey had his leg broken by Ryan Shawcross of Stoke City. Ramsey missed one full year.

Each time, the English media protected the offender, saying things like, "He's not that kind of player," when the evidence proves that each of them had repeatedly been dirty. Word got around England: "Arsenal don't like it up 'em." The media tended to refer to Arsenal's opponents with words like "hard-working," "stout-hearted" and "tough," as opposed to the Arsenal "foreigners," who were "stylish" and "soft."

In the 50th minute, Diaby received a pass, and Barton made a dirty tackle. He should have been sent off. But the referee was Phil Dowd, and he didn't see it. What he did see was Diaby, unhurt, getting up, and shoving the back of Barton's head. Barton, a known diver, fell to the ground, harder than such a shove ordinarily would have done to him. Dowd gave Diaby a straight red, and Arsenal would have to play the last 40 minutes of the game, plus stoppage time, down to 10 men.

Phil Dowd

Well, at 4-0, that shouldn't have made much of a difference. After 67 minutes, the 3/4 mark of the game, it was still Newcastle 0-4 Arsenal. But then, Newcastle's Irish forward Leon Best was shoved in the penalty area by French centerback Laurent Koscielny, who really should have known better. The penalty was correctly awarded by Dowd. But it should not have been taken by Barton, because Barton shouldn't have been on the pitch: He should have been sent off with Diaby. He converted it, and it was 4-1.

That still shouldn't have made much of a difference. But Best scored in the 75th, to make it 4-2. In the 83rd, off a free kick, English defender Mike Williamson tried to head the ball in the box, was stuck between 2 Arsenal players, and went down. No honest referee would have given the penalty. Phil Dowd was no honest referee. He gave the penalty. Of course, Barton, who shouldn't have still been on the pitch, took it, and scored it. Arsenal, with 10 men, had 7 minutes, plus stoppage time, to defend a 4-3 lead that had been 4-0.

In the 87th minute, Barton -- who, again, should have been sent off in the 50th -- jumped for a loose ball, missed it, and went down a bit too hard. Dowd awarded a free kick to Newcastle. Of course, Barton was the one to take it.

Koscielny cleared it, but, in so doing, the ball went to Cheick Tioté, a midfielder from the Ivory Coast, who fired a left-footed shot, and Arsenal's Polish goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny, who hadn't come close to stopping either of Barton's penalties, could do nothing about it. It was 4-4. It was the greatest comeback in English football since, at least, the transition from the old Football League Division One to the Premier League in 1992.

The scoreline was not new for Arshavin: Two years earlier, he had scored all of Arsenal's goals, but the team had blown 1-0, 3-2 and 4-3 leads to finish 4-4.

Ironically, the very same day, United lost for the 1st time all season, 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton, outside Birmingham.

For Arsenal, things went from bad (by their standards) to worse. On February 20, they could only manage a 1-1 draw away to League One (3rd division) side Leyton Orient in East London, in the 5th Round of the FA Cup. They won the replay, 5-0.

But the injuries piled up. On February 27, a late mixup led to Birmingham City beating them 2-1 in the League Cup Final. Suddenly, the subject of how long it had been since Arsenal won a trophy began to frequently come up. At this point: 6 years, since the 2005 FA Cup. Birmingham City got relegated from the Premier League to The Championship (the 2nd division) at the end of the season, making it even more embarrassing that Arsenal had lost a trophy final to them.

On February 16, at the Emirates, Arsenal played FC Barcelona in the 1st leg of the Champions League Round of 16. A late goal by Arshavin gave them a 2-1 win. But on March 8, in the 2nd leg, at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, everything fell apart, in a game with officiating so bad that I thought it worthy of its own entry on this blog. Barcelona won, 3-1, and eliminated Arsenal, 4-3 on aggregate. Just 4 days later, an injury-riddled Arsenal went to Old Trafford, and sustained another key injury as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United, 2-0 in a Quarterfinal.

Arsenal would win the May 1 PL contest with United, 1-0, but, by that point, it didn't matter. They finished 4th, with 68 points, 12 behind United, and also finishing behind Chelsea and FA Cup winners Manchester City. United went on to lose the Champions League Final to Barcelona.

Speaking of Man City: The next season, 2011-12, they won the Premier League in dramatic fashion, beating Queens Park Rangers of West London on a goal in stoppage time by Sergio Agüero. Among the opposing QPR players was Joey Barton, who got sent off for attacking 3 City players.

In a playing career that lasted from 2002 to 2017, Barton was called up to play for England exactly once, in 2007. In terms of team achievements, he helped gain promotion to the Premier League for Newcastle in 2010, QPR in 2014, and Lancashire team Burnley in 2016. But he never won a major trophy, or appeared in a major European club tournament. He has gone down in history as a dirty player -- perhaps the dirtiest ever to play in the Premier League era without playing for either Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho.

In 2018, he was appointed manager of Lancashire team Fleetwood Town. He lasted 3 years, then was hired to manage Gloucestershire team Bristol Rovers.

The equalizer was the only goal that Tioté ever scored in his 7 years playing for Newcastle, having previously helped Anderlecht of Belgium and Twente Enschede of the Netherlands win national league titles. He helped the Ivory Coast win the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

On February 9, 2017, he was sold to a team in China's league, Beijing Enterprises Group. He played the for them regularly until June 5, when he suffered a heart attack during a training session, and died. He was a few days short of his 31st birthday. All over the world, from England's North-East, from China, from Africa, and from wherever Newcastle fans lived, tributes poured in. Alan Pardew, who managed Newcastle in the 4-4 game, called him "everything that you want in a Newcastle player."

In the 2011-12 season, Dowd issued a red card to Conor Sammon of Wigan Athletic -- in a game against Manchester United, at Old Trafford. Wigan appealed the decision, the card was rescinded, and Sammon's suspension was dropped. But the damage had been done: Man U won that game, 5-0. In spite of this, Dowd was rewarded by being allowed to officiate at that season's FA Cup Final, in which Chelsea beat Liverpool, 2-1. There were no incidents.

"Fat Phil" missed the entire 2015-16 season due to "injury." His retirement was then announced.

UPDATE: Newcastle United ended their trophy drought on March 16, 2025, by winning the League Cup, defeating Liverpool in the Final at Wembley Stadium.

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February 5, 2011 was a Saturday. Baseball was out of season. Super Bowl XLV was played the next day, at Cowboys Stadium (now AT&T Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-215.

There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 101-92 at the Time Warner Cable Arena (now the Spectrum Center) in Charlotte.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets, 101-95 at the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center).

* The Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-93 in overtime at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-105 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 89-78 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 113-100 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz, 121-105 at the Delta Center (then named the EnergySolutions Arena) in Salt Lake City.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls, 101-90 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards, 99-92 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

And there were 11 games played in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Boston Bruins lost to the San Jose Sharks, 2-0 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Dallas Stars, 3-1 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh. Erik Cole scored the winning goal with 2:12 left in overtime.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Anaheim Ducks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-0 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Phoenix Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild, 1-0 at the Jobing.com Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 in a shootout at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the New Jersey Devils, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Vancouver Canucks, the Washington Capitals, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers were not scheduled.