December 31, 1988: The Fog Bowl & Five-Way Mario

December 31, 1988: The Chicago Bears host the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC Divisional Playoff at Soldier Field in Chicago. It was Mike Ditka coaching the team he'd led to a Super Bowl win 3 seasons before, against a team coached by Buddy Ryan, who'd been the defensive coordinator for those Bears, and with whom he'd never gotten along.

Chicago is known for nasty Winter weather, and plenty of games at Soldier Field, both at its 1924 original (as this one was) and at its 2003 replacement, have had bitter cold, or snow, or rain, or wind blasting in off Lake Michigan, just 2 blocks away, or some combination thereof.

But they'd never been hit by fog before. San Francisco is the American city best known for fog, and while Giants games at Candlestick Park had to be called due to fog, 49ers games there never have. Cleveland Municipal Stadium had seen some Indians games called due to fog, but not Browns games. Chicago? Fog was one weather condition they were not used to.

At kickoff, the sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. Mike Tomczak threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon, putting the Bears up, 7-0. The Eagles came right back, but only got to the 26-yard line, and Luis Zendejas missed a field goal attempt.

A Seth Joyner interception of Tomczak gave the Eagles a quick next chance, but they committed 2 penalties that nullified touchdowns. Coach Buddy Ryan, so great with defense but totally clueless on offense, went for the field goal again, and, this time, Zendejas converted, making it 7-3 Chicago.

Kevin Butler missed a field goal for the Bears. Randall Cunningham drove the Eagles down the field, and got to 4th & 1 on the Bear 4. He tried a quarterback sneak, but a measurement suggested that he didn't get it, turning the ball over. A fumble recovery early in the 2nd quarter gave the Eagles another chance, but, again, they could only get a field goal attempt out of it, and it was 7-6 Chicago.

Neal Anderson ran for a touchdown, increasing the Bears' lead to 14-6. A Butler field goal made it 17-6, with 2:03 left in the half. This was when the fog arrived, coming in off the Lake. The Eagles managed a field goal before the half, and the teams went into the locker rooms with the score Bears 17, Eagles 9.

CBS had hired a helicopter to provide aerial images. The copter was forced to land, because the fog was so thick. The right thing for the officials to do would have been to suspend the game until the fog lifted. But they didn't, deciding that the fog posed no danger to fans or players (unlike, say, lightning), and they sent the teams out for the 2nd half.

Tomczak and Cunningham couldn't see their receivers. Terry Bradshaw was CBS' color commentator, and he said it was the most frustrating game he had ever seen. I watched this game on CBS, and I couldn't see anything, either. I was reminded of one of the earliest games I'd ever seen, a Los Angeles Rams vs. Minnesota Vikings Playoff game that was so muddy, I couldn't tell which team was which, despite the contrast in their colors. (The Rams' blue and gold, the Vikings' purple and white.) Come to think of it, that game was also on a New Year's Eve, in 1978, exactly 10 years earlier. The Rams won it, 34-10.

The Eagles had the 1st drive of the 2nd half, getting to the Bear 12, but an interception put an end to that. The Bears drove, but stalled, and Butler missed another field goal. An interception was turned into Zendejas' 4th field goal of the game, and the Eagles closed to within 17-12 by the end of the 3rd quarter.

Tomczak was knocked out of the game with an injury, and former starter Jim McMahon was back. He got the Bears into field goal range, and Butler added the 3 points. Around this time, Dan Hampton, the Bears' Hall of Fame defensive end, asked referee Jim Tunney what the score was, because he couldn't see the scoreboard. Never mind read it well enough to make out the numbers, he couldn't see the board. After the game, Hampton told the media, "If I'd known it was only 20-12, I would've played harder!"

The Eagles had 1 last chance, but Cunningham threw his 3rd interception of the game. He threw for 407 yards, but no touchdowns.

There had been football games known as "The Fog Bowl" before. On December 1, 1962, the Grey Cup, the Championship game of the Canadian Football League, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, also off a Great Lake (Lake Ontario), was suspended and resumed the next day. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 28-27. And on December 28, 1974, steam rising off the frozen artificial turf at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas resembled fog. Mississippi State beat North Carolina, 28-26.

Within half an hour of the final gun of this game at Soldier Field, the fog lifted. Eagle fans still believe that if the game had been suspended once the fog rolled in, and restarted once it lifted, their team would've won. I don't think so: These were still Ditka's Bears, and Ryan was a terrible head coach who would have found a way to lose. And even if they had won it, they would have had to play the NFC Championship game away to the 49ers at their Joe Montana-to-Jerry Rice peak. The Bears did play the 49ers, at Soldier Field (the Bears had the better record), and, with no weather issues, the 49ers won.

This game has been cited as part of "The Curse of Billy Penn": From 1983, when the Philadelphia 76ers won the NBA Championship, until 2008, when the Phillies won their next World Series, no Philadelphia professional sports team won a World Championship. The suggestion was that the construction of One Liberty Place in 1987, making it taller than the statue of William Penn atop City Hall, caused Penn's spirit to put a curse on the city's teams.

*

December 31, 1988 was a Saturday. One other NFL Playoff game was played: The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-13 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Bengals won the AFC Championship Game, and the 49ers beat them in Super Bowl XXIII.

There were no NBA games scheduled. But there were 9 NHL games, including all 3 New York Tri-State Area teams:

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-6 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. This was the game in which Mario Lemieux scored all 5 ways in which a player can score: Even-strength (at 4:17 of the 1st period), shorthanded (at 7:50 of the 1st), on the power play (at 10:59 of the 1st), a penalty shot (11:14 of the 2nd, and this was also shorthanded), and empty net (19:59 of the 3rd, in other words with 1 second left in regulation).

* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4 at the Nassau Coliseum

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-1 at Maple Leaf Garden in Toronto, in the 1st half of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada doubleheader.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Winnipeg Jets played the Calgary Flames to a 4-4 tie, at the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum, in the 2nd half of the CNBC doubleheader. 

November 3, 2007: One More Time for Al Arbour

November 3, 2007: Having coached 1,499 NHL games, including 4 straight Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders from 1980 to 1983, Al Arbour returns to coach his 1,500th game, at the request of Islanders coach Ted Nolan, At age 75, he became the oldest man ever to coach an NHL game. The Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3–2 at the Nassau Coliseum, giving Arbour his 740th win.

Arbour played 17 seasons as a defenseman in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings as a rookie in 1954, won it again with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1961, and again with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1962. He was one of the veteran players the St. Louis Blues chose in the 1967 Expansion Draft to make the Stanley Cup Finals in the next 3 seasons. He coached the Blues until the Islanders hired him in 1973, after their awful first season.

In 1975, their 3rd season, he led them to the Playoffs, and to a series win over the regional rival New York Rangers. In 1978, he led them to win the President's Trophy, finishing 1st overall in the League during the regular season. In 1980, they won the Stanley Cup. And they did it again in 1981. And 1982. And 1983. They reached the Finals again in 1984, but lost.

Arbour remained in charge until 1986. He was hired back in 1988, and remained in charge until 1994, including a trip to the Conference Finals in 1993. The Islanders raised a banner to the rafters of the Nassau Coliseum, with the number of his wins as head coach of the team, 739, standing in for a uniform number.

The number of games he'd coached was 1,499, just short of a milestone. In 2007, he was invited to coach that milestone game, with NHL permission. The Islanders won, and the 739-win banner honoring him was brought down from the Nassau Coliseum rafters, and was replaced with one with the number 1500.

A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Arbour fell victim to Parkinson's disease and dementia, and died in 2015.

*

November 3, 2007 was a Saturday. Actress Ever Anderson, daughter of actress Milla Jovovich and film director Paul W.S. Anderson, was born on this day.

Among the college football games played that day was a thriller at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Navy beat Notre Dame, 46-44. It is the Midshipmen's 1st win over the Fighting Irish in 44 years. In the previous 43 games, only 7 times did Navy come within 8 points of winning.

Baseball was out of season. There were 7 NBA games played that day:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 93-88 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Washington Wizards, 94-82 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 121-111 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bulls, 78-72 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings, 123-102 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 89-80 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors, 133-110 at the Delta Center (then the EnergySolutions Arena) in Salt Lake City. Al Harrington scored 38 points for the Warriors, to lead all scorers on the night, but it was in defeat.

October 11, 1967: The NHL's Great Expansion

October 11, 1967: It is a huge day in the history of the National Hockey League, as five of its "Second Six" expansion teams play their 1st regular season games:

* At the St. Louis Arena, the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota North Stars play to a 2-2 tie. Larry Keenan scores the 1st goal for St. Louis. Bill Masterton, a longtime minor-league star finally getting his chance with expansion, scores the 1st for Minnesota.

But Masterton played with no helmet, and his shaved head offered no protection. Later in the season, he will hit his head on the ice, and become the only player in the League's 105-year history (so far) to die as the direct result of an in-game injury. The NHL will dedicate an annual trophy for perseverance and courage in his memory.

* At the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the Oakland Seals defeat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1. Bill Sutherland scores the 1st Flyer goal, while Kent Douglas scores the 1st for the Seals.

This is a false dawn for the Seals: The team later known as the California Golden Seals will make the Playoffs just once before moving to become the Cleveland Browns in 1976, and in 1978 were merged with the also-bankrupt North Stars, the combined franchise staying in Minnesota. The Flyers will finish 1st in the NHL Western Division, be mostly competitive until the late 1980s, and win the 1974 and '75 Stanley Cups.

* At Pittsburgh's Civic Arena, former New York Rangers star Andy Bathgate scores the 1st goal in Pittsburgh Penguins history, but the Pens lose 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens, whose Captain, Jean Béliveau, scores his 400th career NHL goal.

* The Los Angeles Kings will debut on October 14, at the Long Beach Convention Center, as The Forum in Inglewood is not yet ready. They beat the Flyers, 4-2. The 1st L.A. goal is scored by Brian Kilrea, a nephew of 3 NHL players. He goes on to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame for his work as a coach and executive in junior hockey in the family's native Ottawa.

Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the original Toronto Maple Leafs, the minor-league baseball team that gave its name to the city's NHL team, bought the rights to the Los Angeles franchise when he was told that there were 300,000 Canadian expatriates living within a 3-hour drive of Los Angeles. The team's early struggle for attendance led him to sell the Kings, the NBA's Lakers, and The Forum to Jerry Buss in 1979. Cooke said of those alleged 300,000 people, "Now I know why they left Canada: They hate hockey!"

As I said, the Flyers won their 1st Stanley Cup in 1974, and their 2nd in 1975. They have not won it since, going 0-6 in Finals. The Penguins won their 1st in 1991, and now have 5.

The North Stars never won it, and in 1993 they moved, becoming the Dallas Stars, winning the Cup in 1999. In the process, they, in a manner of speaking, won a Cup for the Seals/Barons franchise as well. A year later, the expansion Minnesota Wild took their place in the Twin Cities. They haven't won a Cup, either.

The Kings did not reach the Stanley Cup Finals until 1993, and didn't win a Cup until 2012. They won another in 2014. And the Blues finally won one in 2019, to complete the circuit.

*

October 11, 1967 was a Wednesday. So there was no football. And the NBA and the just-founded ABA were about to begin their seasons. These other games were played in the NHL that day:

* The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-3 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings played to a tie, 4-4 at the Boston Garden.

* Along with the Kings, the Maple Leafs did not play.

And there was baseball played that day, Game 6 of the World Series at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski, Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli hit the only back-to-back-to-back home runs in Series history. Petrocelli adds another, and the Boston Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-4, and send the Series to a deciding Game 7.

Cardinal manager Red Schoendienst, himself a World Series winner as a player with the Cardinals of 1946 and the Milwaukee Braves of 1957, announces his choice to pitch Game 7: Bob Gibson, on 3 days rest. Sox manager Dick Williams, knowing that his ace, Jim Lonborg, would have only 2 days rest, announces his starter to the Boston media: "Lonborg and champagne."

Those words are put on the front page of the Boston Globe the next day, and it ticks the Cards off. And the last thing anyone wants to see in a World Series game is a ticked-off Bob Gibson. As it turned out, Lonborg had nothing, Gibson hit a home run off him, and Gibson went the distance. The Cards won, 7-2.

There is one other notable baseball story on October 11, 1967: Former Brooklyn Dodger star Gil Hodges, who married a Brooklyn woman, Joan Lombardi, and stayed in the Borough after the Dodgers moved, leaves the managerial post of the Washington Senators, to become the manager of the Queens-based Mets. The Mets do compensate the Senators. Hodges will only manage the Mets for 4 seasons before a heart attack claims his life, but one of those seasons will be the Miracle of '69.

Comedian Artie Lange was born that day. So was PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

October 5, 1982: The New Jersey Devils Debut

October 5, 1982: The New Jersey Devils play their 1st regular-season game, a 3-3 tie against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. As a favor to his friend, team owner John McMullen, John Amirante, usually the National Anthem singer for the New York Rangers, sings the Anthem for this game.

The franchise had begun play in 1974, as the Kansas City Scouts. After 2 terrible seasons, they were sold to a group that moved them to Denver, Colorado, and renamed them the Colorado Rockies, a name that would later be given to Denver's Major League Baseball team.

The Rockies made the Playoffs in 1978, but only in that season. By 1982, they were losing money fast. McMullen, a native of Montclair in Essex County, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who rose to the rank of Commander (the Academy went on to name their hockey rink for him), and a marine engineer in civilian life, bought the Rockies on May 27, 1982, and announced he would move them into the newly-constructed Meadowlands Arena, named for the recently-retired Governor who got it built.

Dr. John McMullen with the Stanley Cup

McMullen, who was then also the owner of MLB's Houston Astros, also had to compensate the Rangers, the defending Stanley Cup Champion New York Islanders, and the Philadelphia Flyers for territorial indemnification. Doing this for the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers had almost sunk the owners of the ABA's New York, soon to be New Jersey, Nets when they joined the NBA in 1976, and they were still terrible when they moved into the Meadowlands in 1981. But McMullen could afford the $20 million or so that it took to buy the team, move it, and pay off the regional rivals.

The 1st goal in team history was scored just 2 minutes and 21 seconds into the game, by team Captain Don Lever, a former Vancouver Canucks star, assisted by Steve Tambellini and Bob MacMillan. At 5:23, Hector Marini made it 2-0, assisted by Aaron Broten and Brent Ashton. At 6:31, Rick Kehoe brought the Pens within 2-1.

Don Lever

At 16:18 of the 2nd period, the Penguins went on a power play, and Pat Boutette fired past former New York Islanders backup goaltender Glenn "Chico" Resch to tie the game. Just 13 seconds into the 3rd period, Kehoe scored on another power play. But 5:03 in, the magically-named Merlin Malinowski tallied for New Jersey, assisted by Bob Lorimer and Marini. With no overtime in the regular season in those days, the game ended tied.

Three days later, also at home, the Devils played their 2nd game, and got their 1st win, against, appropriately enough, the Rangers. As of October 18, they were 3-1-3. Then they started playing like an expansion team, and went on a streak of 7 losses, followed by 3 ties, followed by 7 more losses and a tie, an 18-game winless streak, before finally winning again on November 27.

They finished with a record of 17 wins, 49 losses and 14 ties, for 48 points, finishing 5th in what was then named the Lester Patrick Division, ahead of only the Penguins. Of the 21 teams then in the NHL, they ranked 19th, ahead of only the Penguins and the Hartford Whalers.

Although Resch was a terrible goalie, he would become a beloved broadcaster for the team. Broten was the last remaining Original Devil, playing with them until 1990. His brothers Neal and Paul would also play for the Devils, and Neal, a member of the U.S. team that won the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal, would score the goal that secured the team's 1st Stanley Cup.

It would take until 1988 for the Devils to make the Playoffs, reaching Game 7 of the Conference Finals before falling. They did so again in 1994. They won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003, losing in the Finals in 2001 and 2012. However, despite moving out of the Meadowlands and into their own building, the Prudential Center in downtown Newark in 2007, they have made the Playoffs only once since those 2012 Finals, and still look like they're going in circles.

UPDATE: The Devils have retired 5 uniform numbers. They retired 3 for defenseman Ken Daneyko, 4 for defenseman Scott Stevens, 27 for defenseman Scott Niedermayer, and 30 for goaltender Martin Brodeur. All 4 of those were key on the 1st Stanley Cup win in 1995. They were also key on the 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cup wins, as was the team's all-time leading scorer, left wing Patrik Eliáš, for whom Number 26 was retired.

In addition, the Devils have a Ring of Honor. It includes founding owner John McMullen, 1995 Cup-winning head coach Jacques Lemaire, and the other player who was on all 3 Cup wins, left wing Sergei Brylin, whose Number 18 remains in circulation.

*

October 5, 1982 was a Tuesday. There were 2 other NHL games played that day. In a rematch of the previous season's Stanley Cup Finals, the New York Islanders lost to the Vancouver Canucks, 2-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. But the Isles would go on to win their 4th straight Stanley Cup that season, anyway.

And in "The Battle of Alberta," the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames, 7-5 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. Wayne Gretzky was coming off the most spectacular offensive season any hockey player has ever had, and went on to lead the Oilers to their 1st Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Islanders. The next season, the Oilers beat the Isles in the Finals to win their 1st Cup.

It was a Tuesday, so while it was during the NFL season, there were no games played that day. And the NBA wouldn't start its season until later in the month. Major League Baseball had just started its Playoffs. In Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium) in the Los Angeles suburb of Anaheim, California, the California Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-3. Tommy John outpitched Mike Caldwell. Fred Lynn hit a home run for the Halos, and Gorman Thomas hit one for the Brew Crew.

The Angels would also win Game 2 in Anaheim. But the Brewers won the next 3 in Milwaukee, winning their 1st Pennant, and becoming the 1st team ever to come back from a 2-0 deficit in either League's Championship Series. Despite having such veteran stars as John, Lynn, Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Don Sutton, Bobby Grich and Don Baylor, the Angels choked. 

September 17, 1961: The Civic Arena Opens In Pittsburgh

September 17, 1961: The Civic Arena opens in Pittsburgh. The city had been without a major sports arena since the Duquesne Gardens was demolished in 1956.

Edgar J. Kaufmann, who ran Kaufmann's department stores, and commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to build his house, Fallingwater, in 1938, came up with the idea for an auditorium with a retractable round roof -- for the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, hence the building's name. The CLO had previously been using the University of Pittsburgh's Pitt Stadium. But he died in 1955, and never saw construction begin.

That construction began in 1955, with the demolition, for the arena and its parking lots, of buildings that were home to 8,000 black people and 400 businesses, ruining what had been the lower Hill District, the cultural center of black life in Pittsburgh. This would be paralleled a few years later by the demolition of housing for Mexican-Americans on what became the site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. In a touch of irony, this new arena for the Steel City was delayed in 1959 by a steelworkers' strike.

The 1st event was the Ice Capades. The 1st roof opening was on July 4, 1962, for a comedy show headlined by Carol Burnett, who said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present the sky!"

Upon its opening, it seated 10,732 people. An addition in 1967 boosted it to 12,508, another in 1975 to 16,402, and it peaked in 1993 at 17,537.

The building immediately became home to the CLO, which used it until 1973, when it moved to Heinz Hall, then to the Benedum Center in 1988, and to The CLO Cabaret at Theater Square in 2004. The American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets, dormant since the Duquesne Gardens was torn down in 1956, were restarted, and played at the Civic Arena until the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins debuted in 1967. The American Basketball League's Pittsburgh Rens (short for "Renaissance") also began play shortly after the Arena opened, but folded with the ABL a year later.

Duquesne University played games there from 1964 to 1988. The University of Pittsburgh used it for some home games from 1984 to 2002. The NBA's Philadelphia 76ers used it for one or two "home games" per season until The Spectrum opened in 1967. The American Basketball Association's 1st title, for the 1967-68 season, was won there by the Pittsburgh Pipers, but they moved after just 1 season, moved back after another, changed their name to the Pittsburgh Condors in 1970, and folded in 1972. The Arena was also home to minor-league teams, like the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League and the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena Football League.

Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the featured speaker at a Republican Party rally at the Arena on October 12, 1962. In the closing days of the 1964 election, both major-party candidates for President spoke there, first President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Democrat, on October 27, then the Republican nominee, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, on October 29. Former Vice President Richard Nixon, running for President, had a rally there on October 28, 1968.

Cassius Clay, not yet Muhammad Ali and not yet the Heavyweight Champion of the World, beat Charlie Powell there on January 24, 1963. Larry Holmes defended the Heavyweight Championship there against Renaldo Snipes on November 6, 1981.

The 1st rock concert there was hosted by Craig "Porky" Chedwick, the WHOD disc jockey known as "The Daddio of the Raddio" and "The Pied Piper of Platter." Local group The Skyliners headlined a show that included Jackie Wilson, The Drifters, The Coasters, Jerry Butler, The Flamingos, The Angels, and The Blue-Belles, whose lead singer was Patti LaBelle.

Other concerts there included The Beatles on September 14, 1964; The Temptations on March 6, 1969; The Doors on May 2, 1970, recorded for a live album; The Rolling Stones on July 22, 1972, March 11, 1999, and January 10, 2003; Pink Floyd on June 19, 1973; Elvis Presley on June 25 and 26, 1973, and December 31, 1976; the 1st American concert by Rush on August 14, 1974; The Bee Gees on September 4 and 5, 1979; Michael Jackson with his brothers on August 13, 1981, and solo on September 26, 27 and 28, 1988; Destiny's Child on July 20, 2005; and Taylor Swift on October 1, 2009.

The Arena is best remembered as the home of the Penguins, who struggled at first. Even a switch of team colors in 1979-80, from blue and gold to the black and gold of the World Series-winning Pirates and the Super Bowl-winning Steelers, didn't help. In 1984, they drafted Mario Lemieux, who made them contenders, and led them to the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992.

The Arena was a filming location for the 1979 basketball film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh; the 1995 film Sudden Death, about a terrorist attack during Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals; and the 2001 film Rock Star, in which Mark Wahlberg played a singer with a concert there in 1987.

The cost of operating the retractable roof proved too much, and it remained closed from 1995 onward. As the team's largest creditor, Lemieux was awarded ownership of the bankrupt Penguins in 1999. He sold the naming rights to Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank, and the building was known as the Mellon Arena almost to the end. The Arena's mailing address was changed to 66 Mario Lemieux Place, after his uniform number.

In 2005, Sidney Crosby debuted with the Penguins. They reached the Stanley Cup Finals again in 2008, and won them in 2009. In 2010, they moved to a new arena, across Centre Avenue, originally named the CONSOL Energy Center, now named the PPG Paints Arena. The Civic Arena, its old name restored, was demolished the next year.

The Penguins had played their 1st game there on October 11, 1967, and their last on May 12, 2010, a Playoff game. In both of these milestone games, they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens. The last event was on June 26, 2010, a concert by James Taylor and Carole King. King had written, among so many others, "You've Got a Friend," and Taylor had hit Number 1 with it in 1971. For millions of people in Western Pennsylvania, the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh was a friend.

UPDATE: The Penguins have a team Hall of Fame. From the 1960s and '70s, they have inducted head coach Jack Riley, goaltender Les Binkley, centers Syl Apps Jr. and Dave Burrows, and right wings Jean Pronovost and Rick Kehoe.

From their 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup winners, they have inducted team owner Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., general manager Craig Patrick, head coach Bob Johnson, center Mario Lemieux, defensemen Paul Coffey and Ulf Samuelsson, and right wings Mark Recchi and Joe Mullen. So far, Lemieux as owner is the only inductee from their 2009, 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup winners.

And they have inducted such long-term team personnel as clubhouse attendants A.T. Caggiano and Frank Sciulli, organist Vince Lascheid, broadcaster Mike Lange, executive Elaine Heufelder, and team physician Charles "Chip" Burke.

Lemieux, Lange and Sidney Crosby have been elected to the Pittsburgh Sports Hall of Fame. Connie Hawkins of the 1968 Pipers is the only Pittsburgh professional basketball player elected to it.

*

September 17, 1961 was a Sunday. The NFL season began, and these games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 21-10 at Yankee Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings played their 1st game, and beat the Chicago Bears, 37-13 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. This was also the professional debut of quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who completed 17 out of 23 passes, for 250 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. This would be the highlight of the season for the Vikes: They went 3-11.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Cleveland Browns, 27-20 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Los Angeles Rams, 27-24 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers, 17-13 at the new Green Bay City Stadium, which was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-24 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Redskins, 35-3 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

There were 2 games played in the American Football League. The Buffalo Bills beat the New York Titans, 41-31 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo. And the San Diego Chargers beat the Oakland Raiders, 44-0 at Balboa Stadium in San Diego.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Roger Maris hit his 58th home run of the season in the top of the 12th inning. Luis Arroyo became the winning pitcher, in relief of Bill Stafford. Bill "Moose" Skowron and Clete Boyer also hit home runs. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-4 with 2 walks. Yogi Berra went 0-for-5 with a walk. Al Kaline went 2-for-5 with a walk.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Bill Monbouquette pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Chuck Estrada. The only run scored in the bottom of the 4th, when Jim Pagliaroni doubled Pete Runnels home. Rookie Carl Yastrzmeski went 1-for-2 before being pinch-hit for. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Larry Jackson pitched a 5-hit shutout. Stan Musial hit his 453rd career home run. Roberto Clemente went 0-for-3.

* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Cleveland Indians, 5-0 and 5-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Camilo Pascual allowed 8 hits in the opener, but kept a shutout. Over the 2 games, Harmon Killebrew went 0-for-5 with 3 walks.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Art Mahaffey pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Frank Sullivan pitched a perfect 9th. Frank Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago White Sox swept a doubleheader from the Los Angeles Angels, 8-1 and 4-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Over the 2 games, Luis Aparicio went 2-for-6 with 4 walks and 3 stolen bases.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves, 4-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In the top of the 11th inning, Joe Torre singled Eddie Mathews home with a go-ahead run. But in the bottom of the 11th, Duke Snider singled Tommy Davis and Bob Aspromonte home with the winning runs. 

Snider had pinch-hit for Don Drysdale, and went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. The winning pitcher, having pitched 2 innings of relief, was Sandy Koufax. Mathews went 1-for-4. Hank Aaron went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Felipe Alou went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Willie Mays went 2-for-4 with a walk. Willie McCovey did not play.

June 12, 2016: The Pulse Nightclub Shooting

June 12, 2016: Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, is hosting a Latin Night when 102 people are shot by a single gunman. Of those, 49 died.

The shooter was Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Long Island native, a son of Afghan immigrants, who was working for the Florida Department of Corrections. His family was described as moderate Muslims, but going back to his childhood, he had a preoccupation with violence. He had sworn allegiance to the terrorist group ISIL, and said that the killing of ISIL official Abu Waheeb in Iraq the month before set him off. After a 3-hour standoff inside the club, Orlando police shot and killed him.

The massacre was officially classified a terrorist attack, and still ranks as the deadliest one in America since 9/11. It was the deadliest mass shooting in American history, but that record only lasted until October 1, 2017, in Las Vegas -- one that has not been officially classified as a terrorist attack.

The massacre deeply shook the people of Central Florida, and gay Americans everywhere. At the time, what was then named Orlando City Stadium was being constructed in Orlando, to be the home of Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC (Soccer Club), and the National Women's Soccer League's Orlando Pride, a name obliquely referencing women's soccer's ties to the gay community.

When the stadium opened on February 24, 2017, 49 seats in Section 12 were painted in a rainbow pattern, as a memorial to the Pulse victims. The venue was renamed Exploria Stadium in 2019. (UPDATe: It was renamed Inter&Co Stadium in 2024.)

Pulse had opened in 2004. It never reopened after the shooting, not even in a different location. The building is being converted into a memorial and museum, with its opening planned for later in 2022. (UPDATE: As of June 12, 2026, various reasons have delayed the start of construction.)

*

June 12, 2016 was a Sunday. Though the shooting took place at 2:00 AM on Sunday, June 12 -- meaning that some people had gotten in on Saturday night, June 11 -- not one single sporting event scheduled for the 12th was postponed.

It was the off-season for the NFL. The NBA Finals were underway, and the Golden State Warriors had a 3-games-to-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Cavs won the next 3 straight to take the title.

Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals was played that night. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-1 at the SAP Center in San Jose, to clinch the Cup.

And there was a full slate of Major League Baseball games played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium II. Michael Pineda gave up a home run to Ian Kinsler, and got outpitched by Michael Fullmer.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Miller Park (now named American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 13-2 at Turner Field in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros, 5-0 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-9 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at PNC Par in Pittsburgh.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 7-4 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Max Kepler hit a 3-run walkoff home run in the 10th inning.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami 6-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels, 8-3 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* The San Francisco Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

* And the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. 

June 12, 2009: Sidney Crosby Gets His Cup

June 12, 2009: The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, clinching the Stanley Cup and reversing the result of the previous year's Finals. Sidney Crosby had his 1st Cup.

It should've been his last. It wasn't.

Clarence Campbell, NHL President from 1943 to 1977, had Maurice Richard (not that they got along), Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Bobby Orr to grow the League's popularity. His successor, John Ziegler, had Wayne Gretzky. He retired in 1992, handing the presidency to Gil Stein, who, due to a restructuring of League management, held the title for just 1 year, as the new office of Commissioner (to match the other major North American sports leagues) was created in 1993, for Gary Bettman. Bettman wanted his own Orr, his own Gretzky.

In 2005, with the yearlong lockout over, he got his Gretzky: Sidney Patrick Crosby. Born on August 8, 1987 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, his homeland of Canada follows the British custom of writing the date with the day, then the month, then the year: "7 August 1987," or "7/8/87." But since America does the month first, "August 7, 1987" or "8/7/87," Crosby decided that he would wear uniform Number 87.

By the time he was 14, he was already being hailed as Canada's best amateur hockey player. In 2003-04, at 16, he led Rimouski Océanic to the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League title. That season, and in 2004-05 -- stuck there by the lockout -- he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Canadian Hockey League, the junior hockey organization that oversees the QMJHL, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Three straight poor seasons left the Penguins in position to draft Crosby, and to be mentored by their owner and greatest player ever, Mario Lemieux. Between Lemieux and Bettman, Crosby got every advantage imaginable: Though Canadian, he would be a Gretzky for an American team from Day One.

Oddly, in his rookie season of 2005-06, Crosby did not win the Calder Memorial Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year. It was awarded to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, who would spend the rest of his career, for the most part, as the 2nd-best player in the League, but in Crosby's shadow. The Penguins did not make the Playoffs that season: As is usually the case with a team having a sensational rookie, they needed more than that one player.

But in 2006-07, he was named to his 1st All-Star Game, and won the following awards: The Art Ross Trophy as leading scorer (goals and assists combined), the Hart Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, the Ted Lindsay Award as Most Outstanding Player as voted by the NHL Players' Association, the Mark Messier Leadership Award (at the age of 19), and the ESPN ESPY Award for Best NHL Player. The Penguins made the Playoffs, but lost in the 1st Round.

In 2008, Crosby again won the NHL's ESPY, and led the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals. In the process, they swept the Ottawa Senators, who had knocked them out of the Playoffs the season before; and then beaten both the New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers in 5 games. But the Red Wings, with a veteran-laden lineup, beat them in the Finals in 6 games. It was a moment much like 1983: The New York Islanders were not yet ready to end their dynasty, and the Edmonton Oilers of Gretzky were not quite ready to take the Cup away from them.

In 2008-09, the Penguins finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division. In the Playoffs, they beat their intra-State rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, in 6 games; outfought Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in 7, and then swept the Carolina Hurricanes in 4 straight.

They would have a rematch with the Red Wings, who were not going down without a fight, especially since they would have the home-ice advantage for Games 1 and 2, and, if necessary, 5 and 7. And the Wings won each of the 1st 2 games by a 3-1 score. The series went back to the Mellon Arena (formerly the Civic Arena), and the Pens won Games 3 and 4, both by a 4-2 score.

The Wings won Game 5 at the Joe Louis Arena, 5-0. The Pens won Game 6 at home, 2-1. The home team had won every game. And Game 7 would be in Detroit.

There was no scoring in the 1st period. Just 1:13 into the 2nd, Maxime Talbot put the Penguins on the board. Halfway through, at 10:07, Talbot scored again. The Wings got a goal from Jonathan Ericsson with 6:07 left in regulation, but, as hard as the proud old team with 4 of the last 12 Cups fought, they couldn't find the equalizer. The Penguins won, 2-1.

It was their 1st Stanley Cup since 1992, their 1st without Mario Lemieux playing for them, and the 1st for Sidney Crosby, who, as Captain, was handed it by Commissioner Bettman.

Evgeni Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs. He was the 1st Russian-born, and the 1st Russian-trained, player to receive it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had won Super Bowl XLIII on February 1. So, from June 12, 2009 to February 7, 2010, 250 days, Pittsburgh held the World Championships of both football and hockey.

*

June 12, 2009 was a Friday. Football was out of season. The NBA Finals were on a travel day. Two nights later, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic, 99-86 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, in Game 5 to clinch the title.

And a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The New York Yankees beat the New York Mets, 9-8 at the new Yankee Stadium. This dramatic bottom-of-the-9th-inning comeback win is known as the Luis Castillo Game. I have a separate entry for that event.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Kyle Kendrick collapsed in the top of the 13th inning, allowing 4 singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly that scored 3 runs.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals, 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0 at Rangers Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. (It's now named Choctaw Stadium.) The Rangers needed 3 pitchers to complete an 8-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-3 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Miller Park in Milwaukee. (It's now named American Family Field.)

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-4 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Houston Astros, 8-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the San Diego Padres, 11-6 at Angel Stadium of Anahiem.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Oakland Athletics, 3-0 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. (It's now named Oracle Park.) 

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.

May 1, 1991: Nolan Ryan's Lightning Steals Rickey Henderson's Thunder

May 1, 1991: A new all-time record for stolen bases is set -- and it's not the biggest thing to happen in baseball on the day.

The Oakland Athletics defeat the New York Yankees, 7-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. For a few years now, A's manager Tony La Russa had been taking the "Captain Hook" approach of Sparky Anderson (then with the Detroit Tigers after leading the Cincinnati Reds to glory), replacing pitchers after the slightest slip. In this game, both teams used 5 pitchers.

La Russa started with Mike Moore, who was named the winning pitcher, and ended with Dennis Eckersley, whom La Russa turned from a seemingly washed-up former really good starter into a Hall of Fame closer. 

Yankee manager Carl "Stump" Merrill started Tim Leary, but he was knocked out of the box in the 4th inning. Leary had gone 9-19 the year before. This game dropped him to 2-1, and he would finish 4-10. He went 17-11 with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988, when they upset the A's to win the World Series. Other than that season, he went 61-94. He was not related to Dr. Timothy Leary, the psychologist who became the world's leading advocate for LSD; but you'd have to be on drugs to want him to pitch for your team.

Dave Henderson hit a home run for the A's, while Matt Nokes hit one for the Yankees. 3rd baseman Ernie Riles went 4-for-5 with a stolen base and 5 RBIs. He only had 27 other RBIs that season.

But the big story in this game was Rickey Henderson. (No relation to Dave.) He had set a still-standing record of 130 stolen bases in the 1982 season. The Yankees had traded for him in 1985, but, despite being one of baseball's greatest all-around talents -- of his 3,055 career hits, 297 of them were home runs, despite spending most of his career in the Oakland Coliseum, which was a pitcher's park, and Yankee Stadium, which was hard on righthanded hitters -- he never really fit in. They traded him back to the A's in 1989, and he helped them win the World Series, and a 3rd straight Pennant in 1990.

In the 3rd inning, he singled, and was singled over to 2nd base by Dave Henderson. He then stole 3rd base. It was the 939th stolen base of his career, breaking the record held by St. Louis Cardinals legend Lou Brock, who was on hand for the occasion.

A microphone was set up, and Henderson thanked, in turn, God, the Haas family (owners of the A's), the A's organization, the City of Oakland (where he grew up, although he was born in Chicago), the fans in the Coliseum, his mother, his friends, his loved ones, and former managers Tom Trebelhorn and Billy Martin (who had died in 1989).

Then he said, in words that another of his heroes, Muhammad Ali, might have appreciated, "Lou Brock was the symbol of great base stealing. But, today, I'm the greatest of all time. Thank you."

Brock took no offense, saying, "He spoke from his heart." But Henderson knew he had gone too far, later saying, "As soon as I said it, it ruined everything. Everybody thought it was the worst thing you could ever say. Those words haunt me to this day, and will continue to haunt me. They overshadow what I've accomplished in this game."

There is a difference between having a healthy ego, which is necessary to succeed in just about any endeavor, including professional sports; and having an excessive ego. Henderson certainly gave the impression of having the latter, not helping himself by being an illeist, a person who tended refer to himself in the third person, often calling himself "Rickey" instead of "I."

Henderson did go on to collect over 3,000 hits, become the major league's all-time leader in runs scored (2,295, a record he still holds) and walks (2,190), since surpassed by Barry Bonds, although he still holds the record for unintentional walks with 2,129). And he raised the record for career stolen bases to 1,406. To put that in perspective: As of May 1, 2022, the active leader is Elvis Andrus, with 318. Add his total to Brock's former record of 938, and that's 1,256 -- 150 short of Henderson's record.

*

Just a few hours later, Henderson's thunder was stolen by Nolan Ryan's lightning. At Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, Ryan pitched the 7th no-hitter of his career, against the Toronto Blue Jays. To this day, no other pitcher has more than 4. And, at age 44, he broke the record he set the year before, with his 6th, becoming the oldest pitcher ever to throw one.

The Rangers beat the Jays, 3-0. Ryan struck out 16 batters. He fell short of a perfect game, which none of his 7 no-hitters was, by walking 2 batters: Kelly Gruber in the 1st inning and Joe Carter in the 7th. The last out was a strikeout of Roberto Alomar. Rubén Sierra hit a home run for the Rangers.

His 6th no-hitter was pitched against the A's, at the Oakland Coliseum. The year before that, on August 22, 1989, at Arlington, Ryan had struck Henderson out for his 5,000th career strikeout. Like Henderson with stolen bases, and himself with no-hitters, he raised that record so high that it is incredibly unlikely that it will ever be broken: 5,714.

He finished his career with 324 wins, but also 297 losses, the most in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era. Ryan was a dominant pitcher, but, when he wasn't on his game, which was often, he was far from unhittable.

In 1999, Ryan was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Henderson was still active, and therefore ineligible for the Hall. That same year, fan balloting named Ryan to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, and did not name Henderson.

Henderson kept playing for as long as he thought he could, but probably should have retired after the 2001 season, shortly after getting his 3,000th hit and breaking the walks and runs records. He hung on for 2 more years at the major league level, and 2 more years in "independent" minor leagues. He did get elected to the Hall in his 1st year of eligibility, 2009.

*

May 1, 1991 was a Wednesday. These other MLB games were played that day:

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 8-7 at Shea Stadium. Fred McGriff went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-5. Bruce Hurst outpitched Frank Viola.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 9-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 2-1 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Ken Griffey Jr. went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cal Ripken Jr. went 0-for-3, but did draw a walk.

* The Pittsburgh Prates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Bobby Bonilla and Jay Bell hit home runs for the Buccos, while Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 11-8 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox, 10-9 at Milwaukee County Stadium. This one went 19 innings. The Brewers scored 5 runs in the 5th inning. Each team scored 3 runs in the 15th. Former Yankee 2nd baseman Willie Randolph singled home the winning run in the 19th. Robin Yount went 0-for-7, although he did draw 2 walks. Paul Molitor went 1-for-6 -- with 4 walks.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Scott Erickson pitched a 2-hit shutout. The only run came in the 8th inning, on a home run by Dan Gladden.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. A David Justice groundout got the winning run home in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 5-1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

Football was out of season. There were 2 games played in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-105 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. And the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 109-106 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-3 at the Boston Garden. But the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Also, Marcus Stroman, an All-Star pitcher for the Blue Jays, was born on this day.

April 10, 1993: The NHL's Longest Winning Streak

April 10, 1993: The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers, 4-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. It is the team's 17th straight win, and it remains the longest winning streak in NHL history.

It comes to an end 4 days later, at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and it's still not a loss: The Penguins and the New Jersey Devils end in a 6-6 tie. It's the team's last regular-season game, and they didn't lose another until they opened the next season, on October 5, losing 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

The Penguins had won the last 2 Stanley Cups, beating the Minnesota North Stars in the 1991 Finals, and the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 Finals. They were loaded, with future Hall-of-Famers Mario Lemieux, Rick Tocchet, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr, Larry Murphy and Joe Mullen; and All-Stars Tom Barrasso, Kevin Stevens, Shawn McEachern, Ulf Samuelsson, Troy Loney, Martin Straka, Bob Errey, and Mike Ramsey, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team that won the Gold Medal.

The Penguins faced the Devils again in the 1st Round of the 1993 Playoffs, and won the 1st 3 games, before the Devils won Game 4, 4-1 at the Meadowlands. But the Penguins clinched at home in Game 5. But, in an inspiring run, the New York Islanders beat the Penguins in Game 7 in Pittsburgh, 4-3, on an overtime goal by Dave Volek.

The Penguins remained one of the top teams in the NHL through the 2001 season, making the Eastern Conference Finals twice more. It would take a complete collapse, a near-bankruptcy, a near-move, and a complete rebuild for the Penguins to get back into the Stanley Cup Finals, in 2008, winning them in 2009. They would win the Cup again in 2016 and 2017.

In the 2016-17 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets won 16 straight, but couldn't make it 17, so they were stuck with the 2nd-longest winning streak in NHL history.

UPDATE: In 2024, the Edmonton Oilers had a 16-game winning streak, matching the '17 Jackets, but falling 1 game short of the '93 Pens.

*

April 10, 1993 was a Saturday. There were 9 other games played in the NHL that day:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals, 5-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

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

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Hartford Whalers, 6-3 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-2 at Expo Hall in Tampa.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-5 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. This turns out to be the last home victory for the North Stars. On April 13, at the Met Center, they lose 3-2 to the Blackhawks. And on April 15, in Detroit, they lose 5-3 to the Red Wings. They missed the Playoffs, and team owner Norm Green -- soon to be known as "Norm Greed" in Minnesota -- moved them to Texas, where they became the Dallas Stars. (I'll never understand why he didn't name them "the Dallas Lone Stars.")

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 at the San Jose Arena. (It's now named the SAP Center.) Tomas Sandström scores the winning goal with 1:38 left in overtime.

There were 8 games played in the NBA that day:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 100-99 at the Brendan Byrne Arena.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Charlotte Hornets, 118-105 at the Charlotte Coliseum.

* The Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-114 at the Miami Arena. Hersey Hawkins scored 40 points in defeat for the Sixers.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers, 92-87 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. B.J. Armstrong scored 27 points, Michael Jordan 25.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic, 108-97 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 98-88 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.") Hakeem Olajuwon had 45 points and 14 rebounds.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets, 118-101 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks, 100-94 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

And a full slate of Major League Baseball games was played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 12-0 at the new Comiskey Park. (It is now named Rate Field.) Bernie Williams and Kevin Maas each collected 3 hits. Jimmy Key and John Habyan combined on a 7-hit shutout.

* The New York Mets lost to the Houston Astros, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. Former Yankee Doug Drabek outpitched Dwight Gooden.

The previous season had been a bad one for the Mets, having spent a lot of money on big stars, only to finish poorly -- perhaps a lesson for future Met teams. Steve Jacobson of Newsday had written a book about the 1977 World Champion Yankees, titling it The Best Team Money Could Buy. Bob Klapisch, Mets beat writer for the Daily News, wrote one about the 1992 Mets, titling it The Worst Team Money Could Buy.

Most of the Mets did not come off well in it, but most shrugged it off. Bronx native Bobby Bonilla did not, and he threatened Klapisch in the locker room after the game, telling him, "Make yo' move, 'cause I'll hurt you," and threatening to do to him what they did to guys in his old neighborhood: "I'll show you The Bronx." And yet, the much smaller Klapisch stood his ground. Bobby Bo didn't like that. The Mets' season went downhill from there.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 2-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Jody Reed singles home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* The Florida Marlins beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (It is now named Hard Rock Stadium.)

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 12-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at the SkyDome in Toronto. (It is now named the Rogers Centre.)

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium. Ozzie Smith singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-2 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium later in the season.)

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 10-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Montreal Expos, 9-5 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the California Angels, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

Also, Arsenal traveled to Portman Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, and beat Ipswich Town, 2-1.