December 4, 1872: The Mary Celeste Is Found, Abandoned

December 4, 1872: The merchant vessel Mary Celeste is found in the Atlantic Ocean -- fully intact and fully stocked, but completely uncrewed.

This story sounds like it should have been told by singer Gordon Lightfoot, a la "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

The Mary Celeste was brigantine, a two-masted sailing vessel, built in Canada and launched in 1861 as the Amazon. In 1869, she was bought by American owners and received the name by which she would be known. On November 7, 1872, she set sail for Genoa, Italy, under the command of Captain Benjamin Briggs, a 37-year-old native of Wareham, Massachusetts, who brought his wife Sarah, their 2-year-old daughter Sophia, and 7 crew. (Benjamin and Sarah also had a 5-year-old son, Arthur. Already in school, he was left in the care of a grandmother.)

On December 4, the Canadian brigantine Dei Gratia saw the Mary Celeste, about 600 miles west of Portugal, sailing erratically. When Dei Gratia crewmembers boarded, they found a few feet of water in the hold, which was concerning, but, by itself, hardly a reason to abandon ship. The cargo was all there, and there were no signs of violence. There had been one lifeboat, and it was missing. So were some of the ship's papers and navigation instruments. The last log entry was dated November 25, 9 days earlier, and it suggested nothing amiss. The ship wasn't "fine," but it was still seaworthy. But there was no one to sail it. What happened to them?

No one on board is known to have ever been found. This was one of the earliest events to have started conspiracy theories in America, from to pirates to mutiny, with the wilder ones suggesting sea monsters -- after all, this was just 2 years after Jules Verne published Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

The conspiracy theories were so "romantic," the simplest explanation got drowned out and forgotten. The Dei Gratia crew discovered that one of the ship’s pumps was inoperative, causing her to take on water. But with the hold jammed with cargo it was hard to tell just how much water.

There was also a faulty chronometer, which may have led Briggs to believe he should have sighted land days earlier. Indeed, the aforementioned final log entry revealed they had caught sight of the Azores, which were a thousand miles west of Portugal, but had established ports, and would have seemed like a reasonable place to go for safety. Except they were never found, suggesting that they never made it, going to Davy Jones' locker before they could reach the Azores or any other land.

David Morehouse, captain of the Dei Gratia, sent some of his crew to take the Mary Celeste with them, to their intended destination of Gibraltar, reaching it on December 12. The Mary Celeste was assigned a replacement crew, who took her originally-intended destination of Genoa. It left there on June 26, 1873, and arrived in New York on September 19.

No one wanted to trust her with their cargo, and it sat at a New York wharf until being sold in February 1874. Her new owners gave her an Indian Ocean route. In 1879, she docked at St. Helena, the island to which Napoleon Bonaparte had been exiled. Her Captain, Edgar Tuthill, had fallen ill, and died on St. Helena, encouraging the idea that the ship was cursed: He was her 3rd captain to die prematurely, if the missing Briggs is to be counted as dead.

The ship was sold again in February 1880, and in August 1884, received a new Captain, Gilman Parker. He and the new owners decided enough was enough, and on January 3, 1885, he purposely wrecked the Mary Celeste at Gonâve Island, off the coast of Haiti. A jury could not agree on whether insurance fraud was committed, and the company only received $500. 

*

December 4, 1872 was a Wednesday. There were no scores on this historic day: Baseball was out of season, football barely existed on an organized level, hockey didn't even exist on that level, and basketball wouldn't be invented at all for another 19 years.

October 28, 1949: Marcel Cerdan's Plane Crash

October 28, 1949: A Lockheed Constellation crashes in the Azores islands off the coast of Portugal, a refueling stop on the regular route from Paris to New York. All 48 people on board are killed, including Marcel Cerdan, former Middleweight Champion of the World. The man known as the Moroccan Bomber and the Casablanca Clouter was only 33 years old.

He was born on July 22, 1916 in Sidi Bel Abbès, in Algeria, then a colony of France, giving him French citizenship. Both of his parents had gone there from Spain. He grew up in Casablanca, Morocco, and won the French welterweight title in 1938. With World War II on, he won the Inter-Allied Championship in 1944, making him, effectively, the welterweight champion of Europe.

He moved up in weight class, and won the Middleweight Championship of the World by knocking out Tony Zale at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City on September 21, 1948. He lost the title in his 1st defense, against Jake LaMotta at Briggs Stadium (later renamed Tiger Stadium) in Detroit on June 16, 1949, as he had to drop out of the fight due to a dislocated shoulder.

It was only fair that he get a rematch, and the contract was signed. He was flying from Paris to New York to prepare for his rematch with "the Raging Bull" when his plane crashed. His career record was an amazing 113-4, although it should be noted that nearly all his fights were against Europeans, not exactly the best of competition.

Louis Raftis played him in Martin Scorcese's 1980 film about LaMotta, Raging Bull. In 1983, Marcel Cerdan Jr. played his father in the French film Edith et Marcel, which told of the affair Cerdan Sr. had with the legendary French singer Edith Piaf, played by Evelyn Bouix. In 2007, Jean-Pierre Martins played him opposite Marion Cotillard in her Oscar-winning role as Piaf in La Vie en Rose.

*

October 28, 1949 was a Friday. Also on this day, William Bruce Jenner was born in Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York. Bruce won the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, becoming an international hero and the best-remembered man on the Wheaties cereal box.

But he became better-known as the weird, desperately trying to hang onto his youth husband of Kris Jenner; the stepfather of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian; and the father of Burton and Cassandra Jenner with 1st wife Chrystie Crownover; Brandon and Brody Jenner with 2nd wife Linda Thompson; and Kendall and Kylie Jenner with Kris.

In 2014, he and Kris split up. In 2015, he decided to accept the reality of his identity, and made the transition to a woman. She now calls herself Caitlyn Marie Jenner, or "Cait," and has faced both praise for her courage and anger from people who are too bigoted to understand.

Unfortunately, she has also supported Donald Trump, who probably loved Bruce, but hates people like Cait. In 2018, she finally admitted that it was wrong for gay people, or transgender people like herself, to have supported Trump, since he has taken official actions against them.

Also on this day, John Prescott McGovern was born in Montrose, Scotland. A midfielder, he played for manager Brian Clough at Hartlepool United, Derby County, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. Buying him from Derby was Clough's last-ditch attempt to hang onto the Leeds job, which he lost after only 44 days.

Otherwise, McGovern was one of Clough's golden boys, helping him get the other 3 clubs promoted to the Football League Division One. Together, they won the League at both Derby in 1972 and their East Midlands arch-rivals Forest in 1978. Forest also won the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1977, the League Cup in 1978 and 1979, and, with McGovern as Captain, the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. They are the only English team to win the European Cup, now called the UEFA Champions League, more than they've won the English top flight.

Despite his success as a Captain, he was unsuccessful as a manager, starting in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons as a player-manager with Lancashire club Bolton Wanderers. His most recent job was with Ilkeston Town in Derbyshire in 2001. He now works as a club ambassador for Forest, and a pundit on Radio Nottingham. He is a member of the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.

Baseball season had ended 19 days earlier, when the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the World Series. The NBA season started the next day. The NHL season was underway, but no games were scheduled. There were 3 college football games played:

* Villanova beat Boston College, 28-14 at Alumni Field outside Boston in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

* George Washington University beat Lafayette, 14-7 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* And the University of Detroit beat Oklahoma State, 13-7 at Titan Stadium in Detroit.

October 13, 1917: The Miracle of the Sun

October 13, 1917: "The Miracle of the Sun" takes place in Fátima, Portugal. Supposedly, the Sun did unusual things over the city, a "miracle" performed by the Virgin Mary. Although the official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that this happened, scientists have explained it as people staring at the Sun, until their vision was damaged enough to "play tricks on them."

Perhaps the story spread because World War I was going on, Portugal was neutral, and it seemed to be a good story, in a world that needed a story of hope.

October 13, 1917 was a Saturday. Game 5 of the World Series was played at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants, 8-5, behind Hall of Fame pitcher Urban "Red" Faber. They trailed 5-2 going into the bottom of the 7th, but scored 3 runs in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to win. They won the Series 2 days later.

There were some major college football games played that day:

* As they would be in World War II, Army was a dominant team in World War I. On this day, they beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI) on The Plain in West Point, New York.

* The University of Pittsburgh beat Lehigh, 41-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* Ohio State beat Northwestern, 40-0 at Ohio Field in Columbus.

* Georgia Tech beat Davidson, 32-10 at Grant Field in Atlanta.

* Princeton only played 2 games due to the war's manpower drain, and this day would not be one of them. But Rutgers played, losing to Syracuse, 14-10 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

October 5, 1910: The Fall of the Portuguese Monarchy

King Manuel II

October 5, 1910: The 5th of October Revolution occurs in Portugal. With the nation in financial crisis, the Portuguese Republican Party stages a coup, and King Manuel II flees to England, and lives there until his death in 1932.

He had reigned only 2 years, since the assassination of his father, King Carlos I, and his brother, Crown Prince Luis Felipe. The House of Braganza had ruled the country since 1604, but now, it was all over.

The First Portuguese Republic is proclaimed, and lasts until a military coup in 1926. This fascist National Dictatorship evolved in 1933 to the Estado Novo (New State), falsely named the Second Republic, and lasted until the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Portugal remains free, and the monarchy has never been restored, even ceremonially.

As of October 5, 2022, the claimant to the throne is Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza. He is 77, and, like Manuel II, is a direct descendant of King João VI, who reigned from 1816 to 1825.

Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

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October 5, 1910 was a Wednesday. There were 4 other baseball games that day:

* The New York Highlanders beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 7-4 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. A's manager/co-owner Connie Mack inserted his son Earle Mack behind the plate in the game, hitting a single and a triple in the game. This is the 1st time that a manager has put his son in a major league game as a player. I have a separate entry for this event.

* The Boston Red Sox led the Washington Senators, 5-1 going into the bottom of the 9th at American League Park in Washington. The Senators tied the game. But they couldn't find the winning run, and the umpires called the game due to darkness.

* And a doubleheader was played at Bennett Park in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers lost the opener to the Cleveland Naps, 8-3, allowing 5 runs in the top of the 10th inning. The nightcap was called due to darkness after 5 innings, with the Tigers leading, 4-2. The Naps were named for their manager, 2nd baseman and best hitter, Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie. They would be renamed the Indians in 1915 and the Guardians in 2022.

This was the last week of the regular season, and Lajoie and the Tigers' Ty Cobb were in a feverish race for the American League battle title, with the Chalmers Auto Company offering a new car to the winner. Over the 2 games, Cobb went 3-for-6 with a walk, 3 stolen bases and 2 RBIs, while Lajoie went 3-for-6 with an RBI. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson went 3-for-7. Cobb ended up winning the batting title, but there were shenanigans (not his doing), and so Chalmers gave both men cars. (Cobb didn't mind: He got what he wanted.)

Bennett Park was torn down in 1911, and a new park opened on the site the next year, known as Navin Field from 1912 to 1937, Briggs Stadium from 1938 to 1960, and Tiger Stadium from 1961 to 1999.

Despite it being a Monday, there were 5 college football games played that day:

* Yale beat Tufts, 17-0 at Yale Field in New Haven, Connecticut.

* The University of Pennsylvania beat Franklin & Marshall University, 17-0 at the original Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* The Carlisle Indian School, with a sophomore two-way back named Jim Thorpe, beat Dickinson College, 24-0 at Biddle Field in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

* VPI -- the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, usually known as "Virginia Tech" now -- beat Davidson University, 16-0 at Miles Field in Blacksburg, Virginia.

* And the University of Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, beat Tennessee Medical College, now the University of Memphis, 2-0 in Oxford, Mississippi. 

July 23, 1966: Eusébio vs. North Korea

July 23, 1966: Coming off perhaps the greatest upset in World Cup history, North Korea faces Portugal, and the man who might be, for the moment, the greatest soccer player in the world.

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira was born on January 25, 1942, in Lourenço Marques, in Mozambique, on the east coast of southern Africa, then a colony of Portugal. In 1975, after the Carnation Revolution overthrew Portugal's fascist government, the overseas empire was broken up, and Mozambique gained its independence. Lourenço Marques was the capital, and its name was changed to Maputo.

By the age of 18, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, the Lisbon-based soccer team that was, then as now, the most successful, the most loved, and the most hated sports team in Portugal, signed him. Benfica won Portugal's Primeira Liga and the European Cup (the precursor tournament to today's UEFA Champions League) in 1961, but Eusébio played only 1 senior game that season. But in 1961-62, the season in which he turned 20, he became a world "football" superstar, leading them to win the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) and a repeat of the European Cup, scoring 5 goals in the tournament, including 2 goals in the Final against Real Madrid. 

(Infamously, Benfica have not won a European Final since, losing the European Cup/Champions League Final in 1963, '65, '68, '88 and '90; and the 2014 UEFA Europa League Final.)

With Eusébio, Benfica won the Premeira Liga 11 times between 1961 and 1975, and the Taça de Portugal 5 times between 1962 and 1972. In other words, they "did The Double" twice, in 1964 and '72. He scored 638 goals in 614 official matches for Benfica. In 1965, he was awarded the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) for world player of the year. He became known as O Rei (The King), the Black Pearl and the Black Panther. I don't know how Portuguese natives generally treated black people on the soil of the empire's seat, but he remained beloved in Portugal throughout his life. (Brazil's Pelé was also nicknamed O Rei and the Black Pearl.)

In 1966, Portugal qualified for the World Cup, and were placed in Group 3 with another of their former colonies, Brazil, the 2-time defending Champions; and 2 Eastern Bloc nations, Hungary and Bulgaria. On July 13, at Old Trafford, home ground of Manchester United, they beat Hungary, 3-1, with José Augusto, Eusébio's Benfica teammate, scoring 2 goals. On July 16, also at Old Trafford, they beat Bulgaria, 3-0, with Eusébio scoring. And on July 19, at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton F.C., they beat Brazil, 3-1, with Eusébio scoring twice.

Portugal and the Soviet Union were the only countries, out of the 16 to qualify, who got through the Group Stage 3-0. However, some bad fouls by Portuguese and Bulgarian defenders left Pelé injured, and so it was Hungary that joined Portugal in advancing to the knockout stage from Group 3.

The Quarterfinal was set for July 23, at Goodison: Portugal vs. North Korea. No one expected North Korea, coming off its epic upset of Italy in the last game of the Group Stage, to pull off a 2nd huge upset within 5 days. But Pak Seung-zin scored in the 1st minute, before many people had even gotten to their seats. Li Dong-woon scored in the 22nd, and Yang Seung-kook scored in the 25th. Portugal had only allowed 2 goals in the entire Group Stage, 270 minutes plus stoppage time. Now, in 25 minutes, they had allowed 3.

Eusébio to the rescue. He scored in the 27th. In the 43rd, Portugal were rightly awarded a penalty, and Eusébio took it, closing his team to within 3-2. In the 56th he hit a screamer that tied the game. The North Koreans decided to follow the Bulgarians' path, and foul the opposing star like crazy. In the 59th, a tackle worthy of an immediate dismissal -- yellow and red cards hadn't come into use yet -- injured Eusébio's knee. He took the penalty, anyway, and gave Portugal a 4-3 lead, completing the comeback. Somehow, he finished the game, and José Augusto capped the performance with a goal in the 80th. Portugal 5, North Korea 3 -- 3-0 to North Korea in the 1st 25 minutes, 5-0 to Portugal thereafter.

North Korea's fairy tale was over. Portugal's lasted just 1 more game. In the Semifinal, at Wembley Stadium in London, Bobby Charlton of Manchester United scored 2 goals for England. Portugal were awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute, and Eusébio took it, but they couldn't find an equalizer. West Germany beat the Soviet Union in the other Semifinal, and England won the Final, 4-2 after extra time.

Eusébio continued to be one of the world's best players for a few more years. In 1975, 33 years old, he did what so many aging soccer players were doing, and would do, and continue to do today: He came to North America to make a lot of money. He played in the original North American Soccer League.

In 1975, he played for the Boston Minutemen. In 1976, he played for Toronto Metros-Croatia (a merger of the Toronto Metros and Toronto Croatia), and they won the NASL title. In 1977, he played for the Las Vegas Quicksilvers. But he was 35, and dealing with constant pain and medical treatment on his knees. He scored only 2 goals. 

In 1978, he signed with the New Jersey Americans of the American Soccer League, who played their home games at Memorial Stadium in New Brunswick, Middlesex County. As a native of East Brunswick, I've seen many sporting events at that complex: Football, soccer, baseball. But I didn't know Eusébio played at Memorial Stadium until 2011 -- 33 years later. In 1979, he played with the Buffalo Stallions of the Major Indoor Soccer League, and then he retired, to work for Portugal's national team.

Eusébio died on January 5, 2014. He was just short of turning 72. The outpouring of memories of other legends of the sport showed that he was still held in very high esteem, all over the world.

*

July 23, 1966 was a Saturday. The other World Cup Quarterfinals were also played that day. England beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. West Germany beat Uruguay, 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire. And the Soviets beat Hungary, 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, in the North-East.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the California Angels, 7-6 at Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle hit a grand slam, and the Yankees chased Angel starting pitcher Marcelino Lopez after 3 innings. But it wasn't enough, as Al Downing and Pedro Ramos couldn't hold the lead.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax went the distance for the win.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Harmon Killebrew hit a home run. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3 with a walk, but Frank Robinson went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* The Washington Senators beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-1 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Al Kaline did not play.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat their arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, 4-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Bob Gibson pitched a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Robin Roberts, in his final season. Lou Brock hit a home run. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Roberto Clemente went 2-for-5.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Jim Bunning pitched a 3-hit shutout, the hits all singles, by Willie Mays, Hal Lanier, and, oddly, the opposing starting pitcher, Bobby Bolin.

* And the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. Both games went 10 innings. The Reds won the opener, 4-3. Vada Pinson scored on a wild pitch by Dick Kelley. The Braves won the nightcap, 5-4. Joe Torre hit 2 home runs in the 2nd game, including the winner in the top of the 10th. Hank Aaron went 1-for-7 with a home run in the 2nd game, 2 walks and 2 RBIs. Pete Rose went 1-for-10.

June 10, 1909: "SOS" Is First Used

June 10, 1909: The emergency signal "SOS" is used for the 1st time. It works exactly the way it was intended.

On January 7, 1904, the Marconi International Marine Communication Company (founded by radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi) issued a directive that ships in distress would use Morse code to tap out "CQD." The "CQ" stood for "sécu," an abbreviation of the French word sécurité. It had been used on land telegraphs for years to signify an alert. The "D" was added to indicate "distress." But typing it out was long and difficult: -.-. --.- -..

A little over a year later, "SOS" was adopted to replace CQD. Most believe it stands for either "save our ship" or "save our souls." But it was suggested by Germany, so, in German, "Save our ship" would be "Rette unser Schiff"; and "Save our souls" would be "Rettet unsere Seelen" -- either way, the acronym would have been "RUS," which could have been mistaken for an abbreviation for "Russia," already a historic enemy of Germany.

Prior to the invention of radio, ships had to use flags, flares and horns to tell people that a ship was sinking. There were other competing signals to SOS, but it won out do to its simplicity, being easy to type out: Three dots, followed by three dashes, followed by three dots. ...---...

The first recorded use of SOS as a distress signal was on June 10, 1909, when a British passenger ship, the Cunard liner RMS Slavonia, drifted off course in fog, and ran aground at Ponta dos Fenais, in the Portuguese-controlled (then as now) Azores. All 514 people on board were rescued, and much of the ship's cargo was salvaged, although the ship was declared lost.

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June 10, 1909 was a Thursday. Only 2 baseball games were played that day. The New York Highlanders, the team that would become the Yankees, lost to the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Hilltop Park. Ty Cobb went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Willie Keeler went 0-for-3.

And the New York Giants lost to the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at West Side Park in Chicago. Jack Pfeister, who had enough success against New York that he was known as Jack the Giant Killer in reference to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout, outpitching Hall-of-Famer Rube Marquard.

May 25, 1967: Celtic Win the European Cup

May 25, 1967: For the 1st time, a soccer team from Great Britain wins the highest trophy in Europe, the European Cup, the trophy given for the tournament of the same name from 1956 to 1992, and since then named the UEFA Champions League. But it's not a team in England.

The Celtic Football Club was founded on the East Side of Glasgow, Scotland in 1887 (though it says 1888 on their badge), to represent poor Irish Catholics in that city. Their rivalry with the West Side team Rangers F.C., a militantly Protestant team, is one of the most bitter in sports on planet Earth.

Rangers have won the top division of Scottish soccer, under its various names, more than any other team, a few times more than have Celtic. For winning more than 50 titles, they wear 5 stars above their crest. But Celtic have won the European Cup, and wear one star before their crest. Their fans say, "One star means more."

And in the 1966-67 season, they won more than just the Double, the League title and the Scottish Cup. They won more than just the Treble, those 2 and the Scottish League Cup. They won Europe's only Quadruple: Their country's national league, it's national cup, its league cup, and the European Cup.

Under the rules of the time, only a defending champion of a European national league, and the team that won the European Cup the season before (if they hadn't repeated as League Champions), qualified for the European Cup. Celtic qualified as 1965-66 Scottish league Champions.

In the 1st Round, consisting of 32 teams, they beat Swiss Champions FC Zurich, 2-0 at home, 2-0 and 3-0 away. In the 2nd Round, they beat French Champions FC Nantes, 3-1 away and then 3-1 at home. In the Quarterfinals, they played away to Yugoslav Champions FK Vojvodina, and lost 1-0; but came back to Celtic Park and beat them 2-0, to win 2-1 on aggregate. In the Semifinal, they faced Czech Champions Dukla Prague, beating them 3-1 at home, and gaining a 0-0 draw away.

For the Final, they would travel to the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal, and face Internazionale Milano, the Italian Champions, winners of the European Cup in 1964 and 1965. Manager Helenio Herrera could call upon such talents as right back Tarcisio Burgnich, left back Giacinto Facchetti, and the great central midfielder Sandro Mazzola.

Vying with Gianni Rivera of intracity (even intrastadium) A.C. Milan for the honor of the best Italian player of his generation, Mazzola was the son of Valentino Mazzola, a star for Torino F.C. of Turin in the 1940s, killed when most of the Torino team was wiped out in the Superga Air Disaster of 1949. That team was known as La Grande Torino. Now, Sandro was playing for the first team with the "Great" nickname since then: La Grande Inter.

But Celtic manager John "Jock" Stein -- and that's pronounced like the Scandinavian "Steen," even though it's spelled like the German/Jewish "Stine" -- knew he had the better team, and convinced them they were ready. It was truly a local team, with all of them having grown up within 30 miles of Glasgow:

* 1 Goalkeeper, Ronnie Simpson.

* 2 Right Back, Jim Craig.

* 3 Left Back, Tommy Gemmell.

* 4 Central Midfield, Bobby Murdoch.

* 5 Centreback and Captain, Billy McNeill.

* 6 Centreback, John Clark.

* 7 Right Wing, Jimmy "Jinky" Johnstone.

* 8 Centre Forward, Willie Wallace.

* 9 Centre Forward, Steve Chalmers.

* 10 Central Midfield, Bertie Auld.

* 11 Left Wing, Bobby Lennox.

Celtic were known as the "Hoops" because of their shirts, green and white horizontal stripes. Inter were known as the "Nerazzurri" because of their shirts, black and blue vertical stripes. Each team wore its usual uniform. A full house of 45,000 filled the National Stadium, and referee Kurt Tschenscher blew his whistle to start play at 5:30 PM local time -- which is also what it was in Glasgow, and in the rest of the British Isles. It was 6:30 in Milan, the rest of Italy, and most of Europe. It was 12:30 PM on the U.S. East Coast.

Inter were sharp at the opening. Mazzola nearly scored off a cross from Renato Cappellini in the 1st minute, then converted a penalty in the 7th minute after Craig fouled Cappellini in the box. Inter then switched to defensive mode, a mode known as catenaccio (meaning "padlock"), which had served them so well in the last few years.

Auld hit the crossbar with a shot, and goalkeeper Giuliani Sarti tipped a header from Johnstone over it. Sarti subsequently saved a free kick from Gemmell, who then hit the crossbar on the next shot. Although Celtic were in control for most of the 1st half, Inter were ahead, and it looked like Sarti would be Man of the Match and a legend.

In the 63rd minute, Gemmell fired from 25 yards out, and Sarti couldn't stop it. The game was tied, and the Hoops could feel the winning goal coming. Inter kept the catenaccio going, perhaps hoping for a lucky break. Instead, in the 84th minute, Murdoch took a shot. Sarti was ready for it. But it was deflected by Chalmers. Captain McNeill insisted that this play had been practiced. Sarti was not prepared for it, and Celtic were up, 2-1. Their defense held for the next 10 minutes, and they were Champions of Europe.

Celtic fans invaded the pitch, making it impossible to present the trophy there. A section of the stadium's stand was set aside for the presentation of the trophy. For the 1st 11 tournaments, the trophy presented was similar to that for the European Championship for national teams. This was the 1st time for the trophy that has become known as "Ol' Big Ears," and McNeill lifted it. A statue of him doing so now stands outside Celtic Park.

Football fans around the world admired La Grande Inter, but didn't like them, because catenaccio was considered boring. Celtic's win, based on attacking football, was considered a victory for fans. The Portuguese newspaper Mundo Desportivo (Sports World) wrote, "It was inevitable. Sooner or later the Inter of Herrera, the Inter of catenaccio, of negative football, of marginal victories, had to pay for their refusal to play entertaining football." Even Herrera agreed: "We can have no complaints. Celtic deserved their victory. We were beaten by Celtic's force. Although we lost, the match was a victory for sport."

Because of the location of the match and their refusal to give up, the '67 Celtic team quickly became known as the Lisbon Lions. Bill Shankly, manager of Liverpool and a fellow Scot, told Stein, "John, you're immortal now." Shankly was wrong: In 1985, managing the Scotland national team in a "Home Nations" tournament game against Wales, Stein suffered a heart attack and died. But Shankly was also right: Stein is the most admired manager in the history of Scottish football.

The question of who is the greatest soccer team in English history is hotly debated. Is it Manchester United's 1956 "Busby Babes," their 1968 team that was the 1st from England to win the European Cup, their 1999 team that remains the only English team to win a European Treble? Is it Liverpool's 1977 European Cup winners, their 1986 Double team, the 2005 Champions League winners? Is it Arsenal's 2004 team that went through the entire Premier League season unbeaten, the "Invincibles"? Is it Chelsea's 2005 team that won the League with the fewest goals allowed in history? Is it Manchester City's 2019 team that became the 1st team to win a domestic Treble?

The greatest soccer team in Scottish history is unquestionable. It is the 1967 Quadruple winners, the Lisbon Lions of Celtic.

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May 25, 1967 was a Thursday. Also on this day, the film A Guide for the Married Man premiered. Despite its appalling premise -- a man who would like to cheat on his wife gets advice from one who has -- my grandmother called this the funniest movie she'd ever seen. I didn't think it was all that funny.

Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. There were 5 games played in Major League Baseball:

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-0 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in 1975.) Lou Brock and Curt Flood hit home runs. Hank Aaron did not: He went 1-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Cleveland Indians, 2-1 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 1-for-4. Pete Rose went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.

* And the Kansas City Athletics beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Rod Carew hit a home run off Catfish Hunter. Harmon Killebrew did not, but did go 1-for-4.

May 24, 2014: A Crushing Defeat for Atlético Madrid

Sergio Ramos' 94th-minute equalizer

May 24, 2014: It's an all-Madrid UEFA Champions League Final, at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. (Like the Super Bowl, the site is chosen in advance, the better to make it a neutral site.)

Real Madrid had won 9 European Cups, including the 1st 5. They were looking for their 10th: As they put it, "La Décima." It was different for Atlético Madrid, 4 1/2 miles to the southwest. Despite having won Spain's La Liga 10 times, including in the 2013-14 season, the Copa del Rey (King's Cup, Spain's version of England's FA Cup) 10 times, the 1962 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and the UEFA Europa League in 2010 and 2012, they were still behind Real, the most successful soccer team of all time. They considered Real to be their arch-rivals, but they didn't even get that in return: Real considers their arch-rivals to be FC Barcelona.

Atlético had advanced through the knockout round of the 2014 Champions League by beating AC Milan, Barcelona and London team Chelsea, 3 of the giants of European football. Argentine manager Diego Simeone had Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and Spanish forwards Diego Costa and David Villa. So they shouldn't have been intimidated by another.

But it was Real, the team that will forever be in their heads. By a weird turn of events, had played only German teams in the knockout round: Schalke of Gelsenkirchen, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti, who had won 2 European Cups with AC Milan as both a player and a manager, had, unquestionably, the most talented team in the world. Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and centerback Sergio Ramos were the best at their positions in the world. Two other Spaniards, midfielder Isco and forward Álvaro Morata, would have started for just about any other team in the world.

But Los Blancos also had French centerback Raphaël Varane and forward Karim Benzema, Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, German midfielder Sami Khedira, Argentine midfielder Ángel Di María, Welsh forward Gareth Bale, and, from Portugal, left back Pepe and the man then considered by many to be the best player in the world, forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

(People who know the game from before their own memories will recall a certain Brazilian center forward, and know that Cristiano is not only not the greatest player who ever lived, but he's not even the greatest Ronaldo to have played for Real Madrid in the 21st Century.)

As befitting their nickname, Real wore all white. This allowed Atlético to wear their usual home kit of red and white stripes. Just 9 minutes into the game, Costa had to be substituted off due to injury. In the 36th minute, Uruguayan centerback Diego Godín scored on a header, and it was 1-0 Atlético.

And 1-0 it stayed, into the 93rd minute of play, with 1 minute of stoppage time remaining. In the middle of all this, I wrote on Twitter, "Wow. Champions League Final > Super Bowl, nearly every time." A little later, I wrote, "May Madness (CL & FA Cup Finals) > March Madness."

Atlético were 1 minute, maybe 2, from the greatest glory: The Championship of Europe, and a win over their greatest enemies. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't hold it: In the 94th and possibly final minute, Ramos headed in a Modrić corner, and it was 1-1.

It got worse. In the 110th minute, Di María fired a shot. Courtois could only deflect it, and Bale headed in the rebound to make it 2-1 Real. In the 118th minute substitute Brazilian defender Marcelo scored. Not that Real needed it, but it wouldn't be a Real Madrid game without a penalty for them, would it? Gabriel Luis Fernández Arenas, the Spanish midfielder known as Gabi, Atlético's Captain, fouled Cristiano in the box in the 120th minute, and it was 4-1.

It was a bottle-job worthy of the 1986 Red Sox. In the end, La Décima > La Destina.

The teams played each other again in the 2016 Champions League Final. It ended 1-1, before Real won 5-3 on penalties.

Atlético won an 11th La Liga title in 2021. They are now 0-3 in Champions League Finals, having lost to Bayern in 1974. But no loss ever hurt them more than this one.

Real won a 35th in 2022. Real won an 11th Champions League title in 2016, a 12th in 2017, and a 13th in 2018. The next closest teams are Liverpool and AC Milan, with 7 each.

(UPDATE: Real won a 36th La Liga title in 2024. They won a 14th CL title in 2022, and a 15th in 2018.)

*

May 24, 2014 was a Saturday. In America's Major League Soccer, these 6 games were played:

* The New York Red Bulls lost to the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* The New England Revolution beat D.C. United, 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxboro, Massachusetts.

* The Columbus Crew beat the Chicago Fire, 2-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Colorado Rapids beat the Montreal Impact, 4-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas played to a draw, 0-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium (now America First Field) in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Seattle Sounders played to a draw, 2-2 at BC Place in Vancouver.

American-style football was out of season. There was 1 game played in the NBA Playoffs, Eastern Conference Final Game 3: The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 99-87 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Western Conference Final Game 3: The Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at U.S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Jacoby Ellsbury hit a home run in the top of the 10th inning, to make a winning pitcher out of Dellin Betances in relief of Vidal Nuño. Derek Jeter, in his final season, went 0-for-5.

* The New York Mets lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-2 at Citi Field. David Wright went 3-for-4 with a home run, but it wasn't enough.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Ben Revere went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and Chase Utley hit a home run.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Corey Kluber pitched 7 innings of 5-hit shoutout ball, and 2 relievers finished an 8-hit shutout.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-1 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The BoSox scored 5 runs before the Rays even came to bat, and blew it by the 5th inning. In the bottom of the 15th inning, Andrew Miller allowed singles to James Loney and Brandon Guyer, and then threw away Desmond Jennings' grounder to let the winning run home. David Ortiz appeared only as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base. The steroids didn't work that day.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics, 5-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 12-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Los Angeles Angels, 7-4 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Angel reliver Mike Morin allowed 3 runs on 3 hits and his own error in the top of the 13th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Minnesota Twins, 2-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

* And the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners, 9-4 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle.

May 1, 1962: Eusébio, the Sacred Monster, & The Curse of Béla Guttmann

Eusébio (left) and Mario Coluna

May 1, 1962: Sport Lisboa e Benfica, of Lisbon, Portugal, defeats Real Madrid, 5-3, to successfully defend the European Cup, at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Since the tournament began in 1955-56, Real Madrid (1956-60) and Benfica (1961-62) are the only clubs to have won it, a pattern that will be broken the next season by Italy's AC Milan.

Ferenc Puskás, the Hungarian "Galloping Major," and possibly the best player in the world for the last 10 years, scored a hat trick for Madrid, giving them a 3-2 lead. But a pair of geniuses from Portuguese East Africa, now Mozambique, are the heroes: Mario Coluna, a.k.a. O Monstro Sagrado (the Sacred Monster – what a great nickname!), ties the game; and Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (known universally by just his first name) scores 2 goals in 3 minutes to win it.

Béla Guttmann, Puskás' fellow Hungarian, managed Benfica to both of those European Cup wins. He rarely stayed at a club longer than two seasons, and was quoted as saying, "The third season is fatal."

After the 1962 title, he asked for a raise, didn't get it, and quit. Supposedly, he then said, "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European Champions again." 

there is no documentary evidence on Guttmann saying anything related to a curse and that the first mention of such was in May 1988, by newspaper Gazeta dos Desportos, on the day of the 1988 European Cup Final, which Benfica lost to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven.

Supposedly, before the 1990 European Cup Final, played in Vienna, where Guttman had died in 1981, Eusébio reportedly prayed at Guttmann's grave, and asked for the curse to be broken. It didn't work: Benfica lost to AC Milan. In 2011, Eusébio gave an interview in which he said the story of Guttmann placing a curse on the team was a lie.

Not in 100 years? Through the 2012-22 season, 60 years, he remains right: Between the Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League, they have lost their last 8 finals in European competition. Nevertheless, a statue of him now stands outside Benfica's Estádio da Luz (Stadium of Light).

*

May 1, 1962 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Bill Stafford was the winning pitcher. Elston Howard hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 0-for-3 with 2 walks. Roger Maris went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI. Yogi Berra did not play.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 8-2 at the Polo Grounds. Joey Jay not only went the distance for the win, but helped his own cause with a home run. Frank Robinson went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Washington Senators beat the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 at District of Columbia Stadium (later Robert F. Kennedy Stadium) in Washington. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-6 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Camilo Pascual, who had perhaps the best curveball in the American League while Sandy Koufax had the best one in the National League, not only went the distance for the win, but helped his own cause with a home run. Harmon Killebrew did not play. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Houston Astros, 6-4 at the first Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 3-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Vic Wertz singled Jake Wood and Al Kaline home in the top of the 10th inning. Jerry Lumpe -- a former Yankee described by manager Casey Stengel as, "He looks like the greatest player in the world, until you play him" -- hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th, but the A's couldn't find another run. Kaline had homered earlier in the game. Jim Bunning went all 10 innings for the win.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Cubs tied the game in the 8th inning. There was no further scoring until the 15th, when both teams scored 2 runs. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Daryl Spencer led off the bottom of the 16th with a walk, and was singled to 2nd base by Willie Davis. They were both bunted over by former Yankee 3rd baseman Andy Carey, and Doug Camilli (son of former Brooklyn Dodger All-Star Dolph Camilli) singled Spencer home to win it.

Duke Snider went 1-for-6 with 2 walks. For the Cubs, Ernie Banks went 0-for-7, while George Altman went 4-for-7 with an RBI.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Orlando Cepeda hit a home run. Willie Mays went 1-for-3 with a walk. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4.

* And the Milwaukee Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies were supposed to play at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, but, according to Baseball-Reference.com, despite it being May, the game was postponed due to cold. It was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 20. The Braves won the opener, 7-5. The Phils won the nightcap, 3-2. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 3-for-9 with a solo home run.