December 25, 1907: College Football In Cuba

December 25, 1907: For the 1st time, a game of American football is played in a foreign country -- Cuba.

The game was known as the Bacaradi Bowl, and was held at La Tropical Stadium in the capital of Havana. The University of Havana, founded in 1728, had invited Louisiana State University, who came into the game at 6-3. Perhaps UH showed LSU a little too much hospitality -- or, perhaps UH drank too much Bacardi. LSU won the game, 56-0.

La Tropical was torn down in 1929, and replaced with a new football/soccer stadium, Pedro Marrero Stadium, which is still in use.

*

December 25, 1907 was a Wednesday. Cabell Calloway III, later known as the jazz singer Cab Calloway, was born.

There was 1 other sporting event that day, and it was also a college football game. Washington State University beat Saint Louis University, 11-0 at Natatorium Park in Spokane, Washington. This was a minor-league baseball park built next-door to a public pool, or a "natatorium."

For those of you from the St. Louis area, this is "Wazzu," from Pullman, in the eastern part of the State of Washington, near Spokane and the Idaho State Line, in "the Palouse"; and it should not be confused with Washington University of St. Louis.

Why the Cougars and the Billikens were playing each other at all, let alone on Christmas, and in a cold-weather place instead of a warmer clime, is information that I don't have. Nevertheless, this was a reasonable substitute for the on-hiatus Rose Bowl, as Wazzu finished the season 7-1, while SLU finished 7-3.

There may have been hockey games that week, but I have no record of them. A few days later, the Montreal Wanderers defended the Stanley Cup at the Montreal Arena, in a two-games-total-goals series with the Ottawa Victorias, winning 9-3 on January 9, 1908, and 13-1 on January 13.  

December 24, 1906: The 1st Radio Broadcast

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden

December 24, 1906: The first radio broadcast for entertainment and music to the general public was transmitted from Brant Rock, in Marshfield, Massachusetts, about 30 miles southeast of Boston.

This pioneering broadcast was achieved after years of development work by Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (1866-1932), who built a complete system of wireless transmission and reception using amplitude modulation (AM) of continuous electromagnetic waves. This technology was a revolutionary departure from the transmission of dots and dashes that was widespread at the time.

It was Christmas Eve, so Fessenden played "O Holy Night" on his violin, read The Gospel of Luke's account of the birth of Christ, and played George Friderich Handel's "Largo" from a phonograph.

*

December 24, 1906 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Football was played on Christmas Day at the time, but not on Christmas Eve. Basketball barely existed. Later in the week, the Stanley Cup was won. It was a two-games-total-goals series, at the Montreal Arena. The Montreal Wanderers, defending Champions, known as "The Little Men of Iron," beat the New Glasgow Cubs, a team from Nova Scotia, 10-3 on December 27; and again, 7-2, on December 29.

December 17, 1903: The Wright Brothers Take Flight

December 17, 1903: The brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the 1st verified heavier-than-air flight, at Kill Devil Hill, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Wilbur, 36, and Orville, 32, had been bicycle builders in their native Dayton, Ohio. They took what they learned in aerodynamics from that, and put it to work in building gliders, and finally their first airplane, the Wright Flyer.

They chose Kitty Hawk -- the site is now in the town of Kill Devil Hill, which broke away decades later -- because of the favorable wind conditions. Their 1st flight lasted only 12 seconds, and went just 120 feet. But they did it. By the end of the day, they were able to fly for a full minute.

They made improvements, built new planes, and by 1908, they were ready to show the world -- particularly France, which was challenging them for pioneer status in this regard -- that they had forever put to rest the old saying, "If man was meant to fly, God would have given him wings."

Wilbur died in 1912, from typhoid fever, only 45 years old. No antibiotics in those days. Orville saw how airplanes could be used in warfare, exacting a terrible toll in both World Wars. But he also saw the achievements of people like Charles Lindbergh, Charles Kingsford Smith, Wiley Post, Amelia Earhart, and Chuck Yeager. On January 30, 1948, 3 months after Yeager became the 1st person to fly faster than the speed of sound, Orville died, at 76. It would be another 13 years before man flew in space.

The Wright Flyer is now a featured exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. And because of their achievement, when the Commemorative Quarters for each State were produced by the U.S. Mint, the Wrights were depicted for both Ohio and North Carolina.

In a 2012 episode of the YouTube series Epic Rap Battles of History, YouTube personalities Rhett McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal played Wilbur and Orville Wright, respectively; against "Epic" Lloyd Ahlquist as Mario and "Nice" Peter Shukoff as Luigi, of the Mario Brothers franchise.

*

December 17, 1903 was a Thursday. Erskine Caldwell was born on that day. He wrote the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre. Although North Carolina, where the Wright Brothers made their 1st flight, is a tobacco-producing State, and its multi-sided basketball rivalry has been nicknamed "Tobacco Road," Caldwell had actually written about his native Georgia.

Baseball was out of season. Football season had ended as well. Basketball did not exist at the professional level. There may have been league hockey games that day, but they weren't professional, either. The Ottawa Hockey Club, nicknamed the Silver Seven and later to be known as the original Ottawa Senators, were the holders of the Stanley Cup, and would play the Winnipeg Rowing Club on December 30, 1903; and January 1 and 4, 1904, to keep the Cup.

June 28, 1924: The Death of Jack Darragh

June 28, 1924: Jack Darragh dies in Ottawa. He was only 33 years old, and was the best hockey player of the last 5, maybe 10 years.

John Proctor Darragh was born on December 4, 1890 in Ottawa, Ontario, the national capital of Canada. The right wing arrived with the Ottawa Senators at the start of the 1910-11 season, only 20 years old, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in his 1st season.

The Senators went into rebuilding mode, and the game was led by men like "Phantom" Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs and Édouard "Newsy" Lalonde of the Montreal Canadiens. Eventually, the Senators built a new team, with Darragh forming a forward-line partnership with Frank Nighbor.

The Ottawa Citizen newspaper called him a "model athlete" who never smoked or tasted liquor in any form, and that he "trained assiduously both in and out of the hockey seasons and always kept himself in perfect condition." According to the newspaper, Darragh was a "beautiful specimen of an athlete and his weight, coupled with terrific speed and magnificent stickhandling, made him a terror to opposing teams."

With a 1st line of Nighbor flanked by Darragh and team Captain Eddie Gerard at left wing, plus right wing Harry "Punch" Broadbent, left wing Cy Denneny, defensemen Sprague Cleghorn and George "Buck" Boucher, and goaltender Clint Benedict, 8 men who would one day be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup in 1920 and 1921.

Though only 30 years old, Darragh retired after the 1921 Cup. The Toronto St. Patricks, forerunners of the Maple Leafs, won the Cup in 1922. Darragh came out of retirement, and helped the Senators win the Cup again in 1923. In the 1923-24 season, he collided with Edmond Bouchard of the Hamilton Tigers, breaking his kneecap. He missed much of the season, and retired again.

Three months after the season ended, on June 28, 1924, Darragh's appendix ruptured, and, in those pre-antibiotic days, he died of peritonitis. Indeed, several members of the 1911 Cup-winning Senators died young, none of them as a result of serving in World War I: Marty Walsh of tuberculosis in 1915, Hamby Shore in the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918, Darragh of appendicitis in 1924, Bruce Ridpath of a stroke in 1925, Fred Lake in 1937 from the effects of a car accident 2 years earlier, and Albert Kerr of unknown causes in 1941. Only goaltender Percy LeSueur lived to be older than 54, living to be 80.

Darragh was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962. His brother, Harold Darragh, also played in the NHL, and lived to be 90.

*

June 28, 1924 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Bobby Veach hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th inning. In the top of the 12th, Everett Scott singled Wally Pipp home, and the Yankees got another run thanks to an error by the Sox' 2nd baseman, Bill Wambsganss, famous for turning an unassisted triple play for Cleveland in the 1920 World Series. The Sox got a run back in the bottom of the 12th, and had the tying run on first. But Herb Pennock got the last out, finishing a 12-inning win.

 * The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 9-8 at the Polo Grounds. The Braves scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, tying the game. But Emil "Irish" Meusel doubled Frankie Frisch home with the winning run.

* The Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known during Wilbert Robinson's managing from 1914 to 1931 -- swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-1 and 10-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 and 4-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. George Mogridge pitched a 6-hit shutout in the nightcap.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ray Kremer pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Ty Cobb, by this point also the manager of the Tigers, went 2-for-5. Tris Speaker, by this point also the manager of the Indians, went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Chicago White Sox, 13-12 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ken Williams singled George Sisler home with the winning run in the top of the 14th inning. For the Browns, Marty McManus and William "Baby Doll" Jacobson each had 4 hits; Williams, Sisler and Jack Tobin each had 3. Williams and McManus each had 3 RBIs. For the White Sox, Eddie Coolins went 2-for-5 with a home run, 3 walks and 4 RBIs. Bibb Falk had 4 hits; Johnny Mostil, Harry Hooper, Bill Barrett and Roy Elsh (who didn't even start the game), 3 each.

* And the Cincinnati Reds swept the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 and 8-7 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Rogers Hornsby went 0-for-4 in the 1st game, but 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs in the 2nd game.

June 24, 1995: New Jersey's Champions

June 24, 1995: New Jersey got a sports World Championship it could call its own.

The National Hockey League approved the sale of the Colorado Rockies to an ownership group led by Dr. John McMullen, a naval engineer who was then also the owner of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros, on May 27, 1982. The NHL also approved the team's move from Denver to the Brendan Byrne Arena, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex, in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey. On June 30, the new name of the team was announced: The New Jersey Devils.

On October 5, 1982, they played their 1st regular-season game, home to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it ended in a 3-3 tie. Three days later, they hosted the team that was geographically, but not yet emotionally, their rivals, the New York Rangers, and got their 1st win, 3-2.

Their early days were tough. They started their 2nd season 2-20. On November 19, 1983, they went to Edmonton to play the Oilers, who were on their way to their 1st Stanley Cup, and lost 13-4. Wayne Gretzky, now the best player in the sport, told the media after the game, "Well, it’s time they got their act together. They’re ruining the whole league. They had better stop running a Mickey Mouse organization, and put somebody on the ice."

It's hard to argue that he was wrong. Nevertheless, for those of us who were Devils fans from Day One, it pissed us off. From November 29 to December 17, we went on a pretty good run, going 5-3-2. On January 15, 1984, we had a rematch with the Oilers at the Meadowlands, and the place sold out. Many fans came wearing Mickey Mouse hats, the "ears" hats sold at Disney World. We lost, but this time, it was only 5-4. On January 27, we went back to Edmonton, and got a 3-3 tie.

It took until 1988 for the Devils to make the Playoffs for the 1st time -- not counting 1978 as the Rockies. We clinched in overtime of the last day of the regular season, then beat the crumbling New York Islander dynasty in the 1st round, then upset the Washington Capitals to make the Conference Finals, driving a superior Boston Bruin team to the full 7 games.

That series was highlighted -- or lowlighted, depending on how you look at it -- by a confrontation after Game 3. Devils head coach Jim Schoenfeld, formerly a take-no-shit defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres, had had it with referee Don Koharski, who seemed to give the Bruins every break. He yelled at Koharski in the tunnel, with fans able to see. Koharski fell, got up, and accused Schoenfeld of pushing him. Schoenfeld yelled back, "You fell, you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!"

The Devils missed the Playoffs in 1989, but made it again in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993, failing to win a round each time. In 1992, they lost to the Rangers in 7 games in the 1st round. In 1994, they beat the Buffalo Sabres, and then the Bruins, and faced the Rangers in an epic series. It went the full 7, and Game 7 went to double overtime, before Stephane Matteau scored to put the Rangers into the Stanley Cup Finals.

It was the greatest hockey game I've ever seen -- and my team lost it, to the team I hate the most. In that sport, anyway.

*

A defeat like that can crush a team. Or it can show them just how close they are, and remind them that they do not want to feel like that again. The 1994-95 season was delayed due to a labor dispute, and when the regular season was over, the Devils were the 5th seed in the NHL Eastern Conference.

Head coach Jacques Lemaire and assistant coach Larry Robinson had both been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame already, for their play with the 1970s Montreal Canadiens. Lemaire had won 8 Cups with them; Robinson, 6. They knew how to build a winner.

Jacques Lemaire

And general manager Lou Lamoriello was building one. In goal was Martin Brodeur, a Montreal native, whose father, Denis, had been Canada's goaltender at the 1956 Winter Olympics, and had long been the photographer for both the Canadiens and baseball's Montreal Exops. His backup was Chris Terreri, who had played at Providence College when Lamoriello was the head coach there.

Martin Brodeur

The defense was led by Scott Stevens. Playing for the Capitals, Stevens had been one of the dirtiest players in the NHL. But he had matured, and figured out the difference between aggressive and dirty. The Devils acquired him in 1991, and he so impressed everyone that Bruce Driver willingly gave up the team captaincy the next season.

"Guns don't kill people, Scott Stevens kills people"

Driver had been with the Devils since the team's 2nd season, 1983-84. So had another defenseman, Ken Daneyko. So had right wing John MacLean, whose overtime goal in the last game in 1988 got the team its 1st Playoff berth.

In addition to Stevens, Driver and Daneyko, the defense included exciting young players Scott Niedermayer and Shawn Chambers, and a tough Swede -- yes, Don Cherry, they do exist -- named Tommy Albelin.

In addition to MacLean, the forwards included Neal Broten. At this point, Ken Morrow of the Islanders was the only member of the U.S. team that won the Gold Medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics to have won the Stanley Cup. Broten, whose brothers Aaron and Paul had also played for the Devils, was looking to become the 2nd.

Neal Broten

There was also Bobby Carpenter, who made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school player in the Boston suburbs in 1981, a cover whose caption called him "THE CAN'T-MISS KID," and suggested that he might be the best American hockey player ever. He wasn't exactly hit with "The Dreaded SI Cover Jinx," as he did make an All-Star Game. But this was his 14th season in the NHL, and aside from the 1990 Finals with his hometown Bruins, he had never gotten close to the Stanley Cup.

There were more connections to the Canadiens. Wingers Claude Lemieux and Stéphane Richer had played on the Habs' 1986 Stanley Cup winners, making them the only former Cup winners on the '95 Devils. Another winger, Tom Chorske, had also played in Montreal.

Claudie was a bit of a dirty player, but I loved him, for 3 reasons: He scored goals, he didn't take any shit, and he seemed to up his game against the 2 teams Devils fans hate the most: The New York Rangers (a.k.a. The Scum), and the Philadelphia Flyers (a.k.a. The Philth).

"One, two, Claudie's coming for you.

Three, four, he'll knock you out and then he'll score."

Wingers Mike Peluso and Bobby Holík, and center Randy McKay formed a forward line known as the Crash Line, the unit Lemaire sent out when he needed a little aggressiveness. Another winger was Bill Guerin, the 1st Hispanic player in NHL history, preceding future Devil Scott Gomez. And Jim Dowd, from the successful hockey program at Brick Township High School in Ocean County, was the 1st New Jersey native to play for the Devils.

Jim Dowd

On May 11, 1995, while the Devils were in the 1st round of the Playoffs, the NBC sitcom Seinfeld aired the episode "The Face Painter." Patrick Warburton played David Puddy, a mechanic who was dating Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Jerry Seinfeld (playing a fictional version of himself) had gotten tickets for Game 1 of a Playoff series with the Rangers at The Garden (suggesting that the episode took place the year before), and took Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) and Elaine, who took Puddy.

It turns out, Puddy is a Devils fan, from New Jersey, and not only is he wearing a Number 30 Martin Brodeur jersey, but he's painted his face in Devils colors, and he ends up making a spectacle of himself. In real life, Warburton was born in New Jersey, in Paterson, Passaic County, but grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Patrick Warburton as David Puddy

During the episode, a broadcaster announces that a Devils goal has been scored by Richer. Richer also scored 2 goals, including the overtime winner, in my 1st live NHL game, a 5-4 Devils win over the Rangers at The Garden on December 23, 1992. This guy hated the Rangers so much, he even scored against them on sitcoms.

Stéphane Richer

Speaking of sitcoms: In 1993, on an episode of Living Single, East Orange native Dana Owens, a.k.a. Queen Latifah, became the 1st person to wear a Devils jersey on a scripted TV show. Her character, Khadijah James, wore Number 1, and the name on the back was the name of the magazine she published and edited: "FLAVOR."

Now, the Devils had to back up Puddy's claim: "Don't mess with the Devils, buddy! We're Number 1! We beat anybody! We're the Devils! The Devils! Haggggh!"

*

They faced the Bruins in the 1st round, and beat them in 5 games. The clincher, on May 14, 1995, was the last competitive sporting event at the Boston Garden, after 67 years as the home of the Bruins and 49 years as the home of the NBA's Boston Celtics, who had already been eliminated from their league's Playoffs.

In the next round, the Pittsburgh Penguins were the opponents. Mario Lemieux was sitting the season out due to injury, but Jaromir Jagr was at his peak. The Devils didn't care. Claude Lemieux, no relation to Mario, had only scored 6 goals in the shortened regular season, but was the biggest reason the Devils won this series, also in 5 games. Game 4, at the Meadowlands, was won with Broten scoring in the 3rd period to tie it and in overtime to win it.

Then came the Conference Finals. The Devils had gotten that far in 1988 and 1994, but faltered both times. This time, it was against another geographic rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, who had eliminated the defending champion Rangers in the preceding round.

The teams split the 1st 2 games, with the road team winning each time. Game 5 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, on June 11, 1995, may be the key game in the history of the Devils' franchise. It was 2-2 with 44 seconds left in regulation. Claude Lemieux struck again, firing a wobbly shot from the blue line, about 65 feet. Flyer goaltender Ron Hextall never saw it.

The Spectrum may never have been so quiet. I was not. I saw that goal at the Ruby Tuesday restaurant at the Brunswick Square Mall in my hometown of East Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey. When that puck went in the net, I jumped and yelled. And nobody told me to be quiet. It was then that I knew that the Devils had finally taken Central Jersey away from the Rangers. The 1994 Cup win by the Broadway Blueshirts -- or Broadway Boozehounds -- no longer mattered. South Jersey may still have been Flyer country, but from the New York State Line to Interstate 195, New Jersey now belonged to the Devils.

The Devils held on to win, 3-2, and clinched their 1st Conference title at the Meadowlands 2 days later, on June 13.

The Devils had now won 8 Playoff games on the road: In Games 1, 2 and 5 in Boston; Games 2 and 5 in Pittsburgh; and Games 1, 2 and 5 in Philadelphia. This was stunning, but it suggested they had a chance in their 1st-ever Stanley Cup Finals.

*

But it would be against the Detroit Red Wings. This team was loaded. It had the best regular-season record. It had future Hall-of-Famers: Steve Yzerman, Paul Coffey, Viacheslav Fetisov (who had been a Devil from 1989 until earlier that season), Nicklas Lidstrom, Dino Ciccarelli, Mark Howe, Sergei Fedorov.

And some players who perhaps should be in the Hall: Keith Primeau, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper, Mike Vernon, and another 1980 Gold Medal winner, Mike Ramsey. And a couple of tough guys: Mike "Krusher" Krushelnyski and Stu "the Grim Reaper" Grimson.

Fetisov, Fedorov, Kozlov and Konstantinov would be joined the next year by Igor Larionov, forming "The Russian Five." Larionov would later help the Devils win a Cup, and is also in the Hall of Fame. He wasn't there yet in 1995, but it didn't make a difference: The Wings were good, fast, and tough.

June 17, 1995: Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals is held at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The Red Wings are in the Finals for the 1st time in 29 years, and looking for their 1st Cup in 40 years. The Devils are in their 1st Finals. Something's got to give.

When the Devils players are introduced, each one, it seemed to me on TV, was greeted not with actual boos and hisses, but a shout of "Boo, hiss!" Even though this was my team, I thought it was brilliant. It was years before I found out that the actual shout was, "Who cares?" That was disappointing.

But the noise in "The Joe," combined with all the hype the Wings had rightly gotten, for being one of the most talent-laden teams ever, and their 8-0 record at home in these Playoffs, had me wondering if the Devils were even going to win a game.

In the Fox TV booth, Dave Maloney, a former New York Ranger captain, said, "I like the Wings in 7." Given what we were up against, I would have gladly taken that.

A funny thing happened on the way to defeat: Richer and Ciccarelli traded power-play goals in the 2nd period, and then, early in the 3rd, Lemieux continued one of the hottest postseason streaks ever. Devils 3, Red Wings 2. It was the Devils' 9th road win of the Playoffs, their 1st Stanley Cup Finals win ever, and the theft of the home-ice advantage for the series. Three wins to go.

June 20, 1995: Game 2. A goal from Dowd with 1:24 left in regulation, plus an empty-netter, gave the Devils a 4-2 win. It was their 10th road win of the Playoffs, a new record.

Nobody can believe it. New Jersey fans are shocked. Detroit fans are shocked. Fans of the NHL's other 24 teams are shocked. Two wins to go.

And yet, while all this was going on, there was a rumor that the Devils would be sold and moved to Nashville, where what's now known as the Bridgestone Arena was going up. This would be one hell of a betrayal by the NHL. Sure, in the movie Slap Shot, the Charlestown Chiefs were being moved just as they were threatening to win their minor league's championship, but that was the movies. This was real life.

Would we really lose our team at the moment of greatest glory? In all of major league sports history in North America, that had (and still has) happened only once: Despite winning the 1945 NFL Championship while playing in a great football city, the Cleveland Rams hadn't been drawing well -- soldiers not yet being fully demobilized from World War II had something to do with it -- and moved to Los Angeles for the 1946 season.

But, for now, the Meadowlands was still home, and the Meadowlands Marauders were coming home, up two games to none. (I made up the name "Meadowlands Marauders." Nobody else ever called the Devils that. I now call them the Mulberry Street Marauders, since the Prudential Center is on Mulberry Street in downtown Newark. I even have a Facebook page with that name.)

June 22, 1995: Game 3. Because of the lockout that delayed and shortened the season, this was the 1st NHL game played after the Summer Solstice. It was also the 1st Finals game in any sport played at the Brendan Byrne Arena. (The Devils would also reach the Finals there in 2000 and 2001, the Nets in 2002, and both teams in 2003.)

One of the things that amazed me was how many fans came to the Arena wearing the former jerseys, the red and green ones, that had been switched to scarlet and black for the 1992-93 season. It was as if they were sending the message: "We remember what it was like to be so bad, which is why it now feels so good to be so good."

Nobody expected the Devils to beat the Detroit Red Wings 2 straight in Detroit, but they did. So, by this point, nobody is surprised when the Devils take a 5-0 lead, on goals by Driver, Lemieux (his 13th goal of the Playoffs, after scoring only 6 in the regular season), Broten, McKay and Holík. The Wings scored 2 late goals, but it didn't matter. The Devils win 5-2. One win to go.

If they could do it, it would be the 1st World Championship for a New Jersey team. Sure, the New York Giants had won Super Bowl XXI in 1987, and Super Bowl XXV in 1991, while playing in Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. But they still officially kept "New York" as their name. This, if it could be finished, would be a World Championship for New Jersey. The Devils would be New Jersey's Champions.

The Meadowlands had never been louder. That record will last just 48 hours.

*

June 24, 1995. It was a Saturday. The temperature stayed in the 70s in daylight, and dropped into the 50s that night. I did not yet have a Devils jersey, but I had a shirt with red and black stripes, which I had worn to my 1st live NHL game, because it was Devils colors. They won that night, so I'd worn it to every live game I'd been to since. It didn't always work. But it felt right to wear it on this night, even though it had long sleeves and it was the 1st week of Summer.

The Brendan Byrne Arena, as the Meadowlands arena was then known, had a hockey seating capacity of 19,040 -- convenient for mocking the Rangers, until they broke their "Curse of 1940." (For basketball, it was 20,089.) There was no way I was going to get inside: Getting to the arena was possible, but the scalpers would be charging prices far outside my price range.

So I set my VCR to record WNYW-Channel 5, the Fox station in New York, and decided to go to my original hometown, Bloomfield, in Essex County. With Route 3, which passes the Meadowlands Complex, being just to the north of town, this would put me reasonably close. I went to the Town Pub at 378 Broad Street, ordered dinner (this is one detail I don't remember), and, as the Fox broadcast began at 8:00, began ordering Red Dog beer (this, I do remember), because I'd gone to the Yankees' home opener 2 months earlier, and tried it then, and liked it.

Mike Emrick, the Devils' usual broadcaster, and former Rangers goalie John Davidson broadcast for Fox, but there was so much noise in the Town Pub that we couldn't hear them. As home teams did in the NHL at the time, the Devils took the ice wearing white jerseys at home, while the Wings did so in red. Just 1 minute and 8 seconds into the game, Broten scored. But only 55 game-seconds after that, Fedorov tied it up.

At 13:01 of the 1st period, Coffey scored a shorthanded goal to make it 2-1 Wings, and, for the 1st time since the final horn of Game 3, clinching on this night was in doubt. What we did not yet know was that the Devils' defense, led by Stevens, would be up to the task, and the Wings would not score another goal that counted for 104 days.

At 17:45, Shawn Chambers tied it back up, and the 1st period ended 2-2. After Fox came back from commercial, I heard the bar break out into boos, and I looked up to see Emrick and Davidson interviewing NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. I joined in.

The next day, back at home, I ran the tape back, and listened to the interview. The crowd at the Meadowlands, seeing the interview on the arena scoreboard, and believing that Bettman favored the Devils' alleged proposed move to Nashville, chanted, "Bettman sucks!" Emrick asked him about this, and he said, "Never let it go unsaid that hockey fans are passionate!"

The key moment of the game came at 7:56 of the 2nd period. The Devils attacked, and the puck came to Broten. Lefthanded, he tried to shovel the puck past Vernon, who blocked it. He tried a 2nd time, but whiffed on the puck. He tried a 3rd time, and this time, as the instant replay showed, the puck sort of jumped over Vernon's left shoulder, and in.

The best still photo I could find of the goal

It had been 15 years since the native of Roseau, Minnesota participated in the "Miracle On Ice." Now, he had scored what stood to be a Stanley Cup-winning goal.

The 2nd period ended with the score still 3-2 to the Devils. In the 3rd, Sergei Brylin hit a slap shot at 7:46 that seemed to clinch it. At 12:32, Chambers spun and hit a lefty shot that Vernon never saw. The Stanley Cup was in a room somewhere under the stands, and as we roared in that Bloomfield bar, we couldn't hear the goal horn, but Fox put a camera on the Cup.

New Jersey Devils 5, Detroit Red Wings 2. The emotions were flowing. Peluso, one of the tough guys of the era, his long stringy black hair making him look like a member of Mötley Crüe, looked even more so: He was crying over having achieved his dream. He wasn't the only Mike P. in North Jersey with tears of joy in his eyes that night: I did, too.

Mike Peluso, around 11:00 PM, June 24, 1995

As the seconds ticked down, I made sure I looked at my watch so I would always know the exact time that it happened. It was 11:09 PM. Don't bet me. The clock ran out, and, as I learned the next day when I ran the tape back, Emrick said some of the most beautiful words I've ever heard, words I couldn't possibly have heard with all the noise in the bar at 11:09:

The championship to New Jersey! The Devils win the Stanley Cup!

The perfect words for the moment. As Trenton radio station WKXW, 101.5 FM, liked to say, "New Jersey 101.5. Not New York. Not Philadelphia. Proud to be New Jersey." I dearly love New York City. I love Philadelphia, too. I don't like their hockey teams, but I love the cities. But I was born and raised in New Jersey, and raised to love my home State.

Now, New Jersey was World Champions, and a team called the Devils had put me in Heaven. Indeed, the official NHL highlight film for the Finals would be titled Heaven.

A red carpet was laid out from the players' tunnel to center ice, and a table placed on it. The Conn Smythe Trophy, named for the old-time Maple Leafs head coach and general manager, and given to the Most Valuable Player of the Playoffs, was put on the table. Bettman came out, and got booed again. He announced that the Trophy had been awarded to Lemieux. There were a few good choices, but he was the definitive choice.

Then the Stanley Cup was brought out, by 2 employees of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, men wearing tuxedos and white gloves. They put it on the table as the fans went wild, always dreaming of seeing the Cup in their building. Now, it was here.

Bettman started talking again, and got booed again. He praised McMullen, Lamoriello, Lemaire, and the team in general. Then he turned to the Captain, and said, "Scott Stevens, this is for you!"

The Commissioner always gives the Cup to the Captain. It is then up to the Captain to decide who gets it next. Stevens knew it should go to the 3 guys who had been there almost from the beginning: MacLean, then Driver, then Daneyko.

Given the role he would eventually occupy in hockey history, it might surprise younger fans to know that Brodeur didn't get it until halfway through. When it was his turn with the Cup, McKay nearly dropped it. (Following the 2nd win in 2000, Stevens gave it to McKay first, since he'd been going through a rough patch.) Lemaire got it last. He'd won 8 Cups as a Canadiens player. This made 9.

I'm not old enough to remember the 1969 World Series -- I was born 2 months later -- but the Devils' '95 Cup win was similar: The team from the New York Tri-State Area had been laughed at for its first few years, then it made an unexpected run to the final, faced an absolutely loaded establishment team, and ended up toying with them, resulting in an unexpected, joyful win that was clinched at home.

But neither win was a "miracle": Both the '69 Mets and the '95 Devils outworked their opponents, and fully deserved it. One major difference: Lemaire was already in his sport's Hall of Fame. Gil Hodges, manager of the '69 Mets, still isn't in his. Also, Jacques chewed a lot more gum than Gil.

It was a long ride home. A bus from Bloomfield back to Penn Station in Newark. A train back to New Brunswick. It was too late to take a bus back to East Brunswick, but I had enough money for a taxi. I don't remember what time I got home. It didn't matter. I was brimming with joy.

There was no ticker-tape parade. The team just had a celebration in the parking lot, in front of the arena. That's another good thing about the team's 2007 move to the Prudential Center: If they ever do win another Cup, they can have a parade up Newark's Broad Street.

Did I say, "move"? Within a few days, it was announced that McMullen had no intention of selling the team, and Nashville had to wait until the 1998-99 season for the Predators to debut.

That red-and-black-striped shirt? I also wore it for the Devils' clinchers of the 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cups. And, while it's not Yankee colors, I thought, why not? I wore it for the Yankees' clinchers of the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009 World Series.

It hasn't always worked, though. It didn't work for the Devils in Game 6 or Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals. It worked in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, the Adam Henrique Game, but not Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It didn't work for the Yankees for Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, or Game 6 of the 2003 World Series, or Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. And, while it's (sort of) Rutgers colors as well, it's only worked for their football team about half the time.

I still have the shirt. It's got a few small holes in it, and it doesn't fit me anymore, since I'm considerably heavier than I was in 1995. (Even by the 2009 Yankee win, it was too small for me.) I've joked about raising it to the ceiling in my bedroom, like a retired uniform number. But I will never throw it away.

The Shirt, and the Jersey that replaced it

Because it's a reminder of the night that my little hockey team grew up. Expansion team no more. "Mickey Mouse organization"? Get outta here with that crap. The New Jersey Devils had won a title. And would win another. And another. (Still waiting for another, though.)

But, as has been found out by...

* The 1916 Montreal Canadiens
* The 1918 Toronto Maple Leafs (then the Toronto Arenas)
* The 1928 New York Rangers
* The 1929 Boston Bruins
* The 1934 Chicago Blackhawks
* The 1936 Detroit Red Wings
* The 1974 Philadelphia Flyers
* The 1980 New York Islanders
* The 1984 Edmonton Oilers
* The 1989 Calgary Flames
* The 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins
* The 1996 Colorado Avalanche
* The 1999 Dallas Stars
* The 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning
* The 2006 Carolina Hurricanes
* The 2007 Anaheim Ducks
* The 2012 Los Angeles Kings
* The 2018 Washington Capitals and
* The 2019 St. Louis Blues...

There will never be another 1st one. And on this night, New Jersey fans found out. The Devils won the Stanley Cup.

The Championship to New Jersey.

In 2017, the NHL named its 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players. The list included Stevens, Brodeur and Niedermayer.

(UPDATE: A 1st Stanley Cup has now been won by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023, and the Florida Panthers in 2024.)

*

What other scores were there on that historic day? At Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Rugby World Cup Final was held. South Africa, despite being the hosts, were the underdogs to New Zealand, but won, 15-12.

And these baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, 10-2 at Yankee Stadium. The only home run in the game was hit by the Jays' Joe Carter. But, for the Bronx Bombers, Luis Polonia, Wade Boggs and Dion James each got 2 hits. Boggs got 3 RBIs, and James and Paul O'Neill each got 2. This was in support of Melido Perez.

* The New York Mets, as they so often did in those days, lost to the Atlanta Braves, 5-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Carlos Perez, brother of Melido and Pascual, pitched a 6-hit shutout.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 6-5 at Camden yards in Baltimore.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Florida Marlins, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 8-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-9 at Busch Memorial Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-5 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Houston Astros, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 2-0 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Joey Hamilton pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 7-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hideo Nomo had the night's best pitching performance, pitching a 2-hit shutout and striking out 13.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the California Angels, 3-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. 

June 19, 1999: Dallas' Controversial Cup

Puck: In net. Foot: In crease. Rule: In place.

June 19, 1999: The Dallas Stars win the Stanley Cup, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-1, in triple overtime, in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

At 14:51 over the 3rd overtime, Brett Hull, frustrated through years of not reaching the Finals with the St. Louis Blues, scored off a rebound over a sprawling Dominik Hašek. It ended the longest Cup-clinching game ever. Another 25 seconds, and it would have surpassed Game 1 of 1990 (Edmonton over Boston) as the longest Finals game ever.

The Sabres protested, citing the NHL rule of the time that a player could not be credited with a goal if any part of his body was within the goal crease. The replay showed that Hull's right foot was in the crease. But the referees ruled that he had possession of the puck prior to entering the crease, making the goal legal, and the Stars the World Champions.

Before the next season, the NHL changed the rule, allowing players to score from within the crease freely, as long as they did not interfere with the goaltender.

Sabres fans from Plattsburgh in the north to Binghamton in the south, from Albany in the east to Cleveland in the west, still say they got screwed. And, given that no major league team from Western New York has won a World Championship since the Syracuse Nationals were NBA Champions in 1955, they need all the correct calls they can get.

But did they get screwed? Not really. The rule was in place. Was it a bad rule? Yes. Was the change made for the next season worse? Yes. But does anybody who wants the Sabres to win have a case? No, not as the rule was written at the time.

Think about it this way. You know what kind of person the typical North Texan is when he talks about politics or the Dallas Cowboys. Now, imagine that the goal had been waved off. And that the Sabres had gone on to win Games 6 and 7 and take the Cup. We'd have spent the last 23 years hearing people from Texas calling the '99 Sabres the greatest cheats in the history of sports, and that the Stars deserved to win the Cup.

Despite being one of the best goaltenders of his era -- he had won 5 out of the last 6 Vezina Trophies, and the Hart Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the 2 previous seasons -- Hašek wasn't nearly so good in those Finals. He had already allowed 12 goals in 22 periods, nearly 1 every 2. Had he stopped this shot, we wouldn't be talking about it now.

But even if the goal had been waved off, the game would have gone on, and would still have been tied, and the Stars could still have won it. If the Sabres had won Game 6, then the series would have gone to a Game 7, it would have been played in Dallas, and the odds would still have been against the Sabres.

The Stars got back to the Finals the next year, against the New Jersey Devils, winning Game 5 in triple overtime at the Meadowlands, before the Devils won Game 6 in double overtime in Dallas. Moral of the story: If you want to beat the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals, do it before the game gets to triple overtime. (The Sabres did win Game 1 in the 1st overtime.)

Brett Hull, Ed Belfour, Guy Carbonneau, Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jere Lehtinen, Darryl Sydor and Derian Hatcher could be. Only one '99 Sabre has made it: Hašek. Granted, the more talented team doesn't always win, and may not even deserve to win. But the Stars were, easily, the more talented team. And they did clinch on the road. There is something to be said for that.

Brett Hull

There is an unusual postscript to this story. In 2002, Hull and Hasek would be teammates on the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Stanley Cup together.

Dominik Hašek

Hasek would win another Cup with the Wings in 2008, giving him 2, as many as Hull -- and twice as many as Hull's father Bobby, who only won it with the 1961 Chicago Blackhawks.

For all the good any of that did the Sabres.

UPDATE: The Stars have a team Hall of Fame. From the 1999 Cup win, they have inducted CEO Jim Lites, head coach Ken Hitchcock, general manager Bob Gainey, goalkeeper Ed Belfour, defenseman Derian Hatcher, center Joe Nieuwendyk, and broadcaster Ralph Strangis. From after the 1999 Cup, they have inducted left wing Brenden Morrow.

They have also retired Number 9, for center Mike Modano; 26, for right wing Jere Lehtinen; and 56, for defenseman Sergei Zubov, all from the 1999 Cup winners. They also continue to honor the number retirements by their previous incarnation, the Minnesota North Stars: 7, for 1980s center Neal Broten, who did last into the Dallas years, but not until the Cup win; 8, for 1970s right wing Bill Goldsworthy; and 19, for center Bill Masterton, whose 1968 head injury made him the only NHL player ever to die as a result of an in-game injury.

No Dallas Stars figure has yet been inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, Stars Hull, Modano and Nieuwendyk, and Sabre Hašek, were named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

*

June 19, 1999 was a Saturday. Football was out of season. Due to a lockout that delayed the NBA season, that season was still going on, and playing its Playoffs, although no games were played on this day.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Anaheim Angels, 6-2 at Yankee Stadium. Hideki Irabu was the winning pitcher. Bernie Williams went 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk and 2 RBIs. Derek Jeter went 1-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The New York Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 477th career home run. The Mets got home runs from Mike Piazza (no surprise) and Rickey Henderson (a minor surprise).

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 7-4 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-0 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Roy Halladay pitched 6 2/3rds innings of 2-hit shutout ball. Graeme Lloyd and Paul Quantrill completed the 3-hit shutout.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-6 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland. The Tribe got home runs from Jacob Cruz, Roberto Alomar, David Justice and Manny Ramirez. The M's got them from Ken Griffy Jr. and Butch Huskey. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-1 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 13-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Tim Hudson was the winning pitcher. John Jaha hit 2 home runs for the A's, and Matt Stairs and Jason Giambi each hit 1. Luis Polonia went 4-for-5 for the Tigers.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-9 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Will Clark hit a home run for the Birds in the top of the 10th inning, but the South Siders scored to extend the game. Mike Bordick hit a home run for the O's in the top of the 11th, and this time, the Pale Hose couldn't come back. Cal Ripken and Harold Baines also homered for the O's. Career home runs: Ripken 431, Baines 384, Clark 284, Bordick 91.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Houston Astros beat the Montreal Expos, 5-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Florida Marlins, 10-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-2 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Tony Gwynn went 1-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 11-5 at 3Com Park, as Candlestick Park in San Francisco was then known. Marvin Benard went 2-for-5 with a home run and 5 RBIs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

June 17, 1994: Split Screen

June 17, 1994: NBC has a problem. Through its sports department, it is contractually obligated to show one thing. But its news department has a big story to cover, and it might be more dramatic than the sporting event in question.

This is no "Heidi Bowl" for the Peacock Network. And it certainly isn't for kids.

*

In 1983, James Cameron was casting The Terminator. He wanted O.J. Simpson, an actor and one of the greatest running backs in football history, to play the seemingly unstoppable cyborg from the future. But focus groups told him that there was no way that O.J. would be taken seriously as a killing machine.

In 1994, Simpson had finished filming Frogmen, an action film about U.S. Navy divers, and had been interviewed on the set for Entertainment Tonight. He seemed enthusiastic about this film.

He was 46 years old, going on 47. He was dating budding actress Paula Barbieri. He was a member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. He had a fabulous house in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He walked with kings, presidents and his fellow stars. He was rich, famous and popular beyond most people's wildest dreams.

Like Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby, he had transcended his status as a black man in a white-dominated society, to become one of the biggest celebrities in America, and he remained one even though he hadn't played a down of football in nearly 15 years.

But, as happened to Jackson the year before, and has happened to Cosby since -- and as had recently happened to white celebrities Pete Rose (also an ex-athlete) and Woody Allen (also involved in movies), his image was about to change in ways that we could not have possibly imagined.

Oh yeah: Frogmen has never been released. It remains in someone's vault, never seen by the general public. And O.J. has never been cast in another feature film.

*

When we went to bed on the night of June 12, 1994, we thought of O.J. Simpson as one of the greatest football players ever, a good sideline reporter on NBC's NFL telecasts, and a decent actor. If he had been the one who died that night, by whatever means, it would have been sad -- as far as the public knew at the time.

And, as it turned out, a lot of people would have been better off. Himself included.

We knew he had been married and divorced twice. What most of us did not know was that he had beaten both of his wives. The 2nd wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, had repeatedly called the police about it. One of the times, one of the responding lawmen was a young Detective named Mark Furhman.
Nicole told lots of people that she believed O.J. would kill her one day. On the night of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson had dinner with her mother, Juditha Brown, at Mezzaluna Trattoria, an Italian restaurant in the Brentwood section of the Westside (it's always spelled as 1 word) of Los Angeles, where a friend of hers, Ronald Goldman, was a waiter.
Nicole drove her mother home. When she got home to 875 South Bundy Drive, about half a mile southwest of the restaurant, her mother called, saying that she left her sunglasses at the restaurant. Nicole called the restaurant. The glasses were found, and Ron agreed to deliver them.
Both Nicole and Ron were murdered at Nicole's house that night, brutally stabbed to death. She was 35, he was 25.
The middle of June 1994 was a weird time in America. Republicans were pushing hard against the agenda, and indeed the legitimacy as President, of Democrat Bill Clinton. We were beginning to hear about something called the Internet. Nirvana bandleader Kurt Cobain committed suicide at age 27. The threat of a baseball strike loomed, a threat that was, unfortunately, realized in August.
And both the teams playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the NBA's New York Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers, reached their sport's Finals. On June 14, the Rangers won the Stanley Cup for the 1st time in 54 years, defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7. By that point, O.J. was already a suspect in the murders.
On June 17, Game 5 of the NBA Finals was played at The Garden. While the Knicks were on their way to beating the Houston Rockets that night (though the Rockets would win the series in Game 7 in Houston on June 22), NBC went to a split screen.
Because Al Cowlings was driving a white 1993 Ford Bronco, California license plate 3DHY503, on Interstate 405, the San Diego Freeway, with O.J. Simpson in the back seat, with a gun to his head, and the police were following it. It was one of the most surreal events in television history.

It was surreal in part because it didn't seem to be all that fast a chase. The Bronco averaged about 45 miles per hour. It was also surreal because there were people on overpasses, cheering O.J. on, as if they believed he was innocent, and being unfairly persecuted by the cops.

Some time later, on the talk show The View, panelist Star Jones, a former Brooklyn prosecutor, defined friendship this way: "Who do you want driving the Bronco?" In other words, if you're in as much trouble as O.J. was in, who do you want to help you attempt to get out of it? Frankly, I think a better definition is, "For whom would you drive the Bronco?" As in, for whom would you risk your own criminal prosecution?

But since, by that point, everybody knew "A.C." not as a former football player, but as O.J.'s yes-man, Star did not have to explain her point. We all knew what she meant.
 

A.C. drove O.J. back to the house, where he was arrested. The ensuing legal process, including the "Trial of the Century," has been blamed for everything from the ruining of the American criminal justice system to the worsening of American race relations, from the dumbing down of American culture through "reality TV" to the rise of the Kardashian family. (One of O.J.'s "Dream Team" lawyers, and one of his best friends, was Robert Kardashian Sr., ex-husband of Kris Jenner, and father of Rob, Kourtney, Kim and Khloe.)

The infamous '93 Ford Bronco is on loan on display at the Alcatraz East Crime Museum, in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 25 miles southeast of Knoxville, and 4 miles west of Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park. It sits next to serial killer Ted Bundy’s 1968 Volkswagen Beetle and bank robber John Dillinger’s 1933 Ford V-8 getaway car.

*

June 17, 1994 was a Friday. The Knicks won that Game 5, 91-84. They were up 3 games to 2. But the next 2 games were at The Summit in Houston. (That arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.") The Rockets won Game 6, 86-84; and Game 7, 90-84. Hakeem Olajuwon had lost to Patrick Ewing in the 1984 NCAA Tournament Final, when Ewing's Georgetown beat Hakeem's University of Houston.

Now, Hakeem had revenge, and the Rockets had their 1st NBA Championship. Still, with the Rangers having won the Stanley Cup, this gave the 1968 version of Madison Square Garden a status it still holds: The closest any arena has ever come to having the NBA and NHL Champions at the same time.

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

* The New York Yankees lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-1 at Yankee Stadium. Mike Stanley hit a solo home run, but Cal Eldred allowed only 2 other hits, a double by Danny Tartabull and a single by Pat Kelly. Scott Kamieniecki didn't make it out of the 5th inning for the Pinstripes.

* The New York Mets lost to the Florida Marlins, 6-5 at Joe Robbie (now Hard Rock) Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 10-8 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-2 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken went 1-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 4-2 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-4, but did draw a walk.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-1 at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field in Cleveland.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The California Angels beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-5 with a solo home run.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 3-2 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 13-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3, although he did draw a walk.

This was also the opening day of soccer's World Cup, the 1st to be held on American soil. Luckily for NBC, and for American soccer, it was ABC and its sister company ESPN that had the rights to that. There were 2 games played on the day. Germany beat Bolivia, 1-0 at Soldier Field in Chicago. And Spain and South Korea played to a 2-2 draw at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.