This Day in Sports History

Fenway Park opens in Boston with the Red Sox beating the New York Yankees 7-6 in 11 innings. Tiger Stadium in Detroit also opens its doors as the Tigers defeat the Cleveland Indians 6-5.

1986 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan sets an NBA single-game playoff scoring record with 63 points in a 135-131 double overtime loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 2 of the first round in the Eastern Conference.

1987 — Toshihiko Seko of Japan wins the Boston Marathon in 2:11:50, and Rosa Mota of Portugal wins the women’s division in 2:25:21.

1990 — Brian Holman of the Seattle Mariners pitches 8 2-3 innings of perfect baseball before pinch-hitter Ken Phelps hits a home run for the Oakland Athletics.

1991 — Mark Lenzi becomes the first person to score 100 points on a single dive. On his last dive, Lenzi scores 101.85 points on a reverse 3½ somersault from the tuck position to win the 3-meter springboard title at the U.S. Indoor Diving Championships.

1992 — Kenya’s Ibrahim Hussein wins his third Boston Marathon with a time of 2:08:14. Russia’s Olga Markova wins the women’s division in 2:23:43.

1997 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan wins an unprecedented ninth scoring title with an average of 29.6 points, the first time in those nine seasons that he fails to average at least 30 points.

2003 — Allen Iverson scores 55 points, making 21-of-32 shots while eclipsing his previous playoff high of 54, as Philadelphia beats New Orleans 98-90.

2006 — Julio Franco becomes the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run, helping the New York Mets rally for a 7-2 win over San Diego. Franco, 47, replaces Athletics pitcher Jack Quinn in the record book. Quinn was 46 years, 357 days old when he homered in June of 1930.

2008 — Danica Patrick becomes the first female winner in IndyCar history, capturing the Indy Japan 300 in her 50th career start. Patrick takes the lead from pole-sitter Helio Castroneves on the 198th lap in the 200-lap race and finishes 5.8594 seconds ahead of Castroneves.

2009 — Ethiopia’s Deriba Merga pulls away before Heartbreak Hill and wins the Boston Marathon in 2:08.42, almost a full minute ahead of Kenya’s Daniel Rono. Kenya’s Salina Kosgei outsprints defending champion Dire Tune of Ethiopia to win the women’s title.