TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1876 Chicago Cubs play their first National League baseball game, beating Louisville, 4-0.
1901 Erve Beck hits the American League’s first home run.
1901 In the last of the ninth, the Detroit Tigers, trailing by 13-4, score 10 runs to win in the greatest comeback in baseball.
1947 Lou Thesz beats Whipper Watson in St. Louis to win the National Boxing Association world heavyweight title.
1952 In the sixth NBA championship, the Minneapolis Lakers beat the New York Knicks, four games to three.
1964 The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, four games to three, to capture hockey’s Stanley Cup.
1965 In the 19th NBA championship, the Boston Celtics beat the L.A. Lakers, four games to one.
1974 The National Football League moves its goalposts and adopts a sudden-death playoff.
1978 The Phillie Phanatic makes its first appearance.
1985 For the second time, the Edmonton Oilers’ Wayne Gretzky scores seven points in a playoff game (three goals and four assists).
1989 Mike Tyson gets a speeding ticket for drag racing in Albany, N.Y.
1989 The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Mario Lemieux ties the NHL playoff record of four goals in the first period.
1991 Lisa Olson brings suit against the New England Patriots for sexual harassment.
1993 Drew Bledsoe from Washington State is the first pick by the New England Patriots in the NFL draft.