Events in Sports History on June 17

  • 1880 Providence Grays MLB pitcher John M. Ward throws a perfect game beating the Buffalo Bisons, 5-0; second perfect game in National League in 6 days; next one takes 84 years
  • 1901 US Open Men's Golf, Myopia Hunt GC: Willie Anderson of Scotland wins first of his 4 Open titles by 1 stroke in an 18-hole playoff with Alex Smith

International Lawn Tennis Challenge

1906 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Laurence Doherty & Reginald Doherty beat Raymond Little & Holcombe Ward 3-6, 11-9, 9-7, 6-1 to give British Isles an unassailable 3-0 lead over US (ends 5-0)

  • 1911 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman beats Florence Sutton 8-10, 6-1, 9-7 for her third straight US singles title
  • 1927 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: American-based Scotsman Tommy Armour defeats Harry Cooper by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff to win the first of his 3 major titles

Cricket History

1930 Continuing a rich vein of form Australian cricket icon Don Bradman scores 131 in 1st Test v England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham

  • 1939 44th Women's French Championships: Simonne Mathieu beats Jadwiga Jedrzejowska (6-3, 8-6)

French Open Men's Tennis

1939 French Championships Men's Tennis: American collegiate champion Don McNeill beats countryman Bobby Riggs 7-5, 6-0, 6-3

Sports History

1943 Player-manager Joe Cronin of Red Sox hits two 3-run pinch home runs

  • 1953 Most runs scored in 1 inning (17 by Red Sox)

Boxing Title Fight

1954 Rocky Marciano beats Ezzard Charles by unanimous points decision in his 3rd world heavyweight boxing title defense at Yankee Stadium, NYC

Baseball History

1960 Ted Williams hit his 500th HR

  • 1961 US Open Men's Golf, Oakland Hills CC: Gene Littler wins his sole major title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Bob Goalby and Doug Sanders

Sports History

1962 Chicago Cub Lou Brock is 2nd to HR into Polo Grounds right-center field bleachers

  • 1962 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile: Brazil go 1-down early but recover to beat Czechoslovakia, 3-1

US Golf Open

1962 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer

Golf Major

1973 Canadian Open Golf (La Canadienne), Montreal Municipal GC: Jocelyne Bourassa of Canada wins inaugural event in a playoff with Sandra Haynie & Judy Rankin

  • 1973 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: Johnny Miller fires a record final round 63 (-8) to win his first major championship, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up John Schlee
  • 1976 ABA (Nets, Pacers, Nuggets & Spurs) merges into NBA

Sports History

1978 Ron Guidry sets Yankee record with 18 strike-outs

US Golf Open

1979 US Open Men's Golf, Inverness Club: Hale Irwin wins his second Open title, 2 strokes ahead of former champions Jerry Pate and Gary Player

  • 1989 US beats Guatemala 2-1 in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup

US Golf Open

1990 US Open Men's Golf, Medinah CC: Hale Irwin wins his 3rd Open title; defeats Mike Donald at the 91st hole, the first in sudden-death, after tying the 18-hole Monday playoff

US Golf Open

1991 US Open Golf, Hazeline National GC: Payne Stewart wins a Monday playoff with 1987 champion Scott Simpson

NBA Trade

1992 Philadelphia 76ers trade Charles Barkley to Phoenix Suns

Murder of Interest

1994 O.J. Simpson doesn't turn himself in on murder charges, LA police chase his Ford Bronco for 1½ hours before he eventually gives up (seen live on national TV)

  • 1995 WLAF World Bowl 3, Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam: Frankfurt Galaxy beats Amsterdam Admirals, 26-22
  • 1997 NHL announces it will add Nashville in 1998, Atlanta in 1999 & Minneapolis-St Paul & Columbus, Ohio in 2000

Moneyball

2003 "Moneyball", a book about the 2003 Oakland Athletics baseball team and GM Billy Beane's sabermetric approach, inspired by Bill James, is published

US Golf Open

2007 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont GC: Ángel Cabrera wins his first major title, 1 stroke ahead of Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods; first Open won by an Argentine or a South American

  • 2008 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92 in Game 6 for first title since 1986 and 17th overall; MVP: Paul Pierce

NBA Finals

2010 NBA Finals: Depending champion Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 83-79 in Game 7 for franchise's 16th NBA title; MVP: Kobe Bryant

  • 2012 US Open Men's Golf, Olympic Club, SF: American Webb Simpson wins his first major title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson

Sports History

2018 24 Hours of Le Mans: Former F1 world champion Fernando Alonso teams with Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi to win for Toyota Gazoo Racing

US Golf Open

2018 US Open Men's Golf, Shinnecock Hills GC: Brooks Koepka wins by 1 stroke from Tommy Fleetwood for first back-to-back Open titles since 1988-89 (Curtis Strange)

  • 2023 MLB Los Angeles Angels designated hitter Shohei Ohtani hits 150th career home run in a10-9 loss to Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri