Events in Sports History on May 26

  • 1874 2nd Preakness: William Donohue aboard Culpepper wins in 2:56.5
  • 1883 11th Preakness: G Barbee aboard Jacobus wins in 2:42.5

Cricket History

1884 Australian cricket fast bowler Fred Spofforth takes 7-34 & 7-3 against an England XI in a tour match in Birmingham; match over in just 4 hours

  • 1894 German Emanuel Lasker becomes undisputed World Chess Champion by beating Austrian-American defending titleholder Wilhelm Steinitz, 10-5 (4 draws) in Montreal, Canada
  • 1898 32nd Belmont: F Littlefield aboard Bowling Brook wins in 2:32

Walsh No-Hits Highlanders

1907 Chicago White Sox pitcher Ed Walsh no-hits NY Highlanders, 8-1 in 5 inning game

  • 1917 Walt Cruise hit 1st HR out of Braves Field
  • 1923 Inaugural 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race for cars starts through public roads around Le Mans, France; inaugural winners: André Lagache and René Léonard (France) for Chenard & Walcker

Ruth Out of Bed

1925 Babe Ruth is finally out of bed, 5 weeks after ulcer surgery

Cobb's Extra-Base Record

1925 Future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder Ty Cobb is first to collect 1,000 extra-base hits when he doubles in Detroit Tigers' 8-1 win against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park

Klein Hits for Cycle

1933 Phillies Chuck Klein hits for cycle vs St Louis Cards

Mel Ott Retires

1946 NY Yankee Mel Ott retires from playing to be a manager only with 2-for-42 & hitting .048

French Open Men's Tennis

1956 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Lew Hoad wins his first and only French title; beats Sven Davidson of Sweden 6-4, 8-6, 6-3

French Open Women's Tennis

1956 French Championships Women's Tennis: American Althea Gibson wins her only French singles title; beats Angela Mortimer of England 6-0, 12-10

  • 1956 Reds' John Klippstein, Hershel Freemman & Joe Blacks no-hitter, broken up with 2 outs in 10th & lose to Braves in 11th, 2-1
  • 1959 MLB Pittsburgh Pirates Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th to Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium

French Open Men's Tennis

1963 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Roy Emerson beats home favourite Pierre Darmon 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4

  • 1963 French Championships Women's Tennis: Australian Lesley Turner wins the first of 2 French titles; beats England's Ann Jones 2-6, 6-3, 7-5

Boxing Title Fight

1972 Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title

  • 1974 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford claims first of his three Indy victories; first Sunday start of the event
  • 1980 Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany ties high jump record at 7'8"
  • 1982 26th European Cup: Aston Villa beats Bayern Munich 1-0 at Rotterdam
  • 1983 29th Walker Cup: US, 13½ - 10½
  • 1983 LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws

Indy 500

1985 Indianapolis 500: Danny Sullivan wins by 24 seconds from Mario Andretti after surviving famous 360° spin on lap 120

  • 1988 Stanley Cup Final, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Oilers beat Boston Bruins, 6-3 for 4 game series sweep

Sports History

1990 Philadelphia Phillies retire future Baseball Hall of Fame 3rd baseman Mike Schmidt's uniform #20

Indy 500

1991 Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears wins from pole, becoming the third 4-time winner (joins A. J. Foyt and Al Unser); record 6th career pole position for Mears

  • 1993 1st UEFA Champions League Final: Marseille beats Milan 1-0 at Munich

Baseball Record

1993 In Major League Baseball, Carlos Martinez famously hits a ball off Jose Canseco's head for a home run

  • 1996 Indianapolis 500: first Indy 500 contested by Indy Racing League; many top CART teams boycott; Buddy Lazier wins marking Firestone's first Indy victory since 1971
  • 1997 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2

Baseball Record

1997 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park HRs

  • 1999 7th UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester United beats Bayern Munich 2-1 at Barcelona
  • 2000 NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3
  • 2001 Super Rugby Final, Canberra: Fullback Andrew Walker kicks 5 penalties & 3 conversions as the ACT Brumbies win their first title; beat Coastal Sharks (Durban), 36-6
  • 2002 Indianapolis 500: Defending champion Hélio Castroneves of Brazil becomes fifth driver in Indy 500 history to win back-to-back races for his second of 4 race victories
  • 2004 12th UEFA Champions League Final: Porto beats AS Monaco 3-0 at Gelsenkirchen
  • 2009 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Carolina Hurricanes, 4 games to 0
  • 2013 Indian Premier League T20 Cricket Final, Eden Gardens, Kolkata: Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs; Kieron Pollard 60 no (32)
  • 2013 Indianapolis 500: Tony Kanaan becomes 4th Brazilian to win the race; fastest Indy 500 in history with Kanaan's average speed 187.433 mph; record stands until 2021
  • 2013 Senior PGA Championship, Bellerive CC: Kōki Idoki of Japan wins his lone PGA event by 2 strokes from Jay Haas and Kenny Perry
  • 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Eastern Conference

UEFA Champions League Final

2018 UEFA Champions League Final, Kiev: Real Madrid beats Liverpool, 3-1 for third straight title. Zinédine Zidane first manager to win 3 consecutive titles

  • 2019 Indianapolis 500: 2016 IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud of France finishes just two-tenths of a second ahead of Alexander Rossi for Team Penske's record-extending 18th victory in the event
  • 2019 Senior PGA Championship, Oak Hill CC: American Ken Tanigawa wins his first career major title by 1 stroke ahead of Scott McCarron
  • 2023 Philadelphia Phillies reliever Craig Kimbrel becomes eighth MLB pitcher to earn 400 career saves, in 6-4 victory over Braves in Atlanta