Events in Sports History on May 31

  • 1859 Philadelphia A's organize to play "town ball" became baseball 20 years later
  • 1868 Dr James Moore (UK) wins 1st recorded bicycle race, (2k) velocipede race at Parc fde St Cloud, Paris
  • 1880 League of American Wheelmen (1st US bicycle association), forms in Newport, Rhode Island
  • 1900 Tom Hayward scores 1,000th cricket run of season (sets record 1074)
  • 1902 Australia Cricket all out 36 v England, Edgbaston, their lowest ever
  • 1914 Chicago White Sox Joe Benz no-hits Cleveland Indians, 6-1
  • 1915 Indianapolis 500: Italian-born American driver Ralph DePalma accompanied by riding mechanic Louis Fontaine wins from Englishman Dario Resta
  • 1919 Indianapolis 500: Howdy Wilcox accompanied by riding mechanic Leo Banks win; driver Arthur Thurman dies in a crash on lap 45; lap 96, Louis LeCocq and riding mechanic Robert Bandini wrecked in turn 2, both burned to death
  • 1920 Indianapolis 500: French driver Gaston Chevrolet accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan wins the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time
  • 1921 Boston Red Sox 1st baseman John "Stuffy" McInnis begins an errorless string of 1,700 chances
  • 1926 Indianapolis 500: First rain-shortened race in "500" history; Frank Lockhart wins after 20 lap duel with Dave Lewis; race called after 400 miles (160 laps)
  • 1927 Tiger 1st baseman Johnny Neun makes an unassisted triple play
  • 1928 Charlie Hallows scores his 1,000th run of Cricket season

British Amateur Championship

1930 British Amateur Championship, Men's Golf, St. Andrews Links: Bobby Jones scores a 7 & 6 win over Englishman Roger Wethered for the first leg of his Grand Slam

Bradman Completes 1,000 Runs

1930 Don Bradman batting for Australia v Hampshire at Southampton is 47 not out at stumps, bringing his aggregate to 1,001 runs, the first cricket touring overseas batsman to complete 1,000 runs by end of May

  • 1930 Philadelphia Athletics's Max Bishop draws 8 walks in a doubleheader to set MLB record

36th French Championships

1931 36th French Championship Women's Tennis: Cilly Aussem of Germany beats England's Betty Nuthall 8-6, 6-1 for the first of 2 major titles in 1931

36th French Championships

1931 36th French Championships Men's Tennis: Jean Borotra wins his only home title; beats fellow Frenchman Christian Boussus 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4

  • 1937 Indianapolis 500: Wilbur Shaw and riding mechanic 'Jigger' Johnson win race from Ralph Hepburn by 2.16 seconds, closest finish to that point; Johnson last winning riding mechanic

Hubbell's Streak Ends

1937 Second largest crowd in Polo Grounds history (61,756) sees Brooklyn Dodgers beat NY Giants, 10-3, ending Carl Hubbell's record consecutive-game winning streak at 24

  • 1938 Bill Edrich scores his 1,000th run of cricket season, all at Lord's
  • 1941 German occupiers forbids Jews access to beach & swimming pools
  • 1941 Nazi occupiers forbid Jews access to beaches and swimming pools in the Netherlands

25th PGA Championship

1942 25th PGA Championship Men's Golf, Seaview CC: Sam Snead beats Jim Turnesa, 2 & 1 for his first PGA Tour major title

  • 1947 79th Belmont: Ruperto Donoso aboard Phalanx wins in 2:29.6

32nd Indianapolis 500

1948 32nd Indianapolis 500: For the second straight year, Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finish 1st-2nd; Rose the second driver to win the 500 in consecutive years

Lasorda Strikes Out Rugmakers

1948 Tommy Lasorda strikes out 25 Amsterdam Rugmakers (in 15 innings)

  • 1949 31st PGA Championship Men's Golf, Hermitage CC: Sam Snead beats fellow American Johnny Palmer, 3 & 2; first time reigning Masters champion wins PGA Championship in the same calendar year.
  • 1950 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Parsons becomes first American to win a World Championship event; race stopped after 138 laps (345 miles) due to rain
  • 1954 Indianapolis 500: Bill Vukovich takes the lead on lap 150 to win his second consecutive 500; sets then record 130.840 mph average race speed
  • 1958 57th Women's French Championships: Zsuzsi Kormoczy beats Shirley Bloomer (6-4, 1-6, 6-2)
  • 1958 French Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first and only French title; beats Luis Ayala of Chile 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
  • 1961 European Cup Final, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern: Benfica beats Barcelona 3-2; first Portuguese team to reach final and win the tournament
  • 1964 SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins)

Indy 500

1965 Indianapolis 500: Scottish F1 driver Jim Clark becomes first foreigner in 49 years to win; only driver in history to win Indy 500 and F1 World C'ship in the same year

  • 1967 Bayern Munchen of West Germany wins 7th European Cup Winner's Cup against Rangers of Scotland 1-0 in Nuremberg

Indy 500

1967 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt weaves his way through a pileup on the final lap to win his third Indy 500 victory; first Indy 500 win for Goodyear tires since 1919

  • 1972 16th European Cup: Ajax beats Internazionale 2-0 at Rotterdam
  • 1973 Glenn Turner scores his 1,000th run of English cricket season
  • 1983 37th NBA Championship: Philadelphia 76ers sweep LA Lakers in 4 games

Cricket Record

1984 Viv Richards hits 189* (170 balls) v England, ODI cricket record

  • 1985 New Orleans Saints are sold for $70,204,000
  • 1987 Saul Ballesteros drives 3 golf balls off Mt McKinley, Alaska
  • 1987 Stanley Cup Final, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Oilers beat Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 to win title 4 games to 3: Oilers' 3rd SC
  • 1994 Padres scores 13 in 2nd vs Pirates
  • 1997 Super Rugby Final, Eden Park, Auckland: Blues win second straight title with a 23-7 victory over ACT Brumbies; fullback Adrian Cashmore lands 3 penalties & 2 conversions for the winners
  • 1999 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
  • 2002 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 3
  • 2002 The New Jersey Nets defeat the Boston Celtics 96-88 in Game 6 of the NBA's Eastern Conference Championship, winning the series 4 games to 2 to advance to their first NBA Finals appearance.

Senior PGA Championship

2004 Senior PGA Championship, Valhalla GC: Hale Irwin wins his 4th title in the event by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Jay Haas

Super Rugby Final

2008 Super Rugby Final, Christchurch: Canterbury Crusaders claim their 7th title with a 20-12 win over NSW Waratahs; Dan Carter kicks 4 penalties & a dropped goal for the home team

Bolt Sets 100m Record

2008 Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7m/s) 9.72 seconds

  • 2015 Harriette Thompson aged 92 and 65 days becomes the oldest woman to complete a marathon (Suja Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego)

Zidane Resigns

2018 Zinédine Zidane announces his resignation as Real Madrid manager after 3 successive Champions League titles

Osaka Leaves the French Open

2021 Naomi Osaka pulls out of the French Open citing her mental health, after refusing to appear at compulsory post match press conferences