May 30
1903 — Flocarline becomes the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes.
1908 — Jockey Joe Notter misjudges the finish of the Belmont Stakes and eases up on his mount, Colin, whose career record to that point was 13-for-13. Notter recovers from his mistake and holds off Fair Play, who came within a head of defeating Colin. When he retired, Colin’s record stood at 15 wins in as many starts.
1911 — Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500 in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds with an average speed of 74.59 mph.
1912 — Joe Dawson wins the second Indianapolis 500 in 6:21:06. Ralph Mulford is told he has to complete the race for 10th place money. It takes him 8 hours and 53 minutes as he makes several stops for fried chicken. The finishing rule is changed the next year.
1951 — Lee Wallard wins the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to break the 4-hour mark with a time of 3:57:38.05.
1951 — Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1952 — At 22, Troy Ruttman becomes the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500.
1955 — Bob Sweikert, an Indianapolis native, wins the Indianapolis 500. Bill Vukovich, seeking his third consecutive victory, is killed in a four-car crash on the 56th lap.
1957 — European Cup Final, Madrid: Alfredo Di Stéfano and Francisco Gento score as defending champions Real Madrid beats Fiorentina, 2-0.
1971 — Willie Mays hits his 638th HR, sets NL record of 1,950 runs scored.
1974 — 17th European Cup: Ajax beats Juventus 1-0 at Belgrade.
1985 — The Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year with an 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5.
1986 — Barry Bonds makes his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1987 — Mike Tyson beats Pinklon Thomas by TKO in round 6 in Las Vegas to retain WBC/WBA heavyweight boxing titles.
1993 — Emerson Fittipaldi wins his second Indianapolis 500, by 2.8 seconds. Fittipaldi takes the lead on lap 185 and holds on, outfoxing Formula One champion Nigel Mansell and runner-up Arie Luyendyk.
2004 — In Cooper City, Fla., Canada easily beats the United States in a three-day cricket match, the first competition on American soil sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.
2005 — Johns Hopkins wins its first NCAA lacrosse title in 18 years, beating Duke 9-8 to complete an undefeated season.
2009 — Travis Tucker hits an RBI single with one out in the top of the 25th inning to give Texas a 3-2 victory over Boston College in the longest baseball game in NCAA history.
2009 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,391): Chelsea beats Everton, 2-1; Frank Lampard scores 72′ winner.
2010 — Dario Franchitti gets a huge break from a spectacular crash on the last lap to climb back on top of the open-wheel world to win the Indianapolis 500. Franchitti’s second Brickyard victory in four years helps his boss, Chip Ganassi, become the first owner to win Indy and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year.
2011 — Jim Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first national title in 34 years, resigns amid NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the country’s top football programs.
2012 — Roger Federer breaks Jimmy Connors’ Open era record of 233 Grand Slam match wins by beating Adrian Ungur of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the second round of the French Open. Federer, who owns a record 16 major championships, is 234-35 at tennis’ top four tournaments. Connors was 233-49. The Open era began in 1968.
2015 — English FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London (89,283): Arsenal beats Aston Villa, 4-0; Gunners’ 12th title.
May 31
1927 — Detroit first baseman Johnny Neun records an unassisted triple play in the ninth inning to end the 1-0 win over the Cleveland Indians. Neun grabs a Homer Summa line drive, tags Charlie Jamieson at first and outruns Glenn Myatt to tag second.
1938 — Henry Armstrong beats Barney Ross for the world welterweight title.
1942 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, beating Jim Turnesa in the final round 2 and 1.
1949 — Sam Snead wins the PGA Championship, defeating Johnny Palmer in the final round 3 and 2.
1965 — Jim Clark becomes the first non-U.S. driver in 49 years to win the Indianapolis 500.
1967 — Bayern Munchen of West Germany wins 7th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Rangers of Scotland 1-0 in Nuremberg.
1972 — 16th European Cup: Ajax beats Internazionale 2-0 at Rotterdam.
1983 — The Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA championship with a 115-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, completing a four-game sweep.
1987 — The Edmonton Oilers win their third Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in Game 7.
1992 — Ayrton Senna wins his fourth consecutive Monaco Grand Prix to end Nigel Mansell’s season-opening winning streak at five races.
1997 — Ila Borders becomes the first woman to pitch in a regular-season professional baseball game, in the sixth inning of the St. Paul Saints’ Northern League game against Sioux Falls. She struggles, giving up three earned runs without getting an out.
2001 — Pat Day becomes the third jockey to reach 8,000 wins by guiding Camden Park to a one-length victory on the turf in the sixth race at Churchill Downs. The 47-year-old Day trails only Laffit Pincay Jr. (9,147) and Bill Shoemaker (8,833).
2002 — Jason Kidd becomes the first player in 35 years to record three triple-doubles in an NBA playoff series, and the New Jersey Nets finish off the Boston Celtics with a 96-88 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. He joins Oscar Robertson (1963) and Wilt Chamberlain (1967) as the only players with three triple-doubles in a series.
2007 — LeBron James scores a career playoff-high 48 points to lead Cleveland to a 109-107, Game 5 win over Detroit in two overtimes. James is the first player to score 25 straight points for a team in the postseason while scoring 29 of the Cavaliers’ final 30 points.
2008 — Usain Bolt sets the world record in the 100 meters with a time of 9.72 seconds at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York. Bolt is .02 seconds faster than the old record held by fellow Jamaican, Asafa Powell.
2009 — Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten run at the French Open ends when the four-time defending champion loses to Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the fourth round. Nadal’s record winning streak at Roland Garros ends at 31 matches.
2009 — Stephen Cardullo sets a tournament record with seven hits, including three of Florida State’s NCAA-record 15 doubles, as the Seminoles routs Ohio State 37-6 to advance to the super regionals.
2011 — Austrian player Daniel Koellerer is been banned for life by a tennis anti-corruption unit for attempting to fix matches. Koellerer, who was ranked No. 55 in 2009, is found guilty of three violations of the Uniform Tennis Anti-Corruption Program between October 2009 and July 2010.
2012 — Kevin Durant scores 22 points, Thabo Sefolosha sets playoff career-bests with 19 points and six steals, and the Oklahoma City Thunder snap San Antonio’s 20-game winning streak by beating the Spurs 102-82 in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
2018 — Zinédine Zidane announces his resignation as Real Madrid manager after 3 successive Champions League titles.
2021 — Naomi Osaka pulls out of the French Open citing her mental health, after refusing to appear at compulsory post match press conferences.
June 1
1925 — Lou Gehrig bats for Pee Wee Wanninger in the eighth inning and replaces Wally Pipp at first base to start his streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
1946 — Assault, ridden by Warren Merhtens, wins the Belmont Stakes to become the seventh horse to capture the Triple Crown.
1968 — Stage Door Johnny, ridden by Heliodoro Gustines, wins the Belmont Stakes in a record time of 2:27 1-5 and spoils the Triple Crown bid of Forward Pass, who finishes 1 1/4 lengths behind.
1975 — Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitches his fourth no-hitter to tie Sandy Koufax’s record, beating the Baltimore Orioles 1-0.
1975 — Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA tournament by one stroke over Sandra Haynie.
1977 — Dutch soccer club FC Volendam is established as a result of split up with RKSV; 6-time Eerste Divisie champions.
1979 — NBA Finals: Seattle Supersonics beat Washington Bullets, 97-93 for a 4-1 series victory; Seattle’s first major pro sports championship win.
1986 — Pat Bradley wins the LPGA tournament and becomes the first to win all four major women’s tournaments, beating Patty Sheehan by one stroke.
1992 — The Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5 for a four-game sweep.
1993 — Phoenix Suns guard Dan Majerle sets a then NBA Playoff record by sinking 8 three-pointers during the Suns’ 120-114 win over Seattle in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
1994 — Indiana guard Reggie Miller drills an NBA Playoff record 5 three-pointers in the 4th quarter of the Pacers’ 93-86 win over host New York Knicks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
1996 — The LSU women win their 10th consecutive NCAA track team title with 81 points, the longest victory string in women’s college sports.
2002 — Detroit advances to the Stanley Cup finals for the fourth time in eight years with a 7-0 win over Colorado in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Colorado becomes the first NHL team to play in four consecutive Game 7s. Detroit goalie Dominik Hasek sets an NHL record by recording his fifth shutout of the playoffs.
2002 — In a battle of former heavyweight boxing champions in Atlantic City, Evander Holyfield beats Hasim Rahman by TKO; fight stopped 1:40 into 8th round because of giant welt above Rahman’s left eye.
2004 — Detroit and Indiana combine for just 60 first-half points in the Pistons’ 69-65 victory, breaking the NBA playoff record of 62 set by the Pistons and Nets during the second round.
2008 — Hillary Will is the 11th woman in NHRA history to win a national event when she takes the Top Fuel event at the O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals. Will drives her dragster to a 4.744-second run at a top speed of 304.53 mph, beating No. 1 qualifier Larry Dixon for her first career win in Top Fuel.
2010 — French Open upset specialist Robin Soderling strikes again, rallying past defending champion Roger Federer in a rainy quarterfinal, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The loss ends Federer’s record streak of reaching the semifinals in 23 consecutive major events.
2012 — Johan Santana throws first no-hitter in the New York Mets’ 50-year MLB history when he beats the St. Louis Cardinals, 8 - 0.
2012 — Jonathan Crawford pitches the seventh no-hitter in NCAA tournament history, shutting down Bethune-Cookman in a 4-0 victory in the opener of the Gainesville Regional.
2012 — Alex Miklos hits a go-ahead RBI triple in the 21st inning as Kent State outlasts Kentucky 7-6 in the second-longest game in NCAA tournament history.
2019 — Mexican-American boxer Andy Ruiz Jr produces a huge upset when he stops English champion Anthony Joshua in 7 at Madison Square Garden; wins IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA world heavyweight titles.
2019 — UEFA Champions League Final, Madrid: Liverpool beats Tottenham, 2-0 for Reds’ 6th title.