Daily Gallery

This Month In Sports History: May

By Tribune-Review

1 Min Read • May 23, 2019 | 7 years Ago

World champion Muhammad Ali is shown throwing a long right to British challenger Henry Cooper’s split eye in the sixth round of their world heavyweight championship fight at Highbury Stadium, London, England, May 21, 1966. Ali retained his title after referee George Smith stopped the fight in 1 minute 38 seconds of the sixth round when Cooper was badly cut about his left eye.

SENNA ACCIDENT — Italy’s Nicola Larini, left, holds his head and Germany’s Michael Schumacher, right, wipes a tear from his eyes while talking with Benetton director-general Flavio Briatore, center, on the podium following the San Marino Formula One Grand Prix crash in Imola, Italy, Sunday, May 01, 1994. The drivers were reacting to the news that the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna was in critical condition at a Bologna hospital after a crash in the race. Later it was announced that Senna haddied after suffering severe head injuries. Schumacher won the race and Larini finished second.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix, is seen after pitching 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959, in Milwaukee. Haddix lost his bid for a perfect game, and lost the game itself, 1-0, in the 13th inning.

World chess champion Garry Kasparov, left, ponders his next move against IBM’s chess playing computer, Deep Blue, during the fifth game of their six-game rematch Saturday, May 10, 1997, while a security guard in the press room in New York looks on. The match is tied 2-2, with the last game scheduled for Sunday.

British Athlete Roger Bannister breaks the tape to become the first man ever to break the four minute mile on May 6, 1954 at Iffly Field, Oxford, England.

St. Paul Saints pitcher Ila Borders, second from left, joins teammates during the national anthem, which followed introductions prior to the Saints’ season opener against the Sioux Falls Canaries in Sioux Falls, S.D., Friday night, May 30, 1997. Borders made the Northern League team this week and although she didn’t pitch Friday night, she will be the first woman to play in a professional men’s baseball game when she does pitch. She is from Whittier, Calif.

Edmonton Oilers captains Wayne Gretzky skates off the ice on Tuesday night, May 2, 1984 in Bloomington, Minn., with the Campbell cup after his team had defeated the Minnesota north stars 3-1 to win the Stanley cup semifinal series four straight.

Mark Messier smiles as he gets a hug from Wayne Gretzky after the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Minnesota North Stars 3-1, May 1,1984, to take the Stanley Cup semifinals series 4-0. At Left is Jari Kurri.

Ferdinand and jockey Bill Shoemaker head down the homestretch on their way to winning the Kentucky Derby, Saturday, May 3, 1986 in Louisville.

In the first major league night game ever played, the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies at Crosley Field Friday, May 24, 1935.

Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, right, accepts the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player award from Alex Fedorak, director of public relations with Kia Motors Tuesday, May 6, 2008, in Los Angeles.

Sir Francis Chichester on last lap. Lone British yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester, 66, stands on the deck of 53-foot Gipsy Moth IV, ploughing trough the sunlit Atlantic Ocean, less than 400 miles from Plymouth, Devon, on May 25, 1967.

Kent Desormeaux rides Big Brown to a during the 134th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 3, 2008, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Randy Johnson waves to the crowd after pitching a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, May 18, 2004 in Atlanta. Arizona won 2-0.

Willie Mays (center), 20-year-old centerfielder, meets New York Giant manager Leo Durocher (left) and President Horace Stoneham in the club?s downtown office in New York on May 25, 1951. Mays, brought up from Minneapolis in the American Association, is slated to make his debut with the Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies in a night game on May 25 at Shibe Park, Philadelphia, Mays has a 477 batting average in the American Association.

Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins flips over as he is tripped after scoring the winning goal in sudden death overtime at Boston Garden, Ma., May 10, 1970. Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues four straight games to bring the Stanley Cup to Boston for the first time in 29 years. Blues goalie Glenn Hall is in the nets.

After hitting his 500th home run in the second inning against Atlanta, May 13, 1970, Cubs’ first baseman Ernie Banks turns towards the stands to hold up the ball he hit into the left field bleachers. Cubs won, 4-3, in eleven innings.

Los Angeles Lakers rookie Earvin Magic Johnson holds the Sport Magazine National Basketball Associations trophy he received as Most Valuable Player of the championship finals after a ceremony, May 20, 1980, New York. Lakers beat Philadelphia for the NBA Title, four games to two, as Johnson scored 42 points in the final.