June 29 in sports history: A great day for no-hitters

Out in Toronto, the hard-throwing Oakland A’s righty Dave Stewart vexed the Blue Jays with twelve strikeouts compared to three walks over 115 pitches. Even from the free passes, including giving two to start the game, not a single runner reached second base in the A’s 5-0 win. While he threw a lot of heat, a funky forkball got hitters swinging madly into the SkyDome air. Of course, no-hitters are rarely smooth as ‘Smoke,’ who was still throwing 90 mph in the ninth, had to tame some wildness to close the deal. “I never thought this would happen for me,” he told reporters in the dugout after his lone career no-no. “Maybe it’s good it never sinks in. Then I’ll start thinking I can do it again.”

While Stewart never replicated the feat, he can take solace for being the author of one-half of baseball history. A few hours later in Los Angeles, Fernando Valenzuela dug into his bag of tricks to complete a masterpiece of his own in a 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. After an uneven start to the season, Valenzuela found his groove with seven strikeouts (but three walks) sprinkled over 119 pitches. A decade removed from “Fernandomania,” he had struggled mightily in the previous two years – and still had in 1990 – but the full repertoire came with him for at least one more night. “I never think that my career is over,” the former Cy Young winner reflected. “I have been working for two years and this game is great because it shows all the work I’ve been doing.”

No-hitters #221 and #222 also happened to be the fourth and fifth in the month of June alone, as the 1990 season boasted seven in total.

WILLIE MAYS. ‘NUFF SAID.

1961: If you need another reason to understand why Willie Mays is arguably the greatest living baseball player (or perhaps the greatest ever), look to the damage he put upon the Philadelphia Phillies. In the first game of a doubleheader in San Francisco, Barry Bonds’ godfather belted three home runs to give his Giants the 8-7 win over the Phils. Mays became the fourth player to hit three or more homers in a single game twice in one season — he gave fans in Milwaukee some souvenirs when he smashed four balls into the bleachers in a 14-4 rout of the Braves.

A BUSY DAY

1986: If present-day media technology existed back then, a sports fan would have loaded a few apps to keep up with a packed day in sports:

• The Chicago White Sox traded Tom Seaver to the Boston Red Sox for Steve Lyons. In his final season, Seaver went 5-7 in 16 starts with Boston, but did not pitch in the World Series against the team that drafted him, the New York Mets.
• Sparky Anderson got his 600^th managerial win with the Detroit Tigers, making him the first manager to win 600 games in both the National and American Leagues. The former skipper of the Big Red Machine-era Cincinnati Reds told the media, “I would be lying to you if I told you it wasn’t nice. That’s something nobody else has done in the history of the game.”
• Dale Douglas beat Gary Player by a single stroke to win the U.S. Senior Open for his only Champions Tour title.
• In Mexico City, Argentina won its second men’s World Cup with a 3-2 win over West Germany thanks in part to Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal.

REJECTED AT THE BORDER

1995: Almost eight months after becoming the oldest heavyweight champion ever, George Foreman was stripped of the IBF title for refusing a mandatory rematch with Axel Schultz in Germany. Having already relinquished the WBA strap for declining a defense of it, Foreman won a controversial majority decision over Schultz the prior April.

1995: The great city of Memphis got a taste of Canadian-style football as the Memphis Mad Dogs made their CFL debut against the Calgary Stampeders. The new team, owned by FedEx founder Fred Smith, was the latest effort in the league’s ill-fated expansion into the United States. The Mad Dogs folded after one season.

LEAN IN

1957: At the U.S. Women’s Open in Long Island’s Winged Foot, Jackie Pung cost herself the championship when she signed the incorrect scorecard that was kept by her playing partner Betty Jameson. Pung was 6-over par 298 when Jameson marked her for 5-over on the fourth hole. (Pung would also make the error on Jameson`s card.) Betsy Rawls became the champion after Pung’s disqualification.

2008: Inbee Park needed no such follies to win as the 19-year-old South Korean dominated the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen in Minnesota. Tied for third after Saturday, Park brushed past Helen Alfredsson by four strokes to win the first of her seven career majors.

L’ARBITRATION

1992: Even though the Quebec Nordiques no longer exist, hockey fans in the Canadian province probably curse Eric Lindros’ name in both French and English. A year after the Nordiques drafted him against his public wishes, the former number one overall draft pick was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers in a mammoth trade that almost never happened. Over an hour after agreeing to move Lindros to Philly, Nordiques owner Michael Aubut agreed to a wholly separate deal with the New York Rangers.

An arbitrator, Larry Bertuzzi, was called in and on the eleventh day, he sided with the Flyers. The king’s ransom Philly gave up involved four players (including Ron Hextall), the rights to Peter Forsberg, two first-round picks in 1992 and 1993, and $15 million in cash. The Nordiques became contenders, but the team’s financial troubles loomed large and the talented squad would end up moving to Colorado four years later. Lindros eventually lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1997, but concussions marred his later years in Philly, and he wound up being traded to the Rangers in 2001.

Lindros spoke about his refusal to play for the Nordiques in depth earlier this year.

Happy Birthday...

NBA star Kawhi Leonard, two-time NBA Finals MVP and 2019 AP Male Athlete of the Year. Leonard, who was taken in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft, led the Toronto Raptors to its first NBA title last season. He also won a title with San Antonio. Leonard, now with the Clippers, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year. (29)

Michael Porter Jr., a high school and college standout who was selected 14th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2018 NBA Draft. (22)

NFL Hall of Famer Dan Dierdorf, who spent his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals before becoming a successful TV broadcaster. Dierdorf was a five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler as well as three-time Offensive Lineman of the Year. Following his playing days, he was part of “NFL on CBS” and “Monday Night Football” and currently is a color analyst for his alma mater, the University of Michigan. (71)

Race car driver Martin Truex Jr., member of the Joe Gibbs Racing Team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Truex is a two-time champ of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champ. (40)

Former MLB star Pedro Guerrero, 1981 World Series MVP. Guerrero played his 15 seasons with the Cardinals and Dodgers and was a five-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger Award winner. He was the first Dodger to hit 30 homers and steal 20 bases, which he did in two consecutive seasons. (64)

R.I.P

1986: Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jack Christiansen, who also was a punt return specialist. The Hall of Famer is fourth all time in punt returns for touchdowns, and he led Detroit to three championships in the 1950s. Christiansen spent 25 years coaching in college and the pros following his retirement. He died of cancer at 57.

1983: Former NFL running back Joe Delaney, who led the Chiefs in rushing in his only two seasons in the league. Named the UPI 1981 AFC Rookie of the Year after rushing for 1,121 yards, Delaney drowned while trying to rescue three children struggling while swimming in a pond. He was 24.

June 28: Muhammad Ali's most Supreme victory