May 2 in sports history: Streak finally ends for 'luckiest man'

1967: Behind Terry Sawchuk’s 40 saves, the Maple Leafs took Game 6, 3-1, to win the Stanley Cup over the Montreal Canadiens. It was the last time Toronto has won the Cup, the longest active drought in the NHL. 

2002: Two-time NBA champion Hakeem Olajuwon played his last professional game, as his Raptors lost 85-82 to the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. 

FIRSTS

1876: Ross Barnes hit the first homer in National League history, a drive the Chicago Tribune called “the finest hit of the game, straight down the left field to the carriages for a clean home run.” Barnes led the league that season with a .429 batting average for the Chicago White Stockings, who won the NL title. But the homer was the last of his career.  

1930: Professional baseball held its first night game in Des Moines, Iowa, a Western League matchup between Des Moines and a team from Wichita. The novelty of this innovation helped save minor league teams during the Depression, as Des Moines saw an attendance spike to 12,000 fans; it normally averaged 600. The major leagues didn’t catch up until 1935, when the Reds hosted MLB’s first night game at Crosley Field. 

1995: Japanese pitcher Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers made his major league debut in the lockout-shortened season. He was the first Japanese star to permanently relocate to the United States in his prime, opening the door for Ichiro, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka.

In his debut, Nomo baffled the Giants with his “tornado” delivery, going five shutout innings at Candlestick, striking out seven and giving up only one hit.  The game was scoreless through 14 innings; the Dodgers scored three runs in the top of the 15th, but the Giants scored four times in the bottom of the inning to win.

Nomo ended up starting the All-Star Game, after going 6-0 in June, when he yielded just five earned runs and closed out the month with consecutive shutouts. 

2002: Seattle's Mike Cameron and Bret Boone became the first and only hitters to hit back-to-back home runs twice in one inning, achieving the feat in a 10-run first inning against hapless White Sox pitchers Jon Rauch and Jim Parque. 

In the Mariners' 15-4 win in Chicago, Cameron tied the major league record by homering in his first four at-bats, taking only five innings. In the seventh inning, perhaps having seen enough of Cameron’s long bombs, reliever Mike Porzio plunked him. In his final shot at blasting a record fifth homer in a game, Cameron flied out to the warning track in right field. 

Rauch and Parque, who gave up three straight home runs to Cameron, were optioned to the minor leagues after the game.

THE UNLIKELY

In the Premier League, Leicester City achieved one of the most surprising league titles in history, overcoming preseason odds of 5,000-to-1 to finish at the top of the table. Leicester City didn’t actually play this day, but Chelsea rallied to draw with second-place Tottenham Hotspur, clinching the title for The Foxes.

The City players watched the result together at the home of star Jamie Vardy and sang “‘Championes! Championes! Ole! Ole! Ole!’ while jumping up and down with their arms on each other’s shoulders,” according to an account.

1909: In a 6-0 win over the Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader, the Pirates' Honus Wagner “stole around” the bases, swiping second, third and home. He did it twice in his career; the only other player to do it multiple times was Ty Cobb, who stole around the bases four times.

1917: In one of the most impressive pitcher duels in history, the Cubs and Reds both no-hit one another for nine innings. The Reds finally got to starter Hippo Vaughn in the 10th, scoring a run and getting the game’s only two hits, with Jim Thorpe driving in the winning run. In the bottom of the inning, Fred Toney held on and completed the 10-inning no-no for the 1-0 win. 

MAYWEATHER VS. MANNY 

2015: In the much-hyped, long-delayed matchup between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather easily prevailed, to bring his career record to 48-0. Though the L.A. Times called the bout “More Meh than Mega,” it brought in an estimated 4.6 million viewers on pay per view and made over $400 million, with half the population of Pacquaio’s native Philippines reportedly watching the fight.

1968: In Game 6 of the 1968 Finals, the Boston Celtics won their 10th title with a 124-109 win over the Lakers. John Havlicek scored 40 points, and Bill Russell had 19 rebounds in his second-to-last championship game. It was Russell’s first championship as player-coach of Boston, and one of his best coaching decisions was to play Russell 47 minutes per game in the Finals.

Happy Birthday... 

• Former University of Miami defensive end Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (48), who did pretty well for himself as an actor and wrestler after a back injury ended his football career.
• Former major league catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (35), who has the longest last name (14 letters) in baseball history. 
• Six-time NBA All-Star Paul George of the Clippers (30), the preeminent superstar sidekick of his generation.
  

R.I.P. 

1983: Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, who led the NFL in passing three times — and in punting twice. Van Brocklin won two titles as a player, in 1951 with the Rams and in 1960 with the Eagles, the latter being the only time Vince Lombardi was beaten in the playoffs as Green Bay Packers coach. Van Brocklin, who also coached for 13 years, died at age 57.

2009: Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jack Kemp, who went on to a long career in politics after his football career ended. Kemp was the AFL career leader in passing yards and completions, won two titles and the 1965 MVP award and played in five of the 10 AFL championship games. He was 73 when he died.

May 1: Seventh heaven for "Big Tex."