June 24 in sports history: 'It stinks someone had to lose'

Superstar Roger Federer was blown away by the pair's mind-numbing performance. "I have almost no words anymore watching this," he said before the marathon match was over. "It's beyond anything I've ever seen and could imagine. This is incredible tennis."

"It's Herculean what they're doing," said three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe during the match. "...I had to come pay my respects."

Afterward, the American and Frenchman embraced. "You know," Isner told the crowd moments later, "it stinks someone had to lose."  

BIG UNIT DOMINANCE

1997: Mark McGwire jacked a 538-foot homer off Randy Johnson, but the Big Unit had mostly terrific stuff in a 4-1 loss to the A's. The Mariners' lefty struck out 19 — one short of Roger Clemens’ major league record at the time for a nine-inning game.

Afterward, Johnson had an hour-long ice treatment on his pitching arm — the limb that helped him record 4,875 strikeouts, second all time, in his 22-year career in the big leagues.

"I've said all along that strikeout games and low-hit games are kind of just icing on the cake," Johnson told reporters. "The biggest thing was to go out there and win the ballgame."

Johnson became the fifth big-league pitcher to fan 19 in a game, joining Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton and David Cone. Johnson struck out 19 later that season. Besides Clemens, who has done it twice, two other pitchers have struck out 20: Kerry Wood and Max Scherzer.

YOUTH SHALL BE SERVED

1958:  In a World Cup semifinal against France, 17-year-old Pele scored three consecutive goals in Brazil's 5-2 win. The Brazilians went on to win the Cup, beating Sweden. 

2001: With a two-stroke win in the LPGA Championship, 26-year-old Aussie Karrie Webb became the youngest woman to complete the Grand Slam. She joined Juli Inkster, Louise Suggs, Pat Bradley and Mickey Wright as winners of the LPGA’s four majors.

The victory was an especially emotional one for Webb who, before the tournament was over, contemplated flying back to Australia, where her grandfather was gravely ill. Her parents flew home instead.

"My dad didn't sleep very well, and he talked to the rest of my family today, and they all wanted me to play because Granddad would have wanted me to," Webb said, according to the Wilmington (Del.) News Journal. "The only thing I wanted to do is win for Granddad, and that's all I kept thinking about."

2011: In the second round at the Travelers Championship, 19-year-old UCLA star Patrick Cantlay did something neither Jack Nicklaus nor Tiger Woods nor Phil Mickelson accomplished as amateurs: He shot 60 — the lowest PGA Tour round  by an amateur. 

"I just felt like I could roll anything in," Cantlay, who needed only 24 putts, told the Hartford Courant, "and I wasn't worried about my stroke whatsoever."

Cantlay finished the tournament tied for 24th.

NOW THAT'S CHAMPIONSHIP HOCKEY

1995: With a 5-2 win over the Red Wings, New Jersey completed a four-game sweep and won its first Stanley Cup. The Devils' defensive style, which limited Detroit to seven goals in the series, drew yawns from some. Bleh, said New Jersey players.

"You can criticize us now, but we swept Detroit," said forward Claude Lemieux, who was named playoff MVP. "If you don't like our style, well too bad. You can just watch a show somewhere else."

2013: The Blackhawks won a Stanley Cup in remarkable fashion, getting goals from Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland 17 seconds apart in the final 1:16 to beat the Bruins in Boston, 3-2. 

"What a team, what an ending," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "What a special group."

BASEBALL NUGGETS 

1962: In the 22nd inning, substitute outfielder Jack Reed, a replacement for Mickey Mantle, smashed the only home run of his undistinguished, three-year big league career to give the Yankees a 9-7 win over the Tigers. 

The game lasted 7 hours, 22 minutes. Jim Bouton, who pitched seven innings in relief and probably got some stories for "Ball Four," earned the win. Thirty-seven-year-old Yogi Berra caught all 22 innings for the Yankees. "Nah, I'm not tired," he told reporters afterward.

1968: What a tremendous day at the office for Tigers outfielder Jim Northrup, who tied a major league record by hitting two grand slams in Detroit's 14-3 win over the Indians. 

"That's a heckuva way to come out of a slump, isn't it?" he told reporters afterward. "I haven't been hitting for two weeks."

Happy birthday ... 

• Soccer superstar Lionel Messi, among the highest-paid athletes in the world. The Argentine has a record 629 goals for FC Barcelona and has appeared in four World Cups as captain of the Argentina national team. (33)

• Mo’ne Davis, who gained fame as the star of the 2014 Little League World Series. Davis is the first girl to pitch a shutout in the LLWS postseason and the first to make the cover of Sports Illustrated as a Little Leaguer. (19)
• JJ Redick, first-round draft pick by the Orlando Magic in 2006 after starring at Duke, where he remains the Blue Devils’ all-time leading scorer. Redick is currently on a two-year deal with New Orleans. (36)
• USC head coach Clay Helton, the first Trojans coach to win 10 games in his first two full seasons, including in 2016, when he took them from 1-3 to 10-3 and coached a thrilling down-to-the-wire victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. (48)
• Colts GM Chris Ballard, who also served in the front office of the Chiefs. He was credited with helping to draft stars including Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in Kansas City. (51)

R.I.P.

1984: Clarence Campbell, third president of the NHL, who served for 31 years. Campbell helped oversee expansion from six to 18 franchises and started the All-Star Game. He died  of pneumonia at 78.

June 23: Backward thinking by Mets outfielder