As May marches along, the sports calendar approaches an even more consequential season. The NBA Finals loom, while MLB games take on greater meaning as the season deepens. However, late May itself is still full of significant sports moments from across the world, which commemorate remarkable individual achievements and fantastic team play.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
- 1925: Detroit Tigers center fielder Ty Cobb became the first MLB player in history to reach 1,000 career extra-base hits with a double against the Chicago White Sox.
- 1959: Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Harvey Haddix tossed a perfect game through 12 innings against the Atlanta Braves. However, he lost both his perfect game and the match for his team when he allowed the Braves to walk things off in the bottom of the 13th.
- 1993: While not exactly an individual achievement, Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Martinez hit a deep fly ball to Texas Rangers outfielder Jose Canseco, who awaited the warning-track bomb. Instead of catching it, the ball bounced off of Canseco’s head and into the stands for one of the wackiest home runs in MLB history.
- 2012: UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos headlined UFC 146 against contender Frank Mir. Dos Santos earned his first title defense via a second-round technical knockout. The card also featured three other future champions, Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, and Glover Teixeira.
- 2023: Reliever Craig Kimbrel, then with the Philadelphia Phillies, earned his 400th career save, this time against his former team, the Atlanta Braves.
Team Victories and Championship Wins
- 1982: Aston Villa claimed its first and only European Cup championship, defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 to claim the title.
- 1988: The Edmonton Oilers faced off with the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Edmonton was up 3-0 in the series and finished the Bruins off by a score of 6-3 to claim the championship.
- 1993: In the inaugural UEFA Champions League Final, Marseille beat Milan 1-0 to etch the team’s name in the history books.
- 1999: Seven years after the Champions League Final came into existence, two of Europe’s biggest clubs battled for the title. Manchester United and FC Barcelona dueled to a 2-1 score in favor of the British club.
- 2004: It is strange to see so many championship matches from the same league on a single date, but yet another UEFA Champions League Final took place in 2004, this time between Porto and AS Monaco. The former triumphed 3-0 to claim the title.
- 2018: One last Champions League Final matched Liverpool and Real Madrid, with Real Madrid and manager Zinedine Zidane winning a third straight Champions League championship.
As shown in the list above, May 26 is a day marked by championship soccer. Four Champions League title matches and a European Cup final have all been played on this date. At an individual level, sports fans have enjoyed some unique moments on May 26, including Haddix’s almost-perfect game and a classic blunder from Jose Canseco in the Rangers’ outfield.
