June 30, 1948: Bob Lemon Tosses a No-No In The Motor City

     On June 30, 1948, Cleveland Indians hurler Bob Lemon tossed a no-hitter against Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. The one time utility man, had made a more than successful transition to pitcher, on the way to becoming one of the best in the game. He had it all working on that night in Detroit, when he watched his club plate two unearned runs in the first, before he marched his way into the history books. Only three Tigers batters reached, all on walks, as Lemon baffled their lineup. When the ninth inning rolled around the crowd of more than 49,000 were pulling for him despite the fact he wore the uniform of the visitor. They would not be disappointed as pinch hitter Vic Wertz rolled one right back to the pitcher for a quick out, Eddie Mayo went down on strikes, and George Kell hit a weak grounder that Lemon fielded, threw to first, and celebrated the no-no. The crowd at Briggs Stadium rushed onto the field in celebration as the newest member of the baseball's no-hit club was rushed off the field.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET194806300.shtml

Stats of a legend: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lemonbo01.shtml

June 29, 1977: Willie Stargell Goes Yard For The 400th Time

     On June 29, 1977, Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell hit the 400th home run of his storied career during the third inning of a 9-1 rout of the Cardinals in St. Louis. The man who had become known as "Pops" would finish his career with 475 big blasts in his 21-year-career. The milestone shot came off of St. Louis' starter Eric Rasmussen who ended up being the eventual loser in the tilt. Stargell's first home run came on May 8, 1963 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and Lindy McDaniel was his first victim.

     Over the next two decades Stargell was selected to seven All Star games, led the league in home runs twice, while helping the Pirates win two World Series titles. Stargell's first run at World Series glory came in his prime in 1971. He was 31-years-old at the time, and had led the NL with 48 home runs during the regular season. While the Pirates came out on top in the classic seven game battle against Baltimore, Stargell had hit .208 and had a complete power outage during the series. It took him eight years to reach the Fall Classic for a second time, and the story was much different, as he had put together an MVP campaign at the age of 39, then won the NLCS MVP, and the World Series MVP awards as he led the Pirates to the Championship Title in another seven game battle against the Orioles.

      Pops played parts of three more seasons following that last run to glory, before Father Time knocked at his door in 1982. His last big blast on July 21, 1982, proved to be a game winner in Cincinnati. The solo shot off of Reds hurler Tom Hume in the eighth gave the Pirates a 3-2 edge that the hometown squad could not overcome. Stargell's last plate appearance would come in early October as his season and career came to a close. Stargell joined the ranks of baseball's immortals in 1988.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197706290.shtml

You can check out Stargell's home run log here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/event_hr.cgi?id=stargwi01&t=b

June 28, 1997: Tyson Orders Some Ear With a Side of Holyfield

     On June 28, 1997, the soft spoken pitbull known as Mike Tyson forgot to eat before his big fight against Evander Holyfield at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, so he decided to snack on his opponent's ear during the third round of the heavyweight battle. On a serious note, this was perhaps the most infamous moment in the world of sports during the 1990s. Tyson's bite took a chunk out of Holyfield's ear, then crazed pugilist spit it out, as Holyfield immediately reacted as the pain hit him upside the head. While Holyfield's corner argued for a disqualification, the bizarre turn of events the fight continued, although although, it only continued for 33 seconds before the rabid dog bit again. Tyson was disqualified at the end of the round, and he would subsequently lose his boxing license for over a year. As time has moved forward this moment in time has in large part become a joke, but in that moment that the two boxers were standing in the ring, and the one madman decided to use his teeth rather than his gloves no one was laughing.

June 27, 1972: Bobby Hull Heads To Winnipeg

     On June 27, 1972, Bobby Hull stunned the World of Hockey by signing an unprecedented $2.5 million contract to play for the World Hockey Association's Winnipeg Jets. The 34-year-old left winger was parting ways with the Chicago Blackhawks where he spent the first 15 years of his career. Those 15 years included a second place finish in rookie of the year balloting, two MVP awards, five 50 goal seasons, 10 All Star appearances, and a Stanley Cup Championship. He had reached legendary status in the Windy City. However, the ole mighty dollar would lure him to the upstart WHA, which was in its first year of existence.

     Hull gave the new league instant credibility, and the superstar had a lot left in the tank as he led the Jets to three Championships and took home two MVP awards. Hull returned the the ranks of the NHL when the WHA was absorbed by the league in 1979. He spent one more season on the ice splitting time between the Jets and the Hartford Whalers before hanging up the skates. He had spent 23 years on the ice, where he forged his Hall of Fame career.

You can view Hull's career numbers here: http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/hullbo01.html

This link is to a great piece done by ESPN as part of their Sportscentury series. It covers the story in greater detail, and also points out the fact that Hull opened the door for bigger contracts for hockey players.
https://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014266.html

June 26, 1970: Frank Robinson Hits Two Grand Slams In Washington

     On June 26, 1970, Frank Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles became just the seventh player to hit two grand slams in one game during 12-2 romp of the Senators in Washington. Robinson came into the game with a lot on his mind, as he had a sick 7-year-old son at home, and sore back to boot. However, those two things would not keep the 34-year-old slugger from making history. The first big  blast came in the fifth against Joe Coleman, and the second came in the sixth against Joe Grzenda. He was only the third man to accomplish the feat in consecutive innings. Jim Gentile did it as a member of the Orioles in 1961, and Jim Northrup did it in 1968 as a member of the Tigers. Today, only 13 men have hit two slams in a game, and only one man can boast doing it twice in a single inning, with that being Fernando Tatis who did it as a member of theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1999. Robinson hit 536 home runs during his Hall of Fame career, eight of those were grand slam home runs, and two of those eight came on this day in 1970.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/WS2/WS2197006260.shtml

June 25, 1997: The Spurs Take Duncan #1

     On June 25, 1997, the San Antonio Spurs selected Tim Duncan out of Wake Forest #1 overall in the NBA Draft. Duncan was the only player in the draft that the talking heads considered to be a sure fire pick, and for the most part they were right. Besides Duncan, only Chauncey Billups, and Tracy McGrady proved to be All Star material. The Spurs walked away with the rights to the number one pick due to the draft lottery that had the Boston Celtics as the prohibitive favorites. The moment it was announced that the Spurs had won that lottery there was no question as to who they would pick. Tim Duncan was their man. It would be the first step in what has become a modern day dynasty. Two years to the day of the pick being made Duncan led the Spurs to an NBA title with an MVP performance against the Knicks. It was his first of five titles, with his last coming just this year. With the recent announcement that he will return to the Spurs lineup next season the Tim Duncan era continues in San Antonio.

You can look over his career numbers here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duncati01.html

June 24, 1962: Jake Reed's Big Blast Decides The Longest Game In Yankees History

     On June 24, 1962, the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers played a 7 hour, 22 inning marathon in Detroit. The contest was decided by an unlikely hero by the name of Jack Reed who launched a two run homer into the right field seats at Tigers Stadium in the top half of 22nd that gave the Yankees a 9-7 lead. It went into the books as the longest game ever played as far as length goes, and while that record has since been surpassed, it still stands as the longest game ever played in the history of the Yankees organization. A total of 167 at bats were taken between the two clubs combined, Yogi Berra caught every inning for the New Yorkers, eight different players had 10 at bats in the game, and New York's second baseman Booby Richardson had 11 at bats. On the Detroit side of the diamond Rocky Colavito picked up seven hits in ten trips, but he would not reap a reward for his outstanding effort as the Yankees prevailed because of Reed's heroics. Reed had a short lived career in the big leagues and the big blast was the only home run of his career. It was a home run that forever cemented him into the history of the club.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196206240.shtml

This link will provide you with a variety of franchise records that have been set by the Yankees organization throughout the years: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/single_game_records.jsp