April 30: Steve Smith's Own Goal Eliminates the Oilers

On April 30, 1986, Edmonton Oilers defenseman Steve Smith inadvertently knocked the puck it his own net just 5 minutes and 14 seconds into the third period of Game 7 of the Smythe Division Finals. The goal gave the Calgary Flames a 3-2 lead that proved to be the game winner. As soon as Smith realized his error he went to the ice in pure disbelief. Flames forward Perry Berezan was credited with the goal but everyone knew it was just an errant pass by Smith that sent the Flames to the next round. Smith wept as he shook hands with the Flames players after the game, it was a heartbreaker that he would never forget and it happened on his birthday. After beating the St. Louis Blues in the next round the Flames advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost the the Montreal Canadiens. One year later the Oilers won The Cup and the first person Wayne Gretzky handed the trophy to was his friend and teammate Steve Smith.

Here is an article from 2011 in which Smith recalls the goal: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2011/04/29/exoilers-steve-smith-recalls-fateful-own-goal

Watch the goal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D6oWkhJzIk

April 29, 1986: The Rocket Strikes Out 20

On April 29, 1986, in a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners, Red Sox hurler Roger Clemens broke a major league record by striking out 20 batters in a nine inning game. The Rocket would match the feat in September of 1996, then in 1998 Kerry Wood joined him as the only two pitchers to strike 20 men out in a nine inning game. Randy Johnson struck out 20 men in nine innings in 2001, but since the game went into extra frames it's not categorized as occurring in a nine inning contest. The record for strikeouts in a game belongs to Tom Cheney he fanned 21 batters in September of 1962 as his Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 in 16 innings.

Here is an impressive list of pitchers who have struck out 18 batters or more in a nine inning game:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_pitchers_with_18_strikeouts_in_one_game

April 28,1980, The Big O is enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

On April 28, 1980, The Big O, Oscar Robertson was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. After a stellar career at the University of Cincinnati, Robertson was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in 1960. He quickly made his mark at the professional level. In his first season in the league he would take home rookie of  year honors after averaging 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists per game. The next season he became the only player in NBA history to average a triple double for the entire season, with 30.8 points,12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. He simply could do it all. Despite his success on the court the Royals failed to win a championship and after 10 years with the team, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. In Milwaukee, he found himself paired up with Lew Alcindor who would later become known as the one and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They formed one of the most dynamic duos in the history of the league as they led the Bucks to a championship title in 1971. Two more division titles followed the championship and the Bucks made another appearance in the Finals in what would be Robertson's last year in the league in 1974. After the Bucks lost to the Celtics in 7 games, it was the end of the line for his career on the court. The 12 time all star scored more than 26,710 points, picked up 9,887 assists, and had 7,804 rebounds under his belt by the time he retired. Robertson's impact on the game went well beyond the hardwood. He was essentially basketball's version of Curt Flood, as head of the players association Robertson led the charge in an anti trust lawsuit against the league. The lawsuit led to landmark changes in free agency and higher salaries for players all across the league.

Check out Robertson's career stats here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/roberos01.html

April 27, 1994: The Buffalo Sabres prevail in a quadruple overtime playoff battle

On April 27, 1994, the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils would take four overtimes to decide who would win Game 6 of a first round playoff matchup. The Sabres came into the game facing elimination and their goalie Dominik Hasek would stand on his head to make sure his team would live to play another day.  Hasek made 70 saves before his teammate Dave Hannan got one passed Martin Brodeur to force a Game 7. The 15,000 plus at The Aud in Buffalo witnessed an instant classic that lasted more than 6 hours before Hannan sent them home happy. The joy was short lived as the Sabres lost 2-1 in the final game of the series just two days later.

Watch Hannan's goal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=brf3W2sinz0

Here is an article that was published in the New York Times the day after the quadruple overtime thriller:
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/28/sports/hockey-whew-sabres-win-classic-duel-of-defenses-to-tie-devils.html

April 26, 1961: Maris begins the quest to 61

On April 26, 1961, Yankees outfielder Roger Maris hit his first home run of the season off of Tiger hurler Paul Foytack. The blast was the beginning of the historic quest to break Babe Ruth's single season record of 60 home runs that had been set in 1927. Maris would need every single game to break Ruth's record, he hit 61 in the fourth inning in the last game of the season to become the single season record holder. Despite his record breaking performance the commissioner of baseball Ford Frick chose to put an asterisk next to his 61 homers because Maris didn't break the record in the same amount of games. It was a low blow that took away from the achievement and Maris remained bitter about it the rest of his life. In an interview in 1980, Maris said "They acted as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books or something. Do you know what I have to show for 61 home runs? Nothing. Exactly nothing." Maris passed away just 5 years after he made that statement. I wish he knew how much people came to appreciate the achievement. It truly was one of the greatest seasons by one man in the history of the sport.

April 25 1950: Chuck Cooper becomes the first African American to be drafted into the NBA

On April 25, 1950, Chuck Cooper became the first African American to be drafted by an NBA team when the Boston Celtics picked him with the 12th pick of the second round. Fellow African Americans Earl Lloyd and Harold Hunter would be drafted in the later rounds, then Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton and Hank DeZonie would sign free agent deals as basketball worked toward integration. Harold Hunter never did play a game in the NBA and DeZonie quit after just 5 games due to discrimination and disagreements with his coach. Cooper, Lloyd, and Clifton would put together solid careers. Clifton played for 7 years, in his first season he helped the Knicks reach the Finals where they lost in 7 games. By 1957 Clifton was a member of the Pistons, that season he became the the oldest player to be named to an all star game at the age of 34.  Lloyd played nine seasons in the NBA and won a Championship with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955, that season Lloyd and Jim Tucker became the first African Americans to play on an NBA championship team. Cooper's career did not come with great accolades. He played just four years in Boston before being traded to the Milwaukee Hawks, after a couple of years in a Hawks uniform he was released then signed with the Fort Wayne Pistons, he spent one year with the Pistons before retiring. Everyone of these men were pioneers in the NBA, they endured the same abuse that Jackie Robinson did in baseball, much like Jackie they were brave as they fought through it and paved the way for many men to follow.

April 24, 1994: Robinson scores 71

On April 24, 1994, San Antonio Spurs star David Robinson scored 71 points as in the regular season finale in Los Angeles. The 71 points didn't only lead Robinson's squad to a 112-97 win, it also led Robinson to a scoring title as he just edged out Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal for the title. Robinson scored 63 percent from the floor making 26-of-41 including a three pointer and 18-of-25 free throws. The Clippers double teamed Robinson all night long, but some days the great players can't be stopped. Only 4 players other than Robinson have scored 70 points or more in a game and only one player has done it more than once, the one only Wilt Chamberlain crossed the threshold an astounding 6 times.

Here is a list of players who scored 60 points or more in a game: http://www.nbauniverse.com/records/60_or_more_points.htm