AP Sportlight

Updated Jun. 11, 2020 11:26 a.m. ET

Associated Press

June 17

1954 — Rocky Marciano scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1961 — Gene Littler shoots a 68 in the final round to edge Doug Sanders and Bob Goalby in the U.S. Open.

1962 — Jack Nicklaus beats Arnold Palmer by three strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open.

1962 — Brazil beats Czechoslovakia 3-1 in Santiago, Chile, to win its second straight World Cup.

1973 — John Miller shoots a 63 in the final round to win the U.S. Open by one stroke over John Schlee at Oakmont, Pa.. Miller’s 8-under 63 is the first ever carded in a major championship.

1976 — The 18-team NBA absorbs four of the six remaining ABA teams: the New York Nets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets.

1979 — Hale Irwin wins the U.S. Open by two strokes over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.

1990 — Harry Gant, 50, becomes the oldest driver to win a NASCAR race, capturing the Miller 500 at Pocono International Raceway.

1991 — Payne Stewart escapes with a two-stroke victory over Scott Simpson in the highest-scoring U.S. Open playoff in 64 years.

2007 — Angel Cabrera holds off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a stroke to capture the U.S. Open.

2007 — Kate Ziegler breaks swimming’s oldest world record, shattering the 1,500-meter freestyle mark by 9 1/2 seconds in Mission Viejo, Calif. Ziegler wins the 30-lap race in 15:42.54, easily erasing Janet Evans’ 1988 mark of 15:52.10 . At the time, Evans was the first woman to break 16 minutes.

2008 — The Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA title with a 131-92 blowout of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

2010 — The Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston for the first time in a Game 7 to repeat as NBA champions. Kobe Bryant scores 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting, and the Lakers win their 16th NBA championship, rallying from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat the Celtics 83-79.

2011 — Rory McIlroy becomes the first player in the 111-year history of the U.S. Open to reach 13-under par. He overcomes a double bogey into the water on the final hole for a 5-under 66 to set the 36-hole scoring record at 131.

2012 — Webb Simpson wins the U.S. Open, outlasting former U.S. Open champions Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell.

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June 18

1910 — Alex Smith wins the U.S. Open by beating John McDermont and Macdonald Smith in an 18-hole playoff at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Smith beats McDermont by four strokes and Macdonald Smith by six.

1921 — The University of Illinois wins the first NCAA track and field championships, with Notre Dame second.

1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Billy Conn in the 13th round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1960 — Arnold Palmer beats amateur Jack Nicklaus by two strokes to win the U.S. Open.

1967 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a record 275 to beat Arnold Palmer for the U.S. Open. Nicklaus breaks Ben Hogan’s 1948 record by one stroke.

1972 — Jack Nicklaus wins the U.S. Open by three strokes over Bruce Crampton and ties Bobby Jones’ record of 13 major titles.

1984 — Fuzzy Zoeller shoots a 3-under 67 to beat Greg Norman by eight strokes in the 18-hole playoff at Winged Foot GC for the U.S. Open title.

1986 — California’s Don Sutton becomes the 19th pitcher in baseball history to win 300 games as he pitches a three-hitter to give the Angels a 5-1 triumph over the Texas Rangers.

1990 — Hale Irwin makes an 8-foot birdie putt on the 91st hole to beat Mike Donald in the first sudden-death playoff to decide the U.S. Open.

1995 — Michael Johnson becomes the first national champion at 200 and 400 meters since 1899 as he captures both races at the USA-Mobil Championships.

2000 — Tiger Woods turns the 100th U.S. Open into a one-man show, winning by 15 strokes over Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Woods’ 15-stroke margin shatters the Open mark of 11 set by Willie Smith in 1899 and is the largest in any major championship — surpassing the 13-stroke victory by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open.

2006 — Phil Mickelson’s bid for a third consecutive major ends with a shocking collapse when he bungles his way to a double bogey on the final hole, giving the U.S. Open to Geoff Ogilvy.

2017 — Brooks Koepka breaks away from a tight pack with three straight birdies on the back nine at Erin Hills and closes with a 5-under 67 to win the U.S. Open for his first major championship. A par on the final hole ties Rory McIlroy’s record score to par at 16 under for a four-shot victory.

2017 — Diana Taurasi scores 19 points to break the WNBA career scoring record in the Phoenix Mercury’s 90-59 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. Taurasi finishes with 7,494 points, passing Tina Thompson’s mark of 7,488.

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June 19

1867 — Ruthless, ridden by J. Gilpatrick, wins the inaugural Belmont Stakes at Jerome Park in the Bronx. The filly earns $1,850 for her victory.

1914 — Harry Vardon wins his sixth and final British Open by shooting a 306, three strokes ahead of J.H. Taylor at Prestwick Club.

1936 — German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling knocks out previously unbeaten Joe Louis in the 12th round. Schmeling’s victory sets off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the United States on the eve of World War II.

1954 — Ed Furgol edges Gene Littler by one stroke to win the U.S. Open, the first golf tournament to be televised nationally.

1955 — Jack Fleck beats Ben Hogan by three strokes in a playoff round to win the U.S. Open.

1977 — Hubert Green wins the U.S. Open by one stroke over Lou Graham.

1986 — Len Bias, the second pick in the NBA draft made by the Boston Celtics two days before, dies of a heart attack induced by cocaine use.

1992 — Evander Holyfield wins a unanimous decision over Larry Holmes to remain unbeaten and retain the undisputed heavyweight title.

1999 — Dallas wins its first Stanley Cup, as Brett Hull’s controversial goal at 14:51 of the third overtime gives the Stars a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6.

2005 — Michael Campbell answers every challenge Tiger Woods throws his way for a two-shot victory in the U.S. Open. Campbell has clutch par saves and a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that proves to be the knockout punch. Retief Goosen, the two-time U.S. Open champion, turns in a collapse that ranks among the greatest in major championship history. He loses his three-shot lead in three holes and closes with an 81 to tie for 11th at 8 over.

2005 — Michelin advises the 14 cars it supplies that its tires are unsafe for the final banked turn for the Formula One race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Unable to forge a compromise, all 14 Michelin teams duck off the track after the warmup lap, leaving winner Michael Schumacher and the five other drivers who use Bridgestone tires to race among themselves.

2006 — Cam Ward stops nearly everything giving the Carolina Hurricanes their first Stanley Cup title with a 3-1 victory over Edmonton in Game 7. Aaron Ward and Frantisek Kaberle, each six-goal scorers during the regular season, score goals for the Hurricanes.

2011 — Rory McIlroy runs away with the U.S. Open title, winning by eight shots and breaking the tournament scoring record by a whopping four strokes. McIlroy shoots a 2-under 69 to close the four days at Congressional in Bethesda, Md. at 16-under 268. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland is the third player in U.S. Open history to break 70 in all four rounds.

2014 — Stacy Lewis plays bogey-free on a shorter, but equally tough Pinehurst No. 2 to take a one-shot lead over Michelle Wie in the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Eleven-year-old Lucy Li holds her own — at least over 15 holes. The youngest qualifier in Women’s Open history has a triple bogey and two double bogeys in a round of 78. Li shoots another 78 the next day and misses the cut.

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