June 11 produced one of the most iconic performances in NBA Finals history, a watershed moment in motorsport safety, the birth of the Triple Crown and an unbreakable baseball record.
Featured Events
1997 — Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game”
Michael Jordan spent the night before Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Salt Lake City severely ill, reportedly from food poisoning. He was dehydrated and could barely stand. He played 44 minutes anyway.
Jordan scored 38 points, hit the go-ahead jumper with 25 seconds left and collapsed into Scottie Pippen’s arms at the buzzer as Chicago won 90–88 to take a 3–2 series lead. The Bulls won the title two days later.
The Flu Game became the most cited example of Jordan’s competitive makeup and remains the standard reference point for clutch playoff performances more than two decades later.
2012 — Los Angeles Kings Win the Stanley Cup as the First No. 8 Seed Champion in North American Pro Sports
The Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils 6–1 in Game 6 to claim the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 45 years. The significance extended beyond hockey. Los Angeles entered the playoffs as the Western Conference’s eighth seed and became the first eighth-seeded team in the history of all four major North American professional leagues to win a championship.
Goaltender Jonathan Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Kings’ run redefined what playoff seeding meant in the NHL, and they won a second Cup in 2014.
1919 — Sir Barton Completes the First Triple Crown
Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, won the Belmont Stakes by five lengths in a record time of 2:17 2/5, finishing a sweep of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in the same spring. The term “Triple Crown” would not come into use until 1930, but Sir Barton’s three-race sweep established the template.
Thirteen horses have matched it since. The standard that defines thoroughbred greatness traces back to this date.
1955 — The Le Mans Disaster
A multi-car collision during the 24 Hours of Le Mans sent Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR into a spectator area at racing speed. Levegh died instantly. Engine components and debris launched into the crowd, killing 83 fans and injuring more than 100 others.
Mercedes-Benz withdrew from all motorsport immediately and did not return to factory racing for three decades. Switzerland banned motor racing, a prohibition that lasted until 2022. The Circuit de la Sarthe was rebuilt. The 1955 Le Mans disaster remains the deadliest accident in motorsport history and shaped the safety regulations that govern the sport today.
1938 — Johnny Vander Meer Throws the First of Two Consecutive No-Hitters
Cincinnati’s Johnny Vander Meer blanked the Boston Bees 3–0. Four days later, on June 15, he threw a second consecutive no-hitter against Brooklyn in the first night game at Ebbets Field, becoming the only pitcher in MLB history to accomplish the feat in back-to-back starts.
The record has stood for 88 years. Most analysts consider it among the least repeatable in professional sports.
Additional Notable Events
1990: Nolan Ryan, age 43, throws his sixth career no-hitter, blanking Oakland 5–0 and extending an all-time record he would push to seven the following May
1993: Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley each score 42 points in Game 2 of the NBA Finals as Chicago defeats Phoenix 111–108; Jordan averages 41.0 points per game for the series, an NBA Finals record
1982: Larry Holmes retains the WBC Heavyweight Championship with a 13th-round TKO of Gerry Cooney at Caesars Palace in one of the decade’s most watched title fights
2010: The FIFA World Cup opens in Johannesburg as the first World Cup ever held in Africa; South Africa draws Mexico 1–1, and Spain goes on to win the tournament as the first European champion on non-European soil
2015: Steve Kerr’s “Death Lineup” debuts in Game 4 of the NBA Finals; Andre Iguodala wins Finals MVP without having started the first three games, the first player ever to do so
2013: San Antonio sets an NBA Finals record with 16 three-pointers in an 113–77 win over Miami in Game 3, the worst playoff loss in Heat franchise history
2009: Derek Fisher ties Game 4 of the NBA Finals with a three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left; the Lakers win in overtime as Dwight Howard sets an NBA Finals single-game record with nine blocks
2005: Mike Tyson refuses to leave his corner for the seventh round against Kevin McBride and announces his retirement ringside
