May 17 in sports history: An epic game at 'friendly confines'

MR. 3,000

1970: He isn't called "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron for nothing. After all, he did hit 755 home runs in his career, which had been the MLB record until Barry Bonds finished his career with 762.

So when Aaron became the ninth player in MLB history with 3,000 hits, would you believe that the ball he hit never left the infield? The slugger's infield single off righty Wayne Simpson drove in a run, but the Reds would go on to sweep the Braves in a doubleheader in Cincinnati.

Despite hitting his 570th home run that day, Aaron called reaching the hit milestone his greatest personal thrill.

"I have to say, 'yes the greatest'," Aaron told Charlie Roberts of the Atlanta Constitution. "Because we're talking about so many great, great players who played the game — Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, so many — and this passed them by."

Speaking of Ruth, Aaron would pass him by atop MLB's all-time home run list — tagging Dodgers lefty Al Downing for career blast No. 715 on April 8, 1974.

MILESTONES APART

1925: Cleveland's Tris Speaker became the sixth member of MLB's 3,000-hit club, singling off Tom Zachary in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Senators.

1983: It was hard enough to hold the Wayne Gretzky-led Oilers without a victory in the Stanley Cup Final. But the Islanders did something even more impressive while winning their fourth straight NHL championship: They held The Great One without a goal.

Behind goals by Bryan Trottier, John Tonelli, Mike Bossy and Ken Morrow, the Isles eclipsed Edmonton, 4-2, thanks to 24 saves from Conn Smythe Trophy winner Billy Smith.

"We don't go and tell everybody how great we are. We just go out and show everybody," said Islanders forward Butch Goring. "I think the Edmonton Oilers will win the Stanley Cup one year. There's no doubt in my mind. And not too long away, either."

You can't say Goring wasn't prescient. Turns out Gretzky and the Oilers beat Goring and the Islanders in five games the following year to win Lord Stanley, starting a stretch of four Cups in five seasons for Edmonton.

1998: David Wells pitched the 15th perfect game in modern MLB history as the Yankees beat the Twins, 4-0.

STROKES OF GENIUS

1992: Betsy King won the fifth of her six major titles — the LPGA Championship at Bethesda (Md.) Country Club — finishing 11 strokes ahead of runners-up JoAnne Carner, Liselotte Neumann and Karen Noble.

1998: Twenty-year-old rookie Se Ri Pak led wire-to-wire to win the first of her five majors — the LPGA Championship — beating runners-up Lisa Hackney and Donna Andrews by three shots.

2019: Leave it to Brooks Koepka to put on a big-time performance at a major. With rounds of 63-65, Koepka set a scoring record for all majors, and his seven-shot lead through 36 holes is the largest in PGA Championship history.

But even more eye-opening is the fact that Koepka's seven-stroke edge over Adam Scott and Jordan Spieth is the widest at the midpoint of any major since the 1934 British Open at Royal St. George's, where Henry Cotton led by nine shots before winning by five.

Yet, despite his historic rounds, Koepka still felt as if he had room to improve.

"This probably sounds bad," Koepka told the Tampa Bay Times, "but (Friday) was a battle. I didn't strike it that good. The way I hung in there and battled it, I think that was more impressive than (Thursday), not having your 'A' game but still being able to shoot a great score."

Koepka's first-round 63 is a Bethpage Black course record, and it helped the Florida native hold off Dustin Johnson to win by two strokes. With the victory, Koepka became the first player to defend both the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. 

Happy birthday...

• Boxing Hall of Famer Sugar Ray Leonard, who won world titles in five different weight classes and was 36-3-1 with 25 KOs. (64)
• Danny Manning, who led Kansas to the 1988 men's basketball championship before becoming the top pick of the NBA Draft that year. (54).
• Craig Erickson, two-time national champion quarterback with the Miami Hurricanes and six-year NFL veteran with the Bucs, Colts and Dolphins. (51)
• North Carolina assistant basketball coach Hubert Davis, the 20th pick of the 1992 NBA Draft who had a 13-year career with six teams. (50)
• MLB Network Analyst Carlos Pena, who was an All-Star in 2009, when he hit 39 home runs to share the AL lead with the Yankees Mark Teixeira. (42)
• Four-time NBA champion, 2007 NBA Finals MVP and six-time All-Star Tony Parker. (38)
• Channing Frye, who was the eighth pick of the 2005 NBA Draft who helped LeBron James and the Cavaliers bring a championship to Cleveland in 2016. (37)
• Four-time Pro Bowler, 2016 NFL MVP and ill-fated QB in Super Bowl LI Matt Ryan (35) 

R.I.P.

1964: Steve Owen, who starred for the New York Giants for six seasons before becoming their all-time leader in victories, going 153-108-17 as coach from 1931-53. Credited with inventing the "Umbrella defense," Owen won two NFL championships and coached fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers Tom Landry and Emlen Tunnell. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 66.

2011: Baseball Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, who spent the first 21 years of his 22-season career with the Minnesota Twins organization (they were the Washington Senators for the first six). Nicknamed "The Killer," the 13-time All-Star and 1969 AL MVP hit 573 homers, still good for 12th on MLB's all-time list. He died of esophageal cancer. He was 74.

2013: Golfer and broadcaster Ken Venturi. In a career marred by injuries, Venturi won 14 PGA Tour events, including a major: the 1964 U.S. Open. Upon retiring as a player, Venturi served as a color commentator with CBS Sports for 35 years, making him the longest-tenured lead analyst in sports broadcasting history. He died of pneumonia and other infections. He was 82.

May 16: 'Our Houdini' amazes for Lakers