May 17
1875 — Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby by one-quarter length over Volcano. The day marks the opening of Churchill Downs with an estimated 10,000 spectators witnessing the first Derby. Aristides is ridden and trained by African Americans Oliver Lewis and Ansel Williamson, respectively.
1915 — Rhine Maiden wins the Preakness Stakes, to produce the only Kentucky Derby-Preakness wins by fillies in the same year. The 1915 Derby was won by Regret, who did not compete in the Preakness.
1925 — Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians collects his 3,000th career hit off Tom Zachry in a 2-1 loss to the Washington Senators.
1930 — Gallant Fox wins the Kentucky Derby by two lengths over Gallant Knight to give Earl Sande his third Derby win.
1970 — Hank Aaron gets an infield single off Cincinnati’s Wayne Simpson for his 3,000th hit.
1975 — 23-1 long shot Master Derby, ridden by Darrel McHargue, beats favored Foolish Pleasure by a length in the Preakness Stakes.
1979 — Dave Kingman of the Cubs hits three home runs and Mike Schmidt of the Phillies hits two, as Philadelphia beats Chicago 23-22 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field. The game includes 11 home runs, 50 hits and 109 at-bats.
1983 — The New York Islanders beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 to win their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup.
1992 — Betsy King captures her first LPGA Championship by a record 11 strokes over JoAnne Carner, Liselotte Neumann and Karen Noble. King’s margin of victory breaks the LGPA championship mark of 10 set by Patty Sheehan in 1984.
1998 — David Wells pitches the 13th perfect game in modern major league history as the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.
2000 — Australia’s Susie O’Neill breaks the oldest record in international swimming, winning the 200-meter butterfly and beating the 1981 mark by Mary T. Meagher. O’Neill is timed in 2 minutes, 5.81 seconds, topping the record by 0.15 seconds. Meagher’s time of 2:05.96 was set in Brown Deer, Wis.
2003 — Funny Cide runs away from the field on the turn for home and finishes with a near-record 9¾-length victory in the Preakness. The gelding’s victory is second to Survivor’s 10-length victory in the first Preakness, in 1873.
2008 — Big Brown, ridden by Kent Desormeaux, charges to the lead turning for home and then cruises down the stretch to win the Preakness Stakes. The colt, named for UPS, wins by 5 1/4 lengths over Macho Again.
2012 — Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia becomes the first player in Professional Bowlers Association history to win a national or senior tour title in six decades, beating Ron Mohr 220-204 in the PBA Senior Dayton Classic. The 65-year-old Petraglia won the first of his 14 PBA national tour titles in 1966 in Fort Smith, Ark., at the age of 19. Dick Weber also won PBA titles in six decades, but his mark includes a PBA regional title.
2014 — The Houston Rockets advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 18 years after overcoming a 3-1 series deficit to eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers with a 113-100 victory. It’s the ninth time in NBA history that a team has overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win a playoff series.
