May 5, 1956: Bert Trautmann Breaks His Neck to Win the FA Cup

May 5, 1956, 70 years ago: Many sports fans have said they would die for their team. Most don't mean it. And most don't expect their players to die for their teams. Well, one man broke his neck to win his team a trophy, and lived to tell about it.

Bernhard Carl Trautmann was born on October 22, 1923 in Bremen, Germany. This was the same month in which Charlton Heston, Glynis Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and New York baseball legend Bobby Thomson were born.

He excelled in multiple sports, including soccer, where he was an expert goalkeeper. Like nearly every German male of his generation, he joined the Army, fighting for the Nazis whether they liked it or not. He became a paratrooper, so he was certainly brave. He would eventually be captured by, and escape from, the Americans, the Soviet Red Army, and the French Resistance. The 4th time, he was captured by the British. This time, he accepted his fate, and was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp near Liverpool.

After The War, he was released, but declined an offer of repatriation, and stayed in England. He played for St. Helens Town, a club near Liverpool. He was allowed to marry Margaret Friar, the daughter of the club secretary. He got the club promoted, and in 1949, he was signed by Manchester City Football Club. This made him the 1st soccer player in England to wear Adidas shoes, since he was a friend of the company's founder, Adolf Dassler. (His nickname was Adi, hence, "Adi Das." His brother Rudolf Dassler founded Puma.)

Man City fans were not happy about the signing. A, Trautmann wasn't just German, he had actually fought for the enemy. B, He was replacing Frank Swift, the greatest goalie in Man City's history to that point. (Swift then became a journalist, and died in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, covering Manchester United's European Cup run.)

A January 1950 match away to West London club Fulham changed things. He made several great saves, and, although Fulham won 1-0, their fans stopped hurling insults at him, and gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Man City were relegated to the Football League Division Two at the end of the season, but bounced back up to Division One at the end of the next season. Led by Trautmann and forward Don Revie (later the manager of the great Leeds United team of the late 1960s and early 1970s), they reached the 1955 FA Cup Final, losing to Newcastle United FC.

In 1956, they got back to the Final, and faced Birmingham City FC. The game was 1-1 at the hour, but Bobby Johnstone and Jack Dyson scored in quick succession to make it 3-1 to Man City. In the 73rd minute, Peter Murphy attempted a shot for the Brummies, but Trautmann dove at his feet to win the ball. In the process, Murphy's knee struck Trautmann in the neck.

Trautmann was knocked unconscious. Substitutes were not allowed in English football until the 1965-66 season, so if he could not continue, an outfield player would have to put on the green shirt, and City would be down to 10 men. Trautmann came to, and, with the situation explained to him, he insisted on staying in the game.

The Man City players did what they could to keep the ball away from him, but he had to make 2 more saves, the 2nd of which was another collision with Murphy, resulting in his needing treatment.

The game ended 3-1, and the Man City players climbed the famed Wembley Stadium steps to the royal box, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, handed out the Cup to winning Captain Roy Paul, and the winner's medals to all the players. On the film, Trautmann can be seen rubbing his neck. Prince Philip expressed concern for Trautmann's condition.

After 3 days, the pain didn't go away, so Trautmann went to the doctor. He was told he had dislocated 5 vertebrae, 1 of which was cracked. The 3rd vertebra had lodged against the cracked 2nd, possibly saving his life. He had, quite literally, broken his neck to win the FA Cup.

He missed much of the 1956-57 season, and in 1958, because he had not fully recovered, Man City became the only team in the history of England's Football League (including the post-1992 Premier League) to score 100 goals and allow 100 goals in a single League season. But he continued to play until 1964, and his final match was a testimonial at Maine Road, City's ground from 1923 to 2003. He captained a combined City and United team, with Bobby Charlton and Denis Law guesting from United, against an International XI that had England stars Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Jimmy Armfield.

He was not allowed to play for the West Germany national team, under their rules of the time, because he was playing outside the country, and so he was not on the team that won the 1954 World Cup. He later coached in England, Germany and Spain, and managed the national teams of Burma, Tanzania, Liberia and Pakistan.

He settled in the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, Spain. He married 3 times, and had 4 children, 1 of whom died in a car crash as a boy, which led to the breakup of his 1st marriage. Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an OBE for his efforts at diplomacy through sport, and, on the occasion, asked him if his neck felt better.

He was honored with a statue outside the City of Manchester Stadium, to which Man City moved in 2003, and is now named the Etihad Stadium.

He died on July 19, 2013, in Valencia, from the effects of a pair of heart attacks earlier in the year, up to which point he was still thought to be in good health. He was 89 years old.

Bert Trautmann was a symbol of courage, perseverance, understanding and sportsmanship. He could have been embittered by either the war he was in or his new country's reaction to his service in it. Instead, he made both his old country and his new country better places to be. That's testimonial enough for anyone.

John Sterling, 1938-2026

Like George Steinbrenner, but not like George M. Cohan, who was actually born on a July 3, John Sterling was, to borrow Cohan's words, "a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July."

Unlike Steinbrenner, on the day that John Sterling, under the name John Sloss, was born in Manhattan, July 4, 1938, the New York Yankees were in first place -- or, at least, tied for it, with the Cleveland Indians. They went on to win the World Series that season.

John grew up on the Upper East Side, and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Boston University, and Columbia University in Manhattan, before leaving school to work at a small radio station in Wellsville, New York, in Alleghany County in the State's Southern Tier. Like many Jewish broadcasters, he changed his name to ward off anti-Semitism, becoming "John Sterling."

In 1970, he moved to Baltimore, broadcasting for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, who reached the NBA Finals in his 1st season with them. He also broadcast football games for Morgan State University, a historically black school in Baltimore.

He returned to New York, and hosted a sports-talk show on radio station WMCA, 570 on the AM dial. He broadcast basketball for the ABA's New York Nets, remaining with the for a while after they joined the NBA and then moved to New Jersey. He broadcast hockey for the NHL's New York Islanders and the WHA's New York Raiders, and football for the World Football League's New York Stars.

In 1981, he moved to Atlanta, hired by Turner Sports to broadcast for baseball's Braves and the NBA's Hawks. On July 4, 1985, the Braves played the Mets at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Braves owner Ted Turner scheduled a postgame 4th of July fireworks show. But the game was delayed by rain, and didn't start until 9:04 PM. And it went to extra innings. A lot of extra innings.

In the top of the 18th inning, the Mets took an 11-10 lead. The only pitchers the Braves had left were 3 starters and the current reliever, Rick Camp. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 18th, there was no player left to pinch-hit for Camp, except for the 3 starting pitchers. He came into that game 10-for-168 for his career -- a lifetime batting average of .060. 

Sterling turned to his broadcast partner, Ernie Johnson -- who pitched for the Braves in Milwaukee and was the father of basketball announcer Ernie Johnson Jr. -- and said, "I'll tell you, Ernie: If hits a home run to tie this game, this game will be certified as absolutely the nuttiest in the history of baseball."

I was 15 years old, and watched this game on WOR-Channel 9, but, because of Sterling's call, it's the TBS version that seems to have been preserved for posterity and shown on highlights. Here's what Sterling said:

And he hits it to deep left! Heep goes back! It is... GONE! Holy cow! Oh my goodness! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Rick Camp! Rick Camp! I told you Ernie, if he hits it out... That certifies this game as the wildest, wackiest, most improbable game in history!

But the Mets took a 16-11 lead in the top of the 19th. In the bottom of the 19th, the Braves closed to 16-13, had 2 men on, and Camp came up again. This time, Met starter Ron Darling, who had come on as an emergency reliever, struck Camp out to end it.

In 1989, Sterling came back to New York, as the radio voice of the Yankees, on 770 WABC until 2001, on 880 WCBS from 2002 to 2013, and on WFAN from 2014 until his retirement in 2024. In 1989 and '90, his partner was former outfielder (including for the Yankees) Jay Johnstone. In 1991, it was Joe Angel, who became better known later as an announcer for the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1992, he teamed with Daily News baseball columnist Michael Kay. The pair split in 2002, when the YES Network was founded, and Kay became their lead announcer, although the pair still teamed up to do the introductions every Old-Timers Day. Kay was replaced as Sterling's partner by Charley Steiner, now better known as a Los Angeles Dodgers announcer. And in 2005, Steiner was replaced by WFAN announcer Suzyn Waldman.

Like legendary Yankee announcers Mel Allen (1939-64) and Phil Rizzuto (1957-96), John Sterling was a "homer." He was not objective, supporting the Yankees throughout his 36-season tenure, longer than any Yankee announcer so far, except Rizzuto. And, like Mel and Phil, he made no apologies for it.

When something unusual happened on the field, he would turn to Waldman and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." In fact, baseball is among the more predictable sports.

For example, when a Yankee player hit a long drive, you had a 50-50 chance of correctly guessing that Sterling would guess wrong. Like Allen and Rizzuto, he tended to watch the ball, not the outfielder. In contrast, Red Barber, who broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, before coming to the Yankees and staying through 1966, told would-be announcers to watch the outfielder: If he looks like he thinks he can catch the ball, don't act like it's going to be a home run.

And so, Sterling would go into his home run call: "Swung on, and there it goes! Deep to left! That ball is high! It is far! It is... gone!" But, as so often happened, it would be, "It is high! It is far! It is... caught at the wall!" Or, "It is high! It is far! It is... off the wall!" One time, he said, "It is high! It is far! It is... a foul ball! Wow, Suzyn, that ball was gone!" No, it wasn't, it was foul!

Just as Allen tended to make up nicknames for Yankee players, Sterling would tailor home run calls around the hitter's name:

* Bernie Williams: "Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!"

* Jorge Posada: "Jorgie juiced one!" (Instead of the seemingly obvious, "Hip, hip, Jorge!")

* Tino Martinez: "The Bam-tino!" (A play on one of Babe Ruth's nicknames, The Bambino.")

* Derek Jeter, after being named team Captain in 2003: "El Capitan!"

* Jason Giambi: "The Giambino!" (Same.)

* Alex Rodriguez: "It's an A-bomb for A-Rod!"

* Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed Godzilla because he was from Japan: "It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

* Robinson Canó: "Robbie Canó, doncha know!"

* Mark Teixeira: "Mark sends a Tex message! You're on the Mark, Teixeira!"

* Nick Swisher: "Positively Swish-a-licious!"

* Curtis Granderson: "The Grandy Man can!"

* Giancarlo Stanton: This one should have been obvious: "It's a Giac by Giancarlo!" Instead, he used “Giancarlo, non si può de stopparlo!” Sterling called a friend at the Berlitz Academy of Foreign Languages. Loosely translated from Italian, the call means, “You cannot be stopped!”

* Didi Gregorius: "Didi Gregorius makes Yankee fans euphorious!"

* Aaron Judge: "All rise! Here comes the judge!" (Reminding everyone of the "Here Come Da Judge" sketch on Laugh-In.)

* Gleyber Torres: "It's Gleyber Day! And like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!"

And two straight players hitting them "go back-to-back, and a-belly-to-belly!"

Let's be honest: Some of them were better than others.

On May 27, 1991, the Yankees were struggling, but came from behind to win a Memorial Day matinee against the hated Boston Red Sox, on a 3-run walkoff home run by Mel Hall. Sterling yelled, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! The Yankees win!"

He began using it after every game. By the time of the 1996 postseason run, the "The" had gotten stretched out: "The-uh-uh-uh-uh Yankees win!" The bigger the game, the longer the "The." At the end of a postseason series, he would mention it. "Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

Eventually, a recording of it would be played by the Yankees' scoreboard operator, followed by Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme from New York, New York." In 2007, someone with a camera phone got a closeup of Sterling saying it, pumping his fists, shaking in his chair, and posted it on YouTube, calling it "The Sterling Shake."

Sterling was typical of Yankee figures: People who loved the Yankees loved him, and loved his whole shtick; people who hated the Yankees thought he was dumb and annoying.

He was not dumb. And the only time when he was annoying was when he went into "It is high! It is far... " and it turned out not to be gone.

When the YES Network was founded in 2002, Sterling became the host and narrator for its Yankeeography series. He also hosted the Yankees Classics series, including many games that he had broadcast himself. He won 16 Sports Emmy Awards, including 2 for Yankeeography.

He lived with his wife, Jennifer, in Teaneck, Bergen County, not far from the George Washington Bridge and The Stadium, until they divorced. They had 4 children. He then moved into The Avalon at Edgewater, overlooking the Hudson River, with a view of The Stadium. He lost that apartment in a fire in 2015, but found a new apartment in Edgewater.

His 1st game with the Yankees was on April 4, 1989, a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. On October 19, 2019, he broadcast Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. It was the game where Jose Altuve hit a Pennant-winning home run, and then yelled at his teammates not to rip his shirt open. In between, over 31 seasons and 5,060 games, John Sterling broadcast every Yankee game.

This included every single game in the careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera; the 3,000th hits of Jeter and Alex Rodriguez; A-Rod's 400th, 500th and 600th career home runs; Rivera's record-breaking 602nd save; the perfect games of David Wells, David Cone and Domingo Germán, and the no-hitters of Jim Abbott, Dwight Gooden and Corey Kluber; the Opening Series in Japan in 2004; the London Series in 2019; the last game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008; the 1st game at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009; the AL Wild Card Game in 2015, '17, '18 and '21; the AL Wild Card Series in 2020; the AL Division Series in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10, '11, '12, '17, '18, '19, '20 and '22; the AL Championship Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03, '04, '09, '10, '12, '17, '19 and '22; and the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09.

But advancing age and heart trouble were taking their toll. He missed games in the COVID-shortened season of 2020. He was making more mistakes. On June 10, 2023, while broadcasting a game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, he was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Justin Turner. He stayed in the game.

On April 14, 2024, he called the Yankees' 8-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It was his 5,651st game for the Yankees, counting the postseason. The next day, arriving back in New York, he announced his retirement, effective immediately. It appears he left on his own terms. He said:

I am a very blessed human being. I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It's all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy.

The Yankees won the Pennant in 2024, and he was invited back to broadcast an inning of the World Series, which the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

John Sterling died today, May 4, 2026, at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, from longstanding heart trouble. He was 87 years old, 2 months short of his 88th birthday.

And the New York Yankees are in first place. Cliché Alert: He would have wanted it that way.

He is... gone. But he will never leave us.

UPDATE: That night, before the game, a pregame ceremony was held. Highlights of John's calls were played on the big screen behind center field, and Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman walked out together and laid bouquets of flowers on home plate.

New York vs. Philadelphia In the Postseason

The New York Knicks won their 1st Round Playoff series, beating the Atlanta Hawks in 6 games, winning Game 6 by a Playoff-record-setting margin.

The Philadelphia 76ers won theirs, beating their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, in a Game 7 in Boston. Truly an epic achievement.

The Knicks and Sixers will now play each other in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. They haven't been to the NBA Finals since 1999 and 2001, respectively. They haven't won an NBA Championship since 1973 (Knicks) and 1983 (76ers).

New York vs. Philadelphia In the Postseason

1905 World Series: New York Giants beat Philadelphia Athletics

1911 World Series: Athletics beat Giants

1913 World Series: Athletics beat Giants

1947 BAA Semifinals: Philadelphia Warriors beat New York Knicks

1950 World Series: New York Yankees beat Philadelphia Phillies

1968 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals: Philadelphia 76ers beat Knicks

1974 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Rangers

1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Flyers beat New York Islanders

1977 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: 76ers beat Knicks

1979 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1979 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat New Jersey Nets

1980 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1980 Stanley Cup Finals: Islanders beat Flyers

1981 NFC Wild Card Playoff: Philadelphia Eagles beat New York Giants

1982 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1983 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1983 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: 76ers beat Knicks

1984 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Nets beat 76ers

1985 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1985 NHL Patrick Division Finals: Flyers beat Islanders

1986 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1987 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1987 NHL Patrick Division Finals: Flyers beat Islanders

1989 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Knicks beat 76ers

1995 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1995 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: New Jersey Devils beat Flyers

1997 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

2000 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Devils beat Flyers

2000 NFC Divisional Playoff: Giants beat Eagles

2004 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Devils

2006 NFC Wild Card Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2008 NFC Divisional Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2009 World Series: Yankees beat Phillies

2010 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Devils

2012 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Devils beat Flyers

2014 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Rangers beat Flyers

2018 MLS Cup Knockout Round: New York City FC beat Philadelphia Union

2019 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat Nets

2019 MLS Cup 1st Round: Union beat New York Red Bulls

2020 Stanley Cup 2nd Round: Islanders beat Flyers

2021 MLS Cup 1st Round: Union beat Red Bulls

2021 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Finals: City beat Union

2022 NFC Divisional Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2022 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Finals: Union beat City

2023 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat Nets

2024 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Knicks beat 76ers

2024 National League Championship Series: New York Mets beat Phillies

2025 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals: City beat Union

Note: For soccer, I counted only Major League Soccer. I would have counted the North American Soccer League, but the New York Cosmos and the Philadelphia Atoms never played each other in the Playoffs. Nor did the Cosmos and the later Philadelphia Fury. I did not count the U.S. Open Cup, because that's an in-season tournament, not postseason.

MLB: New York, 4-2

NFL: Philadelphia, 4-1

NBA: Philadelphia, 7-3

NHL: Philadelphia, 11-10

MLS: Tie, 3-3

TOTAL: Philadelphia 27-21.

Yankees Mess With Texas, Enter May In 1st Place

The Yankees had to go to Boston to play the Red Sox? Then to Houston to play the Astros? Then to the suburbs of Dallas to play the Texas Rangers? Tough roadtrip.

Well, we took Seven of Nine. For those teams, resistance was futile.

Yes, that was a Star Trek joke in a blog post about the Yankees. It might not have been the logical thing to do, but it was the human thing to do.

On Monday night, the Yankees began that series at Globe Life Field (not to be confused with the Rangers' previous stadium, now named Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, Rangers Ballpark, Ameriquest Field and simply The Ballpark), and turned it, like the do any stadium, into "a little league field." Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm hit home runs, to support 6 shutout innings by Max Fried. The Yankees ended up winning, 4-2.

Tuesday night was a battle between young Yankee sensation Cam Schlittler and former Met "legend" Jacob deGrom, recipient of the two least-earned Cy Young Awards of all time. Cody Bellinger doubled Aaron Judge home in the 1st inning. That would be the only run either man allowed.

In the top of the 7th, with deGrom relieved by Jalen Beeks, Austin Wells hit a home run. Brent Headrick worked in and out of trouble for the Yankees. Fernando Cruz did the same in the 8th. Judge hit a home run in the 9th, the 380th of his career, to surpass Orlando Cepeda and Tony Pérez with 379 on the all-time list. Next up: Albert Belle at 381.

And that "insurance run" turned out to be crucial: David Bednar did his best Aroldis Chapman -- or Boone Logan, or Scott Proctor, or Kyle Farnsworth -- impression in the bottom of the 9th, letting the Rangers get to within 3-2, before he finally slammed the door.

On Wednesday afternoon, Elmer Rodríguez, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher from Puerto Rico, made his major league debut. Wearing Number 71, he went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. Presuming neither Gerrit Cole, nor Carlos Rodón, nor Clarke Schmidt comes off the Injured List in the next week (as seems likely), Rodríguez will probably get at least one more start before he gets sent back to Class AAA Scranton. The bullpen did well, allowing just 1 run over the last 5 innings.

But what may well be Brian Cashman's dumbest transaction as Yankee general manager came back to bite him, and us, again: Releasing Nathan Eovaldi after the 2016 season. Eovaldi allowed just 4 hits, and the Yankees never got going, losing to the Rangers, 3-0.

In spite of this last game, not only did the Yankees go 7-2 on the roadtrip, but they took 2 out of 3 in both Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex." They messed with Texas.

They leave April and enter May 20-11, with the best record in the American League. In the AL Eastern Division, they are a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, 6 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and 8 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

They had yesterday off, and tonight, they open a homestand with a weekend 3-gamer against the Orioles. Their manager, Craig Albernaz -- a former catcher who never reached the majors, and previously coached for Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Cleveland -- has not yet selected his starters for any of the games. Aaron Boone has selected Will Warren for tonight, first pitch 7:05 PM; Ryan Weathers for tomorrow, at 1:35; and Max Fried for Sunday, at 1:35, with all games to be broadcast on the YES Network.

Meanwhile, on this May 1, with the worst record in baseball, the Mets might want to shout, "Mayday!"

This photo, from their 14-2 loss to the Washington Nationals

on Wednesday night, sums up their season so far.

May 1, 1926: Hakoah at the Polo Grounds

Béla Guttmann

May 1, 1926, 100 years ago: A crowd of 46,000 files into the Polo Grounds in New York to watch an all-star team from the American Soccer League beat Hakoah Wien, 3-0. It remains the largest crowd to watch a soccer game in America until Pelé and the New York Cosmos move into Giants Stadium, 51 years later.

The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 4-1 at Yankee Stadium. This game was just across the Harlem River from the Hakoah match, and attracted 42,000 customers -- 4,000 fewer. Waite Hoyt outpitched Dutch Reuther. Babe Ruth went 1-for-3 with a walk. Lou Gehrig went 0-for-3.

Hakoah -- a Hebrew word meaning "strength" -- was an All-Jewish sports club based in Vienna, the capital of Austria. It was founded in 1909, countering the then-popular idea of "muscular Christianity" with "muscular Judaism." It sponsored teams in several sports, and in 1925, its soccer team won the national title. They went on a tour of the United States, including that game at the Polo Grounds.

Their best player was centerback Béla Guttmann. He was born on January 27, 1899 in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. He starred for the team now known as MTK Budapest. Escaping his homeland's anti-Semitism, in 1922 he moved to Vienna, and played for Hakoah Wien. In 1923, they went to London, and beat West Ham United, 5-1 at Upton Park in the East End. While the Hammers, who had reached the FA Cup Final that season, had played a largely reserve team against Hakoah, this still made Hakoah the 1st team from the European Continent to defeat an English team in England.

Their 1926 U.S. tour inspired some of the players to stay in America. Guttmann played for the Brooklyn Wanderers at Ebbets Field, and the soccer version of the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds; and founded New York Hakoah, who played at Dexter Park in Queens, and are still in existence today, albeit at a semipro level.

Losing everything in the stock market Crash of 1929, Guttmann returned to Europe, coaching in Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. In 1944, he was captured by the Nazis, and sent to a concentration camp. Several members of his family were killed, as were 6 of his Hakoah teammates, but he escaped.

After World War II, he managed teams in Hungary, Romania, Italy, Argentina, Cyprus, Brazil, Portugal, Uruguay, Switzerland and Greece. He won League titles in Hungary with Újpest in 1939 and 1947; in Portugal with Porto in 1959, and Benfica in 1960 and 1961; and in Uruguay with Peñarol in 1962. With Benfica, he won the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) in 1961 and 1962. He was the Larry Brown of his sport, rarely staying at a club longer than two seasons, no matter how well he was doing, and was quoted as saying, "The third season is fatal."

After the 1962 title, he asked for a raise, didn't get it, and quit. Supposedly, he then said, "Not in a hundred years from now will Benfica ever be European Champions again." So far, 64 years later, he is still right: Between the Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League, they have lost their last 8 finals in European competition. Nevertheless, a statue of him now stands outside Benfica's Estádio da Luz (Stadium of Light). He died on August 28, 1981, in Vienna.

Sportclub Hakoah Wien had been founded in 1909, but the Nazis dissolved it after the Anschluss with Austria in 1938. It was re-started in 1945, but it dropped soccer in 1949. It is still active in other sports.

April 30, 1986: The Steve Smith Own Goal

April 30, 1986, 40 years ago: Steve Smith turns 23, and has the worst birthday in hockey history.

In 1985, he made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers. He played 2 regular season games, and was not put on their Playoff roster, as they won their 2nd straight Stanley Cup. But in 1985-86, he was one of the League's top defensive rookies. He looked like he had a good career ahead of him. On April 30, he took the ice with the Oilers against their Provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, in Game 7 of the NHL Smythe Division Final, at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

The Flames stunned their Alberta rivals by taking a 2-0 lead, early in the 2nd period. But before that period ended, the Oilers tied the game.

At the 5:14 mark of the 3rd period, Smith took the puck near the side of his own net, and tried to pass it up the ice. But he made a mistake, and the puck went off the leg of Oiler goaltender Grant Fuhr, and into the goal.

Perry Berezan was the last Flames player to touch the puck, so he got credit for the goal. In soccer, the rule is different: Smith would have been "credited" with an "own goal."

The Flames' 3-2 lead held, and they won, eliminating the Oilers from the Playoffs. The Flames had lost to the Oilers in the Playoffs in 1983 and 1984, and would again in 1988 and 1991. This remains the only "Battle of Alberta" Playoff series that the Flames have won.

It is the most famous own goal in hockey history, and it produced the most devastating loss in the history of Edmonton sports. Oiler fans were outraged. But, led by Captain and superstar Wayne Gretzky, Smith's teammates stood up for him. The next year, the Oilers rebounded to win the Cup. When taking it from NHL President John Ziegler, Gretzky let Smith be the 2nd Oiler player to lift it, and the crowd at the Coliseum gave him a standing ovation. All was forgiven.

Smith would help the Oilers win the Cup again in 1988 and 1990, remaining with them for 1 more season. He joined the Chicago Blackhawks for the 1991-92 season, and helped them reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He stayed with the Hawks through 1997, then closed his career with, oddly enough, the Flames, playing for them until 2000.

In 804 regular-season NHL games, he had 72 goals and 303 assists. And he reached 4 Stanley Cup Finals, winning 3. A decent playing career, with one awful moment. He has since worked as an assistant coach with the Flames, the Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres, and a scout with the Blackhawks.

But that one awful moment tends to stand out. Is that fair? Did he really cost the Oilers the 1986 Stanley Cup, and prevent them from matching the 1956-60 Montreal Canadiens' run of 5 straight? Probably not. The Flames went on to reach the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, where the Canadiens beat them in 5 games. They might have beaten the Oilers, too.

The Oilers had Grant Fuhr in goal; and on defense, Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe. All 3 were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. And they had other good defensemen: Lee Fogolin, Charlie Huddy -- and Steve Smith. That defense allowed 25 goals, including 4 in Game 1, 5 in Game 2 (which the Oilers won anyway), 4 in Game 4 (which the Oilers won anyway), and 4 in Game 5 before allowing the calamitous own goal.

And what about the Oilers' offense? This was a team with Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri and Glenn Anderson, all of whom are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. And yet, they scored only 1 goal at home in Game 1, 2 in Game 3, 1 at home in Game 5, and 2 at home in Game 7. The most potent offense in NHL history, and they didn't get the job done.

And, in a situation like this, it's tempting to say that the side that won was actually better. Certainly, the Flames weren't as talent-laden as the Oilers. But they did sweep their previous Playoff series, against the Winnipeg Jets. They won Games 1 and 5 in Edmonton, before winning this shocking Game 7 in Edmonton. And they won the Conference Final over the St. Louis Blues.

They had Hall-of-Famers Lanny McDonald, Brett Hull, Al MacInnis and Joe Mullen; plus All-Stars Mike Vernon, Joel Otto and Gary Suter; Doug Risebrough, who had won 4 Cups with the Canadiens in the late 1970s; John Tonelli, who had won 4 Cups with the New York Islanders in the early 1980s; and Nick Fotiu, who had reached the Finals with the 1979 New York Rangers.

They did lose the Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens, although 2 of their losses were by 1 goal. And a slightly revamped Flames team beat the Canadiens in the Finals just 3 years later. So it's not like the Oilers lost to an undeserving team.

April 30, 1956: The Boston Celtics Trade for Bill Russell

April 30, 1956, 70 years ago: The NBA Draft is held in New York. With the 1st pick, the Boston Celtics -- having just completed their 1st 10 seasons, and not yet having appeared in an NBA Finals -- selected Tommy Heinsohn, forward from the nearby College of the Holy Cross.

With the 2nd pick, the Rochester Royals selected Sihugo Green, a guard from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. "Si" Green was a decent player, but hardly the kind of star you would expect to go as the 2nd pick overall.

With the 3rd pick, the St. Louis Hawks drafted Bill Russell, a center who had led the University of San Francisco to back-to-back National Championships. It looked like the Hawks had gotten the best player.

But later that day, the Hawks traded the rights to the as-yet-unsigned Russell to the Celtics, for center Ed Macauley and forward Cliff Hagan.

Result: Over the next 13 seasons, Russell would lead the Celtics to 12 NBA Finals, and 11 NBA Championships. The Celtics became the most dominant team in North American sports history -- not winning as many World Championships as Major League Baseball's New York Yankees or the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, but winning more titles in a shorter period of time. 

Meanwhile, the Hawks won just 1 title, and were forced to move out of St. Louis, to Atlanta, where they have been a perennial letdown.

It is the biggest transactional blunder in the NBA's history. How could the Hawks have been so dumb? Well, maybe, they were not as dumb as we've been led to believe. As the biggest star coming out of college basketball, Russell was already believed to be ready to demand big money, which most NBA team owners didn't have. Hawks owner Ben Kerner didn't have it. Celtics owner Walter Brown did, because he also owned his arena, the Boston Garden, and the other team that played there, the NHL's Boston Bruins.

What's more, Brown owned the Ice Capades. At the time, it was a bigger moneymaker than the NBA or the NHL. So was the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It came to New York every April, and so the Madison Square Garden Corporation gave them choicer dates. This forced the Rangers in 1950, and the Knicks in 1951, to play Finals games on the road, possibly costing them titles.

The Royals had a chance to select Russell, but passed on him. Why? Because Brown made a deal with Royals owner Les Harrison: Select somebody other than Russell, and I'll add Rochester to the Ice Capades' tour. It was an offer Harrison couldn't refuse. (And no heads -- human, horse, or otherwise -- were hurt in the process.)

It was a short-term fix for the Royals. But that's the way the NBA had to operate at the time. A year later, Harrison moved the Royals to Cincinnati. They won the NBA Championship in 1951. Through the 2025-26 season, 75 years later, this franchise, now known as the Sacramento Kings, has never been back to the NBA Finals. But Harrison did what he had to do to stay in business, and that meant giving up a chance at a man who could have become one of the NBA's greatest players ever, and did.

But he might not have. Until Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA Championships -- 3 with Bill Cartwright at center, and 3 with Luc Longley -- it was generally believed that you had to have a really good center, a big man in the middle, to win an NBA Championship.

But until Russell, Mikan was the only big man who was able to lead a team to an NBA title. Until Russell, the NBA's best players had been smaller guys who were good outside shooters, guys like Joe Fulks (1947 Philadelphia Warriors), Buddy Jeannette (1948 Baltimore Bullets), Bob Davies (1951 Rochester Royals), Dolph Schayes (1955 Syracuse Nationals) and Paul Arizin and Tom Gola (1956 Philadelphia Warriors).

Before Russell, there were 3 truly great "big men" in college basketball. Mikan, from DePaul University in Chicago, was one. Another was Bob Kurland of Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). He never played pro ball, instead taking a job with Phillips Petroleum, with a great benefits package, including playing for their "semipro" team.

And the other was Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas. He had a good pro career, winning titles as Mikan's backup on the Lakers, and later as Russell's backup on the Celtics. But he was never a pro star: He's in the Basketball Hall of Fame, but mainly for what he did in college.

But there was, as yet, no model for what kind of college stars would become pro stars. Like I said, the NBA was only 10 years old at this point. In hindsight, Mikan was the model. Russell admitted that Mikan was his idol. Mikan enjoyed being thought of the progenitor of the NBA's big men.

But at the time, he was seen as a freak of nature, a happy accident that the Lakers had gotten their hands on. Big men were considered to be slow. Mikan was a good shooter and a strong rebounder, but he wasn't fast. Bill Mazer, the great New York sportscaster, compared him to a stampeding elephant. Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe, in a 1996 ESPN appearance celebrating the NBA's 50th Anniversary, said that, in the modern game, he would be "a good backup center. Deserved every accolade he got at the time, but he's Greg Kite with a hook shot." 

In 2021, at the NBA's 75th Anniversary; in 1996, at the 50th; in 1971, at the 25th... Russell seemed like the obvious player to both select and hang onto. In 1956, he wasn't the obvious pick to do that. Maybe he should have been, but he wasn't.

Then there's St. Louis to consider. It's not just that the Hawks were far behind baseball's Cardinals in terms of popularity in the city. It's that St. Louis was a racially segregated city, in Missouri, a racially segregated State. Cardinal stars like Bob Gibson and Curt Flood would chafe under the policies that segregation forced, until federal law broke it.

Russell -- who would eventually, very accurately, title his autobiography Memoirs of an Opinionated Man -- might not have adjusted so well, having been a boy in segregated Louisiana, and grown up in noticeably (but not completely) more racially liberal Oakland. He eventually had problems with race relations in Boston. In St. Louis, it might have been worse. As a result, he might not have won all those titles with the Hawks.

Anyway, it's not as if the Hawks blew it completely. In 1957, the Celtics and Hawks each made the NBA Finals for the 1st time. It went to double overtime of Game 7 before the Celtics won it. In 1958, both teams made it back, and Russell hurt his ankle in Game 3, and was out the rest of the way. The Hawks, led by the men traded for the rights to Russell, Hagan and St. Louis native Macauley, as well as Hall-of-Fame forward Bob Pettit, won the title in 6 games.

The 1958 NBA Champions.

Hagan is Number 16, Pettit 9, and Macauley 20.

In 1959, the Minneapolis Lakers won the Western Conference, and lost to the Celtics in the Finals. In 1960 and '61, the Hawks returned to the Finals, and lost to the Celtics both times. Still, at that point, the players the Hawks got for Russell had gotten them into 4 Finals, winning 1. It could have been better, but it was still better than anybody else except the Celtics were doing.

Still, it was a dumb trade.