What Happened in Sports: April 22, 2020

2011: Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo registered 20 AST in a victory over the New York Knicks

2000: Utah Jazz PF Karl Malone became the oldest player (36 years, 273 days) to score 50 points in a playoff game 

1990: Finishing the season with a record of 56-26, the San Antonio Spurs’ 35-game improvement set an NBA record for the greatest single-season turnaround

1989: Utah Jazz PG John Stockton became the 1st player in NBA history to record 1,000 assists in consecutive seasons (led the NBA both years); he would eventually extend that streak to 5 consecutive years

1988: Chicago Bulls PF Charles Oakley pulled down 35 REBs — the most in a single game during the 1980’s — in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers

1982: Atlanta Braves’ MLB-record start of 13 consecutive wins was finally snapped against the Cincinnati Reds

1981: Los Angeles Dodgers rookie SP Fernando Valenzuela threw his 3rd shutout in 4 games and drove in the games only run in a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros

1970: New York Mets SP Tom Seaver tied an MLB record with 19 strikeouts in a victory over the San Diego Padres, the last 10 of which came consecutively to end the game (another record)

1957: As SS John Kennedy became the 1st black player in Philadelphia Phillies history, every NL team was finally integrated

1954: NBA officially introduced and adopted the 24-second shot clock, which essentially saved the sport of basketball

1947: Philadelphia Warriors won the very 1st NBA Championship, defeating the Chicago Stags 83-80 in Game 5

1915: New York Yankees’ iconic pinstripe uniforms and hat-in-the-ring logo made their official debuts

1914: At 19 years old, Babe Ruth made his professional debut as a pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of the International League; he allowed 0 runs on 6 hits while recording 2 hits of his own

1876: Very 1st National League game was played as the Boston Red Stockings defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5 in Philadelphia’s Jefferson St. Grounds