What Happened in Sports: April 29, 2020

2018: Cleveland Cavaliers SF LeBron James passed Scottie Pippen to become the all-time NBA Playoff leader in steals (396)

2015: Due to protests and riots in Baltimore, MD after the murder of Freddie Gray, the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played at Camden Yards without any fans present for the 1st time in MLB history

2007: New England Patriots traded a 2007 4th-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for WR Randy Moss who would go on to set the all-time single-season REC TD record (23) during New England’s 16-0 season

2006: St. Louis Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols hit his 14th HR in the month of April, breaking a tie with Ken Griffey Jr. & Luis Gonzalez for the most ever in April; he would finish with 49 HR’s en route to a 2nd-place MVP finish and his 1st World Series title

2006: San Diego Padres RP Trevor Hoffman set an MLB record by appearing in his 803rd game with the club: most games ever pitched for a single franchise

1990: In the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 2 victory, Houston Rockets C Hakeem Olajuwon tied a playoff record with 10 blocks (Mark Eaton) and Lakers HC Pat Riley broke Red Auerbach‘s playoff wins record with his 100th

1988: Finally ending their record-worst 0-21 start, the Baltimore Orioles secured their 1st victory of the season over the Chicago White Sox 

1986: Boston Red Sox SP Roger Clemens set an MLB record by striking out 20 batters in a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners

1986: Auburn RB Bo Jackson was drafted 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he would never sign for the franchise due to a suspicion of them intentionally sabotaging his baseball career; re-entering the following year, he would be selected by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 7th round

1981: Philadelphia Phillies SP Steve Carlton became just the 6th pitcher (1st lefty) in MLB history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts 

1970: In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Los Angeles Lakers SG Jerry West made a 60-foot desperation heave at the buzzer to send the game into OT, but the New York Knicks would prevail 111-108

1941: 6 years after changing their name to the “Boston Bees”, the team decided to change their nickname back to the “Braves”

1931: Cleveland Indians SP Wes Ferrell threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns (for whom his brother, Rick, played for) and also brought in 4 runs on a HR and double