What Happened in Sports: May 18, 2022

2008: Cleveland Cavaliers SF LeBron James (45 PTS) and Boston Celtics SF Paul Pierce (41 PTS) squared off in a legendary Game 7, but Boston emerged victorious 97-92 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before winning the NBA Finals

2004: Arizona Diamondbacks SP Randy Johnson became the oldest pitcher in MLB history to throw a Perfect Game (40 years old)

1998: Chicago Bulls SG Michael Jordan was named NBA MVP for the 5th(and final) time in his career, tying him with Bill Russell for the 2nd most behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s 6 MVP Awards

1995: Orlando Magic handed the Chicago Bulls a decisive Game 6 defeat, SG Michael Jordan‘s final playoff series loss and 1st since 1991

1990: Chicago Cubs 2B Ryne Sandberg‘s errorless streak of 123 consecutive games finally ended, establishing a new record for the position

1990: Baltimore Orioles tied an AL record by hitting 8 consecutive singles en route to a 7-run 1st inning in a 13-1 victory the Texas Rangers

1963: Minnesota Twins legend Harmon Killebrew surpassed Roy Sievers for the most career HR (180) in Twins/Senators franchise history. Killebrew played 21 seasons for the franchise and blasted 559 HR which still stands as the franchise record today

1956: New York Yankees OF Mickey Mantle hit a HR from both sides of the plate for an MLB-record 3rd time in his career to become the all-time leader for HR (136) by a switch hitter 

1912: Detroit Tigers players went on strike to protest OF Ty Cobb‘s suspension after he charged at a fan; to avoid a forfeit, the Tigers fielded a team of collegiate players and lost to the Philadelphia Athletics 24-2