• June 15 down the years

Golden Bear rolls back the years

Jack Nicklaus won 18 majors in a glittering career © Getty Images

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1980
Jack Nicklaus won the US Open for the fourth and last time, 18 years after the first (June 17). No-one has ever won it five times. The Bear was 40 by now, but he was still good enough to shoot an opening round of 63 which equalled the record for any Major. Isao Aoki of Japan caught him with three consecutive 68s, but Nicklaus shot his own 68 in the last to win by two strokes. A four at the monster 630-yard 17th effectively won him the title, and his 273 was a new record total for the event. Nicklaus moved on to win the US PGA on August 10.

At the US Open in 1997, Nicklaus played his 10,000 hole in the Majors. Apparently. Some say it was a day later. Whichever, he chipped and putted for a par.

In 1994, Ernie Els won the US Open for the first time. After a 66 in the third round, he made only 73 in the last, which forced him into a three-way play-off. After 18 holes of that, Colin Montgomerie was eliminated, and Els beat Loren Roberts at the second extra hole. This was the first time Montgomerie finished runner-up in a Major. He eventually did it five times in all, the record by a golfer who never won one (June 18, 2006).

1949
The first Grands Prix in the first season of World Championship motorcycling. Three Isle of Man TT races were included in the schedule, Ireland's Manliff Barrington winning the 250 cc, and British riders taking the 350 (Freddie Frith) and 500 (Harold Daniell on a Norton). The last race of this inaugural season took place on September 4.

The second of Michael Schumacher's Montreal wins © Getty Images

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1997
The second of Michael Schumacher's seven wins in the Canadian Grand Prix. He started from pole, but David Coulthard set the fastest lap and was leading before his clutch let him down. But the main story was the horrific crash in which Olivier Panis broke both his legs. He couldn't drive in the next seven races.

1968
The godfather of All Black rugby, Colin Meads, had a history of causing actual bodily harm to opponents (June 3, 1936). Never more so than today, when he wrenched Ken Catchpole out of a ruck. Catchpole was arguably the greatest scrum-half of all time. Australia were never very strong throughout his career (they lost 27-11 at home today), but they always had chances outside the scrum thanks to Catchpole's service. When the spin pass was invented, he didn't need it. Perfect body position and lightning hands sent the ball out like a bullet. Today he was trapped under the bodies when Meads got hold of his leg and started yanking. Catchpole's other leg was trapped, so his groin muscles were stretched to snapping point, his hamstring was torn from the pelvic bone, and his sciatic nerve was damaged. Dr Dick Tooth, a former Australian international rugby player, called it the worst injury of its kind he'd ever seen. Not Meads's bravest moment. Catchpole was 28. He never played Test rugby again.

1958
Wade Boggs was born in Omaha. He played baseball well enough to win the World Series in 1996 with the New York Yankees. But that's not why he's in here. When it came to superstitions, this guy was in a major league of his own. He got up at exactly the same time every day, took exactly 150 balls to practice sessions, did his batting exercises at 5.17 and his sprints at 7.17, ate chicken every day, and drew a Hebrew symbol in the batter's box before he took strike. No wonder they elected him to the Hall of Fame.

2004
The Los Angeles Lakers were heavy favourites for the NBA title. They'd recently won it three years in a row. But the Detroit Pistons shocked them 4-1 in the finals.

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