June 17

1954 — Rocky Marciano scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles at New York to retain the world heavyweight title.

1961 — Gene Littler shoots a 68 in the final round to edge Doug Sanders and Bob Goalby in the U.S. Open.

1962 — Jack Nicklaus beats Arnold Palmer by three strokes in a playoff to win the U.S. Open.

1973 — John Miller shoots a 63 in the final round to win the U.S. Open over John Schlee.

1976 — The 18-team NBA absorbs four of the six remaining ABA teams: the New York Nets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets.

1979 — Hale Irwin wins the U.S. Open over Gary Player and Jerry Pate.

1990 — Fifty-year-old Harry Gant becomes the oldest driver to win a NASCAR race as he posts a 2.4-second victory over Rusty Wallace in the Miller 500 at Pocono International Raceway.

1991 — Payne Stewart escapes with a two-stroke victory over Scott Simpson in the highest-scoring U.S. Open playoff in 64 years.

1995 — Claude Lemieux snaps a tie at 3:17 of the third period as the New Jersey Devils open the Stanley Cup finals with a 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The victory, the ninth on the road, breaks the NHL playoff record for road wins.

2001 — Retief Goosen misses a 2-foot putt on the 18th green, tying him with Mark Brooks and setting up a playoff for the U.S. Open.

2006 — Rookie David Gilliland becomes the first non-Nextel Cup driver to win a Busch Series race this season, passing J.J. Yeley with 10 laps to go and holding on to take the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

2007 — Angel Cabrera holds off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk by a stroke to capture the U.S. Open. Cabrera shoots a 1-under-par 69 in the final round at brutal Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.

2007 — Kate Ziegler breaks swimming's oldest world record, shattering the 1,500-meter freestyle mark by 9.5 seconds at the TYR Meet of Champions Mission Viejo, Calif. Ziegler wins the 30-lap race in 15:42.54, easily erasing Janet Evans' 1988 mark of 15:52.10 set in Orlando, Fla. At the time, Evans was the first woman to break 16 minutes.

2008 — The Boston Celtics win their record 17th NBA title with a stunning 131-92 blowout over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6. Kevin Garnett scores 26 points with 14 rebounds, Ray Allen scores 26 and Paul Pierce, the finals MVP, adds 17. The Celtics, a 24-win team a year ago, wrap up their first crown since 1986.