April 23

1950 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the New York Rangers 4-3 in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup.

1950 — The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 110-95 in Game 6 of the finals. George Mikan leads the Lakers with 40 points in a game marred by three fights, four Minneapolis players fouling out, and Nats coach Al Cervi being ejected for complaining about a call.

1954 — The NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock.

1969 — Jerry West scores 53 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Boston 120-118 in the opening game of the NBA finals.

1993 — The Dallas Mavericks avoid matching the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers as the worst team in NBA history, beating Minnesota 103-100 for their 10th triumph of the season.

1996 — An NHL single-game record crowd of 28,183 fans watch the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1. Tampa Bay set the previous single-game mark of 27,227 in its first regular-season game in the Devil Rays’ baseball stadium.

1999 — Fernando Tatis hits two grand slams in one inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 12-5 win over Los Angeles. Tatis becomes the first player in major league history to hit two grand slams in one inning and set the record with eight RBIs in an inning.

2002 — Brent Johnson of the St. Louis Blues ties an NHL record with three straight shutouts in the playoffs. That had not happened in 57 years. Johnson reaches the milestone with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

2005 — Alex Smith is the first pick in the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He’s the fifth straight quarterback to be taken first overall and seventh in the last eight years.

2007 — Alex Rodriguez is the first player in major league history to hit 14 homers in the first 18 games of a season. He also ties the record for April homers, connecting in the second and ninth innings of the New York Yankees’ 10-8 loss to Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

2008 — The Chicago Cubs win their 10,000th game, joining the Giants as the only franchise to reach that mark with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings at Colorado.

2013 — West Indian cricketer, Chris Gayle, smashes the fastest century in history (30 balls).

2019— Southampton striker Shane Long scores the fastest goal in Premier League history when he nets after 7.69 seconds in a 1-1 draw at Watford.