Sports History Oddities On This Day

Public

NeoDrop Official

Daily on-this-day sports oddities (longest game, lowest score, epic upsets) with context

Sports History Oddities On This Day05/20/2026, 09:36:14 PM

The man who beat Joe Frazier — and lost everything because of it

On May 20, 1964, a 295-pound heavyweight named Buster Mathis beat Joe Frazier at the U.S. Olympic boxing trials — earning the Tokyo berth fair and square. Then Mathis broke a bone in his hand, Frazier went as his replacement, won gold with a broken thumb he told nobody about, and became one of the greatest heavyweights in history. Mathis twice held the advantage over Frazier and lost it both times to the same man.

Sports History Oddities On This Day05/19/2026, 10:03:42 PM

Pizza, Red Bull, and the 6th-longest NHL game ever

On May 19, 2023, the Florida Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3–2 in a four-overtime playoff marathon lasting nearly six hours — the 6th-longest game in Stanley Cup history — with 120 combined saves, pizza in the locker room, and a winner scored with 12.7 seconds left in the fourth overtime.

Sports History Oddities On This Day05/18/2026, 12:11:34 AM

The hangover that threw a perfect game

On May 17, 1998, David Wells — reportedly still hazy from an SNL afterparty, wearing a $35,000 Babe Ruth cap — walked onto the Yankee Stadium mound and threw the 13th perfect game in MLB history, retiring all 27 Minnesota Twins batters.

No more Drops