May 8 in sports: A day Hunter didn't need to fish for compliments

2001: Arizona left-hander Randy Johnson's feat — 20 strikeouts in a 4-3 win in 11 innings against the Reds — is even more rare than a perfect game. "The Big Unit," pulled after nine innings, joined Rogers Clemens and Kerry Wood as the only pitchers in big league history to register as many K's in a game. (Twenty-three pitchers have thrown perfectos in the majors.) 

Arizona first baseman Mark Grace, who witnessed Wood's 20-strikeout masterpiece while he played for the Cubs, hit a game-tying double in the 11th. 

"I've been blessed to be a part of unbelievable history twice now," he told the Arizona Republic. "When it gets like that, you put your glove on your head, because you just know they're not going to hit the ball. 

"It's so much fun to play behind and be a part of," he added. "In this day and age of offense, and the quote-unquote juice ball, when guys like Randy pitches, the ball is full of prune juice." 

Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly took some heat for not letting Johnson pitch in the 10th to break the record. But "The Big Unit" agreed with the call. "I saw no point in going out there ...," he said.

2012: In the Rangers' 10-3 win over the Orioles, Josh Hamilton walloped four home runs — all two-run shots. "Other than being in the World Series," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "it's the highlight of my big league career."

Hamilton added a double, giving him an AL record 18 total bases in the game. The four-homer feat has been accomplished 18 times in MLB history — the last time by Arizona's J.D. Martinez in 2017. 

WHEN THE KNICKS WERE GREAT ...

1970: Holy heck! The Walt Frazier-led Knicks won an NBA hoops title 50 years ago. 

"Clyde" was The Man  back then for the Knickerbockers, scoring 36 points and dishing out 19 assists to lead them to a 113-99 victory over the Lakers in Game 7 of the Finals.

Battling a painful right hip, Knicks center Willis Reed, who defended well against Lakers star Wilt Chamberlain, played "because there's no tomorrow." New York's inspirational leader took two pain-killing injections of cortisone before the game and scored four points in 27 minutes. 

"When I was warming up, there was a lot of questions in my mind," said Reed, drenched with champagne in the locker room. "I said to myself, 'You must do the job ... your team needs you.' "

AND THEN THINGS GET WEIRD ...

1906: Needing a substitute outfielder in the sixth inning, A's manager Connie Mack inserted pitcher Chief Bender. Wise move. Bender hit two inside-the-park homers in Philadelphia's 11-4 win in Boston. On the second HR, Bender was, according the Philadelphia Inquirer, "warmly congratulated by his comrades."

1935: In a 15-4 win, Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi, the "Cyrano of the Iron Mask," legged out doubles in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings off four different Phillies pitchers.  Not impressed? Noted baseball guru Bill James called Lombardi "the slowest man to ever to play Major League Baseball well."

TAKE MY CAR, PLEASE

1988: Heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson was involved in a fender bender with his pricey Bentley in New York. Then things really got weird.  "I've had nothing but bad luck and accidents with this car," he reportedly told two police officers who arrived at the accident scene. "You guys take this car and keep it." 

Interestingly, they took him up on the offer — and then got into trouble with their superiors. Each officer was suspended 10 days without pay. The "gift" might have remained a secret, according to United Press International, if a freelance photographer had not shot a photo of the incident. A police captain saw the picture, asked questions about it, and ordered the officers to return the car.

2014:  The Houston Texans selected outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick in the NFL Draft. "Hopefully," the South Carolina star told reporters, "I'm going to be a Hall of Famer one day." With the 22nd pick, the Browns picked Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel. "This is a legitimate dual threat," ESPN's Jon Gruden shouted on the draft broadcast. "Johnny Football," long gone from the NFL, will absolutely not be a Hall of Famer one day.

2000: In a 3-0 win over Toronto in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Devils held the Maple Leafs to only six shots, the fewest permitted in a game since the start of the expansion era in 1967. "Call Them the Toronto Terminators," read the headline in The Record of Hackensack, New Jersey.

Happy birthday ...

• Celtics star Kemba Walker, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft (30).
• Former All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who spent his 15-year career with five teams and ended with 317 homers and 1,202 RBI (38) 
• Hall of Fame cornerback and safety Ronnie Lott, who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers (61).
• No spitting on the birthday cake, Coach! Pro Football Hall of Famer coach Bill Cowher, who won a Super Bowl and two AFC titles with the Steelers. (63)
• Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, who has also coached Denver, Phoenix, the Knicks and the Lakers. He's a two-time NBA Coach of the Year (69).

R.I.P. 

2009: Former big-league standout Dom DiMaggio, who holds the Red Sox's record for longest hitting streak at 34 games. Who made the spectacular catch to end the streak of "The Little Professor"? Some guy named Joe DiMaggio, his older brother. Dom, who died of pneumonia, was 92.

May 7: Magic from MJ, Reggie and "The Big Sexy."