Today in sports history: June 24 - South African drop goal pips All Blacks at Rugby World Cup

Joel Stransky kicks the winning drop goal against the All Blacks
Joel Stransky kicks the winning drop goal against the All Blacks. Photo credit: Photosport

Some stories of the past that led sporting headlines around the world on June 23.

1922

The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League (NFL) and Chicago Staleys become Chicago Bears.

The Staleys were founded by NFL legend George Halas and were a semi-professional team formed by the AE Staley Company, which manufactured starch products and other agro-industrial products.

The Bears have won just one Super Bowl championship in 1985.

1974

England bundle India out for 42 runs in 77 minutes to win the second cricket test at Lord's.

The home side had compiled 629 in their first innings, with Dennis Amiss (188), skipper Mike Denness (118) and Tony Greig (106) all scoring centuries.

They dismissed India for 302 and enforced the follow-on, but the tourists never challenged, with all-rounder Eknath Sokar (18) the only batsman in double figures. Chris Old took 5/21 with the ball.

The result saw England clinch the three-match series, which they would sweep with victory in the third test.

1979

Baseball superstar Rickey Henderson debuts for Oakland As and steals the first base of his career.

By the end of his 24-year career, Henderson would hold Major League records for stolen bases (1406), career runs (2295), lead-off home runs (81) and single-season stolen bases (130), winning two World Series titles with Oakland.

1992

Louisiana State University centre Shaquille O'Neal is selected by Orlando Magic with the first pick of the NBA draft.

'Shaq' would play for six teams across his 19-year career, winning four championship titles with Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 01, 02) and Miami Heat (2006), averaging a double double (23.7 points/10.9 rebounds) over 1423 games.

Shaquille O'Neal in action for Orlando Magic
Shaquille O'Neal in action for Orlando Magic. Photo credit: Reuters.

He was surprisingly overlooked for selection to the 1992 'Dream Team', with Duke University rival Christian Laettner preferred as the only college player chosen.

The following year, Orlando again - miraculously - secured the top draft pick and selected Memphis guard Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway. O'Neal and Hardaway would take the Magic to the 1995 NBA finals, where they lost to Houston Rockets.

1995

Joel Stransky kicks a drop goal in extra time to steer South Africa to a 15-12 victory over the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final at Johannesburg.

Of course, this was also the day half the NZ team came down ill with suspected food poisoning, blamed on a mystery waitress/saboteur named 'Suzy', which cost them the match and the title.

Under coach Laurie Mains, the All Blacks had steamrolled their opposition throughout the tournament, unleashing Tonga powerhouse Jonah Lomu on unsuspecting opponents.

But when they came up against the Springboks in the final, they also faced history, with the previously divided nation now united behind President Nelson Mandela and their champion team.

The result meant New Zealand were still searching for their second World Cup crown, after winning the inaugural tournament eight years earlier, and that unrewarded stretch would extend to 2011, when they finally beat France at Eden Park.

1997

Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry divorces Major League Baseball outfielder David Justice after four years of marriage.

David Justice & Halle Berry
David Justice & Halle Berry. Photo credit: Reuters.

The former Miss USA runner-up would become the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for best actress for her performance in Monster's Ball.

Justice had hit a home run to clinch the 1995 world series championship with Atlanta Braves and would win another with New York Yankees in 2000.

2010

American John Isner finally overcomes Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4 3-6 6-7 7-6 70-68 in the opening round of the Wimbledon tennis championship.

The match took 11 hours five minutes and was played over three days - the longest match in tennis history. In fact, the fifth set alone surpassed the previous longest match.

Isner (113) and Mahut (103) both served more than 100 aces. 

John Isner & Nicolas Mahut after their marathon match
John Isner & Nicolas Mahut after their marathon match. Photo credit: Reuters.

Courtside and online scoreboards were not designed to accommodate such massive scores. The courtside scoreboard stopped at 47-47 and had to be reprogrammed the next day, while the online monitor reset at 50-50.

Eight years later, Isner was involved in another marathon Wimlbedon match, losing 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-4 26-24 to South African Kevin Anderson in the semifinals, forcing organisers to introduce a tiebreak at 12-12 in the fifth set.

Births

1895 - World heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey

1901 - American basketballer & shoe salesman Charles 'Chuck' Taylor

1911 - Argentinian F1 world champion Juan Fangio

1931 - American golfer Billy Casper

1951 - Australian sprinter Raelene Boyle

1972 - Australian cyclist & Tour de France commentator Robbie McEwen

1986 - England cricketer Stuart Broad

1987 - Football superstar Lionel Messi

Deaths

1971 - Former Blackcaps cricketer John Dunning, aged 68

Newshub 12 months ago…

Blackcaps' display of sportsmanship after tight win over West Indies

Hope turned to heartbreak in an instant for West Indies batsman Carlos Brathwaite on Sunday morning (NZ time), as his jaw-dropping blitz to what had seemed an unlikely win over the Blackcaps was snuffed out by a brilliant boundary catch by Trent Boult.

The devastation was clear to see, as Brathwaite dropped to his knees in anguish and the Blackcaps players - true to form - were quickly on hand to offer gestures of consolation, reaffirming their reputation as some of international cricket's best and fairest.

Ross Taylor comforts Carlos Brathwaite
Ross Taylor comforts Carlos Brathwaite. Photo credit: Photosport

Batsman Ross Taylor was first on the scene, leaning down to check on the crestfallen Barbados native in a moment that inspired memories of the 2015 World Cup semi-final, when Grant Elliot offered a helping hand to deflated Proteas quick Dale Steyn, after he'd delivered the winning six.

"We're all professional cricketers, and you get in those situations and probably deserve to win," Taylor said. "He batted outstandingly and got his team out of a tough situation, and you've got to feel for him."