June 22, 1986: A World Cup Quarterfinal match is played between England and Argentina, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. In the 51st minute, Argentina's star, Diego Maradona, slaps the ball with his left hand, and it goes past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead.
The referee, Ali Bin Nasser of Tunisia, gave the goal. There was no VAR in those days. Maradona's postgame comments gave the goal its name: "The Hand of God." It is the most famous cheat in the history of sports on planet Earth.
Five minutes later, with the England players still in angry shock, Maradona scored again, a dizzying display of dribbling ending with a great shot that became known as "The Goal of the Century." Gary Lineker scored in the 81st minute, but England got no closer, and were out, 2-1.
If Nasser had correctly waved the 1st goal off, would Maradona have scored the 2nd? Would the England players have been able to stop him? Would they then have won 1-0 thanks to Lineker's goal? Would they then have beaten Belgium in the Semifinal, as Argentina did? Would they then have beaten West Germany in the Final, as Argentina did? We'll never know.
Maradona died last year, a few days after his 60th birthday. His unrepentant treachery lives on.
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June 22, 1986 was a Sunday. Another World Cup Quarterfinal was played that day: At Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Belgium beat Spain 5-4 on penalties, after regulation play ended 1-1.
It was the off-season for the NFL. The NBA season had recently wrapped up, with the Boston Celtics having beaten the Houston Rockets for the title. The NHL season was also over, with the Montreal Canadiens having beat the Calgary Flames for the Stanley Cup.
It was the 10th time the Celts and the Habs had won their leagues' titles in the same year. It remains the last. That's the most times any pairings of champions has happened in North American sports. (The Yankees and the Canadiens have both won 5 times, the Yankees and Celtics only 3 times.)
There was a full slate of Major League Baseball games played that day:
* The New York Yankees, at least in terms of the scoreboard, had an even worse day than England. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 15-1 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Current Yankee star Willie Randolph hit a home run off future Yankee star Jimmy Key in the 1st inning. That was all the Yanks would get, as the Jays pounded Joe Niekro, Bob Shirley and Ed Whitson.
* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Shea Stadium.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-4 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. Storm Davis (7 2/3rds innings) and Don Aase combined on a 3-hit shutout.
* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 10-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 7-4 at Royals (now Kauffman) Stadium in Kansas City.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland athletics, 5-4 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* The era of Sunday doubleheaders was long past, but one was played at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The San Francisco Giants swept the Houston Astros, winning the 1st game 4-2 and the 2nd game 3-2.