October 6, 1993: Michael Jordan retires from professional basketball. He is only 30 years old, and is coming off 3 straight NBA Championships with the Chicago Bulls.
The next issue of Sports Illustrated has a simple headline, with a simple question.
His answer: He had lost his desire to play basketball. He later added that the death of his father, James Jordan, a murder victim in Lumberton, North Carolina 3 months earlier, helped to convince him.
Later still, he said that another factor was not really having an off-season the year before, 1992, because he was leading the U.S. "Dream Team" at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Apparently, he was both physically and emotionally exhausted.
There is another explanation, perhaps a more sinister one. During the Bulls' 1993 Playoff series with the New York Knicks, a story got out that he had gone down to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and did a considerable amount of gambling there. And stories had gotten out that he had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on golf games he was playing.
Now, there has never been any evidence, at least not publicly revealed, that Jordan bet on an NBA game. This is not a Pete Rose situation. But it didn't matter: If a player can be that much in debt to a gambler, he could be pressured to throw a game to pay off the debt.
But then-NBA Commissioner David Stern didn't want to lose the NBA's biggest drawing card and moneymaker. Not for good, anyway. So some people believe that Jordan cut a deal with Stern: Step away from the game for a while, and the investigation would be dropped.
Jordan returned on March 18, 1995. He played through the 1998 season, winning 3 more titles. He came back one more time, for 2001-02 and 2002-03, with the Washington Wizards, and finally retired for good. There was never another investigation into his gambling.
*
October 6, 1993 was a Wednesday. It was midweek for football, and the NBA season hadn't started yet. But the baseball Playoffs were underway:
* In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at the new Comiskey Park (now named Guaranteed Rate Field). Dave Stewart, previously part of the recent Oakland Athletics' near-dynasty, outpitched Alex Fernandez.
Before Game 1, Jordan had thrown out the ceremonial first ball. The Jays would beat the ChiSox in 6 games. The following Spring, Jordan would sign with the White Sox, but never got out of Class AA ball, because he batted only .202 for the Birmingham Barons.
* In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, the Philadelphia Phillies upset the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Veterans Stadium. The Phils'"Macho Row," with overtones of the 1986 Mets in terms of behavior if not quite talent, and predecessors of the 2004 Red Sox in terms of personal grooming if not cheating, were given no chance against the 2-time defending NL Champion Braves. And when the Braves came from 3-2 down in the top of the 9th, everyone presumed that the conventional wisdom was wise.
It wasn't. With 1 out in the bottom of the 10th, the Fightin' Phils got back-to-back doubles by John Kruk and Kim Batiste. The winning pitcher, in relief, was Mitch Williams.
And there were 7 games played on this early date in the NHL season:
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands. Ken Daneyko broke up a tie game 6 minutes into the 3rd period.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum.
* The Quebec Nordiques and the Ottawa Senators played to a tie, 5-5 at the Ottawa Civic Centre (now named the TD Place Arena).
* The Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers played to a tie, 4-4 at Chicago Stadium. This would be the old barn's 66th and last season of play.
* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4 at the Winnipeg Arena.
* The Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-2 at the Great Western Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.