May 3

From Hoopedia

• 1907 - Hall of Fame coach John "Honey" Russell, who played in over 3,200 pro games and coached college and NBA teams for 30 years, is born in New York City.

• 1921 - Goose Tatum, long-time Harlem Globetrotters star, is born in Calion, Arkansas.

• 1947 - The Soviet Union soundly defeats defending champ Czechoslovakia, 56-37, to win the European Championship gold medal. It is the first time the USSR participated in the EuroBasket competition and is the first of 14 gold medal they would capture.

• 1968 - Owners of the St. Louis Hawks announce that the team will relocate to Atlanta beginning with the 1968-69 season.

• 1981 - Larry Bird hits the game-winner to lead the the Boston over Philadelphia, 91-90, to win the NBA Eastern Conference finals in seven games. Boston came back after falling behind in the series, three games to one, and falling behind by double-digits in the second half in all of the last three games.

• 1987 - Milwaukee beats Philadelphia, 102-89, in the deciding Game 5 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. It is the last game in Julius Erving’s illustrious 16-year professional basketball career in the NBA and ABA. Dr. J led the Sixers with 24 points.

• 2005 - Bryant Jackson, the “Chair Throwing Fan” from the Detroit Pistons - Indiana Pacers altercation, is sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to consult with an anger-management therapist.