Boston sports history gives you plenty of reasons to watch the same few seconds again. A pass that should never have been thrown. A stolen base everyone knew was coming. A hockey player suspended above the ice after scoring the goal that ended a long wait.
These five Boston sports moments include championships, a playoff escape and an Olympic win with a strong Boston University connection. They did not all happen in Boston, and they did not all end a championship game. The details make them better, especially when you remember just how close things came to going the other way.
Bobby Orr wins the Stanley Cup in 1970
On May 10, 1970, Bobby Orr scored in overtime against the St. Louis Blues and gave the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 29 years. The photograph of him airborne became the image of the moment, but the puck had already done its work before the celebration was captured.
Derek Sanderson supplied the pass. His account of playing with Orr is worth reading alongside the familiar picture, which can make a team play look like a solo act. Watch the exchange as well as the finish. The Bruins needed someone to deliver the puck, and Sanderson was in the right place to do it.
The BU connection to the Miracle on Ice
The United States beat the Soviet Union 4–3 at Lake Placid in 1980, with four former Boston University players on the American team: Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Jack O’Callahan and Dave Silk. For Boston fans, that gives an already remarkable Olympic game a very local cast.
BU’s recollection of the game is a useful starting point. The Soviet victory was not itself the gold-medal clincher; the Americans still had to beat Finland. Craig’s BU Hall of Fame profile records both wins. That last game deserves to stay in the story. Beating the favored opponent would have meant something rather different without finishing the job.
Larry Bird steals the pass and Dennis Johnson finishes
In the 1987 Eastern Conference finals, Bird intercepted an Isiah Thomas pass and fed Dennis Johnson for Boston’s winning layup. The NBA’s account of the play makes the division of labor clear.
The replay with the Boston broadcast calls is a good way to revisit it. Watch Johnson as well as Bird: his movement gives the steal somewhere to go. Basketball highlights tend to put one player’s name on a moment, but freezing this one at the interception leaves out the basket. Dennis Johnson belongs in the sentence.
The Red Sox come back from three games down in 2004
Before the World Series celebration came an American League Championship Series that Boston was losing three games to none. In Game 4 at Fenway, Dave Roberts stole second in the ninth inning, Bill Mueller’s single brought him home to tie it, and David Ortiz later won the game with a home run.
The Baseball Hall of Fame’s account follows the comeback through Boston’s Game 7 victory. The Sox became the first MLB team to win a postseason series after trailing 0–3, then swept the Cardinals in the World Series to end an 86-year championship drought. The parade was earned, but Roberts getting to second is the replay to start with.
Malcolm Butler intercepts Seattle at the goal line
The Patriots led Seattle 28–24 late in Super Bowl XLIX when the Seahawks reached the one-yard line. Russell Wilson threw toward Ricardo Lockette, and Malcolm Butler intercepted with 20 seconds remaining. A drive that looked capable of deciding the game did exactly that, just for the other team.
The Patriots’ game record preserves the sequence, including Jermaine Kearse’s catch and Marshawn Lynch’s run before the interception. Watch those plays first. Butler’s finish is more startling with Seattle’s progress fresh in your mind. The February 2015 win gave New England its fourth Super Bowl title.
For the baseball chapter, our Fenway Park guide gives the ballpark its own attention. For the rest, start the footage a little before the famous play. The score, the clock and the possession matter. Watching only the celebration skips the part where Boston looked as though it might lose.
