Scottie Pippen, a seven-time All-Star and six-time NBA champion forward, announced his retirement from the National Basketball Association (NBA) on this date in 2004. This marked the end of an illustrious career that spanned 17 seasons, mostly with the Chicago Bulls. Pippen's achievements include six NBA championship titles, two Olympic gold medals, and being selected for the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight times. The retirement news came as a bittersweet moment for fans who had witnessed his stellar performances on the court.

Before Pippen made his mark in basketball, another significant event occurred in the world of sports. In 1900, Britain’s Harry Vardon won the U.S. Open golf title at the Chicago Golf Club with a total score of 313 strokes over four rounds. This victory was part of Vardon's impressive career that included winning the British Open six times and the U.S. Open once.

The years following Pippen's retirement have seen several noteworthy achievements in sports history. In 2005, Daniel Alfredsson scored twice in the final minutes of regulation and once during the first shootout in NHL history, leading Ottawa to a 3-2 win over Toronto. This historic moment marked the beginning of a new era in ice hockey where shootouts determined the outcome of tied games.

In 2014, two significant events occurred. Brian Hoyer rallied the Cleveland Browns from a 25-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 29-28, which was the largest comeback in league history by a road team. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos achieved a career milestone by throwing his 500th touchdown pass during a game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The following year brought another notable event when San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended for the first 41 games of the NHL season. This suspension, handed down due to an illegal check to the head of Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg during a preseason game, set a record as the longest in NHL history.

Two years later, in 2017, Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, Wayne Simmonds, and Brandon Saad each scored a hat trick in their team's season opener. This feat was remarkable as it hadn't been accomplished since the NHL’s first two games back in 1917.

FREDS

The End of an Era: Scottie Pippen Retires from NBA