June 22, 1981 – There are legendary moments in sports history captured on video and then there are iconic ones that are played so much that they are forever embedded into the human brain. It happened this day at the Wimbledon where American tennis star John McEnroe set the prim and proper English tourney on its ear when he had his infamous tirade of ‘You cannot be serious’ rant in 1st round win over Tom Gullikson.
McEnroe was perturbed with a Wimbledon umpire’s line call during the match, with which he obviously disagreed with. McEnroe went on with a few more lines directed at the Ump, but with the politeness of the British umpire Edward James, eventually responded by politely announcing: “I’m going to award a point against you, Mr. McEnroe.”
The line, “You Cannot be serious,” was made famous that day and ended up being the title of a book the tennis great would write years later.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Sports History On This Day: June 15
June 15, 1970 – An exciting 18-hole playoff took place at the LPGA Championship at
Pro Football Hall of Fame Talk (w/ Vinny Lospinuso)
Vinny Lospinuso rides shotgun in the DeLorean with me this week to talk all
1970s Cincinnati Reds – “The Big Red Machine”
Their nickname, “Big Red Machine,” was no exaggeration. After winning the National League pennant
Sports History On This Day: June 14
June 14, 1934 – It was a BIG night on the fight card at Madison
Sports History On This Day: June 13
June 13, 1890 – An American won the US National Championship Women’s Tennis at the
The Big Muddies: Two of the Muddiest Games in NFL Playoff History
The NFL saw two of its muddiest playoff games of all time during the
Sports History On This Day: June 12
June 12, 1955 – Tragedy occurred at one of the racing world’s greatest spectacles, the
Sports History On This Day: June 11
June 11, 1903 – It was a matter of sibling rivalry, well sort of. At