Week in History: June 17 - 24
Events that occurred during the week of June 17 through June 24 in South Florida's history. This week shares a lot of South Florida sport's championship milestones.
OTD: June 18, 1947 - Orange Bowl Expansion
On June 18, 1947, the official groundbreaking for an expansion of the Orange Bowl took place. The groundbreaking ceremonies, which began at 11am, were officiated by Miami Mayor Perrine Palmer and featured Hollywood actress Esther Williams. This renovation expanded the seating capacity of the stadium by 24,548 seats by adding a second level of seats to the stadium.
OTD: June 20, 2006 - Miami Heat Win First NBA Championship
On June 20, 2006, the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in game 6 to win their first NBA Championship. After losing the first two games in Dallas, the Miami Heat were down by 13-points with slightly more than 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of game 3, Dwyane Wade took the team on his shoulders and led the Heat to victory. He ended the game with 42-points and 13 rebounds. After this improbable comeback, the Heat went on to win the next three games, culminating with the victory on the road in game 6 to clinch the championship. Dwyane Wade finished averaging 34.7 points in the series and was named the finals MVP.
OTD: June 20, 2013 - Miami Heat Win Third NBA Championship
On June 20, 2013, the Miami Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs in game 7 to win their third NBA Championship. The series may best be remembered for Ray Allen's three-point shot with 6.7 seconds to play which forced overtime in game 6. The Heat won that game 103 - 100 to force a game 7, which was won on this day in 2013. Lebron James earned his second finals MVP.
OTD: June 21, 1916 - Mary Burlingame Wins Bid for Island in Biscayne Bay
On June 21, 1916, the Florida Internal Improvement Fund (IIF), accepted the bid of Margaret Burlingame for what became Burlingame Island. Mary Brickell filed a law suit in July of 1916 to block the sale of the land mass which ultimately was confirmed by the supreme court of Florida. The island is now known as Brickell Key on Claughton Island today.
OTD: June 21, 2012 - Miami Heat Win Second NBA Championship
On June 21, 2012, the Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 5 to win their second NBA Championship. After dropping the first game on the road in Oklahoma City, the Miami Heat stormed back and won the next four games to clinch their second NBA crown. Lebron James won his first championship ring, averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists and was named the finals MVP.
OTD: June 24, 1898 - Camp Miami During Spanish American War
On June 24, 1898, the first of seven thousand soldiers arrived in the two-year old City of Miami to form what was known as Camp Miami. This camp was organized to train soldiers for deployment to Cuba to fight in the Spanish American War. However, the war ended before any of the soldiers who were trained at Camp Miami were deployed into action.
OTD: June 24, 1954 - Edward Claughton Buys Urmey Hotel
On June 24, 1954, Edward Claughton purchased the Urmey Hotel at 32 SE Second Avenue in downtown Miami from the estate of the founder of the hotel, William N. Urmey, for $850,000.
OTD: June 24, 2024 - Florida Panthers Wins First Stanley Cup
On June 24, 2024, the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. After racing out to a 3 - 0 series lead, the Oilers showed grit and resilience by winning the next three games. The Panthers got back to their style of hockey and closed out the series on their home ice in Game 7. Although the Conn Smythe award for the best player during the playoffs went to Connor McDaniel of Edmonton, the Panthers won the prize that the Florida hockey club had been pursuing since becoming an NHL franchise in 1993.
Great list, Casey. A note about Esther Williams and the OB; at the time of this ceremony, she may have been filming MGM's "On An Island With You," in which pre-development Key Biscayne had a role as a Pacific island.