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Reggie Miller celebrated with Travis Best moments after the Pacers earned a trip to the 2000 NBA Finals by beating the New York Knicks. All wasn't so happy when the Pacers lost the title to the Los Angeles Lakers, four games to two. -- 2000 file photo   Special section • Star Century: 100 years of The Indianapolis Star

1911 -- The first Indianapolis 500 is held.

1919 -- Rene Thomas breaks the 100 mph barrier during Indy 500 qualifying.

1928 -- Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse, which would become a National Historic Landmark, opens with a crowd of 15,000 watching the Bulldogs defeat Notre Dame.

1954 -- Milan High School wins the state basketball title, which inspired the 1986 movie "Hoosiers."

1955 -- Oscar Robertson and the Attucks High School basketball team become what is believed to be the country's first black team with a black coach to win an integrated sports title.

1962 -- Parnelli Jones breaks the 150 mph barrier in Indy 500 qualifying.

1973 -- The Pacers win their third ABA title in four years.

1973 -- Driver David "Swede" Savage and a crew member are killed on the third and final day of a rain-shortened Indianapolis 500. Amid the gloom, which included driver Art Pollard's death in practice, the traditional victory banquet is canceled.

1974 -- Market Square Arena opens. It's home of the Pacers for 25 years and home ice for Wayne Gretzky's first professional team, the Racers, in 1978.

1976 -- The Pacers join the NBA.

1977 -- Tom Sneva breaks the 200 mph barrier in Indy 500 qualifying.

1977 -- A.J. Foyt becomes the first driver to win four Indy 500s, and Janet Guthrie becomes the first woman driver to compete in the race.

1984 -- It is the first season for the Indianapolis Colts after the franchise leaves Baltimore to play in what was then known as the Hoosier Dome.

1987 -- Al Unser wins the Indianapolis 500 to tie A.J. Foyt's record of four victories.

1987 -- Indianapolis is host to the Pan American Games.

1987 -- The Colts trade for running back Eric Dickerson, the only Hall of Famer who has played for the team since it moved to Indianapolis.

1990 -- A crowd of 41,046, still the largest ever at a high school basketball game, watches Damon Bailey and Bedford North Lawrence win the state title in the RCA Dome.

1991 -- Rick Mears wins the Indy 500, joining Foyt and Unser in the four-victory club.

1994 -- Al Unser Jr. wins the Indianapolis 500, giving his family -- including father Al and uncle Bobby -- 10 victories in the race.

1994 -- Jeff Gordon wins the inaugural Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

1995 -- Reggie Miller scores the last eight points to lead the Pacers to a stunning 107-105 comeback victory in the Eastern Conference semifinals at New York.

1996 -- The Colts come within one play of the Super Bowl, losing at Pittsburgh.

1999 -- The NCAA moves its headquarters to Indianapolis from Kansas City.

1999 -- Conseco Fieldhouse opens to rave reviews for its attention to the state's basketball history.

2000 -- The Pacers advance to the NBA Finals for the first time, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers, 4-2.

2000 -- The Indianapolis Motor Speedway adds a third event, a Formula One race.

2002 -- Indianapolis is host to the World Basketball Championship, won by Yugoslavia.

Call Star reporter Mark Alesia at 1-317-444-6039.

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