PHOENIX — Today marks the anniversary of one of the most talked about moments in Arizona Diamondbacks history.
No, not the franchise's 2001 World Series championship. This iconic scene happened 21 years ago today on March 24, 2001.
In a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants "The Big Unit" went into his pitching motion, released the ball and struck a bird flying by.
The pitch was ruled dead and did not officially count. But it didn't make the moment any less memorable.
Outside of his baseball career Johnson will never outlive this moment. In fact, he has leaned into it and uses a graphic of an upside down bird as the logo for his photography business.
For even more Arizona connection, Calvin Murray, the uncle of now Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was the batter. Kyler was three years old at the time.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Cactus Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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