The first win in any winning streak is often the toughest, and that applied on April 13, 1957 when the Boston Celtics first landed an NBA championship, going the distance against the St Louis Hawks.
Jack Nicklaus' glory day at Augusta in 1986 turned out to be the last of his 18th majors, while 11 years later Tiger Woods secured a first-time Green Jacket success.
April 13 was a day for farewells for Kobe Bryant in 2016, when the US basketball great played his final game and made it one to remember.
Here, we take a look back at those memorable moments that happened on this day in history.
1957 - Celtics sink St Louis to launch dynasty
The Boston Celtics won its first 11 championships in a 13-season hot streak, starting here at the expense of the St Louis Hawks. The 1957 NBA Finals proved nip and tuck, all the way to the climax in Boston.
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Games 7 went to double overtime as the Celtics snuck a 125-123 win, Bill Russell with 19 points and a remarkable 32 rebounds in the game as the Red Auerbach era had its lift-off moment.
1986 - Jack is back! Veteran Nicklaus lands final Masters Green Jacket
Jack Nicklaus had not won a major since landing his record-extending 17th big one at the 1980 US PGA Championship. He remained a competitive player but the wins were drying up, just two having come on the PGA Tour in the years since that Oak Hill success before he began his 1986 tilt at The Masters.
It was therefore against almost all expectations that Nicklaus, at the age of 46, won the Green Jacket for a record sixth time, 23 years after his first success at Augusta National.
He was nowhere to be seen on the leaderboard at halfway but gradually crept into contention, and a rollicking charge over the final 10 holes on the Sunday brought him glory, with six birdies, an eagle at 15 and just one dropped shot over that stretch enough to see off Tom Kite, Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros.
1997 - Woods conquers Augusta, launches Tiger era
Eleven years after Nicklaus last ruled the roost at Georgia's most celebrated course, Tiger Woods' time arrived at Augusta.
A year earlier, Woods had missed the cut in his second Masters appearance as an amateur. But this time he slayed the field, becoming the tournament's youngest champion at the age of 21 and winning by a record 12 shots on an 18-under-par 270.
Woods was by now in the professional ranks, and this performance confirmed the arrival of a new main man on tour.
2016 - Kobe signs off with 60-point flourish
If his Los Angeles Lakers team-mates weren't going to raise their game for the big send-off, Kobe Bryant realised he would have to take charge for his last outing before retirement.
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At the end of their wretched season, the Lakers looked spent as they trailed the Utah Jazz by 15 points at one stage. But Bryant wasn't done, and he stepped up to levels not seen for several seasons, bagging a 60-point haul in a 101-96 win for LA.
"Mamba out!" he declared, addressing the fans who in 2020 would mourn the death of their hero in a helicopter crash.
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