Happy birthday, Colorado — and Colorado sports.

Leading into the state’s 150th birthday Aug. 1, The Denver Gazette has partnered with the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame to publicize the definitive list of Colorado’s top 150 sports moments.

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian Dave Plati and a committee of 10 compiled and will release the list every week until the No. 1 moment on July 31. Plati and Broncos icon Jim Saccomano will unveil the list weekly on a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame podcast at coloradosports.org/podcast/.

No. 145

June 2, 1987 

The Denver Zephyrs’ Joey Meyer hit what many have documented as the second-longest home run in baseball history — 582 feet — in the Zephyrs’ 14-7 win over the Buffalo Bisons. Meyer’s shot landed in the upper deck in left field of Mile High Stadium’s massive east stands. Meyer hit three homers that night, driving in seven runs. The longest blast came on a 2-2 pitch from Mike Murphy in the bottom of the seventh inning. On Sept. 10, 1960, in Detroit, Mickey Mantle hit a homer estimated at 643 feet. Mantle’s shot in the Yankees’ 5-1 win over the Tigers is universally considered the longest home run.

—Dave Plati, Colorado Sports Hall of Fame historian