July 1939 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Sports History

Jul 4 Lou Gehrig is first MLB player to have his number (4) retired on his "Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium, makes iconic "luckiest man" speech

Jul 4 Red Sox 3rd baseman Jim Tabor hits record-tying 2 grand slams in one MLB game, 18-12 win v Phillies
Jul 7 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: In the last Open played for 7 years, due to WWII, England's Dick Burton wins by 2 strokes from American Johnny Bulla

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 7 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Bobby Riggs beats fellow American Elwood Cooke 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 for Wimbledon sweep, also won doubles & mixed doubles titles

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 8 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Alice Marble wins her only Wimbledon singles title beating Kay Stammers of England 6-2, 6-0

Jul 9 A meeting of 6,000 Indians, held at the Indian Sports Ground in Johannesburg South Africa, launch the Passive Resistance Campaign against apartheid and racial policy in South Africa
Jul 11 7th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 3-1 at Yankee Stadium, New York NY Yankee/AL maanager Joe McCarthy starts 6 Yankees

PGA Championship

Jul 17 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Pomonok CC: 1938 Masters champion Henry Picard wins his 2nd major title defeating Byron Nelson with a birdie at the 37th hole

Jul 25 New York Yankees starting pitcher Atley Donald sets American League rookie record for consecutive wins; beats St. Louis Browns 5-1 for his 12th straight victory
Jul 26 Yankee catcher Bill Dickey hits 3 consecutive HRs
Jul 30 Tour de France: Sylvère Maes of Belgium wins his 3rd title from Frenchman René Vietto

Birthdays in Sport

Jul 5 Booker Edgerson, American football player, born in Baxter County, Arkansas
Jul 6 Helena Dupont, American equestrian 3-day even (Olympic-33rd place-1964), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jul 6 Man Mohan Sood, Indian cricketer (scored 0 & 3 in his only Test for India), born in Lahore, Punjab
Jul 6 Mary Peters, English pentathlete (Olympic gold 1972), born in Halewood, Lancashire
Jul 6 Renton Laidlaw, Scottish golf broadcaster and journalist (President Association of Golf Writers 1995-2015; BBC Radio), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 2021)
Jul 11 Larry Laoretti, American golfer (US Senior Open 1992), born in Mahopac, New Jersey
Jul 15 Don Kojis, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1968, 69; Detroit Pistons, SD Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2021)
Jul 15 Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricket off-spinner (12 Tests 1958-62)
Jul 18 Jerry Moore, American football player and coach, born in Bonham, Texas
Jul 21 Helmut Haller, German soccer forward (33 caps West Germany; FC Augsburg, Bologna FC, Juventus), born in Augsburg, Germany (d. 2012)
Jul 24 Bob Lilly, NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys)

Jul 24 Walt Bellamy, American Basketball Hall of Fame center (NBA All-Star 1962–65; NBA Rookie of Year 1962; Olympic gold 1960), born in New Bern, North Carolina (d. 2013)
Jul 27 Irv Cross, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 1964, 65; Philadelphia Eagles) and broadcaster (CBS), born in Hammond, Indiana (d. 2021)
Jul 31 Norm Snead, American NFL quarterback (4-time Pro Bowl; Philadelphia Eagles), born in Halifax County, Virginia
Jul 31 Roger Prideaux, English cricketer (England batsman in 3 Tests 1968-69), born in Chelsea, London
Jul 31 Vic Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1965; Gold Glove 1964), born in Cabimas, Venezuela

Deaths in Sport

Jul 7 Deacon White, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (NL batting champion, RBI leader 1877); Boston Red Stockings), dies from heat stroke at 91
Jul 19 Tom Hayward, English cricket batsman (35 Tests, 3 x 100; HS 137; Surrey CCC), dies at 68
Jul 26 Billy Murphy, New Zealand boxer (world featherweight champion 1890; first world champion in any class from NZ), dies at 75