Events in Sport
Patterson KOs Tita
Aug 2 17 year-old future world champion Floyd Patterson wins the gold medal in the middleweight division at the Helsinki Olympic Games with a 1st round KO of Romanian Vasile Tita
F1 World Champion
Aug 3 Italian Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari clinches Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by winning German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring
- Aug 3 XV Summer Olympic Games close in Helsinki, Finland
Sports History
Aug 6 St. Louis Browns veteran pitcher Satchel Paige, 46, becomes oldest pitcher to win a complete shutout, 1-0 v Detroit Tigers in 12 innings
Olympic Gold
Aug 27 Having already won 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals, Czech star Emil Zátopek claims rare Olympic treble taking out Helsinki Games marathon in OR 2:23:03.2
Birthdays in Sport
- Aug 1 Yajurvindra Singh, Indian cricketer (Indian batsman late 70's), born in Rajkot, Gujarat
- Aug 2 Angel Herrera, Cuban FW/LW boxer (Olympic gold 1976, 80), born in Guantánamo, Cuba
- Aug 3 Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentine soccer player, born in Córdoba, Argentina
- Aug 4 Daniel Bautista, Mexican race walker (Olympic gold 20k 1976; 3 x 20k WR holder), born in El Salado, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
- Aug 6 Wojiech Fortuna, Polish ski jumper (Olympic gold 1972)
- Aug 8 Sudhakar Rao, Indian cricketer
- Aug 9 John Cappelletti, American College Football Hall of Fame running back (Heisman Trophy 1973, Penn State; NFL: LA Rams, SD Chargers), born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
- Aug 12 Charles Whiting, English Formula 1 Race Director (Safety Delegate, Starter, head F1 Technical Dep't), born in Sevenoaks, Kent (d. 2019)
- Aug 14 Debbie Meyer, American 200m/400m/800m swimmer (Olympic 3 gold-68), born in Annapolis, Maryland
- Aug 16 Mahes Goonatillake, cricketer (Sri Lankan keeper in their 1st 5 Tests)
Guillermo Vilas (71 years old)
Aug 17 Argentine tennis player (4-time Grand Slam winner), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nelson Piquet (71 years old)
Aug 17 Brazilian auto racer, 3-time Formula One champ (1981, '83, '87), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Mike Shanahan (71 years old)
Aug 24 American football coach (Denver Broncos), born in Oak Park, Illinois
Deaths in Sport
- Aug 30 (Joseph) "Arky" Vaughan, American Baseball HOF shortstop (9 × MLB All-Star; NL batting champion 1935; NL stolen base leader 1943; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers), dies in a boating accident at 40
