August 1987 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Boxing Title Fight

Aug 1 Mike Tyson outpoints Tony Tucker in 12 rounds in a heavyweight boxing unification matchup in Las Vegas; first to own all 3 major belts WBA, WBC and IBF simultaneously

  • Aug 2 Cincinnati outfielder Eric Davis is 7th to hit 30 HRs & steal 30 bases in one season as he homers in Reds 5-4 win v Giants

Federation Cup

Aug 2 Federation Cup Tennis Final: Steffi Graf & Claudia Kohde-Kilsch beat Chris Evert & Pam Shriver in the doubles as Germany beats US 2-1 in Vancouver, Canada

  • Aug 2 Michael Andretti runs fastest Indy car race in history (171.49mph) in winning the Marlboro 500 at the Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan
  • Aug 3 Detroit Tigers ace Jack Morris ties AL record with 5 wild pitches in a 4-2, 10 innings loss v Kansas City Royals
  • Aug 3 Twins pitcher Joe Niekro is caught with a file on the mound in 11-3 win v Angels, ejected and suspended for 10 games
  • Aug 7 Javed Miandad becomes first to score 6,000 Test runs for Pakistan as he cracks 260 in drawn 5th Test v England at The Oval
  • Aug 8 Brewers' Rob Deer struck-out 5 times in a game
  • Aug 9 LA Rams beat Dallas Cowboys 28-27 in London, England (NFL expo)

PGA Championship

Aug 9 PGA Championship Men's Golf, PGA National Palm Beach: Larry Nelson wins 2nd PGA C'ship in a playoff with fellow American Lanny Wadkins

  • Aug 10 Kevin Gross is 2nd pitcher in 8 days to be ejected for scuffing ball

World Record

Aug 13 Jackie Joyner-Kersee ties world record with 24'5½" jump

Baseball Record

Aug 14 Oakland's Mark McGwire sets rookie HR record at 39, en route to 49

  • Aug 16 NY Mets beat Chicago Cubs, 23-10 at Wrigley Field, Chicago; Greg Maddox records the loss

Baseball Record

Aug 17 Bunt single gives Milwaukee Brewers' Paul Molitor longest MLB hit streak of 1980's at 32 games

Hall of Fame

Aug 17 Muhammad Ali elected to "Ring" magazine's Boxing Hall of Fame

  • Aug 18 Houston Oiler Earl Campbell, retires from NFL
  • Aug 21 "Mack Lobell" set harness racing's trotting mil (1:52)
  • Aug 26 Paul Molitor goes 0-for-4 ends hitting streak at 39 consecutive games
  • Aug 28 2nd Athletics World Championships open at Rome, Italy

Baseball Record

Aug 29 Nolan Ryan passes the 200-strikeout barrier for record 11th time

Sports History

Aug 29 Portuguese athlete Rosa Mota wins Women's Marathon at World Chapionships in Rome in 2hr 25:17mins

Sports History

Aug 30 2nd World Championships in Athletics: Carl Lewis wins gold in 100m after Ben Johnson is disqualified

  • Aug 30 87th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Billy Mayfair

Baseball Record

Aug 30 Kirby Puckett goes 6-for-6 with 2 HRs in Minn 10-6 win over Milwaukee

  • Aug 30 Knuckleballer Charlie Hough on the mound, Rangers catcher Geno Petralli ties the major league record by allowing 6 passed balls
  • Aug 30 Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria sets high jump woman's record 2.09m (6'10½"), one of the most long-standing records in athletics
  • Aug 30 Yves Pol of France runs complete marathon backwards (3:57:57)
  • Aug 31 Curtis Strange sets golf's earning for year record ($697,385)
  • Aug 31 The Great Potato Incident: Minor league Williamsport Bills catcher Dave Bresnahan attempts to lure an opposing baserunner off third base using a potato carved to look like a baseball. Umpire calls runner safe, and the catcher is fined $50 and released by the team [1] [2]

Birthdays in Sport

  • Aug 1 Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer, born in Seraing, Belgium
  • Aug 7 Sidney Crosby, Canadian hockey player, born in Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Aug 11 Nkem Ojougboh, American basketball player
  • Aug 14 Tim Tebow, American NFL quarterback (Heisman Trophy 2007, BCS National C'ship 2006, 08; U of Florida; Denver Broncos), born in Makati, Philippines
  • Aug 19 Nico Hülkenberg, German racing car driver, born in Emmerich am Rhein, West Germany
  • Aug 19 Richard Stearman, English footballer, born in Wolverhampton, England
  • Aug 20 Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast (3 Olympic gold 2004), born in Constanța, Romania
  • Aug 24 Anže Kopitar, Slovenian ice hockey player, born in Jesenice, Slovenia
  • Aug 24 Jon Scheyer, American-Israeli basketball player, born in Northbrook, Illinois
  • Aug 25 James Wesolowski, Australian footballer
  • Aug 25 Justin Upton, American baseball player
  • Aug 27 Darren McFadden, American football player
  • Aug 29 Tony Kane, Irish footballer, born in Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Aug 31 Petros Kravaritis, Greek footballer

Deaths in Sport

  • Aug 23 Didier Pironi, French racing car driver (b. 1952)
  • Aug 24 Malcolm Kirk, English wrestler (b. 1936)
  • Aug 26 John Goddard, West Indian cricket all-rounder and captain (27 Tests @ 30.67; 33 wickets; Barbados), dies at 68