August 1988 in Sports History

Events in Sport

  • Aug 5 Thoroughbred trainer Dale Baird wins his 5,000th career race with Stuffed Johnnie at Mountaineer Park; second to reach milestone behind Jack Van Berg

Baseball Record

Aug 6 Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco becomes 11th MLB player to record 30 HRs & 30 steals in a season

  • Aug 6 Rich Gossage becomes the second player in MLB history to record 300 career saves as Cubs beat Phillies, 7-4
  • Aug 7 Future Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye wins his 4,000th career race aboard 2-year-old filly Fawn and Hahn in the 4th race at Del Mar
  • Aug 8 Cubs & Phillies attempt to play 1st night game ever at Wrigley Field but are rained out in 4th inning with Chicago leading, 3-1
  • Aug 8 Minnesota Twins pull 2nd triple-play of year in 6-2 win over Cleveland

US Senior Golf Open

Aug 8 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Medinah CC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by 2 strokes over New Zealander Bob Charles in an 18-hole playoff; his second straight US Senior title

  • Aug 9 Cubs beat Mets 6-4 in their 1st official night game at Wrigley Field

Sports History

Aug 9 Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky to LA Kings for $15-$20 millions

  • Aug 10 Matt Biondi swims world record 100m free style (48.42 sec)
  • Aug 11 225 at bats after #299, Met Gary Carter is 59th to hit 300th HR
  • Aug 12 Boston Red Sox beat Tigers 9-4 for AL record 23rd consecutive win at home
  • Aug 13 Boston Red Sox win AL record 24 straight home games
  • Aug 13 US beats Jamaica 5-1 in 2nd round of 1990 world soccer cup
  • Aug 14 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Oak Tree GC: Jeff Sluman wins his only major title by 3 shots from Paul Azinger

Sports History

Aug 19 NY Rangers sign ex-Canadien great Guy Lafleur out of retirement

Sports History

Aug 23 Mike Tyson & Mitch Green brawl at 4 A.M. in Harlem

Sports History

Aug 27 Dodger Tommy Lasorda wins 1,000th game as manager tops Philadelphia, 4-2

  • Aug 28 88th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Eric Meeks
  • Aug 30 Kent Tekulve is 2nd pitcher in majors to appear in 1,000 games

Birthdays in Sport

  • Aug 5 Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer (world record 200 meters, Olympic Gold 2008), born in Mirano, Italy
  • Aug 8 Danilo Gallinari, Italian basketball player
  • Aug 11 Patrick Mills, Australian basketball player
  • Aug 12 Tyson Fury, British heavyweight professional boxer, born in Manchester
  • Aug 21 Robert Lewandowski, Polish football player (Bayern Munich, Polish national team), born in Warsaw, Poland
  • Aug 23 Daniel Schwaab, German footballer, born in Waldkirch, Germany
  • Aug 23 Jeremy Lin, American NBA player (Toronto Raptors), born in Torrance, California
  • Aug 25 Angela Park, Brazilian-American golfer (US Open 2007 runner-up; Rookie of the Year 2007), born in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil
  • Aug 26 Wayne Simmonds, Canadian NHL hockey forward, 2008-present (Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and 3 other teams), born in Scarborough, Ontario
  • Aug 28 Ray Jones, English footballer, born in London, England (d. 2007)
  • Aug 30 Ernests Gulbis, Latvian tennis player, born in Riga, Latvia
  • Aug 31 David Ospina, Colombian football goalkeeper, born in Itagüí, Colombia

Deaths in Sport

  • Aug 8 Alan Ameche, American College Football Hall of Fame fullback (Heisman Trophy 1954, U of Wisconsin; Pro Bowl 1955–1958, NFL C'ship 1958, 59; Baltimore Colts), dies of a heart attack at 55
  • Aug 13 Edward Bennett Williams, American lawyer, team owner (Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles), dies of colon cancer at 68

Enzo FerrariEnzo Ferrari (1898-1988)

Aug 14 Italian racing car driver and founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and sportscar manufacturer Ferrari, dies at 90

  • Aug 25 Art Rooney, NFL Pittsburgh Steelers [Pirates] team founder,owner, and chairman, 1933-88, dies at 87
  • Aug 28 Paul Whitelaw, New Zealand cricket batsman (2 Tests; Auckland), dies at 78