Events in Sport
- 1906 Brooklyn Superbas MLB pitcher Harry McIntire no-hits Pittsburgh for 10 2/3 innings but loses in 13th, 1-0 on an unearned run
- 1909 Tour de France: François Faber of Luxembourg becomes the first foreigner to win the cycling classic
- 1918 Pittsburgh and Boston Braves play a MLB record 20 scoreless innings before Pirates win, 2-0 in 21
- 1924 Brooklyn pitcher Dazzy Vance strikes out a MLB record 7 consecutive batters as the Robins beat Cubs, 4-0
- 1928 Americans sweep medals at a rainy Olympic pole vault final in Amsterdam with Sabin Carr gold, from William Droegemuller and Charles McGinnis
- 1933 NY's future Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell sets MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings at 45 1/3 as Giants lose 3-1 v Boston Braves
- 1934 US Amateur Golf Championship format is changed to a 6-day event with no 36-hole stroke-play qualifying, and 36-hole matches for semi-finals and final
Olympic Games
1936 Adolf Hitler opens 11th Olympic Games in Berlin
Adolf Hitler
- 1941 NY Yankees pitcher Lefty Gomez sets MLB record for most walks in a shutout, issuing 11 in 9-0 win v St. Louis Browns
- 1945 NY Giants outfielder Mel Ott hits historic 500th MLB home run off Braves Johnny Hutchings, joins Babe Ruth & Jimmy Foxx as only players to reach milestone
- 1953 Boston Red Sox pitcher Ben Flowers sets then MLB record of 8 consecutive games in relief
- 1954 Tour de France: Louison Bobet of France wins by 15' 49" from Ferdinand Kübler, for the second of his 3 consecutive wins
Baseball Record
1957 Gil Hodges hits his 13th MLB career grand slam, a NL record and the last ever by a Brooklyn Dodgers player
Gil Hodges
- 1957 Ex MLB outfielder Glen Gorbous throws a regulation baseball a record 136m (445' 10") in a game promotion
Event of Interest
1961 Australian cricket captain Richie Benaud takes 6 for 70 in England's 2nd innings for a 54 run 4th Test win at Old Trafford
Richie Benaud
- 1962 Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Monboquette no-hits Chicago White Sox, 1-0
Davis Cup
1963 Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American tennis player to be named in the US Davis Cup team
Arthur Ashe
- 1964 Dan 'Big Daddy' Garlits becomes first drag racer to run the 1/4 mile at over 200mph (201.34mph at Island Dragway, New Jersey)
- 1965 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring to clinch his second F1 World Drivers Championship
- 1969 36th Chicago Charities College All-Star Game: NY Jets 26, All-Stars 24 (74,208)
- 1970 Future Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell smacks 3 doubles and 2 homers in a 20-10 Pirates win v Braves
- 1971 Richard Petty wins the Dixie 500 in Atlanta, Georgia to become the first NASCAR driver to win $1m in career earnings
- 1972 Nate Colbert hits MLB record tying 5 HRs and record 13 RBI as Padres beat Atlanta 9-0, 11-7 in a doubleheader
Event of Interest
1973 Struggling ABA club Virginia Squires trades star forward Julius Erving to New York Nets for George Carter and cash
Julius Erving
- 1976 21st Summer Olympic Games, Montreal, Canada: Officially close
- 1976 Seattle Seahawks take the field for the first time in pre-season game v SF 49ers at the newly constructed Kingdome in Seattle
- 1976 Reigning world F1 champion Niki Lauda of Austria suffers a near fatal crash during the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim
- 1977 San Francisco Giants 1st baseman Willie McCovey hits NL record 18th MLB career grand slam
- 1980 Gerd Wessig of East Germany becomes the first male to set a high jump world record at the Olympics (2.36m [7' 9"] Moscow)
- 1980 East German runner Waldemar Cierpinski wins his second consecutive Olympic Games marathon in 12:11:03 in Moscow
- 1982 American Greg Louganis becomes 1st diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives in winning 3m springboard gold, World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador
- 1982 East German swimmer Petra Schneider breaks her own 400m medley world record by 0:19 (4:36.10) at the World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador
- 1982 After the first 13 runnings of the midsummer classic, Darryl Waltrip becomes the first driver the win the Talladega 500 twice
- 1983 Despite brave 112no by David Gower, New Zealand wins 2nd Test at Headingley by 5 wickets, first ever NZ Test cricket victory in England
- 1985 St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Vince Coleman steals 2 bases in 1st inning of 9-8 loss v Cubs to set a NL rookie record 74
- 1986 Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven becomes 10th to reach 3,000 MLB strikeout milestone, 2-hits A's, 10-1
Boxing Title Fight
1987 Mike Tyson outpoints Tony Tucker in 12 in a heavyweight boxing unification matchup in Las Vegas, first to own all 3 major belts WBA, WBC and IBF at the same time
Mike Tyson
- 1989 Australia beats England by 9 wickets in the 4th Test at Old Trafford, taking an unassailable 3-0 series lead to regain the Ashes
- 1992 British athlete Linford Christie (32) becomes the oldest man to win an Olympic 100m gold medal edging Frankie Fredericks in Barcelona
- 1992 American sprinter Gail Devers wins an incredibly close blanket finish in the women's 100m at the Barcelona Olympics, with 5 athletes within 0.06 seconds of Devers (10.82)
Hall of Fame
1993 14-time MLB All Star Reggie Jackson is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY
Reggie Jackson
- 1993 England wins the women's cricket World Cup for the first time since the inaugural event in 1973 with a 67 run victory over New Zealand at Lord's
Event of Interest
1994 Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. becomes only the second player after Lou Gehrig to appear in 2,000 consecutive MLB games, in a 1-0 win vs Twins
Cal Ripken Jr
Lou Gehrig
- 1996 French sprinter Marie-José Pérec wins the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics to become only the 2nd athlete to win the 200-400m Olympic double (Valerie Brisco-Hooks 1984)
- 1996 American athlete Michael Johnson wins 200m at the Atlanta Olympics in a world record 19.32 seconds to become the first man to complete the 200m-400m double
- 1996 Tiffeny Milbrett scores the winner as the US beats China 2-1 at the Atlanta Olympics for the first ever Olympic gold medal in women's soccer
- 1996 Dan O'Brien wins the decathlon gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics to become the first American since Bruce Jenner in 1976 to win the gruelling event
- 1997 6th Athletics World Championships open at Athens, Greece
Golf Major
1999 Canadian Open Golf (du Maurier Classic), Priddis Greens GC: Australian Karrie Webb wins by 2 from Laura Davies of England
Laura Davies
- 2010 Australian Stuart Appleby finishes with an 11-under-59 to win the Greenbrier Classic at White Sulphur Springs, to become only the 5th player and first non-American to break 60 on the PGA Tour
- 2012 8 female badminton doubles players are disqualified from the 2012 Summer Olympics for attempting to manipulate the draw by throwing matches
- 2012 American Nathan Adrian clocks 47.52 in winning the 100m freestyle gold at the London Olympics, his first swim under 48 seconds
- 2012 Great Britain collects its first ever gold medal in women's rowing with Heather Stanning and Helen Glover in the coxless pairs at the London Olympics
- 2012 Bradley Wiggins' win in the London Olympics cycling time trial gives him the most aggregate medals (7) of any British Olympian (4 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
- 2014 Indiana Pacers NBA super-star Paul George suffers a gruesome compound fracture of his lower right leg in a Team USA scrimmage
- 2018 Australian Rugby League's 'Immortals' tally moves to 13 as pre-War stars Dally Messenger, Frank Burge & Dave Brown along with latter day giants Norm Provan & Mal Meninga are added
Birthdays in Sport
- 1856 George Coulthard, Australian rules footballer and cricketer (Test for Australia 1882), born in Victoria, Australia (d. 1883)
- 1861 Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (Australian batsman of 1880's), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 1951)
- 1871 John Lester, American cricketer, born in Penrith, Cumberland, England (d. 1969)
- 1894 Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (the first Italian winner of the Tour de France), born in San Martino di Colle Umberto, Italy (d. 1927)
- 1900 Otto Nothling, Australian rugby union player and cricketer (Test for Australia 1928, 52 runs aver 26), born in Witta, Queensland, Australia (d. 1965)
- 1901 Pancho Villa [Francisco Guilledo], Filipino world boxing champion, born in Ilog, Negros Occidental, Philippine Islands (d. 1925)
- 1910 Mahomed Nissar, Indian cricketer (pioneer Indian opening bowler in Tests), born in Hoshiarpur, India (d. 1963)
- 1920 Sammy Lee, American doctor and platform diver, 1st Asian American to win Olympic Gold (1948, 52), born in Fresno, California (d. 2016)
- 1921 Jack Kramer, American tennis star (Wimbledon 1947, US Open-1946), born in Las Vegas, Nevada (d.2009)
- 1924 Frank Worrell, West Indian cricketer (one of the three W's, inspiring WI captain), born in Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados (d. 1967)
- 1931 Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (South African opening batsman & opening bowler), born in Durban, Natal, South Africa (d. 2016)
- 1933 Masaichi Kaneda, Korean-Japanese baseball player, born in Heiwa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
- 1934 John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (lefty bat in 8 Tests for NZ 1953-56), born in Wellington, New Zealand (d. 2000)
- 1935 Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (England opening batsman late 50's early 60's), born in Swinton, Lancashire, England (d. 2014)
- 1940 Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire, born in Nailsea, Somerset
- 1947 Chris Barnard, Welsh footballer, born in Cardiff, Wales
- 1952 C. L. Whittington, American football defensive coach (Frankfurt Galaxy), born in Beaumont, Texas
- 1952 Yajurvindra Singh, Indian cricketer (Indian batsman late 70's), born in Rajkot, Gujarat
- 1955 Arun Lal, Indian cricketer (Indian batsman mid-80's), born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
- 1955 Trevor Berbick, Jamaican professional boxer, born in Norwich, Port Antonio, Jamaica (d. 2006)
- 1957 Glen Gorbous, Canadian MLB outfielder (record for longest throw of a regulation baseball [445' 10"]), born in Drumheller, Alberta (d. 1990)
- 1958 Tor Håkon Holte, Norwegian cross country skier, born in Drammen, Norway
- 1961 Andrew Nicholson, New Zealand equestrian 3 day event (Olympics 1996), born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand
- 1961 Brad Faxon Jr, American golfer (8 PGA Tour titles), born in Oceanport, New Jersey
- 1961 Danny Blind, Dutch soccer star (Sparta/Ajax), born in Vlissingen, Netherlands
- 1961 Mike Watkinson, English cricketer (England off-spinner all-rounder v WI 1995), born in Westhoughton, Lancashire
- 1962 Gertjan Verbeek, Dutch soccer player (SC Heerenveen), born in Deventer, Netherlands
- 1962 Joetta Clark, American 800m runner (Olympic-1992), born in East Orange, New Jersey
- 1964 Traci Phillips, American sprint kayaker (Olympics 1996), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- 1964 Andrew Wilson, Australian canoeist (Olympics-16-92, 96), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- 1966 Darryl Hall, CFL linebacker (Calgary Stampeders), born in Oscoda, Michigan
- 1966 Horacio de la Peña, Argentinian tennis star and coach, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
- 1966 Pat Carter, American NFL tight end (Arizona Cardinals), born in Sarasota, Florida
- 1967 Gregg Jefferies, American infielder (NY Mets, Royals, Phillies), born in Burlingame, California
- 1967 Lori Endicott, American volleyball setter (Olympic bronze 1992, 96), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- 1968 Rob Carpenter, American NFL wide receiver (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Amityville, New York
- 1968 Stacey Augmon, American NBA guard (Portland Trailblazers, Hawks), born in Pasadena, California
- 1969 Graham Thorpe, English cricketer (England LHB Century on Test debut 1993), born in Farnham, Surrey, England
- 1969 Kevin Jarvis, American baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds), born in Lexington, Kentucky
- 1970 Quentin Coryatt, American NFL linebacker (Indianapolis Colts), born in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 1970 David James, English footballer, born in Welwyn Garden City, England
- 1971 Fred Lester, American football player (Atlanta Falcons), born in Miami, Florida
- 1971 Julia Chilicki, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Somers, Connecticut
- 1971 Lisa Flood, Canadian 100m breaststroker (Olympics 1996), born in Scarborough, Ontario
- 1971 Shae Sloan, female pitcher (Colo Silver Bullets), born in Huntsville, Texas
- 1972 Karen Dalton, American diver (Olympics 1996), born in Mt View, California
- 1972 Martin Damm, Czech tennis star, born in Liberec, Czech Republic
- 1972 Matt Dyson, American NFL linebacker (Oakland Raiders), born in La Plata, Maryland
- 1973 Ben Johnson, Australian cricketer (promising South Australian opening batsman), born in Naracoorte, South Australia
- 1973 Gregg Berhalter, American soccer defender (Olympic gold 1996), born in Englewood, New Jersey
- 1973 Mario Bennett, American NBA forward (LA Lakers, Phoenix Suns), born in Denton, Texas
- 1973 Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian athlete, born in Izegem, Belgium
- 1974 Kerwin Waldroup, American football player (Detroit Lions), born in Country Club Hills, Illinois
- 1974 Beckie Scott, Canadian cross-country skiing athlete, born in Vegreville, Alberta, Canada
- 1976 David Nemirovsky, NHL right wing (Florida Panthers), born in Toronto, Ontario
- 1976 Eryn Bulmer, Canadian diver (Olympics 1996), born in Edmonton, Alberta
- 1976 Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian soccer player (Ajax), born in Owerri, Imo, Nigeria
- 1976 Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager (Galatasaray), born in Karataş, Turkey
- 1976 Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer, born in Horsens, Denmark
- 1976 Kevin Joseph, American baseball player, born in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
- 1977 Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Montreal, Quebec
- 1978 Edgerrin James, American football player (Indianapolis Colts), born in Immokalee, Florida
- 1978 Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer, born in Salisbury, Rhodesia
- 1979 Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer, born in Accra, Ghana
- 1980 Mancini [Alessandro Faiolhe Amantino], Brazilian footballer, born in Itapinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- 1981 Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer, born in Port Laoise, Ireland
- 1984 Bastian Schweinsteiger, German football player (Chicago Fire, German national team), born in Kolbermoor, West Germany
- 1986 Andrew Taylor, English footballer (Bolton Wanderers), born in Hartlepool, England
- 1986 Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player, born in Tibro, Sweden
- 1986 Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player, born in Lviv, Ukraine
- 1987 Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer, born in Seraing, Belgium
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1986 Tennis ace John McEnroe marries actress Tatum O'Neal
John McEnroe
Wedding of Interest
1995 F1 driver Michael Schumacher (26) weds Corinna Betsch in Kerpen, Germany
Michael Schumacher
Deaths in Sport
- 1916 Claude Newberry, South African cricket All-rounder (v England 1913-14), dies
- 1918 John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy, dies at 64
- 1929 Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (Australian captain pre-WWI), dies at 59
- 1932 Arnold Fothergill, cricketer (8 wickets in 2 Tests for Eng 1889), dies
- 1971 John McDermott, American golfer (US Open 1911-12), dies of mental illness at 79
- 1980 Patrick Depailler, French Formula 1 driver (b. 1944)
- 1992 Stanley Dudek, US platform diver (watershows), dies
- 1993 Ewing Kaufman, founder/owner (KC Royals), dies of lung cancer at 76
- 2001 Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
- 2008 Ashok Mankad, Indian cricketer (son of Vinoo, batted for India 1969-78), dies at 61
- 2010 Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby, cricket representative (international cricket umpire, rugby referee), dies at 99
August in History
![The Strange, Mysterious Story of the Balloon Expedition to the North Pole]()
The Strange, Mysterious Story of the Balloon Expedition to the North Pole
The discovery of Swedish engineer S. A. Andrée's tragic, long-lost polar expedition in 1930 led to more questions than answers.
August 5, 1930![A Pill to Cure All Ills]()
A Pill to Cure All Ills
Not well? Take a Beecham’s Pill was often the advice. So popular was it that nobody doubted it’s extravagant claim in the world’s first advertising slogan.
August 6, 1859![Why Mata Hari Was Not the Spy You Thought She Was]()
Why Mata Hari Was Not the Spy You Thought She Was
The controversial life and death of Mata Hari, the glamorous WWI double agent, executed in 1917, has recently been reassessed in the light of new evidence.
August 7, 1876![Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion]()
Ship Of Gold Sails Into Oblivion
A frigate with more than 150 souls on board, as well as nearly three tons of gold, sailed out of Melbourne on this day – never to be seen again.
August 12, 1853
