On This Day in Sport for July 31
Events in Sport
- 1910 Tour de France: Octave Lapize of France wins by just 4 points from Team Alcyon teammate François Faber of Luxembourg
- 1928 Halina Konopacka of Poland hurls discus world record 39.62m to win first gold medal in women's Olympic athletics at the Amsterdam Games; American Lillian Copeland and Ruth Sveberg of Sweden take minor medals
- 1928 In the first women’s Olympic track event, American sprinter Elizabeth Robinson equals her own world record 12.2s to win 100m gold medal in Amsterdam; Canadians Fanny Rosenfeld & Ethel Smith dead-heat (12.3s)
- 1930 NY Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig drives in 8 runs with a grand slam and 2 doubles in a 14-13 win over the rival Boston Red Sox
- 1932 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Paris, France: Home team wins 6th straight title as Jean Borotra beats American Wilmer Allison 1-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 for unassailable 3-1 lead; ends 3-2
- 1932 Cleveland Indians christen their new home, Municipal Stadium before more than 76,000 fans; lose opener, 1-0 to the Philadelphia A's
- 1932 26th Tour de France: French cyclist André Leducq wins after tallying 6 stage victories; his second Tour triumph (1930)
- 1934 International Lawn Tennis Challenge, Wimbledon: Fred Perry beats American Frank Shields 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 15-13 to give Great Britain unassailable 3-1 lead to retain title; ends 4-1
- More Events in Sport
Weddings in Sport
- 1999 NHL player Phil Esposito (57) weds Bridget Leigh
- 2004 "Ed" actor Tom Cavanagh (35) weds "Sports Illustrated" photo editor Maureen Grise (33) at a 19th-century, cedar-shingled Roman Catholic church in Nantucket, Massachusetts
Divorces in Sport
More Weddings & Divorces in Sport
Deaths in Sport
- 1911 Jack Edwards, cricketer (1888 Ashes tourist), dies
- 1917 Charlie Finlason, cricketer (South Africa's 1st Test), dies
- 1919 Dick Barlow, English cricket all-rounder (17 Tests, 2 x 50, 34 wickets, BB 7/40; Lancashire CCC), dies at 68
- 1927 Walter Travis, Australian-American golfer, writer, course designer (US Amateur C'ship 1900-01, 03; British Amateur 1904), dies at 65
July in Sport History
1st US Olympic Games
Poster promoting the 1904 Summer Olympic Games in St. Louis
July 1, 1904The Rise and Fall of Boris Becker
Boris Becker stunned the tennis world on this day by becoming the youngest player to win Wimbledon at just 17. But financial ruin lay ahead for the young star.
July 7, 1985Cricket's Most Prolific Run-Scorer Of All Time
A world record was set up on this day when Graham Gooch, captain of England, stepped up to the crease at Lord’s, the legendary home of cricket.
July 31, 1990