Events in Sport
- 1858 Louisiana chess prodigy Paul Morphy arrives in Europe
- 1879 Infielder William White plays one game for the Providence Grays with conjecture was the first African-American to play MLB even though he appeared Caucasian
- 1900 Dodgers score 7 in top of 11th to go ahead of Phillies, 20-13, In bottom of 11th Phillies stalls so umpire forfeits game to Dodgers
- 1904 Boston Herald tells of Red Sox trade "Dougherty as a Yankee," 1st known reference to NY club as Yankees (became Yankees in 1913)
- 1907 US Open Men's Golf, Philadelphia Cricket Club: Alec Ross of Scotland posts 4 sub-80 rounds to win his only major title, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Gilbert Nicholls
- 1907 British Open Golf, Royal Liverpool GC: Frenchman Arnaud Massy wins by 2 strokes from J.H. Taylor; first non-Briton to win Open Championship
- 1916 Boston Rube Forster no-hits NY Yankees, 2-0
- 1921 HSC '21 soccer team forms in Haaksbergen
- 1932 German champion Max Schmeling loses world heavyweight title in split points decision to Jack Sharkey in New York
- 1938 Baseball's Pinky Higgins gets 12th straight hit
Donald Bradman
Event of Interest
1939 NY Yankees announce Lou Gehrig's retirement after doctors reveal he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Lou Gehrig
Baseball Record
1950 Joe DiMaggio gets his 2,000th hit
Joe DiMaggio
- 1951 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Whitemarsh Valley CC: Patty Berg defeats Pat O'Sullivan, 2-up in the final
Golf Tournament
1952 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Skokie CC: Betsy Rawls defeats Betty Jameson, 1 up in the final
Betsy Rawls
US Golf Open
1965 US Open Men's Golf, Bellerive CC: Gary Player of South Africa beats Australian Kel Nagle by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff to win his only US Open title; completes his career Grand Slam at age 29
Gary Player
- 1967 Yanks take 5-3 lead in 11th & lose 6-5, in 2nd game Red Sox lead 3-2 in 9th & Yanks beat them 6-3
- 1969 John Pennel pole vaults world record (5.45 m)
- 1970 US Open Men's Golf Hazeltine National GC: Englishman Tony Jacklin shoots sub-par in all 4 rounds on his way to a 7-stroke win ahead of Dave Hill
FIFA World Cup
1970 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win World Cup 3 times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412
Pele
US Golf Open
1971 US Open Men's Golf, Merion GC: Lee Trevino wins his 2nd Open by 3 strokes in a Monday 18-hole playoff with Jack Nicklaus
Jack Nicklaus
- 1971 Indians Ken Harrelson retires from baseball to play pro golf
- 1975 West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs to win Cricket World Cup
- 1975 Ruffian leads all the way to win the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont and clinch American thoroughbred racing's Triple Tiara for fillies
- 1981 US Open Men's Golf, Merion GC: David Graham wins his second major title and becomes the first Australian to win the US Open, 3 strokes ahead of runners-up George Burns and Bill Rogers
Event of Interest
1983 Tennis ace Arthur Ashe undergoes double bypass heart surgery
Arthur Ashe
US Golf Open
1987 US Open Men's Golf, Olympic Club: Scott Simpson passes and holds off 1982 champion Tom Watson on the Lake Course to win his only major title by 1 stroke
Tom Watson
Event of Interest
1987 Mike Tyson sexually harasses a parking lot attendant
Mike Tyson
Event of Interest
1989 Yankees trade Rickey Henderson to A's for Plunk, Cadaret & Polonia
Rickey Henderson
- 1990 At Yankee Stadium rally, Nelson Mandela dons a NY Yankee baseball cap and proclaims "I am a Yankee!"
Hall of Fame
1991 NY Islanders Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy are elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame
Denis Potvin
Mike Bossy
- 1992 US Open Men's Golf, Pebble Beach GL: Perennial runner-up Tom Kite breaks through for his only major title, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Jeff Sluman
Event of Interest
1992 Last day of test cricket for Ian Botham and Allan Lamb
Ian Botham
Event of Interest
1994 German tennis superstar Steffi Graf becomes first defending champion to lose in the 1st round of a major tournament (Wimbledon to American Lorrie McNeal)
Steffi Graf
Event of Interest
1997 35th NHL draft Boston picks center Joe Thornton 1st
Joe Thornton
Boxing Title Fight
2002 Lennox Lewis retains boxing's WBC world Heavyweight crown with an eight round knockout over Mike Tyson
Lennox Lewis
Mike Tyson
- 2009 ICC Women's Cricket T20 World Cup, Lord's: England 86/4 win inaugural event; beat New Zealand 85; England's Katherine Brunt takes 3 for 6
- 2012 Miami Heat win the 2012 NBA finals after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to one
- 2012 66th NBA Championship: Miami Heat beat Oklahoma City Thunder, 4 games to 1
US Golf Open
2015 US Open Men's Golf, Chambers Bay GC: Jordan Spieth (21) becomes youngest winner since 1923 by 1 shot from Dustin Johnson & Louis Oosthuizen
Jordan Spieth
Birthdays in Sport
- 1866 Lena Rice, Irish tennis player (Wimbledon 1890), born in Marlhill, Ireland (d. 1907)
- 1884 Sir Gordon Lowe, British tennis player, Member of Parliament (Australasian C'ship 1915), born in Edgbaston, England (d. 1972)
- 1889 Ralph Craig, American athlete (Olympic gold 1912), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1972)
- 1905 Jacques Goddet, French sports journalist and publisher (Tour de France), born in Paris (d. 2000)
- 1918 Eddie Lopat, American baseball player (NY Yankees), born in NYC, New York (d. 1992)
- 1922 Jim McConnon, English cricketer (England off-spinner against Pakistan 1954), born in Burnopfield, England (d. 2003)
- 1927 Jackie Collum, baseball player
- 1929 Agha Saadat Ali, cricketer (Paki bat in Test v NZ 1956, scored 8*)
- 1930 Mike McCormack, NFL offensive tackle (NY Yankees, Cleveland, Philadelphia)
- 1931 Enzo Maiorca, Italian freediver (17 world records), born in Syracuse, Sicily (d. 2016)
- 1937 John Edrich, cricketer (England left-handed batsman, 310* v NZ 1965)
- 1938 James Botten, cricketer (all-rounder in 1965 South African series v England)
- 1944 Frans Luitjes, Dutch athlete
- 1948 Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (1st Indigenous Australian to win a world title), born in Drouin, Victoria (d. 2011)
- 1953 Charlie Moore Jr, baseball player
- 1954 Jeremy Coney, cricketer (NZ captain turned them into world-beaters)
- 1955 Michel Platini, French footballer
- 1956 Mikhail Burtsev, USSR, sabres (Olympic gold 1976)
- 1956 Rick Sutcliffe, pitcher (LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs)
- 1957 Vladimir Romanovsky, Slonim, Belarus, sprint canoer (Olympic gold 1972), (d. 2013)
- 1959 Tom Chambers, NBA forward, center (Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns)
- 1961 Karen Barber, ice skater
- 1962 Takeshi Asami, Japanese racing driver
- 1963 Jeff Musselman, baseball player
- 1963 Mike Sherrard, NFL wide receiver (NY Giants)
- 1966 David Williams, NFL tackle (Houston Oilers, NY Jets)
- 1967 Derrick Coleman, NBA forward (Philadelphia 76ers)
- 1967 Michele Smith, Califon NJ, softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996)
- 1967 Robert Drummond, CFL running back (Toronto Argonauts)
- 1968 Alastair Campbell Mackintosh, New Zealand coxless rower (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, New Zealand
- 1968 Darryl Shannon, Barrie, NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres)
- 1968 Henry Newby, NFL linebacker (Seattle Seahawks)
- 1969 Chris Perez, CFL tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
- 1969 Donovan Osborne, pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Roseville, California
- 1970 Brandon Moore, American NFL tackle (NE Patriots), born in Ardmore, Pennsylvania
- 1970 John Roethlisberger, American gymnast (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Afton, Minnesota
- 1971 Nicole Stevenson, Australian backstroker (Olympic bronze 1992, 96), born in Melbourne, Victoria
- 1971 Tyrone Drakeford, NFL cornerback (SF 49ers)
- 1972 Andrew Jordan, NFL tight end (Minnesota Vikings)
- 1972 Billy Milner, NFL tackle (Miami Dolphins)
- 1972 Heath Rylance, CFL quarterback (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
- 1972 Tony Berti, NFL tackle (San Diego Chargers)
- 1972 Neil Doak, former Irish cricketer
- 1973 Alyson Annan, Australian field hockey midfielder (Olympics 1996), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- 1973 Merlakia Jones, WNBA guard/forward (Cleveland Rockers)
- 1973 Sammie Burroughs, linebacker (Indianapolis Colts)
- 1974 Rob Kelly, safety (New Orleans Saints)
- 1974 Craig Lowndes, Australian racing driver
- 1974 Rob Kelly, American football player
- 1976 Antonio Cochran, American football player
- 1976 Nigel Lappin, Australian footballer
- 1978 Cristiano Lupatelli, Italian footballer
- 1978 Dejan Ognjanović, Montenegrin football player
- 1978 Matt Kuchar, American golfer (British Open 2017 runner-up), born in Winter Park, Florida
- 1980 Sendy Rleal, Dominican baseball player
- 1980 Richard Jefferson, American basketball player
- 1981 Yann Danis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 Anthony Morelli, American football player
- 1985 Byron Schammer, AFL footballer
- 1987 Dale Thomas, AFL footballer
- 1987 Sebastian Prödl, Austrian footballer
Weddings in Sport
- 1976 Country singer Reba McEntire (21) weds national steer wrestling champion Charlie Battles
Deaths in Sport
- 1907 Lena Rice, Irish tennis player (Wimbledon 1890), dies of tuberculosis at 41
- 1932 Marshall Taylor, American track cyclist and the first African American to achieve the level of world champion (1899 world track championships), dies from a heart attack at 53
- 1969 Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (1st woman Grand Slam 1953), dies of ovarian cancer at 34
- 1973 Frank Leahy, American football coach (Notre Dame), dies at 64
- 1989 Lee Quencey Calhoun, hurdler (Olympic gold 1956, 60), dies at 56
- 1998 Al Campanis, American baseball executive (b. 1916)
- 2003 Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey coach (b. 1934)
- 2008 Scott Kalitta, American drag racer (b. 1962)
June in History
!['Ship in Distress' Sails Into History Books]()
'Ship in Distress' Sails Into History Books
What was claimed to be the first trans-Atlantic crossing by a steam ship – even if sails helped – was completed on this day and is still celebrated
June 19, 1819!['Gorgeous Gussie' Shocks Wimbledon]()
'Gorgeous Gussie' Shocks Wimbledon
There is a strict dress code at Wimbledon and, as Gussie Moran discovered on this day in tennis history, tennis players break it at their peril.
June 20, 1949![Deadly Quest For The Northern Passage]()
Deadly Quest For The Northern Passage
For centuries mankind had sought the fabled Northern Passage - a new route for shipping from Europe to Asia. Explorer Henry Hudson's attempt did not go well.
June 22, 1611![How the Qwerty Keyboard was Born]()
How the Qwerty Keyboard was Born
A typewriter patent was granted on this day to the man who would go on to produce and inflict on us all the ubiquitous Qwerty keyboard.
June 23, 1868
