Events in Sport
- 1882 National League expels umpire Richard Higham from baseball for dishonesty after his links with gambling on games are confirmed
- 1899 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Marion Jones beats Maud Banks 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 for her first of 2 US singles titles
- 1905 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Philadelphia CC: Elisabeth Moore wins her 4th US singles title; beats Helen Homans 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
- 1910 50th British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: James Braid wins Championship for a 5th time, 4 strokes ahead of fellow Scot Sandy Herd (1902 champion)
- 1913 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Liverpool GC: Englishman J H Taylor wins Championship for a 5th and final time, 8 strokes ahead of defending champion Ted Ray
- 1922 American Professional Football Association renamed the National Football League
Event of Interest
1922 Charter NFL club Chicago Staleys renamed Chicago Bears by team founder, owner and head coach George Halas
George Halas
US Golf Open
1928 US Open Men's Golf, Olympia Fields CC: Johnny Farrell defeats amateur Bobby Jones by 1 stroke in a 36-hole playoff to win his only major title
Bobby Jones
Baseball Record
1936 Rookie outfielder Joe DiMaggio ties 3 MLB records in New York's 10-run 5th inning against the White Sox, hitting 2 home runs for 8 total bases; Yankees beat Chicago, 18-4
Joe DiMaggio
- 1947 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Plum Hollow CC: Jim Ferrier becomes first Australian to win a major title; beats Chick Herbert, 2 & 1
Event of Interest
1947 Future Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Jackie Robinson steals home for first of 19 times in his career as the Brooklyn Dodgers beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2
Jackie Robinson
- 1950 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Cherry Hills CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins her 4th Western Open; beats Peggy Kirk, 5 & 3
Baseball Event
1955 Harmon Killebrew hits his 1st HR (off Billy Hoeff)
Harmon Killebrew
- 1956 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Forest Lake CC: Marlene Hagge wins her only major title; beats Patty Berg by 2 strokes in a sudden-death playoff
- 1962 Outfielder Jack Reed hits his only MLB home run in the 22nd-inning as NY Yankees edge Detroit Tigers, 9-7 in slowest extra-inning game in league history; 7:00 hours
LPGA Championship
1968 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pleasant Valley CC: Canadian Sandra Post wins an 18-hole playoff against Kathy Whitworth by 7 strokes
Kathy Whitworth
Boxing Title Fight
1968 Joe Frazier stops Mexican challenger Manuel Ramos in 2nd round TKO at NYC's Madison Square Garden in his first heavyweight boxing title defence
Joe Frazier
- 1972 South African runner Danie Malan sets a new 1,000m world record 2:16.0 in Munich, Germany
- 1974 India is dismissed for 42 in 17 overs in 2nd Test defeat to England at Lord's; lowest total in country's Test cricket history; Chris Old 5-21, Geoff Arnold 4-19
- 1974 Kansas City pitcher Steve Busby retires first 9 White Sox to set AL record with 33 consecutive batsmen retired; Royals still lose, 3-1 to Chicago
Baseball Record
1979 Rickey Henderson debuts for Oakland & steals his 1st base
Rickey Henderson
Event of Interest
1984 Joe Morgan sets career HR mark for 2nd basemen with #265
Joe Morgan
Event of Interest
1984 Senior Tournament Players Championship Men's Golf, Canterbury GC: Arnold Palmer wins 2nd straight Champions Tour major by 3 strokes ahead of Peter Thomson of Australia
Arnold Palmer
- 1987 CFL's Montreal Alouettes fold
- 1987 Salt Lake City Trappers begin pro baseball record 29 consecutive win streak
- 1988 Cleve pitcher Doug Jones sets record of 14 consecutive saves
- 1988 Red Sox begin AL record 23rd consecutive home win streak
- 1989 Cards Vince Coleman steals record 39th & 40th consecutive bases
- 1991 NHL adopts instant-replay and tenth of second clock in final minute
- 1992 Commissioner Fay Vincent permanently bans Steve Howe from baseball
Event of Interest
1992 NBA Draft: LSU center Shaquille O'Neal first pick by Orlando Magic
Shaquille O'Neal
- 1995 Stanley Cup Final, Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: New Jersey Devils beat Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 for a 4-0 series sweep; Devils' first Stanley Cup finals appearance
- 1995 3rd Rugby World Cup, Ellis Park, Johannesburg: Springboks fly-half Joel Stransky lands the winning drop goal in extra time as South Africa beats New Zealand, 15-12
Baseball Record
1997 Despite an AL record 19-strikeout performance by Randy Johnson, A's first baseman Mark McGwire hits a massive 538 foot home run in Oakland's 4-1 defeat of Seattle Mariners
Mark McGwire
- 1998 NBA Draft: Pacific center Michael Olowokandi first pick by Los Angeles Clippers
LPGA Championship
2001 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: 26 year old Australian Karrie Webb becomes youngest woman to win career slam; beats runner-up Laura Diaz by 2 strokes
Karrie Webb
- 2004 NBA Draft: Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy power forward Dwight Howard first pick by Orlando Magic
Appointment of Interest
2009 Mike Babcock is named head coach of Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics (they would win the gold medal)
Mike Babcock
- 2010 In the longest match in tennis history, American John Isner defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon after 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over 3 days
- 2010 NBA Draft: Kentucky point guard John Wall first pick by Washington Wizards
- 2011 NHL Draft: Red Deer Rebels (WHL) center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first pick by Edmonton Oilers
- 2012 Female athletes will be allowed to compete for Saudi Arabia at the Olympics for the first time
- 2013 Stanley Cup Final, TD Garden, Boston, MA: Chicago Blackhawks defeat Boston Bruins, 3-2 for 4-2 series victory; Blackhawks' 5th Championship
- 2014 Sidney Crosby wins the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for the 2014 NHL season
- 2015 Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price wins the 2014-15 Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP
- 2016 NHL Draft: ZSC Lions (NLA) center Auston Matthews first pick by Toronto Maple Leafs
- 2017 World record for highest altitude football match ever played at 18,799ft on Mount Kilimanjaro by women's international team
Birthdays in Sport
Ambrose Bierce
1842 Ambrose Bierce, American writer and satirist (Devil's Dictionary, Nuggets & Dust), born in Meigs County, Ohio (d. 1914)
Ambrose Bierce
- 1882 Carl Diem, German Olympic official (d. 1962)
Jack Dempsey
1895 Jack Dempsey, American boxer (world heavyweight champion 1919-26), born in Manassa, Colorado (d. 1983)
Jack Dempsey
- 1901 Chuck Taylor, American Basketball Hall of Fame promoter (Converse All Star shoes), born in Azalia, Indiana (d. 1969)
- 1903 Ernest Leslie Bouts, motor-racing driver
- 1907 Rollie Hemsley, American baseball catcher (5-time MLB All Star), born in Syracuse, Ohio (d. 1972)
- 1911 Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentine auto racer (World F1 champion 1951, 1954-57), born in Balcarce, Argentina (d. 1995)
- 1912 Brian Johnston, British cricket commentator (BBC radio commentator & cake connoisseur), born in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire (d. 1994)
- 1919 Don Salls, American football linebacker (Alabama) and coach (Jacksonville State University 1946-52, 1954-64), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 2021)
- 1924 Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1991)
- 1931 Billy Casper, American golfer (US Open 1959, 66; US Masters 1970), born in San Diego, California (d. 2015)
- 1938 Boris Lagutin, USSR, light-middleweight boxer (Olympic gold 1964, 68)
- 1938 Don Mincher, Huntsville, Alabama, Major League Baseball 1st baseman, (d. 2012)
- 1941 Graham McKenzie, cricketer (prolific Australian pace bowler 1961-71)
- 1943 Carole Caldwell Graebner, American tennis player (US Open 1965, Australian Open doubles 1966), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)
- 1945 Betty Stove, Netherlands, tennis player (US Doubles 1972)
- 1951 Ivar Formo, Norwegian 50K cross country skier (Olympic gold 1976)
- 1951 Raelene Boyle, Australia, sprinter (Olympic silver 1972)
- 1951 Ken Reitz, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1980; Gold Glove Award 1975; St. Louis Cardinals), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2021)
- 1955 Loren Roberts, American golfer (British Senior Open 2006, 09; US Open 1994 runner-up), born in San Luis Obispo, California
- 1958 T. C. Chen, Taiwanese golfer (US Open 1985 runner-up), born in Taipei City, Taiwan
- 1959 Rob Delahaye, soccer player (MVV)
- 1960 Juli Inkster, American golfer (7 LPGA major titles; US Open 1999, 2002), born in Santa Cruz, California
- 1960 Nate Carr, freestyle wrestler (Olympic bronze 1988), born in Erie Pennsylvania
- 1961 Bernie Nicholls, Haliburton, NHL center (Chicago Blackhawks)
- 1961 Natalya Shaposhnikova, USSR, sidehorse vaulter (Olympic gold 1980)
- 1963 Duval Love, NFL guard (Arizona Cardinals)
- 1963 Preki, Serbian-born American soccer player
- 1964 Gary Suter, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks, USA), born in Madison, Wisconsin
- 1965 Patrick Jeffrey, diver (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Morristown, New Jersey
- 1965 Shane Churla, Fernie, NHL right wing (LA Kings, NY Rangers)
- 1965 Uwe Krupp, NHL defenceman (Colo Avalanche, Germany 98), born in Cologne, Germany
- 1967 Bill Huard, Welland, NHL left wing (Dallas Stars)
- 1969 Melissa Gurney, California, tennis player (Virginia Slims of SD, 1986)
- 1969 Sean Maye, 400m/800m runner
- 1969 Todd Lewis, 10k runner, born in Flint, Michigan
- 1969 Thabo Mngomeni, Cape Town, South African football player
- 1970 Carlos Yancy, NFL cornerback (NE Patriots)
- 1971 LaMonte Coleman, NFL fullback (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 1972 Mitch Berger, punter (Minnesota Vikings)
- 1972 Shawn King, NFL defensive end (Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers)
- 1972 Robbie McEwen, Australian cyclist
- 1973 Jere Lehtinen, Espoo Fin, NHL right wing (Dallas Stars, Olympic bronze 1998)
- 1973 Michael Cheever, American NFL corner (Jacksonville Jaguars), born in Newnan, Georgia
- 1973 Karen Stupples, English golfer (Women's British Open 2004), born in Dover, Kent
- 1974 Adam Treu, guard/tackle (Oakland Raiders)
- 1974 Carrie Zarse, diver (Olympics 1996), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1975 Marek Malik, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 Tyce Routson, Bellevue Wash, diver (Olympics 1996)
- 1977 Cliff Bayer, American fencer-foil (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
- 1977 Dimosthenis Dikoudis, Greek basketball player
- 1978 Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
- 1978 Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
- 1978 Juan Román Riquelme, Argentine footballer
- 1978 Luis García, Spanish footballer
- 1980 Cicinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 Andrew Jones, Australian racing driver
- 1982 Kevin Nolan, English footballer
- 1982 Jarret Stoll, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 J.J. Redick, American basketball player
- 1986 Stuart Broad, English cricketer
- 1986 Phil Hughes, American baseball player
- 1987 Arturo Lupoli, Italian footballer
Lionel Messi
1987 Lionel Messi, Argentine soccer striker (6 x FIFA Ballon d’Or; 6 x European Golden Shoes; 10 x La Liga titles; 4 x UEFA Champions League; 6 x Copas del Rey; FC Barcelona), born in Rosario, Argentina
Lionel Messi
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
1914 MLB greatest pitcher Walter Johnson (26) weds Hazel Lee Roberts in Northwest, Washington, D.C.
Walter Johnson
Wedding of Interest
1934 Golfer Byron Nelson (22) weds Louise Shofner
Byron Nelson
Wedding of Interest
1967 NFL running back, broadcaster, actor and later criminal O.J. Simpson (19) marries Marguerite Whitley
O.J. Simpson
Divorces in Sport
Divorce of Interest
1997 Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry (30) divorces MLB outfielder David Justice (31) after more than 4 years of marriage
Halle Berry
David Justice
Deaths in Sport
Clarence Campbell
1984 Clarence Campbell, Canadian NHL president, dies at 78
Clarence Campbell
- 1987 Hophnie Hobah Hines Johnson, cricketer (3 Tests for WI), dies
- 1987 Hines Johnson, West Indian cricket fast bowler (3 Tests; first WI fast bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test), dies at 76
- 1992 Len Darling, Australian cricketer (South Australian & Test batsman of 30's), dies at 82
- 1993 Archie Williams, American athlete (Olympic gold 400m 1936), dies of a heart attack at 78
- 1995 Inshan Ali, West Indian cricketer (WI chinaman bowler 1971-77), dies at 45
- 2007 Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1938)
- 2008 Viktor Kuzkin, Soviet ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72), dies at 67
- 2011 Tomislav Ivić, Croatian football manager (b. 1933)
- 2020 Eddie Kasko, American baseball infielder (MLB All Star 1961, 1961²; Cincinnati Reds) and manager (Boston Red Sox), dies at 88
