THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 8/2

1907 – “The Big Train” Walter Johnson makes his MLB debut on the mound, losing to Detroit. Johnson would go on to pitch for 21 years in the majors.

1921 – After three hours of deliberation, a Chicago jury acquits eight White Sox players in the Black Sox scandal.

1959 – Future Hall of Famer Willie McCovey hits his first career home run. He’d go on to hit 521 of them during his career.

1967 – The New Orleans Saints play in their first exhibition game, losing to the Rams 77-16.

1973 – George Brett makes his MLB debut, picking up a hit for the Royals in a 3-1 win over the White Sox.

1979 – New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson is killed in a plane crash while practicing takeoffs and landings near his home in Ohio.

1979 – The Baltimore Orioles are sold for $12.3 million. Keep this in mind for an entry below.

1982 – Rickey Henderson, then with the A’s, steals his 100^th base of the season, making him the first player in baseball’s modern era to have two 100 steal seasons.

1992 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee becomes the first athlete to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon.

1993 – The Baltimore Orioles are sold for a record price of $173 million. Nearly 50 million more than ever paid for a baseball team at the time.

1996 – The US men’s basketball team beats Yugoslavia to win the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics.

2005 – The largest trade in NBA history is agreed to as five teams and 13 players are involved. Key players moved in the deal include Antoine Walker going from Boston to Miami, Jason Williams also going to Miami from Memphis, and Eddie Jones going to the Grizzlies. New Orleans and Utah are also involved in the deal.

2012 – US gymnast Gabby Douglas becomes the third straight American to win the gold medal in the all-around competition at the Olympics.

2012 – Michael Phelps wins his 20^th Olympic medal, and 16^th gold, winning the 200 meter individual medley. With the win, he becomes the first male swimmer to win the same event at three straight Olympics.