THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 8/17

1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians dies after being hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays of the Yankees a day earlier. He’s the only MLB player ever to be killed by a pitched ball.

1933 – Lou Gehrig sets an MLB record by playing in his 1,308th consecutive game.

1957 – Phillies slugger Richie Ashburn hits the same fan with a foul ball twice in one game. The first foul ball hits a woman in face, breaking her nose. As she’s being helped out on a stretcher, another Ashburn foul ball hits her again.

1966 – Willie Mays moves into second place on the career home run list.

1969 – The Jets and Giants face off on the football field for the first time with the Jets getting a 37-14 win in an exhibition game.

1973 – Willie Mays hits career home run #660. It is the final homer of his career.

1984 – Pete Rose heads back to Cincinnati as a player-manager.

1986 – Pete Rose strikes out in his final career at bat.

1990 – Carlton Fisk hits his 187th homerun as a member of the Chicago White Sox, a franchise record. 

2008 – Rafael Nadal beats Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez at Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Spaniard to win Olympic Gold in tennis.