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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 9/20

1902 – White Sox pitcher Jimmy Callahan throws a no-hitter against the Tigers.

1908 – White Sox pitcher Frank Smith throws his second no-hitter, this time against Philadelphia.

1919 – Babe Ruth ties Ned Williamson’s single-season record of 27 home runs.

1924 – Cubs pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander picks up career win #300.

1932 – The Cubs clinch the National League pennant.

1933 – The Pittsburgh Steelers, then known as the Pirates, play their first NFL game. 

1952 – Morton High School plays its first ever varsity football game. The Governors, coached by Maury Zlotnik, travel to the shores of Lake Michigan where they lose to the Whiting Oilers 52-18.

1953 – Mr. Cub Ernie Banks hits his first career home run.

1955 – Willie Mays becomes the 7th player in MLB history to hit 50 homers in a season.

1963 – Tom Kurt and his Griffith Panthers get the best of a good Gary Wirt team, shutting out the Troopers 33-0. The gold and black went 8-0-2 in ‘63 – the only season they’ve ever ended without a defeat.

1968 – Mickey Mantle hits career home run #536, the final one of his career.

1968 – After a long career as the head of the Horace Mann football team, Don Elser coaches his last game against Lew Wallace and comes away with a 20-0 shutout victory at Gilroy Stadium on Glen Park’s far north side.

1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in “The Battle of the Sexes” tennis match.

1973 – Willie Mays announces that he will retire at the end of the season.

1986 – Marty Jamrose takes his team of 15 Gladiators up to Ft. Pioneer in Robertsdale for a date with Clark. The five mile bus ride back up the Boulevard would be a happy one for Gavit, who came back to Woodmar with a hard fought 13-7 win to even up their record at 2-2.

1987 – Walter Payton sets an NFL record by recording his 107th career rushing touchdown.

1988 – Wade Boggs, then with the Red Sox, becomes the first player in MLB history to record 200 hits in six consecutive seasons.

1991 – Brad Smith invites Les Thornton and his Griffith Panthers out to Bulldog Turf for a mid-September matchup. With the old Crown Point Courthouse as the backdrop, the game lives up to the hype and the Bulldogs come away a 20-19 winner in an overtime thriller. It’s the second time since 1985 these two have gone to OT.

2013 – Alex Rodriguez sets an MLB record by hitting his 24th career grand slam.

2021 – Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez his his 46th homer of the year, passing Johnny Bench for most home runs in a season by a catcher.

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