1896 – The first modern Olympic Games begin in Athens, Greece. American athlete James B. Connelly wins the first event – the hop, step, and jump. 1947 – Jimmy Demaret wins The Masters for the second time in his career. 1958 – Arnold Palmer wins the first Major of his...
1915 – In a heavyweight bout held in Havana, Cuba, Jess Willard beats Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the title. 1927 – Swimmer Johnny Weissmuller breaks his record in the 200-meter freestyle by seven seconds, finishing in 2:08. He also breaks his record in the...
1937 – Byron Nelson wins the Masters by two strokes over Ralph Guldahl. 1974 – Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s career home run record by hitting his 714th homer in a game against Cincinnati. 1983 – Lorenzo Charles dunks in Derek Whittenburg’s desperation 3-point attempt...
1930 – The Montreal Canadiens complete a two-game sweep of Boston to win the Stanley Cup. 1987 – The Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to the Oakland A’s for three minor leaguers. 1988 – Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux wins the NHL scoring title, ending Wayne Gretzky’s streak of...
1931 – 17-year-old girl pitcher Jackie Mitchell strikes out both Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in an exhibition game. 1972 – New York Mets manager Gil Hodges dies of a heart attack. Hodges played in parts of 20 seasons as a major league and was an eight-time All-Star. A...
1938 – Joe Louis knocks out Harry Thomas in the fifth round to retain the world heavyweight title. 1969 – The Seattle Pilots trade minor league outfielder Lou Pinella to the Yankees. Pinella would go on to win Rookie of the Year after hitting .282 with 11 homers and...
