Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 1937, War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, won the Belmont Stakes by three lengths over Scene Shifter to win the Triple Crown.
On this date:
1884 – James McLaughlin becomes the first jockey to win the Belmont Stakes three times in a row aboard Panique. McLaughlin had previously won with George Kinney (1883) and Forester (1882). McLaughlin repeated the feat from 1886 to 1888. McLaughlin’s three consecutive wins were completed in 1984 by jockey Lafitte Pincay Jr.
1925 – Willie McFarlane beat Bobby Jones by one stroke in the second round of a playoff to win the U.S. Open. McFarlane shot 291 at Worcester (Massachusetts) Country Club.
1927 – Johnny Weissmuller sets the 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle swimming records.
1943 – Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, won the Triple Crown by 25 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. Count Fleet ran at odds of 1-20 and there were no bets on second or third place in the race.
1952 – Jersey Joe Walcott defeated Ezzard Charles by a 15-round unanimous decision in Philadelphia to retain the world heavyweight title.
1961 – The newly formed American Basketball League adopts the three-point field goal.
1977 – The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 109-107 to win the NBA championship in six games. Portland becomes the first team in the league’s 31-year history to win four straight games after losing the first two.
1985 – Steve Cauthen wins the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor, becoming the only American jockey to win both the British and Kentucky Derby. Cauthen had previously won the 1978 Kentucky Derby aboard Affirmed.
1993 – Julie Krone becomes the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she guides Colonial Affair to victory in the Belmont Stakes.
1994 – Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Sergi Bruguera staged the greatest day of tennis in Spanish history, as Sánchez Vicario beat Mary Pierce 6-4, 6-4 in the French Open final, while Bruguera defended his title by beating fellow Spaniard Alberto Berasategui 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
1999 – Steffi Graf defeats world number one Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to win her sixth French Open title and her first Grand Slam title in nearly three years.
1999 – After finishing third to Lemon Drop Kid in the Belmont Stakes, Charismatic fractured his left frontal bone and sesamoid bone, missing out on a chance to become the 12th Triple Crown winner.
2004 – Smarty Jones missed his Triple Crown dreams and his perfect record when he was overtaken by Birdstone near the finish line in a thrilling Belmont Stakes. Birdstone, a 36-to-1 longshot ridden by Edgar Prado, made payouts of $74, $14 and $8.60.
2005 – Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal wins the French Open men’s singles title, defeating unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina in four sets. Seeded fourth, Nadal becomes the youngest men’s Grand Slam winner since Pete Sampras won the US Open in 1990 at age 19.
2011 – Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final to win his record-tying sixth French Open title.
2016 – Novak Djokovic defeats Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to become the first player in nearly half a century to win four consecutive major titles, finally winning the French Open title and completing a career Grand Slam.
2021 — Luis Sáez rides Essential Quality to win the 153rd Belmont Stakes.
