Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 1921, Jock Hutchinson became the first American to win the British Open, beating Roger Weathered by nine strokes in a playoff.
On this date:
1926 – Bobby Jones becomes the first amateur to win the British Open in 29 years. At the Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club in Lytham St. Annes, England, Jones wins by two strokes over Al Watrous, finishing with a total of 291.
1932 – Gene Sarazen wins the U.S. Open with a score of 286, the lowest in 20 years.
1935 – Future world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis beats former Italian champion Primo Carnera by sixth-round knockout at Yankee Stadium in New York, improving his record to 20-0.
1948 – Joe Louis defends his world heavyweight title with an 11th round knockout over Jersey Joe Walcott in New York. After the bout, Louis announces his retirement.
1952 – Jim Turnesa wins the PGA Championship with a 1-up victory over Chick Herbert in the final round.
1966 – Buckpasser sets a world record in the one-mile Arlington Classic in 1 minute 32.35 seconds and becomes the first 3-year-old horse to win more than $1 million.
1969 – 41-year-old Pancho Gonzales wins the longest tennis match in Wimbledon history, defeating Charles Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9 in a 112-game match. The match was played over two days and lasted five hours and 12 minutes.
1978 – Argentina beats the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in Buenos Aires to win the World Cup.
1981 – Sugar Ray Leonard knocks out Ayub Kalule in the ninth round in Houston to win the WBA junior middleweight title.
1988 – MLB player Cal Ripken Jr. plays 1,000 consecutive games.
1988 — UEFA European Championship Final, Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany: Goals from Ruud Gullet and Marco van Basten help the Netherlands defeat the Soviet Union 2-0.
1991 – Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova achieved her record 100th singles win at Wimbledon despite being threatened by Erna Reinach in the first round.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: Argentina’s Cáceres scores the 1,500th goal in World Cup history.
1997 — NBA Draft: Wake Forest University power forward Tim Duncan is selected first overall by the San Antonio Spurs.
1997 – The NHL approves franchises in Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and St. Paul, Minnesota.
1999 – San Antonio beat the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 of the Finals to win their first NBA championship. Led by Finals MVP Tim Duncan’s 31 points, the Spurs became the first former ABA team to win a championship.
2006 – Asafa Powell equals Wallace Spearmon’s world record in the 200 metres, winning the Jamaican National Championships in 19.90 seconds.
2006 – Bernard Lagat wins the sprint race, becoming the first runner in U.S. Track and Field Championship history to win both the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters.
2008 — NBA Draft: University of Oklahoma power forward Blake Griffin is selected first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.
2013 – UCLA defeats Mississippi State, 8-0, to win its first national championship in baseball.
2014 – John Norwood’s home run in the top of the eighth inning gave Vanderbilt the lead, and the Commodores beat Virginia, 3-2, to win their first national championship.
2015 — NBA Draft: University of Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns is selected first overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2017 — Jordan Spieth needs one more hole and a great final shot to win it all at the Travelers Championship. The two-time major champion drained a 60-foot birdie from a greenside bunker on the first hole of a playoff against Daniel Berger at TPC River Highlands. The 23-year-old Texan joined Tiger Woods as the only players with 10 PGA TOUR wins since World War II.
2019 — NHL Draft: Barrie Colts (OHL) defenceman Aaron Ekblad was selected first by the Florida Panthers.
2020 — Chelsea beat second-placed Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge, and Liverpool FC clinched their first Premier League football title in 30 years with seven games to spare.
2021 — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola tied Tom Seaver’s 51-year-old MLB record of 10 consecutive strikeouts in a 2-1 loss to the New York Mets.
