Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 2019, Jorge Masvidal set a UFC record by knocking out Ben Askren five seconds into the fight in Las Vegas.
On this date:
1887 – Fifteen-year-old Englishwoman Lottie Dodd defeats Blanche Bingley 6–2, 6–0 to become the youngest woman to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title.
1933 – The first major league All-Star Game was held at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League, 4-2, behind Babe Ruth’s two-run home run.
1957 – Althea Gibson beat Darlene Hurd 6-3, 6-2 in the women’s singles final to become the first black player to win a title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
1968 – Billie Jean King beats Australia’s Judy Tegart 9-7, 7-5 to win her third consecutive Wimbledon women’s singles title.
1975 — Undefeated mare Ruffian and Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure competed in a match race. Ruffian was leading the race when she suffered a severe leg injury and was pulled out by jockey Jacinto Vásquez. She was euthanized the next day.
1994 – Leroy Burell breaks the 100 meter world record in Lausanne, Switzerland. Burell’s time of 9.85 seconds beats the previous record of 9.86 seconds set by Carl Lewis at the 1991 World Championships.
1996 – Steffi Graf beats Arantxa Sánchez Vicario of Spain 6-3, 7-5 in the Wimbledon final to win the German star’s 20th Grand Slam title and 100th tournament victory.
1997 – Pete Sampras easily beat Frenchman Cedric Pioline 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to win his fourth Wimbledon title and his 10th Grand Slam title.
1998 – 20-year-old Seri Park becomes the youngest ever U.S. Women’s Open champion, beating amateur Jenny Chuasiripong in the longest U.S. Women’s Open in history with an 18-foot birdie on the 20th extra hole.
2000 – Venus Williams beat her sister Serena 6-2, 7-6 (3) to reach the Wimbledon final, marking the first time that the two sisters have met in a Grand Slam semifinal in singles.
2003 – Martina Navratilova and Leander Paes defeat Andy Lam and Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-3 in the mixed doubles final to win their 20th Wimbledon title.
2008 – Rafael Nadal ends Roger Federer’s bid to become the first player since the 1880s to win six consecutive titles at the All England Club. Just two points from victory, world number one Federer lost to No. 2 Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in a hard-fought four hours and 48 minutes in what was the longest men’s final in Wimbledon history, and perhaps the greatest.
2013 – Twin brothers Mike and Bob Bryan defeat Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon to win their fourth consecutive major championship, becoming the first men’s team in tennis’ Open Era to win four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.
2013 – Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver in 31 years to win at Daytona International Speedway. He is the first driver to win the Daytona 500 since Bobby Allison in 1982 to win two races in a season at Daytona and just the fifth driver overall.
2014 – Novak Djokovic beat Swiss star Roger Federer in five sets to win his second Wimbledon title and deny Federer a record eighth. Djokovic squandered a 5-2 lead in the fourth set to win 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4.
2014 – Florida teenager Kaylin Whitney ran the 200 meters in 22.49 seconds, breaking the world junior record at the U.S. Junior Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The 16-year-old Whitney broke the previous under-17 world record of 22.58 seconds set by Marion Jones in 1992.
2015 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. was stripped of his WBO welterweight boxing title and vacated his two junior middleweight titles after failing to pay a $200,000 sanctioning fee.
2016 — Roger Federer saved three match points after dropping two sets to beat Marin Cilic in five sets to reach his 11th semifinal at the All England Club and keep alive his chances of a record eighth Wimbledon title. It was the 10th time in his career that Federer has come back from two sets down to win in five sets and it was his 80th Wimbledon victory, tying Jimmy Connors’ record.
2019 – The LA Clippers acquire two NBA superstars in one day, acquiring Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard from Toronto as a free agent and Paul George from Oklahoma City in an unprecedented player and draft pick trade.
2020 – Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes agrees to the largest contract ever signed by an athlete, signing a 12-year deal that could ultimately be worth $503 million.
