Today’s Sports Highlight in History:
1988 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 6-3 to win the women’s singles tennis gold medal at the Seoul Olympics; clinches first and only Golden Slam in history (Grand Slam & Olympics).
On this date:
1903 — The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Pilgrims 7-3 in the first World Series game. Jimmy Sebring hits the first Series homer, Deacon Phillippe is the winning pitcher and Cy Young the loser.
1932 — Babe Ruth made his legendary “call” as he points to center field before hitting a home run into the Wrigley Field bleachers in the 5th inning of Game 3 of the World Series. Yankees go on to win, 7-5.
1945 — World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis is discharged from US army after being awarded the Legion of Merit.
1961 — Roger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season, against Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The blow gives New York a 1-0 victory and eclipses Babe Ruth’s 34-year-old single-season home run record.
1967 — Richard Petty continues phenomenal NASCAR winning streak by taking the Wilkes 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway; unprecedented 10th consecutive victory.
1975 — In the “Thrilla in Manila,” Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in 14 rounds to retain his world heavyweight title.
1977 — 75,646 fans come to the Meadowlands to see soccer great Pele play his farewell game. Pele plays the first half with the New York Cosmos and the second half with his former team, Santos of Brazil.
1988 — Flamboyant American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner wins her third gold medal of the Seoul Olympics anchoring the victorious US 4 x 100m relay team.
1993 — In his first World Boxing Council heavyweight title defense Lennox Lewis beats fellow Londoner Frank Bruno by TKO in 7 at the National Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
1997 — Kevin Garnett agrees to terms with the Minnesota Timberwolves on the richest long-term contract in professional sports history, a six-year deal worth more than $125 million.
1999 — In a blockbuster NBA trade, the Houston Rockets move All Star forward Scottie Pippen to Portland Trail Blazers for Kelvin Cato, Stacey Augmon, Walt Williams, Carlos Rogers, Ed Gray and Brian Shaw.
2000 — NBA stars Ray Allen and Vince Carter each score 13 points as the U.S. beats France 85-75 to win the men’s basketball gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.
2000 — United States wins the most medals (97), and the most gold medals (40) in Summer Olympics held in Sydney, Australia.
2004 — Ichiro Suzuki sets the major league record for hits in a season, breaking George Sisler’s 84-year-old mark with a pair of early singles as the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 8-3. Sisler set the hits record of 257 in 1920 with the St. Louis Browns over a 154-game schedule. Suzuki breaks it in the Mariners’ 160th game of the year.
2006 — Tiger Woods matches his longest PGA Tour winning streak of six at the American Express Championship. Woods finishes with a 4-under 67 for an eight-shot victory. It’s also his eighth victory of the year, making him the first player in PGA Tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons.
2011 — Tyler Wilson throws for a school-record 510 yards and Jarius Wright catches 13 passes for a school-record 281 yards as Arkansas turns an 18-point halftime deficit into a 42-38 victory over Texas A&M.
2017 — Frankie Dettori wins an unprecedented fifth Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as Enable caps a memorable season. Enable, the 10-11 favorite, leads for most of Europe’s richest horse race to claim her fifth consecutive victory after wins in the Epsom Oaks, the Irish Oaks, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks. The filly wins by 2 1/2 lengths over Cloth Of Stars.
2017 — Houston’s Deshaun Watson becomes the first rookie to throw four touchdowns and run for another one, since Fran Tarkenton in 1961 and tied an NFL record for most TDs by a rookie quarterback in Houston’s 57-14 victory.
2017 — Todd Gurley scores the go-ahead touchdown on a 53-yard catch-and-run, and Greg Zuerlein kicks a career-high seven field goals to lead the Los Angeles Rams to a 35-30 win over Dallas.
2017 — Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is released from Nevada’s Lovelock Prison after less than 9 years of detention of his 33 year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.