THIS WEEKEND IN SPORTS HISTORY
Saturday 1922 The NFL was born when the American Professional Football Association (APFA) changed its name to the National Football League. 1952 Eddie Arcaro became the first American-born jockey to win 3,000 races. 1962 The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers, 9-7, in a 22-inning game at Tiger Stadium. 1968 Joe Frazier scored a technical knockout of Manuel Ramos in the second round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the heavyweight boxing title. 1979 Future Hall of Famer and MLB all-time stolen base king Rickey Henderson debuted for the Oakland Athletics and stole his first career base. 1991 The NHL adopted instant-replay to help the referee on goal calls. 1992 Commissioner Fay Vincent permanently banned Steve Howe from baseball. 1995 The New Jersey Devils completed a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings to win their first Stanley Cup. 1997 Oakland A’s slugger Mark McGwire hit a home run off Seattle’s Randy Johnson estimated to have travelled 538 feet into the seats of Seattle’s Kingdome. Sunday 1926 Bobby Jones wins the British Open with score a 292. 1942 Willis Reed was born — 2-time NBA champion, Rookie of the Year, 2-time NBA finals MVP. 1948 Joe Louis KOs Jersey Joe Walcott in 11 for heavyweight title. 1961 Baltimore and California both use 8 pitchers in a game — the 16 total is a major league record. 1968 Bobby Bonds makes major league debut and hits a grand slam. 1976 Rangers and White Sox play a doubleheader and Texas’ shortstop Toby Harrah goes through both games without a fielding chance. 1986 Steve Carlton is released by Philadelphia — won 4 Cy Young awards with them. 1988 Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game. 1995 Andres Galarraga of Colorado hits 3 HRs in consecutive innings (6th, 7th, 8th) — only 4th to do so. 1996 Mark McGwire hits his 300th HR – ends with 583. 1997 San Antonio chooses Tim Duncan No. 1 in NBA draft. 1999 Cards rookie Jose Jimenez no hits Arizona 1-0 — Randy Johnson gets the loss despite striking out 14 including the 2,500th of his career. 1999 San Antonio beats New York Knicks 4 games to 1 to win NBA title — Tim Duncan MVP with 27.4 points and 14 rebounds per game. 2009 John Smoltz plays his first game for the Boston Red Sox — his first in 21 seasons for a team other than Atlanta and loses 9-3.