TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1793 Tennis is first mentioned in an English sporting magazine. 1879 National League owners’ meeting in Buffalo, N.Y., adopt the reserve clause, giving each team exclusive rights to their players. 1890 First professional baseball game, the Metropolitans beat the Washington Nationals, 4-2 in five innings, at the Polo Grounds in New York City. 1892 First night football game played (Mansfield, Penn). 1911 New York Yankees steal 15 bases and get 13 walks, beating the St. Louis Browns, 16-12; with a major-league record six stolen bases in one inning. 1915 Philadelphia Phillies clinch their first pennant. 1920 Babe Ruth sets season home-run record at 54. 1927 Babe Ruth ties Major League Baseball record by hitting grand slams in consecutive games. 1930 First Canadian football game played under lights, Hamilton-UBC. 1941 Heavyweight Champ Joe Louis knocks out Lou Nova in six rounds. 1946 First time National League pennant ends in a tie (St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers). 1946 Los Angeles (previously Cleveland) Rams play first NFL game in Los Angeles. 1951 First colour telecast of football game on network, Philadelphia (CBS). 1953 American League approves Baltimore group purchase of St. Louis Browns for $2,475,000. 1954 Willie Mays makes his famous over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz’s 460-foot drive. 1957 New York Giants play and lose their last game at Polo Grounds (9-1 to Pittsburgh Pirates). 1963 St. Louis Cardinals’ Stan Musial’s final game, gets his 3,630th hit. 1965 St. Louis Cardinals’ Charlie Johnson passes for six touchdowns vs. the Cleveland Browns (49-13). 1968 Chuck Latourette, sets NFL record with a 47.7-yard punt-return average (three punts). 1969 Steve O’Neal of New York Jets, kicks the longest NFL punt; 98 yards against the Denver Broncos. 1973 Baltimore Orioles pull their fifth triple play (5-4-3 versus Detroit Tigers). 1973 Insurance industry announces auto racers get into more highway accidents. 1976 San Francisco Giants’ John Montefusco no-hits the Atlanta Braves, 9-0. 1977 Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous, 15-round decision over Earnie Shavers. 1986 Chicago Cubs’ Greg Maddux defeats Philadelphia Phillies’ Mike Maddux (first rookie brothers). 1987 New York Yankees’ Don Mattingly hits a major-league record sixth grand slam of the year. 1988 Florence Griffith Joyner of the U.S. sets the 200-metre women’s record (21.34). 1991 U.S. beats Europeans 14.5 to 13.5 to capture golf’s Ryder Cup.