THIS WEEKEND IN SPORTS HISTORY
Saturday
1899 — Jim Jeffries retains heavyweight boxing title over Sailor Tom Sharkey.
1953 — “Sacrifice fly” reactivated in baseball after having been dropped in 1939.
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain of NBA San Francisco Warriors scores 72 points vs Los Angeles Lakers.
1965 — In an unanimous vote, Los Angeles Dodger southpaw Sandy Koufax (26-8, 2.04, 382) is named the Cy Young Award winner.
1968 — New York Jets’ Jim Turner kicks six field goals to beat Buffalo Bills 25-21.
1989 — Minnesota Timberwolves’ first NBA game, lose to Seattle SuperSonics, 106-94.
1991 — New York City Marathon winners are Salvador Garcia (Mexico) and Liz McColgan (Scotland).
2006 — Major League Baseball officials announce an office will be opened in China to help promote the game.
Sunday
1889 — Players League begins, declaring independence from baseball’s National League.
1904 — Harvard Stadium becomes the first stadium built specifically for football.
1924 — California legalizes professional boxing (illegal since 1914).
1934 — Pittsburgh Pirates end Detroit Lions’ shutout streak at 7 games but lose 40-7.
1939 — 1940 Olympics awarded to Helsinki, Finland.
1951 — New York Giants and New York Yankees score back-to-back touchdowns on kickoff returns.
1954 — Philadelphia Athletics baseball team moves to Kansas City.
1959 — Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs’ shortstop, wins National League Most Valuable Player.
1972 — Los Angeles Kings score three goals in 45 seconds against New York Islanders.
1973 — New Orleans Saints’ first shutout victory, 13-0 versus Buffalo Bills.
1980 — Japan’s all-time home run hitter, Sadaharu Oh, retires from professional baseball. The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants’ first baseman hit a record 868 home runs in his 22year playing career.
1983 — Washington Capitals’ first NHL overtime victory beating Vancouver Canucks 5-4.
1987 — NBA announces four new franchises; Charlotte and Miami for 1988 and Minneapolis and Orlando for 1989.
1989 — Orlando Magic’s first NBA game, lose to New Jersey Nets, 111-106.
2001 — The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the three-time defending World Series Champions New York Yankees in seven games to win their first ever baseball World Series Championship.
2009 — The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 to win Major League Baseball’s World Series, the Yankees’ 27th title with a 4-2 series victory over the defending champions.