TODAY IN SPORTS
August 14
1903 — Jim Jeffries knocks out Jim Corbett in the 10th round to retain his world heavyweight title in San Francisco. 1936 — In Berlin, the U.S. wins the first Olympic basketball gold medal with a 19-8 win over Canada. The game is played outdoors on a dirt court in a driving rain. Joe Fortenberry leads the U.S. with seven points. James Naismith, the inventor of the game, presents the medals.
1959 — The formation of the American Football League is announced in Chicago. Play will begin in 1960 with franchises in six cities with the probability of adding two more teams.
1977 — Lanny Wadkins beats Gene Littler on the third hole of sudden death to take the PGA Championship. 1977 — The Cosmos, led by Pele, play before a Meadowlands crowd of 77,961 in East Rutherford, N.J., the most to see a soccer game in the U.S. The Cosmos beat the Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8-3 in an NASL quarterfinal playoff game. 1994 — Nick Price wins the PGA Championship, finishing at 11-under 269 for 72 holes, six strokes ahead of Corey Pavin. It is the lowest stroke total in an American major championship. 2003 — The New York blackout forces the evacuation of workers and players from Shea Stadium hours before the Mets- Giants game. It’s the only major league baseball game affected by the blackout that stretches from the Northeast to Ohio and Michigan. Elsewhere, two WNBA games are postponed, and Yonkers ( N.Y.) Raceway cancels its card. 2005 — The U.S. 4x400 relay team, anchored by Jeremy Wariner, races to a record 14th gold medal for the United States at the field world championships. 2011 — Keegan Bradley wins the PGA Championship after trailing by five shots with three holes and then defeating Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff. Bradley becomes the third player in at least 100 years to win a major championship in his first try.
2014 — Rob Manfred is elected baseball’s 10th commissioner, winning a three-man race to succeed Bud Selig. 2016 — South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk breaks Michael Johnson’s
17- year-old world record in the 400-meter final in Rio de Janeiro. Usain Bolt becomes the first to capture three straight 100-meter titles at the Olympics. He finishes in 9.81 — 0.08 seconds ahead of Justin Gatlin.