ON THIS DATE
1912: Jim Thorpe wins the decathlon at the Stockholm Olympics and Sweden’s King Gustav proclaims Thorpe is the world’s greatest athlete. (Who died and made Gustav king?)
1961: Arnold Palmer shoots a 284 at Royal Birkdale to win his first British Open title.
1965: As of today, Kirt Manwaring is eligible for the senior discount at Denny’s.
1967: Argentina’s Roberto DeVicenzo wins the British Open by two strokes over defending champion Jack Nicklaus. (Signs the correct score card!)
1972: Lee Trevino wins his second consecutive British Open title by beating Jack Nicklaus by one stroke. (That must have been one to see!)
1973: Nolan Ryan pitches his second no-hitter of the season, striking out 17 Detroit Tigers along the way.
1978: Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at St. Andrews to win his third and final British Open.
1980: The greatest single-season goal scorer in San Jose Sharks history is born in Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada, and he is named Jonathan Cheechoo. (56 goals in 2005-06). 1990: Damian Lillard, Oakland-born, turns 30 today. 1999: After 22½ years in the dreary Kingdome, the Mariners finally get to play outside. (Jose Mesa, master of destruction — Cleveland, 1997 World Series — walks four batters in the ninth to lose the game.)
2005: Rafael Palmeiro joins Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray as the only players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers. (But, you know...).
2007: The Philadelphia Phillies lose 10-2 to St. Louis and see their record fall to 8,810-10,000. (All-time record, not typos.)
2010: Rory McIlroy, 21, ties the major championship record by shooting a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the British Open at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.