ON THIS DATE

1917: Catcher Hank Gowdy of the Boston Braves becomes the first major league player to enter military service in World War I.

1958: Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox retired 26 consecutive batters before allowing a pinch-hit double. He then struck out the next batter on three pitches. (Cliff Clavin adds: Pierce finished his career with the Giants, going 16-6 for the 1962 N.L. champs and finishing third in Cy Young voting.)

1973: David Clyde, fresh out of high school and billed as “the next Sandy Koufax,” makes his major league debut, striking out eight in five innings and allowing one hit. (By age 25, his career is over, derailed by arm troubles and mismanagement; career record: 18-33.)

1980: The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Jerry Reuss no-hits the Giants at Candlestick Park. A first-inning throwing error is all that stands between Reuss and the eighth perfect game in history.

1986: Cleveland Browns defensive back Don Rogers, one of the greatest athletes ever to come out of Sacramento, dies at 23 of cocaine poisoning the night before his wedding and eight days after Len Bias.

1986: Giants rookie Robby Thompson sets a major league record when he is caught stealing four times in one game. (Ya gotta love these kids!)

1992: Jim Courier becomes the first top seed in Wimbledon history to lose to a qualifier when he falls 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Andrei Olhovskiy.

1999: Juli Inkster, Bay Area native, wins the LPGA Championship and joins Pat Bradley as the only women to complete the modern career Grand Slam.