ON THIS DATE
1887: “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is born in Pickens County. (A hundred bucks you can’t name the state.) 1897: Cap Anson becomes the first major leaguer with 3,000 hits. 1902: John McGraw is named manager of the New York Giants, a post he will hold for 30 years. (Not every manager is hired to be fired.) 1920: Babe Ruth breaks the singleseason home run record of 29, set by him the previous season, with his 30th en route to an unheard of 54. 1933: Red Lucas of the Cincinnati Reds pitches 15 innings to beat the New York Giants 1-0 in the first game of a doubleheader. (Saved the bullpen for the nightcap.) 1938: Paul Runyan wins the PGA golf championship by routing Sam Snead 8 and 7 in the final round. (Only Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe, could beat someone so badly) 1941: Joe DiMaggio extends his hitting streak to 56 games with a 3-for-4 day as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-3. (The end is coming.) 1943: Jimmy Johnson and his hair turn 77 today. 1948: After 8 1/2 years as Brooklyn manager, Leo Durocher stuns baseball by taking the helm of the archrival Giants in midseason. (Giants 1, Dodgers 0.) 1968: Running back Barry Sanders turns 52 today, and Lions fans still want to give him the ball. 1970: Happy 50th to former Giants pitcher William Van Landingham, aka William Van Launchingpad 1988: Wayne Gretzky marries actress Janet Jones in Edmonton, Alberta. (It’s not a great one.) 1993: Nick Faldo ties the best single round in 122 years of the British Open with a course-record 63 at Royal St. George’s GC to give him a one-stroke lead after the second round. 1995: Annika Sorenstam of Sweden wins the U.S. Women’s Open by one stroke over Meg Mallon, her first victory on the LPGA Tour. 2009: Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard becomes the fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs. (The decline comes fast too; Howard ends his career with 382 home runs.) 2011: Forrest Blue, four-time Pro Bowl center for the 49ers, dies at 65 of CTE. 2016: Warriors Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond dies of leukemia at 74.