Highlights of today’s sports history:
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Michael Phelps and three teammates won the 400-meter medley relay, earning him his eighth gold medal, eclipsing Mark Spitz’s seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games. In his five individual races and three relays, Phelps set seven world records and an Olympic record in the eighth.
As of this date:
1933 — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees plays his 1,308th consecutive game, breaking Everett Scott’s record of 1,307.
1938 — Henry Armstrong wins the lightweight title with a 15-round knockout of Lou Ambers, becoming the only boxer to hold world titles in three weight classes simultaneously. Armstrong wins the featherweight (126 pounds) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in six rounds on October 29, 1937. On May 31, 1938, he wins the welterweight (147 pounds) title by decision over Barney Ross.
1960 — Flash Elorde knocks out Harold Gomes at 1:20 in the first round to win the world junior lightweight title.
1969 — Ray Floyd beats Gary Player by one stroke to win the PGA Championship.
1995 — John Roethlisberger wins the all-around title at the USA Gymnastics National Championships in New Orleans, becoming the first gymnast in 28 years to win four titles.
1997 — Davis Love III shoots a 66 at Winged Foot to win the PGA Championship in Mamaroneck, New York, his first major title, by five shots over Justin Leonard with a 72-hole total of 11-under 269.
2001 — Shingo Katayama shoots a 6-under-par 64 and David Toms shoots a 65 to share the lead in the second round of the PGA Championship. Katayama and Toms, with a 9-under-par 131, tie the 36-hole PGA record last set by Ernie Els at Riviera in 1995.
2005 — The NCAA buys the rights to the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments in a deal that ends a four-year legal battle between the two sides. The 40-team NIT postseason tournament, held a year earlier and once the largest event, will be hosted by the NCAA.
2008 — Jesus Sauceda of Matamoros, Mexico, pitches the fifth perfect game in Little League World Series history and first in 29 years in a 12-0 victory over Emilia, Italy. Sauceda is also a star at the plate, going 3 for 3 with six RBIs, including a grand slam in the third inning.
2013 — Nick Davilla throws six touchdown passes as the Arizona Rattlers beat the Philadelphia Soul 48-39 in the Arena Bowl. The Rattlers win the championship for the second straight year, beating the Soul in both championship games.
2014 — Inbee Park successfully defends her LPGA Championship title, beating Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of a play-off to end the U.S.’s streak of three major titles.
2014 — The Phoenix Mercury set a WNBA record with their 29th victory, beating the Seattle Storm 78-65 in the season finale. Phoenix (29-5) surpasses previous records set by Los Angeles (28-4 in 2000 and 2001) and Seattle (28-6 in 2010).
2015 — The National Labor Relations Board rejects a landmark ruling that Northwestern University football players are school employees who have the right to form what would be the nation’s first college athletes’ union.
2016 — Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson completes the first women’s Olympic 100-200m double since 1988. Thompson wins the 200m in 21.78 seconds and becomes the first woman since Marion Jones in 2000 to win both Olympic sprints. Jones’ records have since been broken, so Thompson joins Florence Griffith-Joyner, who shone at the 1988 Seoul Games, in the record books.
