On September 30, 1972, Roberto Clemente scored his 3,000th hit on the very last regular season at-bat of his career. He became just the 11th person at the time to reach this milestone. To date, more than 30 players have over 3,000 hits.
Baseball legend Theodore Samuel Williams was born on August 30, 1918, in San Diego, California. One of the game’s all-time great hitters, he holds the record for career on-base percentage.
On August 27, 1959, the third Pan-American Games officially opened in Chicago, Illinois. These were the first Pan-Am Games held in the United States.
Stepping up to bat in the first inning with the bases loaded, Lou Gehrig hit the 23rd grand slam of his career on August 20, 1938. The Yankees’ “Iron Horse,” his record went unbroken for 75 years.
Hitting the first pitch he saw, Babe Ruth made history on August 11, 1929, becoming the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs.
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad opened in Beijing, China, on August 8, 2008. The games had the largest TV audience for an event up to that time, the longest torch relay, and the most participants for a Summer Olympics.
On July 20, 1968, Eunice Kennedy Shriver held the first International Special Olympic Games in Chicago, Illinois.
On July 19, 1996, the OLYMPHILEX stamp show opened in Atlanta, Georgia. The 1996 Olympic Games marked an important anniversary – 100 years since the start of the modern Olympic Games.
On May 30, 1911, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway held its first 200-lap, 500-mile race, dubbed the Indianapolis (or Indy) 500. Today, the speedway is the world’s largest sports facility, hosting “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”