Born on January 16, 1910, in Lucas, Arkansas, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball history. A Hall of Famer and multiple-time All-Star, Dean’s blazing fastball and fearless style helped lead the St. Louis Cardinals to World Series glory and earned him a reputation as one of the greatest pitchers of the 1930s.
Baseball pitcher Walter “The Big Train” Johnson was born on November 6, 1887, in Humboldt, Kansas. Today, he is remembered not only as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history but also as a model of sportsmanship and character—an enduring symbol of the game’s early golden age.
On October 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali faced off against heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman in one of the most famous matches in sports history — the “Rumble in the Jungle.”
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.