Sports History Network May 20, 1897 – At just the second-ever playing of the British Open Men’s Golf, an amateur player took the tournament. Englishman Harold Hilton won the Open title by overcoming Scotland’s James Braid by 1 stroke at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. There have been only six times in history that an amateur has won the Open. … Read more
May 19, 1973 – Riding perhaps the most famous racehorse of all time, Secretariat, jockey Ron Turcotte sets a record (not recognized until 2012) as the fastest Preakness race ever at the 98th running of the famous thoroughbred race. Horse and rider crossed the finish line at a pace of 1:54. For Secretariat taking the second leg … Read more
May 18, 1912 – The Detroit Tigers organization was livid with the American League Baseball brass. Their star player Ty Cobb had recently been suspended by the League for leaping the stadium railing and going up into the stands to assault an out-of-control fan that had launched a verbal assault on the player. The Tigers in … Read more
By 1946, when the Steelers played their 14th season, Pittsburgh’s NFL franchise had fielded only two teams above .500, one of which was a merged WW2 team. They were known as the league doormats. The owner of the team, Art Rooney, had earned the moniker “Lovable Loser” and he was regarded more as a wealthy … Read more
May 17, 1927 – Here is a wild baseball game for you! Back on this day, it was the Chicago Cubs downing the Boston Braves, 4-3, in 22 innings! According to reports pitcher, Bob Smith threw the entire game for the Braves while four men took the hill in total for the Cubs. Talk about icing … Read more
