Sports History Network

September 3, 1908 – Prize fighter Tommy Burns was the world champion in the heavyweight division of boxing in the first decade of the 20th-Century. His eye was on the prize of keeping his belt and preparing to step in the ring with the top challenger for his title, Jack Johnson. The Canadian boxing champion bided … Read more

September 2, 1946 – Talk about one of the greatest sports competitors of all time and Ben Hogan should pop up in the conversation. The American golfer Hogan won the Golden State Open at the California Country Club in Los Angeles on this day in history. The all-out victory was his third consecutive PGA event win … Read more

September 1, 1999 – It became the first in modern professional sports history. Former NHL and Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux was approved as the new owner of the franchise that formerly employed him. The outcome was pretty substantial as so far the club has won a couple of Stanley Cups and sends marquee players like … Read more

August 31, 1909 – A. J. Reach Co. patented the cork-centered baseball. Previously the balls had a hard rubber core to them. It sounds harmless enough, after all the core is buried under a leather cover and inner bindings. The stats tell a different story though. According to ThisDayinBaseball.com the number of .300 hitters jumped from eight in … Read more

August 30, 1904 – Perhaps the main staple of the Olympics from ancient Greece carried over to today’s games in the marathon race. Thomas Hicks won the third marathon run in the modern Olympics with a time of 3:28:53.0 as part of the World’s Fair Exposition in St Louis, MO. Hicks originally born in England moved … Read more