Sports History On This Day: July 31

July 31, 2022 by Sports History Network

July 31, 1932 – The grand opening of Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium took place. The Cleveland Indians christened their new home, in front of more than 76,000 fans. However, the Tribe lost the first game in their new confines, 1-0 to the Philadelphia A’s.

The venue served the franchise as their home from 1932 through the 1993 season. It was also the home to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and even the Cleveland Rams from 1935 through 1945. Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium was built in the downtown portion of the City near the Lake Erie WaterFront.

Before 1932 the Indians played their games at nearby League Park. In fact from 1932 to 1946 their home games were split between the two venues. In 1994 the Cleveland AL franchise moved into nearby Jacobs Field, which is now called Progressive Field.

To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.

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An England football flag - Source: Unsplash Three Nations Looking To Break Long-Standing Curses at the 2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner, and the final rounds of qualifiers are now underway to determine which nations will battle it out for the biggest prize the beautiful game has to offer next summer. With 48 teams set to compete, up from the usual 32, a slew of debutants have already purchased their tickets to North America. While reigning champions Argentina and back-to-back beaten European Championship finalists England are already confirmed, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the underdogs are barking. So far, three teams that have never competed at a FIFA World Cup before have already confirmed their participation Stateside next summer. Africa's Cape Verde managed to progress, becoming the smallest nation in history to feature, as they finished ahead of continental heavyweights Cameroon to secure their spot. 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Embed tweet here - https://x.com/bovadaofficial/status/1812591866447020454?s=46&t=Jxc74bqcdlQ9Bjed4TR1Jw There are plenty of reasons why the English are considered formidable. Back-to-back European Championship finals under Gareth Southgate certainly showed that the country that handed the beautiful game to the rest of the world is back to its best. Now, under serial winner Thomas Tuchel and led by the likes of captain Harry Kane and Real Madrid talisman Jude Bellingham, there are bags of quality all over the pitch. Still, if England is to reign supreme next summer, it will have to banish a ghost that has been weighing them down for 60 years. 1966. That was the first and last time the Three Lions lifted the FIFA World Cup, or any silverware for that matter, and in the years since, it has been nothing but pain, especially on the global stage. Penalty shootouts, ghost goals, and controversial red cards. Seemingly, anything that can go wrong for England does go wrong. 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