Sports History On This Day: June 23

June 23, 2022 by Sports History Network

June 23, 1922 – The British Open Men’s Golf tournament at the Royal St George’s Golf Club wrapped up. Walter Hagen became the first American-born winner of the Open Championship. It was not an easy victory for Hagen to say the least.

Walter’s overall 3-day score of 300 ended up 1 stroke ahead of runners-up were American Jim Barnes and England’s George Duncan who both shot 301 for the tourney according to an Associated Press story in the June 24, 1922, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Open started its history back in 1860, and since its conception, the tournament has been played in either Scotland, Ireland, or England every year.

I am sure the Brits were none too pleased that a Yank won their prestigious tourney of the links. Hagen would go on to take home the Claret-Jug three more times in his illustrious career to go along with winning the U.S. Open twice, the PGA Championship a record five times, and the Western Open a handful of tries too.

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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. Over in Asia, both Uzbekistan and Jordan are also confirmed. While plenty more would follow. But while the upstarts are bracing themselves for a maiden foray onto the global stage, some of the bigger names have far loftier ambitions. To reach them, though, they will have to banish old ghosts that have struck them down before. Here are three heavyweight nations that all have jinxes to oust in the summer of 2026. England's 60 Years of Hurt Online betting sites already have their favorites to claim the famous gold trophy next summer, and near the top of most lists, you will find England. The latest Bovada sports betting odds currently list the Three Lions as a 13/2 second favorite to leave MetLife Stadium as champions next July, narrowly behind 4/1 outright frontrunners Spain, the team that beat England in last summer's European Championship final in Berlin. 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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However, in qualifying for Russia in 2018, their lengthy tenure at the grandest dining table the beautiful game has to offer came to a bitter end. Sweden shockingly eliminated the Azzurri across two legs in a qualifying playoff, punching their tickets to Russia at Italy's expense. Four years later, North Macedonia stunned the Italians in Palermo, netting a last-gasp winner to once again hang the Azzurri out to dry. An England football flag - Source: Unsplash

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