Sports

Sports are an integral part of human history.

Jul 24, 1958

Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams was fined $250 for spitting on fans.

Aug 16, 1954

The first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine is published.

May 6, 1954

British man, Roger Bannister, became the first athlete to run one mile in less than four minutes.

Jul 18, 1951

American boxer Jersey Joe Walcott became the oldest heavyweight champion aged 37.

Oct 31, 1950

The Big Cat, aka Earl Lloyd, became the first African-American to play in the NBA.

Apr 27, 1947

Babe Ruth Day was commemorated for the first time to celebrate one of baseball's greatest players of all time.

Apr 10, 1947

Jackie Robinson signed the first Major League Baseball contract for a Black ballplayer.

Sep 17, 1939

Finnish long-distance runner Taisto Mäki broke the 10,000-meter world record in 29:52:06.

May 17, 1939

The first televised baseball game was broadcasted on NBC, featuring Princeton defeating Colombia 2-1.

May 27, 1938

Bradman scored his 1000th cricket run of the English season, becoming the earliest to do so.

Dec 29, 1937

Lou Thesz beat Everett Marshall in St Louis, making him the youngest to win the National Wrestling Association World heavyweight title.

Dec 7, 1936

Jack Fingleton, an Australian cricketer, became the first batsman to score 100 runs in four consecutive test matches.

May 3, 1936

New York Yankee, Joe DiMaggio, made his major-league debut.

Sep 9, 1934

With a record time of 2:52:29, Armas Toivonen was the first European to win gold for a marathon at the European Athletics Championships.

Jul 30, 1930

Host nation Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 in Montevideo to win the first FIFA World Cup.

Aug 11, 1929

Legendary baseballer Babe Ruth became the first member of the 500 home run club.

Oct 3, 1926

Violet Stewart Piercy, a long-distance runner from England, set the first recorded marathon win for women at 3:40:22.

May 24, 1926

Paavo Nurmi ran a world record time of 3000 meters in 8 minutes and 25 seconds.

May 26, 1925

Ty Cobb, a future Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder, was the first to gain 1,000 extra-base hits.

Jan 26, 1924

The first Winter Olympics medal was awarded to American Skater Charles Jewtraw after skating 5,000 meters in just 44 seconds.

May 26, 1923

The first-ever Le Mans endurance race began.

Feb 13, 1923

Robert L. Douglas, the Father of Black Professional Basketball, set up the first pro-black basketball team called Renaissance.

Mar 24, 1921

The world's first international women's sporting event began in Monaco.

May 2, 1920

The first game of the Negro National League was played at Washington Park in Indianapolis.

May 14, 1918

The ban on Sunday baseball was lifted in Washington, D.C., making it the 3rd city to do so.

Jun 1, 1917

Baseball and war hero Hank Gowdy became the first player to enlist in the US Army during World War II.

Mar 13, 1915

American baseball catcher Wilbert Robinson tried to claim a record by catching a ball dropped from a plane 525 feet above him.

Jul 11, 1914

Legendary baseballer Babe Ruth made his Major League Baseball debut for the Boston Red Sox.

May 8, 1909

The British runner, Henry Barrett, ran a world record marathon at 2 hours, 42 minutes, and 31 seconds in the Polytechnic Marathon in London.

Dec 26, 1908

Jack Johnson became the first African American to win the world heavyweight boxing title.

May 2, 1908

Take Me Out to the Ball Game was copyrighted.

Apr 3, 1908

Frank Gotch won the World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship after a 2-hour match.

Mar 17, 1908

The quickest boxing match in history took place.

May 21, 1904

The International Federation of Association Football was founded in Paris.

Apr 5, 1904

The first international rugby league took place in Wigan, England.

Aug 15, 1903

New Zealand's All Blacks played their first international test against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Jul 19, 1903

Maurice-François Garin won the first Tour de France.

Aug 21, 1901

American baseball player Joe McGinnity was suspended after a brawl in which he punched and spat at umpire Tom Connolly.

May 11, 1893

Henri Desgrange made the world's first world record for a bicycle, reaching a speed of 21.95 miles per hour.

Nov 12, 1892

Pudge Heffelfinger played his first paid game, making him the first professional American Football player.

Mar 28, 1891

The world's first weightlifting championship took place in London, England.

May 12, 1890

The first-ever cricket County Championship started, finishing with Yorkshire beating Gloucestershire.

Apr 22, 1884

General Laborer Thomas Stevens started his first bicycle trip around the world.

May 22, 1883

When Cubs' player Billy Sunday played his first game, he struck out four times.

Aug 31, 1881

The first-ever inaugural US National Championship for tennis occurred in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.

Mar 12, 1881

The world's first black international football player, Andrew Watson, played his first of three matches in Scotland.

Jul 9, 1877

The first-ever Wimbledon Championship began.

Mar 16, 1876

Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fought in America's first public women's boxing match.

May 4, 1869

The Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game, winning with 45-9 against the Great Westerns of Cincinnati.

Jan 22, 1857

The National Association of Baseball Players was established in New York.