This Week in Sports History
Jim Thorpe, Disco Demolition Night and Donald Trump (yes, Donald Trump)
A look at the week to come — through the lens of history.
July 7, 1912
Jim Thorpe, who many believe was the greatest American athlete ever, won four of five events to claim the Pentathlon Olympic gold medal. Thorpe had his medal taken away a year later because he had played pro baseball. After a long lobbying effort by supporters, Thorpe’s medal was reinstated in 1982 — nearly 30 years after he died.
July 7, 2013
Andy Murray defeated Novak Đoković in three sets to become the first British man to win a Wimbledon singles title since 1936. Afterward, Murray told the BBC: “When you look down and see your hands shaking, it doesn’t help things.”
July 9, 1977
Playing together in the final two rounds, Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by a stroke in a legendary British Open that became known as the “Duel in the Sun” because they weather was unusually nice.
July 10, 1985
The Mets’ Danny Heep was Nolan Ryan’s 4,000th strikeout victim. A bio of Heep on the Society for American Baseball Research website refers to him as a “respectable major leaguer,” which as a career .257 hitter seems fitting. But Heep’s most memorable moment, when he whiffed against Ryan, is one he would probably rather forget. “I remember they called a pitch six inches outside for strike two, so I was pretty much toast,” Heep said in the SABR bio. Heep shouldn’t feel bad. Ryan, over a 27-year career, struck out 5,714 batters — 800+ more than Randy Johnson.
July 10, 1988
Heavyweight Mike Tyson hired Donald Trump to advise him regarding the boxer’s dispute with his manager and the future of his boxing career. Trump told the New York Times: “Anything I make from this position will go to charities fighting AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and helping the homeless. And in acting as an adviser on the sites for Mike's future fights, I feel a moral obligation to award them to the highest bidder. In the past, I got the fights I wanted. Now I feel worse off. I'll have a more difficult time because even if I submit the highest bid, people will say I had an inside track.”
July 11, 2015
At age 33, Serena Williams became the oldest Wimbledon winner in the Open era defeating Garbine Muguruza in two sets.
July 12, 1979
What could go wrong with a plan to blow up thousands of disco albums at Comiskey Park between games of a doubleheader between the White Sox and Tigers? The answer: lots. As the records were being detonated, thousands of fans stormed the field, fights broke out, people tore apart the batting cage and the players were secluded in their locker rooms for their safety. The second game of the doubleheader was cancelled with the White Sox forfeiting.