Aug. 1
1936 — The Berlin Olympics begin.
1945 — New York’s Mel Ott hits his 500th home run in a 9-2 victory over the Boston Braves at the Polo Grounds. Only Babe Ruth with 714 and Jimmie Foxx with 527 have more.
1963 — Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American tennis player to be named in the US Davis Cup team.
1972 — Nate Colbert of the San Diego Padres drives in 13 runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Atlanta Braves, 9-0 and 11-7.
1982 — American Greg Louganis becomes 1st diver to score 700 (752.67) in 11 dives in winning 3m springboard gold, World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
1987 — Mike Tyson wins the undisputed heavyweight championship with a 12-round unanimous decision over IBF champion Tony Tucker in Las Vegas.
1992 — Eric Griffin, a two-time world champion at 106 pounds, loses to Rafael Lozano of Spain under the new electronic scoring system at the Olympics. All five judges credit him with more blows than his opponent as did five jury members used as a backup in case the computer failed.
1994 — Baltimore’s Cal Ripken becomes the second major leaguer to play 2,000 straight games when the Orioles beat Minnesota 1-0.
1996 — Michael Johnson wins Olympic gold in the 200 meters in a record 19.32 seconds, becoming the first male Olympian to win the 200 and 400 in a single games. Dan O’Brien wins gold in the decathlon, four years after failing to make the U.S. Olympic team.
2002 — In signing star linebacker Ray Lewis to a 5-year contract extension the Baltimore Ravens give him a $19m signing bonus, then the largest in NFL history.
2004 — Karen Stupples wins her first major title with a record-tying 19-under 269 at the Women’s British Open. Stupples ties the low score in a major, set by Dottie Pepper at the 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore.
2009 — Rachel Alexandra rolls past the boys again to win the $1.25 million Haskell Ivitational at Monmouth Park, establishing herself as one of the greatest fillies. Ridden by Calvin Borel, she beats Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird by six lengths.
2010 — Stuart Appleby hits golf’s magic number, shooting a 59 to win the Greenbrier Classic. He is the fifth PGA Tour player to reach the milestone.
2010 — Yani Tseng of Taiwan wins the Women’s British Open by one stroke for her third major title and second of the year to go with the Kraft Nabisco.
2010 — Bob and Mike Bryan win their record 62nd career doubles title on the ATP Tour. The twins were tied with Hall of Famers Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde of Australia.
2012 — Four teams are kicked out of the women’s badminton doubles at the London Games for trying to lose on purpose. The eight players from China, South Korea and Indonesia are cited for conduct “clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport.”
2021 — Marcel Jacobs becomes the first Italian athlete to win the 100m dash in 9.80 at the Tokyo Olympics.
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