Sept. 29
1920 — Yankees slugger Babe Ruth sets then-MLB home run season record at 54.
1923 — Gene Sarazen beats Walter Hagen 1 up to capture the PGA championship.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Lou Nova in the sixth round at the Polo Grounds in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1954 — Willie Mays makes his over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz’ long drive to center field and pinch-hitter Dusty Rhodes homers off Bob Lemon in the 10th inning to lead the New York Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series.
1967 — American boxer Emile Griffith regains his world middleweight crown on points in a brawling re-match with Italian Nino Benvenuti at Shea Stadium, NY; second of famous trilogy of fights.
1974 — Dr. Norbert Sander Jr. wins the New York City Marathon in 2:26:30 and Kathy Switzer capture the women’s division in 3:07:29.
1976 — Tommy Lasorda replaces Walter Alston as Los Angeles Dodgers manager.
1977 — Muhammad Ali wins a unanimous 15-round decision over Earnie Shavers at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain his world heavyweight title.
1984 — Mike Prindle of Western Michigan sets an NCAA record by kicking seven field goals in a 42-7 rout over Marshall.
1985 — Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon is sacked 12 times in a 17-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys to tie an NFL record.
1988 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee wins her second gold medal of the Seoul Olympics by taking the long jump with an Olympic record leap of 7.40m; previously won the heptathlon.
1988 — American sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner sets women’s 200m world record 21.34; completes sprint double at the Seoul Olympics.
1988 — U.S. men’s basketball team beats Australia 78-49 to take the bronze medal at the Seoul Olympics; last time US represented by a team that doesn’t feature NBA players.
1988 — U.S. retain women’s basketball title at he Seoul Olympics with a 77-70 win over Yugoslavia; star guard Teresa Edwards top scores for the Americans with 18 points.
1991 — Pat Bradley wins the MBS LPGA Classic by one shot over Michelle Estill for her 30th career victory, qualifying her for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
1995 — The NHL and NHL Players Association strike a deal to allow league players to participate in the 1998 Winter Olympics.
2000 — At the Sydney Olympics, the U.S. men’s basketball team escapes the humiliation of playing for a bronze medal with an 85-83 victory over Lithuania in the semifinals. It’s the closest victory and biggest scare for a U.S. Olympic team since NBA players started competing in 1992.
2002 — After losing to Iowa State, Nebraska drops out of the Associated Press Top 25 football poll after being ranked for 348 consecutive weeks. The last time Nebraska was missing from the poll was Oct. 5, 1981.
2002 — Seattle’s Shaun Alexander scores an NFL-record five touchdowns in the first half of a 48-23 rout of Minnesota. He finishes with 139 yards rushing and 92 receiving and one TD short of the league mark of six in a game.
2004 — Major League Baseball announces the Montreal Expos will move to Washington to begin play at RFK Stadium in the 2005 season.
2012 — Geno Smith throws for 656 yards and ties a Big 12 record with eight touchdown passes to lead No. 9 West Virginia to a 70-63 win over No. 25 Baylor. Smith outduels Baylor’s Nick Florence, who has a standout game of his own with 581 yards and five TDs. Baylor’s Terrance Williams sets a Big 12 record with 314 yards receiving. The old mark was set minutes earlier by West Virginia’s Stedman Bailey, who had 303 yards and five TDs.
2015 — NCAA bans the SMU men’s basketball team from the postseason and suspends coach Larry Brown for nine games, saying he lied to investigators and ignored a case of academic fraud by a player.
2018 — Seventeen-year-old Hailie Deegan uses a bump-and-run on her teammate to become the first female winner of a NASCAR K&N West Series race. Her last-lap shove of Cole Rouse at Meridian Speedway in Idaho gives her the victory.
2020 — Ben Ainslie wins the Olympic gold medal in the Laser class, beating previous Laser Olympic champion Robert Scheidt.
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