Sept. 20
1913 — Twenty-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet beats Britain’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1924 — Grover Cleveland Alexander wins his 300th game as the Chicago Cubs defeat the New York Giants 7-3 in 12 innings.
1939 — Joe Louis knocks out Bob Pastor in the 11th round at Briggs Stadium in Detroit to retain the world heavyweight title.
1973 — Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in straight sets to win the Battle of the Sexes and the $100,000 winner-take-all purse at Houston’s Astrodome.
1980 — Spectacular Bid wins the Woodward Stakes in the world’s richest walkover. Before a crowd of 23,000 spectators, the 4-year-old covers the 1¼ miles at Belmont Park in 2:02.4. It’s the last race of his career and he finishes the year undefeated in nine races and is named American Horse of the Year. There had not been a walkover in a major U.S. stakes race since Coaltown won the Edward Burke Handicap on April 23, 1949.
1982 — The NFL Players Association announces a strike at the completion of the Green Bay-New York Giants Monday Night game.
1987 — Chicago’s Walter Payton breaks Jim Brown’s NFL record with his 107th rushing touchdown as the Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-3.
1988 — Greg Louganis wins Olympic gold medal in springboard diving, one day after hitting his head on the diving board in the preliminary round. Louganis, who needed five stitches, is solid throughout the 11-dive program. His 730.80 points wins the gold, beating China’s Tan Liangde. Tan, who finishes with 704.88 points, also finished second to Louganis in the 1984 Olympic Games.
1992 — Raymond Floyd makes PGA Tour history, becoming the first player to win tournaments on the regular and Senior PGA tours in the same year. Floyd birdies five of his last seven holes to win the GTE North Classic after winning the Doral-Ryder Open in March on the regular tour.
2003 — Rashaun Woods of Oklahoma State, catches seven touchdown passes to set an NCAA Division I-A record in the Cowboys’ 52-6 win over SMU. Woods breaks the mark of six set by San Diego State’s Tim Delaney in a 1969 game against New Mexico State. Woods finishes with 13 catches for 232 yards.
2007 — Floyd Landis loses his expensive and explosive case when two of three arbitrators uphold the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory. Landis forfeits his Tour title.
2009 — The first game at the Cowboys Stadium sets an NFL regular-season attendance record with a crowd of 105,121, and most of them go home disappointed after the Giants win 33-31.
2009 — Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre sets an NFL record with his 271st straight start in a 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions. Defensive end Jim Marshall had the previous mark for consecutive starts, 270 games in a row for Minnesota from 1961-1979.
2013 — Alex Rodriquez sets new MLB record with 24 Grand Slam home runs for the New York Yankees.
2015 — The United States beats Europe with the biggest comeback in Solheim Cup history. Paula Creamer beats Germany’s Sandra Gal 4 and 3 to complete the 14 1/2-13 1/2 victory. Europe had a four-point lead entering the 12 singles matches, which the United States win 8 1/2 to 3 1/2 in those matches.
2018 — The World Anti-Doping Agency reinstates Russia, ending a nearly three-year suspension caused by state-sponsored doping.
2021 — Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals, hits his 46th home run to break Hall of Famers Johnny Bench’s MLB record for most home runs in a season by a catcher.
2022 — Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge breaks his own world record for the marathon in 2 hours 1 minute 9 seconds in Berlin (previous record 2:01:39).
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Sept. 21
1940 — For the first time in the history of photo finishes a triple dead heat for first place is recorded, at Willow’s Park, Victoria, British Columbia.
1955 — Rocky Marciano knocks out Archie Moore in the ninth round at Yankee Stadium in New York to retain the world heavyweight title.
1980 — Richard Todd of the New York Jets completes an NFL record 42 passes and throws for 447 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-27 loss to San Francisco.
1982 — NFL players begin a 57 day strike.
1985 — Michael Spinks wins a 15-round unanimous decision over Larry Holmes Las Vegas to win the world heavyweight title.
1985 — Montana State’s David Pandt catches 21 passes for 169 yards against Eastern Washington to set an NCAA record.
1986 — Ken O’Brien’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Wesley Walker at 2:35 in overtime ends one of the highest scoring games in NFL history as the New York Jets defeat the Miami Dolphins 51-45. O’Brien passes for 479 yards and four touchdowns, all to Walker. Miami’s Dan Marino passes for 448 yards and three touchdowns as both quarterbacks set a record with 884 combined yards passing.
1991 — U.S. Basketball announces “Dream Team” for the 1992 Olympics.
1994 — The North Carolina women’s soccer team wins its 89th straight game, setting the unofficial record for the longest winning streak in college sports. The 5-1 victory over rival N.C. State broke the mark of 88 in a row set by the UCLA men’s basketball team during the early 1970s.
1997 — The Buffalo Bills stage the third-biggest comeback in NFL history, overcoming a 26-0 deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts 37-35. The Bills made the greatest comeback in the 1992 AFC playoffs, wiping out a 35-3 deficit to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime.
2003 — Sam Hornish Jr. wins the fastest open-wheel race in history at California Speedway. Hornish’s Chevrolet-powered Dallara averages 207.151 mph in the Toyota Indy 400 — breaking the previous closed course race record of 197.995, set here last year by Jimmy Vasser in a CART Champ Car event.
2008 — The United States take back the Ryder Cup with a 16 1/2-11 1/2 victory over Europe. It’s the largest margin of victory for the Americans since 1981.
2008 — Baseball says farewell to Yankee Stadium, the home of baseball’s most famous team.
2008 — Miami wins for just the second time in 22 games, ending New England’s NFL record 21 straight regular-season wins with a 38-13 win over the Patriots. Ronnie Brown scores a Miami-record four rushing touchdowns and passes for another. The 25-point loss is New England’s biggest in seven seasons at Gillette Stadium.
2014 — Tom Brady passes for 234 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ 16-9 win over Oakland. The win is Brady’s 150th career victory as a starting quarterback, joining Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (169) as the only quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.
2018 — English golfer Oliver Fisher shoots the first round of 59 in the 46-year history of the European Tour. Fisher makes an eagle and 10 birdies on a par-71 course in the second round of the Portugal Masters held at the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Club in Vilamoura.
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Sept. 22
1905 — Willie Anderson wins the U.S. Open for the fourth time in five years, beating Alex Smith with a 314-total at the Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Mass.
1927 — Gene Tunney wins a unanimous 10-round decision over Jack Dempsey at Soldier Field in Chicago to retain his world heavyweight title. The fight is marred by a long 10-count in the seventh round. Dempsey knocks Tunney to the mat, but Dempsey doesn’t go to a neutral corner. The referee doesn’t start counting until four or five seconds after Tunney is down. Tunney regains his feet and goes on to win.
1969 — Willie Mays becomes the second major league player to hit 600 homers with a two-run shot off Mike Corkins, giving the San Francisco Giants a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.
1974 — The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos are the first teams to play to a tie, 35-35, with the new overtime rule in effect.
1984 — Mississippi Valley State’s Willie Totten passes for 526 yards in a 49-32 victory over Jackson State. Wide receiver Jerry Rice has 285 yards receiving.
1986 — LA Dodger Fernando Valenzuela is 1st Mexican to win 20 games.
1987 — The 1,585-member NFL Players Association goes on strike after the New England-New York Jets Monday night game. The strike lasts 24 days.
1990 — Illinois’ Howard Griffith sets an NCAA record when he scores eight rushing touchdowns in a 56-21 rout of Southern Illinois. Griffith gets touchdowns on three consecutive carries in the second quarter and ties an NCAA record with four touchdowns in the third quarter. Griffith doesn’t play in the fourth quarter. It’s the most points scored in an NCAA game by a player other than a kicker.
1990 — Andre Dawson steals his 300th base & is only player other than Willie Mays to have 300 HRs, 300 steals & 2,000 hits.
1991 — Miami coach Don Shula gets his 300th career victory in the Dolphins’ 16-13 win over Green Bay.
1993 — Nolan Ryan, 46, pitches his last game.
2002 — New England’s Tom Brady completes 39 of 54 passes for 410 yards and throws touchdown passes to four different receivers, leading the Patriots to a 41-38 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
2007 — Graham Harrell of Texas Tech completes 46 of 67 passes for 646 yards, the fourth-best total in major college history, in a 49-45 loss to Oklahoma State.
2007 — Kentucky’s Andre Woodson sets a major college record for consecutive passes without an interception, breaking the mark of 271 held by Fresno State’s Trent Dilfer.
2012 — Cobi Hamilton of Arkansas has 10 catches for a Southeastern Conference record 303 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-26 to Rutgers.
2012 — Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke smashes NCAA Division I records by throwing for 730 yards. He completes 55 of 79 attempts without being intercepted and leads the Monarchs back from a 23-point, third-quarter deficit to a 64-61 victory against New Hampshire.
2018 — Anthony Joshua retains his IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles by stopping Alexander Povetkin in the seventh round at Wembley Stadium.
2018 — Jess McDonald scores two goals and the North Carolina Courage win the National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 3-0 victory over the Portland Thorns.
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Sept. 23
1926 — Gene Tunney beats Jack Dempsey with a 10-round decision to retain the world heavyweight title.
1952 — Rocky Marciano knocks out Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round to retain the world heavyweight title.
1979 — St. Louis’ Lou Brock steals his 938th base to break Billy Hamilton’s record as the Cardinals beat New York Mets 7-4 in 10 innings.
1979 — The Houston Oilers overcome a 24-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27 in overtime.
1983 — Gerry Coetzee knocks out Michael Dokes in the 10th round to win the WBA heavyweight title in Richfield, Ohio.
1988 — Jose Canseco is the first player to steal 40 base and hit 40 home runs in the same season.
1992 — Manon Rheaume becomes the first woman to play in one of the four major pro sports leagues when she takes the ice in the first period for the NHL expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game. The 20-year-old goalie faces nine shots and allows two goals in St. Louis’ 6-4 victory.
2000 — Ben Matthews ties an NCAA record with five interceptions as Bethel beat Gustavus 14-13. Matthews ties the all-division record shared by eight players.
2007 — For the first time in NFL history, two players have 200-plus yards receiving in the same game — whether they were opponents or teammates — in Philadelphia’s 56-21 rout of Detroit. Philadelphia’s Kevin Curtis has 11 receptions for 221 yards and Detroit’s Roy Williams catches 9 passes for 204. Detroit’s Jon Kitna sets a franchise record with 446 yards passing.
2012 — The Tennessee Titans become the first team in NFL history to score five touchdowns of at least 60 yards in a game in their 44-41 overtime win over Detroit. The scorers are Tommie Campbell with a 65-yard punt-return; Jared Cook’s 61-yard reception from Jake Locker; Darius Reynaud’s 105-yard kick-return; Nate Washington’s 71-yard reception from Locker; and Alterraun Verner’s 72-yard fumble-return. The Lions also become the first team in NFL history to score two touchdowns in the final 18 seconds of regulation to either take the lead or force overtime.
2012 — Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles rushes for 233 yards, including a 91-yard TD run in the Chiefs’ 27-24 overtime win over New Orleans. Ryan Succop kicks six field goals, one to force overtime in the final seconds and a 31-yarder in overtime for the Chiefs.
2017 — The St. John’s-St. Thomas rivalry game obliterates the NCAA Division III attendance record with a crowd of 37,355. The Tommies use a stingy defense to hang on for a 20-17 win over the Johnnies at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. The previous mark was set on Oct. 8, 2016, with 17,535 fans watching Wisconsin-Oshkosh play at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
2017 — Juwan Johnson catches a seven-yard TD pass as time expires and fourth-ranked Penn State rallies to stun Iowa 21-19 in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Saquon Barkley has 211 yards rushing and 94 yards receiving for the Nittany Lions, who outgain Iowa 579-273 but nearly blew the game. With the Hawkeyes leading 19-15, Penn State goes 80 yards on 12 plays to close out the game, and Trace McSorley finds Johnson in a crowded end zone on fourth down.
2017 — U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws invitation to the White House for NBA champions Golden State Warriors after Stephen Curry says he doesn’t want to attend.
2018 — Tiger Woods caps off one of the most remarkable comebacks in golf history. Woods ends his comeback season with a dominant victory at the Tour Championship. He taps in for par and a 1-over 71 for a two-shot victory over Billy Horschel. It’s the 80th victory of his PGA Tour career and his first in more than five years.
2018 — Drew Brees sets the NFL record for career completions while passing for 396 yards and three touchdowns and running for two scores to lift New Orleans past Atlanta 43-37 in overtime. Brees breaks the record of 6,300 career completions set by Brett Favre.
2022 — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hits 2 home runs with 5 RBI in 11-0 win over Dodgers in LA; becomes fourth player in MLB history to hit 700 career HRs.
2022 — Tennis great Roger Federer plays his final professional match during Laver Cup in London; teams with friend and rival Rafael Nadal but loses 6–4, 6–7 (9–11) to Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.
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