Aug. 24
Today in sports history
Today is Aug. 24. On this date in:
1868: Billy Edwards defeated Sam Collyer in 34 rounds to win the lightweight championship of America, a bare-knuckle-era title bout.
1875: England’s Matthew Webb began his successful attempt to swim the English Channel, becoming the first person to complete the crossing when he reached France the following morning after 21 hours, 45 minutes.
1918: The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Brooklyn Robins to clinch their fifth National League pennant in 13 seasons.
1919: Cleveland pitcher Ray Caldwell was struck by lightning in the ninth inning but recovered to record the final out of a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
1945: Bob Feller returned to the Cleveland Indians after nearly four years in the Navy and struck out 12 in a 4-2 complete-game victory over the Detroit Tigers.
1951: St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck staged Grandstand Managers Night, allowing 1,115 fans to vote on strategy during a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
1971: Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks hit the 512th and final home run of his major league career during a 5-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
1972: Gordie Howe and Jean Beliveau were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as the Hall waived its three-year waiting period for two of the sport’s defining stars.
1978: Marvin Hagler defeated Bennie Briscoe by unanimous decision in a 10-round middleweight bout before 14,930 spectators at the Philadelphia Spectrum.
1989: Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose accepted a permanent place on Major League Baseball’s ineligible list following an investigation into his gambling activities.
1997: Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer lowered his men’s 800-meter world record to 1 minute, 41.11 seconds in Cologne, Germany.
2008: Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru won the Olympic men’s marathon in Beijing in an Olympic-record 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds.
2008: The United States men’s basketball “Redeem Team” defeated Spain 118-107 to win Olympic gold and reclaim the championship after finishing third in 2004.
2016: Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke recorded his 2,000th career strikeout, fanning Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman to become the 78th major league pitcher to reach the milestone.
2023: New York’s Breanna Stewart broke the Liberty’s single-season scoring record as the team overcame a 20-point second-half deficit to defeat the Connecticut Sun and tie the largest comeback in franchise history.
2025: Alexandra Eala beat Clara Tauson 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (13-11) at the US Open to become the first player from the Philippines in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam main-draw singles match.
2025: Seattle’s Cal Raleigh hit his 48th and 49th home runs of the season, surpassing Salvador Perez for the most in a season by a player who played at least 75% of his games at catcher.
— USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Today in sports, August 24