Aug. 28
Today in sports history
Today is Aug. 28. On this date in:
1884: Mickey Welch of the New York Gothams struck out the first nine Cleveland Blues batters he faced, establishing a major league record.
1886: Richard Sears defeated R. Livingston Beeckman to win his sixth consecutive U.S. National men’s singles championship.
1920: American swimmer Ethelda Bleibtrey set a world record of 4:34.0 in the women’s 300-meter freestyle.
1921: Babe Ruth began a major league-record streak of collecting an extra-base hit in nine consecutive games.
1926: Cleveland’s Emil Levsen pitched two complete-game victories over the Boston Red Sox, becoming the last major league pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader.
1942: Sweden’s Gunder Hägg set a world record of 8:01.2 in the 3,000 meters.
1945: Jackie Robinson met Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey and agreed to join the organization, advancing Rickey’s plan to integrate professional baseball.
1954: Arnold Palmer captured the U.S. Amateur Championship, a breakthrough victory in the Hall of Famer’s career.
1955: The Los Angeles Rams defeated the New York Giants 23-17 in Portland, Oregon, in the first NFL preseason game decided by sudden-death overtime.
1967: The Boston Red Sox signed free-agent slugger Ken “Hawk” Harrelson after his release by the Kansas City A’s, a move that helped propel Boston to the AL pennant. His release grew out of his criticism of A's owner Charlie Finley.
1972: American swimmer Mark Spitz began his historic seven-gold-medal performance at the Munich Olympics by winning the 200-meter butterfly in world-record time.
1972: The United States won Olympic gold in the men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay in world-record time at Munich.
1972: Fifteen-year-old Australian swimmer Shane Gould set a world record in the women’s 200-meter individual medley with a time of 2:23.07.
1972: Olga Korbut helped the Soviet Union win Olympic team gymnastics gold.
1973: Nolan Ryan reached 300 strikeouts for the season for the second straight year on his way to a then-modern record of 383.
1977: Pelé played the final competitive match of his career as the New York Cosmos defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-1 for the NASL championship.
1981: Britain’s Sebastian Coe reclaimed the world mile record by running 3:47.33 in Brussels.
1982: Darrell Waltrip won the Busch 500 at Bristol International Raceway for his fourth victory in what would become a record seven consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory at the track.
1990: Top-seeded Stefan Edberg suffered one of the biggest upsets in U.S. Open history, losing in the first round to Alexander Volkov.
1990: Ryne Sandberg became the first second baseman in major league history to post consecutive 30-home run seasons.
1992: The Milwaukee Brewers collected an American League-record 31 hits in a 22-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
1994: Tiger Woods won the U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18, becoming the then-youngest champion in tournament history.
1999: St. Louis Rams quarterback Trent Green suffered a season-ending preseason injury, opening the door for Kurt Warner’s rise and the Rams’ eventual Super Bowl run.
2004: The United States defeated Australia 74-63 to win Olympic women’s basketball gold.
2004: Argentina won Olympic championships in men’s soccer and men’s basketball on the same day, defeating Paraguay 1-0 in soccer and Italy 84-69 in basketball at the Athens Games.
2004: The United States defeated Lithuania 104-96 to win the bronze medal in men’s basketball at the Athens Olympics.
2008: Major League Baseball made limited instant replay available for the first time, permitting reviews of disputed home run calls.
2014: San Francisco Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit retired his 46th consecutive batter, setting a major league record.
2016: Kyle Larson won the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory.
2021: Ryan Blaney won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory.
2022: Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship and became the first golfer to claim the FedEx Cup three times.
2022: A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million, setting a record at the time for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever auctioned.
2025: Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs and drove in nine runs in a 19-4 victory over Atlanta, becoming the 21st player in major league history with four homers in a game.
— USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Today in sports history, August 28