- Associated Press - Thursday, July 23, 2020

July 26

1859 - The first intercollegiate Regatta is held in Worcester, Mass., with Harvard beating Yale and Brown.

1928 - Gene Tunney beats Tom Heeney on a technical knockout in the 11th round at Yankee Stadium to retain the world heavyweight title.

1952 - Bob Mathias wins his second Olympic decathlon in Helsinki, Finland.

1955 - Doug Ford defeats Cary Middlecoff 4 and 3 in the final round to capture the PGA title.

1981 - Pat Bradley shoots a record 279 total to win the U.S. Women’s Open. Kathy Whitworth, who finishes third, becomes the first million-dollar golfer in LPGA history.

1987 - Stephen Roche of Ireland wins the Tour de France by 40 seconds over Spain’s Pedro Delgado. Jeannie Longo of France wins the women’s race, finishing 2:52 ahead of Italy’s Maria Canins.

1992 - Miguel Indurain of Spain, the holder of the yellow jersey as overall leader for the final nine days, rides in the pack to clinch his second straight victory in the Tour de France.

1996 - American swimmer Amy Van Dyken wins the 50-meter freestyle to become Atlanta’s first quadruple gold medalist and the first U.S. woman to win four in a single Olympics.

1998 - Three spectators are killed - the first fan deaths at a major race in the U.S. in more than a decade - and six are injured by flying debris from a one-car crash at the U.S. 500 at Michigan Speedway.

2005 - Greg Maddux records his 3,000th career strikeout against San Francisco, striking out Omar Vizquel in the third inning of a 3-2, 11-inning victory for the Giants.

2013 - He Chong wins his record-tying third consecutive world title in the men’s 3-meter springboard at Barcelona, Spain, giving China its seventh gold medal in eight diving events. His victories in 2009, 2011, and 2013, matches Phillip Boggs’ record of three titles from 1973-78.

2015 - Christina Jones and Bill May of the U.S. win the first gold medal in new mixed duet technical synchronized swimming at the world championships in Kazan, Russia. The mixed duet is new to the world championships.

2017 - Katie Ledecky’s bid to win six gold medals at the world swimming championships ends when she was beaten in the 200-meter 2freestyle by Italy’s Federica Pellegrini. Ledecky settles for the silver medal, tying for second with Australia’s Emma McKeon. The 28-year-old Pellegrini becomes the first swimmer in the history of the championship to capture seven medals in a single individual event.

2018 - Jordan Morris scores a tiebreaking goal in the 88th minute, and the U.S. beats Jamaica 2-1 for its sixth CONCACAF Gold Cup title and first since 2013. ___

July 27

1920 - Resolute defeats Shamrock IV of Britain to defend the America’s Cup title for the United States.

1937 - The United States wins the Davis Cup by beating Britain four matches to one.

1954 - Chick Harbart beats Walter Burkemo 4 and 3 in the final round to win the PGA championship.

1969 - Betsy Rawls wins the LPGA championship by four strokes over Sue Berning and Carol Mann.

1973 - The Miami Dolphins beat the College All-Stars 14-3 in Chicago.

1986 - Greg Lemond becomes the first American to win the Tour de France. LeMond’s teammate, Bernard Hinault of France, finishes second.

1986 - Pat Bradley sinks a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat hard-charging Japanese veteran Ayako Okamoto in the LPGA-du Maurier tournament.

1986 - Speedskater Bonnie Blair sets a U.S. Olympic Festival record for total medals won with 16 and total golds with 10 by taking two titles.

1986 - Bobby Hillin Jr., 22, becomes the youngest winner in the history of NASCAR stock car racing, surviving the Talladega 500 at Alabama International Motor Speedway.

1987 - The 29-game winning streak of the independent league Salt Lake Trappers ends with a 7-5 loss to Billings.

1992 - Patty Sheehan shoots a 1-over 72 for a two-stroke victory over Juli Inkster in their 18-hole playoff in the U.S. Women’s Open.

1993 - Reggie Lewis, the 27-year-old Boston Celtics star who collapsed during a playoff game on April 29 from a heart ailment, dies after a light workout at the team’s practice facility at Brandeis University.

1996 - Canada’s Donovan Bailey sets the world record to win the 100 meters in 9.84 seconds at the Summer Olympics. The Atlanta Games are later marred by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing that kills Alice Hawthorne, wounds 111 others.

2005 - Grant Hackett emds one of the sport’s most enduring world records, eclipsing Ian Thorpe’s mark in the 800-meter freestyle. The 6-foot-6 Australian wins his second gold and third medal of swimming’s world championships with a time of 7:38.65, breaking the mark set four years earlier by his countryman.

2006 - Floyd Landis’ Tour de France victory four days earlier is thrown into question when he tests positive for excessive testosterone.

2013 - Tournament leader Hunter Mahan withdraws from the RBC Canadian Open after his wife went into labor. Mahan had yet to tee off for the third round.

2014 - Martina Hingis leads Washington to its fourth straight World TeamTennis title and fifth in six years, beating Olga Govortsova 5-2 in singles in the Kastles’ 25-13 victory over the Springfield Lasers.

2015 - The Arizona Cardinals hire Jen Welter to coach inside linebackers through their upcoming training camp and preseason. The Cardinals say Welter is believed to be the first woman to hold a coaching position of any kind in the NFL.

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July 28

1913 - The United States wins its first Davis Cup since 1902 by beating Britain three matches to two.

1928 - The Summer Olympics open in Amsterdam and the Olympic flame is lit for the first time.

1929 - The Chicago Cardinals become the first NFL team to train out of state, holding camp in Michigan.

1972 - The American Basketball Association announces that San Diego will receive a franchise and the NBA’s Buffalo Braves relocate to San Diego and are renamed the San Diego Clippers.

1984 - The Summer Olympics open in Los Angeles with a record 140 nations competing. The Soviet Union boycotts and is joined by 13 Communist allies, including Cuba and East Germany.

1987 - Laura Davies shoots a 1-under 71 to defeat Ayako Okamoto and JoAnne Carner in an 18-hole playoff to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

1987 - Angel Cordero Jr. becomes the fourth U.S. jockey to win 6,000 races when he rides Lost Kitty to victory at Monmouth Park, N.J.

1991 - Dennis Martinez pitches a perfect game as the Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0.

1992 - American Mike Barrowman sets a world record in winning the 200-meter breaststroke, and Russian Evgueni Sadovyi becomes the Summer Olympics’ first triple gold medalist, also smashing a world record in the men’s 400-meter freestyle.

1994 - On the night baseball players set an Aug. 12 strike date, Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitches a perfect game for a 4-0 victory over California.

2000 - Blaine Wilson, America’s pre-eminent gymnast, wins his fifth straight U.S. championship in St. Louis. He becomes the first gymnast to win five straight national titles since George Wheeler did it from 1937-41.

2009 - Germany’s Paul Biedermann hands Michael Phelps his first major individual loss in four years, setting a world record in the 200-meter freestyle at the world championships in Rome. Phelps, a body length behind, is sent to his first loss in a major international meet since Ian Crocker beat him in the final of the 100 butterfly at the 2005 world championships.

2016 - Mirim Lee shoots a 10-under 62 to match the Women’s British Open record and open a three-stroke lead in the major championship at Woburn, England.

2016 - Germany’s Stephan Jaeger shoots a 12-under 58 in the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic for the lowest score in major tour play.

2017 - The U.S. women claim a record-extending fifth world championship in water polo with a 13-6 victory over Spain. Kiley Neushul scores four goals to help the two-time Olympic champions win back-to-back titles at the worlds.

2018 - The Washington Valor, who lost 10 of their 12 regular-season games, win the Arena Football League championship 69-55 over the Baltimore Brigade in the Arena Bowl.

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July 29

1751 - The first International World Title Prize Fight takes place in Harlston, England. The champion, Jack Slack of England, beats the challenger, M. Petit of France, in 25 minutes.

1934 - Paul Runyan beats Craig Wood on the 38th hole to win the PGA Championship at Park Country Club in Williamsville, N.Y.

1956 - Cathy Cornelius wins a playoff over Barbara McIntyre to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

1957 - At the Polo Grounds in New York, Floyd Patterson TKOs Tommy Jackson at 1:52 of the 10th round to retain the heavyweight title.

1960 - The first American Football League preseason game is played in Buffalo, N.Y. The Boston Patriots, led by quarterback Butch Songin, beat the Bills 28-7 before 16,474 fans at War Memorial Stadium .

1979 - Amy Alcott shoots a 7-under 285 to beat Nancy Lopez in the Peter Jackson Classic, later named The du Maurier Classic. The du Maurier is one of the LPGA Tour’s major championships from 1979-2000.

1986 - The U.S. Football League wins and loses in its lawsuit against the NFL. The jury finds the NFL violated antitrust laws, as the USFL claimed, but awards the USFL only $1 in damages.

1989 - Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor becomes the first person to high jump 8 feet, breaking his world record at the Caribbean Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He surpasses his mark of 7-11½.

1990 - Beth Daniel shoots a 66 to overcome a 5-shot deficit and win the LPGA Championship - her first major title in 12 years on the tour. Daniel beats Rosie Jones by one stroke and pockets $150,000, the largest in LPGA Tour history.

1992 - The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team wins the gold medal, with Matt Biondi and Tom Jager becoming the first U.S. male swimmers to win golds in three Olympics.

1996 - Michael Johnson sweeps to victory in an Olympic 400-meter record 43.49 seconds, while Carl Lewis leaps into history in Atlanta. Lewis’ long jump of 27 feet, 10¾ inches earns him his ninth gold medal, equaling the American mark held by swimmer Mark Spitz.

2008 - Disgraced ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy admits he brought shame on his profession as a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months behind bars for a gambling scandal.

2012 - Kimberly Rhode wins the Olympic gold medal in women’s skeet shooting, becoming the first American to take an individual-sport medal in five consecutive Olympics.

2012 - Dana Vollmer of the U.S. sets a world record to win the 100-meter butterfly at the London Olympics. Vollmer hits the wall in 55.98 seconds to shave 0.08 off the mark set by Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden at the 2009 world championships in Rome.

2015 - Russia’s Natalya Ishchenko wins a record 18th career synchronized swimming gold medal at the world championships at Kazan, Russia.

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