Sports Pickle

July 31, 2002

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 03:54:23 -0400

July 31, 2002 - Alleged Russian crime boss Alimzan Tokhtakhounov is arrested in Italy on U.S. charges that he fixed figure skating results at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Tokhtakhounov�s intense interest in figure skating had led to him running the Russian mafia's glitter racket and he was infamous for doling out punishment via jazz hands.

July 30, 1908

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:25:35 -0400

July 30, 1908 - American George Schuster wins the first around-the-world automobile race four days after German Hans Koeppen finishes but is then disqualified when it is discovered he rode a train for part of the distance. It is later discovered that Schuster rode a boat for part of the distance across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

July 29, 1983

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:29:00 -0400

July 29, 1983 - Due to a dislocated thumb caused by a collision at home plate trying to score in the first game of a doubleheader against the Braves, Padres' first baseman Steve Garvey's consecutive game streak ends at 1,207. It was later discovered that Garvey had actually dislocated his thumb inside a stripper.

July 28, 2001

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:25:34 -0400

July 28, 2001 - Orioles outfielder Melvin Mora's wife, Gisel, delivers quintuplets, giving the couple six children. The Mora Family is now the subject of a Venezuelan TV show called "Melvin and Gisel Plus 6," in which viewers gradually grow to despise the family and wish them nothing but ill will, or at least lifelong careers with the Baltimore Orioles.

July 27, 1952

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:40:09 -0400

July 27, 1952 - Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia wins the Olympic marathon to become the only man to sweep the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and marathon. Zatopek is also the only man in history to bleed dry out of his nipples.

July 26, 1920

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:21:21 -0400

July 26, 1920 - At the Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, 72-year-old Oscar Swahn of Sweden wins a silver medal in shooting, making him the oldest medallist in Olympic history. Sadly, Swahn was imprisoned days later for shooting some kids who wouldn�t get off his lawn.

July 25, 1908

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:20:32 -0400

July 25, 1908 - While carrying a Bible in his left hand for inspiration, American Forrest Smithson wins the 110-meter hurdles at the London Olympics. Smithson later became an atheist because he missed out on setting a new world record by one hundredth of a second thanks to the added weight of the Bible.

July 24, 1963

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 03:03:15 -0400

July 24, 1963 - American John Pennel pole-vaults 17-feet, 3/4-inches to become the first man to break the 17-foot barrier. Unfortunately, Pennel�s vault still left the U.S. space program woefully short of reaching the moon.

July 23, 1973

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:33:44 -0400

July 23, 1973 - Actor Omar Epps is born in Brooklyn, New York. Doctors noted that the infant bore an uncanny resemblance to a 1-year-old Virginia child named Mike Tomlin.

July 22, 1994

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:48:11 -0400

July 22, 1994 - O.J. Simpson pleads "absolutely 100-percent not guilty" to the charge of murder. Simpson's statement raised significant doubts about his innocence, as he was the first athlete to not claim something as "110-percent."

July 21, 1991

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:03:44 -0400

July 21, 1991 - Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, Tony Lazzeri, Rod Carew and Bill Veeck are inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Perry doctored his speech by stealing from famous speeches from history without attribution, and Veeck's introduction speech was given in Vulcan by a three-armed midget dressed as a clown.

July 20, 1969

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:11:18 -0400

July 20, 1969 - American astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the moon. The feat came eight years after President John F. Kennedy challenged the country to hit the longest golf shot in history.

July 19, 1900

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:13:02 -0400

July 19, 1900 - Frenchman Michael Theato wins the Olympic marathon in Paris. French team coaches pushed Theato to his best time by repeatedly telling him that the German army was invading the city.

July 18, 1982

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:11:07 -0400

July 18, 1982 - Seventy-five year old Luke Appling hits a home run off of Warren Spahn in the annual Old-Timers Game. In Appling�s next at bat, Spahn plunked him with a fastball, shattering Appling�s osteoporosis-ridden hip.

July 17, 1994

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:24:12 -0400

July 17, 1994 - Brazil wins a record fourth World Cup by defeating Italy on penalty kicks. The Brazilians credited their unmatched quickness and agility to their bald, silky smooth undercarriages that prevent friction when running.

July 16, 2003

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 03:43:17 -0400

July 16, 2003 - Minnie Minoso, age 77, becomes the first player to play professional baseball in seven decades, drawing a walk as a DH for the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. The official scorer actually scored Minoso's walk as a "toddle."

July 15, 1996

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 03:55:49 -0400

July 15, 1996 - After 2,216 consecutive games at shortstop, Cal Ripken, Jr. moves to third base. The Orioles decided their experiment with playing Ripken at short didn't work out.

July 14, 1951

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:51:47 -0400

July 14, 1951 - Citation wins the Hollywood Gold Cup on CBS � the first sporting event broadcast in color. The broadcast allowed viewers nationwide to see for the first time the orange, Oompa Loompa skin of professional jockeys.

July 13, 1930

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:02:50 -0400

July 13, 1930 - The first World Cup soccer tournament begins in Uruguay with 13 teams competing. The competition so united the world that the world was war-free for the rest of the century.

July 12, 1979

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:42:56 -0400

July 12, 1979 - The Detroit Tigers forfeit a game when a promotion, Disco Demolition Night, results in several small fires in the stands and a near riot. Unfortunately, the promotion�s planned finale � the incineration of John Travolta � did not take place before the game was called.