Aug 9th 1977
The NHL refuses the merger request of six World Hockey Association franchises. The NHL's long-term business plan didn't call for the league to severely weaken itself via over-expansion for another 15 to 20 years.
Aug 8th 2008
The Summer Olympics begin in Beijing, China. In a dramatic torch lighting ceremony, a Chinese child borrowed Michael Phelps' lighter.
Aug 7th 1972
Yogi Berra is inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. Berra's speech delighted the crowd with its homespun senility and down-home dementia.
Dec 31st 1969
Cleveland rookie Cy Young defeats Chicago, 6-1, for the first of his 511 major league wins. The victory was a proud moment for Young's parents, both hardcore baseball fans, who had named him after the pitching award.
Aug 5th 1968
Longtime major league first baseman John Olerud is born in Seattle. Olerud's delivery was complicated by his in-utero helmet.
Aug 4th 1936
American sprinter Helen Stephens wins the 100m at the Berlin Olympics and, according to reports, Adolf Hitler makes a pass at her after the race, but she rebuffs his advances. Stephens was turned off when Hitler tried his go-to line "Tiny mustache ride for a Reichsmark?" on her.
Aug 3rd 1987
Twins starter Joe Niekro is ejected after being caught with a file on the mound. Niekro was unable to talk his way out of the ejection even after whittling the baseball into a complimentary likeness of the home plate umpire.
Aug 2nd 1921
A Chicago jury brings a verdict of not guilty against eight White Sox players accused in the 1919 Black Sox scandal. However, outfielder Joe Jackson was held in contempt of court and briefly jailed for violating the judge's strict "no shoes, no shirt, no service" rule.
Aug 1st 1986
Cleveland sets an American League attendance record for a twi-night doubleheader with 65,934 fans. Cleveland residents flocked to the stadium after city officials announced it was the largest and safest public venue upwind of yet another Cuyuhoga River fire.
Aug 1st 1991
Diego Maradona announces his retirement from European and international soccer, although he would later make a comeback. Maradona decided to return when he discovered how tough it is to keep up a healthy cocaine addiction on a pension.
