It’s the 4th of July, a holiday filled with American red, white and blue. It’s very likely may Americans will attend a sporting event; MLB has a full slate of action, the World Series of Poker is in the middle of their annual event, and there’s plenty of local sporting events to check out.
What were some of the most historic sporting events that actually took place on a July 4th day?
Nolan Ryan struck out his 3,000 batter on July 4th, 1980 to join 15 other pitchers. Nolan holds the record for most Ks with 5,714.
Hall of Fame member Richard Petty won for the 200th career win (and last) with a victory in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 4th, 1984.
Temperamental John McEnroe beat Borg in four sets on July 4th, 1981.
Ty Cobb’s 40 game hitting streak ended on July 4th, 1911. The Georgia Peach went 0-4.
On July 4th, 1939, one of the greatest moments in baseball took place on the field, but not in a game; having only recently been diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig told a sold out New York stadium that he was retiring from baseball, and that he considered himself to be the “luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Sports stars born on the 4th of July include George Steinbrenner; one-time owner of the iconic New York Yankees owner was born on July 4, 1930 in Ohio.
Sadly two legendary NFL stars died on this day – Hank Stram, Hall of Fame NFL coach died July 4th, 2005, and Steve McNair’s reported death was July 4th, 2009.
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