This Day in Sports History: July 20
Sports in July are all about Major League Baseball, NBA Summer League games, the British Grand Prix, Tour de France, Nascar races, some Golf tournaments, the MLB All-Star game, Wimbledon,…
Sports in July are all about Major League Baseball, NBA Summer League games, the British Grand Prix, Tour de France, Nascar races, some Golf tournaments, the MLB All-Star game, Wimbledon, and track and field events. Additionally, there were some other notable sports moments and stories from legends of the game. Let's take a closer look at these and more:
Unforgettable Games & Remarkable Records
Great moments in sport that occurred on July 20th include:
- 1896: Harold Mahony takes down the three-time champion Wilfred Baddeley and wins the Wimbledon Men's Championship.
- 1906: Mal Eason pitches a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.
- 1911: Smokey Joe Wood pitches a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns.
- 1912: Sherry Magee steals home twice in one MLB game.
- 1924: Ottavio Bottecchia wins the Tour de France.
- 1944: Nelson Potter is the first pitcher in MLB history to get suspended for throwing spitballs.
- 1952: Emile Zatopek runs an Olympic Record 10k time of 29:17.
- 1956: Whitey Ford ties an American League record of six straight strike-outs.
- 1957: Jacques Anquetil wins the first of five general classification titles.
- 1958: Jim Bunning pitches a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.
- 1958: Dow Finsterwald wins the PGA Championship.
- 1963: Mary Mills wins the US Women's Golf Open and it was her first of three major titles.
- 1965: Mel Stottlemyre hits an inside-the-park grand slam.
- 1969: At the Tour de France, Eddy Merckx wins in general points, mountains, and team classification titles.
- 1970: Bill Singer pitches a no-hitter against the Phillies.
- 1976: Hank Aaron hits career home run #755 and it would be the final one of his career.
- 1980: Tom Watson wins the third of five British Golf Open titles.
- 1987: Don Mattingly gets 22 put-outs at first and ties a fielding record.
- 1997: Justin Leonard comes back from five strokes down and wins the British Open for Men's Golf.
- 2008: Tiger Woods and Candace Parker win male and female athletes of the year at the ESPY Awards.
- 2008: Pádraig Harrington defends his British Open title.
- 2014: Rory McIlroy wins the British Golf Open.
- 2020: Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first man to score 50 goals in the Serie A, Premier League, and La Liga leagues.
- 2021: The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns four games to two and win the NBA Finals. It was their first title in 50 years and Giannis Antetokounmpo is Finals MVP.
Looking back on these July 20th statistics, the athletes that stand out are Jacques Anquetil, Hank Aaron, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Anquetil was a famous and highly accomplished French cyclist, primarily known for being the first person to win the Tour de France five times and his nickname was Monsieur Chrono. Aaron is famous for being one of the greatest baseball players of all time, most notably for breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record. Ronaldo is famous because he is one of the greatest soccer players of all time, known for his incredible goal-scoring ability, athleticism, and global popularity.
