Today in Sports – The USADA claims to have stripped Lance Armstrong of his 7 Tour de France titles
Aug. 29
1885 — John L. Sullivan wins the first world heavyweight title under the Marquess of Queensbury rules when he beats Dominic McCaffrey in six rounds. The fight features 3-ounce gloves and 3-minute rounds.
1952 — Dr. Reginald Weir becomes the first black man to compete in the U.S. Tennis Championships, Weir appears two years after Althea Gibson breaks the color barrier in the tournament and loses in four sets to William Stucki.
1962 — A.C.’s Viking, driven by Sanders Russell, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.
1968 — Open tennis begins at the U.S. Tennis Championships. Billie Jean King wins the first stadium match at the U.S. Open and amateurs Ray Moore and Jim Osborne have upset wins over professionals. Moore beats No. 10 Andres Gimeno and Osborne defeats Barry MacKay, each in four sets.
1974 — Nineteen-year-old high school basketball star Moses Malone, signs a contract with the Utah Stars of the ABA to become the first player to go directly from high school into major professional basketball.
1978 — The USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. opens. Bjorn Borg beats Bob Hewitt in the first match 6-0, 6-2 in the best-of-three sets.
1987 — Nolan Ryan passes the 200-strikeout barrier for record 11th time.
1987 — Charlie Whittingham becomes the first trainer to surpass 500 stakes wins when he sent Ferdinand to victory in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack.
1993 — Laffit Pincay Jr. wins the 8,000th race of his career aboard El Toreo in the seventh race at Del Mar racetrack to become the second thoroughbred jockey to ride 8,000 winners.
1993 — Brandie Burton’s 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff edges Betsy King for the du Maurier Classic title, the LPGA tour’s final major of the season.
1998 — Toms River, N.J., wins its first Little League World Series with a 12-9 victory over Kashima, Japan. Chris Cardone hits home runs in consecutive at-bats — including the game-deciding two-run shot.
2005 — Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova becomes the first U.S. Open defending women’s champion to fall in the first round, losing 6-3, 6-2 to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova on the first day of the U.S. Open.
2011 — Petra Kvitova becomes the first defending Wimbledon champion to lose in the first round at the U.S. Open, 7-6, 6-3 to Alexandra Dulgheru.
2012 — The USADA claims to have stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
2013 — The NFL agrees to pay $765 million to settle lawsuits from thousands of former players who developed dementia or other concussion-related health problems they say were caused by the on-field violence. The settlement, unprecedented in sports, applies to all past NFL players and spouses of those who are deceased.
2015 — Usain Bolt anchors Jamaica to a fourth successive men’s 4×100-meter title and adds to his record-breaking personal haul of IAAF World Championships gold medals to 11.
2018 — Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers signs NFL record contract extension with the Green Bay Packers; 4 years worth $134m rising to a possible $180m with a record $103m in guarantees.
2018 — Wanheng Menayothin surpasses Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s 50-0 record, beating Pedro Taduran in a unanimous decision to improve to 51-0. The 32-year-old Menayothin (51-0, 18 KOs) won his 10th successful title defense of his WBC minimumweight belt that he won in November 2014.
2022 — St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols hits career home run 694 off of major league record 450th different pitcher in 13-4 win over Reds in Cincinnati.
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