This Day in Sports History: September 4
Sports in September are all about baseball, the start of the NFL and college football seasons, the UFC, the two-yearly Ryder Cup, and Formula 1. Over the years, Sep. 4…
Sports in September are all about baseball, the start of the NFL and college football seasons, the UFC, the two-yearly Ryder Cup, and Formula 1. Over the years, Sep. 4 has witnessed plenty of notable moments and stories from sporting legends. Here's a closer look at just a few of them.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Great moments in sports history from Sep. 4 include:
- 1906: The New York Highlanders won their fifth straight doubleheader.
- 1916: Hall of Famers Christy Mathewson and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown faced off for the 25th and final time.
- 1919: Bill Johnston won the U.S. Men's National Championship in tennis, his second U.S. title.
- 1922: Paavo Nurmi ran a world-record 2000-meter time of 5:26.3.
- 1923: Sam Jones pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics.
- 1932: Olin Dutra won the PGA Championship, securing the first of his two major titles.
- 1941: The New York Yankees secured the American League pennant in a record time.
- 1944: Tennis star Frank Parker won the U.S. Men's National Championship for the first of his four Grand Slam titles.
- 1950: Johnny Mantz won the first-ever 500-mile NASCAR race, the inaugural Southern 500.
- 1966: Jack Brabham clinched his third Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship.
- 1972: Mark Spitz became the first athlete to win seven Olympic gold medals at a single Olympic Games.
- 1972: Soviet sprinter Valeriy Borzov completed a rare Olympic sprint double by winning the 200-meter final in Munich.
- 1983: Greg LeMond won the men's road race at the UCI Road World Championship, becoming the first American male cyclist to secure the title.
- 1983: Jay Sigel won the U.S. Men's Amateur Golf Championship.
- 1985: Gary Carter hit two home runs to total five over two consecutive games.
- 1991: MLB updated record books by removing the asterisk from Roger Maris' 61-home-run season and defining an official no-hitter.
- 1992: Jimmy Connors played in his 115th and final US Open singles match.
- 1993: In the early hours of the morning, Mats Wilander beat Mikael Pernfors to end their four-hour US Open tennis match.
- 1993: One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.
- 1994: Just 11 months after tearing his Achilles tendon, Dan Marino threw five touchdown passes to help the Dolphins beat the Patriots, 39-35.
- 1995: Robin Ventura hit grand slams in two consecutive innings.
- 1999: The Cincinnati Reds set a National League record with nine home runs in a game.
- 2002: The Oakland A's set an American League record of 20 wins in a row.
- 2002: Argentina defeated the USA 87-80, inflicting the first-ever loss on a U.S. team composed of active NBA players.
- 2005: Kyle Busch became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
- 2006: Tiger Woods tied the lowest final-round score of his career with an eight-under 63.
- 2018: Colin Kaepernick, famous for kneeling during the U.S. national anthem, became the new face of Nike's 30th anniversary ad campaign.
- 2024: The Chicago Cubs pitched their first no-hitter at Wrigley Field since 1972.
Of the athletes who set themselves apart on Sep. 4, Mark Spitz, Jim Abbott, and Dan Marino are three of the most noteworthy.
Spitz's seven gold medals were achieved in world-record times, making him the most successful athlete at the 1972 Olympic Games and establishing him as a swimming legend and cultural icon. Abbott's inspiring career, with his unique glove-switching technique, made him an internationally known figure and a prominent motivational speaker. Marino played his entire 17-year career with the Dolphins and is widely considered one of the greatest passers of all time, but he never won a Super Bowl.
