This Day in Sports History — July 5
Here are just some of the notable sports moments that happened on July 5 :
1947 — Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians became the first black player in the American League by pinch-hitting against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. (More info.)
1969 — On his way to a sweep of the Grand Slam events of the year, Rod Laver defeated John Newcombe to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. (More info.)
1974 — Chris Evert beat Olga Morzova to win her first women’s singles title at Wimbledon. (More info.)
1975 — Arthur Ashe defeated Jimmy Connors to become the first African-American to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. (More info.)
1980 — Bjorn Borg defeated John McEnroe in an epic five-set match – including a 34-point tiebreaker in the fourth set — to win his fifth consecutive men’s singles title at Wimbledon. (More info.)
1982 — Italy’s Paolo Rossi scored three goals to eliminate Brazil, 3-2, in a World Cup second-round match at Barcelona, Spain. (More info.)
1987 — Oakland A’s slugger Mark McGwire became the first rookie to hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break. (More info.)
1991 — Major League Baseball owners approved a measure allowing the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins to start play in the National League in 1993. (More info.)
1993 — Oakland A’s star Rickey Henderson hit leadoff home runs in both games of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. (More info.)
2009 — Roger Federer won a record 15th Grand Slam men’s singles title by defeating Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. (More info.)