This day in sports: Lamar Hunt announces formation of the American Football League
Dallas businessman Lamar Hunt announced the formation of the American Football League on this date in 1959 at a meeting of perspective team owners in Chicago.
Hunt, 27, said that six teams would be formed: Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Dallas, Denver, New York and Los Angeles.
He said that Barron Hilton, the son of hotel magnate Conrad N. Hilton, would lead the Los Angeles franchise, which would be called the Chargers.
Hunt added that play would begin in 1960 with the probability of adding two more teams from Seattle, Buffalo, San Francisco, Miami or Kansas City.
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A look at memorable games and outstanding sports performances on Aug. 14, through the years:
1903 — Before a crowd of 10,000 at Mechanics’ Gym in San Francisco, James J. Jeffries knocked out Jim Corbett in the 10th round and retained his world heavyweight title. In a fight that Jeffries controlled from the outset, Corbett was knocked down twice in the 10th round, the first time from a left hook to the stomach and the second from a right to the jaw. At the count of seven, Corbett’s corner threw in the towel.
1958 — Vic Power of the Cleveland Indians stole home twice in one game, the second coming in the 10th inning that gave the Indians a 10-9 win over the Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Stadium. With the bases loaded and Frank Lary on the mound, Power caught the pitcher off-guard and broke for home. Lary tried to hurry the throw from his windup but Power slid and was easily safe. His first steal came in the eighth inning and both were two of his three steals for the season.
1971 — Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals pitched a no-hitter when he shut out the Pirates 11-0 at Pittsburgh. Gibson, who had lost to the Bucs three times the previous season, struck out 10 batters and walked three, and also contributed a two-run single in the eighth inning. The only threat to his gem came in the seventh inning when Milt May launched a 390-foot fly ball to left center that was run down by Jose Cruz.
1977 — Lanny Wadkins beat Gene Littler on the third-extra hole at the Pebble Beach Golf Links to win the PGA Championship. It was the first time that the major was decided with a sudden-death playoff. After finishing regulation play tied at six-under par 282, both Wadkins and Littler had a par and birdie on the first two holes. But Littler bogeyed the third hole and Wadkins won the only major tournament of his career.
1977 — The New York Cosmos and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers played before a record crowd of 77,961 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., in a North American Soccer League playoff game won by the home team 8-3. The attendance was the largest to see a soccer match in North America. Steve Hunt got the scoring going for New York when he took a pass from Pelé and beat goalkeeper Gordon Banks 97 seconds into the game. Giorgio Chinaglia scored three goals for the Cosmos and Hunt later added his second of the match.
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2003 — A widespread power outage forced the evacuation of workers and players from Shea Stadium before a scheduled game between the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants. The Mets were taking batting practice when the lights went out in their clubhouse, and reporters were asked to leave the ballpark about an hour later. It was the only major league baseball game affected by the blackout that stretched from the Northeast to Ohio and Michigan
2005 — At the IAAF world track and field championships in Helsinki, the United States’ 1,600-meter relay team, anchored by Jeremy Wariner, raced to victory. The American quartet of Andrew Rock, Derrick Brew, Darold Williamson and Wariner won in two minutes, 56.91 seconds over second-place Bahamas and third-place Jamaica.
2007 — Bobby Cox, the manager of the Atlanta Braves, set a dubious baseball record during his team’s 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants when he was ejected in the fifth inning for arguing a called third strike on third baseman Chipper Jones. Cox yelled at plate umpire Ted Barrett from the dugout and Barrett tossed him before Cox could make it onto the field. It was the 132nd time that he was thrown out and it broke the mark originally set by John McGraw of the New York Giants.
2011 — Keegan Bradley won the PGA Championship after he staged a surprising comeback with two birdies that forced a three-hole playoff with Jason Dufner at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. Bradley, who trailed by five shots with three holes to go, tied the faltering Dufner and won a three-hole aggregate playoff by one stroke, playing the 16th, 17th and 18th holes in birdie-par-par to Dufner’s par-bogey-birdie. Bradley became the first golfer in eight years and just the third in history to win a major championship in his first appearance.
Sources: The Times, Associated Press
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