Today in sports history, September 22

Sept. 22

Today in sports history

Today is Sept. 22. On this date in:

1905: Willie Anderson won the U.S. Open at Myopia Hunt Club, becoming the only golfer ever to capture three consecutive U.S. Open titles and securing a record fourth U.S. Open championship.

1911: Cy Young pitched the Boston Rustlers to a 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates for his 511th and final major league win, a career record that remains unsurpassed.

1912: Philadelphia Athletics star Eddie Collins stole six bases in an 8-2 victory over St. Louis, matching a feat that left him the only player in MLB history to twice record a six-steal game.

1920: A Chicago grand jury opened its investigation into sports gambling that led to allegations that members of the White Sox conspired to throw the 1919 World Series.

1927: Gene Tunney retained the world heavyweight championship with a unanimous 10-round decision over Jack Dempsey at Chicago’s Soldier Field in the legendary “Long Count” fight.

1947: The Brooklyn Dodgers clinched the National League pennant, moving one step closer to a World Series in Jackie Robinson’s historic rookie season.

1954: Brooklyn Dodgers rookie Karl Spooner struck out 15 New York Giants in his major league debut, setting a record for strikeouts in a first MLB appearance.

1959: The Chicago White Sox clinched their first American League pennant in 40 years with a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

1966: The Baltimore Orioles defeated Kansas City to clinch the first American League pennant since they were the St. Louis Browns in 1944.

1968: Minnesota’s César Tovar played all nine positions in a 2-1 victory over Oakland, one of baseball’s most unusual and celebrated individual achievements.

1969: San Francisco Giants star Willie Mays became the second major league player to reach 600 career home runs, hitting a two-run shot off San Diego’s Mike Corkins in a 4-2 victory.

1974: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos played to a 35-35 tie in the first regular-season overtime game in NFL history.

1986: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela earned his 20th victory of the season, becoming the first Mexican-born pitcher to win 20 games in a major league season.

1987: The NFL Players Association began a 24-day strike that canceled one week of games and prompted owners to use replacement players for three weeks.

1988: South Korean boxing coaches attacked a referee following a controversial Olympic decision in Seoul, creating one of the most infamous incidents of the 1988 Games.

1990: Illinois running back Howard Griffith rushed for an NCAA-record eight touchdowns and scored 48 points in a 56-21 victory over Southern Illinois.

1991: Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula recorded his 300th career victory (including postseason games) as the Dolphins rallied to defeat the Green Bay Packers 16-13.

1993: Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan made the final appearance of his 27-season major league career, tearing a ligament in his right elbow during the first inning against Seattle.

1996: Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin hit his 30th home run of the season and became the first shortstop in major league history to record 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.

2003: New York Yankees second baseman Alfonso Soriano hit his 13th leadoff home run of the season, establishing a major league record.

2004: Barry Bonds drew four intentional walks in a nine-inning game, tying the major league record he had already matched multiple times that season. The MLB record of five intentional walks in a game was set by Andre Dawson over 16 innings in 1990.

2019: Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander earned his major league-leading 20th victory as Houston defeated the Los Angeles Angels 13-5 and clinched its third consecutive American League West championship.

— USA TODAY Network

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, September 22