July 10, 1960: The 1st European Nations' Soccer Tournament

Igor Netto with the trophy. Lev Yashin behind him.

July 10, 1960: The Final of the 1st European Nations Cup (now called simply the European Championships or just "The Euros") is held at the Parc des Princes in Paris. It was a natural extension of the European Cup, the continental championship for soccer clubs, which started in 1955. (In 1992, it was renamed the UEFA Champions League.)

The Soviet Union beats Yugoslavia, 2-1 in extra time. The winning goal is scored in the 113th minute, by Viktor Ponedelnik. He is the last surviving member of this team, and the team for which he played his club soccer, SKA Rostov-on-Don, has a statue of him outside their stadium. But the star of the series is considered to be Lev Yashin of Dynamo Moscow, considered by some to be the greatest goalkeeper in the sport's history.

The tournament would be renamed "Euro (year)," starting with the next one, in 1964. It's been held every 4 years since, except for 2020, when Euro 2020 was delayed a year due to the COVID pandemic. (Like the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, it was still given the 2020 designation despite being played in 2021.)

The Soviets would lose the Final in Euro 64, and reach the Semifinals of the 1966 World Cup. Then the team got old: The best performance by a Soviet or Russian team since is reaching the Final of Euro 88.

Igor Netto, a left half of Italian and Estonian descent who played his club football for Spartak Moscow, was the Soviet Captain. But it would be Yashin that everyone remembered. He was a goaltender for both the soccer and ice hockey teams at Dynamo Moscow.

With their soccer team, he won 5 Soviet league championships and 3 Soviet Cups, and led the USSR to the 1956 Olympic Gold Medal. In 1963, he received the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) as World Footballer of the Year, and he remains the only goalkeeper ever to receive this award.

His black hair, dark complexion, and black warmup tracksuit, and his dexterity, won him the nickname The Black Spider. He played for the Soviets at the 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970 World Cups, reaching the Semifinals in the latter 2, and winning the admiration of the entire world, even among those who despised Communism.

In 1967, while still an active player, he was awarded the Order of Lenin. In 1971, his testimonial match brought over 100,000 fans to the Lenin Stadium (now the Luzhniki Stadium), and Pelé, Eusébio and Franz Beckenbauer attended.

By an amazing coincidence, he shared a birthday with Western Europe's greatest goalkeeper of that era, Bert Trautmann, the German who starred for English team Manchester City: Trautmann was born on October 22, 1923; Yashin, on October 22, 1929.

Yashin died of cancer in 1990, only 60 years old. In 2000, FIFA named him the goalie on their World Team of the 20th Century. In 2003, in celebration of its 50th Anniversary, UEFA named a "Golden Player" for each member nation, designating them as that country's best-ever footballer, and Yashin was posthumously so awarded for Russia.

A statue of him was erected outside Central Dynamo Stadium in Moscow, and has been reinstalled at the new stadium on the site, the VTB Arena.

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July 10, 1960 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 9-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Neither starting pitcher, Ralph Terry or Frank Sullivan, was able to finish the 3rd inning. Billy Muffett ended up as the winning pitcher. Willie Tasby and Vic Wertz hit home runs for the Red Sox. Ted Williams went 0-for-2 with 3 walks and an RBI on a groundout. For the Yankees, Bill "Moose" Skowron went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Yogi Berra went 1-for-5. Roger Maris went 0-for-4 with a walk. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Harvey Haddix outpitched Robin Roberts. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Brooks Robinson went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* A doubleheader was split at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Cleveland Indians won the opener, 6-2. The Chicago White Sox won the nightcap, 6-4.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Hank Aaron went 1-for-3 with a walk. Wes Covington went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Frank Robinson went 0-for-4.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 12-10 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Rocky Colavito hit 2 home runs, Eddie Yost hit a home run, and Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 11-7 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Sandy Koufax, who pitched to 2 batters, and failed to get either out. But the Cardinal bullpen collapsed, with Bob Gibson, also not yet a star, coming out of the bullpen and stopping the bleeding. Stan Musial went 2-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the Chicago cubs, 5-3 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Giants scored all 5 runs in the 7th inning. Willie Mays went 0-for-3 with a walk. Ernie Banks went 2-for-4 with an RBI.