December 27, 1915: English Football's 1st Betting Scandal

Sandy Turnbull

December 27, 1915: English football (soccer) has its 1st betting scandal, a result of a game played the previous season, on Good Friday.

On April 2, 1915, Manchester United hosted Liverpool at Old Trafford in Salford, outside Manchester. United were struggling to avoid relegation from the Football League's Division One to its Division Two. Liverpool, on the other hand, were in mid-table, and neither challenging for honors nor facing the threat of relegation themselves. In other words, they had little to play for other than pride.

Liverpool were willing to accept a loss: Man United were only 33 miles away, and, with transportation costs being what they were, the Scousers didn't want to lose a cheap roadtrip. Imagine Liverpool giving the club that has become their most hated opponents a break that saves them from relegation. Better yet: Imagine Man United being in position to be relegated. A wonderful thought.

The effects of "the Great War" (which we now know as World War I) provided further motivation to perpetrate a fix: Although the season had begun on time on September 1, 1914, a month after the war began, the war did not live up to the expectation -- held on both sides -- that it would "be over by Christmas." By the end of the following March, there was no end in sight.

So the decision by the Football Association to suspend Football League operations after the season was already being predicted by nearly everyone. Since no one knew how long the war would last, it was presumed that would be not merely interrupting, but possibly ending, the footballing careers of everyone then playing in the league: Presuming they survived the war, most players would be too old to resume, and all teams would have to start over with younger players. (It didn't quite work out that way.) Also, the players perhaps thought that the diversion of the conflict would lessen the attention that would normally be paid to a dubious match result.

Old Trafford, shortly after its 1910 opening

The match ended in a 2–0 win to United, with George Anderson scoring both goals. However, the match referee and some observers noted Liverpool's lack of commitment during the game. They had missed a penalty that had been awarded to them, and when Fred Pagnam hit the Manchester United crossbar late in the match, his teammates publicly yelled at him for trying too hard.

On April 24, Middlesex team Tottenham Hotspur -- a redrawing of boundaries for 1965 meant that they were now in North London -- lost 5-0 away to North-East team Sunderland, clinching 20th and last place in Division One, meaning they were to be relegated to Division Two. West London team Chelsea finished 19th, and were also relegated. United finished 18th, and stayed up. The season thus ended, the FA then did indeed suspend League play, and FA Cup play, for the duration of the war.

At first, this relegation for Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs," wouldn't seem to matter to anyone but them and their fans. But it would. 

Handbills started to appear, alleging that a large amount of money had been bet at odds of 7/1 (or "7-1," as we would write in the U.S.) on a 2–0 win to United over Liverpool. The FA investigated, and found that players from both sides had been involved in rigging the match: For Liverpool, Jackie Sheldon (a former United player, and the man found to be the ringleader), Tom Miller, Bob Pursell, and a man both aptly and inaptly named, Thomas Fairfoul; for United, Sandy Turnbull, Arthur Whalley and Enoch West.

Jackie Sheldon

Anderson, who scored both goals, and Pagnam, who hit the crossbar, knew about the fix, but refused to take part. Had Pagnam scored, that would have made the score 2-1, and ruined the bets: They weren't just for United to win, but specifically for them to win 2-0.

Pagnam willingly testified against his crooked teammates. Billy Meredith, one of the top players of the era, who had previously played for Manchester City and had won the FA Cup with both Manchester teams (as had Turnbull), testified that he didn't know about the fix, but that he had gotten suspicious during the match, when nobody would pass to him.

On December 27, 1915, the FA banned all 7 players for life. They found no evidence that any official from either team had participated in the fix. Neither team was fined, or had points deducted, or was relegated, which United would have deserved to be had there been no fix. West protested his innocence, and sued the FA, but lost.

Four of the players were from Scotland, and returned there to play non-league ball, as that country had also suspended its league, and did not recognize England's ban. Eventually, though, all 7 players ended up serving in the war. Turnbull, one of the Scottish players, was killed at the Battle of Arras in France on May 3, 1917.

After the war, in recognition of their military service, all of the players except West were reinstated, including a posthumous reinstatement for Turnbull. Because the war ended on November 11, 1918, it was too soon to start a 1918-19 season, so the next League season didn't start until August 30, 1919. And Fairfoul retired. So West was the only one who actually missed any League play. His ban, which also covered working for any team in the League, in any capacity, ended up being lifted in 1945, after World War II. At least he was still alive to receive his reinstatement.

Turnbull was survived by a wife and 4 children. Two of Turnbull's sons, Alexander Jr. and Ronald, signed amateur forms with Manchester United in 1932, but neither made a senior appearance for them, equivalent to making the major leagues in North American sports.

There was a weird postscript to this scandal. On March 10, 1919, the Football League held a meeting to reorganize. In the leadup to this meeting, it was suggested -- as it turned out, correctly, even more than they suspected -- that the postwar market for football would be insatiable, and that Division One should be expanded from 20 to 22 teams.

This would seem to have been great news for Chelsea, which had finished 19th in Division One; and for Tottenham, which had finished 20th. Now, in spite of each team's grand ineptitude, they could keep their spaces in Division One and not be relegated, while the top 2 teams from Division Two in the last completed season, 1914-15, Derby County of Derbyshire and Preston North End of Lancashire, could still keep their hard-earned promotions.

But Man U were already one of the biggest clubs in the North of England, and a lot of people didn't want them kicked out. And many other teams' owners liked that they were close, and saved them money on travel costs.

It worked: Chelsea rightly got the 21st spot, and Arsenal got the 22nd, even though they had finished 6th in Division Two in 1915. (A later check of the results showed they should have been listed as 5th, but that doesn't matter now.)

But the subject of the 1915 fix was brought up. By all rights, Chelsea were screwed out of 18th place and safety, regardless of how the 1919 reorganization meeting panned out. By all rights, Man U should have been kicked out of the League. After all, it's not as though people in the Manchester area would be without a team: Manchester City, Manchester Central, Bolton Wanderers, Oldham Athletic,

Bury, Rochdale and Stockport County were all already in business. (Wigan Athletic would come later, in 1932, replacing Manchester Central, who went out of business due to the Great Depression.)

So Sir Henry Norris, chairman of North London team Arsenal, knighted for his work supporting the war effort, had a plan: He would bring several clubs in to vote to keep Man U in the League... if Man U and their allies would vote to bring Arsenal into Division One.

This election would seem to have screwed not only Tottenham Hotspur, but Barnsley (a Yorkshire club that had finished 3rd in Division Two), Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers (a.k.a. Wolves, 4th) and Birmingham City (officially 5th) out of that 22nd place. Yet all 3 of those clubs have been in the Premier League in recent years, and while their fans don't particularly like Arsenal (many fans admire Arsenal, but few genuinely like them), they never bring up the fact that "You screwed us out of the first division in 1919!"

Only Tottenham fans do that. To this day, Tottenham fans claim that there must have been bribery, that Norris must have paid off some club chairmen to vote Arsenal into Division One.

It has been over a century. Not one shred of evidence has ever been publicly produced that Norris bribed anyone to make it happen.

Norris' move might have been sneaky, devious, and underhanded, but it was not corrupt. Not until 1987 would the League make a team's promotion be automatic: Until then, it was always by election. Granted, those elections nearly always turned a rightful promotion into a formality and a reality. But not always. Sometimes, it was based on other factors, such as convenience for the clubs' business managers. This was one of the times that it was decided based on something other than finishing position, and, while it may have been odd, it was done within the rules of the time.

Indeed, there is more evidence that Tottenham bribed their way into the League at all in 1908 than there is that Arsenal bribed their way into Division One in 1919. Certainly, no one at the time publicly suggested that Norris had bribed anyone.

Besides, as the team that finished last in the last season, Tottenham had far less right to gripe about Arsenal screwing them over than did Barnsley, Wolves or Brum. Spurs were last, and on merit, too.

It's also worth pointing out that, whatever Norris' motivations at the time, Tottenham had nothing to do with it. He never cared who the opponent was, as long as he made money and Arsenal won.

Yet the story persists, and fans of other clubs who hate Arsenal are more than happy to pass the lie along.

Tottenham did rightly win promotion to Division One at the end of the 1919-20 season. You would think that, since (presuming that they were screwed at all) they were only screwed for 1 year, they would have gotten over it by then. Or at any time in the intervening century.

But since they can't claim to be a more successful club than Arsenal, or a bigger one, or a more admired one around the world, Tottenham fans hang onto this myth that Arsenal were corrupt in 1919 and cheated them, and that all their success since is illegitimate. (Which doesn't explain their own many failures over the same period.)

It makes me wonder why Spurs fans never blame Man United for screwing them over. After all, if United hadn't fixed that game in 1915, Spurs would have been 19th, and thus, after the 1919 reorganization meeting, entitled to remain in Division One, and Arsenal wouldn't have been able to make arrangements, legal or otherwise, to get that 22nd spot. So why don't Spurs fans hate United?

*

December 27, 1915 was a Monday. Baseball was out of season. Football season was over. Professional basketball barely existed. There was professional hockey, but neither the National Hockey Association in the east nor the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in the west scheduled any games.

While England had suspended Football League play for the duration of World War I, there was still competition, including the London Combination. In this, on this day, Arsenal hosted East London team West Ham United at Highbury, and won, 3-2.

December 23, 1978: Arsenal's Lampoon Christmas Vacation

Liam Brady, after scoring that goal

December 23, 1978: A North London Derby is played at White Hart Lane. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club host their arch-rivals, Arsenal FC.

Arsenal were by far the more historically successful team, while Tottenham -- or "Spurs" -- were the team whose fans had a chip on their shoulders. I've often compared the relationship to that between New York's baseball teams, but that's a bit unfair -- to the Mets. The Mets began play in 1962, a year after Spurs won their most recent Football League title. They've won the FA Cup (England's national soccer tournament) 6 times since then, but the last of those was in 1991, and they haven't even reached a Final since.

A foolish backpass by Spurs' John Pratt fell into the path of Alan Sunderland, allowing him to score, just 43 seconds into the game. Spurs never got going, even their much-heralded midfielder Glenn Hoddle making the kind of mistakes that had John Motson, calling the game for Match of the Day on the BBC, saying, "Oh, dear me!" In the 38th minute, Sunderland scored again.

This Arsenal team was known as the Irish Connection.  Midfielder Liam Brady and forward Frank Sfapleton had grown up together in Dublin, the Republic of Ireland. Manager Terry Neill was from Belfast, Northern Ireland, as were right back and team Captain Pat Rice, the last holdover from Arsenal’s team that won "The Double," both the Football League and the FA Cup, in 1971; left back Sammy Nelson, a reserve on that 1971 team; and goalkeeper Pat Jennings, once a star for Spurs, but they let him go, and Arsenal picked him up for free.

Just after the hour, Brady picked up the ball, dribbled down the touch line with the most famous left foot in Arsenal history, got nearly to the corner, and sent a hellacious cross into the box. Stapleton was waiting, threw himself forward, and sent a diving header into the net.

It was 3-0 to The Arsenal. With Christmas just 2 days away, the 5,000 or so Arsenal fans in White Hart Lane began to sing:

Jingle bells, jingle bells

jingle all the way!

Oh, what fun it is to see

The Arsenal win away!

Just 4 minutes later, there was a scramble on front of Spurs' net. Brady began one of the most fondly-remembered sequences in Arsenal history, sliding in to steal the ball cleanly, then dribbling while looking for a shot, finding one, and sending it curling in. 4-0. Motson said, "Look at that! Oh, look at that! What a goal by Brady!" Brady ran over to celebrate in front of a group of Spurs fans, and there was nothing he could do, for it was 4-0 to The Arsenal.

Sunderland really wanted a 3rd goal. He had several attempts that came to nothing. Only 1 Arsenal player had ever scored a "hat trick" against Spurs: Ted Drake, in 1934. (Only 1 Tottenham player has ever done it against Arsenal: Terry Dyson in 1961.) Finally, in the 82nd minute, he got a breakaway, and got his 3rd. In stoppage time, Stapleton got the ball and got loose, and launched a shot that hit the corner of the goal. Motson said, "Well! That could have been six!" Instead, it ended Tottenham 0-5 Arsenal.

The BBC's postgame graphic

(UPDATE: In 2025, Eberechi Eze became the 3rd Arsenal player to score a hat trick against Tottenham.)

Arsenal fans who were there claimed that, on the way out, Spurs hooligans were assaulting anyone they saw wearing red, even if they hadn't been to the game. But Arsenal were on their way to a Merry Christmas (or, as they would say in England, a Happy Christmas) and that season's FA Cup; while Spurs were on their way to another trophyless season.

Soon, Spurs signed 2 superstars from Argentina's recent World Cup win: Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles and Ricardo "Ricky" Villa. This later led to a joke among Arsenal fans: Alan Sunderland never played for Sunderland, Ricky Villa never played for Aston Villa, and Danny Shittu never played for Tottenham. (A few years earlier, Tottenham had a player named Mike England, but he was from Wales, and played his international football for Wales. In the 2000s and 2010s, there was a player named Stephen Ireland who played his international football for the Republic of Ireland.)

*

December 23, 1978 was a Saturday. Venezuelan baseball player Víctor Martínez and Canadian actress-model Estella Warren were born.

Baseball was out of season. Although NFL Playoff games are usually played on Saturdays, it didn't happen this time. There were 3 college football bowl games played that day:

* Number 14 Texas beat Number 13 Maryland, 42-0 in the Sun Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in El Paso, Texas.

* Number 16 Pittsburgh lost to North Carolina State, 30-17 in the Tangerine Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Orlando.

* And Number 18 Missouri beat Louisiana State (LSU), 20-15 in the Liberty Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Memphis.

There were 6 games played in the NBA that day:

* New York Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets, 129-107 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 109-91 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Saints, 127-103 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons, 130-126 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-117 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Bullets, 114-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, 9-4 at the Nassau Coliseum. Bryan Trottier scored 5 goals and 3 assists.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4 at the Boston Garden.

* The Detroit Red Wings and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 2-2 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-1 at the Checkerdome, as the St. Louis Arena was then known.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

* And the Atlanta Flames and the Colorado Rockies were not scheduled.

And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The New England Whalers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 4-3 at the Springfield Civic Center (now the MassMutual Center) in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they were playing during repairs on the Hartford Civic Center. And the Cincinnati Stingers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 6-2 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center).

December 4, 1935: Swastikas Over White Hart Lane

The Swastika flag can be made out,

in the upper-right corner of the photo.

December 4, 1935: The national soccer teams of England and Germany play each other at White Hart Lane in Tottenham, Middlesex, a northern suburb of London. The match is surrounded by controversy.

That had not been the case the 1st time the teams played each other. On May 10, 1930, at the Poststadion in Berlin, with Germany governed by the Weimar Republic, there were no incidents, and the game ended in a draw, 3-3.

But in 1933, the Nazi Party took power in Germany. Their oppression of the nation's Jews, for blaming them for Germany's defeat in World War I, caught the attention of the world. And so, when a 2nd football match between the countries was set for England, many people worried about what Germans, traveling to watch their team play, might do to English people they perceived as Jewish.

To make matters worse, the chosen venue for the match was White Hart Lane, in Tottenham. Until a 1963 Act of Parliament redrew the boundaries of England's Counties, Tottenham was part of Middlesex. Effective January 1, 1965, it would be a part of London, as would parts of Kent and Surrey, while Middlesex was eliminated entirely.

Fans of Tottenham Hotspur, or "Spurs," the team playing home games at The Lane, have always claimed that "North London is ours." It's never been true: Arsenal, 4.7 miles away, and officially within London since 1913 (even though White Hart Lane never moved following its opening in 1899), have always been the more successful team.

Why did the choice of venue make things worse? Because Tottenham has long been thought of as a Jewish area of London, and "Spurs" a "Jewish club." It's not true: Their local area does not have a noticeably larger percentage of Jewish residents than most of London.

Nevertheless, their fans have accepted this identity, flying Israeli flags, and even using an anti-Semitic slur (which I won't use here) for the name of their hooligan firm. Fans of other London teams, including (regrettably) Arsenal, East End team West Ham United, and West London team Chelsea have also used slurs and anti-Semitic tropes against them.

It had been rumored that 8,000 Germans were traveling to London for the match, and trouble was feared. In fact, none of the Germans among the crowd of 54,164 is known to have caused any trouble. Still, the photographs showing the Nazi Swastika flag flying over White Hart Lane, as well as the English Cross of St. George and the British Union Jack, was jarring.

Germany wore white shirts. England, wearing blue, fielded this lineup:

* Goalkeeper, Henry Gibbs, of Birmingham City.

* Right back, George Male of Arsenal.

* Left back and team Captain, Eddie Hapgood of Arsenal.

* Right half, Jack Crayston of Arsenal.

* Centre half, Jack Barker of Derby County.

* Left half, John Bray of Manchester City.

* Outside right, Stanley Matthews of Stoke City.

* Inside right, Horatio "Raich" Carter of Sunderland.

* Centre forward, George Camsell of Middlesbrough.

* Inside left, Ray Westwood of Bolton Wanderers. And...

* Outside left, Cliff Bastin of Arsenal.

If 4 Arsenal players in the starting lineup seems excessive, let the record show that Arsenal had won the last 3 Football League titles, and that the 1934 match against Italy known as "The Battle of Highbury," at Arsenal's stadium, had 7 Arsenal players.

As The Times of London reported, the game was not much of a contest. I have left the account as written, with no changes of spelling or grammar:

England beat Germany at White Hart Lane yesterday by three goals to none. The football was naither as interesting to watch nor as perfect in technique as it might have been, but the afternoon was a great success for at least two reasons. First, the game was played throughout in the friendliest of spirit ; and, secondly, after a morning of heavy and persistent rain, the sun came out, and both the players and the spectators had far better conditions than they could have expected three or four hours before the kick-off.

Germany were fortunate in that the margin against them was not bigger, and it would be flattery to pretend otherwise...

England's one goal came when Camsell was given a pass which sent him racing through in the inside-left position, and his shot, taken from an extremely acute angle, could not be stopped...

First a movement down the left wing begun by Hapgood ended with Bastin centreing across for Camsell to head into the net, and then some splendid football by Bastin, who had worked into the centre, led up to Camsell, who had run over to the left, to return the ball to Bastin, who never looked like making a mistake with his shot.

So that was 2 goals for Camsell, and 1 for Bastin, whose 178 goals for Arsenal would be a club record until 1997, and are still 3rd all-time behind the 228 of Thierry Henry and the 185 of Ian Wright.

The Observer, which had warned of German violence, had to admit: "So chivalrous in heart and so fair in tackling were the English and German teams who played at Tottenham in mid-week that even the oldest of veterans failed to recall an international engagement played with such good manners by everybody."

The teams would play just once more before World War II broke out, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin in 1938. The German players saluted the Nazi flag. The English players did as well, in a gesture of solidarity, except for Stan Cullis of Wolverhampton Wanderers, later to manage that team to glory.

*

December 4, 1935 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And while the NHL season was underway, no games were scheduled. So the England-Germany football match produced the only score on this historic day.

September 26, 2021: Justin Tucker Kicks a 66-Yard Field Goal

September 26, 2021: Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens sets a new NFL record, kicking a 66-yard field goal. It is the final play of a 19-17 Ravens win over the Detroit Lions, at Ford Field in Detroit.

It broke the record of 64 yards, by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos in 2013. That broke the record of 63 yards, which had been done 3 times by that point. The 1st time was by Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints in 1970. That field goal, like Tucker's was the last and winning play in a 19-17 win over the Lions, albeit in New Orleans instead of Detroit.

Tucker kicked another last-play field goal later in the season, a mere 36 yards, to beat the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. He was selected to his 5th Pro Bowl that season.

*

September 26, 2021 was a Sunday. These other NFL games were played that day:

* The New York Giants lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 17-14 at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Denver Broncos, 26-0 at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the New England Patriots, 28-13 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-10 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Browns beat the Chicago Bears, 26-6 at FirstEnergy Stadium (now named Huntington Bank Field) in Cleveland.

* The Buffalo Bills beat the team then known as the Washington Football Team, 43-21 at the original Highmark Stadium (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Tennessee Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts, 25-16 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-19 at TIAA Bank Field (now EverBank Stadium) in Jacksonville.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the Seattle Seahawks, 30-17 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-24 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Las Vegas Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-28 at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Daniel Carlson kicked a 22-yard field goal as time ran out in overtime.

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-24 at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 30-28 at Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Santa Clara, San Francisco.

(There was a game played the preceding Thursday: The Carolina Panthers beat the Houston Texans, 24-9 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston. And, the next night, on ESPN Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-21 at AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.)

And these Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-3 at Fenway Park. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th inning, including a home run by Giancarlo Stanton. Chad Green was the winning pitcher, in relief of Jordan Montgomery. But the Red Sox would beat the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game.

* The New York Mets lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Five Pirate pitchers combined on a 6-hit shutout.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4 at Camden Yards.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat their cross-State rivals, the Miami Marlins, 3-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals, 9-2 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Five Dodger pitchers combined on a 7-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-1 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the RingCentral Coliseum).

And in a North London Derby in English soccer, Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur, 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Goals were scored by Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Bukayo Saka, who apparently only needs 2 names to score, instead of 3.

September 10, 1955: "Gunsmoke" Premieres

Back, left to right: Glenn Strange, Ken Curtis, Buck Taylor and Milburn Stone.

Front: James Arness and Amanda Blake.

September 10, 1955: Gunsmoke premieres. Outlasting every other classic TV Western, it becomes the longest-running fiction show in CBS' history.

It began as a radio show, with William Conrad -- later to star in Cannon, Nero Wolfe and Jake & the Fatman -- as Matt Dillon, U.S. Marshal for Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870s. (The city was, and remains, real; the character was fictional.) But he was too fat to play the character on TV. So was Raymond Burr, who was also considered, and ended up starring for 9 seasons as the titular lawyer on Perry Mason, and 8 seasons as the titular police commissioner on Ironside.

James Arness, 6-foot-7, solidly built, and looking like someone no desperado would want to mess with, played Dillon on TV for 20 years. Over that time, many men did mess with Dillon: He was shot at 56 times, knocked unconscious 29 times, stabbed 3 times, and poisoned once -- but survived, every time.

The show also starred Amanda Blake as Kathleen Russell, a.k.a. "Miss Kitty," proprietor of the Long Branch Saloon. For those of you who criticize modern entertainment as "woke," know this: No guns were allowed inside the Long Branch. If you wanted to get in, you had to turn your guns over at the door. It was the law. Matt and Kitty were big believers in gun control, "pardner."

But it was more than that: The Saloon was also real, and had that exact rule. As it turned out, the real Dodge City never had more than 2 murders a year. In this way, the "Wild West" was not as wild as we've been led to believe.

Matt and Kitty were clearly fond of each other, but they were never shown getting romantic with each other, and never got married. From the 1950s onward, fans of the show, including those of us who only know it in reruns, have been sure they were fooling around with each other, but this has never been canon.

Dillon had 2 other close allies. Milburn Stone, an actual Kansas native, played Galen Adams, the town doctor, always addressed as "Doc." And Dennis Weaver played Chester B. Goode, who walked with a limp and always said, "Yes, sir, Mr. Dillon!" (Chuck Berry's character Johnny B. Goode was almost certainly named after him.) Chester was never an official Deputy Sheriff, but helped Dillon out as if he were. Weaver left the show in 1964, and was replaced by Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen, a character that debuted 2 years earlier, and did eventually become an official Deputy.

Burt Rumsey played Sam Noonan, the bartender at the Long Branch, until 1959, when Glenn Strange took over the role. From 1962 to 1965, a young Burt Reynolds played a blacksmith named Quint Asper. From 1967 onward, Buck Taylor played Newly Smith, a gunsmith who becomes a Deputy Marshal.

Glenn Strange died in 1973, while the show was still on the air, but he was already 74 years old. As had happened with many other CBS shows in the 1970s, Gunsmoke was canceled without warning, in 1975. The cast learned about it in the trade papers, not through face-to-face meetings, phone calls, or even mail. The last episode aired on March 31, 13 days after M*A*S*H killed off Henry Blake, also on CBS. Milburn Stone died in 1980.

In 1987, CBS aired a reunion movie, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, with James Arness, Amanda Blake and Buck Taylor reprising their roles. Ken Curtis thought the network was lowballing him on pay for it, and refused to participate. Dennis Weaver also did not appear. No mention was made of the characters of Doc, Chester, Festus or Sam.

Amanda Blake died in 1989, and did not appear in the next reunion movie, the following year: Gunsmoke: The Last Apache. There would be 3 more made-for-TV movies, with Arness the only main character returning: Gunsmoke: To the Last Man, in 1992; Gunsmoke: The Long Ride, in 1993; and Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice, in 1994.

Dennis Weaver, who went on to star in McCloud, died in 2006; Arness, in 2011; and Burt Reynolds, in 2018. Taylor is the only one of these castmembers mentioned who is still alive as of September 10, 2022, age 84.

Arness' younger brother was Peter Graves, who was 6-foot-4, took his mother's family name so he wouldn't be seen as riding his brother's success, and went on to star on Mission: Impossible as IMF team leader Jim Phelps. (The family name is "Aurness.") In spite of their long and successful careers, the brothers never acted together.

I'd like to believe that Jim Phelps is Marshal Dillon's great-grandson. It would make sense, since Dillon and Phelps were both government agents. But that relationship is not canon, either. 

*

September 10, 1955 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 9-8 at Yankee Stadium. Bob Kennedy went 4-for-5 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Elston Howard hit a home run for the Yankees, while Mickey Mantle went 1-for-5, and Yogi Berra went 2-for-3.

* The New York Giants lost to the Cincinnati Redlegs, 4-3 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. (From 1954 to 1958, the Reds bowed to the stupidity of Red-baiting, and called themselves the Redlegs.) Willie Mays went 0-for-4.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs got rained out after 6 innings, with the game tied 3-3 at Wrigley Field. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3. Ernie Banks went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 10-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ralph Kiner, playing out the string with the Indians, hit the 369th home run of his career. It turned out to be his last. I remember watching a Mets broadcast, and a player (I don't remember who) hit his 1st major league home run, and Tim McCarver, broadcasting with Kiner, said he didn't remember his first: "You'd think I would, since I didn't hit that many!" Kiner said, "I remember my first. I don't remember my last, because, at the time, I didn't think it would be my last!"

Norm Zauchin hit one for the Red Sox, while Ted Williams went 3-for-5 with an RBI.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Al Kaline went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson, then a rookie, did not play for the Orioles.

* The Kansas City Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 8-6 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Eddie Mathews hit 2 home runs. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4. Roberto Clemente, then a rookie, went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis, in a game shortened to 6 innings due to rain. Stan Musial went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Tom Poholsky outpitched Robin Roberts.

Although it was a Saturday, there were no college football games that year until the following weekend. In English soccer, there was a North London Derby, and Tottenham Hotspur, playing at home at White Hart Lane, beat Arsenal, 3-1.

August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship

Left to right: Cynthia Cooper, Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes

August 30, 1997: The 1st WNBA Championship is awarded. Instead of a series, as it is today, it is a single game, at the Compaq Center -- formerly The Summit -- in Houston, and the Houston Comets beat the New York Liberty, 65-51.

Despite having such stars as Rebecca Lobo, Teresa Weatherspoon, Kym Hampton and Rutgers graduate Sue Wicks, the Libs couldn't keep up with Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper -- "Swoopes to the Hoop" and "Coop to the Hoop." Cooper led all scorers with 25 points, and was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Under head coach Van Chancellor, the Rockets won the WNBA's 1st 4 Championships. In comparison, Houston's other teams combined have won 5: The Rockets 2, MLS' Dynamo 2, the Astros 1, the Texans none and the Oilers none. (This does not count the AFL Championships won by the Oilers in 1960 and '61, or the WHA Championships won by the Aeros in 1974 and '75, as those were not World Championships.) In contrast, the Liberty have gone 0-for-4 in Finals. But the Liberty are still in business, while the Comets folded in 2008.

When the Rockets and the Comets left The Summit for the Toyota Center in 2003, Dr. Joel Osteen bought the old arena, and turned it into Lakewood Church Central Campus, the base of his “megachurch.” He will never recover from the knowledge that the most popular person ever to speak in that building is a black Muslim immigrant whose first language was not English, Hakeem Olajuwon.

The WNBA title roll: The Comets 4, the Minnesota Lynx 4, the Seattle Storm 4, the Los Angeles Sparks 3, the Detroit Shock 3 (they moved in 2009, are now the Dallas Wings, and haven't won another), the Phoenix Mercury 3, the Sacramento Monarchs 1 (they folded in 2009), the Indiana Fever 1, the Washington Mystics 1, and the Chicago Sky 1.

*

August 30, 1997 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Montreal Expos, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. It was foreshadowing for darker things for the Yankees: Pedro Martínez outpitched David Wells.

* The New York Mets beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-6 at Camden Yards. Bernard Gilkey hit a home run in support of Brian Bohanon. Cal Ripken went 0-for-2 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Boston Red Sox, 15-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-4 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Matt Beech went 7 2/3rds innings, and Ricky Bottalico finished the 8-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros, 9-2 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-1 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat their cross-State rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 16-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Mark McGwire was making his 1st serious run at the home run record. He didn't hit any. The Royals hit 5: Dean Palmer, Chili Davis, Jermaine Dye, Jeff King and Shane Halter.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Ken Griffey Jr. went 0-for-3.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the team then known as the Anaheim Angels, 7-3 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. J.T. Snow hit 2 home runs. Barry Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk.

This was also the opening weekend of the college football season. Some notable games from the day:

* Number 2 Florida beat Southern Mississippi, 21-6 at Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. (Penn State began the season ranked Number 1, but did not open their season until the following Saturday.)

* Number 5 Tennessee beat Texas Tech, 52-17 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* Number 6 Nebraska beat the University of Akron, 59-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 13 Syracuse was upset by North Carolina State, 32-31 in overtime at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The Carrier Dome was recently renamed the JMA Wireless Dome.

* Number 14 Miami beat Baylor, 45-14 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

* Number 16 Alabama beat the University of Houston, 42-17 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

* In a cross-State rivalry, West Virginia beat Marshall, 42-31 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

* In another, Kentucky beat Louisville, 38-24 at Commonwealth Stadium (now Kroger Field) in Lexington, Kentucky.

* In another, Utah State beat Utah, 21-14 at Rice Stadium (now Rice-Eccles Stadium) in Salt Lake City.

* The University of Mississippi, a.k.a. Ole Miss, beat Central Florida, 24-23 in overtime at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in oxford, Mississippi. This was the only other game that went to overtime that day.

* And in a game I actually attended, Michael Vick led Virginia Tech to a 59-19 win over Rutgers, 59-19 at the new Rutgers Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Also on that day, there was a North London Derby at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur played to a 0-0 draw.

August 6, 1977: Arsenal Sign Pat Jennings

August 6, 1977: Having not been offered a new contract by Tottenham Hotspur, whom he'd helped win the 1967 FA Cup, the 1971 and 1973 League Cups, and the 1972 UEFA Cup, goalkeeper Pat Jennings signs with their North London arch-rivals, Arsenal. Since he is not currently under contract, "The Gunners" don't have to pay a penny to sign him.

Born on June 12, 1945 in Newry, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, Jennings helped Arsenal reach 4 cup finals in the next 3 seasons, but they won only 1 of them, the 1979 FA Cup. And even that was nearly blown.

On the other hand, "Spurs" didn't miss him that much. They got back up the next season. With Milija Aleksic, an Englishman of Serbian descent, in goal, the won the 1981 FA Cup. Then they signed former Liverpool goalie Ray Clemence, and won the 1982 FA Cup and the 1984 UEFA Cup (now the UEFA Europa League).

Jennings remained with Arsenal until 1985, and later returned to Spurs as a "club ambassador," meaning he schmoozes rich people in luxury boxes. He may be the only player to have played for both Arsenal and Spurs who remains beloved by fans of both.

There are many differences between N5's Arsenal and N17's Spurs. Here's one of the biggest: At Spurs, Pat Jennings, now 73, is the greatest goalie in club history; at Arsenal, despite having won Arsenal's biggest trophy in a generation, he might not even be one of their 5 greatest goalies ever.

He made 119 appearances for the Northern Ireland national football team, including in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. This was a record for that team until 2019, when he was surpassed by Steven Davis, a midfielder who starred for English teams Aston Villa and Southampton, and for Scottish team Rangers.

*

August 6, 1977 was a Saturday. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Seattle Mariners, 9-2 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Glenn Abbott outpitched Jim "Catfish" Hunter. The M's got home runs from Bill Stein, Steve Braun, Leroy Stanton and  Ruppert Jones. For the Yankees, Mickey Rivers went 3-for-4, and Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Francisco Giants, 7-3 at Shea Stadium. Ed Halicki outpitched Pat Zachry. Willie McCovey went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Félix Millán and Ron Hodges each had 3 hits for the Mets, but the rest of the team had only 3.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. The game was scoreless in the bottom of the 9th, when Ted Sizemore singled Jerry Martin home to win it. This made Gene Garber a winning pitcher in relief of Jim Kaat, completing a 6-hit shutout, outpitching Burt Hooton. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3 with a walk. This turned out to be a preview of the National League Championship Series, but the Dodgers won that.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Montreal Expos, 3-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Tom Seaver outpitched Terry Forster, who was usually a reliever. Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan hit home runs for the Big Red Machine. Pete Rose went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 10-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Bobby Murcer went 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Jerry Morales went 3-for-5 with 4 RBIs. Dave Winfield went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Robin Yount went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Rod Carew went 1-for-4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and an RBI.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 6-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 3 RBIs.

* A doubleheader was split at the Astrodome in Houston. The St. Louis Cardinals won the opener, 3-1. The Houston Astros won the nightcap, 4-1. Over the 2 games, Lou Brock went 3-for-7 with 2 RBIs.

* The California Angels beat the Baltimore Orioles, 9-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Ken Brett outpitched Rudy May. Ken Singleton went 3-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs, while Eddie Murray went 2-for-4.

* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Jim Rice went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge

Dane Richards (left) and Wayne Bridge

July 22, 2010: The New York Football Challenge begins at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. As Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn would say, "And by football, I mean futbol!"

The host New York Red Bulls, with newly-signed superstar Thierry Henry, the Arsenal legend, took on Arsenal's arch-rivals, fellow North London team Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. "Spurs."

In 1961, Spurs won the Football League and the FA Cup tournament, becoming the first English team in the 20th Century to "win The Double" or "do The Double." They also won the FA Cup in 1962, 1967, 1981 and 1991 -- but that's it for major trophies. They've since won the League Cup in 1999 and 2008, but teams that consider the League Cup a "major trophy" can hardly be called a "big club."

Spurs fans also like to talk about their hooliganism. But there was no way they were going to be able to pull any of their usual stuff at Red Bull Arena: The home team has a great security system, searching for weapons and tossing out anyone outside the designated supporters-club sections (in other words, anyone inside the "family sections") that gets out of line. Besides, do they really think London is tougher (or "harder" as they would say) than New York and New Jersey? It is not.

Anyway, both teams went through the 1st half with most of their starters, including the newly-signed Henry, who scored his first goal for his new team. It wasn't a vintage "Henry... What a goal! What a goal!" shot, but it counted just the same. A lot of Tri-State Area converts to the Arsenal cause (a.k.a. Gooners, from the team's nickname the Gunners, from the cannon on their crest) went mental, watching the greatest player in team history (some would still say that's Dennis Bergkamp) score for their real home team.

Henry had already been embraced by the Metro fans, and he embraced them in return. He told reporters that he even took the PATH train from Manhattan to Harrison. I wonder how many people recognized him? He did do a Gillette razor commercial with Roger Federer and Tiger Woods, although for most U.S. broadcasts, that ad was Federer, Woods and Derek Jeter.

Anyway, Metro's Number 14 didn't get the treatment Pelé got when he came to play for the New York Cosmos from 1975 to '77, but Henry did have the advantage of the increased TV coverage from the NASL's time, being that, aside from the '70 World Cup where he led Brazil to victory, most Americans hadn't really seen Pelé up until '75.

In contrast, with Premier League action from England, La Liga action from Spain, Serie A action from Italy, and Bundesliga action from Germany now available via satellite, and Henry's appearances in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups for France (winning the former as a substitute and reaching the Final of the latter as an already huge star), most Americans who care about sports know who he is, having seen him play on TV, first for Arsenal and then for Barcelona.

In the 2nd half, Red Bulls manager Hans Backe took out Henry, and some other starters, including the goalkeeper, the Senegalese wizard Bouna Condoul, replacing him with Greg Sutton.

Two big mistakes. Not only did those substitutions take out our best offensive player, but switching goalies was a bonehead move. Sutton may have been Canada's Number 1 -- that is, the starting goalkeeper on their national soccer team -- but he was no match for Spurs, whose manager Harry Redknapp left in his starters, including Robbie Keane, Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić. Keane and Bale both scored in the 2nd half to give Spurs a 2-1 win.

Needless to say, the Spurs fans were their usual selves, thinking they were "taking the piss on our manor." Dimwits, they were losing against the starting lineup of an MLS team! An MLS team! This, after they managed only a scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in their last game, and the Quakes, at the time, were only 5th in the MLS West! At least the Red Bulls were 2nd in the MLS East!

Most Europeans who observe the MLS say that it's about as good as England's second division, "The Championship." (No, I don't know who named it that, or what drugs he was on at the time. Nor do I know who named their third and fourth divisions "League One" and "League Two.") So, last night, Spurs were losing against MLS starters, and only beat MLS scrubs. In an exhibition, or, as soccer fans would say, a "friendly."

And they took the piss? They're lucky there wasn't a fight: The New Yorkers and New Jerseyans would have mussed 'em up but good, the dirty chumps. Wait, sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: The locals would have given them a right hiding, the bloody bastards!

The Challenge continued the next night, as another English club, Manchester City, takes on Sporting Clube de Portugal, a.k.a. "Sporting Lisbon." With Red Bull Arena being right across the Passaic River from the Portuguese-heavy (and Brazilian-laden as well, due to the language) Ironbound section of Newark (it's a 15-minute walk from Market Street and Ferry Street bars across the Jackson Street Bridge to the Arena), Sporting were a natural for this weekend, led by Portugal national-team stars, striker Liédson and goalie Tiago.

Man City, also stuck with Second Team Syndrome behind Manchester United (which barely beat MLS expansion team Philadelphia Union 1-0 the preceding Saturday), had recently been bought by Arab investors, making it the richest sports team on the planet. In the 2010-11 season that was about to begin, City won the FA Cup for the 1st time since 1969. The next season, they won the League for the 1st time since 1968, and went on to become English soccer's next great dynasty. But all that was yet to come.

In 2010, they featured 2 former Arsenal stars, the much-admired Senegalese/French midfielder Patrick Vieira, and the formerly-cheered, now lustily-booed-with-good-reason, Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor. But in this game, City lost 2-0 to Sporting, as Yannick Djaló scored both goals.

And on Sunday, July 25, there was a doubleheader, which I attended. Sporting and Spurs drew 2-2, while the Red Bulls beat Man City 2-1.

The standings for the Challenge worked like this: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 1 point for each goal scored. With 2 losses and 1 goal, Man City got 1 point. For a win, a draw, and 3 goals, the Red Bulls got 6. With a win, a draw, and 4 goals, Sporting and Spurs each got 8 points. But Sporting had the superior goal difference, +2 to +1, and so Sporting were declared the winners and were awarded the trophy. No Player of the Tournament was named. Attendance for the doubleheader was 23,228, probably a sellout when freebies were counted. (Red Bull Arena officially seats 25,000 even.)

*

July 22, 2010 was a Thursday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-4 at Yankee Stadium. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit home runs. A-Rod had 4 RBIs, and he and Mark Teixeira each had 3 hits, supporting CC Sabathia.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 8 innings of 5-hit shutout ball, supported by a home run from Matt Kemp.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-0 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Carl Pavano -- yes, Yankee Fans, that Carl Pavano -- pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 8-0 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tim Hudson pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Ronny Paulino's singled drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Over 11 innings, Phillies pitchers, including Cole Hamels over the 1st 8, allowed just 1 hit. Placido Polanco won it with a home run in the top of the 11th.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 3-2 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-0 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Matt Cain pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners, 8-6 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. The Mariners scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings, but an RBI double by Eric Patterson won it for the Sox in the top of the 13th.

* And the Chicago Cubs, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays were not scheduled to play.

July 3, 2001: Arsenal sign Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell with the FA Cup (in his right hand)

and the Premier League trophy (in his left)

July 3, 2001: Arsenal Football Club sign Sol Campbell. The centreback had been Captain of their North London arch-rivals, Tottenham Hotspur F.C., and had led "Spurs" to the 1999 League Cup. But, his contract having run out, he was not given any assurances by team management that they would bring in new talent to improve the team.

In contrast, Arsenal offered the 26-year-old East Londoner the chance to stay in London, and play Champions League games. After he had rejected all overtures by Spurs, and from European giants FC Barcelona, Internazionale Milano and Bayern Munich, Campbell signed with Arsenal. Spurs' Captain was now the rock of Arsenal's defense, ready to replace the aging team Captain, Tony Adams.

Tottenham fans were livid, turning as red as their rivals' shirts. Not with embarrassment, as they should have, but with rage.

Result? In his 1st season with Arsenal, they won the Premier League and the FA Cup -- the Double. 2nd season? The FA Cup again. 3rd season? An unbeaten League season, clinching the title at, of all places, Spurs' White Hart Lane. 4th season? Another FA Cup. 5th season? Arsenal reached the Champions League Final, and Sol scored in the game, although Arsenal lost.

He then left Arsenal, signing with Hampshire team Portsmouth FC. In 2008, Portsmouth made an unlikely run to win the FA Cup, with Campbell as Captain.

To this day, Spurs fans sing about Sol being "Judas," and that's one of the more printable things they say. But he says he has no regrets.

Since he made the North London switch, Spurs have won just 1 major trophy, and that's if you consider the League Cup to be a "major trophy," doing so in 2008, meaning that Campbell still outdid them that season by leading Portsmouth to the FA Cup.

*

July 3, 2001 was a Tuesday. Folarin Balogun, a Brooklyn native of Nigerian descent who has played for Arsenal, AS Monaco, and the U.S. National Team, was born on this day. 

These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 10-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Derek Jeter, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius hit home runs. Randy Keisler started, but only went 4 innings, so Ramiro Mendoza became the winning pitcher. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The New York Mets lost to the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Shea Stadium. Kerry Wood had a 5-hit shutout going through 6 1/3rd innings, but had thrown 110 pitches and already had a history of injury. Kyle Farnsworth and Tom Gordon went the rest of the way, without allowing another hit. Sammy Sosa and Ron Coomer hit home runs for the Cubs.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Montreal Expos, 7-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Ryan Dempster pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14-7 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tom Glavine started for the Braves, but didn't get past the 3rd inning. Still, the Phils blew a 5-1 lead. Chipper Jones hit 2 home runs, and the Braves scored 8 runs in the 7th inning. Bobby Abreu homered for the Phillies.

* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals, 8-4 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-0 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. Jamey Wright pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball. For some reason, Brewer manager Davey Lopes decided he needed 3 pitchers to finish the 9th inning, and Wright wasn't one of them. Mark McGwire went 0-for-3 with a walk for the Cardinals.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. "Rookie" sensation Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base.

* The Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-5 at Enron Field (soon to be renamed Minute Maid Park, now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-5 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk. In his final season, Tony Gwynn appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with 2 walks, 1 of them intentional.

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum (then named the Network Associates Coliseum).