October 1, 1988: Steffi Graf Wins the Golden Slam

October 1, 1988: Steffi Graf, as I mentioned earlier, had already won the Grand Slam. She goes one better: In the first Olympics in which tennis was a medal sport, she wins the Gold Medal -- making what remains, for either men or women, the only "Golden Slam."

Going into 1988, the native of Mannheim, Germany was 18, and had one major to her name, the 1987 French Open. She won the Australian Open on January 23, beating veteran Chris Evert, 6-1, 7-6. On June 4, she repeated as French Open champion, not losing a game in the Final, against Soviet player Natalia Zvereva.

Wimbledon would be a harder nut to crack. She got to the Final, and was up against the best woman Wimbledon had yet seen, Martina Navratilova. Martina took the 1st set, 7-5. But Steffi came back strong, winning the next 2 sets, 6-2 and 6-1.

On September 10, she went into Flushing Meadow, and took the court for the Final of the U.S. Open, against Argentine star Gabriela Sabatini. Graf won the 1st set, 6-3. Sabatini won the 2nd set, 6-3. Suddenly, the Steffi Slam was in doubt. But she removed all down, beating Gabby, 6-1, and finishing the Slam. She matched Maureen Connolly in 1953 and Margaret Court in 1970.

But neither Connolly nor Court had a chance to achieve a "Golden Slam." Off to the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, where tennis was a competitive sport for the 1st time since 1924. As with the U.S. and Australian Opens, it was on a hard court, as opposed to the grass of Wimbledon and the clay of the French Open. Miloslav Mečíř of Czechoslovakia won the Gold Medal in men's singles, defeating American Tim Mayotte. Graf played Sabatini in the Final again, and won, 6-3, 6-3. The 1st Golden Slam was done.

Graf won 3 out of 4 majors 4 more times, missing in the French in 1989 and 1993, and the Australian in 1995 and 1996. When her career was over, she had won 22 majors: Wimbledon 7 times, the French Open 6 times, the U.S. Open 5 times, and the Australian Open 4 times.

She topped the Golden Slam in 1999, by joining with President Jed Bartlet to win a mixed doubles match against White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg. Sadly, this match took place prior to the pilot episode of The West Wing, and was only alluded to early in the first season, so we never got to see it.

In 2001, she married Andre Agassi, winner of 4 Australian Opens, 2 U.S. Opens, Wimbledon in 1992, the French Open in 1999, and a 1996 Olympic Gold Medal, for a career Golden Slam. They have a son and a daughter, and live in the suburbs of Agassi's hometown of Las Vegas.

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October 1, 1988 was a Saturday. I'm originally from Bloomfield, New Jersey, but the family moved before I could go to Bloomfield High School. That day, BHS broke a 40-game football winless streak, 39 losses and a tie going back 1983, beating Paramus Catholic, 7-0. I was there, my 1st game at Bloomfield's Foley Field. The night before, I saw my actual Alma Mater, East Brunswick High School, beat Edison, 29-18.

Among the major college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Miami beat Missouri, 55-0 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* Number 2 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) beat Number 16 University of Washington, 24-17 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* Number 3 University of Southern California beat Arizona, 38-15 at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Arizona. USC won the Pacific-Ten Conference title.

* Number 4 Auburn beat North Carolina, 47-21 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn won the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 5 Notre Dame beat Stanford, 42-14 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame went on to beat Miami in this season's "Game of the Century."

* Number 6 Florida State beat Tulane, 48-28 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Florida State were invited to the Sugar Bowl, and beat Auburn.

* Number 7 West Virginia beat Virginia Tech, 22-10 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. There was no Big East Conference for football at this point, but West Virginia would have won it. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, to play what amounted to a National Championship decider against Notre Dame, but lost.

* Number 8 South Carolina beat Appalachian State, 35-9 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Number 9 Nebraska beat the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV), 48-6 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska won the Big Eight Conference title, but lost the Orange Bowl to Miami, for whom the Orange Bowl stadium was their home field. This was not the first time this happened to Nebraska.

* Number 10 Oklahoma beat Iowa State, 35-7 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

* Number 17 Florida upset Number 14 Louisiana State University (LSU), 19-6 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

* Number 19 Michigan beat Wisconsin, 62-14 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Michigan won the Big Ten Conference title, but lost the Rose Bowl to USC.

* Arkansas, not ranked at the time, beat Texas Christian University (TCU), 53-10 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arkansas won the Southwest Conference title, but lost to UCLA in the Cotton Bowl.

* Among the service academies, Army beat Bucknell, 58-10 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy beat Yale, 41-7 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland; and Air Force beat New Mexico, 63-14 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

* And Rutgers beat the University of Cincinnati, 38-9 at the original Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

The regular season of Major League Baseball was winding up. These games were played on the next-to-last day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Old warhorses Tommy John and Doyle Alexander started, neither of them making it through 6 innings. The Yankees got home runs from Claudell Washington, Randy Velarde and, yes, Ken Phelps. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5. Rickey Henderson went 3-for-5. Dave Winfield was injured. Chet Lemon's home run off Neil Allen in the bottom of the 8th made the difference.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Shea Stadium. Lenny Dykstra hit a home run, in support of Sid Fernandez. The Mets had won the National League Eastern Division title, and were probably the most talented team in baseball. But they blew it in the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 5-4 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Mike Schmidt, in what turned out to be his last full season, did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. John Farrell pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Doug Jones pitched a perfect 9th. Sox starter Jeff Sellers allowed only 1 hit in 7 1/3rd innings, but it was a home run by Luis Medina in the bottom of the 8th.

The 1988 American League Eastern Division race was a wild ride. The Red Sox won the Division with a record of 89-73, the Detroit Tigers were 1 game back, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Toronto Blue Jays 2 each, and the Yankees 3 1/2. Five teams within three and a half games. Injuries and needing 1 more quality starting pitcher did the Yankees in. The Indians were 11 back, and the Baltimore Orioles, who got off to the worst start in MLB history, 21 straight losses to open the season, were 34 1/2 back, 54-107.

And yet, the Red Sox lost the AL Championship Series to the Oakland Athletics, getting swept in 4 straight.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3 at Exhibition Stadium. Cal Ripken went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 4-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Barry Bonds did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 10-5 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Mélido Turpen Gross Pérez pitched a 2-hit shutout, no walks, 10 strikeouts, outpitching Mark Gubicza, who had won 20 games. Steve Lyons and Mike Diaz each got 3 hits. George Brett went 0-for-4.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. Tony Gwynn went 2-for-3.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Dodgers went on to upset the Mets in the NLCS, and upset the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The M's blew a 3-0 lead after 7 innings, but won the game in the 11th, on a home run by Scott Bradley.

And in English soccer, Arsenal crossed from North London to East London, and beat West Ham United, 4-1 at Upton Park. Arsenal went on to win the Football League title the following May.

September 6, 1953: Maureen Connolly Wins the Grand Slam

September 6, 1953: The Finals of tennis' U.S. Open are played at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Tony Trabert wins men's singles. Women's singles is won by Maureen Connolly. She becomes the 1st woman ever to win tennis' "Grand Slam."

Maureen Catherine Connolly was born on September 17, 1934 in San Diego. Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old, and she took up tennis because it was easier for her single mother to afford than her original passion, horseback riding. In 1951, she won the U.S. Open, making her the youngest player to win it up to that time.

In 1952, she won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Plane travel was making it easier to travel long distances relatively quickly. Prior to this era, due to the distance involved, many Australian tennis stars didn't travel to the other major tennis-playing countries, and many players from those countries found the trip to Australia not worth it. But on January 17, 1953, Connolly beat fellow American Julia Sampson, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Australian Open.

On May 31, she beat fellow American Doris Hart, 6-2, 6-4, to win the French Open. She had now won all 4 majors, and all in a row. But no one considered this to be "the Grand Slam": It had to be all 4 in the same calendar year. On July 3, she beat Hart again, 8-6, 7-5, to win Wimbledon.

She reached the Final at Forest Hills on September 6, and Hart stood in her way again. It was no contest: Connolly won, 6-2, 6-4. She had won the Grand Slam.

Her streak of 6 straight majors ended in the 1954 Australian Open, because she stayed home rather than defend her title, but she won the French and Wimbledon that year, giving her 9 majors. There would be no more. She had intended to turn professional after the 1954 U.S. Open, thus making her, under the rules of the time, ineligible for the majors.

But on July 20, 1954, the choice was taken from her: She was riding her horse when a truck spooked horse, throwing her against the truck, breaking her leg. She would never play tennis again, and was only 19. She sued for loss of professional income, and won $95,000.

In 1955, she married a fellow horse-lover, Norman Brinker, a member of the 1952 U.S. Olympic equestrian team. They had 2 daughters, Cindy and Brenda. Living in Norman's hometown of Dallas, Maureen earned a degree from Southern Methodist University. Norman became a restaurant magnate, running Jack in the Box, and founding Steak and Ale, Bennigan's, and Chili's. But Maureen developed ovarian cancer, and died on June 21, 1969. She was only 34 years old. Shortly after her death, Connolly was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In 1957, she published an autobiography titled Forehand Drive. She wrote, "I have always believed greatness on a tennis court was my destiny, a dark destiny, at times, where the court became my secret jungle and I a lonely, fear-stricken hunter. I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a Golden Racket."

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September 6, 1953 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the New York Giants, 6-3 at the Polo Grounds. Preacher Roe went the distance for the win. Roy Campanella and Jackie Robinson hit home runs for Dem Bums. Alvin Dark and Bobby Thomson hit home runs for the Jints. Not available, due to serving in the Korean War, were Willie Mays of the Giants and Don Newcombe of the Dodgers.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-4 and 4-0 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Ted Williams, having returned from the Korean War, went 2-for-2 with a home run, 2 walks and an RBI in the 1st game, then got the 2nd game off. Mickey McDermott pitched a 6-hit shutout in that 2nd game.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6 and 7-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Just 11 days later, Ernie Banks would make his major league debut, as the 1st black player, and maybe the greatest player, in Cub history.

* A doubleheader was played at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Milwaukee Braves won the opener, 3-1. Eddie Mathews hit a home run. Bob Buhl was the winning pitcher, with Warren Spahn notching a save. The nightcap was tied, 3-3 after 8 innings. According to Retrosheet, the game was called due to darkness, but that doesn't make any sense: Already, every ballpark in the major leagues, except for Wrigley Field, had lights. A Sunday curfew, with play having to stop at a specific time, is more likely. Over the 2 games, Stan Musial went 3-for-8 with a solo home run.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-2 at Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis.

* And the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators were rained out at Griffith Stadium in Washington. The Yankees were running away with the American League Pennant, and the game was never rescheduled.

July 9, 1877: The 1st Wimbledon Championships

Spencer Gore

July 9, 1877: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club holds its 1st tennis tournament. Spencer Gore wins "gentlemen's singles" at what will eventually be called "The Wimbledon Championships," for its neighborhood in South London.

Spencer Gore was born on March 10, 1850 in Wimbledon. The 1877 win was his only title, as he never competed again. He ran a property advisory firm, and died in 1906.

Norman Brookes, of Australia, was the 1st non-British native to win, in 1907. Bill Tilden was the 1st American to win, in 1920. The most wins have been by Roger Federer of Switzerland, 8.

"Ladies' singles" were first competed in 1884. Maud Watson won the 1st title. Born in 1864 in Harrow, North-West London, she won again in 1885, and lost the Final in 1886. She received an OBE for her work as a nurse during World War I, and lived until 1946. In 1976, having been named Sportswoman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine, Chris Evert appeared on the cover, in a copy of Watson's 1884 Wimbledon outfit.

Maud Watson

In 1907, American May Sutton became the 1st non-British citizen to win ladies' singles at Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova, the Czech defector to America, has won the tournament the most, 9 times.

The tournament was not held from 1915 to 1918, due to World War I; from 1940 to 1945, due to World War II; and in 2020, due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Other than that, it's been held every year. The main stadium, Centre Court, opened in 1922. Tired of rain delays pushing matches back, the All England Club added a retractable roof in 2009.

Centre Court

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July 9, 1877 was a Monday. The only professional sports league in North America at that point was baseball's National League. But no games were played that day.

July 7, 2013: Andy Murray Breaks Britain's Wimbledon Drought

July 7, 2013: The "Gentlemen's Singles" Final is held at Centre Court in Wimbledon, South-West London. Andy Murray wins it,

Born in Glasgow in 1987, Murray reached the Final of the Australian Open in 2010 and 2011, and was being called "the best player who hasn't won a major." In 2012, competing for Great Britain in the Olympics on home ground in London, he won the Gold Medal. He then went on to win his 1st major, the U.S. Open.

Still, the big ones were hard to come by. Whenever Murray won a tournament, usually not a major, the English media treated it as "Another triumph for Great Britain!" When he didn't, they said words to the effect of , "Useless Scot!"

But in 2013, at Wimbledon, he went all the way, beating Serbian star Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. With some irony, his coach was Czech legend Ivan Lendl, who, in his playing career, never won Wimbledon, but won the other 3 at least twice each.

It was the 1st time a British man had won Wimbledon since 1936: Edward VIII was in his brief time as King, Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister, none of the Beatles had yet been born, and a ticket was 8 shillings.

In the interim, Britain had changed monarchs twice, and Prime Ministers 16 times. Two of the Beatles are now dead, and the other two were 73 and 71 at the time. And a ticket to Wimbledon cost 12 pounds, and the shilling itself has long since been phased out. And 4 British women had won Wimbledon: Midlands natives Dorothy Round in 1937 and Ann Jones in 1969, West Country native Angela Mortimer in 1961, and Dorset native Virginia Wade in 1977.

Murray won Wimbledon again in 2016, defeating Milos Raonic -- coincidentally, another ethnic Serb, although one from Canada. Also that year, he lost the French Open Final, his only Final there; and the Australian Open, going 0-for-5 in their Finals.

He was knighted in 2017. As he is still an active player as of July 7, 2022, Sir Andy Murray will not be eligible for the International Tennis Hall of Fame for some time. (UPDATE: He retired after the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Therefore, he will be eligible in 2029.)

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July 7, 2013 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. Hiroki Kuroda pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and the Yankees led, 1-0 going into the top of the 9th, with neither Derek Jeter nor Alex Rodriguez playing. But with 1 out in the top of the 9th, Mariano Rivera, in his final season, allowed a single to Nick Markakis and a home run to Adam Jones.

* The New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1 at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 7-3 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Domonic Brown hit a home run.

* The Washington Nationals beat the San Diego Padres, 11-7 at Nationals Park in Washington.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins, 11-5 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers, 9-6 at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Dioner Navarro brought the winning run home with a sacrifice fly, scoring Anthony Rizzo, in the bottom of the 11th inning.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins, 3-2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-4 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros, 5-4 at Rangers Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-1 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-0 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Jered Weaver pitched 6 2/3rds innings of 5-hit, 2-walk shutout ball, and the bullpen allowed no baserunners. Mike Trout and Hank Conger hit home runs.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.

July 5, 1980: Borg vs. McEnroe

July 5, 1980: The Men's Singles Final is held at Centre Court at the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships, a.k.a. Wimbledon. It may have been the greatest final ever contested at a major championship.

Björn Borg was a 24-year-old Swede. He had won Wimbledon the last 4 years. He had won the French Open 5 of the last 7 years. He had not yet won the U.S. Open or the Australian Open, but he was widely regarded as the best male tennis player in the world. He seemed cold and methodical, but threw that away whenever he won Wimbledon: He would drop to his knees, pump his fists, and yell.

He also grew a beard for Wimbledon only, staying clean-shaven for other tournaments. Who's to say it didn't work? Some hockey players began to copy him, growing "Playoff beards." And his success helped make Fila, the Italian sportswear company whose tennis clothes he wore, popular around the world.

He had toyed with the other top players of the day: Americans Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe, Australians John Newcombe and Ken Rosewall, and Romanian Ilie Nastase. It seemed too easy. As the Borg, later to be a villainous civilization in the Star Trek franchise, said about themselves, "Resistnace is futile." He needed a rival on his own level.

He got one, and, personality-wise, they couldn't be more different. John McEnroe was 21, and had grown up in the Douglaston neighborhood of Queens, just 6 miles from the site of the U.S. Open. He had won that tournament the year before.

And, like Connors and "Nasty" Nastase, he threw everything he had into the sport, wearing his emotions on his sleeve, and arguing with the umpires. But he went beyond Connors and Nastase: He openly abused the umpires, earning him as many critics as fans.

Going into Wimbledon in 1980, Borg, seeded 1st, beat Ismail El Shafei of Egypt, Shlomo Glickstein of Israel, Rod Frawley of Australia, and Balázs Taróczy of Hungary, to advance to the Quarterfinals. McEnroe, seeded 2nd, beat Butch Walts of the U.S., Terry Rocavert of Australia, Tom Okker of the Netherlands, and Kevin Curren of South Africa.

In the Quarterfinals, Borg beat American Gene Mayer, McEnroe beat fellow American Peter Fleming, Connors beat fellow American Roscoe Tanner, and American Brian Gottfried beat Poland's Wojciech Fibak. In the Semfininals, Borg beat Gottfried in 4 sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 and 6-0; while McEnroe also needed 4 sets to beat Connors, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

The Final was set: Borg vs. McEnroe. And since McEnroe had pissed a lot of people off with his childish antics, he couldn't count on the support of a majority of Americans. It wasn't so much that millions of Americans wanted to see Borg win; it's that they wanted to see McEnroe lose, for his unsportsmanlike conduct that was tarnishing the image of American tennis, in the way that Connors' actions hadn't gone far enough to do.

McEnroe surprised everyone by winning the 1st set easily, 6-1. Borg wasn't fazed, and won the 2nd set, 7-5. Borg won the 3rd set, 6-3. Borg led the 4th set 5-4, with 2 championship points to spare, and it was beginning to look like McEnroe's great 1st set would be forgotten.

It was -- but only because of what he, himself, did in the 4th set. McEnroe recovered to deuce, and forced a tiebreaker, which went on and on: Under the rules of time: A tiebreaker had to be won by at least 2 points. McEnroe saved 5 match points, Borg 6. Finally, McEnroe won it, 18-16, and the match went to a 5th set.

Borg fell behind 0-30 in the 1st game of the 5th set. Was he lulling McEnroe into a false sense of security? He won 19 straight points. But, still, 6 games won would not be enough to win this deciding set. Finally, Borg got a shot past McEnroe, to win the 5th set, 8-6. Again, he dropped to his knees, pumped his fists, and yelled toward the heavens. The next week's cover of Sports Illustrated magazine called him "BJORN THE INVINCIBLE."

McEnroe simply fell forward and lay there, exhausted after 3 hours and 53 minutes of some of the greatest tennis that had ever been played. Like some great boxers, including Jack Dempsey, Jake La Motta, Joe Frazier and, in the years to come, Marvin Hagler, he had earned more respect in defeat than he would ever get in victory.

Maybe Borg really did give it everything he had. No one knew it at the time, but he would win only 1 more major, the 1981 French Open. McEnroe would beat him in the 1980 U.S. Open, then finally dethroned him at Wimbledon '81 -- and dropped to his knees, but bounced right back up, as he realized he was inadvertently copying his arch-rival's move. He then beat Borg at the '81 U.S. Open, a tournament Borg would never win.

McEnroe went on to win Wimbledon again in 1983, and both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1984. But that was it: While people of all ages can play tennis, at its most competitive level, it is a young person's game; and, despite the more modern success of players in their 30s like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, most men, and especially most women, don't win much after turning 25. Borg and McEnroe each won their last major at age 24.

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July 5, 1980 was a Sunday. These games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4, but Joe Lefebvre and Bobby Murcer backed Tommy John with home runs.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 7-5 at Shea Stadium.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. John Tudor, Bob Stanley and Tom Burgmeier combined on a 4-hit shutout to beat Jim Palmer. The only run came when Dave Stapleton's sacrifice fly scored Carl Yastrzemski in the 2nd inning.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell did not play.

* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the Houston Astros at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, 8-6 and 3-2. Johnny Bench did not play in either game.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-0 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Rookie Rickey Henderson, raised in Oakland but born in Chicago, returned to go 2-for-4 with a home run, 3 RBIs, and a stolen base. Rick Langford pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Cecil Cooper hit a home run, and Robin Yount went 1-for-3. Rod Carew only appeared as a pinch-hitter, unsuccessfully.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers, 2-1 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Pete Rose went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a groundout. Mike Schmidt only appeared as a pinch-hitter, unsuccessfully.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners, 5-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett did not play.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

July 5, 1957: Althea Gibson Wins Wimbledon

July 5, 1957: Althea Gibson wins the ladies' singles title at Wimbledon, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard, 6-3 and 6-2. This made her the 1st black person to win Wimbledon.

Gibson had already become the 1st African-American to win a "major" or "Grand Slam" tennis event, the 1956 French Open. But Wimbledon was the tennis tournament. So it made the achievement considerably more hyped than her win at Roland Garros the year before.

She would go on to win the U.S. Open that year as well. The following year, she won both tournaments again.

It would take until 1968 for a black man to win the U.S. Open, and 1975 for one to win Wimbledon. In both cases, it was Arthur Ashe. It would take until 1971 for another black woman to win Wimbledon, the Aboriginal Australian Evonne Goolagong. It would take until 1999 for another black woman to win the U.S. Open, Serena Williams; and 2000 for another African-American woman to win Wimbledon, Venus Williams.

Born in South Carolina and raised in Harlem, she became one of the earliest black women to win LPGA tournaments. She was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971. She lived out her life in East Orange, New Jersey, and worked with the Essex County Parks Department. By the late 1980s, her health turned bad, and she was unable to appear in public. When the Williams sisters began winning major tournaments, she wrote them an open letter, thanking them for picking up the torch.

Gibson died on September 28, 2003, at the age of 76. Because of her work with the Parks Department, a statue of her was placed in Branch Brook Park in Newark.

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July 5, 1957 was a Friday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Washington Senators, 5-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Singles by Bill "Moose" Skowron and Yogi Berra in the top of the 10th inning made a winning pitcher of Art Ditmar, in relief of Tom Sturdivant. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.

* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-6 at the Polo Grounds. Johnny Antonelli was the winning pitcher. Willie Mays pinch-hit, and drew a walk. The Giants got home runs by 2 old heroes, Dusty Rhodes and the recently reacquired Bobby Thomson; and by Gail Harris and Eddie Bressoud.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5 at Ebbets Field. Roy Campanella hit a 3-run homer off Robin Roberts in the 8th inning to give Dem Bums a come-from-behind win.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ted Williams went 1-for-4 with an RBI. For the Orioles, Gus Triandos hit 2 home runs. Brooks Robinson did not play.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics, 8-4 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Al Kaline went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 14-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Braves, 7-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ernie Banks went 0-for-3 with a walk. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with a home run and 2 RBIs.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1954 to 1958), 4-3 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Joe Cunningham doubled home the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Stan Musial went 1-for-5. Frank Robinson went 1-for-4 with a walk.

Also, Doug Wilson, an 8-time NHL All-Star defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks, and the 1st Captain of the San Jose Sharks, was born on this day.

June 26, 1922: Centre Court Opens at Wimbledon

June 26, 1922: Centre Court opens at Wimbledon, South London. Gerald Patterson of Australia goes on to win Gentlemen's Singles, while Ladies' Singles are won by Suzanne Lenglen of France.

There are certain places that are the place for that phenomenon. Classical music has Der 

Grosser Musikvereinssaal (the Great Music Club Hall) in Vienna, Austria. Opera has La Scala in Milan, Italy. Paris is home to the place for art, the Louvre; and for ballet, the Palais Garnier. The movies have the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, television has 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, jazz has Preservation Hall in New Orleans, and country music has the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

("The place" for rock and roll is debatable, but, if we're serious, the choice is narrowed down to 3: The Sun Records studio in Memphis, the Motown studio in Detroit, and the Chess Records studio in Chicago.)

Baseball has, or at least had, the original Yankee Stadium in New York. Hockey has, or at least had, the Montreal Forum. American football has the Rose bowl in Pasadena, California. Canadian football has Varsity Stadium in Toronto. Gaelic football has Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Australian rules football has, ironically, a stadium designed and named for a different sport: The Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Golf, if you consider that a sport, has The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in Scotland. Auto racing, if you want to call that a sport, has the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

In London, theater has The Old Vic, and archaeology has the British Museum. In London sport, soccer has Wembley Stadium, rugby has Twickenham, and cricket has Lord's. Tennis has Centre Court.

The sites of tennis' other 3 "majors"? Stade Roland Garros in Paris, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadow? None of them can compare. There is more tennis history at Centre Court than any other structure in the world.

For the first Wimbledon Championship, in 1877, a total of 12 courts were available which were laid out in a 3-by-4 grid and there was no actual centre court. This changed in 1881, when the middle 2 courts of the middle row were combined to form a Centre Court. The name was kept when the club relocated to its present site at Church Road in 1922. It was not until a further four courts were added in 1980 that Centre Court's location in the grounds again matched its name.

The court suffered from bomb damage during World War II, when 5 500-pound bombs hit the Centre Court during an air attack in October 1940. About 1,200 seats in the stadium were destroyed. Although play resumed on time after the war in 1946, the court wasn't fully repaired until 1949.

The original centre court roof from 1922, which partly covers the stands, has been modified several times. In 1979, it was raised by one meter, to allow the capacity to be increased by 1,088. Further building work came in 1992 with a replacement of the roof and a modified structure which allowed 3,601 seats to have a clearer view of the court which had previously been restricted by the number of roof supports.

A full retractable roof (see below) was completed in 2009, and capacity increased to its current 14,979 by adding 6 rows of seats to the upper tier on the east, north, and west sides. New media facilities, scoreboards including video, and commentary boxes were built to replace those currently in the upper tier. New wider seats were installed and new additional stairs and lifts were added.

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June 26, 1922 was a Monday. The only sport active in North America at that point was baseball, and these 5 games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. To no one's surprise, Babe Ruth hit a home run. To everyone's surprise, the Yankees' pitcher, a former Red Sock, Bob Shawkey, also hit a home run.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 9-5 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-0 at League Park in Cleveland. Stan Coveleski pitched a 6-hit shoutout. Tris Speaker, the Indians' center fielder and manager, went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. George Sisler went 1-for-4.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at Cubs Park (later renamed Wrigley Field) in Chicago.

* And the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.