This Day in Sports History — August 6
Here are just some of the notable sports moments that happened on August 6:
1890 — Pitcher Cy Young debuted for the Cleveland Spiders, winning the first of his 511 career games by pitching a three-hit shutout. (More info.)
1926 — American Gertrude Ederle, 19, a three-time Olympic medalist, became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. (More info.)
1948 — American Bob Mathias, 17, became the youngest men’s gold medalist in the history of Olympic track and field by winning the decathlon at the Summer Olympics in London. (More info.)
1952 — Pitcher Satchel Paige, 46, of the St. Louis Browns became the oldest player ever to pitch a complete-game shutout in the major leagues, beating the Detroit Tigers, 1-0, at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. (More info.)
1953 —Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox returned to his team after completing his military service in the Korean War. (More info.)
1981 — After a seven-week players’ strike, baseball owners and players decided the season would be split, with the New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers declared first-half champions. The teams would later face second-half winners in the divisional playoffs. (More info.)
1984 — American Carl Lewis won the long jump at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the second of the four gold medals he won at the Games. (More info.)