31 August in Sports History

In this edition of the Sports Break, we cover the top events in sports history along with the players and athletes that were a part of them for August 31. As a bonus, we place the jersey number worn at the time with the athlete as well.

Sports history is made every day of the year. We will preserve at least a small sampling from some great athletes every day based on the uniform number they wore.

24 - 14 - 18 - 32 - 17 - 22 - 43 - 30 - 7 - 23 - 27

August 31, 1894 - Philadelphia's Billy Hamilton stole 7 bases in a signle game

August 31, 1900 - Brooklyn Dodgers' pitcher, Brickyard Kennedy walked 6 straight Phillies

August 31, 1903 - New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Joe McGinnity won his 3rd doubleheader of month, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 and 9-2 at the Polo Grounds

August 31, 1909 - A. J. Reach Co. patented a cork-centered baseball

August 31, 1915 - Chicago White Sox hurler Jimmy Lavender threw a masterpiece no-hitter versus the NY Giants line-up, aiding in a 2-0 victory

August 31, 1935 - Chicago White Sox veteran pitcher Vern Kennedy, who wore Number 24 that season, tossed a whale of a game as he no-hit the Cleveland Indians, resulting in a 5-0 win for the Chisox.

August 31, 1950 - Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges, Number 14 smacked 4 home runs and then added a single in a game vs the Braves

August 31, 1954 - Cincinnati Reds 1st baseman Number 18, Ted Kluszewski hit two home runs in a 9-3 loss v Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia; 1st Redleg to ever hit 40 MLB HRs, en route to season total 49

August 31, 1959 - Sandy Koufax (Number 32) of the Los Angeles Dodgers broke Dizzy Dean's (Number 17 with the Cardinals and Number 22 of the Cubs) National League mark of 18 strikeouts in a game.

August 31, 1990 - Dennis Eckersley, Number 43 saved his 40th game of the season

August 31, 1990 - Like father, like son. Baseball outfielders Ken Griffey (Number 30) and Ken Griffey Jr. (Number 24) became the first father and son to play on same team (Seattle Mariners) in the same game. The pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored in an impressive MLB family reunion.

August 31, 1991 - University of Houston Quarterback, David Klingler wearing Number 7, set an NCAA record with 6 touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter as the Cougars clobbered Louisiana Tech 73-3

August 31, 1997 - Don Mattingly's Number 23 was retired by New York Yankees

August 31, 1997 - Number 27, Eddie George rushed for 216 yards on 35 carries and scores a touchdown as the Oilers, playing their first NFL game in Tennessee, beat Oakland 24-21 in overtime at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the 1895 1895 Mayo's Cut Plug N300 baseball card of Brickyard Kennedy.