July 29

[edit] Events

[edit] 1874

• Major Walter Copton Winfield of England received a U.S. patent for the lawn-tennis court.

[edit] 1940

• John Sigmund of St. Louis, MO completed a 292-mile swim down the Mississippi River. The swim took him 89hrs, 46min.

[edit] 1948

• The opening ceremonies for the Games of the XIV Olympiad are held in London, England. These games were the first to be held since 1936. The 1940 and 1944 games were cancelled due to World War II. The 1948 games were officially opened by King George VI.

[edit] 1973

• Formula 1 driver Roger Williamson is killed during the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit. This tragic event did help others like Jackie Stewart to campaign for more rigid safety regulations.

[edit] 1983

• Steve Garvey of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the National League consecutive game record at 1,207.

[edit] 1996

• Participating in his fourth Olympic Games and in what would be his final event Carl Lewis, who is now 35 years old, wins the long jump for fourth straight Olympiad, with a jump of 27 feet 10 inches in Atlanta. The gold medal would be ninth gold medal of Lewis' career tying a career Olympic record.

[edit] 2003

• Bill Mueller of the Boston Red Sox became the first player in the majors to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in the same game. He ended with three home runs in the game for 9 RBIs. This was the 2th time that a player hit two grand slams in a single game.

[edit] Debuts

[edit] 1754

• The first international boxing match was held. Jack Slack of Britain knocked out Jean Petit from France after 25 minutes.

[edit] 1975

• Willie Randolph makes his Major League debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Philadelphia Phillies. He went 1-for-4.

[edit] Births

[edit] 1981

• Formula One driver Fernando Alonso is born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.

[edit] Deaths

[edit] 1973

• Formula One driver Roger Williamson was killed in a controversial accident at the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.