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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

On this date: 2007 — Alberto Contador wins the doping-scarred Tour de France


Associated Press

July 29

1751 — The first International World Title Prize Fight takes place in Harlston, Norfolk, England. The champion, Jack Slack of England, beats the challenger, M. Petit of France, in 25 minutes.

1924 — Paul Runyan defeats Craig Wood 1 up in 38 holes in the final round to capture the PGA championship.

1934 — Paul Runyan beats Craig Wood on the 38th hole to win the PGA Championship at Park Country Club in Williamsville, N.Y.

1956 — Cathy Cornelius wins a playoff over Barbara McIntyre to win the U.S. Women's Open.

1957 — At the Polo Grounds in New York, Floyd Patterson TKOs Tommy Jackson at 1:52 of the 10th round to retain the heavyweight title.

1979 — Amy Alcott shoots a 7-under 285 to beat Nancy Lopez in the Peter Jackson Classic, later named The du Maurier Classic. The du Maurier is one of the LPGA Tour's major championships from 1979-2000.

1980 — Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz of Poland sets an Olympic record by pole vaulting 18-11½ in Moscow.

1986 — The United States Football League wins and loses in its lawsuit against the National Football League. The jury finds that the NFL violated antitrust laws, as the USFL claimed, but awards the USFL only $1 in damages.

1989 — Cuba's Javier Sotomayor becomes the first person to high jump 8 feet, setting a world record at the Caribbean Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sotomayor held the record at 7-11½.

1990 — Beth Daniel shoots a 66 to overcome a 5-shot deficit and win the LPGA Championship — her first major title in 12 years on the tour. Daniel beats Rosie Jones by one stroke and pockets $150,000.

1991 — Jack Nicklaus shoots a 5-under 65 to beat Chi Chi Rodriquez by four strokes in a playoff for the U.S. Senior Open title.

1992 — The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team wins the gold medal as Matt Biondi and Tom Jager become the first U.S. male swimmers to win golds in three Olympics.

1996 — Record-setting sprinter Michael Johnson sweeps to victory in an Olympic 400-meter record 43.49 seconds, while Carl Lewis leaps into history in Atlanta. Lewis' long jump of 27-10¾ earns him his ninth gold medal, equaling the American mark held by swimmer Mark Spitz.

2001 — Lance Armstrong wins his third straight Tour de France, ending three weeks of grueling competition and again dominating the world's toughest cycling event. He's the first American to win the Tour three times in a row.

2003 — Boston's Bill Mueller becomes the first player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a game and connects for three homers in a 14-7 win at Texas.

2007 — Alberto Contador wins the doping-scarred Tour de France, a new, young and unlikely winner for the three-week race shaken to its core by scandals. The 24-year-old's margin of victory — just 23 seconds ahead of Cadel Evans of Australia — is the second-narrowest in the Tour's 104-year history.

2008 — Disgraced ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy admits that he'd brought shame on his profession as a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months behind bars for a gambling scandal.