1919 – Cleveland pitcher Ray Caldwell is knocked unconscious in the ninth inning of a game against the Athletics after being struck by lightning. Caldwell refuses to leave the game after waking up and gets the last out.

1940 – “The Splendid Splinter” Ted Williams comes in to pitch for the Red Sox, who are currently being beaten by the Tigers. Williams throws two innings and allows three hits and one run.

(1945–Hall-of-Fame pitcher Bob Feller returns from the Navy and strikes out 12 players

1963 – The Little League World Series is broadcast for the first time on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

1972 – Gordie Howe is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

1983 – Pete Rose ends his streak of consecutive games at 745.

1988 – Minnesota North Stars forward Dino Ciccarelli is sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,000 for striking Toronto player Luke Richardson with his bat on January 6.

1989 – Pete Rose is banned from baseball for life for gambling.

1996 – Hsieh Chin-hsiung of Taiwan sets a Little League World Series record with his seventh home run.

2006 – Jerry Rice signs a one-day contract with the San Francisco 49ers and retires from the NFL.

2007 – The NFL suspends Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick indefinitely after he admitted his involvement in illegal dog fighting.

2008 – The U.S. men’s basketball team beats Spain 118-107 to win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. It is the first gold medal for the U.S. men’s basketball team since 2000.

2008 – The Summer Olympics in Beijing are the most watched television event with about 5 billion viewers.