This Day in Sports History: June 24
June is a favorite month for sports fans. It’s all about baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, and golf, to name a few. This day in sports history brings more moments and…
June is a favorite month for sports fans. It's all about baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, and golf, to name a few. This day in sports history brings more moments and stories than can be quickly recounted. Here's a sampling of notable events that took place on June 24 throughout the decades.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Over the last century, June 24 saw these outstanding sports moments:
- 1899: Marion Jones won the U.S. Women's National Singles Championship against Maud Banks. Jones would later be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- 1910: James Braid won the British Open for men's golf for the fifth time.
- 1928: Johnny Farrell won the men's U.S. Open against Bobby Jones. Farrell would later be elected to the PGA Hall of Fame and World Golf Hall of Fame.
- 1936: Joe DiMaggio hit two home runs in the fifth inning, making him one of only three MLB players to achieve this feat.
- 1947: Jackie Robinson stole home base for the very first time in his career.
- 1950: Babe Didrikson Zaharias won her fourth Women's Western Open in golf.
- 1955: Harmon Killebrew hit his first career home run.
- 1968: Jim Northrup hit two grand slams in one game.
- 1968: Joe Frazier defended his heavyweight boxing title after scoring a second-round technical knockout on Manuel Ramos.
- 1970: Bobby Murcer hit four consecutive home runs.
- 1979: Rickey Henderson made his MLB debut and stole his first career base.
- 1983: Don Sutton became the eighth pitcher to get 3,000 career strikeouts.
- 1984: Arnold Palmer won his first Senior Tournament Players Championship in men's golf.
- 1992: Shaquille O'Neal, a center for LSU, was the Orlando Magic's first pick in the year's NBA Draft.
- 1995: South Africa beat New Zealand to win the Men's Rugby World Cup.
- 1995: The New Jersey Devils defeated the Detroit Red Wings, winning their first ever Stanley Cup. It was also the Devils' first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.
- 1997: Randy Johnson became one of two left-handed American League pitchers to throw 19 strikeouts in a game.
- 2010: John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. It was the longest match in tennis history at 11 hours and five minutes played over the course of three days.
- 2013: The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins in a 3-2 victory to win their fifth Stanley Cup.
- 2022: Katie Ledecky won the 800-meter gold medal at the FINA World Championships with a time of 8:08.04.
- 2023: The Los Angeles Angels hit three back-to-back home runs.
Of these June 24 moments, the athletes who most stand out are Jim Northrup, Shaquille O'Neal, and Katie Ledecky.
Northrup hit a total of eight grand slams during his baseball career. He also hit three grand slams within a week, which was a major league record at the time. O'Neal is renowned as one of the most dominant and memorable players in NBA history, both for his on-court achievements and his larger-than-life personality. Ledecky is recognized for her Olympic gold medals and world records in freestyle swimming events. She is the most decorated female American Olympian, with 14 total Olympic medals.
