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2015

Aja Vrzáňová, legendary Czech figure skater, dies

Alena Vrzáňová won a 1949 & 1950 World Championship and 1950 European championship in figure skating. After the championship in London, she defected from Czechoslovakia and was offered political asylum. Sometime later, she moved to the US where she stayed. Vrzáňová died on Manhattan, in NYC, at the age of 84.

1996

Alan Shearer becomes the world’s most expensive player

In July 1996, for a world transfer record-breaking £15 million Shearer joined his hometown club and league runners-up Newcastle United, managed by his hero Keegan. Shearer made his league debut away at Everton, in August 1996, and maintained his form during the rest of the season.

1981

American soccer player Hope Solo is born

Hope Solo, a goalkeeper of the US women’s national soccer team was born in Richland, a city in Benton County, Washington. During her time at Richland High School, Solo played as a forward, scoring 109 goals. She switched to goalkeeper when she joined Washington Huskies while attending the University of Washington.

1966

England wins their first and only World Cup

The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was played by England and West Germany in July 1966 at Wembley Stadium in London and had an attendance of 96,924. England won 4–2 after extra time to win the Jules Rimet Trophy. The match is remembered for England's only World Cup trophy, Geoff Hurst's hat-trick – the 1st, and to date, only one ever scored in a FIFA World Cup Final.

1932

The X Summer Olympic Games open in Los Angeles, California

The 1932 Summer Olympics was held from July to August 1932, in Los Angeles. The Games were held during the worldwide Great Depression and many nations and athletes were unable to pay for the trip to Los Angeles; fewer than half the number of participants in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam returned to compete in 1932.

1930

Uruguay wins the first FIFA World Cup

The 1930 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match contested by Uruguay and Argentina. The final was a rematch of the gold medal match of the 1928 Olympics, which Uruguay won after a replay. Up to date, it is, along with the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final, the only World Cup Final not to be played on a Sunday.

1908

Around the World Automobile Race ends in Paris

The NY to Paris Race was a competition that had automobile drivers attempting to travel around the world. Given the state of technology, only 3 out of 6 drivers managed to complete the race. A driver of the American team, George Schuster won the race with his 1907 Thomas Flyer car. The race took roughly 169 days.

Anniversaries of the (in)famous

born 1968

Terry Crews

born 1958

Kate Bush