Sept. 7 – Marino throws 100th touchdown pass
In 1986, Dan Marino threw his 100th touchdown pass in a 50-28 loss at San Diego, becoming the fastest quarterback in the NFL to do so. Marino accomplished this in 44 games while playing for the Miami Dolphins, where he spent his 17 season career. Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005 in his first year of eligibility. In 2019, Marino was named one of 10 greatest quarterbacks of all time in the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
Sept. 8 – First boxing match filmed
The first boxing match was filmed in West Orange, N.J. in 1894 by William Dickson. Dickson was employed by Thomas Edison to film the exhibition match between Peter Courtney and world heavyweight champion, James Corbett. The match was arranged under special conditions in order for it to be filmed on a Kinetograph.
Sept. 9 – Williams wins first title
In 2000, Venus Williams won her first title in singles against Lindsay Davenport at the US Open with a score of 6-4 and 7-5. Williams would go on to become the second woman in history to win Wimbledon, an Olympic gold medal and the US Open in the same season behind Steffi Graf.
Sept. 10 – Grand Prix tragedy
At the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, Wolfgang von Trips collided with fellow racer Jim Clark, killing himself and fifteen spectators. After colliding with Clark’s vehicle, Trips rode an embarkment on the outside of the track striking a fence which spectators were behind. At the time of his death, Trips was the leading Formula One champion.
Sept. 11 – 1960 Olympics conclude
In 1960, the Summer Olympics concluded in Rome, Italy. The games began on Aug. 25 of that year with the Soviet Union winning both the most gold medals and most medals overall. This was the only time the Olympics were held in Rome after initially being passed up in 1908 due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906. Including 1960, Italy has hosted the Olympics three times, and will go on to host for the fourth time in 2026 in Milan.
Sept. 12 – Gooden sets rookie record
Dwight Gooden set the record for most strikeouts in a rookie season with 276 in 1984. Gooden achieved this feat at 19 years old while playing with the New York Mets. Gooden surpassed Herbet Score’s record of 245 in 1955 and would go on to win the Rookie of the Year Award.
Sept. 13 – World Hockey Association formed
In 1971 the World Hockey Association was formed. The association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated until 1979. The World Hockey Association was the first league to compete with the NHL since 1926, with numerous legal battles throughout its run. By the league’s end, four of its teams merged into the NHL.
