1934 - Sports

Sports

The first U.S. rope tow for skiers goes into operation January 28 at Woodstock, Vt. Local innkeeper Robert Royce and his wife, Betty, have sketched a tow installed 2 years ago at Shawbridge, Que., and had a mechanic devise the tow, splicing 2,500 feet of 7/8-inch manila rope into a loop that he has placed on pulleys and passed around a wheel attached to a Model A Ford engine. As many as five skiers at a time can use the tow to move 900 feet up a hill.

The Masters golf tournament inaugurated in April for professionals at Georgia's 2-year-old Augusta National Golf Club course is initially by invitation only; the 72-hole Masters will be one of golf's annual classics, along with the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) contests.

British golfer (Thomas) Henry Cotton, 27, wins the British Open, ending a decade of victories by U.S. golfers. Cotton will win it again in 1937 and 1948.

Omaha-born prizefighter Maximilian Adelbert "Max" Baer, 25, knocks out Primo Carnera June 14 in the 11th round of a title bout at Long Island City and wins the world heavyweight championship that he will hold for exactly 1 year.

Kansas-born middle-distance runner Glenn Cunningham, 25, runs the mile in 4:06.7, setting a record that will stand for 3 years. Cunningham's older brother Floyd died when Glenn was 7 in a schoolhouse fire that left Glenn so badly burned he was not expected ever to walk, but he has overcome his handicap.

Fred Perry wins in men's singles at Wimbledon, Dorothy Round, 24, in women's singles; Perry wins in men's singles at Forest Hills, Helen Jacobs in women's singles.

Baseball manager John McGraw dies at New Rochelle, N.Y., February 25 at age 60.

Mobile, Ala.-born pitcher Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige, 28, breaks Dizzy Dean's 30-game winning streak as he strikes out 17 men and allows no runs in a Hollywood All Stars game while Dean strikes out 15 and lets one run score. Paige starts 29 games in 29 days, and his team wins 104 out of 105 games as he continues to pitch for the Bismarck, S.Dak., team for which he pitched 31 games last year and won 27. Paige will pitch in the Negro National League for the Crawford Giants of Pittsburgh, Homestead Grays of Baltimore, and Kansas City Monarchs, clinching the Negro World Series title for the Monarchs in 1942 and pitching 64 scoreless innings for the team in 1946 (see 1948).

The St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3 after winning the pennant on the last day of the season. The Tigers have won the American League pennant after jumping from fifth place with help from Bronx, N.Y.-born player Hank Greenberg, 23, who has hit two home runs on Rosh Hashanah (September 10) to beat the Red Sox 2 to 1, ended the regular season with a .339 batting average, but spent Yom Kippur in a synagogue (the Tigers lost). The first Jewish superstar, Greenberg stands six foot three and weighs 210.

The U.S. ocean yacht Rainbow defeats Britain's Endeavour 4 to 2 to retain the America's Cup.

Italy defeats Czechoslovakia 2 to 1 in overtime to win the World Cup football (soccer) competition at Rome's Stadio Torino.