Aug 7, 2020 3 min read

ON THIS DATE

Aug. 8

1964 – The mutual handle and attendance records are set at The Meadows as the local harness racing track holds its final card of the 1964 season. The turnstiles record 13,070 patrons, who spend $555,777 at the betting windows.

1987 – “Mean” Joe Greene becomes the first player from the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers teams to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also inducted is former Steelers running back John Henry Johnson.

1988 – Pittsburgh’s Rick Reed, who began the season in Class A, blanks the New York Mets on three hits over eight innings in his major-league debut as the Pirates win, 1-0, at Three Rivers Stadium.

1990 – The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire pitcher Zane Smith in a trade with the Montreal Expos in exchange for pitcher Scott Ruskin, infielder Willie Greene and outfielder Moises Alou.

2001 – Brandon Dittmar scores on Rich Adkins’ sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to give Canonsburg a 3-2 victory over Greene County in the Host Area Tournament championship game and a berth in the Pony League World Series.

2006 – Washington & Jefferson College graduate Roger Goodell is chosen as the NFL’s new commissioner. Favored for months to get the job, he is unanimously elected by the league’s 32 owners on the fifth ballot.

Aug. 9

1950 – Delvin Miller of Meadow Lands and an Avella native drives Lusty Song to victory in The Hambletonian at Good Time Park in Goshen, N.Y.

1962 – Charles N. Comko is hired as head football coach at East Washington High School. Comko was head coach at Seville (Ohio) High School for the past five years.

1963 – The Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt 45’s split the longest doubleheader in Forbes Field history, lasting until 2:30 a.m. Houston wins the first game in 15 innings, and Robert Clemente’s bases-loades single in the 11th gives the Pirates a win in the nightcap.

1970 – Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell hits the first upper-deck home run at Three Rivers Stadium, a 469-foot shot to right field off the New York Mets’ Ron Taylor.

1975 – Nero avenges his only loss and becomes the No. 1 attraction in the 13-year history of The Meadows by winning the The Adios in 1:57.3. The card draws a track record crowd of 14,560.

1976 – John Candelaria, a 22-year-old left-hander, throws the first no-hitter at home by a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher in 89 years as the Bucs defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0, at Three Rivers Stadium. Candelaria strikes out nine and walks only one.

1980 – Storm Damage sets five world records in winning The Adios in 1:53 2/5.

1981 – Hollis Stacy wins a five-player playoff, with a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, to win the 8th West Virginia LPGA Open on the Speidel course at Wheeling Park.

1986 – Dick Stillings drives local favorite Barberry Spur to victory in The Adios before a crowd of 6,331 at The Meadows.

1999 – Waynesburg College hires Terry Acker, an assistant at Robert Morris, as its head women’s basketball coach.

2003 – Despite recovering from a broken elbow, driver John Campbell directs Armbro Animate to victory in The Adios. It’s Campbell’s eighth Adios-winning drive. General Challenge, driven by Dave Palone, finishes second.

HOLE-IN-ONE

Greg Moffa of Washington had a hole-in-one at Rohanna’s Golf Course in Waynesburg. Moffa aced the 99-yard No. 2 hole. He used a 9-iron. His playing partner was Dana Moffa.

YOUTH BASEBALL

Thursday’s Results

Washington Bronco

Bob Hollick Insurance 9, Kiwanis Club 4

YOUTH SOFTBALL

TWIST

9-and-under

Washington Square Florists 28, Knights of Columbus 8

Brezinski Dental 29, Rika’s Hearts 15