On this Day in Sports History July 31
MLB
On this day in 1983, Brooks Robinson, Juan Marichal, George Kell and Walter Alston were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On this day in 1995, the New York Mets traded Bret Saberhagen and Dave Swanson to the Colorado Rockies for Juan Acevedo and Arnold Gooch.
On this day in 1996, the Detroit Tigers shipped Cecil Fielder to the New York Yankees for Ruben Sierra and Matt Drews. It was the first major league history that two players with more than 220 career homers were traded for one another.
On this day in 1997, the Boston Red Sox acquired Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe from the Seattle Mariners for Heathcliff Slocumb. Both players would play a major role in the Red Sox 2004 World Championship.
On this day in 1997, the Oakland Athletics traded Mark McGwire to the St. Louis Cardinals for Eric Ludwick, T.J. Mathews and Blake Stein.
On this day in 2001, the Boston Red Sox obtained Ugueth Urbina from the Montreal Expos for Tomo Ohka and Rich Rundles.
On this day in 2003, Atlanta Braves closer John Smoltz became the faster pitcher to record 40 saves.
On this day in 2004, the Boston Red Sox traded Nomar Garciappara to the Chciago Cubs in a four-team deal.
On this day in 2006, the Cubs traded 300-game winner Greg Maddux to the Dodgers for Cesar Izturis.
On this day in 2007, the Atlanta Braves sent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, shortstop Elvis Andrus, and starting pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftali Feliz and Beau Jones to the Rangers in exchange for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay. The Braves also made other key trades to add bullpen help. The team sent Kyle Davies to the Royals for Octavio Dotel and they sent Wil Ledezma and Will Startup to the Padres for Royce Ring.
On this day in 2008, the Cincinnati Reds sent Ken Griffey Jr. to the Chicago White Sox for Nick Masset and Danny Richar.
On this day in 2010, Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez hit a walk-off home run to complete the cycle. He became just the fifth player to achieve the cycle in that fashion.
On this day in 2011, the Atlanta Braves acquired Michael Bourn from the Astros in exchange for Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu.
On this day in 2011, the Atlanta Braves lost their 10,000th game in franchise history. They became just the second team to reach the mark, as the Phillies reached the milestone in 2007.
NBA
On this day in 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, and two first-round draft picks. The deal was the largest in NBA history for one player and it also gave the Celtics their “Big Three.”
