August 1, 1966: The Texas Sniper

August 1, 1966, 60 years ago: Guns, insanity, Texas, and toxic masculinity: A dangerous combination under any conditions. Never more so than on this day.

Charles Joseph Whitman was born on June 24, 1941, in the Miami suburb of Lake Worth, Florida. His father was physically and verbally abusive to his wife and children. He was also a firearms collector who taught his sons the proper use and care of guns. He later said of his namesake, "Charlie could plug the eye out of a squirrel by the time he was sixteen."

Young Charles was intelligent enough to make Eagle Scout within 2 years after joining the Boy Scouts. At 14, he had saved up enough money from a newspaper route to buy a motorcycle. But a month before graduating from high school, his father beat him up and threw him into the pool. So, after graduation, he ran away, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. In the Marines, "Sniper" is a category that must be achieved, and he never achieved it, despite his later characterization as "the Texas Sniper." But he did score very high in marksmanship.

In 1961, as part of the Naval Enlisted Science and Education Program (NESEP), an initiative designed to send enlisted personnel to college to train as engineers, and after graduation, be commissioned as officers, the Corps allowed him to return to civilian life, and to study mechanical engineering at the University of Texas, in Austin. (Then, as now, the Marines required a college degree to promote someone to officer, although it can be through this process, or through the Army or Naval War College.)

The University's Main Building is a 307-foot, 27-story tower, opened in 1937, 5 blocks west of the University's famed Memorial Stadium. Whitman was not a good student, and the Marines considered his grades insufficient for continuing his scholarship, and recalled him to active duty in 1963 -- but not before he looked up at the Main Building, and remarked to a fellow student, "A person could stand off an army from atop of it before they got him."

With his return to the Corps, his college credits got him a promotion to Lance Corporal. But he had become a compulsive gambler, and in November 1963 -- the same month in which another man who had been a Marine sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, was arrested for assassinating President John F. Kennedy -- Whitman was court-martialed on various charges related to his gambling. He was sentenced to 30 days' confinement and 90 days' hard labor, and busted back down to buck Private. Nevertheless, on time, he was honorably discharged, and returned to UT, and his wife, Kathleen Leissner.

He began experiencing headaches, and abusing amphetamines. His mother finally left his abusive father, and his younger brother went with her, both going to Austin to be close to Charles. On two occasions, Charles hit Kathleen, and he began to be afraid he would turn out like his father. He saw several doctors, including a psychiatrist who prescribed Valium.

On the night of July 31, 1966, at the age of 25, he typed out a suicide note, saying, "I do not really understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average reasonable and intelligent young man. However, lately (I cannot recall when it started) I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts. These thoughts constantly recur, and it requires a tremendous mental effort to concentrate on useful and progressive tasks."

In this note, he asked for an autopsy to be performed, to find out if there was a medical cause for his actions, not that he would ever know. And he said that he was going to kill his mother and his wife, not out of any anger toward them, but to relieve them of their suffering. But he did not mention using the Main Building's tower.

He killed his mother shortly after midnight on August 1, and his wife at around 3:00 AM, both by stabbing them in the heart. At 11:35 AM, he told a security guard at the Main Building that he was there to deliver equipment. He got to the observation deck on the 28th floor, killing 3 people along the way, took out his rifle, and started shooting.

For 1 hour and 36 minutes, he kept firing, before Patrolman Houston McCoy of the Austin Police Department fired a shot that killed him. There were 14 victims from his rifle, with 31 others suffering non-fatal wounds. In total, Whitman had killed 19 people in a little over 12 hours.

The following day, an autopsy was performed, and a "pecan-sized" brain tumor was found, pressing against Whitman's amygdala, a part of the brain related to anxiety and "fight or flight" responses.

Just 18 days before Whitman's shooting, Richard Speck had killed 8 nursing students in Chicago. This seemingly back-to-back occurrence would seem routine today, but, at the time, it was terribly shocking. On March 18, 1968, running for President, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, his life already touched by gun violence, gave a speech at the University of Kansas:

Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.

Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods, and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs that glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials.

It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.

Just 16 days after that, Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. And, 62 days after that, so was RFK. Crime was out of control -- but, in the case of Charles Whitman, it was, as it so often seems to be these days, both a medical and a mental health issue.

The University of Texas increased security for the Main Building, but has kept it in use. In 1972, Harry Chapin released a song titled "Sniper," a mostly-fictionalized account of the events, and put in on an album he titled Sniper and Other Love Songs. In 1975, Kurt Russell starred in the film The Deadly Tower.

August 1, 1876: Colorado Is Admitted As the 38th State

The State Flag

August 1, 1876, 150 years ago: Colorado is admitted to the Union as the 38th State.

Colorado is in the Rocky Mountains, which include the State's most famous physical feature, the 14,115-foot-high Pikes Peak. The Colorado Territory had been separated from the Kansas Territory, which was obtained as part of the Louisiana Purchase. It has become known for gold mining (a gold rush in 1859 helped start the movement for Statehood) and skiing (Aspen and Vail are world-famous ski resorts).

In politics, it was traditionally Republican until 1992, when a large influx of Hispanic voters switched it to being usually Democratic. Still, there is a bit of a divide: Denver and Boulder, the latter having a Hippie image, make for "The People's Republic of Boulder." The rest of the State is so conservative, it might as well be called "West Nebraska" or "East Utah."

No Colorado native has ever become President. Its highest-ranking politician has been Federico Peña, who served as Mayor of Denver (1983-91), and, in the Administration of President Bill Clinton, served as Secretary of Transportation (1993–1997) and Secretary of Energy (1997–1998). Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, was born in Denver, and was the Democratic nominee for President in 2004, but lost. Mamie Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, grew up in Denver.

It is home to the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the University of Denver (multi-time National Champions in hockey), and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Its capital, Denver, is also its largest city. Denver is home to MLB's Colorado Rockies, the NFL's Denver Broncos, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, MLS' Colorado Rapids, and, having started this year, the NWSL's Denver Summit began play in 2026.

Denver has never hosted a Super Bowl, although the Broncos have been in 8; and was not selected as a host city for the World Cup in either 1994 or 2026. The Broncos have won the Super Bowl in 1998, 1999 and 2015; and the Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup in 1996, 2001 and 2022. The Rockies have won the National League Pennant in 2007, but never the World Series. The Nuggets won the 2023 NBA Championship. And the Rapids won the 2010 MLS Cup.

Yankees Stop Hitting, Only Get Split With White Sox

The Yankees' 7-game, 2-team roadtrip to Chicago was never going to be easy. Both the American League's White Sox and the National League's Cubs are much-improved, and the Yankee attack is missing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Clay Bellinger through injury.

Max Fried had been fantastic in his 1st game back from the Injured List. But on Monday night, he was shaky, allowing 3 runs in the 1st 3 innings. For all intents and purposes, it became a bullpen game for the Yankees, as 7 relievers allowed 2 runs the rest of the way.

But 4-run innings in the 4th and the 8th, including the 1st career home run by backup catcher Ali Sánchez, gave the Yankees a 9-5 comeback win. Brent Headrick, the Yankees' pitcher at the time they took the lead, was named the winning pitcher.

On Tuesday night, the Yankees got 6 brilliant innings from Gerrit Cole, and a scoreless inning each from Angel Chivilli and Headrick. Three runs in the top of the 2nd, including unexpected RBI doubles by Anthony Volpe and Max Schuemann, produced a 3-0.

The South Siders nearly came back, though, tagging David Bednar for 2 runs in the 9th, before he shut the door for a 3-2 Yankee win.

The Yankees would not be nearly so lucky over the next 2 games at Rate Field, formerly known as Guaranteed Rate Field, U.S. Cellular Field and the new Comiskey Park. 

Both would be lost in extra innings. I hate extra innings: I say, If you're going to lose, do it in the regulation 9 innings. Don't string us along. The ghost runner rule makes it worse.

On Wednesday night, the Yankees wastes a 4-run top of the 1st, including a home run by prospect Spencer Jones, and a strong 6 innings from Cam Schlittler. Fernando Cruz and Paul Blackburn blew the lead, each team scored a run in the 11th inning, and Ryan Yarbrough, who really shouldn't be in the major leagues, allowed the winning run in the 12th. White Sox 6, Yankees 5.

Then, yesterday, came the dreaded day game after a night game. It was a terrific pitching duel between Ryan Weathers for New York and Sean Burke for Chicago -- no relation to the former New Jersey Devils goalie of the same name. The regulation 9 ended scoreless. Each team scored a run in the 10th, and Cruz choked in the 11th. White Sox 2, Yankees 1.

In the last 22 innings of the series, the Yankees scored just 1 run. And, unlike the old Comiskey Park, this stadium favors hitters.

The Yankees move uptown, to start a 3-game weekend series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

July 30, 1966: England Win the World Cup

Captain Bobby Moore raises the Jules Rimet Trophy,

while his teammates raise him

July 30, 1966, 60 years ago: England win the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England had never done well in past World Cups, but were determined to show the world that the country that had invented the sport (though the Greeks and the Chinese had football-like games 500 years before the birth of Christ) just how it could play the sport, especially on home soil.

England were managed by Alf Ramsey, who had played right back for England at the 1950 World Cup, and on the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title in 1951; and was hired to manage England after leading Ipswich Town to the League title in 1962. These were the players he selected:

* Goalkeepers: Number 1, Gordon Banks, Leicester City; 12, Ron Springett, Sheffield Wednesday; 13, Peter Bonetti, Chelsea.

* Defenders: 2, George Cohen, Fulham; 3, Ray Wilson, Everton; 5, Jack Charlton, Leeds United; 6, Bobby Moore, West Ham United, England's Captain; 14, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool; 15, Gerry Byrne, Liverpool; 18, Norman Hunter, Leeds United.

* Midfielders: 4, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles, Manchester United; 7, Alan Ball, Blackpool; 9, Bobby Charlton, Manchester United, younger brother of Jack; 16, Martin Peters, West Ham United; 17, Ron Flowers, Wolverhampton Wanderers; 20, Ian Callaghan, Liverpool; 22, George Eastham, Arsenal.

* Forwards: 8, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur; 10, Geoff Hurst, West Ham United; 11, John Connelly, Manchester United; 19, Terry Paine, Southampton; 21, Roger Hunt, Liverpool.

England played all of their games in Group 1 at the national stadium, the original version of Wembley Stadium in West London. They got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, then beat Mexico and France, in each case by a 2-0 score, to win the Group. Uruguay also advanced.

Old Wembley

Group 2 was won by West Germany, with Argentina advancing as well. Group 3 was won by Portugal, with Hungary following. Two-time defending Champions Brazil only finished 3rd in Group 3, because defenders from Portugal and Bulgaria relentlessly fouled Pelé, by this point recognized as the best player in the world. Brazil would be back in 1970, but, for 1966, they were out.

And Group 4 was won by the Soviet Union, with another Communist nation, North Korea, surprising everyone by also advancing. North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, is the most embarrassing defeat in Italy's history. (The most infuriating one was also against Koreans, co-host South Korea, in the 2002 World Cup.)

In the Quarterfinals, West Germany beat Uruguay, 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The other games were considerably more dramatic. It took until Hurst's goal in the 78th minute for England to beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. With memories of Soviet tanks crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 still fresh, the Soviet team beat Hungary, 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

And at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton, North Korea took a 3-0 lead on Portugal, before Eusébio -- one of several players from Mozambique that Portugal fielded before that African colony gained its independence in 1975 -- scored 4 goals, 2 spectacular ones from open play and 2 penalties, to lead Portugal to a 5-3 win. With Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament, Eusébio was its dominant player.

Bobby Charlton scored 2 goals for England in the Semifinal against Portugal at Wembley. A late penalty, converted by Eusébio, briefly put the game in doubt, but England held on for the 2-1 win. The other Semifinal, at Goodison Park, had echoes of both World Wars, but the opposite result of each, as West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, 2-1.

As a crowd of 96,924 filed into Wembley, "The Great War" and "The War" were on Ramsey's mind as he addressed his players before the Final: "Fear not if they shall defeat us at our national game on our soil; for, twice in this century, we have defeated them at their national game, on their soil."

England wore red, and West Germany wore white. Kickoff, as was traditional in England, came at 3:00 PM on a Saturday. In America, NBC aired the Final on a 2-hour film delay, using the black-and-white feed from the BBC. This marked the 1st time that soccer had ever been shown in the United States as a stand-alone television event.

In the 12th minute, disaster struck for England: Siegfried Held of Borussia Dortmund sent a cross into the penalty area. Wilson attempted to head it away, but sent it in the wrong direction, to Helmut Haller, then playing his "club football" for Italian side Bologna. He put the ball past Banks, and it was 1-0 to "Ze Germans."

The lead didn't last long, as Hurst put a header past Hans Tilkowski of Dortmund. The score remained 1-1 until the 78th minute, when England won a corner. Ball took it, and it reached Hurst, whose shot was deflected by Tilkowski, to Hust's West Ham teammate Peters, who scored. It was 2-1 England.

England just had to hang on for another 12 to 15 minutes. They couldn't: Jack Charlton fouled Uwe Seeler of Hamburg, West Germamy's Captain and best scorer, in the 89th minute. The ensuing free kick caused a scramble, where Wolfgang Weber of Köln took it, and shot. It deflected off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger of Italian team AC Milan, and went in past Banks. Banks claimed that the ball hit Schnellinger's arm, which would make the play, however unintentional, handball. But replays showed that the ball hit him on the back. And so, it was 2-2, and there would be extra time.

In the 95th minute, Bobby Charlton hit the post, took the rebound, and shot wide. Then, in the 101st minute, came the most controversial shot in the history of soccer. Ball put in a cross, Hurst took it, and fired. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down, and was cleared.

The referee was Gottlieb Dienst -- in spite of his German-sounding name, he was from Switzerland: Had he actually been from Germany, he would have been ineligible to officiate. He wasn't sure if the ball had gone in. He asked a linesman, Tofiq Bahramov, from Azerbaijan but then representing the Soviet Union: He said the ball crossed the goal line, and Dienst gave the goal. 3-2 England.

Ever since, the Germans have argued that the ball did not fully cross the goal line, and blamed "the Russian judge" for it. Since the coming of Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR), it has been argued more strenuously than ever that the Germans were cheated by a home-team call. And computer analysis has suggested that "only" 97 percent of the ball got over the line, roughly the percentage that cost Liverpool a goal in a game against Manchester City, and thus the Premier League title, in 2019.

Hunt immediately turned to celebrate the goal with Hurst. Hunt went to his grave insisting that, if he thought the ball hadn't gone in, he would have rushed forward to tap it in, which makes sense.

I've seen the play many times. The ball clearly hit the top of the net before it came back down. It was a legitimate goal. You don't believe me? Judge for yourself.

In the 120th and final minute of play -- not counting whatever stoppage time would be added on to the end of extra time -- West German manager Helmut Schön sent his defenders forward in one last desperate attempt. But Moore, got the ball, found an unmarked Hurst, and passed it to him.

Some fans ran onto the field, and got closer to Hurst than any German players did. He completed what remains the only hat trick, the only 3-goal performance, by a man in a World Cup Final, matched only by American Carli Lloyd in the 2015 Women's World Cup Final. And this 4th goal for England ensured that the disputed goal from earlier wouldn't matter.

Geoff Hurst

As Hunt approached his shot, BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Kenneth Wolstenholme

There was a minute of stoppage time, but the Germans could do nothing with it. England had won, 4-2. Captain Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

England have been inconsistent in international tournaments since. They didn't reach another Final until Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021, due to COVID). Their best World Cup performances since have been runs to the Semifinal in 1990 and 2018.

And so, in the 1960s, England, in the midst of Beatlemania, Swinging London and early James Bond, had a moment that brought the whole country together. Old rivalries were put aside for the greatest patriotic moment since the end of The War.

Famously, Denis Law, Manchester United teammate of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly, was such a Scottish patriot that, instead of watching the Final hosted and won by his arch-rival "country," he played golf.

America would have its great moment in 1969: We went to the Moon. England had theirs in 1966: They won the World Cup. Neither has been able to match it since.

The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 4 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich, and the Stade de France outside Paris.

*

This was the 3rd year in a row that Moore, Hurst and Peters had won a Final at Wembley. Together, the 3 players had helped East London team West Ham United win the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup. Being together on the 1966 England team led Hammers fans to say, "West Ham won the World Cup."

A statue of Hurst, Peters, and Everton’s Wilson hoisting Moore on their shoulders as he lifts the trophy, labeled "Champions," was placed across from the Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park, West Ham's stadium at the time. (When the old Wembley was torn down in 2000, and the new one opened on the site in 2007, a statue of Moore, England's only World Cup-winning Captain, was placed outside.

But this cup success did not lead to League honors. Moore played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, and over that stretch, their best finish was 6th in his rookie year, 1958-59, and again in 1972-73. In their Cup win year of 1963-64, they were 14th; in 1966-67, 16th, barely avoiding relegation. As teammate Harry Redknapp, later a Cup-winning manager, put it, "We had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, and we finished 17th every year. Which should tell you how crap the rest of us were."

Peters would later move to North London's Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the 1971 and 1973 League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup. Earlier, Greaves had played for Tottenham, a.k.a. "Spurs," winning the 1962 and 1967 FA Cups and the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

With Manchester United, Bobby Charlton won the 1957 League title; and, having added Stiles, and Scotland’s Denis Law, and Northern Ireland’s George Best, won the 1965 and 1967 League titles; the 1963 FA Cup; and the 1968 European Cup. Connelly won the League with Burnley in 1960 and Man United in 1965.

With Liverpool, Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt won the 1964 and 1966 Football League titles, and the 1965 FA Cup. Callaghan stayed long enough to also win the 1973, 1976 and 1977 League titles; the 1974 FA Cup; the 1973 and 1976 UEFA Cups; and the 197 and 1978 European Cups.

Flowers was the senior player. With Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," he won the 1954, 1959 and 1959 Football League titles, and the 1960 FA Cup. With Leicester City, Banks won the 1964 League Cup. With Stoke City, he and Eastham won the 1972 League Cup. With Chelsea, Bonetti won the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup, and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup.

With Everton, Wilson won the 1966 FA Cup. They then purchased Ball from Blackpool, and he helped them win the 1970 League title, by which time Wilson had been sold. Oddly, he played for 3 teams in the season after they won the FA Cup: 1966 Everton, 1971 Arsenal, and 1976 Southampton – but never won it himself. He then went to the North American Soccer League, and won the league title in 1979.

With Leeds United, Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter won the 1968 League Cup, the 1968 and 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, the 1969 League title, and the 1972 FA Cup. Hunter was still there for the 1974 League title.

All of the England players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Bonny Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

In addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team had experienced dementia by the time of the 50th Anniversary in 2016. Wilson, Stiles and Peters had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's; and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. His brother Bobby, the most beloved of living English footballers at the time, would also be diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles also battled cancer, as did Banks and Greaves. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, had strokes, which left him wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the English footballer best known for having had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed in 2015, and died in 2021.

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, said, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it." The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players had a golf outing every year, for as long as they could. John Stiles, Nobby's son, said, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget." Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15. In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause. George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024.

So, as of July 30, 2026, the following 3 players are still alive: Geoff Hurst, now 84; Terry Paine, 87; and Ian Callaghan, 84 -- and only Hurst among those who played in the Final. All 3 were interviewed on the subject of the 60th Anniversary of their triumph, and appeared to be in good health.

July 29, 1996: The Kent-Baerga Trade

Jeff Kent

July 29, 1996, 30 years ago: The New York Mets trade 2nd baseman Jeff Kent and reserve infielder José Vizcaíno  to the Cleveland Indians for 2nd baseman Carlos Baerga and reserve infielder Alvaro Espinoza.

At the time, this looked like a great trade for the Amazin's: Baerga was considered, along with Roberto Alomar, 1 of the 2 best 2nd basemen in baseball; Kent, the most disappointing player at that position. Espinoza was a good backup shortstop who could also play 2nd base and 3rd base. And Vizcaíno was an old-style good-field-no-hit middle infielder. It seemed like a no-brainer.

It was, but not in the way the Mets or their fans expected: Baerga was a flop in Flushing, while Espinoza was near the end of the line.

Carlos Baerga

The Indians, as has tended to happen to the now-Guardians in their history, didn't benefit much from the trade, either: After the season, they traded Kent and Vizcaíno to the San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams. (Each team also included another player that didn't matter much.) Williams helped the Tribe win a Pennant, while Kent helped the Jints win one, reached the postseason 8 times in his career, won the NL Most Valuable Player in 2000, and finished with 377 home runs, 351 of them while playing 2nd base, still a record. (His personality wasn't much, but he could hit.) In 2026, Kent was elected to the Hall of Fame, and his plaque shows him wearing a Giants cap.

The Mets needed to win 1 of their last 5 games in 1998 to get the National League's Wild Card berth. They won exactly none. They lost the 1999 NL Championship Series to the hated Atlanta Braves. They beat Kent and the Giants in the 2000 NL Division Series, but lost the World Series to the even more hated Yankees. Kent could have made a big difference on those occasions.

Oh yeah, about that 2000 World Series: It was essentially decided in the 12th inning of Game 1, on a game-winning single for the Yankees by... Jose Vizcaíno.

Jose Vizcaíno, October 21, 2000

So this might be an even more damaging trade than Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi in 1971, because it may have made a difference at a time when the Mets were very good, keeping them from reaching true glory. Certainly, it was more damaging than the trade that brought Kent to the Mets, in 1992 for David Cone.

Yanks Do Well In Philly, But Injury Concerns Grow

The Yankees headed down the New Jersey Turnpike, for 3 games against fellow Playoff contenders the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

On Friday night, the Yankees only got 4 baserunners in 7 innings off Phils starter Jesús Luzardo, and nothing off 2 relievers: 3 hits and a walk. But one of them was a home run in the 4th, by Paul Goldschmidt. It was the 388th of his career. He is now 1 behind Johnny Bench, 2 behind Yankee legend Graig Nettles, 4 behind the still-active Manny Machado, 5 behind Jim Edmonds, 8 behind Joe Carter, 10 behind Dale Murphy, 11 behind Al Kaline and Andrés Galarraga, and 12 short of 400.

Fortunately, Cam Schlittler was better than Luzardo: He went 7 1/3rd shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, no walks, and striking out 12. Yankees 1, Phillies 0.

Ryan Weathers started on Saturday night, and went 5 2/3rds, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7. The bullpen allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk. The Phillies went with a bullpen game, and it might have worked if Weathers hadn't done even better. Austin Wells hit a home run in the 3rd, Cody Bellinger had an RBI single in the 6th, and Jasson Domínguez hit one out in the 7th.

Yankees 3, Phillies 1. The Bronx Bombers had now won 9 of their last 12. Unfortunately, Bellinger hurt his hamstring, and has been added to an Injured List that still includes Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Spencer Jones has been called back up.

The Sunday night game was awful. Will Warren allowed 6 runs in 3 innings, including 4 in the 3rd. And Ryan Yarbrough allowed 5 runs in the 6th. Despite Ben Rice hitting his 31st homer of the season, the Yankees lost, 11-4.

The Yankees took 2 out of 3, and are lucky MLB doesn't count series wins by aggregate score, or they would have lost, 12-8.

The Yankees are now 59-46, 3 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. They now head to Chicago for an entire week: Tonight, Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon at Rate Field against the White Sox; and Friday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field in an Interleague series with the Cubs.

The trade deadline is next Monday, at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. An hour after that, the Yankees begin a homestand: 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals (Interleague), 3 against the Atlanta Braves (also Interleague), and 3 against the Seattle Mariners.

Judge and Stanton are accompanying the team to Chicago, but neither is expected to be reactivated during the roadtrip. Nor will Bellinger, who is on the 10-Day IL. Clarke Schmidt has been throwing live batting practice, and could return in early August. Carlos Rodón could soon start throwing BP as well, but will likely take longer.

July 27, 1996: The Olympic Park Bombing

July 27, 1996, 30 years ago: The Olympic Park in Atlanta is bombed during a concert to celebrate the Olympic Games. One person was killed, 111 injured. While the Olympics have had plenty of controversies, rarely have the troubles of the outside world intruded on the Games. The 1972 Summer Games in Munich were touched by terrorism. So were the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

At first, the FBI investigated Richard Jewell, the security guard who found the backpack containing the 3 pipe bombs. He had also helped to evacuate the area, keeping the deaths and injuries lower than they could have been. But, based on "psychological profiling," the FBI decided that he could have been the bomber, much as some people, including firemen, start fires so they can report them and be heroes.

It took nearly 3 months to clear his name, and he never recovered emotionally. The stress took a toll on his health, and, combined with diabetes and heart disease, led to his death in 2007. He was only 44 years old.

Finally, the FBI determined that this was the work of a man who'd committed 3 other bombings, in protest of America's abortion and gay rights policies. Eric Rudolph, a member of the radical "Christian Identity" movement, was finally caught in 2003, and pled guilty.

As of July 27, 2026, Rudolph is 59 years old, and remains incarcerated at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado. He is serving 2 consecutive life terms, and will never get out of prison except in a coffin. He has since written a letter from prison saying he now prefers the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche to the Bible.