Events The third Summer Olympic Games are held in London, England. July 13 - Women compete in modern Olympics for the first time. September 23 - Baseball/History: the "Merkle incident" December 26 - Jack Johnson becomes the first African American heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia Births February 17 - Red Barber, baseball announcer, sports journalist (+ 1992) August 27 - Don Bradman, Cricket player Deaths April 20 - Henry Chadwick, baseball writer and historian