Today in sports history, September 12

On September 12, several notable events occurred in sports history. In 1885, Arbroath defeated Bon Accord 36-0 in the Scottish Cup, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in an unrigged first-class soccer match that would stand for over a century. In 1911, Hall of Fame pitchers Cy Young and Christy Mathewson faced each other for the last time, with Mathewson's New York Giants defeating Young's Boston Rustlers 11-2.

Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi set a world record in the 5,000 meters in 1922, completing the race in 14:35.4. On the baseball front, Tom Cheney struck out a major league record 21 batters and threw 16 innings in a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles in 1962. Ralph Boston broke the world record in the long jump with a leap of 8.34 meters in 1964.

In 1965, Pete Rose, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline, Al Rosen, Harmon Killebrew, Catfish Hunter, and Whitey Ford were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Monica Seles reclaimed the U.S. Open women's singles title in 1992, defeating Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Pete Sampras added to his impressive record in 1993 by winning his second U.S. Open men's singles championship and third major title.

Iker Casillas made his Spanish league debut for Real Madrid in 1999 at the age of 18. Roger Federer secured his first U.S. Open title in 2004, becoming the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three major singles championships in a single year. The Detroit Lions ended an NFL-record 24-game losing streak in 2004, starting the season with a win over the Chicago Bears.

In 2015, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for the most goals scored by a Real Madrid player in Spanish league play, while David Ortiz added his 500th career home run that same year. Naomi Osaka claimed her second U.S. Open title in 2020, while Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in 2021 to win his first major championship and deny Djokovic a record-breaking 21st men's major title.