This Day in Sports History — September 8

Here are just some of the notable sports moments that happened on September 8:

1914 — The Boston Braves, who were 11.5 games out of first place on July 15, took over the National League lead with an 8-3 victory over the New York Giants at Fenway Park. Boston went on to win the pennant and the World Series. (More info.)

1963 — Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves tied Christy Mathewson's National League record with his 13th season of 20 or more wins. (More info.)

1969 — Rod Laver completed his second Grand Slam by winning the US Open tennis tournament. (More info.)

1984 — Martina Navratilova won her sixth consecutive Grand Slam tournament by defeating Chris Evert at the US Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows, NY. (More info.)

1988 — Javier Sotomayor of Cuba set the world record in the high jump by elevating 2.43 meters at a meet in Salamanca, Spain. (More info.)

1995 — The Cleveland Indians clinched the first-ever American League Central title and the team's first post-season appearance since 1954. (More info.)

1996 — Pete Sampras beat Michael Chang in straight sets to win the US Open tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows, NY. (More info.)

1998 — Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals broke Roger Maris' longstanding, single-season home run record by hitting his 62nd home run of the year in a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (More info.)