As we get ready to celebrate the Fourth, I thought it would be fun to look back and see what exciting things have happened on that date in sports history. What I found ran the gamut from surprising to entertaining to comedic to uplifting.

One very dramatic July 4th that will be remembered always by baseball fans was “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day,” held at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. The 37-year-old Gehrig, who would be dead within two years from the disease that carries his name, was honored by the Yankees as they retired his No. 4 uniform. Speaking to the crowd of 62,000 fans who crowded the stadium, Gehrig said, “I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

On a lighter note, on July 4 of the bicentennial year, Philadelphia Phillies catcher Tim McCarver, in one strange moment in time, hit what should have been a Grand Slam homerun, but turned it into something deemed a “Grand Slam single’” when he took off around the bases so fast that he passed teammate Garry Maddox on the bases. Luckily the Phillies still went on the beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-5.

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NASCAR legend Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He didn’t know it then, but it would turn out to be the final victory in his storied career.

Pitching great Nolan Ryan earned the 3000th strikeout of his career on July 4, 1980 as a member of the Houston Astros. Ceasar Geronimo of the Cincinnati Reds was the guy he fanned to reach that mark.

Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit Jose Canseco is a pretty interesting character who, with Mark McGwire, half of the Oakland A’s “Bash Brothers, hit 33 home runs with 117 RBIs to McGwire’s 49 home runs in 1987. On July 4, 1999, while a member of the Tampa Ray Devil Rays, Canseco made Major League history by hitting 30 home runs with four different teams — the A’s, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays are the others.

One of the most anticipated boxing matches in American history took place in 1910, when former undefeated heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries came out of retirement with one goal: to defeat African-American boxer Jack Johnson. The fight took place on July 4th before a crowd of 22,000 people. Johnson was declared the winner in the 15th round, after Jeffries was knocked down twice. Johnson’s victory sparked race riots across the country.

On July 4, 1977, L.A. Dodgers third-baseman Ron Cey, after three straight hits, is called out on strikes in the 9th in a 4-0 Dodger win over San Francisco. Cey had five hits the day before giving him a two-day total of eight consecutive hits.

Way back on July 4, 1884, bullfighting was introduced in American in Dodge City, Kansas. Four years later the first rodeo was held in Prescott, Arizona.

July 4, 1987: Tennis legend Martina Navratilova captured her sixth consecutive Wimbledon singles title.

On July 4, 1919, Jack Dempsey KO’d defending champion Jess Willard in four rounds to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

Finally, in one of the most bizarre games ever, the Mets endured two rain delays and over six hours of playing time to beat the Atlanta Braves 16 – 13 in 19 innings. Being July 4th, it was Fireworks Night in Atlanta. With a 10-8 lead in the top of the 13th, the Mets could only watch as the Braves tied it up. Nobody scored again until the 18th inning, when relief pitcher Rick Camp, a .060 hitter forced to bat because Atlanta had no one else to pinch hit, tied the score on a two-out, two-strike pitch in the bottom of the inning. It was his first-ever Major League home run. The Mets scored five in the 19th and the Braves could add just two, ending the game at 3:55 a.m. on July 5th. But it fireworks were promised and the Braves went ahead and set them off, much to the dismay of local residents who thought the city was under attack.

Who knows what fantastic, funny or surprising thing will happen on Saturday, as we celebrate the 233rd anniversary of our founding.

What a wonderful trip it has been.