Aug. 3
1992
Mike Conley, a nine-time NCAA champion at Arkansas, won the Olympic gold medal in the triple jump by leaping 59 feet, 7 1/2 inches at the Barcelona Games.
“It’s like being on Cloud 10,” Conley said. ”You skip-jump right past Cloud 9.”
Conley’s jump would have been a world record, but it was ever so slightly wind-aided.
For a mark to count as a record, the wind reading must be 2.0 meters per second or less. The wind reading on Conley’s winning jump was 2.1.
It was the only one of 33 attempts by all competitors that was wind-aided, but Conley didn’t complain.
“I won the gold medal,” he said. ”Asking for anything more than that is being greedy.”
Aug. 4
2013
Stacy Lewis shot a final-round par 72 to win the Women’s British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Lewis took her second LPGA major victory, joining the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship, and her eighth tournament as a pro.
Lewis finished the tournament with an 8-under par 280, holding off Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park by two strokes each. Lewis’ winner’s check was for $402,584.
2012
Former Arkansas All-American Veronica Campbell-Brown, running for her native Jamaica, finished third in the 100 meters to win an Olympic bronze medal in London. Campbell-Brown finished in 10.81 seconds.
2002
Chicago Bears defensive lineman Dan Hampton, an All-American at Arkansas, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
“I didn’t want to play football,” Hampton said during his acceptance speech. “Once I got involved, the game teaches qualities you look for not only in football, but in life.
“Everybody gets their turn to hit the ball in baseball or shoot the basketball. In football, you have to be willing to sacrifice yourself and personal glory for the good of the team.”
Hampton was presented by former Bears star Ed O’Bradovich.
“The thing I liked about Dan is watching him pick up a 280-pound tackle with one hand and a 270-pound guard with the other, drive them 7 yards into the backfield and dump them on the quarterback,” O’Bradovich said.
Hampton, recently voted the No. 2 Razorback of all time in the pros by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, works in TV and radio in Chicago.
1984
Mike Conley, a junior for the Razorbacks, finished second in the triple jump at the Olympics to earn a silver medal.
Al Joyner, from Arkansas State University, won the triple jump at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a leap of 56 feet, 71/2 inches to edge Conley, who went 56-41/2.
Aug. 5
2017
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a North Little Rock native and starting offensive lineman for Arkansas’ 11-0 team that won a share of the 1964 national championship, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor.
Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million. By the time he was inducted into the Hall of Fame 18 years later, the team was valued by Forbes at $4.2 billion.
The Cowboys have won three Super Bowl titles under Jones’ ownership. He also has been a key leader among NFL owners in negotiating lucrative TV and marketing deals.
2012
Former Razorback Tyson Gay ran 9.8 seconds and finished fourth in the 100 meters at the Olympics in London, one spot away from earning a medal.
Gay was inconsolable after the race, crying his way through an interview.
“I tried. I tried, man,” Gay said. “I tried my best. I gave it my all.”
Aug. 6
2009
Cliff Lee showed his new fans some of his best stuff.
Lee, traded from Texas to Philadelphia a week earlier, pitched seven innings in his home debut at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies beat Colorado 3-1. He held the Rockies to six hits and had nine strikeouts.
“To get that first win at home out of the way, I’m really pleased with it,” Lee said. “The initial shock and adrenaline rush was over. It was my first one at home, and I was anxious to get that behind me.”
1948
Clyde “Smackover” Scott, who played football and ran track for Arkansas, finished second in the 110-meter hurdles at the Olympics in London to earn a silver medal.
Scott barely missed out on the gold medal, won by Bill Porter in a photo finish that also included Craig Dixon.
“It took what seemed like an eternity, about 20 or 30 minutes, to determine who won the race,” Scott told the Tulsa World in 1992.
Porter was awarded the victory and gold medal with a time of 13.9 seconds. Scott and Dixon were each timed in 14.1, but Scott was determined to have finished second.
“Back then, it was a feeling of team maybe more than now,” Scott told the World. “We were very proud to win 1-2-3.”
Scott, who played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions after starring at Arkansas, died in 2018 in Little Rock at age 93. His No. 12 jersey is one of two retired by Arkansas football along with the No. 77 of Brandon Burlsworth.
Aug. 7
2018
Former Lady Razorbacks basketball standout India Lewis died after a battle with breast cancer. She was 36.
Lewis, from Siloam Springs, played guard from 1999-2003 and was part of three NCAA Tournament teams for Coach Gary Blair.
As a junior, Lewis averaged 14.0 points and 2.6 rebounds. She averaged 13.4 points and 2.8 rebounds as a senior.
Aug. 8
2014
Nolan Richardson, who in 17 seasons led the Razorbacks to a school-record 389 victories and the 1994 national championship, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
After Richardson graduated from Texas-El Paso, he became a trailblazer. He was the first black head coach hired in El Paso, Texas, at Bowie High, the first in a Texas junior college at Western Texas, the first in Oklahoma at Tulsa and the first in the Deep South at Arkansas.
“The single most powerful person that got me to where I’ve been able to go is Ol’ Mama Rose,” Richardson said of his grandmother. “She was my hero, and she instilled a lot in me.”
John Thompson, the former Georgetown coach, was among those praising Richardson in a video tribute before his speech.
“When you played against 40 minutes of hell, you had to maintain 40 minutes of concentration because the minute you mentally broke down, they would be going away from you smiling,” Thompson said. “His style of play was something where he didn’t try to adapt to you. He made you adapt to him.”
2012
Former Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino granted an interview with ESPN as a mea culpa after being fired four months earlier after his Harley-Davidson wreck with his mistress aboard. The interview took place in his hometown of Helena, Mont., with reporter Joe Schad.
“I take responsibility for it, and I really am sorry,” Petrino said. “I’ve played it over in my head a million times. How could I do this? How could this happen? My actions and behavior for months was just wrong.”
Petrino, who led the Razorbacks to a 34-17 record in four seasons, took Arkansas to heights it had not seen in decades when the 2010 team played in the Sugar Bowl in the program’s only BCS berth, finishing at 10-3. The 2011 team finished 11-2 and No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll.
Arkansas went 29-10 in his final three seasons. The Razorbacks are 37-62 with three winning seasons in eight years since he was fired.
Petrino got back into coaching at Western Kentucky and led the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 mark in 2013 before behind hired for a second head coaching stint at Louisville. The Cardinals were 36-26 under Petrino the next five years prior to his firing late in the 2018 season with a 2-8 mark. He was hired as head coach at Missouri State on Jan. 15.
2008
The Hogs basketball team took a major hit when it was announced Patrick Beverley would not play during the 2008-09 season.
Beverley, a 6-1 junior guard, would have been the Razorbacks’ leading returning scorer at 12.1 points per game. He also averaged a team-high 6.6 rebounds.
A news release announcing Beverley wouldn’t play gave no reason why, but it was later reported he was suspended for academic issues.
In October of 2008, Beverley began his pro career with a team in the Ukraine. He now plays in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers.
1998
Don Tyson announced a donation of $3 million toward the construction of a new indoor track and field facility for Arkansas.
The building, named the Randal Tyson Track Center in honor of Don Tyson’s brother, cost $8 million and opened in 2000 when Arkansas hosted the NCAA Indoor championships for the first time.
The center has hosted the NCAA Championships 10 times and the SEC meet seven times. It is now undergoing a renovation, and the Tyson family has donated $6 million for the project.
Aug. 9
2002
Athletic Director Frank Broyles underwent surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., to remove his prostate gland after the 77-year-old had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two months earlier.
After the surgery, Broyles issued a statement complimenting his medical treatment and offering thanks for the outpouring of support he and his family had received since his cancer diagnosis became public.
“I’ve been so fortunate along the way to have some of the best doctors in both Northwest Arkansas and at the Mayo Clinic,” Broyles said. “From my initial diagnosis to the many tests that were run in my time at the clinic, the doctors have been very thorough and impressive. Their knowledge and attention to detail put me at ease.”
Broyles said at the time he had no plans to retire. He continued as athletic director through the end of 2007. He died in 2017 at age 92.
1975
The Broyles Complex, named for Frank Broyles, opened as an addition to Razorback Stadium’s north end zone.
The facility housed offices for all of Arkansas’ athletic department administrators and coaches, as well as a locker room, weight room and training room for the football team. It also had an indoor workout area with an artificial turf field.
The Broyles Complex was renovated in the 1990s and added a museum devoted to Razorbacks football, then was demolished in 2016 with a new Broyles Athletic Center built in its place.