Catcher/first baseman Dave Nilsson was, arguably, the most accomplished Australian baseball player in history. He was the first Australian to make the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He was MVP of the first major international competition in which the Australian national team won a Gold Medal. He won a Silver Medal in the Olympics. In the Australian Baseball League, Nilsson set numerous records. His career was sidelined several times due to injuries, including foot, shoulder, knee and virus problems. He later led a group that purchased the ABL and tried to keep it afloat under a new name and structure. Nilsson was part of the first All-Australian battery in major league history. Australian baseball analysts Flintoff & Dunn write that "David Nilsson owns the biggest profile in Australian baseball history".

Recently featured: Longest game in Organized Baseball history - Tuffy Rhodes - Chronicle-Telegraph Cup

• ...that Lew Kent (pictured) once pinch-hit for Barry Bonds in a key game?
• ...that Walter Ball was the first black pitcher to beat a white MLB team?
• ...that Brad Tippett held left-handed batters to an 0-for-36 performance in 2007?
• ...how Davy Jones got his nickname?
• ...that Tommy Hanson threw the first no-hitter in Mississippi Braves history?
• ...which Hall-of-Famer Jason Kosow portrayed in a TV miniseries?
• ...that Germany Schaefer successfully pulled off the hidden ball trick in a World Series game?
• ...that Kyle Russell led NCAA Division I in home runs in 2007?
• ...that Marvin Williams won two minor league home run and batting crowns after the Boston Red Sox passed on him and Jackie Robinson?
• ...that Jake Arrieta was the first player from Texas Christian University to appear on Team USA?
• ...what Ed Killian did for a living after his baseball career came to an end?
• ...why Chang-Ming Cheng was banned from the CPBL three years after he played in the Olympics?

• All eight countries have announced their Olympic Rosters (Olympic logo pictured)
• In the longest All-Star Game in duration (4 hours, 50 minutes), the American League wins 4-3 in 15 innings in the 2008 Midsummer Classic.
• Chin-Feng Chen sets a Chinese Professional Baseball League record by collecting 13 total bases in a game. He goes deep three times and adds a single, driving in five.
• The World team pitching staff throws a 3-hit shutout to win the 2008 Futures Game over the USA. Carlos Carrasco gets the win, Shairon Martis the save and Che-Hsuan Lin wins the Larry Doby Award as the MVP.
• Former big leaguer and longtime New York Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer dies of cancer at age 62.

• 1908 - Hugh Bedient strikes out an amazing 43 batters in a 23-inning semipro game. It draws notice from the media and will earn him his ticket to the majors.
• 1913 - Max Carey (pictured) scores five runs despite getting no hits. He draws four walks and steals four bases in the game.
• 1930 - The A's pull off two triple steals in the same game. Al Simmons is involved in both.
• 1941 - Lefty Grove wins the last game of his career - number 300.
• 1966 - In his induction speech at the Hall of Fame, Ted Williams gives a memorable address urging the inclusion of Negro League players. Within a few years, the Hall will start adding blackball stars.

Recent days: July 24 – July 23 – July 22

• Leagues and Teams: Leagues, Teams, Minors, Minor League Teams, Negro League Teams, Nippon Pro Baseball Teams, AAGPBL, International Baseball, Amateur Baseball
• Players: Players, Hall of Famers, Minor League Stars, Minor League Players, Negro League Players, Nippon Pro Baseball Players, National Team Players, Fictional Characters, Baseball Families, Veterans, Olympians
• Personnel: Managers, Owners, General Managers, Coaches, Executives, Umpires, Minor League Managers, Broadcasters, Other People
• History: History, Postseasons, Years, Dates, Ballparks, Awards, Numbers, Business
• Culture: Books, Authors, Writers, Media, Movies
• Glossary and Statistics: Glossary, Instruction, Rules, Statistics, Sabermetrics, Frivolities, Places, High Schools, Schools

• July 17, 2008 - The 2008 World University Championship began in the Czech Republic.
• July 15, 2008 - Major League Baseball 2008 All-Star Game was held at Yankee Stadium.
• June 5 - June 6, 2008 - Major League Baseball Amateur Draft held.
• March 25, 2008 - Major League Baseball Opening Day: Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome.

• July 25, 2008 - The World Junior Championship begins in Edmonton.
• July 27, 2008 - Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, New York.
• August 8, 2008 - The 2008 Olympics begin in China.
• August 24, 2008 - The third Women's Baseball World Cup begins in Edmonton.