31 August 1980 - Chinaglia's Record-Setting Night

On 31 August 1980, New York Cosmos striker Giorgia Chinaglia scored seven goals in a playoff game against Tusla, setting seven records in the process.

The match was in the first round of the NASL playoffs. The Cosmos had already beaten Tulsa 1-3 away in the first leg and were hosting them at Giants Stadium for the second leg. Chinaglia scored the opening goal in the 21st minute, opening the floodgates for the strikes that soon followed.

His second came five minutes later from the penalty spot before Tulsa's Billy Caskey closed the gap to 2-1. Then a Franz Beckenbauer goal pushed the margin to 3-1, followed by another Chinaglia penalty kick to make it 4-1. Five minutes after that, the Italian international tallied his fourth of the day to end the half 5-1 to New York. He added a fifth goal in the 75th minute, then a sixth with a diving header about five minutes later. Then, with just over a minute left, he scored his seventh of the day to set the final margin at 8-1.

His tally set seven different records, including (1) most goals in a playoff game, (2) most goals in a half at 5, (3) most points in a playoff game (15, under the NASL rules of two points per goal and one per assist), (4) most points in a half with 10, (5) the shortest time between two goals at 4 minutes and 48 seconds, (6) career goals in the playoffs with 29, and (7) career playoff points with 65. Chinaglia already held the latter two records, while most of the others he took over from the Minnesota Kicks' Alan Willey.

Chinaglia continued his impressive performance throughout the playoffs, culminating with a brace in New York's 3-0 win over the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the Soccer Bowl.

30 August 2012 - Every Sports Movie Ever Made Just Became More Realistic

On 30 August 2012, Sarah Crilly scored on her Scotland debut--in a game that started with her as a spectator.

The 20-year old striker had appeared for Scotland's U-17 and U-19 teams and been training with the senior squad. That training earned her an invitation to attend a friendly against Norway at Dunfermline's East End Park. She was in the stands watching as Scotland took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Emma Mitchell in the thirteenth minute.

Ten minutes into the second half, manager Anna Signeul had to make two substitutions due to injuries, leaving only a defender and two goalkeepers on the bench. So when a third player had to come out a few minutes later, Signeul sent for Crilly, who was standing in line for a cup of tea when she was asked to suit up.

She entered in the 62nd minute, with Scotland still leading, but they soon fell behind after conceding twice to Norway's Isabell Herlovsen (70', 75'). Then, in the 85th minute, Crilly scored the equalizer to salvage a 2-2 draw.

She has since made only other appearance, playing in a 1-1 draw with Serbia in August 2013.

29 August 1979 - Chile Reaches Seventh Heaven

On 29 August 1979, Chile secured their record win, beating Venezuela 7-0 in the first round of the Copa América.

They started the day tied in the three-team group's last place, having only a single point after drawing with Venezuela and losing to Colombia earlier in the month. Colombia were on top with five points, but had played one match more. Venezuela, meanwhile, despite starting strong with a pair of draws, had just been beaten badly by Colombia, 4-0, before traveling to Santiago to face Chile again.

The hosts quickly established their intentions, going up 1-0 with a goal from Jorge Peredo in just the third minute. Venezuela's defense composed itself, however, and limited Chile to only one other goal before the break (Carlos Rivas, 38').

In the second half, both Rivas (54') and Peredo (59') scored again to stretch the lead to 4-0, then Leonardo Véliz (76'), Mario Soto (80'), and Patricio Yáñez (84') added strikes of their own to set the final margin at 7-0. In addition to setting a record victory, it reversed the score of their record defeat, 7-0 to Brazil in 1959.

Chile went on to finish as runners-up to Paraguay. They later matched the record scoreline with a 7-0 win over Armenia in 1997, but have not yet exceeded it.

28 August 1998 - Gus Puts One Over On Guus

On 28 August 1998, Chelsea won the UEFA Super Cup over Real Madrid with a late goal from midfielder Gus Poyet.

It was the first appearance in the Super Cup for both teams. Chelsea qualified for the match by lifting the previous season's Cup Winners' Cup (their second), while Real Madrid, playing their first competitive match under new manager Guus Hiddink, arrived after winning their seventh European Cup/Champions League title. The two teams met previously in the 1971 Cup Winners' Cup Final, which Chelsea won 2-1 in a replay.

Unlike most previous Super Cups which were played over two legs, the 1998 edition was a single match at the neutral location of Monaco's Stade Louis II. Playing in front of a crowd of just over 11,500, the teams remained locked at 0-0 deep into the second half, but Poyet, who had come on a substitute in the 63rd minute, finally gave Chelsea the lead with an 81st-minute goal. It was all the Londoners needed, as they held on for the 1-0 victory.

27 August 1938 - Makes You Wonder Why They'd Ever Want To Change It

On 27 August 1938, Everton's "beacon" crest made its debut, but did so in a relatively inconspicuous location.

Everton's first crest, which dates back to 1920, consisted simply of the interlocking initials "EFC." According to the official club history, secretary Theo Kelly decided that a newer crest was needed—he wanted to include one on a club necktie. He also designed the crest, using the local landmark known as Prince Rupert's Tower as its centerpiece, adding laurels as emblems off success, and including the motto "Nil satis, nisi optimum," which translates to "nothing but the best is good enough."

The club produced the neckties as proposed, and they were worn for the first time by Kelly and club chairman Earnest Green on the opening day of the 1938-39 season in the First Division. Everton were away at Blackpool that day and won 0-2 with goals from Tommy Lawton and Alex Stevenson.

Kelly and Green continued to wear the ties throughout the season, which ended with Everton claiming their fifth league title (and Kelly became the team's manager for the following season). The new crest was not used on the team's shirts, however, until 1978.

The crest has since undergone several modifications, most recently in 2013 when the club simplified the design, dropping both the laurels and the motto. But those changes caused an uproar among Everton supporters and the club vowed to reevaluate the crest at the end of the 2013-14 season.

26 August 2004 - A Pattern Starts To Emerge

On 26 August 2004, the United States women won Olympic gold, beating Brazil in the final with an extra-time goal from Abby Wambach.

The two teams had met several times in major tournaments, including the 2000 Olympics, the 1991 World Cup and the 1999 World Cup, and their most recent meeting in the group stage of the 2004 Olympics. The US won every meeting, but this was the first time they had met in a final. The game took additional meaning as the last competitive appearance for US stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Joy Fawcett.

Playing at the Kiraiskaki Stadium in Piraeus, the US took the lead with a 39th-minute goal from winger Lindsay Tarpley—a 24-yard rocket that flew just inside the left post. They held on to it deep into the second half, but just seven minutes from the end of regulation, Brazilian forward Pretinha equalized and the match went into extra time.

Then, in the 112th minute, the US earned a corner. Kristine Lilly took the kick, which found Wambach ten yards out. The forward rose to the ball and sent it into the net with a powerful header to claim the 2-1 win.

25 August 1928 - Football By Numbers

On 25 August 1928, Arsenal and Chelsea became the first teams in Europe to wear shirt numbers, though not against each other.

The two teams weren't even in the same division at the time, with Arsenal playing in the top flight and Chelsea in Division Two. But when they each opened their seasons, both had adopted the innovation of wearing shirt numbers to help identify the players.

The number were assigned by position used in the 2-3-5 formation prevalent at the time: goalkeeper (1), right full back (2), left full back (3), right center half (4), center half (5), left center half (6), outside right forward (7), inside right forward (8), center forward (9), inside left forward (10), and outside left forward (11) (though only Arsenal used all eleven, as Chelsea's keeper did not wear a number that day).

While both Arsenal and Chelsea may have been able to better identify their players, the day's results went in opposite directions, with Arsenal losing 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea beating Swansea 4-0.

Although this was the first use of shirt numbers in Europe, they were used in the US four years earlier by Vesper Buick, when they lost to Fall River in the US Open Cup Final (shown below).