Hotshot Rolled an 11 That’s Hard to Beat

In the mid-1950s, author Russ Marshall began assembling lists of “unbreakable sports records” for a book he would call “The 40 Safest American Sports Records.”

No. 1 on his list is Ty Cobb’s lifetime batting average of .367, followed by Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941.

No. 33 has to do with the success Byron Nelson had on the pro golf tour in 1945:

* Nineteen consecutive rounds under 70.

* Eighteen tournament wins.

* Eleven consecutive tournament victories.

“The statistical probability that Nelson’s record 11 consecutive tour wins could be broken is virtually incalculable,” Marshall wrote.

Starting with the Miami Four-Ball tournament in March, Nelson won every tournament he entered into August. The 11th, which he won 54 years ago today, was the Canadian Open at Toronto. He shot a last-day 68 and won by four strokes.

If Marshall is wrong and some golfer does break that mark, he’ll certainly win more money than Nelson did. His winnings for the 11 in a row came to $30,250.

Nelson actually won a 12th consecutive tournament, at Spring Lake, N.J., but it wasn’t an official PGA event.

The closest to Nelson on the consecutive-wins list is Ben Hogan, with six in 1948. Jack Burke Jr., won four in a row in 1952.

Also on this date: In 1936, at the Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens, acting on a tip from German rival Luz Long, moved his takeoff point several inches behind the long jump board and not only qualified for the final but beat Long by 7 1/2 inches to win the gold medal. . . . In 1932, at the Los Angeles Olympics, Babe Didrikson won the gold medal in the 80-meter hurdles by an eyelash over U.S. rival Evelyn Hall and set a world record of 11.7 seconds.