Today is my 30th birthday.

Some interesting things in sport that happened on July 14:

• In 1969, El Salvador launched bombing raids on Honduras, beginning the Football War. The war was fought over a pair of soccer games for CONCACAF qualification to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, where riots ensued following both matches in their tie as well as a tiebreaker in neutral Mexico City that June. El Salvador won the war militarily, but were sanctioned internationally for the brute force they exerted over Honduras. They ultimately qualified for the World Cup, but failed to score in their group, where they were dominated by the Soviet Union, Mexico and Belgium.
• Being the period of the MLB All-Star Game, several occured on this date. The first was 1953, at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, when the NL beat the AL, 5-1. Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves was the winning pitcher. (They didn’t name MVPs until 1962.) In 1970, again in Cincinnati but at the brand new Riverfront Stadium, the NL beat the AL, 5-4 in 12 innings. Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox–yes, an AL player–was named MVP. This was the infamous game where Pete Rose careened into Ray Fosse at home plate to score the winning run. Examination of replays showed he initially wanted to slide, but stumbled and rammed directly into Fosse, injuring the catcher. Fosse, an up-and-coming star to that point, would never be the same. In 1987, at Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, the NL beat the AL, 2-0 in 13 innings. Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos was MVP. In 1992, at what is now Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, the AL beat the NL, 13-6. Ken Griffey, Jr., of the Seattle Mariners was MVP. Last year’s All-Star Game at Busch Stadium III in St. Louis was also on July 14. The AL beat the NL, 4-3. Carl Crawford of the Tampa Bay Rays was MVP.
• This date also sometimes falls in the window for the FIFA World Cup. In 1930, the first tournament, two opening round games were played on July 14 in Uruguay. Romania beat Peru, 3-1, and Yugoslavia beat Brazil, 2-1. Beyond that, the date itself has seen no action. It was a rest day in the final group stage in 1950 (the final was determined by a round robin at the time), and was a rest day between the semifinal and finals in 1994.

Among the sports birthdays are football players Roosevelt Grier and Darelle Revis; baseball players Robin Ventura, Jose Hernandez, Tim Hudson and Bernie Castro; basketball players Erick Dampier and Renaldo Balkman; soccer players Nilmar (Brazil), Billy Celeski (Australia), Adam Johnson (England) and James Vaughan (England); and professional wrestlers Jeff Jarrett and Mark Lamonica (Brother Ray in TNA).

It also would’ve been the birthday of golfer Erica Blasberg, but she died earlier this year. Her death in May was under suspicious circumstances, and is still under investigation at this time.