Tommy Holmes, who hit in 37 consecutive games in 1945 to set a modern National League record that stood until it was broken by Pete Rose, died Monday. He was 91.

Holmes died of natural causes at an assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Fla., daughter Patricia Stone said.

Holmes’ hitting streak came while he played for the Boston Braves and is the ninth longest in major league history. Rose hit in 44 in a row in 1978, the post-1900 N.L. mark. Monday was Rose’s 67th birthday.

“Buzz Nutter, the center for John Unitas on NFL championship teams with the Baltimore Colts in 1958 and 1959, has died. He was 77.

He died Saturday of heart failure at Civista Medical Center, the Raymond Funeral Home in La Plata, Md., said.

“Polly Lauder Tunney, the Carnegie Steel Co. heiress whose marriage to heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney made international headlines in 1928, has died, her family said. She was 100.

Tunney, whose husband died in 1978 at age 81, died Saturday at her home in Stamford, Conn., a son, Jonathan R. “Jay” Tunney, said. One of her other sons is former Sen. John V. Tunney of California.

Baseball

World Cup moved

Baseball’s 2009 World Cup is being shifted from Cuba to seven European nations in an effort to bolster the sport’s bid to get back into the Olympics.

Cuba agreed to the move, the Italian baseball federation told the Associated Press.

Italy will host the final, and games also will be played in six other European nations. An announcement was to be made in Rome today, the federation said.

The International Olympic Committee eliminated baseball and softball from the 2012 London Olympics during a vote in 2005. The committee will review baseball’s success during the Beijing Games in August and the next World Baseball Classic in March 2009.

The World Cup will be held in September 2009.

Tennis

Teen earns win

Fifteen-year-old Ryan Harrison beat Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-4, 6-3 in the U.S. Clay Court Championship in Houston to become the 10th player in the Open Era to win a main-draw match before his 16th birthday.

Football

Cards sign Robinson

The Arizona Cardinals signed free agent defensive lineman Bryan Robinson to a two-year contract.

Robinson played with the Cincinnati Bengals last season, starting four games at defensive end and totaling 28 tackles and 1.5 sacks.