Year 1918 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Event of Interest

Jan 2 After repeated clashes over pay with the Brooklyn Robins owner Charlie Ebbets, star right fielder and future Baseball Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel is traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates

Baseball Hall of Fame Manager Casey Stengel — Baseball Hall of Fame Manager
Casey Stengel

Jan 2 Montreal Arena in Westmount, Quebec, the home rink of 4-time Stanley Cup winners the Montreal Wanderers burns down leading to the club disbanding

Event of Interest

Jan 12 Montreal Canadien's center Joe Malone scores 5 goals in a 9-4 win over Ottawa to become the first 20 goal scorer in NHL history; goes on to score 44 regular season goals

Ice Hockey Player Joe Malone — Ice Hockey Player
Joe Malone

Feb 26 Stands at Hong Kong Jockey Club collapse & burn, killing 604
Mar 2 Joe Malone goes scoreless in Montreal Canadiens' 5-3 season-ending loss to Toronto Arenas; finishes the first NHL season with 44 goals, a record that stands until 1944-45
Mar 13 1st NHL championship: Toronto Arenas beat Montreal Canadiens, outscoring them 10-7 in a 2 game set
Mar 18 Soccer team SON OF Meerssen forms
Mar 30 Stanley Cup, Mutual Street Arena, Toronto, ON: Toronto Arenas (NHL) beat Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA), 2-1 for a 3-2 series victory; first series contested by the new NHL
Apr 15 22nd Boston Marathon won by Camp Devens relay team; race run as relay for 10-man military teams

Event of Interest

Apr 18 Cleveland center fielder Tris Speaker turns an unassisted double play

Baseball Player Tris Speaker — Baseball Player
Tris Speaker

Apr 27 Giants' 9-0 winning start & Dodgers' 0-9 losing streak are stopped
Apr 29 Tris Speaker ties career outfield record of 4 unassisted double plays
Apr 30 Orange Nassau soccer team forms in Groningen
May 11 44th Kentucky Derby: William Knapp on Exterminator wins in 2:10.8
May 14 Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington, D.C.

May 15 43rd Preakness: Johnny Loftus aboard War Cloud wins in 1:53.6

Event of Interest

May 15 Washington Senator Walter Johnson pitches 1-0, 18 inning game

MLB Pitcher Walter Johnson — MLB Pitcher
Walter Johnson

May 24 Cleveland Indians Stan Coveleski sets club record for most innings pitched (19) as the Indians beat the Yankees 3-2
Jun 1 Excelsior Maassluis soccer team forms in Maassluis
Jun 1 Chicago White Sox losing 5-4 against NY Yankees, load the bases in 9th with no outs; Chick Gandil lines to Frank Baker who turns a rare game winning triple play
Jun 13 Phillies and Cards tie 8-8 in 19 innings
Jun 22 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Molla Bjurstedt beats Eleanor Goss 6-4, 6-3 for her 4th consecutive US singles title
Jun 23 Boston Red Sox Dutch Leonard's 2nd no-hitter beats Tigers, 5-0
Jul 17 Longest errorless game, Cubs beat Phillies 2-1 in 21 innings
Jul 19 Washington Senators catcher Eddie Ainsmith applies for draft deferment; Secretary of War, Newton D Baker rules baseball players not draft exempt but later moves date to 1 September; both leagues end regular season 2 September
Aug 1 Pittsburgh and Boston Braves play a MLB record 20 scoreless innings before Pirates win, 2-0 in 21
Aug 9 Reds manager Christy Mathewson suspects Hal Chase of taking bribes to fix games, and suspends him "for indifferent play"
Aug 24 Chicago Cubs, win earliest pennent ever (season ended Sept 2)
Aug 24 Sect Baker grants extended exemption to World Series players
Aug 27 Christy Mathewson resigns as Reds manager to accept a commission as a captain in chemical warfare branch of Army
Aug 28 Tris Speaker suspended for season due to assault on umpire Tom Connolly
Aug 31 Boston Red Sox, win earliest AL pennent ever (season ended Sept 2)
Sep 3 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills NY: Robert Lindley Murray successfully defends title; beats Bill Tilden 6-3, 6-1, 7-5
Sep 5 Due to WW I, 15th World Series begins a month early
Sep 10 Players on both sides threaten to strike the World Series unless they are guaranteed $2,500 to the winners & $1,000 each for the losers
Sep 11 Boston Red Sox beat Chicago Cubs, 4 games to 2 in 15th World Series
Oct 18 NHL's Quebec Bulldogs sold to a Toronto businessman P. J. Quinn
Dec 10 John Heyder becomes president of baseball's National League for the 2nd time

Boxing Title Fight

Dec 16 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey — Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Jack Dempsey

Dec 21 Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore & Duffy Lewis to Yankees for Ray Caldwell & Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters & $15,000
Dec 26 1st day of 1st-class cricket in Aust after WW I (Vic v NSW)

Event of Interest

Dec 28 Montreal's Georges Vezina becomes the first NHL goalie to record an assist during the Canadiens’ 6-3 win over the Toronto Arenas

NHL Goalie Georges Vezina — NHL Goalie
Georges Vezina

Dec 31 Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as White Sox manager

Birthdays in Sport

Jan 1 Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (WR 100m freestyle, 1:04.06 1933-56; Olympic gold 4×100m freestyle 1936), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1997)
Jan 7 Colin Snedden, cricketer (Test NZ v England 1947, 0-46, did not bat)
Jan 22 Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan
Jan 25 Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster, born in Washington, Georgia (d. 2010)
Jan 29 William Rigney, baseball manager (SF Giants)
Feb 3 Helen Stephens, American athlete (Olympic gold 100m & 4x100m relay 1936), born in Fulton, Missouri (d. 1994)
Feb 12 Dominic DiMaggio, baseball outfielder (Boston Red Sox)
Feb 13 Patty Berg, American golfer (15 major titles, US Open 1946), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (d.2006)
Feb 22 Sid Abel, Melville, Saskatchewan, Canadian NHL hockey player (1948-49 Hart Trophy)
Feb 22 Charles "Charlie O" Finley, American sports entrepreneur (MLB's Kansas City/Oakland A's: NHL's California Golden Seals), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1996)
Feb 25 Henry Norwood Ewell, 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1948), born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Feb 25 Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)

Bobby Riggs

Feb 25 Bobby Riggs, American tennis player ("The Battle of the Sexes", US Open 1939, 41), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1995)

Feb 26 Edwin Charles "Preacher" Roe, American baseball pitcher (Brooklyn Dodgers), born in Ash Flat, Arkansas (d. 2008)
Mar 1 Duncan White, Ceylonese hurdler (first Olympic medallist from Ceylon, silver 400m hurdles 1948), born in Lathpandura, Sri Lanka (d. 1998)
Mar 1 Hank Wyse, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1945; Chicago Cubs), born in Lunsford, Arkansas (d. 2000)
Mar 3 Peter O'Sullevan, British horse racing commentator 'the voice of racing', born in Kenmare, Ireland (d. 2015)
Mar 3 Fritz Thiedemann, German equestrian (d. 2000)
Mar 4 Margaret Osborne DuPont, American tennis player (6-time Grand Slam singles winner), born in Joseph, Oregon (d. 2012)
Mar 5 Ranga Sohoni, Indian cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, top score 29 no, 2 wickets), born in Nimbahera, Rajasthan, India (d. 1993)
Mar 5 Red Storey, Canadian football player and ice hockey referee (d. 2006)
Mar 5 Paul Christman, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (University of Missouri; All-Pro 1946, 47; Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1970)
Mar 5 Milt Schmidt, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (Stanley Cup 1939, 41; Boston Bruins) and coach/GM (Stanley Cup 1970, 72; Boston Bruins), born in Kitchener, Ontario (d. 2017)
Mar 10 Heywood Hale Broun, TV commentator and sports correspondent, born in NYC, New York (d. 2001)
Mar 13 George McAfee, American football player, NFL halfback (Chicago Bears), born in Corbin, Kentucky (d. 2009)
Mar 15 Punch Imlach, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame coach and general manager (Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1987)
Mar 18 Al Benton, American baseball player (d. 1968)
Mar 18 Bob Broeg, American sports writer (d. 2005)
Mar 21 Joe Carveth, NHL forward (scored 20 or more goals in 3 seasons)
Mar 25 Howard Cosell, American sportscaster (Monday Night Football), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 31 Marv Grissom, American baseball pitcher, coach (MLB All Star 1954, NY, SF Giants), born in Los Molinos, CA (d. 2005)
Apr 7 C B Bertie Clarke, cricketer (Barbados & West Indian leg-spinner)
Apr 7 Bobby Doerr, American Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman (9-time All Star, Boston Red Sox), born in Junction City, Oregon (d. 2017)
Apr 16 Dick Gibson, British racing driver, born in Bourne, Lincolnshire (d. 2010)
Apr 18 Róbert Zimonyi, Hungarian-American rowing coxswain (Olympic gold 1964), born in Sárvár, Hungary (d. 2004)
Apr 22 Mickey Vernon, American baseball first baseman (7 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1960; AL batting champion 1946, 53), born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)
Apr 26 Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, Dutch track & field athlete (4 x Olympic gold 1948), born in Lage Vuursche, Netherlands (d. 2004)
Apr 29 Merv Harvey, Australian cricketer (brother of Neil, Test for Australia), born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1995)
Apr 30 Don McNeill, American tennis player (French C'ship 1939, US Nat C'ship 1940), born in Chickasha, Oklahoma (d. 1996)
May 3 Ted Bates, English former footballer, born in Thetford, England (d. 2003)
May 14 Arthur McIntyre, cricket wicket-keeper (England 3 times early 50's)
May 16 Wilf Mannion, English former footballer (d. 2000)

Florence Chadwick

May 19 Florence Chadwick, swimmer (1st to swim English Channel both ways), born in San Diego, California (d. 1995)

May 23 Dennis Compton, England cricket batsman & footballer (5,807 Test runs, Arsenal 1950 FA Cup), born in Hendon, England (d. 1997)
May 25 Peder Lunde Sr., Norwegian yachtsman (Olympic silver 1952), born in Nordstrand, Norway (d. 2009)
May 26 Anton Christoforidis, Greek boxer (NBA light heavyweight title 1941), born in Mersin, Turkey (d. 1985)
Jun 14 LeRoy T. Walker, American sports executive (first black president US Olympic Committee 1992-96), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2012)
Jun 20 George Lynch, American auto racer, born in Miles City, Montana (d. 1997)
Jun 21 Eddie Lopat, American baseball player (NY Yankees), born in NYC, New York (d. 1992)
Jun 27 Adolph Kiefer, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m backstroke 1936), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2017)
Jul 4 Alec Bedser, English cricketer (mighty post-war England medium-pacer), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 2010)
Jul 4 Eric Bedser, English cricketer (bro of Alec, Surrey bowler but not England), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 2006)
Jul 4 Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (won the Indianapolis 500 in 1950) (d. 1984)
Jul 9 Nile Kinnick Jr., American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Heisman Trophy 1939; University of Iowa), born in Adel, Iowa (d. 1943)
Jul 13 Alberto Ascari, Italian auto racer (World F1 champion 1952, 53), born in Milan, Italy (d. 1955)
Jul 23 Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, American MLB baseball shortstop, 10x All-Star (Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, 1940-58), born in Ekron, Kentucky (d. 1999)
Aug 21 Billy Reay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2004)

Ted Williams

Aug 30 Ted Williams, American baseball player and last player in MLB to bat over .400 in a single season (Red Sox, AL MVP '46, '49; Trip Crown '42, '47), born in San Diego, California (d. 2002)

Aug 30 Billy Johnson, American baseball player, born in Montclair, New Jersey (d. 2006)
Sep 4 William Talbert, American tennis doubles champ (US 1942, 45, 46, 48), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1999)
Sep 7 Carolyn Cudone, American golfer (US Senior Women's Amateur 1968-72; most consecutive wins in any USGA championship), born in Staten Island, New York (d. 2009)
Sep 9 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, sportscaster, LV bookmaker (The NFL Today; fired for racist remarks), born in Steubenville, Ohio (d. 1996)
Sep 14 Georges Berger, Belgian racing driver, born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, Brussels, Belgium (d. 1967)
Sep 25 Phil Rizzuto, American sportscaster and MLB shortstop (NY Yankees-MVP 1950), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
Oct 4 Red Munger, American baseball (MLB All Star 1944, 47, 49; St. Louis Cardinals), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1996)
Oct 6 André Pilette, Belgian racing driver (d. 1993)
Oct 9 Walter Burkemo, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1953), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1986)
Oct 14 Doug Ring, Australian cricketer (Australian leggie of the late 40's early 50's), born in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (d. 2003)
Oct 22 Lou Klein, American baseball player (d. 1976)
Oct 24 Jim Peters, English long-distance runner who was 1st to complete a marathon in under 2 hours 20 minutes, born in Hackney, London (d. 1999)
Oct 28 Harold Shepherdson, British soccer trainer, born in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire (d. 1955)
Nov 1 Ken Miles, British-American auto racer and engineer (USAC Road Racing C'ship 1961; 24 Hours of Daytona 1966), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1966)
Nov 3 Bob Feller, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (AL Triple Crown 1940; 3 x no-hit games), born in Van Meter, Iowa (d.2010)
Nov 5 George Sheehan, American doctor, athlete and author ("Running & Being: The Total Experience," NY Times best seller), born in Brooklyn, NY (d. 1993)
Nov 10 Martin Hanley, South African cricketer (took 1-88 with off-spin in Test for South Africa), born in Aliwal North, Cape Province (d. 2000)
Nov 14 John Bromwich, Australian tennis player (Australian C'ship 1939, 46 / 13 Grand Slam doubles titles), born in Sydney, NSW (d. 1999)
Nov 20 Dora Ratjen, German man who posed as a female high jumper (Olympic 4th 1936), born in Erichshof, Bremen, Germany (d. 2008)
Nov 24 Roley Jenkins, English cricket spin bowler (9 Tests, 32 wickets), born in Worcester, England (d. 1995)
Dec 1 Bill Strannigan, American all-round athlete and basketball coach (Uni of Wyoming), born in Dalry, North Ayrshire, Scotland (d. 1997)
Dec 10 Anatoly Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (considered as the father of Russian ice hockey), born in Moscow (d. 1995)
Dec 13 Bill Vukovich, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1953-4), born in Fresno, California (d. 1955)
Dec 22 William Kennedy, American baseball player, born in Alexandria, Virginia (d. 1995)

Deaths in Sport

Jan 24 George Arthur Crump, Founder of the Pine Valley Golf Club in Clementon NJ (b. 1871)

John L. Sullivan

Feb 2 John L. Sullivan, Irish-American heavyweight boxing champ (1882-92), dies at 59

Mar 10 Jim McCormick, Scottish-born American baseball pitcher and manager (first Scot in MLB; NL wins leader 1880, 82; NL ERA leader 1883), dies at 61
Apr 11 Arthur Ochse, cricketer (WW I played for South Africa in 1889 aged 19), dies
Apr 20 Reginald Harry Mybirgh Hands, cricketer (1 Test for SA), dies
May 2 Ernie Parker, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1913), dies in action WWI at 34
Jun 25 Jake Beckley, American baseball player, dies at 50
Aug 1 John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy, dies at 64
Aug 13 Luther Gulick, American Basketball Hall of Fame contributor (basketball pioneer; international official), dies at 53
Oct 6 Arthur O'Hara Wood, Australian tennis player (Australasian C'ship 1914), dies in action WWI at 28
Oct 17 Gordon White, cricketer (WW I Superb South African batsman 1905-12), dies
Nov 18 Reggie Schwartz, South African cricketer (55 wickets for South Africa), dies at 43
Nov 26 Charlie McLeod, cricketer (all-rounder for Australia 1894-1905), dies