April 1939 in Sports History

Events in Sport

US Masters Golf

Apr 2 6th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ralph Guldahl wins his only Masters title with a tournament record 279 (−9), 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Sam Snead

Apr 16 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; first best-of-7 SC Final series
Apr 17 43rd Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown in 2:28:51.8; his second victory in the event

Joe Louis KOs Jack Rope

Apr 17 In his 6th title defense, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis KOs Jack Roper in 1 at Wrigley Field, Los Angeles, California

Baseball History

Apr 20 Ted Williams' first MLB hit comes off of NY Yankees fellow future HOF'er Red Ruffing in Boston's 2-0 opening day defeat at Yankee Stadium, NYC

Apr 23 Boston Red Sox Ted Williams hits his 1st HR

Baseball Record

Apr 30 Lou Gehrig sets a MLB record playing his 2,130th consecutive and final game for the New York Yankees.

Birthdays in Sport

Apr 1 Nick Peters, American Baseball Hall of Fame writer (Oakland Tribune, Sacramento Bee, Berkeley Gazette, San Francisco Chronicle), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2015)

Phil Niekro (1939-2020)

Apr 1 American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (knuckleballer; no-hitter 1973; 5 x MLB All Star; 5 x Gold Glove; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves), born in Blaine, Ohio

Apr 1 Vitali Davydov, Russian ice hockey defenceman (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72; HC Dynamo Moscow), born in Moscow, Russia
Apr 3 Vitaliy Davidov, Soviet ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1964, 68, 72), born in Moscow
Apr 4 Ernie Terrell, American boxer (WBA heavyweight champion 1965-7), born in Belzoni, Mississippi (d. 2014)
Apr 4 JoAnne Carner, American golfer (US Women's Open 1971, 76), born in Kirkland, Washington
Apr 6 Eugeniusz Faber, Polish soccer forward (36 caps; Ruch Chorzów, Lens), born in Chorzów, Poland (d. 2021)
Apr 12 Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league lock (33 Tests, 6 World Cup games; Newtown RLFC, St. George RLFC; Inaugural RL "Immortal") and coach (St. George, RLFC, Cronulla RLFC), born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2022)
Apr 18 Von McDaniel, American baseball player, born in Hollis, Oklahoma (d. 1995)
Apr 19 Michael Macaulay, South African cricketer (Tvl, W Prov, OFS, NE Tvl, E Prov & S Afr), born in Durban, Natal
Apr 22 Yury Sharov, Russian fencer (Olympic gold Soviet Union, team foil 1964, silver 1968), born in Saratov, Russia (d. 2021)
Apr 25 Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian soccer defender (66 caps; Internazionale 358 games) and manager (Como, Genoa), born in Ruda, Italy (d. 2021)