1946 in Sport

• Jan 1 32nd Rose Bowl: #2 Alabama beats #11 Southern California, 34-14
• Jan 1 12th Sugar Bowl: #5 Oklahoma State beats #7 Saint Mary's (CA), 33-13
• Jan 1 12th Orange Bowl: Miami (FL) beats #16 Holy Cross, 13-6
• Jan 11 Bert Bell becomes second NFL commissioner, moves Chicago headquarters to Philadelphia
• Jan 12 NFL champs Cleveland Rams given permission to move to LA
• Jan 14 1946 NFL Draft: Frank Dancewicz from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
• Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Joyce Fitch 6-4, 6-4 for her 3rd Australian singles crown
• Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: John Bromwich wins his 2nd Australian title; beats fellow Australian Dinny Pails 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
• Feb 15 Cornelius Johnson, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1936), dies from bronchopneumonia at 32
• Feb 19 Giants outfielder Danny Gardella is 1st major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the "outlaw" Mexican League

• Mar 21 Kenny Washington signs with Rams, 1st black NFLer since 1933
• Mar 23 8th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Oklahoma State beats North Carolina, 43-40; Cowboys' back-to-back titles and center Bob Kurland MOP for 2nd straight year
• Mar 29 1st Test Cricket between Australia & NZ
• Mar 29 Test Cricket debuts of Lindwall, Miller & Tallon
• Mar 30 Australia beats NZ in cricket at 3 30pm on 2nd day


• Mar 30 Last Test Cricket appearance of Bill O'Reilly (5-14 & 3-19)
• Apr 5 100th Grand National: Capt. Robert Petre wins aboard 25/1 shot Lovely Cottage; first true GN since 1940 due to World War II; last on a Friday

• Apr 9 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 6-3 for a 4-1 series victory

• Apr 13 Eddie Klepp, a white pitcher signed by defending Negro League champ Cleveland Buckeyes, is barred from field in Birmingham, Alabama
• Apr 15 50th Boston Marathon won by Stylianos Kyriakides of Greece in 2:29:27; first and only Cypriot athlete to win the event

• Apr 20 1st baseball broadcast in Chicago, Cards vs Cubs
• Apr 23 Brooklyn Dodger Ed Head no-hits Boston Braves, 5-0
• Apr 30 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller's 2nd career MLB no-hitter; beats New York Yankees, 1-0
• May 4 72nd Kentucky Derby: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:06.6
• May 8 Red Sox Johnny Pesky scores 6 runs in 1 game
• May 10 Red Sox win 15th straight beat Yanks 5-4, DiMaggio hits Grand Slam
• May 11 1st night game at Boston Braves Field (Giants 5, Braves 1)
• May 11 71st Preakness: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:01.4
• May 20 Cubs Claude Passeau makes his 1st error since September 21, 1941, ending pitcher's fielding record of 273 consecutive errorless chances
• May 26 2-for-42 & hitting .048 for 1946, Mel Ott stops playing baseball
• May 30 Braves Bernard Malamud HR shatters Bulova clock in Ebbets Field
• May 30 Indianapolis 500: George Robson wins in 4:21:16.711 (184.785 km/h)
• Jun 1 78th Belmont: Warren Mehrtens aboard Assault wins in 2:30.8
• Jun 1 Spijkenisse soccer team forms in Spijkenisse
• Jun 6 The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.

• Jun 16 46th US Golf Open: Lloyd Mangrum shoots a 284 at Canterbury GC Cleve


• Jun 19 1st TV sports/boxing spectacular-Joe Louis KOs Billy Conn
• Jun 22 Alec Bedser takes 7-49 v India on 1st day of his 1st Test cricket
• Jun 22 Bill Veeck purchases Cleveland Indians
• Jun 28 Permanent radio play-by-play of Cleveland Indians games begins
• Jul 5 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: In an all-American matchup Pauline Betz beats Louise Brough 6-2, 6-4 for her only Wimbledon crown
• Jul 5 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Frenchman Yvon Petra beats Australian Geoff Brown 6-2, 6-4, 7-9, 5-7, 6-4 for his only Wimbledon title

• Jul 8 Baseball grants $5,000 minimum salary
• Jul 9 13th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 12-0 at Fenway Park, Boston
• Jul 12 Vance Dinges hits only Phillie pinch hit inside-the-park HR
• Jul 14 Cleve Lou Boudreau hits 4 doubles & HR but Red Sox win 11-10 on Ted Williams 3 HR with 8 RBIs
• Jul 24 9 Spokane baseball players (Western League) die in a bus crash
• Jul 27 Boston Red Sox Rudy York hits 2 grand slams in 1 game, gets 10 RBIs
• Jul 27 45th Men's French Championships: Marcel Bernard beats Jaroslav Drobny (3-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3)
• Jul 27 45th Women's French Championships: Margaret Osborne beats Pauline Betz (1-6, 8-6, 7-5)
• Aug 8 Dreyfuss family, owners of Pittsburgh Pirates since 1900, sells club to Frank McKinney & John Galbreath for $25 million
• Aug 9 1st time all major-league baseball games (8) are played at night
• Aug 18 Golf Writers Associaton of America forms
• Aug 22 Baseball approves a 168-game schedule, but later rescinds it
• Aug 22 Mikko Hietanen wins Oslo marathon (2:24:55)
• Aug 23 13th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: All-Stars 16, Los Angeles 0 (97,380)
• Aug 25 PGA Championship, Portland GC: Ben Hogan beats Ed Oliver 6 & 4 for first of his 9 major titles
• Sep 1 1st US Open Women's Golf, Spokane CC: Patty Berg wins inaugural Open and only one played in match play format; takes 36-hole final 5 & 4 over Betty Jameson
• Sep 2 American golfer Ben Hogan wins the Golden State Open at California CC in Los Angeles; his 3rd consecutive PGA event and 11th title of the season; 2nd time that year he wins 3 straight tournaments
• Sep 5 Joe Garagiola plays his 1st major league baseball game
• Sep 6 All-America Football Conference begins regular season play as the Cleveland Browns beat the Miami Seahawks 44-0 before 60,135 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium
• Sep 8 SF 49ers play 1st AAFC game, lose to NY Yankees 21-7
• Sep 8 US National Championship Men's Tennis: Jack Kramer beats fellow American Tom Brown Jr. 9-7, 6-3, 6-0 for his first of 2 straight US singles crowns
• Sep 8 US National Championship Women's Tennis: In an all-American final Pauline Betz Addie beats Patricia Canning Todd 11-9, 6-3 for her 4th and last US singles title
• Sep 13 Boston Red Sox clinch AL pennant
• Sep 15 Dodgers beat Cubs 2-0 in 5 inns, games called because of gnats
• Sep 18 Joe Louis KOs Tami Mauriello in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
• Sep 24 Yanks set season attendance record of 2,309,029 besting 1929 Cubs
• Sep 29 1st time NL pennant ends in a tie (Cards & Dodgers)
• Sep 29 Los Angeles (previously Cleveland) Rams play 1st NFL game in LA
• Oct 1 St. Louis Cardinals beats Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2 in first MLB play-off game for a league championship (NL); St Louis wins series, 2-0
• Oct 1 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller claims his MLB record 348th strikeout of season in a 4-1 win v Detroit; record stands for 19 years
• Oct 15 Smallest World Series share since 1918 (Cards $3,748, Red Sox $2,140)
• Oct 15 St Louis Cards beat Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 in 43rd World Series
• Oct 15 Enos Slaughter scores from 1st on a single in World Series
• Oct 20 Frank Seno returns kickoff 105 yd, Chicago Cards vs NY Giants
• Nov 1 First Basketball Association of America game; New York Knicks beat Toronto Huskies 68-66 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto
• Nov 11 New York Knicks' 1st game at Madison Square Garden, lose 78-68 to Chicago Stags

• Nov 15 Ted Williams is picked as AL MVP
• Nov 27 English soccer team beats Netherlands, 8-2
• Nov 30 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Argonauts claim 7th Championship and retain title with 28-6 win over Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Nov 30 Bradman scores 187 in 1st Test Cricket v England at the Gabba
• Dec 2 In rain affected 1st Test in Brisbane, Australia compiles 1st innings total 645 on Day 3 v India (Bradman 187, Hassett 128 ); Australia wins by an innings and 332
• Dec 3 12th Heisman Trophy Award: Glenn Davis, Army (HB)
• Dec 15 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 24-14; record attendance 58,346 at final NFL title game played at Polo Grounds
• Dec 15 Giants Filchock & Hapes suspended by NFL, didn't report bribe attempt
• Dec 16 1947 NFL Draft: Bob Fenimore from University of Oklahoma A&M first pick by Chicago Bears
• Dec 17 Bradman & Barnes complete 405 run 5th wicket stand, score 234 each
• Dec 22 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-9 in AAFC championship game
• Dec 26 35th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Melbourne (5-0)

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 138

• Jan 1 Manfred Stengl, Austrian 2 man lugist (Olympic gold 1960)
• Jan 1 Rivelino, Brazilian football player
• Jan 6 Harold Jackson, NFL wide receiver (LA, New Engl), born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
• Jan 8 Elaine Cheris, American Olympic fencer (Olympics 1996), born in Dothan, Alabama
• Jan 10 Alexis Nihon Jr, Canadian-born wrestler (Olympics 1968), born in Montreal, Canada
• Jan 11 Ludmila Poradnik, USSR, team handball (Olympic gold 1976, 80)
• Jan 23 Asif Masood, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani quick with long & erratic run-up), born in Lahore, Pakistan
• Jan 23 Don Whittington, American racing driver, born in Lubbock, Texas
• Jan 31 Subroto Guha, Indian cricketer (right arm swing bowler for India 1967-69), born in India
• Feb 2 Gerrie Muhren, Volendam, Netherlands, footballer (Ajax, European Cup Winner, 1971-3), (d. 2013)
• Feb 4 Mary Meyer, American 500m speed skater (Olympic silver 1968)
• Feb 9 Vince Papale, American football player
• Feb 11 Ian Porterfield, English footballer (d. 2007)
• Feb 16 Aleksandr Shaparenko, USSR, 1K kayaker (Olympic gold 1972)
• Feb 17 Valdemar Bandolowski, Danish sailor (Olympic gold 1976, 80)
• Feb 21 Desmond Lewis, West Indian cricket batsman/keeper (avg 86.33 in 3 Tests)
• Feb 21 Bob Ryan, Boston sports columnist
• Feb 26 Bobby "Bingo" Smith, American NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Feb 28 Graham Vivian, New Zealand cricketer (son of Giff, 5 Tests for NZ 1965-72), born in Auckland New Zealand
• Mar 3 John Virgo, British snooker player
• Mar 5 Rocky Bleier, Wisc, NFL running back (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Mar 8 Mohammad Nazir, Pakistani cricket off-spinner (14 Tests 1969-83)
• Mar 10 Hiroshi Fushida, Japanese racing driver
• Mar 14 Wes Unseld, NBA all-star (Baltimore Bullets, MVP 1969)
• Mar 15 Bobby Bond, baseball player (Giants, Yankees, etc)
• Mar 15 Bobby Bonds, American MLB outfielder and coach (father of Barry Bonds), born in Riverside, California (died 2003)
• Mar 18 Martyn Griffiths, British racing driver
• Mar 18 Michel Leclère, French racing driver
• Mar 19 Mohammad Ilyas, cricketer (Pakistani batsman in ten Tests 1964-69)
• Mar 22 Don Chaney, NBA player (Houston Rockets)/coach (Detroit Pistons)
• Mar 25 Cliff Balsam, English footballer
• Mar 27 Bill Sudakis, American baseball player, born in Joliet, Illinois
• Mar 31 Aftab Gul, Pakistani cricket batsman (6 Tests @ 22.75), born in Gujar Khan, Punjab
• Apr 2 Richard Collinge, New Zealand cricketer (NZ rec wicket-taker (116) before Hadlee), born in Wellington, New Zealand
• Apr 7 Colette Besson, French runner (d. 2005)
• Apr 8 Jim "Catfish" Hunter, major-league pitcher (A's, Yankees)
• Apr 9 Alan Knott, English cricket wicket-keeper (1967-81), born in Belvedere, Kent
• Apr 17 Clare Francis, British yachtswoman and novelist (Come Hell or High Water), born in Thames Ditton, Surrey
• Apr 20 Gordon Smiley, American racecar driver, born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 1982)
• Apr 21 S Venkataraghavan, cricket (Indian off-spinner, Test ump, ICC referee)
• Apr 27 John Maclean, Australian cricketer (Australian wicket-keeper 1978-79), born in Herston, Queensland, Australia
• Apr 30 Donald Schollander, swimmer (Olympic-4 gold-64), born in Charlotte, North Carolina
• May 3 Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster (CBS TV, WFAN), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
• May 3 Norm Chow, American football coach, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
• May 4 Renee Powell, American golfer, broadcaster (first woman to compete in a men's golf tournament), born in East Canton, Ohio
• May 4 John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver, born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
• May 12 Leonard Baichan, cricketer (WI opener, 103 v Pakistan on debut 1975)
• May 17 Sinaida Turchina, USSR, team handball (Olympic gold 1976)

• May 20 Bakhaavaa Buidaa, Mongolia, wrestler (Olympic silver 1972) disqualified
• May 20 Craig Patrick, NHL coach
• May 20 Bobby Murcer, American baseball outfielder (5-time MLB All Star), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 2008)
• May 21 David Hill, Australian TV-reporter/owner (Fox Sports)
• May 22 George Best, Northern Irish footballer (Manchester United, Northern Ireland), born in Belfast
• May 22 Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager (Everton), born in Ryton, County Durham (d. 2015)
• May 23 Tom Dorris, horse trainer
• May 24 Irina Szewińska, Polish athlete, administrator (Olympic various sprint gold 1964, 68, 76), born in Leningrad, Russia (d. 2018)
• May 25 Irnema Szewinski Kirszenstein, Polish 200m runner (1968 Olym Gold)
• May 28 Skip Jutze, American baseball player
• May 31 Steve Bucknor, cricketer (West Indian Test umpire, FIFA referee)
• Jun 2 Roger Freed, baseball player
• Jun 8 Richie Robinson, Australian cricketer (Victorian keeper, Australian batsman 1977), born in East Melbourne, Victoria
• Jun 11 Jenny Pittman, British racehorse trainer, born in Hoby, Leicestershire
• Jun 15 Ken Henderson, baseball player
• Jun 15 Roger Tolchard, cricketer (Engl keeper played Tests as a batsman 1977)
• Jul 6 Fred Dryer, Hawthone California, NFLer (NY Giants, LA Rams)/actor (Hunter)
• Jul 7 Jim Day, Canadian equestrian show jumper (Olympic gold 1968)
• Jul 12 Graham Roope, Englishcricketer (England batsman in 21 Tests 1972-78), born in Fareham, Hampshire, England (d. 2006)
• Jul 13 Bob Kauffman, American basketball forward (3-time NBA All Star), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2015)
• Jul 16 Ron Yary, American football player (Minnesota Vikings), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jul 16 John Hollins, British retired footballer, born in Guildford, Surrey

• Jul 21 Zbigniew Kaczmarek, Polish lightweight (Olympic gold 1976)
• Jul 30 Neil Bonnett, American race car driver, born in Hueytown, Alabama (d. 1994)
• Aug 6 Dusty Rhodes, Australian baseball coach (Olympics 1996)
• Aug 9 Jim Kiick, American football player
• Aug 17 Hans Vandenburg, Dutch singer/guitarist (Gruppo Sportivo)
• Aug 21 Lev Alburt, International Chess Master (1976), born in Orenburg, Russia
• Aug 25 Rollie Fingers, American baseball relief pitcher (Oakland Athletics, AL MVP, Cy Young Award 1981), born in Steubenville, Ohio
• Aug 25 Charlie Sanders, American football player (Detroit Lions), born in Richlands, North Carolina (d. 2015)
• Aug 27 Tony Howard, cricketer (WI off-spinner one Test v NZ 1972)
• Aug 29 Bob Beamon, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1968, 29' 2½" 8.9m), born in Queens, New York
• Sep 7 Willie Crawford, American baseball player (Los Angeles Dodgers), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2004)
• Sep 8 L.C. Greenwood, American football player, (d. 2013)
• Sep 10 James R Hines, American athlete, 4X100m relayer (Olympic gold 1968), born in Dumas, Arkansas
• Sep 15 Fighting Mack, [Edwin Alberto], Antillian welterweight boxer
• Sep 17 Billy Bonds, English soccer defender and manager (Charlton, West Ham United), born in Woolwich, London, England
• Sep 18 Otis Sistrunk, American football player (Oakland Raiders), born in Columbus, Georgia
• Sep 19 Brian Henton, English racing driver, born in Castle Donington, Leicestershire
• Sep 24 "Mean" Joe Greene, NFL tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers), Coke spokesman
• Sep 24 Pat Pocock, cricketer (intermittent England off-spinner 1968-85)
• Sep 25 Bishan Bedi, Indian cricketer (mighty Indian slow left-armer 1966-79), born in Amritsar, Punjab, British India
• Sep 25 Gil Morgan, American golfer (7 PGA Tour titles), born in Wewoka, Oklahoma
• Sep 28 Majid Khan, cricketer (great Pakistani batsman 1964-82)
• Sep 30 Paul Sheahan, cricketer (dashing Australian Test batsman 1967-74)
• Oct 1 Alfred Jones, Grace Miss, middleweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1968)
• Oct 1 Eva Klobukowska, Polish relay sprinter (Olympic gold 1964)
• Oct 4 Andre Bolhuis, hockey player (World Cup 1973, European Cup 1978
• Oct 5 Jean Perron, Canadian ice hockey coach, born in Saint-Isidore-d'Auckland, Quebec, Canada
• Oct 6 Gary Gentry, baseball player (NY Mets)

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• Jan 2 Joe Darling, cricketer (Aussie captain 21 Tests, won 7 lost 4), dies
• Jan 9 Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874)
• Feb 27 James Cecil Parke, Irish tennis, rugby player (Australasian C'ship 1912, Ireland rugby 20 caps), dies at 64
• Mar 24 Alexander Alekhine, Russian French world chess champion (1927-35, 37-46), dies at 53
• Mar 28 Chick Fullis, baseball player (b. 1904)
• Apr 16 Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
• Apr 17 John Iddon, cricketer (car accident 5 Tests for Eng 1934-35), dies
• Apr 21 Robert Graham, cricketer (3 wkts for South Africa in 2 Tests 1898-99), dies
• Apr 25 Albert Knight, cricketer (3 Tests for England on 1903-04 tour), dies
• Apr 25 Joseph Vine, cricketer (batted in two Tests Eng v Aust 1911-12), dies
• May 1 Bill Johnston, American tennis player (US Open 1915, 1919 Wimbledon 1923), dies of tuberculosis at 51
• May 7 Joe Humphries, cricket wicket keeper (3 Tests for England 1907-08), dies
• Jun 10 Jack Johnson, American boxer (1st African-American heavyweight champion [1908-15]), dies in a car accident aged 68
• Jul 15 Razor [William Charles] Smith, English cricketer, dies at 68
• Aug 6 Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player, dies at 42
• Aug 6 Blanche Bingley, British tennis player (6-time Wimbledon champion), dies at 82
• Aug 9 Bert Vogler, South African cricketer (South Africa, 15 Tests, 64 wkts), dies at 69
• Aug 15 Edward R. Bradley, American businessman and horse owner (1st to own 4 Kentucky Derby winners), dies at 86
• Sep 17 Frank Burke, American baseball player (b. 1880)
• Oct 11 Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer, dies at 35
• Oct 16 Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian Nazi (SS/SD), hanged at 43
• Nov 18 John King, cricketer (scored 60 & 4 in only Test Eng v Aus 1909), dies
• Nov 18 Johnny Lush, American MLB pitcher (2 no-hitters), dies at 61
• Nov 22 Bertie Rose-Innes, cricketer (South Africa's Test), dies

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