1951 in Sport

Events 1 - 100 of 118

• Jan 1 37th Rose Bowl: #9 Michigan beats #5 California, 14-6
• Jan 1 17th Sugar Bowl: #7 Kentucky beats #1 Oklahoma, 13-7
• Jan 1 17th Orange Bowl: #10 Clemson beats #15 Miami (FL), 15-14
• Jan 3 Fred Wilt wins AAU Sullivan Memorial Trophy (US athlete of 1950)
• Jan 6 Indianapolis Olympians beat Rochester Royals, 75-73 in NBA-record 6 overtimes; also the longest game in NBA history
• Jan 9 Washington Capitals NBA club folds

• Jan 18 NFL rules tackles, guards & centers ineligible for forward pass
• Jan 18 NFL takes control of failing Baltimore Colts
• Jan 18 1951 NFL Draft: Kyle Rote from SMU first pick by New York Giants
• Jan 26 Mel Ott & Jimmie Foxx elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 31 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Nancye Wynne Bolton beats Thelma Coyne Long 6-1, 7-5 for her 6th and last Australian singles crown
• Jan 31 Australian Championships: American Dick Savitt wins his only Australian title; beats Ken McGregor of Australia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
• Feb 3 Largest purse to date in horse racing, $144,323, won by Great Circle


• Feb 9 St Louis Browns sign pitcher Satchel Paige, 45

• Feb 18 3 City College of NY basketball players admit to accepting bribes
• Mar 2 1st NBA All-Star Game, Boston Garden: East beats West, 111-94; MVP: Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics, G
• Mar 3 Bill Mikvy (Temple) scores NCAA basketball record 73 pts
• Mar 7 Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for 2nd time to win National Boxing Association world heavyweight title
• Mar 10 Ireland clinches their 7th Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-3 draw against Wales at the National Stadium, Cardiff
• Mar 17 Test Cricket debut of Brian Statham, England v NZ at Christchurch
• Mar 18 LPGA Titleholders Championship, Augusta CC: Pat O'Sullivan wins her only major title by 2 strokes from fellow amateur Beverly Hanson
• Mar 27 13th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Kansas, 68-58; Wildcats' 3rd title; 16-team field is introduced

• Apr 7 105th Grand National: John Bullock wins aboard 40/1 shot Nickel Coin; of 36 runners, only 3 complete the course
• Apr 16 55th Boston Marathon won by Shigeki Tanaka of Japan in 2:27:45

• Apr 21 NBA Championship: Rochester Royals beat New York Knicks, 79-75 to take series 4 games to 3; first Finals appearance for both teams
• Apr 21 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 for a 4-1 series victory
• May 1 Future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Mickey Mantle hits first career home run in 8-3 win v White Sox in Chicago; Minnie Minoso homers in Sox debut
• May 3 Gil McDougald ties major league record with 6 RBIs in 1 inning
• May 3 NY Yankee Gil McDougald is 5th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (9th)
• May 5 77th Kentucky Derby: Conn McCreary aboard Count Turf wins in 2:02.6
• May 6 Pitts Pirate Cliff Chambers no-hits Boston Brave, 3-0
• May 7 International Olympic committee allows Russia to participate in 1952 Olympics
• May 19 76th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Bold wins in 1:56.4

• May 28 After going 0-for-12, Willie Mays connects for his 1st major league home run
• May 30 Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
• May 30 Indianapolis 500: Lee Wallard wins in 3:57:38.103 (203.170 km/h)
• Jun 3 50th Men's French Championships: Jaroslav Drobny beats Eric Sturgess (6-3, 6-3, 6-3)
• Jun 3 50th French Championships Women's Tennis: Shirley Fry beats fellow American Doris Hart 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for her only French singles title
• Jun 4 Pirate's' Gus Bell hits for cycle helps beat Phillies 12-4

• Jun 16 US Open Men's Golf, Oakland Hills CC: Ben Hogan wins his second consecutive US Open title, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Clayton Heafner.
• Jun 16 83rd Belmont: David Gorman aboard Counterpoint wins in 2:29
• Jun 20 Cleveland Indian Bobby Avila hits 3 HRs, double & single vs Red Sox
• Jun 21 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Whitemarsh Valley CC: Patty Berg defeats Pat O'Sullivan, 2-up in the final
• Jul 1 Cleveland Indians veteran hurler Bob Feller pitches his 3rd career no-hitter beating Detroit Tigers, 2-1
• Jul 2 Bill Veeck buys St Louis Browns from Bill & Charlie DeWitt; after 1953 season sells franchise to Clarence Miles, team moves to Baltimore (Orioles)
• Jul 2 Worcestershire cricket wicket-keeper Hugo Yarnold makes a record 6 stumpings in an innings in a 1st-class match vs Scotland at Dundee

• Jul 6 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American Dick Savitt wins his only Wimbledon title beating Ken McGregor of Australia 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
• Jul 6 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Doris Hart outclasses fellow American Shirley Fry 6-1, 6-0 for her only Wimbledon singles title
• Jul 6 British Open Golf, Royal Portrush GC: Englishman Max Faulkner wins by 2 strokes from Antonio Cerdá of Argentina

• Jul 10 18th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 8-3 at Briggs Stadium, Detroit
• Jul 12 NY Yankees Allie Reynolds no-hits Cleveland Indians, 8-0
• Jul 14 1st color telecast of a sporting event (CBS-horse race)
• Jul 14 In his last race, 1948 Triple Crown champion Citation wins the Hollywood Gold Cup by 4 lengths, to become American racing's first millionaire horse.

• Jul 29 38th Tour de France won by Hugo Koblet of Switzerland

• Aug 11 1st televised baseball game in color, on WCBS in New York City (Boston Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-1)
• Aug 11 NY Giants (NFL) beat Ottawa Roughriders (CFL) 38-6 in Ottawa
• Aug 11 NY Giants lose to go 13½ games behind Bkln Dodgers, later win the pennant
• Aug 17 18th NFL Chicago All-Star Game: Cleveland 33, All-Stars 0 (92,180)
• Aug 18 Cricket 1st-class debut of Raymond Illingworth
• Aug 19 Bill Veeck (Cleveland Indians) sends Eddie Gaedel, a 3'7" little person, to pinch-hit
• Aug 22 Harlem Globetrotters play in Olympic Stadium, Berlin before 75,052
• Aug 25 Cleveland Indians win 16th straight home game
• Aug 28 Braves sell pitcher Johnny Sain to the Yankees for $50,000
• Aug 28 Pirates snap NY Giants 16 game win streak

• Sep 5 US National Championship Women's Tennis: Maureen Connolly wins her 1st of 9 Grand Slam singles titles; beats fellow American Shirley Fry 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
• Sep 13 St Louis Cards beat NY Giants 6-4 (rescheduled from 9/12) then at night lose to Boston Braves 2-0

• Sep 16 US National League umpire Frank Dascoli clears the Dodgers bench, ejecting 15 players
• Sep 28 Norm Van Brocklin of Rams passes for NFL record 554 yards
• Oct 3 Shot Heard 'Round the World': Bobby Thomson hits 3-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, bottom 9th inning, 1 out, to give New York Giants dramatic 5-4 playoff win and NL pennant
• Oct 3 CBS-TV airs the first coast-to-coast telecast of a prize fight; Australian light-heavyweight Dave Sands outpoints Carl 'Bobo' Olson in 10 rounds at Chicago Stadium
• Oct 8 Ford C Frick replaces Happy Chandler as 3rd commissioner of baseball Warren C Giles becomes president of baseball's National League
• Oct 9 5th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto: 1st Team ties 2nd Team, 2-2; first year format - 1st v 2nd All-Star Teams, with additional players
• Oct 9 Gil McDougald's World Series grand slam helps Yanks beat Giants 13-1
• Oct 10 Yanks beat Giants 4 games to 2 in World Series, DiMaggio's final game
• Oct 14 Det Lion Jack Christiansen returns 2 punts for touchdowns vs LA Rams

• Oct 28 Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina wins Formula 1 World Drivers Championship by taking out the Spanish Grand Prix at Pedralbes in an Alpha Romeo; wins by 6 points from Alberto Ascari of Italy

• Nov 4 Ryder Cup Golf, Pinehurst Resort: US wins 9½-2½; Sam Snead playing captain for US; Arthur Lacey non-playing GB skipper
• Nov 4 NY Giants & NY Yanks score back-to-back TDs on kickoff returns
• Nov 4 Vijay Merchant scores 154 v England in his last Test Cricket innings

• Nov 13 Lefty O'Doul's all-stars, including Joe DiMaggio and Billy Martin, lose 3-1 to Pacific League all-star team (Japan)
• Nov 15 Cricket 1st-class debut of Hanif Mohammad, Pakistan XI v MCC, Lahore

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 160

• Jan 1 Hans-Joachim Stuck, German race car driver
• Jan 4 Barbara Ann Cochran, Claremont NH, slalom skier (Olympic gold 1972)
• Jan 5 Steve Arnold, English footballer, born in Willesden, London
• Jan 6 Don Gullett, American baseball player, born in Lynn, Kentucky
• Jan 11 Willie Maddren, English former footballer (d. 2000)
• Jan 12 Bill Madlock, American MLB player (Chicago Cubs), born in Memphis, Tennessee
• Jan 12 Drew Pearson, American NFL wide receiver, born in South River, New Jersey
• Jan 14 Gil Pak Jong, North Korean judoka (Olympic-1976)
• Jan 17 Rolando Thoeni, Italian slalom (Olympic bronze 1972)
• Jan 18 Bob Latchford, English footballer, born in Birmingham, United Kingdom
• Jan 22 Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (d. 1989)
• Jan 23 Margaret Johnson Bailes, American 4x100 runner (Olympic gold 1968), born in The Bronx, New York
• Jan 23 Michael R. Matz, American horse trainer & equestrian (Olympic silver 1996), born in Collegeville, Pennsylvania
• Jan 25 Steve Prefontaine, American runner (5K 1972 Olympic 4th), born in Coos Bay, Oregon (d. 1975)
• Jan 26 Jarmila Kratochvilova, Czech, 400m/800m runner (Olympic silver 1980)
• Jan 29 Andy Roberts, cricketer (brilliant WI quickie with 202 wickets 74-84)
• Jan 30 Bobby Stokes, English football player, born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom (d 1995)
• Jan 30 Trevor Laughlin, Australian cricketer (Australian all-rounder 1978-79), born in Nyah West, Australia
• Jan 31 Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican soccer coach (coach Honduras 2011 Copa Centroamericana), born in Mexico City, Mexico (d. 2014)
• Feb 3 Felipe Munoz, Mexican 200m backstroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1968)
• Feb 3 Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
• Feb 4 Stan Papi, American baseball player
• Feb 6 Marco Antônio, Brazilian footballer, born in Santos, Brazil
• Feb 7 Benny Ayala, baseball player
• Feb 7 Manfred Schumann, German FR, bobsled (Olympic-silver/bronze-1976)
• Feb 8 Camille LaPierre, NHLer
• Feb 14 Kevin Keegan, English soccer forward, manager (England 63 caps, Liverpool, Newcastle United), born in Armthorpe, Doncaster
• Feb 14 JoJo Starbuck, American ice skater, born in Birmingham, Alabama
• Feb 20 Phil Neal, English soccer player
• Feb 21 John Parker, New Zealand cricketer (NZ batsman of 70s), born in Dannevirke, New Zealand
• Feb 22 Elaine Tanner, Canadian swimmer (1966 Commonwealth Games, 1968 Olympics), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Feb 23 Ed "Too Tall" Jones, NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys)
• Feb 24 Derek Randall, cricketer (England batsman & animated cover fieldsman)
• Feb 25 Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
• Feb 25 James Brown, American sportscaster (CBS News, The NFL Today), born in Washington, D.C.
• Feb 25 César Cedeño, Dominican baseball player
• Feb 28 Gustavo Thoeni, Italian giant slalom (Olympic gold 1972)
• Feb 28 Karsan Ghavri, cricketer (Indian lefty medium pacer early 80s)
• Mar 4 Kenny Dalglish, Scottish football player (100+ goals) and manager
• Mar 5 Rodney Hogg, cricketer (prolific Australian wicket-taker 1978-84)
• Mar 6 Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
• Mar 8 Philippe Henri Edmonds, cricketer (in Zambia England slow left-arm)
• Mar 20 Madan Lal, cricketer (Indian medium pacer in the 70's)
• Mar 24 Earl Williams, American-Israeli NBA player, born in Levittown, Pennsylvania

• Mar 27 Bobby Lalonde, NHLer (Boston Bruins), born in Montreal
• Mar 29 Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricket batsman (47 Tests, 30 as NZ captain), born in Auckland, NZ
• Mar 30 John Gosden, racehorse trainer
• Apr 2 Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer (US Open runner-up 1987, 17 LPGA Tour titles), born in Hiroshima, Japan
• Apr 6 Bert Blyleven, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (2-time WS champion Twins 1979, 87), born in Zeist, Netherlands
• Apr 13 Beatrix "Trixie" Schuba, Austrian figure skater considered to be one of the best compulsory figure skaters ever (Olympic gold 1972), born in Vienna, Austria
• Apr 13 Joachim Streich, East German footballer, born in Wismar, East Germany
• Apr 18 Ricardo Fortaleza, Australian-Filipino boxer, born in Malate, Manila, Philippines
• Apr 29 Dale Earnhardt, American auto racer (7 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championships), born in Kannapolis, North Carolina (d. 2001)
• Apr 30 Danuta Rosani, Polish discus thrower (Olympic 1976) disqualified for drugs
• May 1 Gordon Greenidge, West Indies cricket opening batsman (19 Test centuries 1974-91), born in St. Peter, Barbados
• May 11 Mike Sleman, rugby player
• May 12 Gunnar Larrson, Swedish 200m/400m swimmer (Olympic gold 1972)
• May 18 Angela Voigt, German DR, long jumper (Olympic gold 1976)
• May 18 Rodger Davis, Australian golfer (British Open runner-up 1997), born in Sydney, New South Wales
• May 18 Jim Sundberg, American baseball player
• May 23 Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player (world champion 1975-85, 93-99), born in Zlatoust, Russia
• May 27 John Conteh, British boxer, WBC Light Heavyweight crown (1974-77), born in Liverpool
• Jun 2 Larry Clark Robinson, NHL defenseman (Montreal Canadiens, Norris-77, 80)
• Jun 3 David Ogilvie, cricketer (5 Tests for Australia 1977-78)
• Jun 4 Charles Dickinson, American author (Waltz in Marathon), born in Detroit, Michigan
• Jun 6 Noritake Takahara, Japanese racing driver
• Jun 9 Dave Parker, baseball player (Pittsburgh Pirates, NL MVP 1978)
• Jun 10 Burglinde Pollak, German DR, pentathlete (Olympic bronze 1972)
• Jun 10 Dan Fouts, NFL quarterback (San Diego Chargers)
• Jun 10 Vicky Latta, equestrian 3 day event (Olympics 1996), born in Auckland, New Zealand
• Jun 11 Collis King, West Indian cricketer (WI all-rounder late 70s), born in Christ Church, Barbados
• Jun 11 Maren Seidler, American shot putter (Olympic 11th 1968), born in Brooklyn, New York
• Jun 11 Mithra Wettimuny, Sri Lankan cricketer (brother of Sidath 2 Tests for SL v NZ 1983), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka

• Jun 15 Tom Forzani, CFL wide receiver (Calgary Stampeders)
• Jun 16 Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer (4-weight world champion), born in El Chorrillo. Panama
• Jun 19 Francesco Moser, Italian cyclist
• Jun 23 Michèle Mouton, French race car driver
• Jun 24 Ivar Formo, Norwegian 50K cross country skier (Olympic gold 1976)
• Jun 24 Raelene Boyle, Australia, sprinter (Olympic silver 1972)
• Jun 26 Gary Gilmour, Australian cricket all-rounder (1973-77), born in Waratah, New South Wales
• Jun 27 Ulf Andersson, Swedish International Chess Grandmaster (1972), born in Västerås, Sweden

• Jul 4 John Alexander, Australian tennis player, politician (Australian Open doubles 1975, 82), born in Sydney, NSW
• Jul 5 Rich "Goose" Gossage, American Baseball Hall of Fame relief pitcher (9-time All Star), born in Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Jul 11 Sridharan Jeganathan, cricketer (two Tests for Sri Lanka v NZ 1983)
• Jul 14 Judi Brown, American 400m hurdler (Olympic silver 1984), born in East Lansing, Michigan
• Jul 15 Jesse Ventura [James Janos], American professional wrestler, actor and politician (Governor of Minnesota 1999-2003), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Jul 18 Bruce Lietzke, American golfer (13 PGA Tour wins; US Senior Open 2003), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 2018)
• Jul 19 Jayson Stark, American sportswriter (The Athletic), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jul 20 Larry Black, 4x100 runner (Olympic gold 1972), born in Miami, Florida
• Jul 21 Doug Collins, American basketball player (Olympic silver 1972)
• Jul 21 Slick Watts, NBA (Seattle SuperSonic)
• Jul 26 Bobby Wadkins, American golfer (Senior Players C'ship 2006), born in Richmond, Virginia
• Jul 29 Dan Driessen, American baseball player
• Jul 31 Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player (7 Grand Slam singles titles), born in Barellan, NSW

• Aug 7 Gary Hall, US swimmer (Olympics-bronze/2 silver-1968, 72)
• Aug 8 Phil Carlson, cricketer (Australian all-rounder 1979)

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• Jan 8 Samuel D Riddle, American thoroughbred owner (Man 'o War, War Admiral), dies at 89
• Jan 29 Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer, dies at 70

• Mar 29 Jerome Travers, American golfer (US Open 1915), dies at 63
• Apr 27 Philip Albert Myburgh Hands, cricketer (7 Tests for South Africa), dies

• Jun 6 Lionel Hallam, British cricketer (England capt 1921), dies at 61
• Jun 11 Montagu Odd, cricket bat-maker (W. G. Grace), dies
• Jul 9 Harry Heilmann, American baseball hall of famer outfielder (Detroit), dies at 56
• Jul 14 Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (last survivor of the 1882 Oval Test), dies at 89
• Aug 3 Neville Tufnell, cricket wicket-keeper (Test for England 1910), dies
• Aug 22 J. P. Bickell, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (Toronto Maple Leafs), dies at 66
• Sep 3 Arnold Warren, cricketer (only Test for England), dies
• Sep 29 Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach (b. 1864)
• Oct 13 W G (Billy) Quaife, cricketer (7 Tests for England, 228 runs), dies
• Dec 5 "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, American professional baseball player (Black Sox Scandal), dies of a heart attack at 64

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