Events in Sport
- Apr 1 NY Mets purchase future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider from the LA Dodgers for $40,000; Snider had starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-57
US Masters Golf
Apr 7 27th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 23 year old Jack Nicklaus wins the first of his record 6 Green Jackets with a 3-foot par putt on the final hole to finish 1 stroke ahead of Tony Lema
- Apr 7 Public stock offering of 115,000 shares in Milwaukee Braves withdrawn after only 13,000 shares are sold to 1,600 new investors
Sports History
Apr 8 Detroit Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain on waivers from the Chicago WS; McLain goes on the win Cy Young Award 1968, 69 and AL MVP 1968
Sports History
Apr 11 Milwaukee Braves future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn beats NY Mets, 6-1 for his 328th win; most by a left-hander in MLB history
- Apr 24 17th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
Golf Tournament
Apr 29 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith beats Mickey Wright by 1 shot in 18-hole playoff
Birthdays in Sport
- Apr 2 Dermot Reeve, English cricket all-rounder (3 Tests, 29 ODIs), born in Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Apr 2 Mike Gascoyne, British motor racing engineer, designer, writer (McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Force India) and broadcaster (BBC 5 Live, Sky Sports), born in Norwich, England
- Apr 3 Chris Bosio, American baseball pitcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Carmichael, California
- Apr 3 Zakir Khan, Pakistani cricketer (two Tests for Pakistan 1986-89), born in Bannu, Pakistan
- Apr 4 Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (#1 pick NHL Draft 1981; Calder Trophy 1982; Canada Cup 1987, 91; Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2020)
- Apr 4 Jack Del Rio, American football player, NFL linebacker (Minnesota Vikings), born in Castro Valley, California
- Apr 6 Lorenzo Lynch, NFL safety (Az Cardinals, Oakland Raiders)
- Apr 8 Alec Stewart, English cricketer (son of Micky, opening batter, occasional wicket keeper), born in Merton Park, England
- Apr 8 Terry Porter, American basketball point guard and coach (Portland Trail Blazers; Minnesota Timberwolves; NBA All Star 1991, 93), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Apr 10 Claire Smith, equestrian 3 day event (Olympics 1996), born in Ottawa, Ontario
- Apr 10 Kirk Lowdermilk, American football NFL center (Indianapolis Colts), born in Canton, Ohio
Garry Kasparov
Apr 13 Gary Kasparov, Russian chess player (world champion 1985-93), born in Baku, Azerbaijan
Meg Mallon
Apr 14 Meg Mallon, American golfer (4 major titles; US Open 1991, 2004), born in Natick, Massachusetts
- Apr 15 Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer (Indian opening batsman & opening bowler), born in Ghaziabad, India
- Apr 16 Garry Galley, Canadian NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Apr 16 Hu Na, Chinese tennis star, born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Apr 16 Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer (memorable Pakistani & Essex batsman), born in Kayerpora, Lahore, Pakistan
- Apr 18 Phil Simmons, West Indian cricketer (West Indian opening batsman), born in Arima, Trinidad
- Apr 20 Mauricio Gugelmin, Brazilian racing driver, born in Joinville, Brazil
- Apr 21 Ken Caminiti, MLB third baseman, 1987-2001, (Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and 3 other teams; NL MVP- 1996), born in Hanford, California (d. 2004)
- Apr 25 Marcos Ferrufino, Bolivian soccer defender (9 caps; Bolívar 252 games) and manager (San José, Real Potosí), born in Oruro, Bolivia (d. 2021)
- Apr 26 Bill Wennington, Canadian NBA center (Chicago Bulls), born in Montreal, Quebec
Mike Babcock
Apr 29 Mike Babcock, Canadian NHL Coach (Anaheim, Detroit, Team Canada), born in Manitouwadge, Ontario
Deaths in Sport
- Apr 4 Endzion Barelli, dies 2 days after winning a boxing match at 18