Events in Sport
- Apr 1 Seattle Pilots trade little-known minor league outfielder Lou Piniella to KC Royals for 2 prospects; hits .282 with 11 HRs & 68 RBI to win AL Rookie of the Year; becomes leading MLB manager
- Apr 2 Toronto center Forbes Kennedy sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for most penalties in one game with 8 as the Maple Leafs crash 10-0 to the Bruins at Boston; Boston’s first NHL playoff victory in 10 years
- Apr 7 Dodgers' Bill Singer is credited with 1st official save, against Reds
Sports History
Apr 7 Ted Williams begins managing Washington Senators, they lose to Yanks 8-4
- Apr 8 First Major League Baseball game featuring a Canadian team; Montréal Expos beats NY Mets, 11-10 at Shea Stadium; KC Royals, SD Padres and Seattle Pilots also win on debut
- Apr 8 Expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games
- Apr 9 Chic Cub Billy Williams hits 4 consecutive doubles beat Phillies 11-3
- Apr 12 Simon & Garfunkel releases "Boxer"
- Apr 12 Wales beats England, 30-9 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch their 16th Five Nations Rugby Championship and 11th Triple Crown
- Apr 13 33rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: George Archer wins his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runners-up Billy Casper, George Knudson, and Tom Weiskopf
- Apr 14 First regular-season MLB game played outside the United States; Montreal Expos beat St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Parc Jarry, Montreal
- Apr 17 Mont Expos Bill Stoneman no-hits Phillies, 7-0
- Apr 21 73rd Boston Marathon: Yoshiaki Unetani of Japan wins in 2:13:49; American Sara Mae Berman 1st woman in 3:22:46 (unsanctioned)
Boxing Title Fight
Apr 22 American Joe Frazier KOs American Dave Zyglewick in 1st round to retain heavyweight boxing title, in Houston, Texas
- Apr 22 Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 day non-stop sailing
NBA Finals
Apr 23 LA Lakers guard Jerry West scores 53 points in 120-118 NBA Finals Game 1 win over Boston Celtics at the LA Forum
- Apr 30 Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jim Maloney records his second MLB no-hitter in 10-0 rout of Houston Astros
Birthdays in Sport
- Apr 1 Arnaud Boetsch, French tennis player (Davis Cup 1996) and broadcaster (France Télévisions), born in Meulam France
- Apr 1 Kevin Dean, American ice hockey defenseman (Stanley Cup NJ Devils, NHL All Star 1995), born in Madison, Wisconsin
- Apr 1 Frank Castillo, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1991-2005 (Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, and 4 other teams), born in El Paso, Texas (d. 2013)
- Apr 3 Reid Hayston, New Zealand beach volleyball player (Olympics 1996), born in Hamilton, New Zealand
- Apr 3 Rodney Hampton, American football player, NFL running back (NY Giants), born in Houston, Texas
- Apr 4 Anthony Tucker, American basketball forward (NY Knicks), born in Washington, D.C.
- Apr 4 Carlos Reyes, American baseball pitcher (Oakland A's), born in Miami, Florida
- Apr 4 Dennis de Nooijer, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
- Apr 4 Gerard de Nooijer, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
- Apr 4 Karren Brady, English sporting executive, TV personality and business executive (The Apprentice UK, Birmingham City F.C.), born in Edmonton, London
- Apr 6 Andy Harmon, NFL defensive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles)
- Apr 6 Bret Boone, infielder (Cincinnati Reds), born in El Cajon, California
- Apr 7 Clark Sheehan, cyclist (Olympics 1996), born in Denver, Colorado
- Apr 7 Jeremy Lincoln, NFL cornerback (Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks)
- Apr 7 Peggy Clasen, speed skater (Olympics 1994), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Apr 7 Ricky Bones, pitcher (Milwaukee Brewers, NY Yanks), born in Salinas, Puerto Rico
- Apr 7 Ricky Watters, NFL running back (Philadelphia Eagles)
- Apr 8 Steve Jackson, American NFL cornerback (Houston/Tennessee Oilers), born in Houston, Texas
- Apr 9 Amy Feng, Chinese born-American table tennis player (Olympics 1996), born in Tianjin, China
- Apr 9 Karl Krikken, English cricketer (Derbyshire 1989-, wicketkeeper), born in Bolton, Lancashire
- Apr 9 Timothy Young, American rower (Olympic silver 1996), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Apr 10 Dennis Vial, Canadian NHL defenseman (Ottawa Senators), born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
- Apr 10 Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter, born in Karditsa, Greece
- Apr 11 Gavin Briant, Zimbabwean cricketer (Zimbabwe Test batsman 1993), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
- Apr 11 J Nick Adamson, Freeport Bahamas, US laser sailor (Olymp-21st-1996)
- Apr 11 Janeth Arcain, Brazilian basketball forward (Houston Comets), born in São Paulo, Brazil
- Apr 11 Jesse Campbell, American football safety (NY Giants, Washington Redskins), born in Washington, North Carolina
- Apr 12 Michael Jackson, American NFL wide receiver (NFL receiving TD leader 1996; Baltimore Ravens), born in Tangipahoa, Louisiana (d. 2017)
- Apr 14 Brad Ausmus, American catcher (Detroit Tigers), born in New Haven, Connecticut
- Apr 14 Brad Pennington, American pitcher (California Angels), born in Salem, Indiana
- Apr 14 David Archibald, Chilliwack, NHL center (Ottawa Senators)
- Apr 14 Mark Macon, American NBA guard (Detroit Pistons), born in Saginaw, Michigan
- Apr 14 Tim Roberts, American NFL defensive end (NE Patriots), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- Apr 15 Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball outfielder (MLB All Star 1999; Milwaukee Brewers), born in Westminster, California
- Apr 15 Michael Jones, American NFL linebacker (Oakland Raiders, St Louis Rams), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Apr 15 Phillippi Sparks, American NFL cornerback (NY Giants), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Apr 16 Fernando Viña, Cuban-American infielder (Milwaukee Brewers), born in Sacramento, California
- Apr 18 Vladimir Tsyplakov, Belarusian NHL left wing (LA Kings, Belarus 1998), born in Inta, Soviet Union
- Apr 20 Jan van Halst, Dutch soccer player (FC Twente), born in Utrecht, Netherlands
- Apr 21 Conrad Clarks, NFL center (Indianapolis Colts)
- Apr 22 Bobby Olive, NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts)
- Apr 22 Roger Jones, NFL center (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Apr 22 Dion Dublin, English footballer
- Apr 23 Martín López-Zubero, Spanish backstroke swimmer (world record 200m), born in Jacksonville, Florida
- Apr 23 Nadeem Shahid, English cricketer, born in Karachi, Pakistan
- Apr 23 Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast (1988 Olympic Champion), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2018)
- Apr 24 Elias Atmatsidis, Greek football goalkeeper, born in Kozani, Greece
- Apr 25 Darren Woodson, American NFL safety (5 x Pro Bowl; Super Bowl 1992, 93, 95; Dallas Cowboys), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Apr 25 Gavin Bruk-Jackson, Zimbabwean cricketer (Zimbabwe Test batsman 1993)
- Apr 25 Nir Shental, Israeli Men's 470 sailor (Olympic 15th-1996), born in Jaffa, Israel
- Apr 25 Sanjeeva Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer (Sri Lankan Test batsman 1994-97), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Apr 25 Travis Fryman, American baseball infielder (Detroit Tigers), born in Lexington, Kentucky
- Apr 25 Joe Buck, American sports broadcaster, born in St. Petersburg, Florida
- Apr 27 Brett Steven, New Zealand tennis player (Olympics 1996), born in Auckland, New Zealand
- Apr 27 Tyrone Rodgers, American football defensive linebacker (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Longview, Texas
- Apr 27 Grahame Cheney, Australian boxer, born in Lithgow, Australia
- Apr 28 Merlelynn Lange-Harris, Canadian basketball center (Olympics 1996), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Apr 29 Arthur Marshall, American NFL wide receiver (NY Giants), born in Fort Gordon, Georgia
- Apr 30 Dexter Rogers, American volleyball opposite hitter (Olympics 1996), born in St Petersburg, Florida