Year 1970 in Sports History

Events in Sport

• Jan 1 Charles "Chub" Feeney becomes president of baseball's National League
• Jan 1 56th Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #7 Michigan, 10-3

• Jan 1 36th Sugar Bowl: #13 Mississippi beats #3 Arkansas, 27-22
• Jan 1 36th Orange Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #6 Missouri, 10-3

• Jan 4 NFL Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Cleveland Browns, 27-7
• Jan 6 Australian boxer Johnny Famechon retains his WBC featherweight title with a 14th-round knockout of Fighting Harada in Tokyo; re-match of questionable 15-round decision in 1969 in his first title defence
• Jan 11 Super Bowl IV, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: KC Chiefs beat Minnesota Vikings, 23-7; MVP: Len Dawson, Kansas City, QB
• Jan 16 Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause [1]
• Jan 16 NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)
• Jan 16 Inaugural Buffalo Sabres owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox hire former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach in the same capacities for their new NHL franchise
• Jan 17 357 baseball players are available in the free-agent draft
• Jan 17 9th AFL All Star Game, Astrodome, Houston: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 26-3; MVP: John Hadl, LA Chargers, QB

• Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats fellow Australian Kerry Melville Reid 6-1, 6-3; Court retains title for 9th Australian singles crown and 1st leg of her Grand Slam
• Jan 27 1970 NFL Draft: Terry Bradshaw from Louisiana Tech first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers

• Feb 1 Former MLB Commissioner Ford Frick as well as ex-players Earle Combs and Jesse Haines are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

• Feb 5 1st Test Cricket ton of Barry Richards, 126, 164 balls, 20 fours 1 six
• Feb 5 Test Cricket debut of John Traicos, South Africa v Australia, Durban
• Feb 6 NBA expands to 18 teams with Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston & Portland

• Feb 22 12th Daytona 500: Pete Hamilton wins by just 3 car lengths over David Pearson, after passing him with 9 laps to go
• Feb 28 Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge
• Feb 28 Caroline Walker runs world female record marathon (3:02:53)
• Mar 1 Minnesota coach Charlie Burns becomes the final player/coach in NHL history, when he plays in the North Stars' 8-0 win over Toronto Maple Leafs; remains in role for final month of the season

• Mar 4 Jacksonville is 1st college basketball team to avg 100+ pts per game


• Mar 4 NY Rangers set then NHL record of 126 games without being shut-out
• Mar 7 Ice Dance Championship at Ljubljana won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)
• Mar 7 17th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats South Carolina, 42-39 (2 OT)
• Mar 17 Peter O'Malley becomes CEO of LA Dodgers
• Mar 18 NFL selects Wilson as official football & scoreboard as official time
• Mar 21 32nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Jacksonville, 80-69; Bruins' 4th straight title under coach John Wooden
• Mar 21 Vinko Bogataj crashes during a ski-jumping championship in Germany; his image becomes that of the "agony of defeat guy" in the opening credits of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
• Mar 29 Manchester City of England win 10th European Cup Winner's Cup against Górnik Zabrze of Poland 2-1 in Vienna
• Apr 1 Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney Volinn declares MLB's Seattle Pilots bankrupt; car dealer Bud Selig buys franchise for $10.8 million and moves club to Milwaukee (Brewers)
• Apr 4 124th Grand National: 15/1 chance Gay Trip wins by 20 lengths, giving Irish jockey Pat Taaffe his second GN winner
• Apr 7 MLB Milwaukee Brewers (former Seattle Pilots) 1st game, lose to Angels 12-0

• Apr 13 34th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Billy Casper defeats Gene Littler, 69 to 74 in a Monday 18-hole playoff to win his 3rd major title; last 18-hole playoff at the Masters
• Apr 18 France beats England, 35-13 at Stade Colombes, Paris to earn a share of the Five Nations Rugby Championship with Wales
• Apr 20 74th Boston Marathon: Englishman Ron Hill wins in 2:10:30 (US record): American Sara Mae Berman 1st woman for 2nd straight year in 3:05:07 (unsanctioned)
• Apr 21 Reds clout 7 HRs by 6 batters, Braves counter with 3 HRs, 6 for one team & 9 different batters for two teams, all tie or set records
• Apr 22 NY Met Jerry Grote sets record of 20 put outs by a catcher

• Apr 22 Senators beat Yankees 2-1 in 18 innings
• Apr 30 Cubs Billy Williams is 1st NLer to play in 1,000 consecutive games


• May 2 1st woman jockey at Kentucky Derby (Diane Crump)
• May 2 96th Kentucky Derby: Mike Manganello on Dust Commander wins 2:03.4
• May 3 24th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
• May 6 European Cup Final, San Siro, Milan: Feyenoord beats Celtic, 2-1; first time title won by a Dutch club
• May 8 NBA championship: Knicks beat Lakers, 113-99
• May 10 Atlanta Braves' Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in his 1,000th game, loses to Cards 6-5
• May 10 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Bobby Orr scores famous OT winner as Boston beats St. Louis Blues, 4-3 for 4-0 series sweep; Bruins its first title since 1941

• May 15 International Olympic Committee votes to expel South Africa
• May 16 95th Preakness: Eddie Belmonte aboard Personality wins in 1:56.2

• May 22 Mel Stottlemyre sets record by walking 11, but wins 2-0
• May 23 San Diego Padres beat SF Giants 17-16 in 15 innings
• May 25 3rd ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat LA Stars, 4 games to 2
• May 30 Baseball All-Star voting is returned to fans
• May 30 Tigers Al Kaline collides with another player & swallows his tongue
• May 30 Indianapolis 500: Al Unser Snr joins his brother Bobby as the first duo of brothers to win the race; owner Parnelli Jones second to win as both a driver and owner
• Jun 1 MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn reprimands Astro Jim Bouton for writing "Ball Four"
• Jun 4 San Diego Padres draft Mike Ivie #1
• Jun 6 102nd Belmont: John Rotz aboard High Echelon wins in 2:34


• Jun 6 French Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Helga Niessen Niessen of Germany 6-2, 6-4 for 2nd leg of her successful Grand Slam
• Jun 7 American jockey Bill Shoemaker passes Johnny Longden with his 6,033 career win
• Jun 7 French Open Men's Tennis: Czech star Jan Kodeš wins his first major title; beats Željko Franulović of Yugoslavia 6-2, 6-4, 6-
• Jun 12 Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Doc Ellis no-hits the Padres, 2-0 at San Diego Stadium

• Jun 19 Jim Bouton's controversial "Ball Four" is published
• Jun 20 Oriole's Brooks Robinson get his 2,000 career hit, a 3 run HR
• Jun 21 US Open Men's Golf Hazeltine National GC: Englishman Tony Jacklin shoots sub-par in all 4 rounds on his way to a 7-stroke win ahead of Dave Hill

• Jun 30 Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium opens as the visiting Atlanta Braves beat Reds, 8-2; demolished 2002
• Jul 1 Dutch soccer club FC Utrecht is established (KNVB Cup 1985, 2003-04)

• Jul 3 California Angels pitcher Clyde Wright no-hits Oakland A's, 4-0

• Jul 8 SF Giant Jim Ray Hart is 8th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (5th)

• Jul 15 Denmark beats Italy 2-0 in 1st world female soccer championship
• Jul 18 Willie Mays becomes 10th baseball player to get 3,000 hits

• Jul 20 Dodgers Bill Singer no-hits the Phillies 5-0, giving up no walks
• Jul 21 Clay Kirby has a no-hitter going for 8 inn, but is lifted for a pinch hitter, Reliever Jack Baldschun gives up 3 hits & Padres lose, 3-0

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Birthdays in Sport

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 785

• Jan 1 Brian Morton, Wollongong Australia, canoeist (Olympics 1996)
• Jan 2 Anthony Stuart, Australian cricket fast bowler and coach (3 ODIs; 8 wickets @ 13.62; hat trick 1997), born in Newcastle, Australia
• Jan 2 Glenn Cadrez, American NFL linebacker (Super Bowl 1997, 98; Denver Broncos), born in El Centro, California
• Jan 2 Royce Clayton, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star 1997; SF Giants, St Louis Cardinals) and actor (The Rookie, Moneyball), born in Burbank, California
• Jan 4 Colin Scrivener, CFL defensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Jan 4 Sean Lumpkin, American NFL safety (New Orleans Saints), born in Golden Valley, Minnesota
• Jan 5 James Patton, NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills), born in Brazoria County, Texas
• Jan 6 Daniel Naulty, American pitcher (Minnesota Twins), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 6 Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player & actress (Extremists), born in La Jolla, California
• Jan 6 Geert Brusselers, Dutch football player & coach (NAC), born in Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Jan 6 John Gerak, NFL tight end/guide (Minnesota Vikings, St Louis Rams), born in Youngstown, Ohio
• Jan 6 Keenan McCardell, NFL wide receiver (Cleveland Browns, Jaguars), born in Houston, Texas
• Jan 6 Kerrin Petty, Swedish-American cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Townshend, Vermont
• Jan 7 Paul McCallum, Canadian football punter and placekicker (Claymores, Sask Roughriders), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Jan 7 Todd Day, American NBA guard/forward (Boston Celtics), born in Decatur, Illinois
• Jan 7 Joao Ricardo, Angolan footballer, born in Luanda, Angola
• Jan 8 Darryl Williams, American NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks, Cin Bengals), born in Miami, Florida
• Jan 8 Jon Klemm, Canadian NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche), born in Calgary, Alberta
• Jan 10 Cameron MacKenzie, Australian 100m/200m/400m (Olympics 1996)
• Jan 10 Deon Figures, American NFL cornerback/PR (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Bellflower, California
• Jan 11 Franco Davin, Argentina, tennis star
• Jan 13 Frank Kooiman, soccer player (Sparta)
• Jan 13 Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (Tour de France 1998), born in Cesena, Italy (d. 2004)
• Jan 14 Eric Charron, Canadian NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals), born in Verdun, Quebec
• Jan 14 Steve Cooke, American baseball pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Lihue, Hawaii
• Jan 14 Tyrone Hughes, American NFL cornerback (New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Jan 15 Dan Landry, American volleyball opposite hitter (Olympics 1996), born in San Diego, California
• Jan 15 Michele Granger, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Anaheim, California
• Jan 16 Don MacLean, American NBA forward (NJ Nets, Denver Nuggets), born in Palo Alto, California
• Jan 16 Ron Villone, American pitcher (San Diego Padres), born in Englewood, New Jersey
• Jan 17 Candace Murray, Canadian softball shortstop (Olympics 1996), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Jan 17 Darnell Walker, American NFL cornerback (Atlanta Falcons, SF 49ers), born in St. Louis, Missouri
• Jan 17 Jeremy Roenick, American NHL center (Team USA, Blackhawks, Coyotes), born in Boston, Massachusetts
• Jan 17 James Wattana, Thai snooker player, born in Bangkok, Thailand
• Jan 18 Leo Araguz, American football punter (Oakland Raiders, Rhein Fire), born in Pharr, Texas
• Jan 18 Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist, born in Brakel, Belgium
• Jan 19 Rick Krivda, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
• Jan 19 T. J. Mathews, American baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Columbia, Illinois
• Jan 19 Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete, born in Beveren, Belgium
• Jan 20 Marvin Benard, American baseball outfielder (SF Giants), born in Bluefields, Nicaragua
• Jan 20 Rob Gaudreau, American ice hockey player (Ottawa Senators), born in Cranston, Rhode Island
• Jan 20 Ron Carpenter, American football player (NY Jets, Amsterdam Admirals), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Jan 20 Terry Kirby, American football player (Miami Dolphins, SF 49ers), born in Hampton, Virginia
• Jan 20 Thomas "Tom" Murray, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Buffalo, New York
• Jan 21 Ian Salisbury, cricketer (Sussex & England leg-spinner 1992-96)
• Jan 22 Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist, born in Anoeta, Spain
• Jan 23 Alan Embree, American baseball pitcher (Cleveland Indians), born in The Dalles, Oregon
• Jan 23 Jim Schwantz, American football player & politician (Dallas Cowboys, SF 49ers), born in Arlington Heights, Illinois
• Jan 23 Mark Wohlers, American baseball pitcher (Atlanta Braves), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts
• Jan 23 Richard Šmehlik, Czech NHL defenseman (Buf Sabres, Olympic gold 1998), born in Ostrava, Czech Republic
• Jan 23 Sherman Obando, Panamanian baseball outfielder (Montreal Expos), born in Bocas del Toro Province, Panama
• Jan 25 Chris Mills, American NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers, NY Knicks), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 25 Milt Stegall, American football player (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Jan 26 Dan Carlson, American baseball pitcher (SF Giants), born in Portland, Oregon
• Jan 26 Dean Malkoc, Canadian NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Jan 26 Ronald Moore, American NFL running back (NY Jets, St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals), born in Chowchilla, California
• Jan 27 Dario Brose, US soccer halfback (Olympic-92), born in Queens, New York
• Jan 27 Dean Headley, English cricket fast bowler (15 Tests; first Test cricketer to be son and grandson of Test cricketers; Ron & George Headley), born in Norton, England
• Jan 28 Barry Minter, NFL middle linebacker (Chicago Bears)
• Jan 28 James Atkins, NFL tackle (Seattle Seahawks)
• Jan 28 Mike Chalenski, NFL defensive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Jan 28 Mr. Prospector, American thoroughbred racehorse and breeding stallion (most influential sire of his generation), born in Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky (d. 1999)
• Jan 29 Scott Davis, American football guard (Atlanta Falcons), born in Glenwood, Iowa
• Jan 29 Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer, born in Schwedt an der Oder, Germany
• Jan 30 Scott Levins, American NHL right wing (Ottawa Senators), born in Spokane, Washington
• Jan 31 Greg Skrepenak, American football offensive lineman (Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Jan 31 Travis Hannah, American football wide receiver (Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 31 (Amelia) "Minnie" Driver, British-American actress (Good Will Hunting; The Riches), and singer-songwriter (Everything I've Got in My Pocket), born in London, England
• Feb 1 Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese auto racer (D1 GP 2005), born in Nagano, Japan
• Feb 2 Erik ten Hag, soccer player (FC Twente, RKC, FC Utrecht)
• Feb 2 Nikolaos Michopoulos, Greek footballer
• Feb 2 Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
• Feb 3 Jason Muzzatti, NHL goalie (Hartford Whalers), born in Toronto, Ontario
• Feb 3 Keith Carney, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks, Team US), born in Providence, Rhode Island
• Feb 3 Oscar Cordoba, Colombian footballer
• Feb 4 John Frascatore, American baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
• Feb 4 Todd Peterson, NFL kicker (Seattle Seahawks)
• Feb 5 Darren Lehmann, Australian cricket batsman (27 Tests @ 44.95, 5 x 100s; 117 ODIs) and coach (Australia 2013-18), born in Gawler, Australia
• Feb 5 Forey Duckett, American football cornerback (Saints, Scot Claymores), born in Oakland, California
• Feb 6 Jeff Rouse, American 50m/100m backstroke swimmer (Olymp-gold/silver-92, 96), born in Fredericksburg, Virginia
• Feb 6 Mark Hutton, Australian baseball pitcher (NY Yankees), born in Adelaide, Australia
• Feb 6 Per Frandsen, Danish footballer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
• Feb 7 Chris Gardocki, NFL punter (Indianapolis Colts)
• Feb 7 Denis Chasse, NHL right wing (Winnipeg Jets), born in Montreal, Quebec
• Feb 7 Stanley Roberts, NBA center (LA Clippers, Minn Timberwolves)
• Feb 8 Alonzo Mourning, NBA center (Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets)
• Feb 8 Cameron Cuffy, cricketer (St Vincent & WI fast bowler 1994-)
• Feb 8 John Filan, Australian footballer

• Feb 10 Alberto Castillo, Dominican-American baseball catcher (NY Mets), born in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic
• Feb 10 Bobby Jones, American pitcher (NY Mets), born in Fresno, California
• Feb 10 Brendan Eppert, US speed skater (Olympics 1994), born in St Louis, Missouri
• Feb 10 Nobushige Kumakubo, Japanese racing driver, born in Fukushima, Japan
• Feb 10 Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan footballer, born in Casablanca, Morocco
• Feb 11 Alistair Brown, English cricketer (Surrey & England ODI opening batsman 1996), born in Beckenham, United Kingdom
• Feb 11 Jason Allyn Scott, American rower (Olympics 1996), born in Iowa City, Iowa
• Feb 12 Bryan Roy, Dutch football manager and player (Ajax), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Feb 12 Dell Demps, NBA guard (San Antonio Spurs), born in Long Beach, Canada
• Feb 12 Lamar Thomas, NFL wide receiver (Tampa Bay Bucs, Miami Dolphins), born in Ocala, Florida
• Feb 13 Kevin Stocker, American baseball infielder (Philadelphia Phillies), born in Spokane, Washington

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Deaths in Sport

• Jan 14 John J "Johnny" Murphy, American baseball pitcher (NY Yankees), dies at 61
• Jan 17 Robert Lindley Murray, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1917-18), dies at 77
• Jan 27 Probir Sen, cricket (20 catch & 11 stumpings, 14 Tests for Ind), dies
• Jan 28 Tommy Andrews (Aust) 16 Tests 1921-26, cricketer (592 runs), dies
• Feb 5 Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
• Feb 13 Herbert Strudwick, cricketer (28 Tests for England, ct 60 stp 12), dies
• Feb 23 Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)
• Mar 2 Paul Christman, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (University of Missouri; All-Pro 1946, 47; Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers), dies from a heart attack at 51
• Apr 6 Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
• Apr 15 Ripper Collins, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1935, 36, 37; World Series 1931, 34; NL HR leader 1934; St Louis Cardinals), dies at 66
• May 19 Ray Schalk, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (World Series 1917; Chicago White Sox) and manager (Chicago WS), dies from cancer at 78

• Jun 2 Bruce McLaren, New Zealand car racer and founder of eponymous race team, dies in a car crash at 32
• Jun 11 Camille Bombois, French circus wrestler/painter, dies at 87
• Jun 16 Brian Piccolo, American NFL football running back, 1965-69 (Chicago Bears), and subject of the 1971 TV movie "Brian's Song", dies of cancer at 26
• Jun 17 Matthew Henderson, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (1 Test; New Zealand's first-ever Test match 1930), dies at 74
• Jun 27 Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler (b. 1902)
• Jul 4 Harold Vanderbilt, American yachtsman and America's Cup winner (1930, 34, 37), dies at 85
• Jul 17 Juano Hernandez, Puerto Rican stage and film actor (St Louis Blues; Stars In My Crown), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 73
• Jul 21 Bob Kalsu, American football player, dies at 25
• Jul 31 Walter Briggs Jr, American sports executive (owner Detroit Tigers 1952-56), dies at 58
• Jul 31 Jimmy Conzelman, American Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback, coach, team owner (Chicago Cardinals), dies at 72
• Aug 6 Ingolf Dahl [Marcus], German-American pianist and composer (Allegro and Arioso), dies at 56
• Aug 8 Johnny Goodman, American golfer (US Open 1933), dies at 60
• Aug 12 Glenn Hartranft, American athlete (discus WR 47.89m 1925; Olympic silver shot putt 1924), dies at 68

• Sep 5 Jochen Rindt, Austrian auto racer (posthumous World F1 title 1970), dies of throat injuries in practice accident at 28
• Sep 6 Gerard Smithson, cricketer (Eng batsman against W Indies 1948), dies

• Sep 19 Greville Stevens, cricketer (10 Tests for England 1922-29), dies
• Oct 4 Curtis Turner, American auto racer (184 NASCAR races over 17 years, 17 wins), dies in aeroplane crash at 46
• Nov 21 Newsy Lalonde, Canadian ice hockey (Montreal Canadiens) and lacrosse player, dies at 83
• Dec 1 Frank Smailes, English cricket all-rounder (1 Test; 8 County C'ships, Yorkshire), dies at 60
• Dec 26 Lillian Board, British 400m athlete (Olympic silver 1968), dies at 22