Events in Sport
Sports History
Sep 1 American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer beats Russian champion Boris Spassky 12.5-8.5 in Reykjavik, Iceland; most publicised world title match ever played; Fischer 1st American to win title
- Sep 1 An American sweep of the medals in the women's 200m butterfly at the Munich Olympics; Karen Moe takes gold in world record 2:15.57 ahead of teammates Lynn Colella and Ellie Daniel
- Sep 1 Australian swimmer Shane Gould wins the 200m freestyle in world record 2:03.56 at the Munich Olympics; her 3rd gold medal & 3rd world record of the Games
- Sep 1 Japanese gymnast Sawao Kato wins the parallel bars gold medal at the Munich Olympics, his 3rd gold of the Games including team & individual all-round victories
- Sep 1 Polish shooter Józef Zapędzki successfully defends his Olympic 25m rapid fire pistol title at the Munich Games with an Olympic record 595 points
- Sep 1 Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union runs 10.14 to beat American Robert Miller and Lennox Miller of Jamaica in the coveted men's 100m final at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 1 Welshman Richard Meade representing Great Britain and riding Laurieston grabs the equestrian individual and team 3-day event gold medals at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 2 American breaststroker Cathy Carr swims a world record 1:13.58 to win the 100m gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 2 American breaststroker John Hencken beats David Wilkie of Great Britain to win the 200m gold medal in world record 2:21.55 at the Munich Olympic Games
- Sep 2 Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas no-hits San Diego Padres, 8-0
- Sep 2 East German sprinter Renate Stecher sets world record 11.07 to beat Raelene Boyle of Australia for the women's 100m gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 2 East German swimmer Roland Matthes wraps up the Olympic backstroke double with a world record 2:02.82 in the 200m in Munich, having already won the 100m in Olympic record time
- Sep 2 For the first time since the advent of the Modern Olympics in 1896, a non-American wins the pole vault gold medal; East German Wolfgang Nordwig clears 5.5m at the Munich Games
- Sep 2 French track cyclist Daniel Morelon successfully defends his Olympic sprint title beating Australian John Nicholson for the gold medal in Munich
- Sep 2 John Akii-Bua of Uganda with a world record 47.82 wins the 400m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 3 American swimmer Keena Rothhammer has to swim world record 8:53.68 to beat Australian wonder-kid Shane Gould in the 800m at the Munich Olympics
World Record
Sep 3 American swimmer Mark Spitz wins coveted 100m gold medal in world record 51.22 at the Munich Olympics; completes the freestyle sprint double having already won 200m in world record 1:52.78
- Sep 3 American women's 4 x 100m medley relay team of Melissa Belote, Cathy Carr, Deena Deardurff & Sandy Neilson swim world record 4:20.75 to beat East Germany for gold at the Munich Olympics
Baseball Record
Sep 3 Atlanta Braves slugger Hank Aaron earns his 6,135th total base to break Stan Musial’s MLB record in an 8-0 home defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies
- Sep 3 Finnish runner Lasse Virén scores a famous victory in the 10,000m at the Munich Olympics in world record 27:38.35
- Sep 3 Great Britain's Mary Peters sets a new world record of 4801 points to win the Munich Olympics pentathlon gold by just 10 points from Heide Rosendahl of West Germany
- Sep 3 Jerry Grant runs the first official 200mph qualifying lap in Champ Car history, posting a lap of 201.414mph around Ontario Motor Speedway
- Sep 3 Swedish swimmer Gunnar Larsson wraps up the Olympic medley double when he sets world record 2:07.17 in the 200m I/M in Munich, having already won the 400m I/M
- Sep 4 16 year old Ulrike Meyfarth of West Germany with a world record equalling 1.92m, wins the women's high jump gold medal at the Munich Olympics; youngest winner of individual athletics event in Olympic history
- Sep 4 American swimmer Melissa Belote with a world record 2:19.19 takes the 200m backstroke gold medal at the Munich Olympics; wraps up backstroke double having won the 100m in Olympic record time
- Sep 4 American swimmer Mike Burton sets a world record 15:52.58 to win the 1,500m gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 4 Italian diver Klaus Dibiasi wins his 2nd of 3 consecutive 10m platform gold medals the Munich Olympics
- Sep 4 Kenyan legend Kipchoge Keino follows his 1,500m gold in Mexico City with an Olympic record 8:23.64 to win the 3,000m steeplechase at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 4 Soviet sprinter Valeriy Borzov runs 20.00 to win the men's 200m gold medal at the Munich Olympics; wraps up the 100/200m double at the Games
- Sep 4 US 4 x 100m medley relay team of Mike Stamm, Tom Bruce, Mark Spitz & Jerry Heidenreich sets world record 3:48.16 to win gold at the Munich Olympics; Mark Spitz becomes 1st athlete to win 7 Olympic gold medals at a single Games
- Sep 4 Willem Ruska of the Netherlands wins gold medals in both the heavyweight & open class Olympic judo competitions in Munich; first judoka to win 2 Olympic gold medals at one Games
- Sep 5 11 Israeli athletes taken hostage and later killed by Palestinian Black September group at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 6 Summer Olympics resume in Munich, Germany after massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Black September Palestinian terrorist organization
- Sep 7 American athletes Vincent Matthews & Wayne Collett finish 1-2 in 400m at the Munich Olympics; acted casually on the medal stand, did not face the flag during anthem; banned from the Olympics for life
- Sep 7 American Rod Milburn with a world record 13.24 wins the 110m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics; just 0.10 seconds ahead of Frenchman Guy Drut
- Sep 7 East German sprinter Renate Stecher runs a world record equalling 22.40 in the 200m final to repeat her 100m win over Australia's Raelene Boyle at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 7 Future world professional cycling road race champion Hennie Kuiper of the Netherlands wins the road race gold medal at the Munich Olympics in 4:14:37
- Sep 7 Nadezhda Chizhova of the Soviet Union throws a world record 21.03m to win the women's shot put at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 8 Chic Cub Ferguson Jenkins wins his 20th game for 6th straight year
- Sep 8 East German Annelie Ehrhardt with a world record 12.59 takes the 100m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics; beats Romanian Valeria Bufanu by just 0.25
- Sep 8 Mykola Avilov representing the Soviet Union scores a world record 8454 points to win the decathlon gold medal at the Munich Olympics; beats teammate Leonid Lytvynenko by 419 points
- Sep 9 Soviet runner Lyudmila Bragina with a world record 4:01.38 wins the women's 1,500m gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 9 Soviet Union beats the United States 51-50 in the most controversial game in international basketball history; with US leading 50-49 the final 3 seconds is replayed 3 times until the Soviets finally win
US Open Women's Tennis
Sep 9 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Billie Jean King retains her title; beats Kerry Melville Reid of Australia 6-3, 7-5
- Sep 9 West German equestrian rider Liselott Linsenhoff follows her dressage teams gold in Mexico City with the individual dressage title at her home Olympics in Munich
- Sep 10 American freestyle wrestler Dan Gable wins the 68kg division gold medal at the Munich Olympics; only Olympic wrestler not to have a single point scored against him in the competition
- Sep 10 American long distance runner Frank Shorter scores a famous win in the men's marathon in 2:12:19.8 at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 10 American men's 4 x 100m relay team of Larry Black, Robert Taylor, Gerald Tinker & Eddie Hart combine for a world record 38.19 to beat the Soviet Union for the gold medal at the Munich Olympics
- Sep 10 An American double in the inaugural Olympic archery competition in Munich; John Williams wins the men's individual gold medal; Doreen Wilber takes the women's gold
- Sep 10 Cuban boxer Teófilo Stevenson wins first of 3 consecutive Olympic heavyweight gold medals when Munich Games opponent Ion Alexe of Romania withdraws from the final because of a broken thumb
- Sep 10 East v West in a women's 4 x 100m relay at the Munich Olympics; West Germany beats East Germany by 0.13 seconds for the gold medal
- Sep 10 Kazimierz Deyna scores twice as Poland beats Hungary 2-1 in the Olympic football gold medal match; 80,000 at the Munich Olympic Stadium
US Men's Tennis Open
Sep 10 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Ilie Năstase of Romania beats Arthur Ashe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam title
- Sep 10 West Germany beats Pakistan 1-0 to become first European nation since 1920 to win the field hockey Olympic title; marred by disgraceful behaviour of Pakistani players, fans & officials after losing the Munich final
- Sep 10 Yugoslavia beats Czechoslovakia, 21-16 in the inaugural Olympic handball final in Munich
- Sep 11 XX Summer Olympic Games close in Munich, German FR
- Sep 12 Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin succeeds Avery Brundage as President International Olympic Committee
- Sep 18 1st black NL umpire is Art Williams for Los Angeles vs San Diego
- Sep 24 Jack Tatum, Oakland, sets NFL record with 104-yard fumble return, in a 20-14 win over Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, Green Bay Wisconsin; record tied by Aeneas Williams of the Arizona Cardinals in 2000
Sports History
Sep 24 NY Jet Joe Namath passes for 6 touchdowns vs Baltimore Colts (44-34)
Baseball Record
Sep 30 Pittsburgh right fielder Roberto Clemente doubles off Mets' Jon Matlack to become the 11th MLB player to record 3000 hits as Pirates beat NY, 5-0
Birthdays in Sport
- Sep 1 Josh Davis, American swimmer (Olympic gold 4x100/200m freestyle relay/4x100m medley relay 1996), born in San Antonio, Texas
- Sep 1 Louise Dobson, Australian field hockey fullback (Olympic gold 1996; Champions Trophy gold 1997, 99, 2003), born in Shepparton, Australia
- Sep 2 Katarina Studenikova, Bratislava Slovak Rep, tennis star
- Sep 3 Martin Straka, Czech ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 1998; World C'ship gold 2005; HC Škoda Plzeň, Pittsburgh Penguins, NY Rangers), born in Plzeň, Czech Republic
- Sep 4 Daniel Nestor, Canadian tennis player (Olympics 1996), born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia
- Sep 4 Jason Fisk, American football defensive tackle (Minnesota Vikings), born in Davis, California
- Sep 4 Norman Hand, American football defensive tackle (Miami Dolphins), born in Queens, New York (d. 2010)
- Sep 5 Dirk Copeland, American pursuit cyclist (Olympics 1992, 96), born in Los Angeles, California
- Sep 6 Eric Zeier, American NFL quarterback (Cleveland Browns), born in Pensacola, Florida
- Sep 7 Cedric Davis, American NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals), born in Brandon, Florida
- Sep 7 Jason Isringhausen, American pitcher (NY Mets), born in Brighton, Illinois
- Sep 7 Willy Tate, American NFL tight end (KC Chiefs), born in Montana, California
- Sep 8 Markus Babbel, German football player and coach, born in Munich, West Germany
- Sep 8 Trent McCleary, Canadian NHL right wing (Ottawa Senators), born in Swift Current, Canada
- Sep 9 Ben Bronson, American football wide receiver (Detroit Lions), born in Jasper, Texas
- Sep 9 Mike Hampton, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1999, 2001; Gold Glove Award 2003; 5 × Silver Slugger Award; NL wins leader 1999; Houston Astros), born in Brooksville, Florida
- Sep 9 Miriam Oremans, Dutch tennis player, born in Berlicum, Netherlands
- Sep 11 Kip Simons, American gymnast (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Media, Pennsylvania
- Sep 11 Mark Pope, American NBA forward (Indiana Pacers), born in Omaha, Nebraska
- Sep 11 Matthew Gilmore, Belgian-Australian cyclist, born in Ghent, Belgium
- Sep 12 Paul Green, Australian rugby league coach (North Queensland Cowboys NRL premiership 2015; Queensland) and halfback (Australia SL 2 games, Queensland 7 games), born in Brisbane, Australia (d. 2022)
- Sep 14 David Bell, American baseball infielder (St Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies) and manager (Cincinnati Reds), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Sep 16 Don Sasa, American NFL defensive tackle (San Diego Chargers), born in American Samoa
- Sep 16 Mark Bruener, American NFL tight end (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Aberdeen, Washington
- Sep 16 Ramon van Haaren, Dutch soccer player (RKC), born in Waalwijk, Netherlands
- Sep 16 Steve Russ, American NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32), born in Stetsonville, Wisconsin
- Sep 17 Allen Williams, NFL running back (Detroit Lions)
- Sep 18 Brigitte Becue, Belgian swimmer (Olympics 1988, silver), born in Ostend, Belgium
- Sep 18 David Jefferies, British motorcycle racer, born in Shipley, West Yorkshire, England (d. 2003)
- Sep 18 François Gesthuizen, Dutch soccer player (PSV, NAC), born in Millingen aan de Rijn, Netherlands
- Sep 18 Richard Huntley, American NFL running back (Atlanta Falcons), born in Monroe, North Carolina
- Sep 19 Amy Frazier, American tennis star, born in St Louis, Missouri
- Sep 19 David Tamburrino, American speed skater (Olympics 1994), born in Saratoga Springs, New York
- Sep 19 Eric van de Merwe, Dutch soccer player (Dordrecht '90), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands
- Sep 19 Fred McCrary, American NFL fullback (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Naples, Florida
- Sep 20 Jenny Morris, Maryborough Australia, field hockey fullback (Olympics 1996)
- Sep 20 Vance Joseph, American NFL cornerback and safety (NY Jets), born in Marrero, Louisiana
- Sep 21 Jon Kitna, NFL quarterback (Seattle Seahawks)
- Sep 26 Mark Haslam, New Zealand cricketer (New Zealand slow left-armer 1992), born in Bury, United Kingdom
- Sep 27 Bibian Mentel-Spee, Dutch para-snowboarding athlete (Winter Paralympics gold snowboard cross 2014, 18; banked slalom 2018; 5 x gold World C'ship), born in Utrecht, Netherlands (d. 2021)
- Sep 27 Clara Hughes, cyclist (Olympics 2 bronze-96), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Sep 27 Laurie Shepard, Cordele, GA, female pitcher (Colo Silver Bullets)
- Sep 27 Malachy Loye, cricketer (Northamptonshire & England "A" batsman)
- Sep 27 Sylvia Crawley, American basketball player
- Sep 28 Cathy Caverzasio, Swiss tennis star
- Sep 29 Jörgen Jönsson, Swedish retired ice hockey forward (Team Sweden 1998), born in Ängelholm, Sweden
- Sep 29 Oliver Gavin, British racing car driver (Corvette Racing 2002-present), born in Huntingdon, England
- Sep 30 Jamal Anderson, American NFL running back (Atlanta Falcons), born in Newark, New Jersey
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions