Events in Sport
- Apr 1 58th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Syracuse, 76-67; Wildcats' 6th national championship
- Apr 1 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Boston MA on WBCN 104.1 FM (morn)
- Apr 1 Veteran American MLB umpire John McSheery dies of heart attack while umpiring on Opening Day at the Cincinnati Reds' Riverfront Stadium; he was 51
- Apr 2 Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder steals 1st base in 1,097th career game, a 10-6 win at Minnesota Twins; longest duration in MLB history without a stolen base
Event of Interest
Apr 2 Sri Lankan cricket batsman Sanath Jayasuriya hits century in 48 balls (134 off 65), in 34 run win over Pakistan in Singapore; world ODI record
Sanath Jayasuriya
- Apr 2 Vancouver Grizzlies beat Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-103 at General Motors Place Arena to end their NBA single-season record 23-game consecutive loss streak
- Apr 3 South Australia grab exciting draw vs W A to win Sheffield Shield
- Apr 3 St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record 71-1
- Apr 6 American baseball player Albert Belle shows off his arm by hitting Sports Illustrated photographer Tony Tomsic in the hand prior to a game
Golf Tournament
Apr 7 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Defending champion Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th event title by 3 strokes from Hale Irwin
Jack Nicklaus
- Apr 7 Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya hits fastest ODI fifty off 17 balls v Pakistan, Singapore
- Apr 11 Detroit Red Wings become 2nd NHL team to win 60 games in a season
- Apr 13 En route to NHL record 62 victories Detroit Red Wings win #61
- Apr 13 Ottawa Senators eliminate Stanley Cup Champs NJ Devils from playoff
US Masters Golf
Apr 14 60th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Englishman Nick Faldo wins his 3rd Masters and 6th and final major title, 5 strokes ahead of Greg Norman of Australia
Nick Faldo
Greg Norman
- Apr 14 Detroit Red Wings win NHL record 62 games
- Apr 15 100th Boston Marathon: Moses Tanui of Kenya takes centenary men's title in 2:09:15.9; 3-peat for Uta Pippig of Germany in women's race in 2:27:12
- Apr 19 Rangers scores 16 in 8th vs Orioles
- Apr 20 Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
- Apr 20 1996 NFL Draft: Keyshawn Johnson from USC first pick by New York Jets
- Apr 21 PGA Seniors' Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Hale Irwin beats Japan’s Isao Aoki by 2 strokes for his first of 4 Senior PGA Championships
- Apr 21 Chicago Bulls win NBA record 72 games (72-8)
- Apr 24 Highest scoring baseball game in 17 years - Twins 24, Tigers 11
Birthdays in Sport
Weddings in Sport
- Apr 27 Romanian gymnast and 5-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comăneci (35) weds American gymnast Bart Conner (38) in Bucharest, Romania
Deaths in Sport
- Apr 1 John McSheery, American baseball umpire (World Series 1977, 87; MLB All Star Game 1975, 82, 91), dies from cardiac arrest while umpiring on Opening Day at 51
- Apr 4 Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)
- Apr 18 Hubert Opperman, Australian road cyclist, politician (multi-distance world records), dies of heart failure at 91
- Apr 19 Norman Oldfield, English cricketer (scored 99 runs in Test for England), dies at 84
- Apr 21 A H Kardar, cricketer (3 Tests for India & 23 for Pak 1946-58), dies
- Apr 21 Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, sportscaster, LV bookmaker (The NFL Today; fired for racist remarks), dies of a heart attack at 77
- Apr 22 Harold "Jug" McSpaden, American golfer, course designer (17 PGA Tour wins), dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at 87