Events in Sport
- Jan 1 85th Rose Bowl: #9 Wisconsin beats #6 UCLA, 38-31
- Jan 1 65th Sugar Bowl: #3 Ohio State beats #8 Texas A&M, 24-14
- Jan 2 65th Orange Bowl: #7 Florida beats #18 Syracuse, 31-10
- Jan 4 1st BCS National Championship: #1 Tennessee beats #2 Florida State, 23-16, at 28th Fiesta Bowl
- Jan 6 An agreement is reached by the NBA and the players union to end a 204-day lockout which shortened the season by 50 games
Event of Interest
Jan 11 Marty Schottenheimer resigns as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs
Marty Schottenheimer
Event of Interest
Jan 13 Basketball player Michael Jordan announces his retirement only to return in 2001
Michael Jordan
- Jan 17 "The Miss", NFC Championship Game; Minnesota Viking Gary Anderson misses field goal fourth quarter allowing Atlanta Falcons to tie and eventually win in overtime, despite becoming 1st kicker to finish the regular season without missing
Event of Interest
Jan 17 AFC Championship Game: Denver Broncos beat New York Jets 23-10
John Elway
- Jan 17 NFC Championship Game: Atlanta Falcons beat Minnesota Vikings 30-27 (OT)
- Jan 24 David Duval eagles the 18th hole for a final round 59 to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at PGA West to become only the 3rd player to fire a sub-60 round on the PGA Tour
- Jan 24 49th NHL All-Star Game: North America beats World 8-6 at Tampa, Florida
- Jan 25 After an inquiry into a corruption scandal, 6 International Olympic Committee members are expelled
- Jan 31 Super Bowl XXXIII: Denver Broncos beats Atlanta Falcons 34-19 at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, John Elway MVP
- Jan 31 87th Men's Australian Open: Yevgeny Kafelnikov beats Thomas Enqvist (4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 7-6)
Tennis Open
Jan 31 87th Women's Australian Open: Martina Hingis beats Amelie Mauresmo (6-2, 6-3)
Martina Hingis
Sports Awards
Feb 15 7th ESPY Awards: Mark McGwire, Chamique Holdsclaw win
Mark McGwire
Event of Interest
Feb 16 O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy is sold for $230,000 to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgement against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend
O.J. Simpson
- Mar 6 20th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Connecticut beats St. John's, 82-63
- Mar 7 46th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #1 Duke beats #15 North Carolina, 96-73
- Mar 7 40th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Arkansas, 76-63
- Mar 28 18th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Purdue beats Duke 62-45
- Mar 29 61st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Duke 77-74
- Apr 10 152nd Grand National: Paul Carberry aboard Bobbyjo wins
- Apr 11 63rd Masters Golf Tournament: José María Olazábal wins, shooting a 280
- Apr 17 NFL Draft: University of Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch first pick by Cleveland Browns
Event of Interest
Apr 18 Wayne Gretzky plays his last game in the NHL, as his New York Rangers lose 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins
Wayne Gretzky
- Apr 19 103rd Boston Marathon: Joseph Chebet of Kenya 1st man in 2:09:52 and Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia 1st woman in 2:23:25
- May 1 125th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley wins aboard Charismatic for his second Derby victory (1991 on Strike The Gold)
- May 2 John Elway announces his retirement from the NFL
- May 3 Stephen Hendry defeats Mark Williams 18-11 to win the World Snooker Championship for a record seventh time.
- May 15 124th Preakness: Chris Antley wins aboard Charismatic for the second leg of an unsuccessful Triple Crown campaign
- May 19 Lazio of Italy win 39th European Cup Winner's Cup against Mallorca of Spain 2-1 in Birmingham
- May 26 7th UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester United beats Bayern Munich 2-1 at Barcelona
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Kenny Bräck wins in 3:15:51.182 (246.513 km/h)
- May 31 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
- Jun 4 NHL Western Conference Final: Dallas Stars beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 3
- Jun 5 131st Belmont: Jose Santos aboard Lemon Drop Kid wins in 2:27.88
Tennis Open
Jun 6 98th Men's French Open: Andre Agassi beats Andrei Medvedev (1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4)
Andre Agassi
Tennis Open
Jun 6 98th Women's French Open: Steffi Graf beats Martina Hingis (4-6, 7-5, 6-2)
Steffi Graf
Martina Hingis
Event of Interest
Jun 19 Stanley Cup: Dallas Stars defeat Buffalo Sabres 4-2, Brett Hull clinches series with controversial "No Goal"
Brett Hull
- Jun 20 US Open Golf, Pinehurst CC: Payne Stewart wins his 2nd Open by 1 shot from Phil Mickelson
- Jun 25 53rd NBA Championship: San Antonio Spurs beat New York Knicks, 4 games to 1
- Jun 27 45th LPGA Championship won by Juli Inkster
- Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Lindsay Davenport beats Steffi Graf 6-4, 7-5 for her only Wimbledon singles title
Tennis Open
Jul 4 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras beats Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 for his third straight Wimbledon title
Pete Sampras
Andre Agassi
- Jul 4 South Korean defending champion Se-ri Pak wins the most crowded playoff in LPGA history (6) in the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic
- Jul 10 FIFA Women's World Cup Final: 0-0 a.e.t. but US wins 2nd WC, 5-4 on penalties over China at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- Jul 11 20th U.S. Senior Golf Open: Dave Eichelberger
- Jul 13 70th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 4-1 at Fenway Park, Boston
- Jul 15 The inaugural game at the Seattle Mariners' Safeco Field held in Seattle, Washington
- Jul 18 128th British Golf Open: at Carnoustie; Scot Paul Lawrie wins after play off
- Jul 18 New York Yankees' David Cone becomes 15th pitcher to throw a perfect game (6-0 vs Montreal)
Event of Interest
Jul 25 86th Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins 1st of 7 consecutive Tour de France titles but is later disqualified for drug cheating
Lance Armstrong
Event of Interest
Aug 1 Canadian Open Golf (du Maurier Classic), Priddis Greens GC: Australian Karrie Webb wins by 2 from Laura Davies of England
Laura Davies
- Aug 3 Arsenal FC completes a huge signing coup snapping up ace French striker Thierry Henry for a bargain £10 million from Italian club Juventus.
- Aug 5 St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire becomes only the 16th MLB player to reach the 500 home run milestone as the Cardinals lose 10-2 v San Diego at Busch Stadium
- Aug 6 Tony Gwynn goes 4 for 5 and collects his 3,000th MLB hit as San Diego beats Expos, 12-10 at Montreal Olympic Stadium
- Aug 7 Tampa Bay 3rd baseman Wade Boggs becomes the first MLB player to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit in Devil Rays' 15-10 loss v Cleveland
Golf Major
Aug 15 PGA Championship, Medinah CC: Tiger Woods wins by 1 stroke from Spaniard Sergio Garcia
Tiger Woods
- Aug 20 7th Athletics World Championships open at Seville, Spain
Event of Interest
Aug 31 Dino Ciccarelli retires from the NHL
Dino Ciccarelli
Event of Interest
Sep 1 Ex-Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux is approved as new owner of the struggling franchise; Penguins become first club in pro sports history to be owned by a former member of the team
Mario Lemieux
Tennis Open
Sep 11 US Open Women's Tennis: Serena Williams wins her first Grand Slam title; beats World No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6
Serena Williams
Martina Hingis
- Sep 12 US Open Men's Tennis: Andre Agassi wins 2nd and final US title; beats fellow American Todd Martin 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2
- Sep 13 John Elway's #7 jersey is retired by the Denver Broncos
- Sep 26 33rd Ryder Cup: US wins 14.5-13.5 at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, US
Event of Interest
Oct 12 Pat LaFontaine formally retires from the NHL due to lingering concussion problems
Pat LaFontaine
Event of Interest
Oct 22 NHL goaltender Grant Fuhr wins his 400th career game (vs Florida Panthers)
Grant Fuhr
- Oct 27 MLB World Series: New York Yankees defeat Atlanta Braves to win 4-0
- Oct 31 Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
- Oct 31 50th Formula One WDC: Mika Hakkinen wins by two points
- Nov 6 4th Rugby World Cup: Australia beats France 35-12 in Cardiff
- Nov 20 64th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 28-17 in Auburn
- Nov 20 11th College Football Holy War: Boston College beats Notre Dame 31-29 in South Bend
- Nov 21 51st NASCAR Sprint Cup: Dale Jarrett wins
Event of Interest
Nov 26 Steve Yzerman scores his 600th career goal
Steve Yzerman
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
May 21 NFL legend Deion Sanders (31) weds model Pilar Biggers in Paradise Island, Bahamas
Deion Sanders
Wedding of Interest
Jul 4 Los Angeles Galaxy soccer star player David Beckham (24) weds Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham (25) at the 560-acre Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, Ireland
Victoria Beckham
Wedding of Interest
Jul 17 Cricketer Glenn McGrath (29) weds flight attendant Jane Louise Steele
Glenn McGrath
Wedding of Interest
Jul 18 Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson (56) weds longtime girlfriend Rhonda Rookmaaker (45) in the Florida Keys
Jimmy Johnson
Wedding of Interest
Jul 31 NHL player Phil Esposito (57) weds Bridget Leigh
Phil Esposito
- Sep 26 Actress-singer and former beauty queen Vanessa L Williams (36) weds Los Angeles Lakers' basketball player Rick Fox (30) at Church of the Holy Trinity in New York
Deaths in Sport
- Jan 12 Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1961)
- Jan 19 Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
- Jan 31 Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- Feb 21 Wilmer David Mizell, baseball player (b. 1930)
- Feb 22 Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (b. 1964)
- Feb 28 William Talbert, American tennis doubles champ (US 1942, 45, 46, 48), dies at 80
- Mar 6 Dennis Viollet, English former soccer player (Manchester United), dies at 65
Joe DiMaggio
Mar 8 Joe DiMaggio, American Baseball Hall of Fame center fielder (MLB record 56-game hitting streak), dies of lung cancer at 84
Joe DiMaggio
- Mar 24 Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
- Mar 25 Cal Ripken Sr, American MLB manager (Baltimore Orioles), dies of lung cancer at 63
- Apr 4 Early Wynn, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (9-time All Star), dies of a stroke at 79
- Apr 13 Ortvin Sarapu, New Zealand chess player (b. 1924)
- Apr 25 Lord Killanin, Irish 6th International Olympic Committee President (1972-80), dies at 84
- Apr 28 Alf Ramsey, English football manager (b. 1920)
- May 3 Joe Adcock, American baseball player (b. 1927)
- May 3 Steve Chiasson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1967)
- May 13 Gene Sarazen, American golfer (7 major titles), dies of pneumonia at 97
- May 18 Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
- Jun 6 Eddie Stanky, American baseball 2nd baseman (Dodgers), dies at 83
- Jun 14 Bernie Faloney, professional football player (b. 1932)
- Jul 1 Jack Moroney, Australian cricketer, dies at 81
- Aug 4 Liselott Linsenhoff, German equestrian rider (Olympic gold 1968, 72), dies at 71
- Aug 14 Pee Wee [Harold] Reese, American baseball player (Dodgers), dies at 81
- Aug 29 Jaime Fields, NFL/WLAF linebacker (KC Chiefs, Scotland Claymores), dies at 29
- Sep 6 René Lecavalier, French Canadian sportscaster (b. 1918)
- Sep 9 Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (b. 1946)
- Sep 11 Gonzalo Rodriguez, Uruguayan auto racing driver (b. 1972)
- Sep 20 Robert Lebel, French Canadian ice hockey executive, dies at 93
- Oct 8 John McLendon, American basketball coach (b. 1915)
Wilt Chamberlain
Oct 12 Wilt Chamberlain, American College & Basketball Hall of Fame center (13-time All Star), dies of congestive heart failure at 63
Wilt Chamberlain
Payne Stewart
Oct 25 Payne Stewart, American golfer (US Open 1991, 99; PGA 1989), dies in a plane crash at 42
Payne Stewart
- Oct 31 Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (b. 1975)
Walter Payton
Nov 1 Walter Payton, American Football Hall of Fame Running Back, dies at 45
Walter Payton