Events in Sport
- Jan 1 91st Rose Bowl: #6 Texas beats #13 Michigan, 38-37
- Jan 1 34th Fiesta Bowl: #5 Utah beats #19 Pittsburgh, 35-7
- Jan 3 71st Sugar Bowl: #3 Auburn beats #8 Virginia Tech, 16-13
- Jan 4 7th BCS National Championship: #1 Southern California beats #2 Oklahoma, 55-19, at 71st Orange Bowl (USC would later vacate Championship)
- Jan 23 AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots beat Pittsburgh Steelers 41-27
- Jan 23 NFC Championship Game: Philadelphia Eagles beat Atlanta Falcons 27-10
- Jan 30 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Marat Safin of Russia wins his second and final Grand Slam title; beats Lleyton Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Tennis Open
Jan 30 93rd Women's Australian Open: Serena Williams beats Lindsay Davenport (2-6, 6-3, 6-0)
Serena Williams
- Feb 6 Super Bowl XXXIX, the New England Patriots win 24-21 over the Philadelphia Eagles
- Feb 7 Britain's Ellen MacArthur becomes the fastest person to sail solo around the world taking 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds
- Feb 13 NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 38-27
- Feb 16 2004-05 NHL season is canceled by league commissioner Gary Bettman. This was the first time that a North American professional sports league had to cancel a season due to a labor dispute
- Feb 20 54th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 125-115 at Denver
- Feb 20 47th Daytona 500: Jeff Gordon wins (135.173 MPH)
- Mar 12 26th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse beats West Virginia, 68-59
- Mar 13 52nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #3 Duke beats Georgia Tech, 69-64
- Mar 13 46th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Florida beats Kentucky, 70-53
- Apr 2 James Stewart Jr. becomes first African American to win a major motor sports event.
- Apr 4 67th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Illinois 75-70
- Apr 5 24th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Michigan State 84-62
- Apr 9 158th Grand National: Ruby Walsh aboard Hedgehunter wins
Golf Major
Apr 10 69th Masters Golf Tournament: Tiger Woods wins, shooting a 276
Tiger Woods
- Apr 10 Cricket Women's World Cup: Australia defeats India by 98 runs
- Apr 18 109th Boston Marathon: Hailu Negussie of Ethiopia 1st man in 2:11:44 and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya 1st woman in 2:25:12
- Apr 23 NFL Draft: University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith first pick by San Francisco 49ers
- May 7 131st Kentucky Derby: Mike Smith aboard Giacomo wins in 2:02.75
- May 21 130th Preakness: Jeremy Rose aboard Afleet Alex wins in 1:55.04
- May 25 13th UEFA Champions League Final: Liverpool beats Milan (3-3, 3-2 on penalties)
- May 28 Crusaders claim their 5th Super 10 Rugby title with a 35-25 win over the NSW Waratahs at Jade Stadium, Christchurch; Dan Carter lands 3 conversions & 2 penalties for the winners
- May 29 Indianapolis 500: Dan Wheldon wins in 3:10:21.0769 (253.637 km/h)
Tennis Open
Jun 5 104th Men's French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Mariano Puerta (6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5)
Rafael Nadal
Tennis Open
Jun 5 104th Women's French Open: Justine Henin-Hardenne beats Mary Pierce (6-1, 6-1)
Mary Pierce
Event of Interest
Jun 19 Michael Schumacher wins controversial United States Formula 1 Grand Prix where only 6 of 20 cars complete the race amongst ridicule of F1 safety and tyre rules
Michael Schumacher
- Jun 19 105th US Golf Open: Michael Campbell shoots a 280 at Pinehurst GR NC
Event of Interest
Jun 23 San Antonio Spurs beat Detroit Pistons 4-3 in NBA finals MVP: Tim Duncan (his third), San Antonio
Tim Duncan
Tennis Open
Jul 2 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Venus Williams beats fellow American Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6, 9-7 for the 3rd of her 5 Wimbledon singles titles
Venus Williams
Tennis Open
Jul 3 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Roger Federer makes it 3 straight Wimbledon titles beating American Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6, 6-4
Roger Federer
Andy Roddick
- Jul 12 76th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 7-5 at Comerica Park, Detroit
Event of Interest
Jul 15 After declining an offer to remain with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Mike Babcock is named head coach of the Detroit Red Wings
Mike Babcock
- Jul 17 British Open Golf, St. Andrews: Tiger Woods wins his 10th major title wire-to-wire by 5 shots from Scotsman Colin Montgomerie
- Jul 17 Canadian Open Women's Golf, Glen Arbour GC: South Korean Meena Lee wins by 1 from Australian Katherine Hull
Event of Interest
Jul 24 92nd Tour de France: no winner; Lance Armstrong retires after winning a record seventh consecutive victory but disqualified in 2012 for doping
Lance Armstrong
Event of Interest
Jul 24 British Open Seniors Golf, Royal Aberdeen: Tom Watson wins his second Open Seniors title in a playoff with Ireland's Des Smyth
Tom Watson
- Aug 4 American Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day (52) announces his retirement from the saddle; $298m in career purses
- Aug 5 St. Louis Cardinals 1st baseman Albert Pujols becomes the first player to connect for 30 home runs in each of his first 5 MLB seasons
- Aug 5 NBA announces Las Vegas will host the 2007 All Star game; first time event will be held in a city without an NBA team
- Aug 6 10th Athletics World Championships open at Helsinki, Finland
- Aug 7 American sprinter Justin Gatlin blitzes field to win 100m in 9.88 at the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland
- Aug 7 In one of cricket history's closest Tests, and despite a brave unbeaten 43 from Australian tail-ender Brett Lee, England sneaks a 2-run win in series turning 2nd Test at Edgbaston
- Aug 11 American Justin Gatlin becomes only the 2nd athlete to take sprint double, winning 200m in 20.04 at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland
Golf Major
Aug 15 PGA Championship, Baltusrol GC: American Phil Mickelson wins by 1 stroke from Australian Steve Elkington and Thomas Bjørn of Denmark
Phil Mickelson
Steve Elkington
- Sep 4 20 year old Kyle Busch becomes youngest driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he out duels Greg Biffle in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway
- Sep 10 125th US Open Women's Tennis: Belgian Kim Clijsters wins her first of 4 Grand Slam titles; beats Mary Pierce 6-3, 6-1
- Sep 11 US Open Men's Tennis: Roger Federer retains title; beats Andre Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1
Event of Interest
Sep 11 Solheim Cup Women's Golf, Crooked Stick GC: US regains Cup 15½–12½; Meg Mallon clinches with 3 & 1 victory over Karen Stupples
Meg Mallon
Event of Interest
Sep 12 Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL
Mark Messier
- Sep 18 Federation Cup Women's Tennis, Paris, France: Russian pair Elena Dementieva & Dinara Safina win deciding doubles rubber 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 over Amélie Mauresmo & Mary Pierce of France; clinches Russia's 2nd consecutive title, 3-2
- Sep 25 Spanish Renault driver Fernando Alonso takes 3rd place in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to clinch his first World Formula 1 Drivers Championship
- Sep 27 Atlanta Braves clinch their 14th straight division title thanks to Philadelphia's loss to the New York Mets
- Sep 29 Chicago White Sox clinch their first division title since 2000 and become just the 10th team in the history of baseball to be in first place on every day of the season
- Oct 2 NFL plays first regular season game outside United States when the Arizona Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-14 in Mexico City, Mexico
- Oct 5 NHL opens regular season after 10-month lockout of entire 2004-05 season; Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson & Dany Heatley first players to score winning goals in a shoot out in NHL history; both score v Toronto goalie Ed Belfour in 3-2 OT victory
Event of Interest
Oct 5 NHL great Wayne Gretzky makes his coaching debut for the Phoenix Coyotes in 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena
Wayne Gretzky
- Oct 8 NHL great Wayne Gretzky gets his first win as a coach as the Phoenix Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 at Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix
- Oct 16 Renault driver Fernando Alonso wins season-ending Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai International Circuit; first Spanish World Formula 1 Drivers champion; wins by 21 points from Kimi Räikkönen
- Oct 16 MLB American League Championship: Chicago White Sox beat Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 4 games to 1
- Oct 19 MLB National League Championship: Houston Astros beat St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 2
- Oct 25 Then longest Baseball World Series game in time (5 hours, 41 mins) and tied longest in innings (14, tied with Game 2, 1916 WS and Game 1, 2015 WS); Cubs beat Astros, 7-5 in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park, Houston
- Oct 26 Chicago beats Houston, 1-0 in Game 4 at Minute Maid Park to sweep Astros and win White Sox first Baseball World Series in 88 years; Chicago outfielder Jermaine Dye MVP
- Oct 29 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Belmont Park; winners: Saint Liam, Stevie Wonderboy, Pleasant Home, Shirocco, Intercontinental, Folklore, Artie Schiller, Silver Train
- Nov 13 French tennis star Amélie Mauresmo beats countrywoman Mary Pierce 5–7, 7–6, 6–4 for the season ending WTA Tour Championship at the Staples Center, Los Angeles
- Nov 19 70th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 28-18 in Auburn
- Nov 20 57th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Tony Stewart wins
- Nov 27 93rd CFL Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos defeats Montreal Alouettes, 38-35
Event of Interest
Nov 30 The Boston Bruins trade captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks
Joe Thornton
- Dec 3 14th SEC Championship Game: #13 Georgia beats #3 LSU, 34-14
- Dec 3 1st ACC Championship Game: #22 Florida State beats #5 Virginia Tech, 27-22
- Dec 3 10th Big 12 Championship Game: #2 Texas beats Colorado, 70-3
- Dec 4 94th Davis Cup: Croatia beats Slovak Republic in Bratislava (3-2)
- Dec 10 71st Heisman Trophy Award: Reggie Bush, USC (RB) (Bush would later forfeit the trophy)
Birthdays in Sport
- Aug 10 Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Indian chess prodigy, born in Chennai, India
Weddings in Sport
Wedding of Interest
Jan 26 Professional golfer Arnold Palmer (75) weds Kathleen Gawthrop in an intimate ceremony at a cottage on the beach at Turtle Bay Resort
Arnold Palmer
- Jan 29 "New York Mets" catcher Mike Piazza (36) weds former "Baywatch" actress Alicia Rickter (32) at St. Jude Catholic Church in Miami, Florida
Wedding of Interest
Feb 14 Retired baseball player Keith Hernandez (51) weds Kai Thompson in Miami Beach, Florida
Keith Hernandez
Wedding of Interest
Jun 11 NBA player Steve Nash (31) weds Alejandra Amarilla
Steve Nash
- Jun 18 "Queens Park Rangers" football striker Djibril Cisse (23) weds Jude Littler at Bodelwyddan Castle in Denbighshire, North Wales
- Jun 22 "21 Jump Street" actress Holly Robinson Peete (40) weds former pro quarterback Rodney Peete (39) in an outdoor ceremony held at the Wynn Las Vegas resort
- Jun 24 "Real Madrid" football striker Michael Owen (25) weds Louise Bonsall at Carden Park Hotel in Chester, England
Wedding of Interest
Jul 15 Heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis (39) weds former Miss Jamaica runner-up Violet Chang at William Knibb Memorial Baptist Church in Falmouth, Jamaica
Lennox Lewis
- Jul 21 Tennis star player Lleyton Hewitt (24) weds "Home and Away" TV actress Bec Cartwright (22) at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia
- Aug 23 Olympic gold medalist swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband (27) weds fellow Olympic swimmer Minouche Smit at Henkenshage Castle in Sint-Oedenrode, North Brabant, The Netherlands
- Oct 27 Grand Prix motorcycle road racer Fonsi Nieto (27) weds model Ariadne Artiles at Iglesia de San Miguel in Ibiza
- Nov 5 2004 Indianapolis 500 racecar driver winner Buddy Rice (29) weds Michelle Noonan in Arizona
- Nov 11 Millionaire Nasir Khan weds "Footballers' Wives" actress Laila Rouass (34) in London
- Nov 19 Indianapolis 500 racer Danica Patrick (23) weds physical therapist Paul Hospenthal in Scottsdale, Arizona
- Dec 3 NBC correspondent Hoda Kotb (41) weds New Orleans tennis coach Burzis Kanga in the Dominican Republic
- Dec 3 French heiress Athina Onassis (20) weds Olympic gold medalist equestrian Alvaro de Miranda Neto (32) in Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Dec 4 2004 Olympic volleyball team member Kerri Walsh (27) weds fellow volleyball player Casey Jennings (30) at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California
- Dec 10 Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated model Isabeli Fontana (22) weds actor-model Henri Castelli (27) at Fort Are Joao in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
- Dec 10 Rugby Star Clyde Rathbone (24) weds Carrie-Ann Leeson in South Africa
- Dec 17 Race car driver Gary Paffett (24) weds his lady love Lisa in England
- Dec 22 "Ospreys" Rugby star Shane Williams (28) weds Gail Lacey at Twyn Church in Garnant, West Wales
- Dec 23 Soccer star player Kaka (23) weds Brazilian singer Caroline Celico (18) at Igreja Renascer em Cristo in Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Dec 29 "One Life To Live" actress Bree Williamson (26) weds surfer Josh Evans near the Flor Blanca Resort in Mal Pais, Costa Rica
- Dec 31 Olympic gold medal skater Jamie Sale (28) weds her pair figure skater David Pelletier (31) at Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Canada
Deaths in Sport
- Jan 4 Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1924)
- Jan 4 Robert Christiani, West Indian cricketer (brother of Cyril WI batsman in 22 Tests), dies at 84
- Jan 10 Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish cross country skier (b. 1932)
- Jan 10 Jack Horner, American sports journalist (b. 1912)
- Jan 10 Tommy Fine, American baseball player, dies at 90
- Jan 11 Fabrizio Meoni, Italian motorcyclist (b. 1957)
- Jan 22 César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1943)
- Jan 24 Chalkie White, English rugby union coach (b. 1929)
- Jan 25 Nettie Witziers-Timmer, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
- Feb 2 Max Schmeling, German boxer (world heavyweight champion 1930-32), dies at 99
- Feb 7 Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1934)
- Feb 12 Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (b. 1964)
- Feb 13 Nelson Briles, baseball player (b. 1943)
- Feb 13 Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (b. 1917)
- Feb 14 Najai Turpin, American boxer
- Feb 17 Omar Sivori, Argentine footballer (b. 1935)
- Feb 26 Ian Colquhoun, New Zealand cricket wicket keeper (NZ vs England 1954-55), dies at 80
- Mar 2 Rick Mahler, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- Mar 6 Danny Gardella, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- Mar 9 István Nyers, Hungarian footballer (b. 1924)
- Mar 16 Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958)
- Mar 16 Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937)
- Mar 26 Marius Russo, American baseball player (New York Yankees), dies at 90
- Mar 27 Bob Casey, American baseball announcer (b. 1925)
- Mar 30 Milton Green, American athlete (b. 1913)
- Apr 1 Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- Apr 3 Jef Eygel, Belgian basketball player (b. 1933)
- Apr 6 Geoff Millman, English cricketer (England wicket-keeper in 6 Tests 1961-62), dies at 70
- Apr 7 Bob Kennedy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- Apr 7 Cliff Allison, British racing driver (b. 1932)
- Apr 8 Eddie Miksis, American baseball player, dies at 78
- Apr 10 Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)
- Apr 11 Lucien Laurent, French footballer (b. 1907)
- Apr 13 Don Blasingame, American baseball player (b. 1932)
- Apr 18 Sam Mills, American football player (b. 1959)
- Apr 20 Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (b. 1943)
- Apr 21 Gerry Marshall, British racing driver (b. 1941)
- Apr 23 Earl Wilson, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- Apr 28 Chris Candido, American wrestler (b. 1972)
- May 7 Tristan Egolf, American writer (b. 1971)
- May 7 Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
- May 8 Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentine racing driver (b. 1981)
- May 26 Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1928)
- May 30 Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistani medium-pace workhorse 1952-62), dies at 78
George Mikan
Jun 1 George Mikan, American basketball player, dies at 80
George Mikan
- Jun 2 Gunder Gundersen, Norwegian Nordic combined skier and sports official (b. 1930)
- Jun 12 Scott Young, Canadian sportswriter, novelist, and journalist (b. 1918)
- Jun 18 Syed Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
- Jul 1 Gus Bodnar, Canadian NHL center (NHL record 3 assists in 21 seconds 1952), dies at 82
- Jul 4 Hank Stram, American Pro Football Hall of Fame coach (KC Chiefs Super Bowl 1970), dies of diabetes complications at 82
- Jul 9 Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater (b. 1931)
- Jul 9 Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
- Jul 11 Jesús Iglesias, Argentine professional racing driver (b. 1922)
- Jul 18 Bill Hicke, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- Jul 26 Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
- Jul 30 Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (b. 1905)
- Aug 5 Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast (b. 1936)
- Aug 5 Jim O'Hora, American football coach (b. 1915)
- Aug 8 Gene Mauch, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- Aug 14 Coo Coo Marlin, American NASCAR race car driver, dies at 73
- Aug 18 Christopher Bauman, American wrestler (b. 1982)
- Aug 20 Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)
- Aug 21 David Ironside, South African cricketer (South African swing bowler in 3 Tests v NZ 1953-54), dies at 80
- Aug 27 Seán Purcell, Gaelic footballer (b. 1929)
- Sep 8 Noel Cantwell, Irish cricketer and footballer (b. 1932)
- Sep 11 Chris Schenkel, American sportscaster (Monday Night Fights), dies at 82
- Sep 13 Toni Fritsch, Austrian football and American football player (b. 1945)
- Sep 18 Michael Park, British Rally co-driver (b. 1966)
- Sep 25 George Archer, American golfer (b. 1939)
- Oct 15 Jason Collier, American basketball player (b. 1977)
- Oct 18 Bill King, American sports broadcaster (b. 1927)
- Oct 18 Johnny Haynes, English footballer (b. 1934)
- Oct 28 Bob Broeg, American sports writer (b. 1918)
- Oct 28 Tony Jackson, American basketball player (b. 1942)
- Oct 30 Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (b. 1908)
- Nov 2 Ferruccio Valcareggi, Italian football player and coach.
- Nov 16 Robert Tisch, American football team owner (b. 1926)
- Nov 22 Bruce Hobbs, American jockey (b. 1920)
- Nov 23 Frank Gatski, American football player (b. 1919)
- Nov 25 George Best, Northern Irish footballer (Manchester United, Northern Ireland), dies at age 59 after suffering multiple organ failures
- Nov 29 David di Tommaso, French footballer (b. 1979)
- Dec 3 Herb Moford, American baseball player (b. 1928)
- Dec 6 Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist (b. 1932)
- Dec 7 Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
- Dec 15 Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (b. 1915)
- Dec 15 Darrell Russell, American football player (b. 1976)
- Dec 21 Elrod Hendricks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
- Dec 23 Norman D. Vaughan, American polar explorer and dogsled driver (b. 1905)
- Dec 23 Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1914)