Events in Sport
US Masters Golf
1937 4th Augusta National Invitation Tournament (Masters) Golf: Byron Nelson wins first of his 5 major titles by 2 strokes ahead of Ralph Guldahl
Byron Nelson
- 1938 5th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Henry Picard wins his only Masters, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl
Event of Interest
1948 84-year-old Connie Mack challenges 78-year-old Clark Griffith to a race from home to 1st base; it ends in a tie
Connie Mack
Event of Interest
1974 Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record by hitting his 714th
Hank Aaron
- 1981 135th Grand National: Bob Champion aboard 10/1 hope Aldaniti wins by 4 lengths from 8/1 favourite Spartan Missile
- 1983 45th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Houston, 54-52; Wolfpack win with buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles off a desperation 30 foot shot from Dereck Whittenburg
- 1985 Tulane University cancels its basketball season amidst scandal
NHL Record
1986 Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record with 213th point of season
Wayne Gretzky
- 1987 141st Grand National: Jockey Steve Knight wins his second GN aboard 28/1 shot Maori Venture by 5 lengths from The Tsarevich
- 1988 50th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas beats Oklahoma, 83-79; Jayhawks power forward Danny Manning named tournament Most Outstanding Player
- 1988 Eddie Hill becomes the world's first driver to cover the quarter mile in under 5 seconds
Event of Interest
1989 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's last NBA game in Seattle
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 1989 NY Yankee Tommy John ties record of playing 26 seasons, his 287th win puts him 19th overall as Yanks beat Twins on opening day 4-2
- 1992 Game 1 of Mayor Challenge - NY Yankees beat NY Mets 6-4 at Yank Stad
- 1992 146th Grand National: 14/1 shot Party Politics, ridden by Welsh jockey Carl Llewellyn wins by 2½ lengths from Romany King
- 1993 12th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Texas Tech beats Ohio State, 84-82; future Hall of Fame forward Sheryl Swoopes MOP
- 1993 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Tom Shaw wins his lone career major title by 1 stroke from Mike Hill
WrestleMania
1993 WrestleMania IX, Caesar's Palace, LV, NV: Yokozuna beats Bret Hart for WWF Heavyweight title
Hulk Hogan
Event of Interest
1994 LA Dodger Darryl Strawberry begins substance abuse treatment
Darryl Strawberry
- 1997 Anaheim Ducks clinch their 1st-ever playoff berth
- 1997 Braves officially open Turner Field against Cubs
- 1998 NFL Europe (Formerly WLAF), kicks off season
- 1998 151st Grand National: Carl Llewellyn wins aboard Earth Summit; first GN winner who was also successful in both Scottish and Welsh Grand Nationals
Event of Interest
1999 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Graham Marsh of Australia wins his second Champions Tour major by 3 strokes from Larry Nelson
Larry Nelson
- 2005 67th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Illinois, 75-70; Tar Heels' 4th national championship
- 2006 25th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Maryland beats Duke, 78-75 OT; Terrapins' first national title; Laura Harper MOP
- 2009 162nd Grand National: French-bred 100/1 outsider Mon Mome, ridden by Liam Treadwell, wins by 12 lengths from defending champion Comply or Die
- 2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Yani Tseng of Taiwan wins her 2nd major title by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Suzann Pettersen of Norway
- 2011 73rd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Butler, 53-41; Huskies' point guard Kemba Walker scores 16 points
- 2016 78th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Villanova defeats North Carolina, 77-74; Wildcats guard Phil Booth, 20 points
Birthdays in Sport
- 1888 Tris Speaker, American baseball player, hit more doubles than Pete Rose, born in Hubbard, Texas (d. 1958)
- 1895 Charlie Hallows, English cricket batsman (Lancs played for England 1921-28), born in Little Lever, Lancashire (d. 1972)
- 1899 William Brann, South African cricketer (South African batsman v England 1922-23), born in Port Elizabeth, Cape Province (d. 1953)
- 1905 Tony Manero, American golfer (US Open 1936), born in NYC, NY (d. 1989)
- 1916 Mickey Owen, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Nixa, Missouri (d. 2005)
Gil Hodges
1924 Gil Hodges, American MLB 1st baseman, manager (8-time All Star), born in Princeton, Indiana (d. 1972)
Gil Hodges
- 1932 Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (economical Indian slow left-armer 1956-68), born in Nashik, Bombay, British India
- 1933 Bill France, Jr., NASCAR pioneer, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2007)
- 1935 Easton McMorris, West Indian cricketer (WI batsman of 60's), born in St Andrew, Kingston, Jamaica
- 1938 A Bartlett Giamatti, American President of Yale and baseball commissioner (1989), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1989)
- 1939 JoAnne Carner, American golfer (US Women's Open 1971, 76), born in Kirkland, Washington
- 1939 Ernie Terrell, American boxer (WBA champ 1965-7), born in Belzoni, Mississippi (d. 2014)
- 1940 Richard Attwood, British racing driver, born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire
- 1944 Lawrence A. Hough, American rower (Pairs w/o cox-1968 olympic silver), born in Janesville, Wisconsin
- 1945 Bryan Andrews, New Zealand cricketer (NZ medium-pacer, toured Australia 1973-74), born in Christchurch, New Zealand
- 1947 Ray Fosse, American baseball player and broadcaster, born in Marion, Illinois
- 1952 Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper (Olympic gold 1976), born in Lohsa, Sachsen, Germany
- 1952 Gregg Hansford, Australian motorcycle and touring car racer, born in Australia (d. 1995)
- 1956 Tom Herr, American baseball player, born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- 1957 Paul Downton, English cricketer (England wicket-keeper in 80's), born in Farnborough, London
- 1957 Kelso, American racehorse, born in Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky (d. 1983)
- 1958 Derek Kallicharran, cricket all-rounder (Guyana, USA 1994 ICC Trophy), born in Berbice, Guyana
- 1958 John Wesley Jones, American sprinter, 4X100m relayer (Olympic gold 1976), born in Lawton, Oklahoma
- 1958 Lam Jones, American athlete, NFL receiver (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1976; NY Jets), born in Lawton, Oklahoma (d. 2019)
- 1960 Bev Smith, Canadian basketball forward (Olympics 1996), born in Salmon Arm, Canada
- 1960 Jonathan Agnew, English cricket broadcaster, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire
- 1963 Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Toronto, Ontario
- 1963 Jack Del Rio, American football player, NFL linebacker (Minnesota Vikings), born in Castro Valley, California
- 1964 Paul Parker, English soccer player, born in West Ham, Essex
- 1964 Branco [Cláudio Ibrahim Vaz Leal], Brazilian footballer and coach, born in Bagé, Brazil
- 1965 Tony Burse, American football running back (Edmonton Eskimos), born in LaFayette, Georgia
- 1966 Michal Clingman, WPVA volleyballer (Nationals-9th-1994), born in Indio, California
- 1966 Myriam Schropp, German tennis star, born in Mannheim, Germany
- 1966 Stanislav Medrik, Olympic ice hockey defenseman (Team Slovakia), born in Nitra, Slovakia
- 1967 Juliana "Juli" Furtado, American cyclist (Olympics 10th 1996), born in NYC, New York
- 1968 Andre Bowden, fullback and linebacker (Frankfurt Galaxy), born in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
- 1969 Anthony Tucker, American basketball forward (NY Knicks), born in Washington, D.C.
- 1969 Carlos Reyes, American baseball pitcher (Oakland A's), born in Miami, Florida
- 1969 Dennis de Nooijer, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
- 1969 Gerard de Nooijer, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in Oost-Souburg, Netherlands
- 1970 Barry van Galen, Dutch soccer player (Roda JC), born in Haarlem, Netherlands
- 1970 Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis star, born in Narrabri, Australia
- 1971 Felipe Lira, baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers), born in Santa Teresa, Venezuela
- 1971 Jaime Fernandez, Australian rower (Olympics 1996)
- 1971 Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey center (LA Kings), born in Sherbrooke, Canada
- 1972 Chad Eaton, American football player (New England Patriots), born in Exeter, New Hampshire
- 1972 Jim Werland, Ventura California, American canoeist (alt-Olympics 1996)
- 1972 Matt Wagner, American baseball pitcher (Seattle Mariners), born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
- 1973 Peter Hoekstra, Dutch soccer player (PSV, Ajax), born in Assen, Netherlands
- 1973 Ryan Coughlin, Canadian football offensive linebacker (Montreal Alouettes), born in Renfrew, Ontario
- 1973 Tiffany Woosley, American basketball player (Houston Comets), born in Shelbyville, Tennessee
- 1973 Loris Capirossi, Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, born in Castel San Pietro Terme, Italy
- 1973 Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete (ITU World Championships), born in Sydney
- 1974 O. J. Santiago, American football tight end (Atlanta Falcons), born in Whitby, Ontario, Canada
- 1974 Dave Mirra, American BMX rider, born in Chittenango, New York (d. 2016)
- 1975 Kisha Ford, American WNBA guard and forward (NY Liberty), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- 1976 Emerson, Brazilian footballer (Brazil national team), born in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- 1976 Sébastien Enjolras, French racing driver, born in Seclin, France (d. 1997)
- 1977 Omarr Smith, American football defensive back, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1978 Jason Ellison, American baseball player, born in Quincy, California
- 1978 Alan Mahon, Irish footballer (Tranmere Rovers), born in Dublin
- 1979 Charles Butler, American figure skater, born in Salt Lake City, Utah
- 1979 Rebecca Stoyel, Australian gymnast (Olympics 1996)
- 1979 Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey goaltender, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- 1980 Björn Wirdheim, Swedish racing driver, born in Växjö, Sweden
- 1983 Fabian Geiser, Swiss footballer (Le Mont), born in Langenthal, Switzerland
- 1983 Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Vancouver, British Columbia
- 1983 Ben Gordon, British-American basketball player, born in London
- 1984 Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian-Serbian backstroke swimmer, born in Vorkuta, Russia
- 1985 Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player (Real Madrid), born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain
- 1986 Aiden McGeady, Republic of Ireland national team footballer, born in Rutherglen, Scotland
- 1986 Cameron Barker, Canadian professional ice hockey player, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 1987 Cameron Maybin, American baseball player, born in Asheville, North Carolina
- 1988 Frank Fielding, English football goalkeeper, born in Blackburn, Lancashire
Deaths in Sport
- 1938 Cyril Christiani, cricket wicket keep (WI 1935), dies of malaria at 24
- 1959 Stanley Snooke, cricketer (bro of S J, duck in South African Test), dies
- 1963 Endzion Barelli, dies 2 days after winning a boxing match at 18
- 1967 Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1898)
- 1984 John Arnold, cricketer (Eng bat v NZ 1931, scored 34 only Test), dies
- 1991 Luc de Rijck, Belgian soccer player (Turnhout), dies
- 1991 Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
- 1992 Samuel Reshevsky, Polish-American chess grandmaster, dies at 80
- 1996 Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)
- 1999 Early Wynn, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (9-time All Star), dies of a stroke at 79
- 2004 Alberic Schotte, Belgian cyclist, dies at 84
- 2008 Francis Tucker, South African Rally Driver (b. 1923)
- 2010 Alec Bedser, English cricketer (mighty post-war England medium-pacer), dies at 91
- 2013 Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league hooker, captain, coach (25 Tests; St. George), dies at 80
- 2015 Elmer Lach, Canadian professional ice hockey player, dies at 97
- 2018 Ray Wilkins, English former footballer and captain of the National Soccer Team, dies at 61
April in History
Flash! Bang! It's the Human Cannonball!
An excited crowd looked up in astonishment and wonder when, in 1877, the first human cannonball flew above their heads.
April 2, 1877The Computer That Came By Truck
It didn't have the sleek lines that Steve Jobs would admire and it needed to be carried on a truck, but the computer age had finally arrived in rural England.
April 3, 1957Lionheart Richard, The Stranger King
Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood’s king is considered one of the great English monarchs. Yet he cost his country a fortune and barely lived there.
April 6, 1199The Man Who Sold His Wife
Most modern readers believe Thomas Hardy was plunging into deep fiction when he wrote about a man selling his wife in, The Mayor of Casterbridge. He wasn't.
April 7, 1832
