Events in History Relating to Sports
May 1, 1751
The first cricket match is played in America.
June 2, 1780
The Derby horse race is held for the first time.
June 10, 1829
The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place.
June 14, 1839
Henley Royal Regatta: the village of Henley, on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, stages its first Regatta.
September 23, 1845
The Knickerbockers Baseball Club, the first baseball team to play under the modern rules, is founded in New York.
June 19, 1846
The first baseball game under recognizable modern rules is played in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States.
October 24, 1857
Sheffield F.C., the world's first football club, is founded in Sheffield, England.
May 17, 1860
German football club TSV 1860 München is founded
December 26, 1860
The first ever inter-club football match takes place between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at the Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England.
November 9, 1861
The first documented football match in Canada is played at University College, University of Toronto.
November 6, 1869
In New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers College defeats Princeton University (then known as the College of New Jersey), 6-4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game.
May 14, 1870
The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
March 27, 1871
The first international rugby football match, England v. Scotland, is played in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
May 4, 1871
The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
March 16, 1872
The Wanderers F.C. wins the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
November 30, 1872
The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
October 19, 1873
Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules.
March 3, 1875
The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette.
October 22, 1878
The first rugby match under floodlights takes place in Salford, between Broughton and Swinton.
March 12, 1881
Andrew Watson makes his Scotland debut as the world's first black international football player and captain.
February 7, 1882
The last heavyweight boxing championship bare-knuckle fight takes place in Mississippi City, Mississippi.
November 1, 1884
The Gaelic Athletic Association is set up in Hayes's Hotel in Thurles, County Tipperary.
July 20, 1885
The Football Association legalises professionalism in football under pressure from the British Football Association.
January 18, 1886
Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
February 26, 1887
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings.
September 6, 1888
Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season – a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).
January 5, 1889
Preston North End is declared winner of the original football league.
November 29, 1890
At West Point, New York, the United States Naval Academy defeats the United States Military Academy 24-0 in the first Army–Navy football game.
March 3, 1891
The Penalty Kick rule in Association Football is conceived, but does not come into effect until the next season.
September 28, 1891
Club Atletico Peñarol is founded under the name of Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club
December 15, 1891
James Naismith introduces the first version of basketball, with thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of his school's gymnasium, and two teams of nine players.
January 20, 1892
At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played.
November 12, 1892
William "Pudge" Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.
March 18, 1893
Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams.
April 8, 1893
The first recorded college basketball game occurs in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.
September 7, 1893
The Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club, to become the first Italian football club, is established by British expats.
June 23, 1894
The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
July 22, 1894
First ever motorized racing event is held in France between the cities of Paris and Rouen. The race is won by Jules de Dion.
February 9, 1895
William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
October 4, 1895
The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
October 5, 1895
The first individual time trial for racing cyclists is held on a 50-mile course north of London.
November 2, 1895
The first gasoline-powered race in the United States. First prize: $2,000
May 8, 1898
The first games of the Italian football league system are played.
November 2, 1898
Cheerleading is started at the University of Minnesota with Johnny Campbell leading the crowd in cheering on the football team.
February 16, 1899
Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur Iceland's first football club is founded.
September 13, 1899
Mackinder, Ollier and Brocherel make the first ascent of Batian (5,199m – 17,058 ft), the highest peak of Mount Kenya.
January 29, 1900
The American League is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 8 founding teams.
January 1, 1902
The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena.
March 25, 1903
Racing Club de Avellaneda, one of the big five of Argentina, is founded.
May 5, 1904
Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
May 21, 1904
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.
March 31, 1906
The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for amateur sports in the United States.
May 22, 1906
The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, open in Athens.
September 5, 1906
The first legal forward pass in American football is thrown by Bradbury Robinson of St. Louis University to teammate Jack Schneider in a 22-0 victory over Carroll College (Wisconsin).
March 25, 1908
Clube Atletico Mineiro is founded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
April 20, 1908
Opening day of competition of the New South Wales Rugby League.
September 26, 1908
Ed Reulbach becomes the first and only pitcher to throw two shutouts in one day against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
June 15, 1909
Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
December 4, 1909
1st Grey Cup game was played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6.
March 1, 1912
Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
April 20, 1912
Opening day for baseball stadiums Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
March 3, 1913
Establishment of the first football club in Bulgaria – Ticha, now known as PFC "Cherno More".
March 20, 1914
In New Haven, Connecticut, the first international figure skating championship takes place.
May 9, 1914
J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets.
October 7, 1916
Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222-0 in one of the most lopsided college football games in American history.
October 14, 1916
Sophomore tackle and guard Paul Robeson is excluded from the Rutgers football team when Washington and Lee University refused to play against a black person.
June 23, 1917
In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.
November 26, 1917
The National Hockey League is formed, with the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas as its first teams.
April 19, 1919
Leslie Irvin of the United States makes the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a new kind of self-contained parachute.
June 11, 1919
Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown.
September 18, 1919
Fritz Pollard becomes the first African-American to play professional football for a major team, the Akron Pros.
October 9, 1919
Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds "win" the World Series.
December 26, 1919
Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee.
September 17, 1920
The National Football League is organized in Canton, Ohio, United States.
October 29, 1921
The Harvard University football team loses to Centre College, ending a 25 game winning streak. This is considered one of the biggest upsets in college football.
July 9, 1922
Johnny Weissmuller swims the 100 meters freestyle in 58.6 seconds breaking the world swimming record and the 'minute barrier'.
March 22, 1923
The first radio broadcast of ice hockey is made by Foster Hewitt.
January 25, 1924
The 1924 Winter Olympics open in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
February 17, 1924
In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle swimming competition with a time of 52-2/5 seconds.
May 29, 1924
AEK Athens FC is established on the anniversary of the siege of Constantinople by the Turks.
January 22, 1927
First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
September 30, 1927
Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season
September 15, 1928
Tich Freeman becomes the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.
November 10, 1928
In the game against Army at Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne gives what is considered the greatest locker room speeches of all time by saying "Win one for the Gipper". Notre Dame would win the game 12-6.
May 14, 1929
Wilfred Rhodes takes his 4000th first-class wicket during a performance of 9 for 39 at Leyton.
April 28, 1930
The first night game in organized baseball history takes place in Independence, Kansas.
July 30, 1930
In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first Football World Cup.
September 12, 1930
Wilfred Rhodes ends his 1110-game first-class career by taking 5 for 95 for H.D.G. Leveson Gower's XI against the Australians.
May 24, 1935
The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field.
May 25, 1935
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks five world records and ties a sixth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
September 24, 1935
Earl Bascom and Weldon Bascom produce the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi
January 29, 1936
The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
March 24, 1936
The longest game in NHL history is played between Detroit and Montreal. Detroit scored at 16:30 of the sixth overtime and won the game 1-0.
July 31, 1936
The International Olympic Committee announces that the 1940 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo. However, the games are given back to the IOC after the Second Sino-Japanese War breaks out, and are eventually cancelled altogether because of World War II.
August 3, 1936
Jesse Owens wins the 100 meter dash by defeating Ralph Metcalfe at Berlin Olympics.
August 9, 1936
Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.
January 28, 1938
The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
November 1, 1938
Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in an upset victory during a match race deemed "the match of the century" in horse racing.
September 17, 1939
Taisto Mäki becomes the first man to run the 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, in a time of 29:52.6
February 28, 1940
Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
May 1, 1940
The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.
September 28, 1941
Major League Baseball: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox finishes the season with a batting average of .406. He is the latest major league player to have a batting average of .400 or better.
June 10, 1944
In baseball, 15-year old Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the youngest player ever in a major-league game.
December 28, 1944
Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score 8 points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
October 30, 1945
Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the baseball color barrier.
June 6, 1946
The Basketball Association of America is formed in New York City.
November 1, 1946
The New York Knicks played against the Toronto Huskies at the Maple Leaf Gardens, in the first Basketball Association of America game. The Knicks would win 68-66.
July 29, 1948
Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad – after a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin opened in London.
August 3, 1949
National Basketball Association is founded in the United States.
May 13, 1950
The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
September 4, 1950
Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
September 22, 1951
The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast in the United States, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised on NBC.
October 26, 1951
Boxer Joe Louis comes out of retirement to fight Rocky Marciano. However, Marciano would win the fight in eight rounds.
February 20, 1952
Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
March 19, 1954
Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.
March 19, 1954
Willie Mosconi sets the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today.
June 15, 1954
UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football) is formed in Basle, Switzerland.
September 29, 1954
Major League Baseball: Willie Mays of the then New York Giants makes "The Catch" at The Polo Grounds in Game 1 of the World Series.
May 15, 1955
The first ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain.
October 8, 1956
New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series; one of only 17 perfect games in MLB history.
December 6, 1956
A water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
January 18, 1958
Willie O'Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
December 28, 1958
"Greatest Game Ever Played" – Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium.
May 26, 1959
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix retires the first 36 Milwaukee Braves batters to face him, only to lose his bid for a perfect game in the 13th inning.
October 28, 1959
The Buffalo Bills officially enter the American Football League. They would later become a present day National Football League team as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.
November 2, 1959
Ice hockey: After being struck in the face with a puck, goalkeeper Jacques Plante returns to play wearing a protective mask for the first time in professional play.
October 13, 1960
1960 World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski becomes the first person to end a World Series with a home run, as the Pirates beat the New York Yankees, four games to three.
October 29, 1960
In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.
March 2, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
January 29, 1963
The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.
August 24, 1963
The 200-metre freestyle is swum in less than 2 minutes for the first time by Don Schollander (1:58).
September 7, 1963
The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.
February 29, 1964
In Sydney, Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser sets a new world record in the 100-meter freestyle swimming competition (58.9 seconds).
March 6, 1964
Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.
October 10, 1964
The opening ceremony at The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is broadcast live in the first Olympic telecast relayed by geostationary communication satellite.
March 19, 1966
Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup.
November 8, 1966
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs into law an antitrust exemption allowing the National Football League to merge with the upstart American Football League.
April 29, 1967
After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
May 30, 1967
At the Ascot Park in Gardena, California, daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined up in a row.
October 13, 1967
The first game in the history of the American Basketball Association is played as the Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks 134-129 in Oakland, California.
January 20, 1968
The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century.
February 17, 1968
In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
April 4, 1968
AEK Athens BC becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
June 23, 1968
74 are killed and 150 injured in a football stampede towards a closed exit in a Buenos Aires stadium.
October 14, 1968
Jim Hines of the USA becomes the first man ever to break the ten second barrier in the 100 metres Olympic final at Mexico City with a time of 9.95 sec. He would be the only man to do so until 1983.
October 16, 1968
United States athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos are kicked off the USA's team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.
October 18, 1968
The U.S. Olympic Committee suspends two black athletes for giving a "black power" salute during a victory ceremony at the Mexico City games.
October 18, 1968
Bob Beamon sets a world record of 8.90m in the long jump at the Mexico City games. This becomes the longest unbroken track and field record in history, standing for 23 years, and is later named by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of the five greatest sporting moments of the 20th century.
July 14, 1969
Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer game against El Salvador, rioting breaks out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
September 7, 1970
Bill Shoemaker sets record for most lifetime wins as a jockey (passing Johnny Longden).
November 14, 1970
Southern Airways Flight 932 crashes in the mountains near Huntington, West Virginia, killing 75, including members of the Marshall University football team.
January 2, 1971
The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic football match.
February 9, 1971
Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
October 13, 1971
1971 World Series: The first night game in World Series history is played at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium between the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates.
February 5, 1972
Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
February 29, 1972
Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.
September 1, 1972
In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.
September 10, 1972
The United States loses its first international basketball game in a disputed match against the Soviet Union at Munich, Germany.
September 28, 1972
Canada defeats the USSR in the eighth and final game of the ice hockey Summit Series.
April 6, 1973
The American League of Major League Baseball begin using the Designated Hitter
May 5, 1973
Sunderland A.F.C. win the F.A. Cup Final at Wembley with a 1-0 victory over Leeds United.
July 21, 1973
In the Lillehammer affair in Norway, Israeli Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in 1972's Munich Olympics Massacre.
September 20, 1973
Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
October 30, 1974
The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire.
April 3, 1975
Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
April 8, 1975
Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
April 9, 1975
The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
July 5, 1975
Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
October 1, 1975
Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
July 17, 1976
The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.
July 18, 1976
Nadia Comăneci became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
November 23, 1976
Apneist Jacques Mayol is the first man to reach a depth of 100 m undersea without breathing equipment.
December 2, 1977
The first World Series Cricket "supertest" match played between Australia and West Indies
December 13, 1977
A DC-3 aircraft chartered from the Indianapolis-based National Jet crashes near Evansville Regional Airport, killing 29, including the University of Evansville basketball team, support staff and boosters of the team.
October 8, 1978
Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
February 22, 1980
Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3, in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
February 29, 1980
Gordie Howe of the then Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.
March 21, 1980
US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
September 21, 1980
Kerry GAA beat Roscommon GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 1-9 to 1-6 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
September 27, 1980
Marvin Hagler defeats Alan Minter to claim boxing's world Middleweight championship in London. They have to be escorted away by police after a riot forms.
October 30, 1980
El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
September 16, 1981
Sugar Ray Leonard beats Thomas Hearns in their first of two epic boxing bouts.
October 15, 1981
Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.
December 30, 1981
In the 39th game of his 3rd NHL season Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals giving him 50 on the year setting a new NHL record previously held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy who earlier had each scored 50 goals in 50 games.
January 10, 1982
The Freezer Bowl, the NFL's coldest game in terms of wind chill, at -37°F, is won by the Cincinnati Bengals who defeat the San Diego Chargers 27-7 and advance to Super Bowl XVI.
April 21, 1982
Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
November 13, 1982
Ray Mancini defeats Duk Koo Kim in a boxing match held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kim's subsequent death (on November 17) leads to significant changes in the sport.
November 18, 1982
Duk Koo Kim dies unexpectedly from injuries sustained during a 14-round match against Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, Nevada, prompting reforms in the sport of boxing.
January 18, 1983
The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals to his family.
July 24, 1983
George Brett batting for the Kansas City Royals against the New York Yankees, has a game-winning home run nullified in the "Pine Tar Incident".
September 23, 1983
Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa becomes the first African boxing world heavyweight champion.
October 4, 1983
Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph (1,019 km/h), driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
December 19, 1983
The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro.
May 8, 1984
The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
September 18, 1984
Joe Kittinger completes the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic.
January 23, 1985
O.J. Simpson becomes the first Heisman Trophy winner elected to the Football Hall of Fame.
March 21, 1985
Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
March 31, 1985
The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE, takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York
April 1, 1985
Eight seed Villanova defeats Georgetown 66-64 for the championship in the first 64 team field NCAA Tournament in Lexington,Kentucky. It is still considered the biggest upset in College Basketball History.
May 11, 1985
Fifty-six spectators die when a flash fire strikes a football ground during a match in Bradford, England.
May 29, 1985
Heysel Stadium disaster: At the European Cup final in Brussels, Belgium, 39 football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses after Liverpool F.C. fans breach a fence separating them from Juventus F.C. fans.
April 20, 1986
Professional basketball player Michael Jordan sets all-time record for points in an NBA playoff game with 63 against the Boston Celtics.
April 29, 1986
Roger Clemens then of the Boston Red Sox sets a major league baseball record with 20 strikeouts in nine innings against the Seattle Mariners.
September 21, 1986
Kerry GAA beat Tyrone GAA in Croke Park during the All-Ireland Football Final by 2-15 to 1-10 thus winning the championship and a three-in-a-row.
November 22, 1986
Mike Tyson defeats Trevor Berbick to become youngest Heavyweight champion in boxing history.
March 29, 1987
WrestleMania III sets a world indoor attendance record at the Pontiac Silverdome with 93,173 fans.
September 14, 1987
The Toronto Blue Jays set a major league record for most home runs in a single game – 10 – versus the Baltimore Orioles at Exhibition Stadium, and the teams combined to tie the record for most homers by two teams – 11. The game also marked the end of Cal Ripken's streak of 8,243 consecutive innings played, which is believed to be the longest, although this is not a record officially kept by MLB.
September 19, 1988
Greg Louganis suffers a head injury while qualifying for the Seoul Olympics. He goes on to win two Gold medals.
September 23, 1988
José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes the first member of the 40-40 club.
December 31, 1988
In American football, the Fog Bowl, a National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears. A heavy, dense fog rolled over Chicago's Soldier Field during the 2nd quarter, cutting visibility to about 10-20 yards for the rest of the game.
March 21, 1989
Sports Illustrated reports allegations tying baseball player Pete Rose to baseball gambling.
March 22, 1989
Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres suffers a near-fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat.
October 15, 1989
Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL.
September 14, 1990
Ken Griffey and his son Ken Jr. become the first father-son duo to hit back-to-back home runs.
May 1, 1991
Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics steals his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment is overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitches his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record.
July 9, 1991
South Africa is readmitted into the Olympic movement after 30 years of exclusion.
November 7, 1991
Magic Johnson announces that he is infected with HIV and retires from the NBA.
June 9, 1993
The Minnesota North Stars were relocated to Dallas, and were renamed the Dallas Stars.
January 6, 1994
Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed in the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.
September 6, 1995
Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years.
February 10, 1996
The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time.
February 17, 1996
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
May 10, 1996
A "rogue storm" near the summit of Mount Everest kills eight climbers, making this the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Among the dead are experienced climbers Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, both of whom were leading paid expeditions to the summit.
July 27, 1996
Centennial Olympic Park bombing: In Atlanta, Georgia, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics. Alice Hawthorne is killed, and a cameraman suffered a heart attack fleeing the scene. 111 injured.
October 16, 1996
Eighty-four people are killed and more than 180 injured as 47,000 football fans attempt to squeeze into the 36,000-seat Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City.
March 22, 1997
Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, becomes the youngest champion of the women's world figure skating competition.
April 13, 1997
Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win The Masters Tournament.
June 28, 1997
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield II – Tyson is disqualified in the 3rd round for biting a piece from Holyfield's ear.
February 8, 1998
First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
February 20, 1998
American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
September 11, 1998
Opening ceremony for the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia is the first Asian country to host the games.
September 20, 1998
Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. chooses to sit out the Orioles' game against the New York Yankees, ending his record streak for consecutive Major League Baseball games played at 2,632.
May 26, 1999
Manchester United become the first club in English football to win The Treble.
June 6, 1999
In Australian Rules Football, Tony Lockett breaks the record for career goals, previously 1299 by Gordon Coventry and which had stood since 1937.
October 31, 1999
Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
July 20, 2000
The leaders of Salt Lake City's bid to win the 2002 Winter Olympics are indicted by a federal grand jury for bribery, fraud, and racketeering.
February 18, 2001
Seven time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt dies as a result of a last lap accident in turn four of the Daytona 500.
May 9, 2001
In Ghana 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of teargas by police personnel at the stadium)that followed a controversial decision by the referee handling a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
May 10, 2001
In Ghana, a stampede at a football game kills over 120 spectators.
May 25, 2001
32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
May 29, 2001
U.S. Supreme Court rules that disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
May 15, 2002
Real Madrid CF won the UEFA Champions League tournament for ninth time.
May 22, 2003
In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
May 26, 2003
Only three days after a previous record, Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes. The tourism ministry of Nepal confirms this record in July that year.
September 22, 2003
David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon.
August 15, 2004
Puerto Rico's National Basketball team defeats USA's Dream Team 92–73 in the first game of the Olympic tournament in Athens. The 19 point defeat was the most lopsided loss for Team USA in the history of international competition and the marked the first time an US National Basketball Team was defeated in Olympic games since they began using NBA players.
September 15, 2004
National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman announces lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
October 19, 2004
Curt Schilling pitches a remarkable game and leads the Red Sox to a 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS despite having surgery on his right ankle earlier that day .
February 16, 2005
The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs, becoming the first major sports league in North America to do so over a labor dispute.
May 21, 2006
The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.
October 6, 2007
Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.
April 20, 2008
Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
August 17, 2008
By winning the Men's 4x100m medley relay, Michael Phelps becomes the first Olympian to win eight gold medals in the same Olympics.
August 20, 2008
Usain Bolt breaks world record for 200m race at 2008 olympics, setting a new time of 19.30.
September 21, 2008
The final home game is played at Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles.
October 29, 2008
The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series to become champions of Major League Baseball.
December 28, 2008
The Detroit Lions finished the season 0-16 with a 31-21 lost to the Green Bay Packers The first time in National Football League history that a team went winless in a 16-game season.
July 5, 2009
Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam (tennis) in tennis, winning a five set match against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.
|
|
|
|
