Events in Sports History on April 5

  • 1904 The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.

Willard vs Johnson

1915 Jess Willard KOs Jack Johnson after 26 rounds to win the heavyweight boxing title in front of 25,000 fans at Oriental Park Racetrack in Havana, Cuba

  • 1919 Antwerp is officially declared the host city for the Games of the 7th Olympiad to be conducted in 1920; first post WWI Olympics

Babe Ruth Collapses

1925 Yankees whip Dodgers in exhibition 16-9 but Babe Ruth collapses in NC due to an ulcer

Johnny Weissmuller

1927 Johnny Weissmuller sets world records in both the 100m and 200m free style swimming events

  • 1930 England cricketers dismissed for then record 849 v West Indies in 4th Test in Kingston, Jamaica; Andy Sandham out for 325
  • 1934 Baseball superstar Babe Ruth agrees to do three 15-minute broadcasts a week over NBC for a fee of $39,000 for 13 weeks; $4,000 more than his NY Yankees playing contract
  • 1940 99th Grand National: 25/1 shot Bogskar ridden by Royal Air Force sergeant Mervyn Jones wins by 4 lengths from MacMoffat; last true Aintree GN before a 5-year break due to World War II
  • 1946 100th Grand National: Capt. Robert Petre wins aboard 25/1 shot Lovely Cottage; first true GN since 1940 due to World War II; last on a Friday
  • 1952 106th Grand National: Jockey Arthur Thompson and trainer Neville Crump combine for their second GN with Teal winning at odds of 100/7 [1]

US Masters Golf

1959 23rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Art Wall Jr wins by 1 stroke from Cary Middlecoff for his only PGA Tour major victory

NBA Record

1967 '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record of 41 rebounds

  • 1972 The regular MLB season fails to open due to a player strike for the first time in history; 86 games are lost before the labor dispute settled
  • 1973 NFL adopts jersey numbering system (ie QBs, 1-19)

Cricket History

1974 Last day of Test cricket for Garfield Sobers and Rohan Kanhai

  • 1975 129th Grand National: Irish combination of jockey Tommy Carberry aboard L'Escargot wins by 15 lengths from 7/2 favourite and 1973-74 winner Red Rum

Sports History

1975 American tennis #1 Chris Evert wins her 3rd WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Martina Navratilova 6-4, 6-2

  • 1981 Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621 penalty minutes
  • 1982 43-year-old St. Louis reliever Jim Kaat pitches 1 inning for the Cardinals in a season-opening, 14-3 rout of Houston; sets a MLB record for pitchers by playing in his 24th consecutive season

Sports History

1983 NY Met Tom Seaver's sets record 14th NL Opening Day assignment

NBA Record

1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points (31,421)

  • 1986 140th Grand National: Richard Dunwoody aboard 9-year-old 15/2 second favourite West Tip wins by 2 lengths from Young Driver

Golf Major

1987 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Betsy King wins the first of her 6 major titles in a sudden-death playoff with Patty Sheehan, with a par on the 2nd extra hole

Sports History

1987 Wayne Gretzky wins 7th straight NHL scoring title

Sports History

1989 Los Angeles Dodger Orel Hershiser's consecutive scoreless streak of 59 innings ends

NBA Record

1990 John Stockton reaches 1000-assist mark for NBA record 3 yrs in a row

  • 1990 NY Rangers beat NY Islanders 2-1 in 1st game of preliminary
  • 1991 Detroit Pistons Joe Dumaars ends NBA free throw streak of 62 games
  • 1992 11th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Stanford beats Western Kentucky, 78-62; Cardinal guard Molly Goodenbour MOP
  • 1992 Game 2 of Mayor Challenge - NY Yankees sweep NY Mets 6-5 at Shea

Golf Tournament

1992 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Lee Trevino win his second Champions Tour major by 1 stroke from Jack Nicklaus

  • 1993 55th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Michigan, 77-71; Tar Heels' 3rd title
  • 1993 73,293 see the NY Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-1 in the season opener at Cleveland Stadium
  • 1993 A win and a loss for MLB expansion teams in their debut games; Florida Marlins beat LA Dodgers, 6-3 in Miami; the Colorado Rockies lose to Mets, 3-0 in NYC
  • 1994 Miami Heat beat NY Knicks ending 15 game NBA winning streak
  • 1998 France thrashes Wales, 51-0 at Wembley Stadium, London for its second straight Five Nations Rugby Championship and Grand Slam; fly-half Christophe Lamaison lands 5 conversions and 2 penalties
  • 1998 The Arizona Diamondbacks record their first win in team history with a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Phoenix, AZ; ends second-worst start ever (0-5) by an expansion team
  • 1998 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Defending champion Gil Morgan wins by 2 strokes from Tom Wargo
  • 2003 156th Grand National: 10-year-old 16/1 shot Monty's Pass, ridden by Barry Geraghty wins by 12 lengths from 2001 Welsh National winner Supreme Glory
  • 2003 The Kansas City Royals become the first MLB team to begin the season 5-0 after losing 100 games the previous year, beating the Cleveland Indians, 2 - 1
  • 2004 66th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Georgia Tech, 82-73; Huskies' forward Emeka Okafor named tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • 2005 24th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Michigan State, 84-62; Bears' small forward Sophia Young is named Most Outstanding Player
  • 2005 The Washington Nationals lose their inaugural season opener, 8-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies; first team to represent the nation's capital since the Washington Senators left after the 1971 season
  • 2008 161st Grand National: 7/1 joint favourite Comply or Die wins in Irish jockey Timmy Murphy's 11th attempt, 4 lengths ahead of King John's Castle

Kraft Nabisco Championship

2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Brittany Lincicome eagles the final hole to win her first major title, 1 stroke ahead of fellow American Cristie Kerr

  • 2010 72nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke beats Butler, 61-59; Blue Devils' forward Kyle Singler, 19 points
  • 2011 30th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Texas A&M beats Notre Dame, 76-70; Aggies center Danielle Adams scores 22 of her 30 points in the 2nd half
  • 2012 A three-run homer by J.P. Arencibia off Jairo Asencio gives the Toronto Blue Jays a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians; 16 inning game duration a MLB Opening Day record
  • 2013 Baltimore outfielder Chris Davis becomes 4th player to homer in first 4 games of a MLB season; 8th-inning grand slam propels Orioles to a 9-5 win over the Twins; his RBI total of 16 a MLB record
  • 2014 167th Grand National: Leighton Aspell wins aboard Pineau de Re; sixth French-bred horse to win the GN
  • 2014 Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire picks up the 1,000th win of his MLB career as the Twins score a 7 - 3 victory over the Cleveland Indians
  • 2015 ANA Inspiration Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Brittany Lincicome eagles last hole to force a playoff, then beats Stacy Lewis on 3rd extra hole to win her 2nd major title

Sports History

2016 35th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut defeats Syracuse, 82–51; Huskies' power forward Breanna Stewart, 24 points

  • 2019 OKC guard Russell Westbrook becomes first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the third consecutive season during the Thunder's 123-110 win at home over Detroit Pistons
  • 2021 82nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Baylor Bears become second consecutive first-time NCAA champions with 86–70 over previously undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs
  • 2023 84th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas: UConn defeat the San Diego State Aztecs, 76–59 for Huskies' 5th national title; MOP: Adama Sanogo (UConn)