Events in Sports History on April 11

  • 1750 Jack Slack retains Champion of England boxing title, beats Frenchman Jean Petit in 7 rounds in Harlston, England; acknowledged as first international prize fight

Lewis Chess Pieces

1831 The 12th century Lewis chess pieces are exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, shortly after their rediscovery in a sand bank on the Scottish Isle of Lewis

  • 1896 Hungarian swimmer Alfréd Hajós beats Otto Herschmann of Austria by 0.6s to win the inaugural Olympic 100m freestyle final in 1:22.2 at the Athens Games; also takes out the 1,200m on the same day
  • 1896 Irish tennis player John Boland, representing Great Britain wins both the men's singles and doubles finals at the Athens Olympics; Dionysios Kasdaglis of Greece loses both matches
  • 1907 New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame backstop Roger Bresnahan becomes first catcher to wear shin guards
  • 1921 KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcasts 1st radio sporting event, a boxing match between lightweights Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee
  • 1924 1st men's college swimming championships begin

Red Wings 1st Championship

1936 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Detroit Red Wings beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 for a 3-1 series win; Red Wings first SC Championship

12th US Masters

1948 12th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Claude Harmon shoots a record-tying 279 (−9) to finish 5 strokes ahead of runner-up Cary Middlecoff

Sobers 1st WI Appearance

1955 Garfield Sobers starts run of 85 uninterrupted Test Cricket appearances for West Indies

Drysdale's 2nd Opening Day HR

1959 Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale hits his 2nd Opening Day HR

  • 1961 15th NBA Championship: Bos Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 1
  • 1962 New York Mets make a losing debut

Spahn's Left-Handed Record

1963 Milwaukee Braves future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn beats NY Mets, 6-1 for his 328th win; most by a left-hander in MLB history

US Masters Golf

1965 29th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus wins the 2nd of his 6 Masters titles with a tournament record 271 (−17); beats Gary Player and Arnold Palmer by a record 9 strokes

  • 1966 30th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus becomes first back-to-back champion winning an 18-hole Monday playoff with Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer
  • 1966 Emmett Ashford becomes first African American major league baseball umpire in Washington Senators’ game against the Cleveland Indians at D.C. Stadium
  • 1971 35th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Charles Coody wins his only major title by 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus

Baseball Trade

1975 Hank Aaron returns to County Stadium as a Milwaukee player after his off-season trade from the Atlanta Braves; Brewers beat Cleveland Indians, 6-2

  • 1975 J. P. Parisé scores an 11 sec OT goal, to see the NY Islanders eliminate the NY Rangers in their ever 1st playoff advance

US Masters Golf

1976 40th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Raymond Floyd wins his only Masters title, 8 strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Crenshaw

Boxing Title Fight

1981 Larry Holmes beats Trevor Berbick by unanimous decision in Las Vegas to retain his WBC heavyweight boxing title

  • 1982 46th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Craig Stadler wins his only major title by defeating Dan Pohl on the 1st hole of a sudden-death playoff

US Masters Golf

1983 47th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Seve Ballesteros of Spain wins his 2nd Masters and 3rd major title, 4 strokes ahead of Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite; Monday finish because of torrential rain

  • 1987 Yankees score 12 runs in 7th inning vs KC Royals
  • 1987 Zoja Ivanova wins 2nd female World Cup marathon (2:30:39)

Sports History

1989 1st playoff goal scored by a goalie, Ron Hextall of visiting Philadelphia Flyers shoots into Washington Capitols empty net while his team is shorthanded in 8-5 win

  • 1990 MLB California Angels Mark Langston & Mike Witt, no-hit Seattle, 1-0
  • 1990 NY Rangers beat NY Islanders 6-1, Rangers lead 3-1 in preliminary playoffs
  • 1992 MLB Cleveland Indians set team record for long game loss to Boston Red Sox (19 innings - 6½ hr)

US Masters Golf

1993 57th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bernhard Langer of Germany wins his second green jacket by 4 strokes from Chip Beck

  • 1996 Detroit Red Wings become 2nd NHL team to win 60 games in a season

US Masters Golf

1999 63rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: José María Olazábal of Spain wins his second Masters title, 2 strokes ahead of Davis Love III and 3 from of Greg Norman

  • 1999 Neil Jenkins converts a Scott Gibbs try to give Wales a famous, 32-31 win over England at Wembley Stadium; allows Scotland to win final Five Nations Rugby Championship; reverts to 6 teams in 2000
  • 2000 MLB: Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco, California and Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan open

Cricket History

2000 South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is sacked after admitting dishonesty following match-fixing allegations in India

US Masters Golf

2004 68th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson claims his first major title with a birdie on the final hole to win by 1 stroke over Ernie Els of South Africa

  • 2010 74th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson wins his 3rd green jacket by 3 strokes from England's Lee Westwood
  • 2015 168th Grand National: Jockey Leighton Aspell wins his second consecutive GN aboard 25/1 shot Many Clouds; owner Trevor Hemmings' 3rd GN victory
  • 2021 85th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Hideki Matsuyama become first Japanese male to win a golf major; hangs on to beat American Will Zalatoris by 1 stroke

Election of Interest

2022 Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan's new Prime Minister by the country's parliament, replacing Imran Khan [1]

  • 2023 NHL Boston Bruins break record for most team points in a season at 133, in a 5-2 victory over visiting Washington Capitols; Montreal Canadiens held record of 132 since 1977