Events in Sports History on April 7

  • 1896 American athlete Robert Garrett wins the throwing double at the Athens Olympics by taking out the shot putt (11.22m); wins the discus the previous day

First Olympic 1500m

1896 Australian athlete Edwin Flack wins gold in the first Olympic 1500m final at inaugural modern Games in Athens; goes on to win 800m two days later

  • 1928 44-year old NY Rangers GM Lester Patrick replaces his injured goaltender in a Stanley Cup game and beats Montreal Maroons, 2-1 in OT; Rangers go on to win series, 3-2

7th US Masters

1940 7th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jimmy Demaret wins the first of his 3 Masters titles, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Lloyd Mangrum

  • 1943 NFL adopts free substitution rule; helmets made mandatory and 10-game schedule for all teams approved

10th US Masters

1946 10th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: American Herman Keiser wins his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of tour money-leader Ben Hogan; first Masters in 4 years because of World War II

  • 1951 105th Grand National: John Bullock wins aboard 40/1 shot Nickel Coin; of 36 runners, only 3 complete the course
  • 1951 15th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Hogan wins the first of his 2 Masters titles, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Skee Riegel
  • 1956 10th NBA Championship: Despite 30 points from Pistons forward George Yardley, Philadelphia Warriors beat Fort Wayne, 99-88; Warriors wrap up series, 4-1

US Masters Golf

1957 21st US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Doug Ford wins his only Masters, 3 strokes ahead of 3-time champion Sam Snead

  • 1958 Dodgers erect 42-foot screen in left field at LA Coliseum to cut down on home runs, since it is only 250 feet down the line
  • 1962 Indian cricketer Polly Umrigar slams 172 not out vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes

US Masters Golf

1963 27th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 23-year-old Jack Nicklaus wins the first of his record 6 Green Jackets with a 3-foot par putt on the final hole to finish 1 stroke ahead of Tony Lema

  • 1963 Public stock offering of 115,000 shares in Milwaukee Braves withdrawn after only 13,000 shares are sold to 1,600 new investors
  • 1969 Dodgers' Bill Singer is credited with 1st official save, against Reds

Sports History

1969 Ted Williams begins managing Washington Senators, they lose to Yanks 8-4

  • 1970 MLB Milwaukee Brewers (former Seattle Pilots) 1st game, lose to Angels 12-0

Sports History

1971 Dismissal of Curt Flood's free agency suit against baseball is upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [1]

  • 1973 Doug Walters' best Test Cricket bowling, 5-66 v WI Georgetown
  • 1977 MLB Toronto Blue Jays 1st game, they beat Chicago 9-5

Sports History

1978 US Court of Appeals upholds Commissioner Bowie Kuhn's voiding of attempted player sales by A's owner Charlie Finley in June 1976

Sports History

1979 Houston Astro Ken Forsch no-hits Atlanta Braves, 6-0, becoming with his brother Bob Forsch the only MLB siblings to accomplish the feat

Sports History

1979 NHL New York Islanders Mike Bossy scores 4 goals on his first 4 shots in 9-2 win over visiting Philadelphia Flyers

Sports History

1984 Detroit Tiger Jack Morris no-hits Chicago White Sox, 4-0

  • 1985 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Alice Miller shoots a final round 67 (−5) to win her only major title, 3 strokes ahead of Jan Stephenson of Australia
  • 1989 NY Supreme Court takes America's Cup away from SD Yacht Club for using a catamaran against NZ. Appeals court eventually overrules
  • 1990 144th Grand National: Marcus Armytage aboard 16/1 bet Mr Frisk wins in race record 8m 47.8s; 2 equine fatalities during the race
  • 1990 NY Rangers beat NY Islanders 5-2, Rangers lead 2-0 in preliminary
  • 1991 Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Jack Nicklaus wins his second of 4 event titles by 1 stroke from Jim Colbert, Jim Dent & Phil Rodgers
  • 1994 NY Yankees beat Texas Rangers 18-6
  • 1995 Baseball exhibition season begins late due to strike
  • 1996 Pakistan beats Sri Lanka to win Cricket's Singer Cup in Singapore

Sports History

1996 Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya hits fastest ODI fifty off 17 balls v Pakistan, Singapore

  • 1996 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Defending champion Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th event title by 3 strokes from Hale Irwin
  • 1997 150th Grand National: Tony Dobbin aboard New Zealand bred Lord Gyllene wins at 14/1 by 25 lengths; race postponed 2 days because of IRA bomb threat
  • 2000 1st regular season MLB game at Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) in Houston, Texas; visiting Philadelphia Phillies beat Astros 4-1, Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen hits first homer at new park

Cricket History

2000 South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje is charged by Delhi police with fixing One Day International matches against India

  • 2001 154th Grand National: Richard Guest wins aboard Red Marauder; trainer Martin Pipe saddles 10 of 40-strong field, Blowing Wind best at 3rd place
  • 2003 65th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Syracuse beats Kansas, 81-78; Orangemen win first title; Carmelo Anthony named tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • 2008 70th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas beats Memphis, 75-68; first time since seeding began, all 4 top seeds advance to the Final Four
  • 2009 28th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Louisville, 76-54; Huskies' 6th national title with center Tina Charles MOP

Golf Major

2013 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Inbee Park wins her 2nd major title, 4 strokes ahead of fellow South Korean So Yeon Ryu; first of Park's 3 straight major victories in 2013

  • 2013 Sweden wins the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship defeating Canada
  • 2014 76th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Kentucky, 60-54; 2nd time a school has won both men's & women's Div I national titles in same year
  • 2015 34th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Notre Dame, 63-53; Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis & Moriah Jefferson, 15 points for Huskies
  • 2018 Vegas Golden Knights suffer a 7-1 end of regular season defeat at Calgary but finish with an NHL expansion team record 51 victories; previous record 33 by Anaheim Ducks & Florida Panthers 1993-94
  • 2019 38th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Baylor beats Notre Dame, 82-81; Lady Bears' point guard Chloe Jackson, 26 points
  • 2019 ANA Inspiration Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Ko Jin-young wins her first major title by 3 strokes over fellow South Korean Lee Mi-hyang

NBA Record

2019 Retiring NBA legends Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) and Dwyane Wade (Miami) play their final home games, both victories; Magic Johnson sensationally quits as LA Lakers president of basketball operations; Houston Rockets convert NBA record 27 three-point field goals in 149-113 win over Phoenix

  • 2022 MLB Cleveland Guardians lose in first game under their new name, 3-1 to the Royals in Kansas City