Events in Sports History on April 9

  • 1880 British Open Men's Golf, Musselburgh Links: Scotsman Bob Ferguson wins first of 3 straight titles; beats Peter Paxton by 5 strokes

Flack Wins the Double

1896 Australian athlete Edwin Flack claims the middle distance double at the Athens Olympics winning the 800m final in 2:11.0; his 2nd victory of the Games after success in the 1500m

  • 1896 Greek shooter Pantelis Karasevdas scores a perfect 40 hits to win the military rifle event at the Athens Olympics; Greek 1-2-3 with Pavlos Pavlidis and Nicolaos Trikupis taking out the minor placings
  • 1912 1st exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park (Red Sox vs Harvard)
  • 1913 Brooklyn Superbas' (later Dodgers) Ebbets Field opens; visiting Philadelphia Phillies win, 1-0

Bellyache Heard Round the World

1925 At the height of his fame Babe Ruth rushed to hospital with a mysterious condition labelled “the bellyache heard round the world". Ruth reported dead by some newspapers. [1]

  • 1928 Top-Oss soccer team forms in Oss

Chicago Wins Game Three

1931 Stanley Cup Final Game Three: Chicago Black Hawks defeat Montreal Canadiens 3-2 (Canadians eventually win in best of five series)

  • 1932 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs beat New York Rangers, 6-4 for 3-0 series sweep; Toronto's first SC as the Maple Leafs
  • 1935 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Maroons beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 for 3-0 series sweep; Maroons last defunct team to win the Cup
  • 1941 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Dorothy Kirby wins comfortably by 16 strokes ahead of Helen Sigel
  • 1941 PGA establishes Golf Hall of Fame
  • 1945 NFL requires players to wear long stockings
  • 1946 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 6-3 for a 4-1 series victory

Leo Durocher Suspended

1947 Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler suspends Brooklyn Dodger Leo Durocher for 1 year for "association with known gamblers"

14th US Masters

1950 14th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jimmy Demaret becomes the first 3-time Masters champion by 2 strokes ahead of Australian Jim Ferrier

  • 1959 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games, first of Boston Celtics record 8 straight titles
  • 1959 Baltimore Orioles pull their 2nd triple play (3-6-3 vs Washington Senators)

NBA Record

1959 Bill Sharman hits a NBA record 56 consecutive foul shot

  • 1960 14th NBA Championship: Bost Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 3

US Masters Golf

1962 26th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins the 3rd of his 4 Masters titles in an 18 hole Monday playoff with Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald; tournament's first 3-way playoff

Baseball Record

1965 1st baseball game at Houston Astrodome, Astros beat NY Yankees 2-1 in exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits MLB's 1st indoor homerun; US President Lyndon Johnson and wife Lady Bird attend

  • 1966 Anaheim Stadium for California Angels opens
  • 1967 31st US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Gay Brewer wins his only major title by 1 stroke over runner-up Bobby Nichols
  • 1968 Minn's Wayne Connelly is 1st to score on a Stanley Cup penalty shot
  • 1969 Chic Cub Billy Williams hits 4 consecutive doubles beat Phillies 11-3

US Masters Golf

1972 36th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus leads wire-to-wire to win the 4th of his 6 Masters titles, 3 strokes ahead of Bruce Crampton, Tom Weiskopf and Bobby Mitchell

  • 1972 New Zealand cricket opening batsmen Glenn Turner (259) & Terry Jarvis (187) make 387 partnership in 4th Test v WI in Georgetown, Guyana
  • 1973 37th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Due to weather delays final round is played on Monday with Tommy Aaron winning his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of J. C. Snead

Sports History

1974 San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans "Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you I've never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life"

US Masters Golf

1978 42nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 42-year-old Gary Player shoots a record-tying final round 64 (−8) to win by 1 stroke from Rod Funseth, Tom Watson and Hubert Green

  • 1978 Brewers sweep Orioles 11-3, 16-3, & 13-5 (each with a grand slam)

Sports History

1978 In separate NBA games Denver's David Thompson scores 73 points & San Antonio's George Gervin scores 63 points (33 in 1 quarter)

  • 1980 Los Angeles Kings tie NHL record with two shorthanded playoff goals (vs NY Islanders)

Sports History

1981 LA Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela's 1st start, beats Astros 2-0

  • 1982 LA Lakers block 21 Denver shots setting NBA regulation game record
  • 1983 137th Grand National: Ben de Haan wins aboard 13/1 bet Corbiere; Jenny Pittman first female GN winning trainer

Sports History

1985 White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver starts a record 15th opening day game

Stanley Cup

1987 For 3rd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 points (1 goal, 6 assists) in a Stanley Cup game and passes Jean Béliveau as all time playoff scoring champ

  • 1988 142nd Grand National: Irish jockey Brendan Powell wins aboard 10/1 shot Rhyme 'n' Reason by 4 lengths from Durham Edition
  • 1988 NHL New Jersey Devils win 3-0 over New York Islanders; Devils lead 2-1 in playoff 1st round

US Masters Golf

1989 53rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Englishman Nick Faldo wins the first of his 3 Masters titles after a final round 65 (−7) and a birdie on the 2nd hole of a sudden-death playoff with Scott Hoch

Sports History

1989 Mike Tyson strikes a parking attendant when asked to move his car

Baseball Record

1989 Rickey Henderson steals his 800th career base in NY's 4-3 loss to Clev

Contract of Interest

1990 Don Mattingly signs a $19.7 million 5-year contract extension with New York Yankees

  • 1990 NY Islanders beat NY Rangers 4-3 in double overtime-Rangers lead 2-1
  • 1992 Florida drops rape charges against NY Mets Gooden, Boston & Coleman
  • 1992 Record 18 golfers shoot in 60s in Masters round 1 (old record 12)
  • 1993 Colorado Rockies 1st home game & 1st victory, 11-4 over Mont Expos
  • 1994 147th Grand National: Jockey Richard Dunwoody wins his second GN aboard Irish 16/1 shot Miinnehoma by 1¼ lengths from Just So

US Masters Golf

1995 59th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Ben Crenshaw wins his 2nd Masters title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Davis Love III

  • 1997 Cleveland Indians pitcher Jose Mesa is acquitted of rape
  • 1997 Major League Soccer announces Miami & Chicago expansion
  • 1997 NFL announces it will give $3M to CFL & possible "World Classic Bowl"

US Masters Golf

2000 64th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Fijian Vijay Singh wins by 3 strokes from Ernie Els of South Africa

  • 2005 158th Grand National: 9-year-old 7/1 favourite Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins, win by 14 lengths from 40/1 shot Royal Auclair

US Masters Golf

2006 70th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson wins his 2nd green jacket by 2 shots from South African Tim Clark

  • 2011 164th Grand National: Jason Maguire wins aboard Irish 14/1 shot Ballabriggs; first GN win for trainer Donald McCain Jr., son of 4-time winning trainer Ginger McCain
  • 2013 32nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Louisville, 93-60; Huskies' 8th National title
  • 2014 Joel Embiid declares for the 2014 NBA draft, forgoing his final three years of college eligibility
  • 2016 169th Grand National: David Mullins victorious aboard 33/1 Rule The World; wins by 6 lengths from race favourite The Last Samuri

US Masters Golf

2017 81st US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Spaniard Sergio García beats Justin Rose of England in a sudden-death playoff, after they completed 72 holes at -9; Garcia's 1st major title in his 74th attempt

  • 2021 San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove no-hits the Texas Rangers, 3-0 at Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
  • 2022 Joel Embiid is named the NBA scoring champion, averaging 30.6 points per game
  • 2023 87th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jon Rahm becomes 4th Spaniard to win the tournament; finishes on -12 to beat Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka by 4 strokes
  • 2023 Joel Embiid is named the NBA scoring champion for the second straight season, averaging 33.1 points per game
  • 2023 Kawhi Leonard leads the Los Angeles Clippers to a win over the Phoenix Suns, securing the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoff bracket