Events in Sports History in 1962

Nicklaus Turns Professional

Jan 8 21-year-old future Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus makes his first professional appearance; tied 50th in Los Angeles Open

Jan 9 NFL prohibits grabbing of face masks

Chamberlain Scores 73 Points

Jan 13 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 73 points in Warriors' 135-117 win over Chicago Packers; at the time, most points scored in NBA regulation game, and remains tied for 3rd-highest total

12th NFL Pro Bowl

Jan 14 12th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-30; MVPs: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns, RB; Henry Jordan, Green Bay Packers, DT

NFL Legend and Civil Rights Activist Jim Brown

1st Leg of Laver Grand Slam

Jan 15 50th Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Rod Laver takes the 1st leg of his 1st Grand Slam; beats fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 8-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4

Jan 15 50th Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Smith beats Jan Lehane O'Neill in the final for 3rd straight year 6-0, 6-2

12th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 16 12th NBA All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Mo: West beats East, 150-130; MVP: Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks, C; All-Star record 27 rebounds

First African American Inductee

Jan 24 Jackie Robinson is 1st African American elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame; Bob Feller is also elected

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Bob Feller

Feb 1 MLB's National League releases its first 162-game schedule due to expansion (18 games between opponents)
Feb 2 1st pole vault over 16' (4.88m) (John Uelses-16', Melrose Games)
Feb 3 John Uelses pole vaults record 489 cm
Feb 4 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
Feb 18 4th Daytona 500: Race winner Fireball Roberts dominates the event, leading 144 of the 200 laps
Feb 22 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free-throw attempts (converts 19) in Warriors 139-121 win over St. Louis Hawks at Philadelphia Civic Center
Feb 25 Mike O'Hara completes record 97th marathon
Feb 25 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 67 points against NY Knicks at Philadelphia Civic Center for the second successive year; Warriors lose 149-135
Mar 2 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, most ever by an NBA player in a single game, in Warriors' 169-147 win over NY Knicks in Hershey; 36-of-63 from field, 28-of-32 from free-throw line
Mar 3 9th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Wake Forest beats Clemson, 77-66
Mar 10 Due to its no black policy, Phillies leave Jack Tar Harrison Hotel & move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater, Florida

NHL Record

Mar 14 Red Wings' forward Gordie Howe becomes second player in NHL history to score 500 career goals in Detroit's 3-2 loss to NY Rangers

Mar 15 Wilt Chamberlain is 1st to score 4,000 pts in an NBA season
Mar 20 Sjoukje Dijkstra becomes world champion figure skater
Mar 21 Philadelphia Phillies retire pitcher Robin Roberts' # 36
Mar 23 Nawab of Pataudi captains India cricket v WI age 21 years 77 days
Mar 23 William DeWitt buys Cincinnati Reds for $4,625,000
Mar 24 24th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Cincinnati beats Ohio State, 71-59; Bearcats win back-to-back National titles

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 24 Emile Griffith beats Benny " Kid" Paret by TKO in 12th round in welterweight boxing title fight at MSG, NYC; Paret dies 10 days later; first use of television slow motion replay

NHL Record

Mar 27 NHL Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy

Mar 28 Devastating 8 for 6 spell by West Indian spin bowler Lance Gibbs gives home side innings & 30 run 3rd Test win over India in Bridgetown
Mar 31 116th Grand National: Fred Winter aboard 28/1 shot Kilmore wins by 10 lengths from Wyndburgh

Sports History

Apr 3 American jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years (24,092 races)

Apr 7 Indian cricketer Polly Umrigar slams 172 not out vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes

US Masters Golf

Apr 9 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

Apr 10 52,564 fans attend first MLB game at LA's Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine, a 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds
Apr 10 Houston Colt .45s make their MLB debut with an 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Colt Stadium; outfielder Román Mejías hits a pair of 3-run homers
Apr 11 New York Mets make a losing debut

Baseball Record

Apr 13 Stan Musial scores his 1,869th run, a new NL record

Apr 14 France retains the Five Nations Rugby Championship with an 11-0 win over Ireland at Stade Colombes, Paris
Apr 16 66th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:48; second straight win and 3rd title overall
Apr 18 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
Apr 22 NY Mets tiea NL record by losing 9 straight to start season
Apr 22 Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Dick Duff scores the winner as Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 for a 4-2 series victory
Apr 23 NY Mets win their 1st game ever, after going 0-9, beat Pirates 9-1

Baseball Record

Apr 24 LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax's 2nd career 18-strikeout, in a 10-2 win over Cubs in Chicago

Golf Tournament

Apr 30 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Mickey Wright wins her 8th major title in a playoff with Ruth Jessen

The 100-year Football Curse that Appears to be Working

May 2 European Cup Final, Amsterdam: Eusébio scores twice as defending champions Benfica beat Real Madrid, 5-3; Puskás, hits all 3 for Madrid. Start of the Benfica curse.

Former S.L. Benfica Coach Béla Guttmann (second from left)

May 5 88th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Decidedly wins in 2:00.4
May 13 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Montgomery CC: Mickey Wright wins on the 4th hole of a sudden-death playoff with Mary Lena Faulk
May 19 87th Preakness: John Rotz aboard Greek Money wins in 1:56.2
May 19 Stan Musial breaks Honus Wagner's NL hit record with 3,431

Baseball Record

May 22 Roger Maris walks 5 times (record 4 intentionally) in a 9 inning game

Baseball Record

May 23 Joe Pepitone 2nd NY Yankee to hit 2 HRs in 1 inning (Joe DiMaggio)

MLB First Baseman and Outfielder Joe Pepitone

May 28 Wide World of Sports with Chris Schenkel premieres on CBS radio
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Rodger Ward and Len Sutton finish 1st-2nd for Leader Cards Racing; Parnelli Jones breaks 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier in qualifying
Jun 2 French Championships Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Rod Laver beats Roy Emerson 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 9-7, 6-2; 2nd leg of Laver's 1st Grand Slam
Jun 2 French Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Margaret Smith beats doubles partner Lesley Turner 6-3, 3-6, 7-5

Belmont Stakes

Jun 9 94th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Jaipur wins in 2:28.8

Racing Hall of Fame Jockey Bill Shoemaker

Jun 10 A one-day record 54 home runs hit in baseball
Jun 10 Igor Ter-Ovanesyan of USSR, sets then long jump record at 27' 3½"
Jun 15 Phillies score 10 runs in an inning against Reds en route to 13-8 win

Sports History

Jun 17 Chicago Cub Lou Brock is 2nd to HR into Polo Grounds right-center field bleachers

Baseball Hall of Fame Outfielder Lou Brock

Jun 17 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile: Brazil go 1-down early but recover to beat Czechoslovakia, 3-1
Jun 17 US Open Men's Golf, Oakmont CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his first major title by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer
Jun 24 Outfielder Jack Reed hits his only MLB home run in the 22nd-inning as NY Yankees edge Detroit Tigers, 9-7 in slowest extra-inning game in league history; 7:00 hours
Jun 26 Boston Red Sox Earl Wilson no-hits LA Angels, 2-0
Jun 27 Dutch soccer clubs Rapid JC and Roda Sports merge to form Roda JC Kerkrade; KNVB Cup winners 1996–97, 1999–2000
Jun 29 Frank Howard hits the 5,000th Dodger home run
Jun 30 LA Dodgers' future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax no-hits New York Mets, 5-0; first of 4 career no-hitters thrown by Koufax
Jun 30 US Open Women's Golf, Dunes Golf & Beach Club: Murle Lindstrom wins her first LPGA Tour victory, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Ruth Jessen and Jo Ann Prentice
Jul 6 NY Yankees 'M&M boys' Roger Maris & Mickey Mantle hit 2 HRs each in 7-5 win v Twins, Mantle his 4th consecutive homer
Jul 6 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats fellow Australian Martin Mulligan 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 for the 3rd leg of his first Grand Slam
Jul 7 Bill Hartack becomes 8th jockey to win 3,000 American thoroughbred races
Jul 7 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: American Karen Susman beats Věra Suková of Czechoslovakia 6-4, 6-4 for her only Grand Slam singles title
Jul 10 32nd All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 3-1 at D.C. Stadium, Washington
Jul 13 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Troon: Arnold Palmer wins his 2nd consecutive Open, 6 strokes clear of runner-up Kel Nagle of Australia

Tour de France

Jul 15 49th Tour de France; Defending champion Jacques Anquetil of France claims his 3rd Tour victory

Sports History

Jul 18 Minnesota Twins Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew hit grand slams in 1st inn & Harmon Killebrew connect in a club-record, 11-run 1st inning

Jul 22 Chicago White Sox outfielder Floyd Robinson goes 6 for 6 (all singles) as WS defeat Boston Red Sox, 7-3 at Fenway Park

PGA Championship

Jul 22 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Aronimink GC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by 1 stroke from Bob Goalby

Baseball Record

Jul 26 Milwaukee Brave Warren Spahn sets HR record of 31 by a pitcher

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Warren Spahn

Jul 30 33rd All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 9-4 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, MVP: Leon Wagner (LA Angels)
Jul 31 England fast bowler Brian Statham becomes Test cricket's leading wicket-taker with world-record tally of 237 as Australian wicketkeeper Barry Shepherd is caught by Fred Truman for 10 in drawn 4th Test in Adelaide
Aug 1 Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Monbouquette no-hits Chicago White Sox, 1-0 at White Sox Park
Aug 3 NY Met Frank Thomas hits his 6th HR in 3 games
Aug 11 LA Dodgers protest as San Francisco manager Alvin Dark orders Candlestick Park ground crew to water down base paths to hinder MLB All-Star Maury Wills' base-stealing attempts; Giants win 5-4

Sports History

Aug 13 Bert Campaneris of Daytona Beach (FSL) pitches ambidextrously

Aug 19 Homer Blancos plays finest round in golf, shooting a 55

Durocher's Allergic Reaction

Aug 24 Los Angeles Dodger coach Leo Durocher suffers a near-fatal allergic reaction to a penicillin injection while in the clubhouse at the Polo Grounds, NYC

Baseball Player and Manager Leo Durocher

Aug 26 Minnesota Twins Jack Kralick no-hits KC A's, 1-0
Sep 2 St. Louis 1st baseman Stan Musial's records his 3,516th hit in Cards' 4-3 loss v NY Mets; overtakes Tris Speaker into 2nd place behind Ty Cobb on the MLB all-time list
Sep 5 Atletico Madrid of Spain win 2nd European Cup Winner's Cup against ACF Fiorentina of Italy 3-0 in Stuttgart (replay)
Sep 5 Cubs Ken Hubbs sets 2nd base record for consecutive errorless games at 78 & consecutive errorless chances (418), he errors in the 4th
Sep 10 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Rod Laver completes his first Grand Slam defeating fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4

US Open Women's Tennis

Sep 10 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Australian Margaret Smith beats defending champion Darlene Hard 9-7, 6-4 for her first US singles crown

Sep 12 Washington Senator Tom Cheney strikes out record 21 Orioles in 16 inn game
Sep 15 Australia's 1st entry in America's Cup yacht race (US wins)
Sep 16 Brian Kilby wins marathon: (2:23:18.8)
Sep 18 Bob Aspromonte sets NL 3rd baseman record of 57 cons errorless games
Sep 23 LA Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills breaks Ty Cobb's 1915 MLB steals record, recording #97 on his way to 104

Boxing Title Fight

Sep 25 Challenger Sonny Liston KOs Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of round 1 at Comiskey Park, Chicago to win the world heavyweight boxing title

Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston

Sep 25 Weatherly (US) beats Gretel (Aust) in 19th running of America's Cup
Sep 25 Yankees clinch AL pennant
Sep 26 LA Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills becomes first player in MLB history to steal 100 bases (en route to 104)
Sep 30 NY Mets lose record 120th game as Cubs turn triple play & beat NY 5-1
Oct 2 San Francisco Giants beat rival LA Dodgers, 8-7 in 4 hours 18 minutes in Game 2 NL tie-break series; longest 9-inning game in MLB history; Giants win series, 2-1
Oct 3 SF Giants (103-62) beat rivals LA Dodgers (102-63), 6-4 in season ending NL pennant decider; Dodgers set MLB record season attendance 2,755,184

World Series

Oct 4 Willie Mays scores in the 2nd inning for the Giants ending Whitey Ford's record Baseball World Series consecutive scoreless inning streak at 33 2⁄3; Yankees beat Giants, 6-2 in Game 1 and 4-3 in the series

Oct 6 16th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Garden, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars, 4-1; MVP: Eddie Shack, Toronto, LW
Oct 7 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Stardust CC, LV: Judy Kimball wins her only major title by 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Shirley Spork

Sports History

Oct 14 Houston Oiler George Blanda throws for 6 TD passes vs NY Titans 56-17

NFL Quarterback and Placekicker George Blanda

Oct 16 Baseball World Series: NY Yankees win 20th championship; beat SF Giants, 1-0 at Candlestick Park for 4 games to 3 series victory; MVP: Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry
Oct 28 Jo Weatherly in a Pontiac finishes 2nd to Rex White in season-ending Dixie 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to clinch his 1st of 2 consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Championships
Oct 28 NY Giant Y. A. Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash Redskins (49-34)
Nov 3 SF Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scores 72 points in 127-115 defeat to LA Lakers at LA Memorial Sports Arena; then 4th-highest point total in NBA history; remains 6th highest game total

Glenn Hall

Nov 7 Glenn Hall set NHL record of 503 consecutive games as goalie

Drysdale Cy Young

Nov 15 Don Drysdale wins Cy Young Award

Nov 16 SF Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scores 73 points in 127-111 win over NY Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Mantle AL MVP

Nov 20 Mickey Mantle wins AL MVP for the 3rd time

Nov 23 LA Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills is named National League MVP
Nov 29 Major League Baseball decides to revert to 1 All-Star game per year, after 4 seasons in which 2 All-Star games were played
Dec 1 27th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 38-0 in Birmingham, their fourth straight shutout in the series
Dec 1 Classifications in minor league baseball are overhauled; Eastern and South Atlantic leagues are promoted from Class-A to Class-AA; classes B, C and D are abolished with those leagues being promoted to Class-A
Dec 2 50th Grey Cup, Exhibition Stadium, Toronto: Winnipeg Blue Bombers edge Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 28-27; play starts 1 December; only final ever suspended during play (fog), and first to be finished on a Sunday
Dec 3 1963 NFL Draft: Terry Baker from Oregon State first pick by Los Angeles Rams
Dec 16 NY Giant Y. A. Tittle sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with 6 touchdowns vs Dallas (41-31)
Dec 18 Ballon d'Or: Dukler Prague midfielder Josef Masopust wins award for best European football player; beats Benfica striker Eusébio and FC Köln defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
Dec 22 1,000,000th NBA point scored
Dec 27 28th Heisman Trophy Award: Terry Baker, Oregon State (QB)
Dec 28 51st Davis Cup: Australia beats Mexico in Brisbane (5-0)
Dec 29 Australian cricket batting champion Doug Walters makes 1st-class debut for NSW v Queensland in Sydney at just 17 years, 8 days; scores 50 in NSW 2nd innings

Hill F1 Champion

Dec 29 British driver Graham Hill wins the South African Grand Prix at Prince George Circuit in a BRM; takes out his first F1 World Drivers Championship by 12 points from Scotsman Jim Clark