Events in Sports History in 1963

Model, Brown Rift Boils Over

Jan 7 The rift between Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell and head coach Paul Brown reaches a boiling point, and Brown is fired

Chamberlain Scores 67

Jan 11 SF Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scores 67 points in 134-129 defeat to LA Lakers at Cow Palace

13th NFL Pro Bowl

Jan 13 13th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Eastern Conference beats Western Conference, 30-20; MVPs: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns, RB; Eugene Lipscomb, Pittsburgh Steelers, DT

NFL Legend and Civil Rights Activist Jim Brown

Jan 13 2nd AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 21-14; MVPs: Curtis McClinton, Dallas Texans, RB; Earl Faison, LA Chargers, DE

13th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 16 13th NBA All-Star Game, LA Memorial Sports Arena: East beats West, 115-108; MVP: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics, C

Davis Coaches Oakland Raiders

Jan 18 Al Davis becomes the head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders

American Football Coach and Executive Al Davis

Emerson's 1st of Five Titles

Jan 19 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson wins 1st of 5 straight Australian titles; beats countryman Ken Fletcher 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

Jan 19 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Jan Lehane O'Neill for 4th consecutive year 6-2, 6-2
Jan 26 Major League Rules Committee votes to expand strike zone
Jan 27 Sam Rice, Eppa Rixey, Elmer Flick, & John Clarkson elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

NFL Hall of Hall

Jan 29 Jim Thorpe, Red Grange & George Halas elected to football Hall of Fame

American Football Coach and Team Owner George Halas

Feb 8 AFL's Dallas Texans become KC Chiefs

Sports History

Feb 15 1st US female world figure skating champ (Tenley Albright)

NBA Record

Feb 16 North Carolina forward Billy Cunningham grabs a record 27 rebounds in a game vs Clemson

Feb 17 Japanese runner Toru Terasawa runs a world record marathon (2:15:15.8) at the Beppu Marathon on the island of Kyushu, Japan
Feb 20 Australian cricket greats Neil Harvey and Alan Davidson play final Test match in drawn 5th Test vs England at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Mays Signs Record Contract

Feb 20 Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Mays becomes the highest-paid player in MLB, signing a record $100,000 contract with the San Francisco Giants

Feb 24 5th Daytona 500: Tiny Lund driving for Wood Bros Racing, wins on 4 pit stops as first 10 laps run under caution flag because of rain

Contract of Interest

Feb 27 Mickey Mantle of NY Yankees sign a baseball contract worth $100,000

Mar 2 10th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC: Duke beats Wake Forest, 68-57

Sports History

Mar 10 MLB infielder Pete Rose debuts with Cincinnati at spring training in Tampa, Florida; hits in his first 2 at bats

Mar 10 SF Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scores 70 points in 163-148 defeat to Syracuse Nationals at Onondaga War Memorial
Mar 16 England edges Scotland, 10-8 at Twickenham, London to win its 17th Five Nations Rugby Championship
Mar 23 25th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Loyola-Chicago beats Cincinnati, 60-58 (OT); Ramblers' first title in first title game
Mar 28 AFL's NY Titan's become the NY Jets
Mar 30 117th Grand National: 19-year old jockey Pat Buckley aboard 66/1 outsider Ayala wins by 3/4 of a length from Carrickbeg

Sports History

Apr 1 NY Mets purchase future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider from the LA Dodgers for $40,000; Snider had starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-57

Apr 7 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

Apr 7 Public stock offering of 115,000 shares in Milwaukee Braves withdrawn after only 13,000 shares are sold to 1,600 new investors

Sports History

Apr 8 Detroit Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain on waivers from the Chicago White Sox; McLain goes on the win Cy Young Award 1968, 69 and AL MVP 1968

Spahn's Left-Handed Record

Apr 11 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

Apr 13 Pete Rose triples for his 1st major league base hit
Apr 15 67th Boston Marathon won by Aurèle Vandendriessche of Belgium in race record 2:18:58
Apr 18 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs go back-to-back with a 3-1 Game 5 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-1 series victory
Apr 24 17th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2

Hall of Fame

Apr 24 Future Basketball Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy plays his last NBA game for Boston as Celtics beat LA Lakers, 112-109 in Game 6 for their 5th straight NBA C'ship

Golf Tournament

Apr 29 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith beats Mickey Wright by 1 shot in 18-hole playoff

May 1 First one-day cricket competition is played (Gillette Cup); Lancashire beats Leicestershire by 101 at Old Trafford
May 4 89th Kentucky Derby: Braulio Baeza aboard Chateaugay wins in 2:01.8
May 4 Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game

Sports History

May 11 LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his second career no-hitter; beats Juan Marichal and the SF Giants, 8-0

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Juan Marichal

May 15 Tottenham Hotspur of England win 3rd European Cup winner's Cup against Atlético Madrid of Spain 5-1 at Rotterdam
May 17 Houston Colt .45's Don Notterbart no-hits Phillies, 4-1

88th Preakness

May 18 88th Preakness: Bill Shoemaker aboard Candy Spots wins in 1:56.2

Racing Hall of Fame Jockey Bill Shoemaker

May 22 European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: José Altafini scores twice as AC Milan edge Benfica, 2-1 for first title to an Italian club
May 22 Mickey Mantle hits a ball off Yankee Stadium's facade
May 25 Great Britain ends its amateur-professional classes in cricket
May 26 French Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Roy Emerson beats home favourite Pierre Darmon 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
May 26 French Championships Women's Tennis: Australian Lesley Turner wins the first of 2 French titles; beats England's Ann Jones 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Parnelli Jones takes his only Indy 500 win despite his car spewing oil from a cracked overflow tank for many laps
Jun 8 95th Belmont: Braulio Baeza aboard Chateaugay wins in 2:30.2
Jun 9 1st Sunday night game in baseball SF Giants lose to Houston Colts 3-0
Jun 14 NY Met Duke Snider hits his 400th HR
Jun 15 American Leonard "Buddy" Edelen runs world record marathon (2:14:28) at Polytechnic Marathon (from Windsor to Chiswick, England)

Baseball History

Jun 15 SF Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal no-hits Houston Colt .45s, 1-0

Jun 23 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Maple Bluff CC: Mickey Wright defends title by 9 shots from Kathy Whitworth for her 10th major championship
Jun 23 NY Mets Jimmy Piersall hits his 100th HR, he circles bases backwards

US Golf Open

Jun 23 US Open Men's Golf, The Country Club: Julius Boros wins his second Open title in an 18-hole playoff with Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit

Jun 25 Famous cricket draw at Lord's as England hang on against the Windies
Jun 27 MLB Philadelphia Phillies Johnny Callison hits for cycle, but teammate centerfielder Tony Gonzalez's error ends his record 205 consecutive errorless games
Jul 2 SF Giants legend Willie Mays breaks up classic Juan Marichal vs Warren Spahn pitching dual, homering in 16th inning off Spahn for 1-0 win vs Milwaukee Braves

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 5 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American Chuck McKinley wins his only Grand Slam singles title beating Fred Stolle of Australia 9-7, 6-1, 6-4

Tennis Player and Wimbledon Champion Chuck McKinley

Tennis Player and Broadcaster Fred Stolle

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 8 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Australian Margaret Smith wins her first of 3 Wimbledon titles beating Billie Jean Moffitt 6-3, 6-4

Jul 9 34th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 5-3 at Municipal Stadium, Cleveland
Jul 9 All star MVP: Willie Mays (SF Giants)

British Golf Open

Jul 13 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St Annes GC: Bob Charles of New Zealand wins his only major championship in a 36-hole playoff, 8 strokes ahead of runner-up Phil Rodgers; becomes first left-hander to win a major title

Jul 13 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, wins his 300th and last MLB game at 43

Tour de France

Jul 14 50th Tour de France: French cyclist Jacques Anquetil wins his 3rd consecutive general classification event; first rider to win Tour 4 times

Sports History

Jul 17 Dave DeBusschere hits a single off Bennie Daniels, his 1st and only MLB hit

NBA Forward and MLB Player Dave DeBusschere

Jul 17 Telstar soccer team forms in Ijmuiden

US Women's Golf Open

Jul 20 US Open Women's Golf, Kenwood CC: Mary Mills wins her first of 3 major titles by 3 strokes ahead of runners-up Louise Suggs and Sandra Haynie

Golfer and Co-Founder of the LPGA Louise Suggs

Jul 21 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Dallas Athletic Club: Jack Nicklaus wins first of 5 PGA C'ships by 2 shots from fellow American Dave Ragan

Boxing Title Fight

Jul 22 In their second clash Sonny Liston once again KOs Floyd Patterson in round 1 at the Convention Center, Las Vegas to retain the world heavyweight boxing title

Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston

Jul 31 MLB Cleveland Indians ties record of 4 consecutive home runs to beat California Angels, 9-5; Woodie Held, Pedro Ramos, Tito Francona and Larry Brown all go deep off Paul Foytack in 6th inning

Davis Cup

Aug 1 Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American tennis player to be named in the US Davis Cup team

Sports History

Aug 5 Craig Breedlove sets world land speed record of 407.477 mph in Spirit of America at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Aug 6 Philadelphia NBA franchise changes name from 'Nationals' to the '76ers', based on US Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776
Aug 9 NY Met pitcher Roger Craig's NL record-tying 18-game losing streak ends with a complete game 7–3 win over the Chicago Cubs at the Polo Grounds, NYC

Sports History

Aug 12 Stan Musial announces he will retire at end of year

Aug 13 Dave DeBusschere pitches a shutout against the Cleveland Indians
Aug 13 Warren Spahn sets left-hander strike out mark at 2,382
Aug 17 Jim Hickman becomes 1st NY Met to hit for cycle
Aug 24 John Pennel is first person to pole-vault 17'
Aug 26 West Indies beat England 2-1 in series, 1st holders of Wisden Cricket Trophy

Baseball Record

Aug 29 Harmon Killebrew (Twins) HRs off Pete Burnside (Senators) in DH

Sep 1 Walter Kennedy begins his tenure as the commissioner of the NBA, succeeding Maurice Podoloff
Sep 6 Historian Lee Allen says Cleveland Indians - Washington Senators game is 100,000th in Major League Baseball history
Sep 8 Milwaukee Braves future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn ties Christy Mathewson with 13 x 20-win seasons

F1 World Champion

Sep 8 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins the Italian Grand Prix at Monza to clinch his first F1 World Drivers Championship; Clark's 5th GP win of the season

Sep 8 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Rafael Osuna of Mexico beats Frank Froehling 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 for his lone major singles title

US Open Women's Tennis

Sep 8 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Maria Bueno of Brazil wins second of 4 US singles crowns; beats defending champion Margaret Smith of Australia 7-5, 6-4

Sep 10 Phillies beat Houston Colt .45s, 16-0
Sep 10 Stan Musial hits a HR in his 1st at bat as a grandfather

Sports History

Sep 13 Jim Bouton's 20th win clinches New York Yankees' 28th pennant

Sep 15 Alou brothers - Felipe, Matty, & Jesús - appear in San Francisco Giants outfield for 1 inning in a 13-5 win over Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field
Sep 18 Final MLB game at Polo Grounds, New York City; 1,752 see Philadelphia Phillies defeat New York Mets 5-1
Sep 24 Idle Dodgers clinch their 2nd LA pennant as Cubs beat Cards
Sep 29 Cardinal's celebrate Stan Musial Day in St Louis, for Stan Musial's final game, where he hits his 3,629th & 3,630th total hits (475 HRs)
Oct 2 LA Dodgers' Sandy Koufax strikes out World Series record 15 NY Yankees in Game 1 of the Baseball World Series at Yankee Stadium; Dodgers win, 5-2 and sweep series, 4-0

NHL All-Star Game

Oct 5 17th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs tie All Stars, 3-3; MVP: Frank Mahovlich, Toronto, LW

Oct 6 Baseball World Series: LA Dodgers edge NY Yankees, 2-1 at Dodger Stadium for 4-0 series sweep; MVP: Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax
Oct 12 Final event at Polo Grounds, New York City; 14,235 attend 1st (and only) "Latino All-Star Game" - National League wins 5-2 over American League; festivities include a concert by Tito Puente [1]
Oct 13 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Stardust CC: Mickey Wright wins 4th LPGA title by 2 shots from Mary Mills, Louise Suggs & Mary Lena Faulk
Oct 13 Ryder Cup Golf, East Lake CC: US beats Great Britain, 23-9; competition format changes with addition of 4-ball (better ball) matches on a 3rd day of play
Oct 18 IOC votes Mexico City to host 1968 Olympics
Oct 20 Jim Brown sets NFL single-season rushing record, 1,863 yds

Sports History

Oct 23 New York Yankees name Yogi Berra as manager, replacing Ralph Houk who becomes the team's general manager

Oct 24 Sandy Koufax is unanimous winner of Cy Young Award
Oct 27 Australian cricket opening batsman Bob Simpson scores 359 for NSW v Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match at the Gabba in Brisbane

NHL Record

Oct 27 Detroit Red Wings right wing Gordie Howe scores 544th career goal in 6-4 loss to Montreal Canadiens, tying Maurice Richard's all-time NHL regular season record

Oct 30 Sandy Koufax wins NL MVP award

Sports History

Nov 3 Joe Weatherly finishes 7th in the season ending Golden State 400 at Riverside International Raceway; retains NASCAR Sprint Cup by 2,228 points from 14-time winner Richard Petty

Elston Howard AL MVP

Nov 7 New York Yankee catcher Elston Howard is first African-American to be voted AL MVP

Nov 10 Detroit right wing Gordie Howe surpasses Maurice Richard as leading NHL all-time goal scorer with 545th career goal in a 3-0 Red Wings victory over Montreal Canadiens in Detroit
Nov 26 29th Heisman Trophy Award: Roger Staubach, Navy (QB)
Nov 26 Cincinnati 2nd baseman Pete Rose wins NL Rookie of Year
Nov 30 28th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 10-8 in Birmingham, Auburn's first points in the series in five years
Nov 30 CFL Grey Cup, Empire Stadium, Vancouver: Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat BC Lions, 21-10; features controversial sequence involving American players Angelo Mosca and Willie Fleming
Dec 1 Wendell Scott wins the Grand National Series Jacksonville 200 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, becoming the first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level
Dec 2 1964 NFL Draft: Dave Parks from Texas Tech first pick by San Francisco 49ers
Dec 2 MLB Rules Committee bans oversized catcher's mitts; rule effective only in 1965
Dec 4 Boston Bruins' right wing Andy Hebenton sets a new NHL record by playing in his 581st consecutive game in 2-2 tie with Chicago Black Hawks; reaches 630 straight games
Dec 6 Test Cricket debut of Graeme Pollock at the Gabba
Dec 17 Ballon d'Or: Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Lev Yashin wins award for best European football player; beats Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera and Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves; first Russian national to win trophy
Dec 28 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Adelaide: American Chuck McKinley beats Australia's John Newcombe 10-12, 6-2, 9-7, 6-2 in the deciding rubber to give US a thrilling 3-2 victory
Dec 28 Scottish Lotus driver Jim Clark wins his record 7th Grand Prix of the F1 season, the South African event at Prince George Circuit; first Scotsman to win the World Drivers Championship
Dec 29 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 14-10; Giants 3rd consecutive championship defeat; played in temperatures under 10 °F (−12 °C)