Events in Sports History in 1964

  • Jan 1 30th Orange Bowl: #6 Nebraska beats #5 Auburn, 13-7
  • Jan 1 30th Sugar Bowl: #8 Alabama beats #7 Mississippi, 12-7
  • Jan 1 50th Rose Bowl: #3 Illinois beats Washington, 17-7
  • Jan 5 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium, San Diego: San Diego Chargers beat Boston Patriots, 51-10; Chargers RB Keith Lincoln rushes for 206 yards, 2 TDs

Western Defeats Eastern Conference

Jan 12 14th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-17; MVPs: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, QB; Gino Marchetti, Baltimore Colts, DE

Emerson Retains Title

Jan 13 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson retains title; beats fellow Australian Fred Stolle 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

  • Jan 13 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Australian Margaret Smith beats doubles partner Lesley Turner 6-3, 6-2 for her 5th Australian singles crown

14th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 14 14th NBA All-Star Game, Boston Garden: East beats West, 111-107; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG

  • Jan 15 MLB executives vote to hold a free agent amateur draft, officially known as Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in NYC

Willie Mays Highest Paid

Jan 15 San Francisco Giants make champion outfielder Willie Mays the highest-paid player in baseball when they sign him to a new $105,000 per season contract

  • Jan 19 3rd AFL All Star Game, Balboa Stadium, SD: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 27-24; MVPs: Keith Lincoln, LA Chargers, RB; Archie Matsos, Oakland Raiders, LB
  • Jan 24 CBS purchases 1964 and 1965 NFL TV rights for $28.2 million
  • Jan 25 Nike athletics company founded in Oregon as Blue Ribbon Sports by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach, Bill Bowerman [1]
  • Jan 27 Barlow & Graeme Pollock complete 341 stand at Adelaide Oval
  • Jan 29 IX Winter Olympic Games open in Innsbruck, Austria
  • Jan 29 Most lopsided high-school basketball score 211-29 (Louisiana)
  • Jan 29 NBC purchases AFL 5 year (1965-69) TV rights for $36 million
  • Feb 1 French sisters Christine Goitschel (gold) and Marielle Goitschel (silver) become first female siblings to win Olympic gold and silver in the same event when they dominate the slalom in Innsbruck

Baseball Hall of Fame

Feb 2 Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame - Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward, & Miller Huggins

  • Feb 2 Sjoukje Dijkstra (Netherlands) wins Olympic gold for figure skating
  • Feb 3 French sisters Marielle Goitschel (gold) and Christine Goitschel (silver) repeat (in reverse order) their top-2 finish in the slalom 2 days earlier, in the giant slalom at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics
  • Feb 9 IX Winter Olympic Games close in Innsbruck, Austria

Cricket History

Feb 12 End of Richie Benaud's 63-Test cricket career in drawn 5th Test v South Africa in Sydney

Sports History

Feb 12 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming

College Basketball

Feb 15 Bill Bradley scores 51 points for Princeton

  • Feb 17 101st member elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling

Daytona 500

Feb 23 6th Daytona 500: Race winner Richard Petty leads for record 184 of the 200 laps

  • Feb 23 Charlie Finley signs a 4 year lease to keep MLB A's in Kansas City

Boxing Title Fight

Feb 25 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach

World Record

Feb 29 Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser records the fastest 100m freestyle of her brilliant career; smashes her own world record 58.9s in Sydney; goes on to win her 3rd straight gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics

Sports History

Feb 29 Cincinnati's Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson combine for a rare 40-40 performance as the Royals beat host Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114; NBA MVP Robertson has 43 points; Rookie of the Year Lucas, 40 rebounds

  • Feb 29 NC high school basketball teams play to 56-54 score in 13 overtime
  • Mar 5 Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen Jr, announces a baseball team is moving there
  • Mar 6 Boxing legend Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam and changes his name to "Muhammad Ali", calling his former title a "slave name"
  • Mar 7 11th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats Wake Forest, 80-59
  • Mar 16 Paul Hornung & Alex Karras reinstated in NFL after 1 year suspension
  • Mar 21 118th Grand National: Willie Robinson aboard American-owned 12-year-old Team Spirit wins at odds of 18/1
  • Mar 21 26th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Duke, 98-83; Bruins first title in first title game; undefeated season (30-0)
  • Mar 21 Wales draws 11-11 with France in Cardiff, whilst Scotland beats England, 15-6 at Murrayfield to leave the Five Nations Rugby Championship shared by Wales and Scotland on 6 competition points
  • Mar 22 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Scenic Hills CC: Carol Mann her 1st of 2 major titles by 2 shots from Ruth Jessen and Judy Kimball
  • Apr 10 Demolition begins in Upper Manhattan, New York City on Polo Grounds sports stadium (home to MLB Giants, 1891-1957, Mets, 1962-63, and NFL Jets, 1960-63) to clear way for housing project

US Masters Golf

Apr 12 28th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Arnold Palmer wins by 6 shots from Dave Marr and Jack Nicklaus to become the first 4-time winner of the Masters; his 7th and final major victory

Sports History

Apr 14 LA Dodgers' future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax throws his 9th complete game without allowing a walk in 4-0 Opening Day win over St. Louis Cardinals

  • Apr 17 1st game at Shea Stadium, NY Mets lose to Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3
  • Apr 18 LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax strikes out the side on 9 pitches, for major league best third time in his career
  • Apr 20 68th Boston Marathon won for second straight year by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium in 2:19:59
  • Apr 21 Pirates & Cubs combine for 9 HRs, Pirates win 8-5
  • Apr 23 Houston Colt 45s Ken Johnson becomes 1st major league pitcher to lose a 9 inning no-hitter, Reds win 1-0
  • Apr 25 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-0 Game 7 win over Detroit Red Wings for a 4-3 series victory
  • Apr 26 18th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat SF Warriors, 4 games to 1

LPGA Titleholders Championship

Apr 26 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith retains title; beats Mickey Wright by 1 stroke

  • May 2 90th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 2:00
  • May 15 Sporting Portugal win 4th European Cup Winner's Cup against MTK Budapest of Hungry 1-0 at Antwerp (replay)
  • May 16 89th Preakness: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 1:56.8

Sports History

May 17 First Tim Horton's coffee and donut shop opens in Hamilton, Ontario by NHL player Tim Horton

  • May 17 Phillies triple play Houston Colt .45s
  • May 20 Buster Mathis beats future world heavyweight champion Joe Frazer on points at trials in Flushing, NY to qualify for US Olympic boxing team; Mathis injures thumb, replaced by Frazier who wins gold medal
  • May 23 Dale Greig runs female marathon world record (3:27:45)

Sports History

May 24 Longest HR (471') in Baltimore Memorial Stadium (Harmon Killebrew, Minnesota Twins)

  • May 24 Panic in Lima Peru soccer stadium, kills 300
  • May 27 European Cup Final, Praterstadion, Vienna: Internazionale beats Real Madrid, 3-1 for their first title
  • May 30 French Championships Men's Tennis: Manuel Santana beats Nicola Pietrangeli (6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5)

French Open Women's Tennis

May 30 French Championships Women's Tennis: Margaret Court of Australia wins her second French singles crown; beats Maria Bueno of Brazil 5-7, 6-1, 6-2

Indy 500

May 30 Indianapolis 500: A. J. Foyt wins but race primarily remembered for fiery 7-car accident resulting in deaths of Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald; last race won by a front-engined "roadster"

  • May 31 SF Giants beat NY Mets, 8-6, in 23 innings (2nd game) (7 hrs 32 mins)
  • Jun 4 LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax tosses his 3rd career no-hitter; beats Phillies, 3-0 in Philadelphia
  • Jun 4 Test Cricket debut of Geoff Boycott v Australia at Trent Bridge, 48
  • Jun 6 96th Belmont: Manuel Ycaza aboard Quadrangle wins in 2:28.6
  • Jun 13 Basil Heatley runs world record marathon (2:13:55)
  • Jun 19 Cambuur Leeuwarden BVO soccer team forms in Leeuwarden
  • Jun 20 US Open Men's Golf, Congressional CC: Ken Venturi wins his only major title, 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Tommy Jacobs

Baseball Record

Jun 21 Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning hurls a perfect game as Philadelphia beats the New York Mets, 6-0 on Fathers Day at Shea Stadium

  • Jun 21 UEFA European Championship Final, Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain: Marcelino scores the winner as Spain beats Soviet Union, 2-1
  • Jul 3 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Roy Emerson beats Fred Stolle 6-4, 12-10, 4-6, 6-3; Emerson's 1st of 2 straight Wimbledon titles
  • Jul 4 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Brazilian Maria Bueno earns a 3rd Wimbledon singles title with a 6-4, 7-9, 6-3 win over Margaret Smith of Australia
  • Jul 7 35th MLB All Star Game, Shea Stadium, New York: NL wins 7-4 on the back of Johnny Callison's 3-run 9th inning homer

British Golf Open

Jul 10 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Tony Lema wins his only major title, 5 strokes clear of runner-up and fellow American Jack Nicklaus

  • Jul 10 Jesús Alou is the first San Francisco Giant in 40 years to get 6 hits in a game in a 10-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field
  • Jul 12 US Open Women's Golf, San Diego CC: Mickey Wright wins her 4th Open in a playoff with Ruth Jessen

Tour de France

Jul 14 51st Tour de France: Jacques Anquetil of France wins 4th consecutive Tour and is first to claim 5 titles

  • Jul 14 MLB Baltimore Oriole Bob Johnson's 6th straight hit as a pinch hitter
  • Jul 19 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Columbus CC: Bobby Nichols wins his only major title by 3 strokes from 'Big-2' Jack Nicklaus & Arnold Palmer; leads wire-to-wire

Baseball Record

Jul 23 Kansas City A's Bert Campaneris HRs on 1st pitch he sees from Twins' Jim Kaat, adds a 2nd HR later, also off of Kaat (in Minnesota)

  • Jul 25 Australian cricket captain and opening batsman Bob Simpson hits 311 v England in the drawn 4th Test in Manchester
  • Aug 1 Dan 'Big Daddy' Garlits becomes first drag racer to run the 1/4 mile at over 200mph (201.34mph at Island Dragway, New Jersey)
  • Aug 7 31st NFL Chicago College All-Star Game: Chicago 28, All-Stars 17 - 65,000 at Soldier Field
  • Aug 9 Bunning continues pitching perfectly to NY Mets until 2 outs in 5th, when Joe Christopher beats out a bunt. He totals 15 innings

Baseball Record

Aug 12 Mickey Mantle switch-hits HR record 10th & final time in a game with one going up 502 feet

  • Aug 14 LA Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky is suspended after hotel room fight with elderly Los Angeles Times sportswriter Braven Dyer

World Record

Aug 15 American long jumper Ralph Boston sets then world record 27' 3½" (8.31m) at Kingston, Jamaica

  • Aug 15 Fred Trueman takes 300th Test Cricket wicket (Neil Hawke)
  • Aug 15 MLB Philadelphia Phillies turn triple-play in 8-1 over Mets at Shea Stadium, NYC
  • Aug 16 Mildred Sampson of New Zealand runs female world marathon record 3:19:33 in Auckland, New Zealand

Sports History

Aug 16 St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood gets 8 straight hits in a doubleheader split against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium

  • Aug 17 Boycott scores his 1st Test Cricket century, 113 v Aust at the Oval
  • Aug 18 South Africa banned from Olympic Games because of apartheid policies
  • Aug 18 The Beatles arrive in San Francisco, California on their second US visit, and first cross-country tour, encompassing 32 shows in 25 cities over 31 days

Sports History

Aug 20 New York Yankees player Phil Linz plays harmonica on bus despite manager Yogi Berra's orders

  • Aug 20 Rex Sellers bowls 5-1-17-0 v India in only Test Cricket innings
  • Aug 23 St Louis Cardinals are 11 games back in NL; go on win Baseball World Series, 4-3 v New York Yankees
  • Aug 29 On Elston Howard Night, NY Yankees Mickey Mantle ties Babe Ruth's career strikeout record (1,330)
  • Aug 31 Ground is broken for Anaheim Stadium, future home of MLB California Angels

Sports History

Sep 1 SF Giants reliever Masanori Murakami becomes the first Japanese-born player to appear in US MLB; on debut, the Osuki native throws a scoreless inning in a 4-1 loss v New York Mets

  • Sep 12 American long jumper Ralph Boston sets then world record 27' 4 1⁄4" (8.34m) at Los Angeles, California
  • Sep 13 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Roy Emerson beats fellow Australian Fred Stolle 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 for his 3rd Grand Slam title of the year
  • Sep 13 US National Championship Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Defending champion Maria Bueno of Brazil wins her 3rd US singles title; dominates American Carole Graebner 6-1, 6-0
  • Sep 17 The Beatles are paid a then record $150,000 by baseball team owner Charles Finley for a concert at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on a scheduled day off; the group adds the song "Kansas City"/"Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" to their standard setlist, much to the delight of the crowd
  • Sep 17 Yankee Mickey Mantle gets career hits #1999, 2000 & 2001 & his 450th HR in 6-2 victory over Los Angeles Angels at New York
  • Sep 20 20th America's Cup yachting: Eric Ridder skippered Constellation beats English challenger Sovereign for a 4-0 American series sweep off Newport, RI
  • Sep 26 Braves (25) & Phillies (18) set record by using 43 players in 9 inn
  • Sep 27 Despite 3 HRs by Johnny Callison, Phils are 14-8 losers to Braves
  • Sep 27 Phillies 7th straight loses sends them into 2nd place
  • Sep 28 53rd Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in Cleveland (3-2)

Baseball Record

Oct 2 Philadelphia's Alex Johnson-Bobby Wine-Tony Taylor-Vic Power combine for Phillies' 3rd triple play of the season (tying MLB record) in 4-3 win v Cincinnati Reds

  • Oct 3 NY Yankees beat Cleveland Indians, 8-3 to clinch Bronx Bombers 5th consecutive AL pennant, and 29th in club's history
  • Oct 4 Boston Patriots' kicker Gino Cappelletti lands 6-from-6 field goals and 3-from-3 conversions in 39-10 win v Denver Broncos at Bears Stadium, Denver

LPGA Championship

Oct 4 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Stardust CC; Mary Mills shoots final round 69 to win first of her 2 LPGA C'ships, 2 strokes ahead of defending champion Mickey Wright

NHL All-Star Game

Oct 10 18th NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: All-Stars beat Toronto, 3-2; MVP: Jean Béliveau, Montreal, C

  • Oct 10 XVIII Summer Olympic Games open in Tokyo, Japan
  • Oct 12 American Don Schollander swims an Olympic record 53.4s to beat Briton Robert McGregor by 0.1s and win the 100m freestyle gold medal in Tokyo; first of Schollander's 4 gold medals at the Games
  • Oct 13 Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser wins her third consecutive Olympic 100m freestyle gold medal at the Tokyo Games; Olympic record 59.05s
  • Oct 13 US sweeps medals in the men's 200m backstroke at the Tokyo Olympics; Jed Graef swims world record 2:10.3 to win gold ahead of teammates Gary Dilley and Bob Bennett
  • Oct 14 Al Oerter wins his third Olympic gold medal in discus throw at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
  • Oct 14 American swimmer Cathy Ferguson sets world record 1:07.7 to beat Kiki Caron of France by 0.2s and win the women's 100m backstroke gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 14 American swimmer Dick Roth sets world record 4:45.4 to beat teammate Roy Saari and win the men's 400m individual medley gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 14 Little known American distance runner Billy Mills scores major upset by winning the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics; beats Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia by 0.4s; only American to ever win the event
  • Oct 14 Mary Rand of Great Britain leaps a world record 6.76m to win the women's long jump gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics

Baseball Record

Oct 14 Roger Maris & Mickey Mantle hit HRs runs on back-to-back pitches

  • Oct 14 US 4 x 100m freestyle relay team of Steve Clark, Mike Austin, Gary Ilman & Don Schollander swim world record 3:33.2 to beat Germany by 4.0s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics

Olympic Games

Oct 15 American Al Oerter wins his third of 4 consecutive Olympic men's discus titles at the Tokyo Olympics; beats Czech Ludvík Daněk by 0.08m

  • Oct 15 American Don Schollander swims a world record 4:12.2 to win the 400m freestyle gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; second of Schollander's 4 gold medals at the Games
  • Oct 15 American sprinter Bob Hayes equals world record 10.0s to beat Cuba's Enrique Figuerola by 0.2s and win the men's 100m gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 15 Australian swimmer Ian O'Brien sets world record 2:27.8 to beat Soviet Georgy Prokopenko by 0.4s and win men's 200m breaststroke gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 15 Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals win 7th title; beat NY Yankees, 7-5 at Busch Stadium to clinch series, 4-3; MVP: St Louis pitcher Bob Gibson

Sports History

Oct 15 Craig Breedlove sets auto speed record of 846.97 kph

  • Oct 15 Soviet rower Vyacheslav Ivanov wins his third consecutive Olympic men's single sculls gold medal at the Tokyo Games; also the reigning World and European champion
  • Oct 15 US women's 4 x 100m freestyle relay team of Sharon Stouder, Donna de Varona, Lillian Watson & Kathy Ellis swims world record 4:03.8 to beat Australia by 3.1s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 16 American swimmer Sharon Strouder sets world record 1:04.7 to beat Ada Kok of the Netherlands by 0.9s and win the women's 100m butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 16 In an incredibly close women's 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics American sprinter Wyomia Tyus runs 11.4s to beat teammate Edith McGuire by 0.2s; Ewa Kłobukowska of Poland takes bronze with the same time as McGuire
  • Oct 16 US men's 4 × 100m medley relay team of Thompson Mann, Bill Craig, Fred Schmidt & Steve Clark swim world record 3:58.4 to beat Germany by 3.2s and win gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 17 Australian athlete Betty Cuthbert takes her 4th career Olympic gold medal as she wins the women's 400m at the Tokyo Games in Olympic record 52.0
  • Oct 17 In the first ever Olympic women's pentathlon Irina Press of the Soviet Union sets a world record 5,246 points to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Games
  • Oct 17 New York Yankees catcher fire Manager Yogi Berra
  • Oct 17 US swimmers go 1-2-3 in the women's 400m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics; Donna de Varona wins gold in Olympic record 5:18.7 ahead of teammates Sharon Finneran and Martha Randall
  • Oct 18 Australian swimmer Kevin Berry sets world record 2:06.6 to beat American Carl Robie by 0.9s and win the men's 200m backstroke gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 19 American sprinter Edith McGuire runs an Olympic record 23.0 to win the women's 200m gold medal in Tokyo; minor place medallists Irena Szewińska of Poland and Australian Marilyn Black both record 23.1
  • Oct 19 In a blanket finish in the 80m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics, Germany's Karin Balzer and Teresa Cieply of Poland both record 10.5s with Pam Kilborn of Australia 10.6; Balzer is awarded the gold medal
  • Oct 19 Tamara Press of the Soviet Union wins the women's discus with an Olympic record throw 57.27m in Tokyo; first of 2 gold medals at the Games (shot put)
  • Oct 20 Ann Packer of Great Britain runs a world record 2:01.1 to win the women's 800m gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 20 Tamara Press of the Soviet Union wins her second gold medal in 2 days by taking out the women's shot put at the Tokyo Olympics; Press' second consecutive Olympic shot put title

World Record

Oct 21 Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia runs a world record 2:12:11.2 to beat Briton Basil Heatley by more than 4 minutes and win the men's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics; first athlete to win Olympic marathon twice

  • Oct 21 American men's 4×400m relay team beats Great Britain by 0.9s to set world record 3:00.7 and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Ollan Cassell, Mike Larrabee, Ulis Williams & Henry Carr
  • Oct 21 MLB Milwaukee Braves ask NL to allow them to move to Atlanta, Georgia
  • Oct 21 New Zealand athlete Peter Snell wins the 1,500m at the Tokyo Olympics; his second gold medal of the Games (800m); 3rd career gold
  • Oct 21 Polish 4×100m women's relay team runs a world record 43.6 to beat the US by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; Teresa Ciepły, Irena Kirszenstein, Halina Górecka & Ewa Kłobukowska
  • Oct 21 US 4 x 100m men's relay team of Paul Drayton, Gerry Ashworth, Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes run world record 39.0s to beat Poland by 0.3s and win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 23 Czech gymnast Věra Čáslavská wins the balance beam at the Tokyo Olympics; her 3rd gold medal of the Games with individual all-round and vault victories
  • Oct 23 Dutch 10th dan judoka Anton Geesink wins Open gold medal in the first ever Olympic judo competition in Tokyo; prevents clean sweep of the gold medals by Japan

Olympic Gold

Oct 23 Future undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier dominates German Hans Huber for an easy points win and the Olympic heavyweight gold medal in Tokyo

  • Oct 23 Hungary beats Czechoslovakia 2-1 to win the men's football gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics
  • Oct 23 Japan beats the Soviet Union 3-0 to claim the inaugural Olympic women's volleyball gold medal in Tokyo; undefeated in 6-team round robin competition
  • Oct 23 Japanese gymnast Yukio Endo wins the parallel bars gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics; his 3rd gold medal of the Games (individual all-round and team); 4th career gold (1960, 64)

Olympic Gold

Oct 23 Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina wins the floor exercise gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics; her 2nd gold of the Games (team) and career 9th (1956, 1960, 1964), a gymnastics record

  • Oct 23 Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia finish 8-1 in inaugural Olympic men's volleyball competition in Tokyo; Soviets win 10 team round robin on count back of sets won-lost
  • Oct 24 Test cricket debut of Pakistani standouts Asif Iqbal, Majid Khan and Khalid Ibadulla in drawn 1st Test vs Australia in Karachi; Khalid "Billy" Ibadulla scores 166 on debut
  • Oct 25 "The Wrong Way Run", Viking Jim Marshall runs 66 yards in wrong direction for a safety (NFL's #1 blooper)
  • Oct 25 Dutchman Anton Geesink is 1st non-Japanese Olympic judo gold medal winner

F1 World Champion

Oct 25 English driver John Surtees finishes 2nd behind American Dan Gurney in season ending Mexican Grand Prix at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez to clinch his first F1 World Drivers Championship; edges Graham Hill by 1 point

  • Oct 29 Bobby Simpson completes cricket century in each innings v Pakistan

Sports History

Nov 1 Cleveland running back Jim Brown runs for 149 yards in Browns' 30-17 win at Pittsburgh to become the first NFL player to exceed 10,000 yards career rushing

Sports History

Nov 1 Houston Oilers quarterback George Blanda attempts an AFL record 68 passes (37 completions) in 24-10 loss v Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium

  • Nov 1 Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson passes for 435 yards and 6 TDs in 49-39 win over Denver Broncos at Municipal Stadium
  • Nov 2 Columbia Broadcasting System buys 80% share in the New York Yankees Baseball Club for $11.2 million; later purchases club outright
  • Nov 3 Philadelphia voters narrowly approve $25 million to build a new multi-purpose stadium that would become Veterans Stadium, home to MLB Phillies and NFL Eagles
  • Nov 7 NL keeps Braves in Milwaukee in 1965, may move to Atlanta in 1966
  • Nov 10 Braves sign a 25-year lease to play in the new Atlanta stadium
  • Nov 13 Bob Petit (St Louis Hawks) becomes 1st NBAer to score 20,000 points

Gordie Howe

Nov 14 Detroit Red Wings Gordie Howe sets NHL record 627th career goal

  • Nov 15 Ajax soccer star Johan Cruijff debuts against GVAV
  • Nov 15 Mickey Wright shoots a 62, lowest golf score for a woman pro at the Tall City Open, Midland, Texas

Robinson AL MVP

Nov 18 Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson wins American League MVP

  • Nov 24 30th Heisman Trophy Award: John Huarte, Notre Dame (QB)
  • Nov 24 Cards' 3rd baseman Ken Boyer is voted NL MVP
  • Nov 26 29th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 21-14 in Birmingham
  • Nov 28 1965 NFL Draft: Tucker Frederickson from Auburn University first pick by New York Giants
  • Nov 28 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: BC Lions defeat Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 34-24; BC's Bill Munsey scores 2 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, one on offence and another on defence
  • Dec 1 After just 3 seasons in MLB the Houston Colt .45s change name of the team to Astros; owners say move signals a step into the future for the franchise and the city of Houston
  • Dec 4 Baseball approves a free-agent draft
  • Dec 4 Commissioner's office given full powers in baseball disputes
  • Dec 4 Test Cricket debut of Ian Chappell, v Pakistan MCG, 11, 0-49, 0-31
  • Dec 12 Cleveland Browns' Frank Ryan sets club record of 5 TD passes

Award to Denis Law

Dec 22 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United striker Denis Law wins award for best European football player; beats Inter midfielder Luis Suárez and Real Madrid winger Amancio Amaro; first Scotsman to win the award

  • Dec 26 AFL Championship, War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo: Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 20-7; defending champions can't overcome 1st quarter injury to star RB Keith Lincoln
  • Dec 27 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Cleveland Browns shutout Baltimore Colts, 27-0; last championship win by a major-league pro sports team from Cleveland until 2016 NBA Cavaliers