Events in Sports History in 1968

Events 1 - 200 of 224

  • Jan 1 34th Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #2 Tennessee, 26-24
  • Jan 1 34th Sugar Bowl: LSU beats #5 Wyoming, 20-13
  • Jan 1 54th Rose Bowl: #1 Southern California beats #4 Indiana, 14-3
  • Jan 13 Minnesota North Stars NHL player Bill Masterson, suffers head injuries during a game and dies two days later, becoming the 1st player to die as result of a game

Super Bowl II

Jan 14 Super Bowl II, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB

  • Jan 15 Minnesota North Stars forward Bill Masterton dies 2 days after suffering a head injury in a game against the Oakland Seals; the only death as a result of a game injury in NHL history
  • Jan 16 21st NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars 4-3; MVP: Bruce Gamble, Toronto, G
  • Jan 20 Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win basketball's Game of the Century and end UCLA's 47 game winning streak

Fleming US Champion

Jan 20 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming

  • Jan 20 US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood

18th NFL Pro Bowl

Jan 21 18th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 38-20; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; Dave Robinson, Green Bay Packers, DT

7th AFL All-Star Game

Jan 21 7th AFL All Star Game, Gator Bowl, Jacksonville: Eastern Division beats Western Division, 25-24; MVPs: Joe Namath, NY Jets, QB; Don Maynard, NY Jets, F; Speedy Duncan, LA Chargers, DB/KR

  • Jan 22 NBA announces expansion franchise licences awarded to Milwaukee (Bucks) and Phoenix (Suns)
  • Jan 23 18th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 144-124; MVP: Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers, PG
  • Jan 23 Joe Medwick elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Jan 28 29th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Chandler Harper
  • Jan 28 Goose Goslin & Kiki Cuyler elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
  • Jan 28 Thai boxer Chartchai Chionoi retains his world flyweight title with a 13th-round TKO of home favourite Efren Torres in Mexico City; first of 3 meetings between the pair
  • Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Bill Bowrey wins his first and only Grand Slam title; beats Juan Gisbert Sr. of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 9-7, 6-4

King Defeats Court

Jan 29 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: American Billie Jean King beats home favourite Margaret Court 6-1, 6-2 for her 13th Grand Slam singles title

  • Jan 30 1968 NFL Draft: Ron Yary from USC first pick by Minnesota Vikings

Lombardi Steps Down

Feb 1 Vince Lombardi steps down as NFL Green Bay Packers head coach in favor of longtime assistant Phil Bengtson; stays on as Packers' general manager for 1968

Eckert Replaces Kuhn as Commissioner

Feb 4 Bowie Kuhn replaces William Eckert as 5th commissioner of baseball

  • Feb 5 Skater Kees Verkerk wins olympic gold in the 1500m
  • Feb 6 X Winter Olympic Games opens in Grenoble, France
  • Feb 9 A rare 3-way tie for silver in the women's 500m speed skating at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; Soviet Lyudmila Titova wins from American trio of Jenny Fish, Mary Meyers and Dianne Holum
  • Feb 9 World champion Jean-Claude Killy of France wins the downhill at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; first of 3-event clean sweep of the alpine skiing events at the Games
  • Feb 10 American 2-time world champion Peggy Fleming comfortably wins Olympic women's figure skating gold medal at the Grenoble Winter Games
  • Feb 12 Dutch speed skater Ans Schut wins women's 3,000m event at Grenoble Winter Olympics; first 10 finishers beat previous Olympic record set in Squaw Valley (1960)
  • Feb 12 Frenchman Jean Claude-Killy follows his win in the downhill with victory in giant slalom at Grenoble Winter Olympics; clean sweeps 3 alpine skiing events with success in the slalom
  • Feb 13 After winning giant slalom in Innsbruck (1964) French skier Marielle Goitschel takes out the slalom gold medal at the Grenoble Winter Olympics
  • Feb 13 Swedish 10k cross country champion Toini Gustafsson wins her 2nd gold medal at the Grenoble Winter Olympics in the 5k event ahead of Soviet pair Galina Kulakova and Alvetina Kolchina
  • Feb 14 Norwegian 15k Olympic cross country champion Harald Grønningen wins his second gold medal of the Grenoble Winter Olympics in the 4 x 10k relay
  • Feb 14 Soviet Union goes 1-2 in pairs figure skating at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; husband & wife team Oleg Protopopov and Liudmila Belousova edge teammates Tatiana Zhuk and Alexander Gorelik
  • Feb 15 Biathlon 4 x 7.5k relay debuts at the Grenoble Winter Olympics with the Soviet Union taking the gold medal ahead of Norway and Sweden
  • Feb 15 Fred Anton Maier of Norway skates a world record 7:22.4 in winning the 5,000m at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; Dutch 1,500m champion Kees Verkerk is just 0.8s behind for silver
  • Feb 16 Italy completes the bobsleigh double at the Grenoble Winter Olympics with victory in the 4-man; Eugenio Monti and Luciano de Paolis double up for gold winning 2-man earlier
  • Feb 17 Frenchman Jean Claude-Killy completes a clean sweep of the alpine skiing events at the Grenoble Winter Olympics when he wins the slalom; also takes out the downhill and giant slalom
  • Feb 17 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts opens
  • Feb 17 Norwegian cross country skier Ole Ellefsæter wins 50k event at the Grenoble Winter Olympics; 2nd gold medal of the Games (4 x 10k relay)
  • Feb 17 Soviet Union wins its 3rd Olympic ice hockey gold medal in Grenoble; clinch title with final round, 5-0 win over Canada; Soviet LW Anatoli Firsov top scores with 16 points
  • Feb 18 After winning men's luge singles Olympic gold medal in Innsbruck (1964), Thomas Köhler of Germany teams with Klaus Bonsack to take out the doubles in Grenoble
  • Feb 18 X Winter Olympic Games close in Grenoble, France
  • Feb 21 Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of $10,000

NBA Record

Feb 23 Wilt Chamberlain becomes 1st NBAer to score 25,000 points

  • Feb 24 Gary Unger begins NHL consecutive game record of 914 games

Daytona 500

Feb 25 10th Daytona 500: Cale Yarborough driving for Wood Brothers Racing wins by less than a second from LeeRoy Yarbrough; grid set exclusively by qualifying times

  • Mar 1 High winds blow-off the Philadelphia Spectrum's roof, forcing the Flyers to play their final month of the NHL season on the road, with home games moved to Toronto, NYC and Quebec City
  • Mar 2 19 year-old American Peggy Fleming wins her 3rd consecutive World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Geneva, Switzerland; announces her retirement, turns professional and eventually goes into broadcasting
  • Mar 2 Ice Dance Championship at Geneva won by Towler & Ford of Great Britain

NHL Trade

Mar 3 In a blockbuster trade, Toronto Maple Leafs send future Hockey Hall of Fame left wing Frank Mahovlich to the rival Detroit Red Wings

Sports History

Mar 3 Jean Béliveau (Montreal) becomes 2nd NHLer to score 1,000 pts

Sports History

Mar 4 Italian boxer Nino Benvenuti regains world middleweight title with a 15-round points decision over American champion Emile Griffith at Madison Square Garden, NY; last of famous trilogy of fights

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 4 Joe Frazier takes his record to 20-0 and captures vacant world heavyweight boxing title; stops Buster Mathis in 11th round TKO at Madison Square Garden, NYC

  • Mar 8 6-year-old Tommy Moore scores hole-in-one in golf (Hagerstown, Maryland)
  • Mar 9 15th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats NC State, 87-50
  • Mar 15 Bob Beamon sets indoor long jump record (27'2-3/4")
  • Mar 23 30th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats North Carolina, 78-55; Bruins back-to-back titles; Lew Alcindor tournament Most Outstanding Player for the 2nd of 3 consecutive years
  • Mar 23 France retains the Five Nations Rugby Championship with an 14-9 win over Wales at the National Stadium, Cardiff; first Grand Slam victory for France
  • Mar 30 122nd Grand National: 20-year old Brian Fletcher aboard 100/7 chance Red Alligator rides the first of 3 GN victories

Sports History

Apr 8 Major League Baseball decides to postpone Opening Day because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr

  • Apr 9 Minn's Wayne Connelly is 1st to score on a Stanley Cup penalty shot
  • Apr 14 32nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bob Goalby shoots a final round 66 (-6) to win his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of Roberto De Vicenzo who has his card famously marked incorrectly
  • Apr 14 First NBA game at New York's iconic Madison Square Garden; NY Knicks beat San Diego Rockets, 114-102
  • Apr 15 72nd Boston Marathon: Amby Burfoot wins in 2:22:17; Bobbi Gibb 1st woman for 3rd straight year in 3:30:00 (unsanctioned)

Sports History

Apr 15 Houston Astros beat NY Mets, 1-0, in 24 innings at the Astrodome; starting pitchers Tom Seaver and Don Wilson pitch 10 and 9 innings respectively in game that lasts over 6 hours

  • Apr 17 A's 1st game in Oakland-Alameda Stadium, lose 4-1 to Baltimore Orioles
  • Apr 18 1st ABA basketball championship began
  • Apr 27 Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tom Phoebus no-hits Boston, 6-0
  • Apr 30 3 Oriole pitchers walk 14 NY Yankees in a 9 inning game
  • May 2 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
  • May 4 1st ABA championship: Pitts Pipers beat NO Buccaneers, 4 games to 3
  • May 4 94th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins
  • May 11 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Defenceman J. C. Tremblay fires home the winner as Montreal Canadiens edge St Louis Blues, 3-2 for a 4-0 series sweep

TV Show Appearance

May 15 Paul McCartney & John Lennon appear on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", to promote Apple Records, Joe Garagiola is substitute host

  • May 18 93rd Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins in 1:56.8
  • May 21 Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs sets outfielder record of 695 straight MLB games

Baseball Record

May 22 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball HOF outfielder Willie Stargell hits 3 HRs, a double and a single in a 13-6 rout of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field

  • May 23 AC Milan of Italy win 8th European Cup Winner's Cup against Hamburger SV of West Germany 2-0 in Rotterdam
  • May 24 American boxer Bob Foster defeats holder Dick Tiger for the world light-heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Gardens, New York (goes on to defend title x 14)

Sports History

May 27 George Halas retires from coaching, finishing with 318 regular-season wins and 6 NFL titles

  • May 27 NL awards Montreal & SD major league franchises
  • May 28 MLB: AL announces it is splitting into 2 divisions
  • May 28 MLB: NL grants San Diego Padres a franchise
  • May 29 European Cup Final, Wembley Stadium, London: Bobby Charlton scores twice as Manchester United beats Benfica, 4-1; first English club to win the trophy

Indy 500

May 30 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser driving a piston-powered Offenhauser beats Dan Gurney to win his first of 3 Indy 500 triumphs

  • Jun 1 100th Belmont: Gus Gustines aboard Stage Door Johnny wins in 2:27.2
  • Jun 1 St. Louis Cardinals side-arming left-hander Joe Hoerner ties NL record for most consecutive strikeouts by a relief pitcher, fanning the final 6 batters to earn a 6-5 victory over the New York Mets
  • Jun 3 Yanks turn 21st triple-play in their history lose 4-3 to Twins

Sports History

Jun 4 Don Drysdale pitches his 6th straight shutout, en route to 58 innings

French Open Women's Tennis

Jun 8 French Open Women's Tennis: American Nancy Richey beats Ann Haydon-Jones 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 for her second and last Grand Slam singles title

French Open Men's Tennis

Jun 9 French Open Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Ken Rosewall beats Rod Laver 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2; first Grand Slam of Open Era allowing professional players to compete

  • Jun 10 4h Rugby League World Cup: Australia beats France 20-2
  • Jun 10 UEFA European Championship Final, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy: Italy beats Yugoslavia, 2-0 in a replay (first game, 1-1)
  • Jun 15 15th Curtis Cup: US wins 10½-7½ at Royal County Down Golf Club (Newcastle, Northern Ireland)

US Golf Open

Jun 16 US Open Golf, Oak Hill CC: Lee Trevino wins his first major title by 4 shots from Jack Nicklaus; first to play sub-70 golf in Open history

Jim Hines Breaks the 10s Barrier

Jun 20 Jim Hines becomes 1st person to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds

  • Jun 23 74 are killed and 150 injured in a football stampede towards a closed exit in a Buenos Aires stadium
  • Jun 24 Joe Frazier stops Mexican challenger Manuel Ramos in 2nd round TKO at NYC's Madison Square Garden in his first heavyweight boxing title defense

LPGA Championship

Jun 24 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pleasant Valley CC: Canadian Sandra Post wins an 18-hole playoff against Kathy Whitworth by 7 strokes

Sports History

Jun 25 Bobby Bonds hits a grand slam in his 1st major league game (San Francisco Giants)

  • Jul 1 Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson's streak of 47 2/3 scoreless innings (3rd most live era) ends on wild pitch but earns 8-1 win v LA Dodgers
  • Jul 3 Cleveland pitcher Luis Tiant strikes out MLB record 19 Minnesota Twins in 1-0 win; record for 10 inning game; also record 32 Ks in consecutive games

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 5 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats Tony Roche 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to earn first ever prize money (£2,000) offered at Wimbledon

  • Jul 6 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Billie Jean King beats Judy Tegart 9-7, 7-5 to earn first ever prize money (£750) offered at Wimbledon

US Women's Golf Open

Jul 7 US Open Women's Golf, Moselem Springs GC: Susie Maxwell Berning beats Mickey Wright by 3 strokes

Sports History

Jul 9 39th MLB All Star Game, Astrodome, Houston, TX: NL beats AL, 1-0; MVP: Willie Mays, SF Giants, CF

  • Jul 9 Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first reigning NBA MVP to be traded the next season when he moves from Philadelphia 76'ers to LA Lakers
  • Jul 10 US Major League baseball announces it will split into 2 divisions for 1969

Sports History

Jul 11 Start of Colin Cowdrey's 100th Test, 1st person to reach the milestone

British Golf Open

Jul 13 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: South African Gary Player wins second of his 3 Open titles, 2 strokes clear of Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus; 5th of Player's 9 major titles

Baseball History

Jul 14 Brave Hank Aaron hits his 500th HR off SF Giant Mike McCormick

  • Jul 20 First Special Olympics held in Chicago, Illinois for children and adults with intellectual disabilities
  • Jul 21 55th Tour de France won by Jan Janssen of Netherlands

PGA Championship

Jul 21 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Pecan Valley GC: Julius Boros (48) becomes oldest winner of a major; wins by 1 from Bob Charles & Arnold Palmer

Sports History

Jul 24 Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in a record 907th major league game breaking Cy Young's record for pitching appearances

  • Jul 29 Cincinnati Red George Culver no hits Phillies, 6-1
  • Jul 30 Washington shortstop Ron Hansen makes 8th unassisted triple-play in MLB history and first in 41 years as Senators lose, 10-1 to Cleveland Indians
  • Aug 2 Ron Hansen (Washington Senators) & Tim Cullen (Chicago White Sox) become the first MLB players to be traded for each other twice in the same season; they had been traded in February in opposite directions

Sports History

Aug 11 Satchel Paige (62) and needing 158 days on a MLB payroll to qualify for a pension, is signed by Atlanta Braves; doesn't pitch and becomes coach

  • Aug 23 Yanks & Tigers play 3-3 tie in 19 due to 1 AM curfew

Sports History

Aug 25 Arthur Ashe becomes 1st African American to win the US singles championship

Sports History

Aug 25 NY Yankee outfielder Rocky Colavito pitches second 2/3 innings and beats Tigers 6-5; he played right field in second game and homered

  • Aug 29 First match in the US Open tennis era; on her way to the final, Billie Jean King beats fellow American Dr Vija Vuskains 6-1, 6-0
  • Aug 31 68th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Bruce Fleisher

Cricket History

Aug 31 Garfield Sobers becomes the first cricketer to hit 6 sixes in one over

US Open Women's Tennis

Sep 7 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: England's Virginia Wade wins first Open era US singles title; beats Billie Jean King 6-4, 6-2

  • Sep 8 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Arthur Ashe wins first Open era US title; beats Dutchman Tom Okker 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Sports History

Sep 14 Detroit Tigers' Denny McLain's 30th victory of season

Boxing Title Fight

Sep 14 Jimmy Ellis beats Floyd Patterson in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

Sports History

Sep 17 San Francisco Giants Gaylord Perry no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 1-0

  • Sep 18 Ray Washburn (Cards) no-hits SF Giants 2-0
  • Sep 20 Mickey Mantle hits final career homer # 536
  • Sep 22 Minnesota Twins utility César Tovar pitches a hitless inning & plays all 9 positions in a 2-1 win over Oakland A's at Metropolitan Stadium

Sports History

Sep 24 NY Met manager Gil Hodges suffers a heart attack

  • Sep 27 Cardinals' super pitcher Bob Gibson's 13th shutout of year

Baseball History

Sep 29 Boston Red Sox arl Yastrzemski .3005 avg wins his 2nd straight batting crown

  • Sep 29 Chuck Latourette, sets NFL record 47.7 yd punt return avg (3 punts)
  • Sep 30 AL & NL umpires form a new Association of Major League Umpires
  • Oct 2 1st time, 2 soon-to-be-named MVPs oppose each other Cards Bob Gibson beat Tigers Denny McLain 4-0
  • Oct 2 St. Louis pitcher Bob Gibson establishes a new Baseball World Series mark by striking out 17 batters as the Cardinals beat Detroit, 4-0 in Game 1 of the Fall Classic
  • Oct 10 Baseball World Series: Detroit Tigers beat St Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium to clinch, 4-3 series win; MVP: Tigers pitcher Mickey Lolich

Twins Appoint Martin

Oct 11 MLB star Billy Martin named manager of the Minnesota Twins

  • Oct 12 Enriqueta Basilio, Mexican track and field athlete becomes 1st woman to light Olympic flame at 19th Summer Olympics, in Mexico City, Mexico
  • Oct 12 IXX Summer Olympic Games open at Mexico City, Mexico; first Olympics in Latin America
  • Oct 14 American sprinter Jim Hines runs a world record 9.95s to beat Lennox Miller of Jamaica and Charles Greene of the US, and win the 100m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 14 MLB National League expansion draft: Snaan Diego Padres pick San Francisco Giants outfielder 'Downtown' Ollie Brown & Montreal Expos pick Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Manny Mota 1st as they choose 30 players each
  • Oct 14 Viorica Viscopoleanu of Romania sets world record 6.82m to win the women's long jump at the Mexico City Olympics; beats Sheila Sherwood of Great Britain by 0.14m

Sports History

Oct 15 Al Oerter of the US wins the men's discus in Olympic record 64.78m at the Mexico City Games; Oerter's unprecedented 4th consecutive Olympic discus title

  • Oct 15 American sprinter Wyomia Tyus wins her second consecutive Olympic 100m title with a world record 11.08s; beats teammate Barbara Ferrell by 0.08s for the gold medal at the Mexico City Games
  • Oct 15 Australian Ralph Doubell runs a world record 1:44.40 to beat Kenyan Wilson Kiprugut and win the men's 800m at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 15 British athlete David Hemery sets a world record 48.12s to beat Gerhard Hennige of West Germany and take the gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 15 MLB American League expansion draft: Kansas City Royals pick Baltimore Orioles pitcher Roger Nelson & Seattle Pilots pick California Angels infielder Don Mincher 1st as they choose 30 players each
  • Oct 16 American Bob Seagren, Claus Schiprowski of West Germany and East German Wolfgang Nordwig all record 5.40m in the final of the pole vault at the Mexico City Olympics; Seagren awarded gold on countback

Black Power Salute

Oct 16 Americans Tommie Smith (gold 19.83 WR) and John Carlos (bronze) famously give the Black Power salute on the 200m medal podium during the Mexico City Olympics to protest racism and injustice against African-Americans

  • Oct 16 Jim Dorey sets Toronto Maple Leaf penalty records (48 mins on 9 penalties in a game & 44 minutes on 7 penalties in a period)
  • Oct 16 Milwaukee Bucks play their 1st game losing 89-84 to Chicago Bulls
  • Oct 17 Björn Ferm of Sweden beats Hungary's András Balczó by just 11 points to take the gold medal in the modern pentathlon at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 17 Soviet athlete Viktor Saneev sets world record 17.39m to win the triple jump at the Mexico City Olympics; world record improved 5 times by 3 different athletes during competition

World Record

Oct 17 US men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay team of Zac Zorn, Stephen Rerych, Ken Walsh & Mark Spitz swim world record 3:31.7 to outclass the Soviet Union & Australia and win the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics

  • Oct 18 A rare Australian 1-2 in track & field; Maureen Caird in Olympic record 10.39s beats teammate Pam Kilborn by 0.07s to win the 80m hurdles at the Mexico City Games
  • Oct 18 American athletes sweep the medals in the men's 400m at the Mexico City Olympics; Lee Evans wins gold in world record 43.86s ahead of Larry James and Ron Freeman
  • Oct 18 American long jumper Bob Beamon sets an incredible world record (8.90m, 29' 2½") in high altitude at the Mexico City Olympics; 0.55m (22") improvement over previous world record
  • Oct 18 American swimmer Don Schollander anchors US 4 × 200m freestyle relay team to world record 7:52.1 and the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo; Schollander's 4th gold of the Games
  • Oct 18 Polish sprinter Irena Szewińska runs a world record 22.58s to beat Australian Raelene Boyle by 0.16s and win the 200m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics

Olympic Games

Oct 18 US Olympic Committee suspends Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving the Black Power salute to protest racism and injustice against African-Americans during Olympic medal ceremony

  • Oct 19 American swimmer Jan Henne in 1:00.0 leads American sweep of the women's 100m freestyle medals at the Mexico City Olympics; teammates Susan Pedersen & Linda Gustavson both swim 1:00.3 for minor medals
  • Oct 19 Australian swimmer Michael Wendon sets world record 52.2s to win the blue ribband men's 100m freestyle gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 19 New Zealand scores an upset victory in the men's coxed four rowing final at the Mexico City Olympics; beats favoured East German crew by 2.58s; first ever rowing gold medal for the Kiwis
  • Oct 19 The West German crew beats Australia by just 0.9s to win the men's eights rowing gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 20 American Dick Fosbury using his unconventional technique wins the men's high jump gold medal with 2.24m at the Mexico City Olympics; "Fosbury Flop" becomes accepted most efficient technique
  • Oct 20 American sprinter Jim Hines anchors US men's 4 x 100m relay team to win his second gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; with teammates Charles Greene, Mel Pender & Ronnie Ray Smith sets world record 38.24s
  • Oct 20 Kenyan runner Kip Keino wins 1,500m gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics in 3:34.91 despite a severe gall bladder infection
  • Oct 20 Mamo Wolde wins 16th Olympic marathon (2:20:26.4)
  • Oct 20 Margitta Gummel of East Germany throws world record 19.61m to beat teammate Marita Lange by 0.83m and win the women's shot put gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 20 US men's 4 x 400m relay team of Vincent Matthews, Ron Freeman, Larry James & Lee Evans runs world record 2:56.16; easily beats Kenya & West Germany into the minor medals at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 20 US women's 4 x 100m relay team sets world record 42.88s to win the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; Margaret Bailes, Barbara Ferrell, Mildrette Netter & Wyomia Tyus
  • Oct 22 American swimmers sweep the medals in the women's 200m freestyle at the Mexico City Olympics; Debbie Meyer takes gold in Olympic record 2:10.5 ahead of teammates Jan Henne and Jane Barkman
  • Oct 23 American swimmer Kaye Hall sets a world record 1:06.2 to beat Canadian Elaine Tanner by 0.5s and win the 100m backstroke gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 24 16-year old American swimmer Debbie Meyer wins the inaugural women's 800m gold medal in 9:24.0 at the Mexico City Olympics; first swimmer to win 3 individual gold medals at a Games (200/400m)
  • Oct 24 Australian swimmer Michael Wendon wraps up the Mexico City Games sprint double when he wins the men's 200m freestyle gold medal in Olympic record 1:55.2
  • Oct 25 American swimmer Claudia Kolb wraps up the women's individual medley double in Mexico City, winning the 400m I/M in Olympic record 5:08.5; she also won the 200m I/M in OR 2:24.7
  • Oct 25 Czech gymnast Věra Čáslavská wins the uneven bars and vault gold medals at the Mexico City Olympics; her 6th & 7th career gold medals and her 4th at these Games
  • Oct 25 East German swimmer Roland Matthes wins the 200m backstroke gold medal in Olympic record 2:09.6 at the Mexico City Games; wraps up backstroke double
  • Oct 25 Longest Olympic field hockey game, The Netherlands beats Spain 1-0 in 2h25m (6 OT)
  • Oct 25 US men's basketball team beats Yugoslavia 65-50 to win the gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics; 7th straight basketball title for the Americans
  • Oct 26 Charlie Hickcox wins his 3rd gold medal of the Mexico City Olympics when he leads the US men's 4 x 100m medley relay team with teammates Don McKenzie, Doug Russell & Ken Walsh to world record 3:54.9

Olympic Gold

Oct 26 Future world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman wins the Olympic heavyweight gold medal when the final against Jonas Čepulis (Soviet Union) is stopped in round 2 at the Mexico City Games

  • Oct 26 Italian diver Klaus Dibiasi wins first of 3 consecutive men's 10m platform gold medals when he comfortably beats Álvaro Gaxiola of Mexico at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 26 Japanese gymnast Akinori Nakayama wins 3 individual gold medals on the one day (horizontal bar, rings & parallel bars) at the Mexico City Olympics; with team victory, 4 gold for the Games
  • Oct 26 Japanese gymnasts sweep the medals in the men's floor exercise competition at the Mexico City Olympics; Sawao Kato wins his 3rd gold of the Games ahead of teammates Akinori Nakayama and Takeshi Katō
  • Oct 26 Striker Antal Dunai scores twice as Hungary outclasses Bulgaria 4-1 to take the men's football gold medal at the Mexico City Olympics
  • Oct 26 The Soviet Union wraps up the volleyball double at the Mexico City Olympics; both men's & women's teams take gold at the end of their respective round-robin competitions
  • Oct 31 Milwaukee Bucks win their 1st game beating Detroit 138-118 (6th game)
  • Nov 1 Detroit pitcher Denny McLain is named unanimous AL Cy Young Award winner after finishing MLB season, 31-6 for World Series winning Tigers
  • Nov 3 David Pearson is declared NASCAR Grand National champion as Cale Yarborough wins season ending Peach State 200 at Jefferson, Georgia; Pearson finishes 126 points ahead of Bobby Isaac to secure his 2nd title