Events in Sports History in 1970

  • Jan 1 36th Orange Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #6 Missouri, 10-3
  • Jan 1 36th Sugar Bowl: #13 Mississippi beats #3 Arkansas, 27-22
  • Jan 1 56th Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #7 Michigan, 10-3
  • Jan 1 Charles "Chub" Feeney becomes president of baseball's National League

Chiefs Defeat Raiders

Jan 4 AFL Championship, Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland: Kansas City Chiefs beat Oakland Raiders, 17-7; Chiefs defense forces 4 interceptions

  • Jan 4 NFL Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Cleveland Browns, 27-7
  • Jan 6 Australian boxer Johnny Famechon retains his WBC featherweight title with a 14th-round knockout of Fighting Harada in Tokyo; re-match of questionable 15-round decision in 1969 in his first title defense
  • Jan 11 Super Bowl IV, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: KC Chiefs beat Minnesota Vikings, 23-7; MVP: Len Dawson, Kansas City, QB

Flood Files Lawsuit

Jan 16 Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause [1]

  • Jan 16 Inaugural Buffalo Sabres owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox hire former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach in the same capacities for their new NHL franchise
  • Jan 16 NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)
  • Jan 17 357 baseball players are available in the free-agent draft
  • Jan 17 9th AFL All Star Game, Astrodome, Houston: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 26-3; MVP: John Hadl, LA Chargers, QB

Mays Player of the Decade

Jan 17 Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s

20th NFL Pro Bowl

Jan 18 20th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 16-13; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; George Andrie, Dallas Cowboys, DE

20th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 20 20th NBA All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa: East beats West, 142-135; MVP: Willis Reed, NY Knicks, C; Tom and Dick Van Arsdale, first brothers to play in same NBA All-Star Game

23rd NHL All-Star Game

Jan 20 23rd NHL All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena: East beats West, 4-1; MVP: Bobby Hull, Chicago, LW

  • Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats fellow Australian Kerry Melville Reid 6-1, 6-3; Court retains title for 9th Australian singles crown and 1st leg of her Grand Slam

Ashe Beats Crealy

Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Arthur Ashe beats big serving local Dick Crealy 6-4, 9-7, 6-2

  • Jan 27 NFL Draft: Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw #1 pick by Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Feb 1 Former MLB Commissioner Ford Frick as well as ex-players Earle Combs and Jesse Haines are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Sawchuk's Final Victory

Feb 1 Rangers' goalie Terry Sawchuk records his 447th (and final) victory, and 103rd career shutout when New York beats the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-0; both are NHL records at the time

Maravich 1st to 30,000

Feb 2 Louisiana State University's Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points

  • Feb 5 1st Test Cricket ton of Barry Richards, 126, 164 balls, 20 fours 1 six
  • Feb 5 Test Cricket debut of John Traicos, South Africa v Australia, Durban
  • Feb 6 Graeme Pollock completes 274 v Australia at Durban
  • Feb 6 NBA expands to 18 teams with Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston & Portland
  • Feb 7 US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood

Sports History

Feb 11 John Lennon pays £1,344 fines for 96 protesting South African rugby team playing in Scotland

World Skating Champion

Feb 15 Ard Schenk becomes world champion all-round skater

Boxing Title Fight

Feb 16 Joe Frazier TKOs Jimmy Ellis in 5 for heavyweight boxing title

Sports History

Feb 19 AL Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain suspended for bookmaking

Daytona 500

Feb 22 12th Daytona 500: Pete Hamilton wins by just 3 car lengths over David Pearson, after passing him with 9 laps to go

  • Feb 28 Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge
  • Feb 28 Caroline Walker runs world female record marathon (3:02:53)

Sports History

Mar 1 Boston's Bobby Orr becomes the first defenseman in NHL history to score 25 goals in a season during a 3-1 Bruins win over the visiting St. Louis Blues

  • Mar 1 Dutch speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes Women's Allround World Champion at West Allis, Wisconsin, US, winning her first of four titles
  • Mar 1 Minnesota coach Charlie Burns becomes the final player/coach in NHL history, when he plays in the North Stars' 8-0 win over Toronto Maple Leafs; remains in role for final month of the season
  • Mar 4 Jacksonville is 1st college basketball team to avg 100+ pts per game
  • Mar 4 NY Rangers set then NHL record of 126 games without being shut-out
  • Mar 7 17th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats South Carolina, 42-39 (2 OT)
  • Mar 7 Ice Dance Championship at Ljubljana won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)
  • Mar 7 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Ljubljana won by Tim Wood (USA)
  • Mar 10 South Africa cricket team complete 4-0 series drubbing of Australia in South Africa, in the country's last official international cricket test for 22 years
  • Mar 17 Peter O'Malley becomes CEO of LA Dodgers
  • Mar 18 NFL selects Wilson as official football & scoreboard as official time
  • Mar 21 32nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Jacksonville, 80-69; Bruins' 4th straight title under coach John Wooden
  • Mar 21 Vinko Bogataj crashes during a ski-jumping championship in Germany; his image becomes that of the "agony of defeat guy" in the opening credits of ABC's Wide World of Sports.
  • Mar 29 Manchester City of England win 10th European Cup Winner's Cup against Górnik Zabrze of Poland 2-1 in Vienna
  • Apr 1 Federal Bankruptcy Referee Sidney Volinn declares MLB's Seattle Pilots bankrupt; car dealer Bud Selig buys franchise for $10.8 million and moves club to Milwaukee (Brewers)
  • Apr 4 124th Grand National: 15/1 chance Gay Trip wins by 20 lengths, giving Irish jockey Pat Taaffe his second GN winner
  • Apr 7 MLB Milwaukee Brewers (former Seattle Pilots) 1st game, lose to Angels 12-0

US Masters Golf

Apr 13 34th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Billy Casper defeats Gene Littler, 69 to 74 in a Monday 18-hole playoff to win his 3rd major title; last 18-hole playoff at the Masters

  • Apr 18 France beats England, 35-13 at Stade Colombes, Paris to earn a share of the Five Nations Rugby Championship with Wales
  • Apr 20 74th Boston Marathon: Englishman Ron Hill wins in 2:10:30 (US record): American Sara Mae Berman 1st woman for 2nd straight year in 3:05:07 (unsanctioned)
  • Apr 21 Reds clout 7 HRs by 6 batters, Braves counter with 3 HRs, 6 for one team & 9 different batters for two teams, all tie or set records
  • Apr 22 NY Met Jerry Grote sets record of 20 put outs by a catcher

Baseball Record

Apr 22 NY Met Tom Seaver strikes out last 10 Padres, for a total of 19

  • Apr 22 Senators beat Yankees 2-1 in 18 innings
  • Apr 30 Cubs Billy Williams is 1st NLer to play in 1,000 consecutive games
  • May 2 1st woman jockey at Kentucky Derby (Diane Crump)
  • May 2 96th Kentucky Derby: Mike Manganello on Dust Commander wins 2:03.4
  • May 6 European Cup Final, San Siro, Milan: Feyenoord beats Celtic, 2-1; first time title won by a Dutch club
  • May 8 24th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers 113 to 91 at Madison Square Garden, NYC; winning final series 4 games to 3
  • May 8 NBA championship: Knicks beat Lakers, 113-99

Sports History

May 10 Atlanta Braves' Hoyt Wilhelm pitches in his 1,000th game, loses to Cards 6-5

  • May 10 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Bobby Orr scores famous OT winner as Boston beats St. Louis Blues, 4-3 for 4-0 series sweep; Bruins its first title since 1941

Baseball Record

May 12 Ernie Banks hits his 500th home run

  • May 15 International Olympic Committee votes to expel South Africa
  • May 16 95th Preakness: Eddie Belmonte aboard Personality wins in 1:56.2

Baseball Record

May 17 Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits

Sports History

May 22 Mel Stottlemyre sets record by walking 11, but wins 2-0

  • May 23 San Diego Padres beat SF Giants 17-16 in 15 innings
  • May 25 3rd ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat LA Stars, 4 games to 2
  • May 30 Baseball All-Star voting is returned to fans

Indy 500

May 30 Indianapolis 500: Al Unser Snr joins his brother Bobby as the first duo of brothers to win the race; owner Parnelli Jones second to win as both a driver and owner

Sports History

May 30 Tigers Al Kaline collides with another player & swallows his tongue

Sports History

Jun 1 MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn reprimands Houston Astros pitcher Jim Bouton for writing memoir "Ball Four"

  • Jun 4 MLB San Diego Padres draft Mike Ivie #1
  • Jun 6 102nd Belmont: John Rotz aboard High Echelon wins in 2:34
  • Jun 6 French Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Helga Niessen Niessen of Germany 6-2, 6-4 for 2nd leg of her successful Grand Slam
  • Jun 7 French Open Men's Tennis: Czech star Jan Kodeš wins his first major title; beats Željko Franulović of Yugoslavia 6-2, 6-4, 6-
  • Jun 12 Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Doc Ellis no-hits the Padres, 2-0 at San Diego Stadium

LPGA Championship

Jun 15 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pleasant Valley CC: Shirley Englehorn wins her only major title; beats 1967 champion Kathy Whitworth by 4 strokes in an 18-hole playoff

Ball Four

Jun 19 Jim Bouton's controversial baseball diary "Ball Four" is published

Robinson's 2,000th Hit

Jun 20 Oriole's Brooks Robinson get his 2,000 career hit, a 3 run HR

FIFA World Cup

Jun 21 FIFA World Cup Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: Brazil and Pelé become first team and player to win World Cup 3 times, beating Italy, 4-1 in front of 107,412

  • Jun 21 US Open Men's Golf Hazeltine National GC: Englishman Tony Jacklin shoots sub-par in all 4 rounds on his way to a 7-stroke win ahead of Dave Hill
  • Jun 24 Bobby Murcer ties record of 4 consecutive HRs

Baseball History

Jun 26 Frank Robinson hits 2 grand slams as Baltimore Orioles beat Washington Senators 12-2

  • Jun 30 Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium opens as the visiting Atlanta Braves beat Reds, 8-2; demolished 2002
  • Jul 1 Dutch soccer club FC Utrecht is established (KNVB Cup 1985, 2003-04)
  • Jul 3 California Angels pitcher Clyde Wright no-hits Oakland A's, 4-0

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 3 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats Billie Jean King 14-12, 11-9 for her third and final Wimbledon singles title, and 3rd leg of her successful Grand Slam

US Women's Golf Open

Jul 5 US Open Women's Golf, Muskogee CC: Donna Caponi successfully defends her title by 1 from Sandra Haynie and Sandra Spuzich

  • Jul 8 SF Giant Jim Ray Hart is 8th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (5th)

British Golf Open

Jul 12 British Open Men's Golf, St Andrews: Jack Nicklaus beats Doug Sanders by 1 stroke in event's first 18-hole playoff to win the 2nd of his 3 Open Championships

Sports History

Jul 14 41st MLB All Star Game, Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH: NL beats AL, 5-4; MVP: Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox, LF

  • Jul 15 Denmark beats Italy 2-0 in 1st world female soccer championship
  • Jul 18 Willie Mays becomes 10th baseball player to get 3,000 hits

Tour de France

Jul 19 57th Tour de France: Defending champion Eddy Merckx of Belgium wins general, mountains and combination categories

  • Jul 20 Dodgers Bill Singer no-hits the Phillies 5-0, giving up no walks
  • Jul 21 Clay Kirby has a no-hitter going for 8 inn, but is lifted for a pinch hitter, Reliever Jack Baldschun gives up 3 hits & Padres lose, 3-0
  • Jul 24 International Lawn Tennis Association institutes 9 point tie break rule

Baseball Record

Jul 26 Reds catcher Johnny Bench, playing for the day in the outfield, goes 4 for 5 with 7 RBIs including 3 consecutive HRs off St. Louis Cardinals Steve Carlton in 12-5 win at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Jul 27 Expos beat White Sox 10-6 in the annual Hall of Fame game
  • Jul 27 Lou Boudreau, Earle Combs, Ford Frick, and Jesse Haines are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York
  • Jul 31 37th NFL Chicago All Star Game: Kansas City 24, All Stars 3 (69,940)

Baseball Record

Aug 1 Future Hall of Fame outfielder Willie Stargell smacks 3 doubles and 2 homers in a 20-10 Pirates win v Braves at Atlanta Stadium

  • Aug 3 The second ever NFL work stoppage ends with NFL and Players' Association agreeing to a 4-year, $19.1 million deal
  • Aug 7 First all-computer chess championship is conducted in New York and won by CHESS 3.0 (CDC 6400), a program written by Slate, Atkin & Gorlen at Northwestern University

Baseball History

Aug 8 NY Yankees honor Casey Stengel, retiring his number 37 (BTG was there)

Sports History

Aug 11 Future Baseball HOF pitcher Jim Bunning becomes 2nd Cy Young Award winner to win 100 games in both NL and AL; Phillies beat Houston 6-5 at Astrodome

  • Aug 12 Curt Flood loses his $41 million antitrust suit against baseball [1]
  • Aug 15 Patricia Palinkas becomes 1st woman pro football player (Orlando)

PGA Championship

Aug 16 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Southern Hills CC: Dave Stockton wins 1st of 2 PGA C'ships by 2 shots from Bob Murphy and Arnold Palmer

Baseball Record

Aug 23 Roberto Clemente compiles his record 2nd straight 5-hit game

  • Aug 28 Phillies Larry Bowa steals home for 2nd time in 1970
  • Aug 31 59th Davis Cup: US beats Germany in Cleveland (5-0); American 22nd title
  • Sep 2 US Open first Grand Slam tournament tiebreak is used to decide a set at 6-6; first player to reach 5 points with sudden death at 4-4
  • Sep 3 After playing a NL record 1,117 consecutive MLB games, Chicago Cubs outfielder Billy Williams asks to sit out
  • Sep 7 White Sox use record 41 players in doubleheader & lose both games
  • Sep 9 Bowie Kuhn suspends Denny McLain for carrying a gun
  • Sep 9 Feyenoord wins soccer's Club World Cup

US Open Women's Tennis

Sep 12 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Margaret Court of Australia completes Grand Slam; beats American Rosemary Casals 6-2, 2-6, 6-1

  • Sep 13 New York City Marathon: inaugural event won by Gary Muhrcke in 2:31:38
  • Sep 13 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Ken Rosewall wins second US title; beats fellow Australian Tony Roche 2-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3; first major in which tiebreak used to decide sets at 6-6

Sports History

Sep 21 Oakland A's Vida Blue no-hits Minnesota Twins, 6-0

  • Sep 27 Ken Boswell sets 2nd baseman record of 85 games without an error
  • Sep 28 Intrepid (US) beats Gretel II (Australia) in 22nd America's Cup
  • Oct 1 Phillies beat Montreal Expos, 2-1 in final game played at Connie Mack Stadium, Philadelphia; fans swarm onto field and destroy it after the game

Contract of Interest

Oct 2 Detroit general manager Jim Campbell gives controversial Billy Martin a 2-year deal (1971-72) to manage the Tigers at a well above MLB average annual salary of $65,000

  • Oct 3 First umpires strike in MLB history lasts one day during League Championship Series; AL and NL presidents recognise newly-formed MLB Umpires Association; negotiate labor contract
  • Oct 4 Jochen Rindt of Austria posthumously clinches Formula 1 World Drivers Championship at the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen when contender Jacky Ickx finishes 4th; Rindt killed in a practice accident at the Italian GP at Monza 5/9/70
  • Oct 5 MLB Championship Series both end on the same day with same score; (AL) Baltimore Orioles beat Minnesota Twins, 3-0; (NL) Cincinnati Reds down Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0; Orioles win WS, 4-1

Sports History

Oct 13 2 future Basketball Hall of Famers debut; guard Calvin Murphy for San Diego Rockets in 111-96 loss in Chicago; forward Dave Cowens for Boston Celtics in 114-107 loss in New York

  • Oct 14 Cleveland Cavaliers lose to Buffalo Braves in their 1st game 107-92
  • Oct 15 Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles beat Cincinnati Reds, 9-3 at Memorial Stadium to claim series, 4-1; MVP: Orioles 3B Brooks Robinson
  • Oct 25 Austrian driver Jochen Rindt wins F1 World Drivers Championship by 5 points from Jacky Ickx after Mexican GP; only season World Championship awarded posthumously, after Rindt's death in Italian GP practice at Monza
  • Oct 28 NBA Cleveland Cavaliers 1st home game, lose to San Diego 110-99
  • Nov 1 First NFL regular season New York Giants-Jets game; Giants win 22-10 at Shea Stadium
  • Nov 3 Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson wins his second NL Cy Young Award (23-7 record, 274 strikeouts and 3.12 ERA

Monzon vs. Benvenuti

Nov 7 Argentine boxer Carlos Monzon upsets defending champion Nino Benvenuti of Italy in 12th round KO in Rome to win WBC, WBA middleweight titles

  • Nov 8 5th Rugby League World Cup: Australia beats Great Britain 12-7
  • Nov 8 Tom Dempsey of New Orleans Saints kicks NFL record 63 yard field goal
  • Nov 12 Cleveland Cavaliers notch 1st NBA victory, in their 16th game, beating the Trail Blazers 105-103, in Portland, Oregon

Paul Brown's Greatest Victory

Nov 15 Paul Brown, as head coach of the expansion Cincinnati Bengals, defeats his former team the Cleveland Browns, a moment he calls his "greatest victory"

  • Nov 18 Future HOF boxer Joe Frazier KOs defending champion Bob Foster in 2nd round at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles
  • Nov 18 Johnny Bench wins NL MVP
  • Nov 21 NY Knicks 1st game against Cleveland Cavaliers, Knicks win 102-94 at Madison Square Garden
  • Nov 22 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Bobby Isaac wins
  • Nov 24 36th Heisman Trophy Award: Jim Plunkett, Stanford (QB)
  • Nov 25 New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson wins AL Rookie of Year
  • Nov 27 Test Cricket debut of Rodney "Iron Gloves" Marsh v England, Brisbane
  • Nov 28 35th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 33-28 in Birmingham
  • Nov 28 CFL Grey Cup, CNE Stadium, Toronto: Montreal Alouettes defeat Calgary Stampeders, 23-10; game marred by woeful field conditions

Test Cricket's Leading Run Scorer

Nov 29 England cricket batsman Colin Cowdrey reaches 22 on Day 3 of the drawn 1st Test against Australia in Brisbane to become Test Cricket's leading run scorer; passes countryman Wally Hammond's world Test-record aggregate of 7,249 runs

  • Dec 3 Claude Ruel resigns as coach of the NHL Montreal Canadiens; replacement Al MacNeil leads Habs to a Stanley Cup championship 5 months later
  • Dec 5 NFL Los Angeles Rams running back Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards rushing
  • Dec 5 Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson Trophy stolen from Hockey Hall of Fame
  • Dec 6 Cleveland Cavaliers 1st NBA home victory, beating Buffalo Braves 108-106
  • Dec 10 North American Soccer League awards NY & Toronto franchises

Chappell's Debut Century

Dec 13 Greg Chappell scores 108 on Test debut v England at the WACA

Smith Wins Inaugural Season

Dec 15 Stan Smith and Rod Laver finish with 4-1 records atop inaugural season ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis standings in Tokyo, Japan; Smith wins event after beating Laver 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the rounds

Award to Gerd Müller

Dec 29 Ballon d'Or: Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller wins award for best European football player ahead of West Ham United defender Bobby Moore and Cagliari forward Luigi Riva

  • Dec 31 Would have been start of Aust/Eng Test Cricket at MCG, washed out