Events in Sports History in 1975

Jan 1 41st Orange Bowl: #9 Notre Dame beats #2 Alabama, 13-11
Jan 1 61st Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #3 Ohio State, 18-17

Newcombe's 7th Grand Slam

Jan 1 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Home favourite John Newcombe wins 7th and last career Grand Slam singles title; beats Jimmy Connors of the US 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6

Jan 4 Montreal Canadiens shutout Washington Capitals 10-0
Jan 4 New Orleans Jazz set a then NBA record (with 24-second shot clock) by scoring only 20 points in the first half of a 111-89 loss in Seattle; unwanted record stands for nearly 25 years
Jan 4 NHL Boston Bruins Dave Forbes becomes 1st athlete indicted for criminal assault for excessive violence during play; stick butt-end the face of Minnesota North Star Henry Boucha caused permanent vision damage; court case ends in hung jury, and a civil settlement is eventually reached
Jan 9 Australia beat England by 171 runs in 4th Test to regain Ashes
Jan 12 Super Bowl IX, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings, 16-6; MVP: Franco Harris, Pittsburgh, RB

25th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 14 25th NBA All-Star Game, Arizona Vets Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Az: East beats West, 108-102; MVP: Walt Frazier, NY Knicks, PG

Jan 14 Anita Wold (Norway) sets women's ski jump distance record-98 m
Jan 20 25th NFL Pro Bowl, Miami Orange Bowl: NFC beats AFC, 17-10; MVP: James Harris, LA Rams, QB
Jan 21 28th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 7-1; MVP: Syl Apps Jr., Pittsburgh, C
Jan 23 Former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ralph Kiner is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Potvin's Hat Trick

Jan 25 10th hat trick in NY Islander history, Denis Potvin's 1st

Jan 28 1975 NFL Draft: Steve Bartkowski from University of California first pick by Atlanta Falcons

Hamill US Champion

Feb 2 US female Figure Skating championship won by Dorothy Hamill

Baseball Hall of Fame

Feb 3 Billy Herman, Earl Averill, & Bucky Harris elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Baseball Player and Manager Bucky Harris

Feb 8 Caps only got one shot in a period against Islanders

Jazz End Losing Streak

Feb 8 Pete Maravich scores 47 points as the New Orleans Jazz end a 28 game NBA road losing streak with a 106-102 win over the Hawks in Atlanta

Feb 10 (William) "Judy" Johnson selected to baseball Hall of Fame

Daytona 500

Feb 16 17th Daytona 500: Benny Parsons wins after Cale Yarborough sends race leader David Pearson spinning on the backstretch; Parsons avoids the accident and takes the victory

Feb 16 Washington Capitals 1st NHL shutout, beating KC Scouts 3-0
Feb 20 Leonard Baichan scores 105* on Test Cricket debut, v Pakistan Lahore
Mar 1 Five Nations Rugby Championship match between Scotland and Wales at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh attracts a world record attendance of 104,000; Scots win 12-10
Mar 8 22nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats NC State, 70-66
Mar 15 Wales trounce Ireland, 32-4 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch their 18th Five Nations Rugby Championship
Mar 19 Pennsylvania is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 24 Muhammad Ali TKOs Chuck Wepner in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali

Mar 26 Washington Capitals play record NHL 37th road game without a win & NHL record of 17 straight loses
Mar 28 NHL Washington Capitals win 1st game on road after 37 straight road loses
Mar 29 Only 2nd time Islanders beat Rangers
Mar 30 Ron Lalonde scores the 1st hat trick by a Washington Capital
Mar 31 37th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Kentucky, 92-85; 10th title under coach John Wooden who had announced his retirement 2 days earlier

Sports History

Apr 3 Bobby Fischer stripped of world chess title for refusing to defend it, title awarded to Russian Anatoly Karpov

Apr 5 129th Grand National: Irish combination of jockey Tommy Carberry aboard L'Escargot wins by 15 lengths from 7/2 favourite and 1973-74 winner Red Rum

Sports History

Apr 5 American tennis #1 Chris Evert wins her 3rd WTA Tour Championship at the Los Angeles Sports Arena; beats Martina Navratilova 6-4, 6-2

Sports History

Apr 8 Frank Robinson debuts as 1st African American baseball manager (Cleveland Indians beat New York Yankees, 5-3)

Baseball Outfielder and Manager Frank Robinson

Apr 10 Rangers score 8 goals against Islanders in playoffs

Baseball Trade

Apr 11 Hank Aaron returns to County Stadium as a Milwaukee player after his off-season trade from the Atlanta Braves; Brewers beat Cleveland Indians, 6-2

Apr 11 J. P. Parisé scores an 11 sec OT goal, to see the NY Islanders eliminate the NY Rangers in their ever 1st playoff advance

Apr 13 39th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 5th Masters title, 1 stroke ahead of Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf; Lee Elder, first African-American to compete in the tournament

Boston Marathon

Apr 21 79th Boston Marathon: American Bill Rodgers wins men's section in race record 2:09:55; Liane Winter of West Germany women's champion in 2:42:24 (female world record)

Baseball Record

Apr 26 Phillies Mike Schmidt's 2 HRs ties NL record of 11 HRs in April

May 3 101st Kentucky Derby: Jacinto Vasquez on Foolish Pleasure wins 2:02
May 3 Christa Vahlensieck runs female world record marathon (2:40:15.8)
May 4 Houston's Bob Watson scores baseball's one-millionth run of all time
May 9 Brian Oldfield shot puts 22.86 m ('unofficial' world record, due to his professional status) in El Paso, Texas
May 14 Dynamo Kyiv of the Soviet Union win 15th European Cup Winner's Cup over Ferencvár osi TC of Hungary 3-0
May 16 Muhammad Ali TKOs Ron Lyle in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
May 17 100th Preakness: Darrel McHargue aboard Master Derby wins in 1:56.4
May 22 8th ABA Championship: Kentucky Colonels beat Ind Pacers, 4 games to 1
May 25 29th NBA Championship: Golden Warriors sweep Wash Bullets in 4 games
May 25 Cleveland's Dennis Eckersley, debuts shutting out the A's 6-0

Indy 500

May 25 Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser wins rain-shortened race ahead of defending champion Johnny Rutherford and pole-sitter A. J. Foyt for his second Indy title

May 27 Stanley Cup Final, The Aud, Buffalo, NY: Philadelphia Flyers win back-to-back titles; shutting out Buffalo Sabres, 2-0 for a 4-2 series win; goaltender Bernie Parent wins 2nd consecutive Conn Smyth trophy as playoff MVP
May 28 19th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Leeds United 2-0 at Paris

Sports History

Jun 1 California Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan records his record equalling 4th MLB career no-hitter in beating the Baltimore Orioles, 1-0

LPGA Championship

Jun 1 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Pine Ridge GC: Kathy Whitworth wins her 3rd LPGA C'ship by 1 stroke from Sandra Haynie

Jun 6 Nolan Ryan's bid for 2nd no-hitter broken in 6th inning

Sports History

Jun 7 Dennis Lillee takes 1st one-day 5WI, 5-34 v Pakistan World Cup

Jun 7 Sri Lanka's 1st one-day international, v WI Cricket World Cup

Belmont Stakes

Jun 9 107th Belmont: Bill Shoemaker aboard Avatar wins in 2:28.2

Racing Hall of Fame Jockey Bill Shoemaker

Jun 10 Yanks sponsor Army Day at temporary home, Shea Stadium during 21-gun salute, part of fence is blown away, & another part is set afire
Jun 11 One-day international cricket debut of Javed Miandad aged 17 yrs 364 days
Jun 12 Hank Aaron smacks his first home run in Milwaukee since 1965 as his new team, the Brewers beat Oakland A's, 9-7
Jun 14 French Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert beats Martina Navratilova 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 for her 2nd of 7 French singles titles

French Open Men's Tennis

Jun 15 French Open Men's Tennis: Sweden's Björn Borg retains title; beats Guillermo Vilas of Argentina 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Tennis Player and Four-Time Major Champion Guillermo Vilas

NBA Trade

Jun 16 NBA Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to L.A. Lakers for 4 players

Sports History

Jun 18 Fred Lynn gets 10 RBIs in a single Red Sox game in a 15-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers

Jun 18 Left-arm fast bowler Gary Gilmour takes 6-14 to guide Australia to a 4 wicket win with 188 balls remaining in Cricket World Cup semi final v England at Leeds
Jun 21 Cricket World Cup, Lord's, London: Player of the Match Clive Lloyd scores 102 as West Indies beats Australia by 17 runs; first major limited overs One Day International (ODI) tournament
Jun 21 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Lord's, London: West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs to win inaugural final; Player of the match: Clive Lloyd (WI) 102 (85)
Jun 21 Ruffian leads all the way to win the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont and clinch American thoroughbred racing's Triple Tiara for fillies
Jun 23 US Open Men's Golf, Medinah CC: Lou Graham defeats John Mahaffey by 2 strokes in an 18-hole Monday playoff to win his only major championship

Sports History

Jun 28 Reigning PGA Championship winner Lee Trevino and playing partners Jerry Heard, Bobby Nichols, Jim Ahern and Tony Jacklin are struck by lightning at Western Open; suffer minor burns

Jun 28 The South African rugby team beats France 33-18 in Pretoria

Golf Major

Jun 29 Canadian Open Golf (Peter Jackson Classic), St. George's CC: JoAnne Carner wins in a playoff with Carol Mann

Jun 30 Muhammad Ali retains world heavyweight boxing crown by beating Englishman Joe Bugner by unanimous points decision in a re-match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wimbledon Women's Tennis

Jul 4 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Billie Jean King outclasses Evonne Goolagong 6-0, 6-1 for her 6th Wimbledon singles title

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 5 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Arthur Ashe becomes first African-American to win Wimbledon, beats countryman Jimmy Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4

Jul 6 Art Wall Jr. at 51 years, 7 months, 10 days becomes the second oldest to win a PGA Tour event, beating Gary McCord by 1 at the Greater Milwaukee Open (oldest Sam Snead)

Cricket Debut

Jul 10 Test Cricket debut of Graham Gooch, v Australia, out for a pair

British Golf Open

Jul 12 British Open Men's Golf, Carnoustie: American Tom Watson wins 18-hole playoff by 1 stroke over Jack Newton of Australia; first of 8 major titles; first of 5 Open Championships

Jul 12 England cricket wicketkeeper Bob Taylor catches 7 in an innings for Derbyshire v Yorkshire at Queen's Park, Chesterfield
Jul 15 46th All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 6-3 at County Stadium, Milwaukee
Jul 15 All star MVP: Bill Madlock (Pittsburgh Pirates) & John Matlock (NY Mets)

Election of Interest

Jul 16 Major League Baseball owners re-elect Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to a 7-year term

Jul 18 Jury can't decide on trial of Dave Forbes of Boston Bruins, the 1st athlete indicted for excessive violence during play; criminal charges are not pursued, and a $1M settlement is reached with injured Minnesota North Star Henry Boucha
Jul 19 New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson's 1st-inning single & RBI are nullified because tar on his bat handle exceeds 18" limit; Minnesota Twins win, 2-1
Jul 20 62nd Tour de France won by Bernard Thevenet of France

US Women's Golf Open

Jul 20 US Open Women's Golf, Atlantic City CC: Sandra Palmer wins her second major title by 4 strokes from JoAnne Carner, Sandra Post and Nancy Lopez

Sports History

Jul 21 Billy Martin fired as Texas Rangers manager

Baseball Player and Manager Billy Martin

Sports History

Jul 21 NY Met Félix Millán hits 4 singles; erased by Joe Torres 4 double plays

Jul 23 LA Dodgers W Crawford and Lee Lacy are 5th to hit consecutive pinch HRs
Aug 5 Philadelphia Phillies create MLB record when first 8 batters get hits off Bill Bonham, beat Cubs 13-5
Aug 9 1st NFL game in Louisiana Superdome, Houston beats Saints 13-7
Aug 9 Dodger Davey Lopes steals record 32nd consecutive base without being caught
Aug 10 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Firestone CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th PGA crown by 2 shots from Australian Bruce Crampton

Cricket History

Aug 13 Batsman Viv Richards out for 291 v England for the West Indies, at the cricket Oval, London

Cricketer and Master Blaster Viv Richards

Aug 22 McNichols Sports Arena in Denver opens

PGA Players Championship

Aug 24 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Colonial CC: Al Geiberger leads wire-to-wire to finish 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Stockton

Golfer and Two-Time PGA Champion Dave Stockton

Aug 24 SF Giant Ed Halick no-hits NY Giants, 6-0
Aug 27 1st night match at US Tennis Open (Parun defeats Smith)
Aug 27 Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) complete tandem bicycle ride, a record 18,020 miles around the world

Baseball Record

Sep 1 NY Mets pitcher Tom Seaver shuts out Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0; first to reach 200 strikeouts for a MLB-record 8th straight season

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Tom Seaver

Baseball Record

Sep 3 Dodgers 1st baseman Steve Garvey begins his NL record 1,207 consecutive game streak in a 13-2 loss v Cincinnati Reds

Sep 3 England cricket batsman Bob Woolmer scores 149 on the final day to save the 4th Test v Australia at The Oval; longest first-class match ever played in England; 32 hours 17 minutes

Sports History

Sep 6 Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova asks for US political asylum in New York City during the US Open

Sep 6 US Open Women's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Chris Evert wins her first of 6 US singles titles; beats Evonne Goolagong Cawley of Australia 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Sep 7 Cincinnati Reds, win earliest NL division title

Cricket History

Sep 7 Pakistani all-time great batsman Hanif Mohammad plays final day of 1st-class cricket for Pakistan International Airlines v Hyderabad at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad

Sep 7 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Manuel Orantes of Spain wins his only Grand Slam title; upsets #1 seed Jimmy Connors 6-4, 6-3, 6-4; played on green Har-Tru clay surface

Sports History

Sep 10 Darryl Sittler is named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 14 Milwaulkee Brewer Robin Yount breaks Mel Ott's record, playing in 242 MLB games as a teen
Sep 15 1st College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 17-3 in Foxborough
Sep 16 Pittsburgh second baseman Rennie Stennett is second to hit 7-for-7 in a 9-inning MLB game as Pirates rout Chicago Cubs, 22-0 at Wrigley Field

Ryder Cup

Sep 20 Ryder Cup Golf, Laurel Valley GC: US beats Great Britain & Ireland, 21-11; Arnold Palmer non-playing American captain; Bernard Hunt GB & I skipper

Sep 26 Phillies & NY Mets play a doubleheader that ends at 3:15 AM
Sep 28 New York City Marathon: Tom Fleming claims men's title in 2:19:27; Kim Merritt wins women's event in 2:46:14

Sports History

Sep 28 Oakland A's Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Linblad & Rollie Fingers, no-hit California Angels, 5-0

Oct 1 "The Thrilla in Manila"; Muhammad Ali stops Joe Frazier in 14 rounds in Quezon City, the Philippines to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight title

F1 World Champion

Oct 5 Austrian Niki Lauda wins the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen to claim his first Formula 1 World Drivers Championship; wins by 19.5 points from Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil

Oct 7 MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox beat Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 0
Oct 7 MLB National League Championship: Cincinnati Reds beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 games to 0
Oct 7 Players' Association files a suit on behalf of Dodgers' Andy Messersmith
Oct 8 San Antonio Spurs, then members of the ABA, defeat the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, 109-107 in the first basketball game ever played in the Louisiana Superdome

NHL Record

Oct 11 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 1st career hat trick

Oct 12 American Jacqueline Hansen runs women's world record marathon 2:38:19 in the Nike OTC Marathon, Eugene, Oregon
Oct 19 Cleveland Browns' Don Cockroft kicks club record 5 field goals
Oct 21 Red Sox Carlton Fisk's 12th inning HR beats Reds 7-6 in game 6 of WS

World Series

Oct 22 Baseball World Series: Cincinnati Reds beat Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park for 4 games to 3 series win; MVP: Reds switch hitter Pete Rose

Oct 25 Denver Nuggets 1st game at McNichols Sports Arena beat St Louis Spirits
Oct 26 Cuba beats Mexico for its 4th Pan Am Games Gold Medal in baseball
Oct 28 Calvin Murphy (Houston) begins NBA free throw streak of 58 games
Oct 30 Giants pitcher John "the Count of" Montefusco wins NL Rookie of Year
Oct 30 John Bucyk, Boston, became 7th NHLer to score 500 goals
Nov 2 First sports event at The Summit arena in Houston - NBA's Houston Rockets beat Milwaukee Bucks, 104-89; future Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich top scores with 24 points
Nov 3 Chris Evert becomes first tennis player to achieve the No. 1 ranking as the WTA Tour rankings debut; Evert holds top-spot for first 26 weeks

Sports History

Nov 4 Orioles Jim Palmer wins his 2nd Cy Young Award

Royals Release Killebrew

Nov 10 Royals release slugger Harmon Killebrew, ending his 22-year career

Petty's Sixth NASCAR

Nov 12 25th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Richard Petty wins

Nov 12 7h Rugby League World Cup: Australia beats England 25-0
Nov 12 NY Mets Tom Seaver wins his 3rd Cy Young Award
Nov 18 Calvin Murphy (Houston) ends NBA free throw streak of 58 games

Morgan NL MVP

Nov 19 Reds 2nd baseman Joe Morgan is named NL MVP

MLB Hall of Fame Infielder and Broadcaster Joe Morgan

Nov 23 Bob Thomas of Chicago Bears kicks 55-yard field goal
Nov 23 CFL Grey Cup, McMahon Field, Calgary: Edmonton Eskimos defeat Montreal Alouettes, 9-8; just the 3rd Grey Cup in which no TDs scored; game-time temperature -15 degrees Celsius, with a 25-kph wind
Nov 26 Boston Red Sox center fielder Fred Lynn becomes the first rookie ever to be named American League MVP

Bobby Orr

Nov 28 Bobby Orr plays his last game for the Boston Bruins

Nov 28 Test Cricket debut of Michael Anthony Holding, WI v Australia Brisbane
Nov 29 40th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 28-0 in Birmingham

Greg Chappell

Dec 2 Greg Chappell in his debut as Australian cricket captain completes a fine double in 8 wicket win in 1st Test v West Indies in Brisbane; scores 109no in 2nd innings to follow his 1st innings 123

Dec 6 41st Heisman Trophy Award: Archie Griffin, Ohio State (RB)

Năstase's 4th ATP

Dec 7 Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 4th season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout of Björn Borg of Sweden in Stockholm

Yankees' Great Trade

Dec 11 MLB New York Yankees make great trade getting Willie Randolph, Dock Ellis & Ken Brett from Pittsburgh Pirates for George "Doc" Medich

MLB Second Baseman and Manager Willie Randolph

Dec 13 West Indian cricket opener Roy Fredericks smashes 169 in 2nd Test win v Australia in Perth; hundred in 71 balls

Veeck Buys White Sox

Dec 16 Bill Veeck buys 80% of MLB Chicago White Sox from John Allyn

Dec 17 NHL NY Islanders shut-out NY Rangers, for 1st time in 3-0 win with Billy Smith in goal
Dec 21 Buffalo Sabres set NHL record of 40 points beating Caps 14-2 scoring 5 goals vs Washington Caps in 4:57
Dec 21 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Stockholm, Sweden: Home town hero Björn Borg beats Czech Jan Kodeš 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to give Sweden unassailable 3-1 lead; ends 3-2
Dec 23 Chairman of MLB arbitration panel Peter Seitz rules pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to be free agents
Dec 26 5th Fiesta Bowl: #7 Arizona State beats #6 Nebraska, 17-14
Dec 26 Crowd of 85,661 attend the 1st day of the Australia vs West Indies MCG cricket test
Dec 28 "The Hail Mary", with 32 seconds left in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game, Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach throws a legendary 50-yard winning touchdown pass to Drew Pearson to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, and the "Hail Mary" play gains national recognition
Dec 28 Gary Cosier scores 109 v West Indies at MCG on Test Cricket debut
Dec 28 In the aftermath of the Cold War, the New York Rangers become first team in NHL history to face a touring Soviet hockey squad; Soviet Army beats the Rangers, 7-3 at Madison Square Garden

Oleg Blokhin Award

Dec 30 Ballon d'Or: FC Dynamo Kyiv forward Oleg Blokhin claims award for best European football player ahead of former winners, Bayern Munich defender Franz Beckenbauer and Ajax forward Johan Cruyff

Dec 31 42nd Sugar Bowl: #3 Alabama beats #7 Penn State, 13-6