Events in Sports History in 1988

Events 1 - 200 of 377

  • Jan 1 17th Fiesta Bowl: #3 Florida State beats #5 Nebraska, 31-28
  • Jan 1 54th Orange Bowl: #2 Miami (FL) beats #1 Oklahoma, 20-14
  • Jan 1 54th Sugar Bowl: #4 Syracuse ties #6 Auburn, 16-16
  • Jan 1 74th Rose Bowl: #8 Michigan State beats #16 Southern California, 20-17
  • Jan 1 Czech born tennis star Hana Mandikova becomes an Australian Citizen
  • Jan 1 Miami beats Oklahoma for college football championship
  • Jan 8 9th largest NBA crowd 38,873-Chicago at Detroit

Boitano US Champion

Jan 9 US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano

  • Jan 11 USSR announces it will participate in Seoul Summer Olympics

Baseball Hall of Fame

Jan 12 Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/first baseman Willie Stargell elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Garvey Retires

Jan 13 MLB Los Angeles Dodger/San Diego Padre Steve Garvey retires

  • Jan 15 19-year-old Indian cricket leg-spinner Narenda Hirwani records best bowling figures on debut in Test history; captures 16-136 in 255 run 4th Test win v West Indies in Madras; Hirwani takes 8 wickets in each innings
  • Jan 15 Indian cricket wicketkeeper Kiran More stumps 5 West Indian batsman in 4th Test at Madras; world Test record
  • Jan 15 NFL analyst Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder makes several questionable comments about African Americans during a lunchtime interview on CBS' NFL Today; fired the next day
  • Jan 16 NFL St Louis Cardinals announce move to Phoenix

"The Fumble" as Broncos Beat Browns

Jan 17 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns, 38-33; features infamous "The Fumble", Browns' Earnest Byner at Denver 3-yard line with 1:12 remaining

  • Jan 17 NFC Championship, RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Minnesota Vikings, 17-10

Lara 1st Class Debut

Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Brian Lara, Trinidad & Tobago v Leeward Is

Cronje 1st Class Debut

Jan 22 1st-class cricket debut of Hansie Cronje, OFS v Transvaal

Tyson vs. Holmes

Jan 22 Defending champion Mike Tyson beats former titleholder Larry Holmes by TKO in round 4 at Convention Centre, Atlantic City to retain his undisputed heavyweight boxing title

Graf Defeats Lloyd

Jan 23 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf of Germany wins 1st of 3 consecutive Australian singles crowns; beats American Chris Evert 6-1, 7-6

  • Jan 24 Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 to win cricket's World Series Cup

Wilander Defeats Cash

Jan 24 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander wins 3rd Australian title; beats home town favourite Pat Cash 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, 6-1, 8-6

  • Jan 25 Longest winless streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (15 games)
  • Jan 28 Denver Nuggets point guard Michael Adams takes record streak to 79 consecutive games with at least one 3-point field goal in 117-102 loss against Indiana at Market Square Arena; streak ends next game

Dionne Sets Record

Jan 28 New York Rangers' Marcel Dionne scores a 2nd period power play goal in 5-2 win in Philadelphia; becomes 1st first player in NHL history to get 20 goals in each of his first 17 seasons

  • Jan 29 Detroit Pistons draw a then record NBA regular season crowd of 61,983 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome for a 125-108 win over the Boston Celtics
  • Jan 30 Hansie Cronje gets a pair in 2nd 1st-class game (OFS v N Tvl)
  • Jan 31 Super Bowl XXII, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, CA: Washington Redskins beat Denver Broncos, 42-10; MVP: Doug Williams, Washington, QB

Boon's 184 Not Out

Feb 2 David Boon's 6th Test Cricket century, 184* v England at Sydney

38th NBA All-Star Game

Feb 7 38th NBA All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium: East beats West, 138-133; MVP: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, F

  • Feb 7 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 15-6; MVP: Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills, DE

39th NHL All-Star Game

Feb 9 39th NHL All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena: Wales Conference beats Campbell Conference, 6-5 (OT); MVP: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, C

  • Feb 9 NH begins a NCAA record 32-game losing streak at home (ends Feb 1991)
  • Feb 13 Heike Dreschler long jumps world record indoor (7.37m)
  • Feb 13 XV Winter Olympic Games open in Calgary, Canada

Daytona 500

Feb 14 30th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison beats his son, Davey, to the finish line; remembered for Richard Petty's rollover crash in the tri-oval on lap 106, rolls over 8 times and hit by Brett Bodine; walks away unhurt

Senior PGA Championship

Feb 14 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: South African Gary Player wins his second of 3 event titles by 3 strokes from Chi-Chi Rodríguez

  • Feb 20 Brian Boitano wins Olympic gold medal in figure skating
  • Feb 20 Cornelia Oschkenat hurdles indoor world record 50m (6.58 sec)
  • Feb 20 Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria sets high jumps indoor world record (2.06 m)

Skating Word Record

Feb 22 Bonnie Blair skates world record 500m (39.10 sec)

  • Feb 23 Chicago gives Cubs right to install lights & play up to 18 night games

Sports History

Feb 23 Yvonne van Gennip skates female record 3k (4:11.94)

Olympic Gold

Feb 24 Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykanen wins his 3rd gold medal of the Calgary Winter Olympics as part of the winning large hill team; normal and large hill individual champion

  • Feb 27 Bonnie Blair (US) wins Olympic 500m speed skating in record 39.1
  • Feb 27 Katarina Witt (GDR) wins 2nd consecutive Olympic figure skating
  • Feb 28 Pat Verbeek becomes 1st NJ Devil to score 4 goals in an NHL game
  • Feb 28 XV Winter Olympic Games close in Calgary, Canada
  • Feb 28 Yvonne van Gennip skates world record 5 km ladies (7:14.13)
  • Feb 29 New Zealand cricket batsman Mark Greatbatch scores an unbeaten 107 on debut to rescue a draw in 2nd Test v England at Eden Park, Auckland

Sports History

Mar 1 Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky picks up a 1st period assist in Oilers' 5-3 win over LA Kings to move ahead of Gordie Howe as NHL's all time leader in career assists; Howe 1,049 assists in 26 years, Gretzky 1,050 in 9 years

Sports History

Mar 1 For first time since 1956, the Special Veterans Committee does not elect anyone to the Baseball Hall of Fame; Phil Rizzuto, Leo Durocher, Joe Gordon and Gil Hodges passed over

  • Mar 2 The flaming basketball is adopted as NBA franchise Miami Heat’s official logo from over 13,000 entries; Mark Henderson submits the winning entry
  • Mar 6 Julie Krone becomes winningest female jockey (1205 victories)
  • Mar 7 Jim Abbott, 1-handed pitcher, wins 58th James E Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the US, becoming 1st baseball player to win the award

Sports History

Mar 10 NHL New York Islanders celebrate Mike Bossy night

  • Mar 13 29th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Georgia, 62-57
  • Mar 13 35th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Duke beats North Carolina, 65-61
  • Mar 13 9th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Syracuse beats Villanova, 85-68
  • Mar 15 NFL's St Louis Cardinals officially move to Phoenix
  • Mar 17 Then highest scoring NCAA basketball game to date; Loyola-Marymont 119, Wyoming 115
  • Mar 19 France edges Wales, 10-9 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to share the Five Nations Rugby Championship with the Welsh with 3-1 records
  • Mar 19 Yvonne van Gennip skates un-official world record 10 km (15:25.25)
  • Mar 20 Defending champion Mike Tyson beats Tony Tubbs by TKO in round 2 at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo for the undisputed world heavyweight boxing title
  • Mar 22 WA beat Queensland by 5 wkts to win the Sheffield Shield Final
  • Mar 24 San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts announces his retirement after 15 seasons
  • Mar 25 Robin Givens demands full access to husband Mike Tyson's money
  • Mar 27 Ice Dance Championship at Budapest won by Bestemianova & Bukin (URS)
  • Mar 27 Ladies' Figure Skating Championship in Budapest won by Katarina Witt (GDR)
  • Mar 27 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Budapest won by Brian Boitano (USA)
  • Mar 27 Ok-Hee Ku wins Standard Register Turquoise Classic Golf Tournament
  • Mar 27 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Local resident Mark McCumber wins with record total 273 (−15), 4 strokes ahead of runner-up Mike Reid

Sports History

Mar 31 New York Islanders celebrate defenseman Denis Potvin's 1,000 points and 1,000 NHL games at tribute night at Nassau Coliseum

Cricket Debut

Apr 2 West Indies cricket fast bowling great Curtly Ambrose makes his debut in 9 wicket 1st Test defeat to Pakistan in Georgetown, Guyana; low key debut with 2-108

  • Apr 3 7th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Louisiana Tech beats Auburn, 56-54; Lady Techsters Erica Westbrooks MOP
  • Apr 3 Mario Lemieux wins NHL scoring title, stopping Gretzky's 7 year streak

Golf Major

Apr 3 Nabisco Dinah Shore Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Amy Alcott wins the 2nd of her 3 DS events, 2 strokes ahead of runner-up Colleen Walker

  • Apr 3 NJ Devils beat Blackhawks, 4-3 in OT to join playoffs for 1st time
  • Apr 4 50th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kansas beats Oklahoma, 83-79; Jayhawks power forward Danny Manning named tournament Most Outstanding Player
  • Apr 4 Eddie Hill becomes the world's first driver to cover the quarter mile in under 5 seconds
  • Apr 4 Largest crowd (55,438) at an MLB Opening Day game at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium; Reds win over St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 in 12 innings
  • Apr 4 MLB New York Mets set Opening Day record with 6 HRs, in a 10-6 win over Expos at Montreal
  • Apr 6 NJ Devils' 1st playoff game; lose to NY Islanders 4-3 (OT) in 1st round
  • Apr 9 142nd Grand National: Irish jockey Brendan Powell wins aboard 10/1 shot Rhyme 'n' Reason by 4 lengths from Durham Edition
  • Apr 9 NHL New Jersey Devils win 3-0 over New York Islanders; Devils lead 2-1 in playoff 1st round
  • Apr 10 52nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Scotsman Sandy Lyle claims his second major title with a birdie on the 72nd hole to win by 1 stroke over Mark Calcavecchia
  • Apr 10 Islanders beat Devils 5-4 (OT) 1st round tied at 2-2
  • Apr 12 Devils 4-2 over Islanders-Devils lead 3-2 in 1st round

Sports History

Apr 12 Frank Robinson replaces Cal Ripkin as manager of Baltimore Orioles

  • Apr 14 NHL playoffs: New Jersey Devils win 6-5 over NY Islanders to take 1st round 4-2
  • Apr 17 Ethiopian Belayneh Densimo runs world record marathon (2:06:50)

Boston Marathon

Apr 18 92nd Boston Marathon: Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya wins men's race in 2:08:43; Rosa Mota of Portugal repeats as women's champion in 2:24:30

  • Apr 20 Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21)
  • Apr 20 NJ Devils 1st playoff hat trick-Eric Broten
  • Apr 20 Yanks HR 9,999 (D Winfield) 10,000 (C Washington) 10,001 (J Clarke)
  • Apr 21 1st four-day games in County Cricket Championship commence
  • Apr 22 NJ Devil Patrik Sundstrom sets NHL playoff record of 8 pts in a playoff game (hat trick & 5 assists) in 10-4 rout over the Capitals
  • Apr 22 Women are allowed to compete in Little 500 bicycle race (Indiana)
  • Apr 24 NFL Draft: Auburn tight end Aundray Bruce first pick by Atlanta Falcons
  • Apr 26 NBA approves addition of 3rd referee in 1988-89 season

Sports History

Apr 26 NY Met Davey Johnson becomes 2nd manager to record 400 victory in 1st 4 years (Al López was 1st)

  • Apr 28 Baltimore Orioles lose AL record 21 games in a row
  • Apr 28 NJ Devils set all time playoff mark for penalty minutes
  • Apr 29 Baltimore Orioles end their record 21-game losing streak by beating the White Sox 9-0
  • Apr 29 Orioles beat White Sox 9-0 for 1st 1988 win after 21 loses
  • Apr 30 NJ Devils beat Caps 3-2 taking 7th game of Patrick Division final

Sports History

Apr 30 NY Yank Dave Winfield gets his 29th RBI of April-Sets AL & ties ML Rec

  • May 1 After scoring 50 points in Game 1, NBA Eastern Conference playoff series, Michael Jordan has 55 in Chicago Bulls 106-101 win vs Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2; first to score 50+ points in consecutive playoff games
  • May 2 Baltimore Orioles sign a 15 year lease to remain in Baltimore and get a new park

Sports History

May 2 Reds manager Pete Rose is suspended for 30 days for pushing an umpire

  • May 6 Doughnutgate incident: NJ Devils' coach Jim Schoenfeld tells referee Don Koharski to 'eat another doughnut you fat pig!,' he is suspended
  • May 7 114th Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens on Winning Colors wins in 2:02.2
  • May 8 Amateur referees work NJ Devil-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils
  • May 8 Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bently on Varick St in New York City
  • May 11 KV Mechelen of Belgium win 28th European Cup Winner's Cup against Ajax of Netherlands 1-0 in Strasbourg
  • May 11 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1
  • May 14 1st non-pitcher (Jose Oquendo) in 20 years to get a decision in a baseball game, he & St Louis Cards lose to Braves 7-5 in 19 inn
  • May 14 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Boston Bruins beat New Jersey Devils, 4 games to 3
  • May 18 In just Oakland's 39th of the season, pitcher Dave Stewart breaks record with his 12th balk en route to 16

Sports History

May 20 Philadelphia Phillies Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place

  • May 21 113th Preakness: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard Risen Star wins in 1:56.2

LPGA Championship

May 22 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Sherri Turner birdies final 2 holes to win her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Amy Alcott

  • May 24 Power outage in Boston Garden in NHL's Stanley Cup finals
  • May 25 32nd European Cup: PSV Eindhoven beats Benfica (0-0, 6-5 on penalties) at Stuttgart
  • May 26 Stanley Cup Final, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Oilers beat Boston Bruins, 6-3 for 4 game series sweep
  • May 29 Graeme Hick scores his 1,000th run of 1st-class cricket season
  • May 29 Indianapolis 500: Rick Mears claims his third-career Indy 500 victory; 50th victory in Championship racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing

Sports History

Jun 3 Margo Adams sues Boston Red Sox 3rd baseman Wade Boggs for palimony

  • Jun 4 French Open Women's Tennis: Steffi Graf dominates Natalia Zvereva of Belarus 6-0, 6-0; shortest women's singles Grand Slam final in Open Era; 32 minutes

Baseball Record

Jun 4 Rickey Henderson steals 2 bases for record 249 as a NY Yankee

  • Jun 5 French Open Men's Tennis: Mats Wilander of Sweden wins 3rd French title; beats home favourite Henri Leconte 7-5, 6-2, 6-1
  • Jun 9 "Bloodsport (1987)" premieres in Germany
  • Jun 10 Greatest number of participants (31,678) on a bicycle tour (London)
  • Jun 11 120th Belmont: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard Risen Star wins in 2:26.6
  • Jun 11 25th Curtis Cup: British Isles, 11-7
  • Jun 11 Galina Chistyakova of USSR sets long jump woman's record (24"8½")
  • Jun 11 NY Yankees Rick Rhoden becomes first pitcher since AL's adoption of the rule in 1973 to DH (0 for 1 with an RBI) in an 8–6 victory over Baltimore Orioles

Senior Players Championship

Jun 12 Senior Tournament Players Championship Men's Golf, TPC of Sawgrass: Billy Casper wins final career major title by 2 strokes from Al Geiberger

  • Jun 13 Boston Red Sox are 10 games back in AL, & go on to win AL East
  • Jun 16 Boston Red Sox Barrett steals home
  • Jun 16 In Santa Barbara, CA, a team of 32 divers begin cycling underwater on a standard tricycle, to complete 116.66 mi in 75 hrs 20 mins
  • Jun 17 Givens' Family reports Mike Tyson beats his wife Robin Givens
  • Jun 18 Jeff Hamilton, hits 8,000th Dodger home run
  • Jun 19 32 divers finish cycling underwater on a standard tricycle, to complete 116.66 mi in 75 hrs 20 mins
  • Jun 20 NYC WABC-AM becomes flagship radio station of NJ Devils

US Golf Open

Jun 20 US Open Men's Golf, The Country Club: Curtis Strange wins a Monday 18-hole playoff by 4 strokes from Englishman Nick Faldo

  • Jun 21 42nd NBA Championship: LA Lakers beat Detroit Pistons, 4 games to 3
  • Jun 23 Charlotte Hornets & Miami Heat begin their NBA expansion draft

Sports History

Jun 23 Yanks manager Billy Martin's 5th term ends, Lou Pinella named manager

  • Jun 24 Cleveland pitcher Doug Jones sets record of 14 consecutive saves
  • Jun 24 Red Sox begin AL record 23rd consecutive home win streak
  • Jun 25 Expos Pitcher Floyd Youmans suspended for 60 days due to drugs

Sports History

Jun 25 MLB player Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 1,000th consecutive game

  • Jun 25 UEFA European Championship Final, Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany: Ruud Gullet & Marco van Basten score as the Netherlands beats Soviet Union, 2-0
  • Jun 27 Mike Tyson KOs Michael Spink in 91 seconds, in Atlantic City ($67m)
  • Jun 27 Reds bat out of order against Padres in 1st inning
  • Jun 28 Mike Tyson sues to break contract with manager Bill Cayton
  • Jun 30 Chicago agrees to build a new stadium so White Sox won't move to Florida
  • Jul 2 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Germany's Steffi Graf beats Martina Navratilova 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 for the 3rd leg of her Golden Slam

Canadian Women's Open

Jul 3 Canadian Open Women's Golf (du Maurier Classic), Vancouver GC: Sally Little wins by 1 stroke from Laura Davies of England

  • Jul 3 Gene Nelson of the Oakland A's becomes first AL pitcher to steal a base since 1973 in 9-8 win over Toronto Blue Jays

Sports History

Jul 4 After a poor start to the season Kansas City Royals release Dan Quisenberry (record 5-time AL saves leader)

Wimbledon Men's Tennis

Jul 4 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg of Sweden wins his first of 2 Wimbledon singles titles beating Boris Becker 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-affected final

  • Jul 5 Wist Indies cricket paceman Malcolm Marshall takes career best 7-22, beat England by an innings & 156 at Old Trafford

Sports History

Jul 9 Nolan Ryan is 7th to win 100 game on 2 teams, as Astro beat Mets 6-3

  • Jul 11 Mike Tyson hires Donald Trump as an advisor
  • Jul 12 59th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium, Cin
  • Jul 12 All star MVP: Terry Steinbach (Oakland A's)
  • Jul 12 Margo Adams alleges Red Sox Wade Bogg's had an affair with her
  • Jul 13 Red Sox replace manager John McNamara with Joe Morgan
  • Jul 14 Mike Schmidt passes Mickey Mantle with his 537th HR into 7th place

Sports History

Jul 16 Carl Lewis runs a wind-assisted 100m in 9.78 sec

  • Jul 16 Florence Joyner runs 100m in women's world record 10.49 seconds

Women's Heptathlete Record

Jul 16 Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets women's heptathlete record of 7,215 pts

Sports History

Jul 17 Florence Griffith Joyner of USA sets 100m woman's record (10.49)

British Golf Open

Jul 18 British Open Men's Golf, Royal Lytham & St. Annes: Spaniard Seve Ballesteros wins his 3rd Open title by 2 shots from Nick Price of Zimbabwe

  • Jul 24 75th Tour de France won by Pedro Delgado of Spain
  • Jul 24 US and Jamaica play scoreless tie, in 2nd round of 1990 world soccer cup

US Women's Golf Open

Jul 24 US Open Women's Golf, Baltimore CC: Liselotte Neumann of Sweden wins her only major title, 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Patty Sheehan

  • Jul 26 Mike Schmidt sets NL record appearing in 2,155 games at 3rd base, as Phillies & NY Mets end that game at 2:13 AM

Sports History

Jul 27 Baseball star Tommy John commits record 3 errors on 1 play as Yanks rout Brewers 16-3

  • Jul 29 Baltimore trades Mike Boddicker to the Red Sox for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling
  • Jul 29 Rick Sutcliffe swipes home, 1st pitcher since Pascual Perez in 1984 to steal home
  • Jul 30 Cincinnati Reds pitcher John Franco sets a record of 13 saves in 1 month
  • Jul 30 MLB Pitcher John Franco saves a record 13th game during the month of July
  • Jul 31 Miami Dolphins beat San Francisco 49ers, 27-21 in the American Bowl at London's Wembley Stadium

Baseball Record

Jul 31 Oakland DH Jose Canseco smacks 2 home runs off Scott Bankhead in A's 6-2 win over Seattle Mariners; becomes first MLB player to hit 30 HRs in first 3 years

  • Jul 31 Pittsburgh Pirates 1st baseman/left fielder and 7-time All Star Willie Stargell becomes 200th man inducted in Baseball's Hall of Fame
  • Aug 5 Thoroughbred trainer Dale Baird wins his 5,000th career race with Stuffed Johnnie at Mountaineer Park; second to reach milestone behind Jack Van Berg
  • Aug 6 Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco becomes 11th MLB player to record 30 HRs & 30 steals in a season
  • Aug 6 Rich Gossage becomes the second player in MLB history to record 300 career saves as Cubs beat Phillies, 7-4
  • Aug 7 Future Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye wins his 4,000th career race aboard 2-year-old filly Fawn and Hahn in the 4th race at Del Mar
  • Aug 8 Cubs & Phillies attempt to play 1st night game ever at Wrigley Field but are rained out in 4th inning with Chicago leading, 3-1
  • Aug 8 Minnesota Twins pull 2nd triple-play of year in 6-2 win over Cleveland
  • Aug 8 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Medinah CC: Gary Player of South Africa wins by 2 strokes over New Zealander Bob Charles in an 18-hole playoff; his second straight US Senior title
  • Aug 9 Cubs beat Mets 6-4 in their 1st official night game at Wrigley Field
  • Aug 9 Edmonton Oilers trade Wayne Gretzky to LA Kings for $15-$20 millions

World Record

Aug 10 Matt Biondi swims world record 100m free style (48.42 sec)