- Apr 1 58th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Syracuse, 76-67; Wildcats' 6th national championship
- Apr 1 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Boston MA on WBCN 104.1 FM (morn)
- Apr 1 Veteran American MLB umpire John McSheery dies of heart attack while umpiring on Opening Day at the Cincinnati Reds' Riverfront Stadium; he was 51
- Apr 2 Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder steals 1st base in 1,097th career game, a 10-6 win at Minnesota Twins; longest duration in MLB history without a stolen base
Cricket Record
Apr 2 Sri Lankan cricket batsman Sanath Jayasuriya hits century in 48 balls (134 off 65), in 34 run win over Pakistan in Singapore; world ODI record
- Apr 2 Vancouver Grizzlies beat Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-103 at General Motors Place Arena to end their NBA single-season record 23-game consecutive loss streak
Cricket Debut
Apr 3 Cricketer Rahul Dravid makes his international debut for India in an ODI against Sri Lanka
- Apr 3 South Australia grab exciting draw vs W A to win Sheffield Shield
- Apr 3 St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record 71-1
- Apr 6 American baseball player Albert Belle shows off his arm by hitting Sports Illustrated photographer Tony Tomsic in the hand prior to a game
- Apr 7 Pakistan beats Sri Lanka to win Cricket's Singer Cup in Singapore
- Apr 7 Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya hits fastest ODI fifty off 17 balls v Pakistan, Singapore
Golf Tournament
Apr 7 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Defending champion Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th event title by 3 strokes from Hale Irwin
US Masters Golf
Apr 14 60th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Englishman Nick Faldo wins his 3rd Masters and 6th and final major title, 5 strokes ahead of Greg Norman of Australia
- Apr 14 Detroit Red Wings win NHL record 62 games
Boston Marathon
Apr 15 100th Boston Marathon: Moses Tanui of Kenya takes centenary men's title in 2:09:15.9; 3-peat for Uta Pippig of Germany in women's race in 2:27:12
- Apr 15 Boston Athletic Association officially recognizes Bobbi Gibb's three Boston Marathon wins (1966, 1967, and 1968) in era prior to women being sanctioned for the race
- Apr 19 Rangers scores 16 in 8th vs Orioles
- Apr 20 1996 NFL Draft: Keyshawn Johnson from USC first pick by New York Jets
- Apr 20 Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
- Apr 21 Chicago Bulls win NBA record 72 games (72-8)
Senior PGA Championship
Apr 21 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: Hale Irwin beats Japan’s Isao Aoki by 2 strokes for his first of 4 Senior PGA Championships
- Apr 24 Highest scoring baseball game in 17 years - Twins 24, Tigers 11
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions