TODAY'S EVENTS IN SPORTS HISTORY 2025

APRIL 26

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April26
Today's Events in Sports History

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• 1900 Newly renamed American League opener in Cleveland draws 6,500 (still as a minor league, was Western League)
• 1901 Jimmy Collins, having left the Boston Beaneaters (NL), captains and manages his first game for the Boston Americans (loses 10-6 at Baltimore Orioles)
• 1905 Cubs Jack McCarthy becomes only major league player to throw out 3 runners at plate in 1 game, all were ends of a double play

• 1912 First home run hit at Fenway Park by Hugh Bradley of the Red Sox
• 1920 Husband and wife team Ludowika & Walter Jakobsson representing Finland, win the pairs skating gold medal at the Antwerp Olympics; Ludowika is the only German-born athlete at the Games
• 1920 Ice hockey makes its Olympic debut at the Antwerp Games with center Frank Fredrickson scoring 7 goals in Canada's 12-1 drubbing of Sweden in the gold medal match

Lou Gehrig's Big Mistake

1931 Lou Gehrig hits a HR but is called out for passing a runner, mistake costs him AL home run crown; he & Babe Ruth tie for season


Baseball PlayerLou Gehrig

Baseball LegendBabe Ruth

• 1935 Frank Boucher is given NHL's Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship permanently for winning it 7 of 11 years
• 1941 A tradition begins with the first organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs)
• 1950 Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Md, is run
• 1950 U of Miami ends William & Mary straight tennis match victories at 82

Golf History
1952 Patty Berg scores 64, the best competitive round of golf by a woman


GolferPatty Berg
Baseball History
1961 New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris hits 1st of 61 homers in 1961


Baseball PlayerRoger Maris

• 1964 18th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat SF Warriors, 4 games to 1

LPGA Titleholders Championship
1964 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith retains title; beats Mickey Wright by 1 stroke


LPGA GolferMickey Wright

• 1966 International Olympic Committee votes to award German city of Munich the right to host the 1972 Summer Olympic Games

Red Auerbach Retires
1966 Red Auerbach retires as Boston Celtic's coach


NBA CoachRed Auerbach

• 1974 Yankees trade Peterson, Beene, Kline & Buskey to Indians for Chambliss, Tidrow & Upshaw

Baseball Record
1975 MLB Philadelphia Phillies slugger Mike Schmidt's 2 home runs in 7-3 win over Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh ties NL record of 11 HRs in April


MLB Third BasemanMike Schmidt

• 1980 Gerard Nijboer runs Dutch record marathon (2:09:01)

Baseball Record
1980 MLB Philadelphia Phillies Steve Carlton pitches his 6th 1-hitter, in 7-0 win over St. Louis Cardinals, at Veterans Stadium; 1st National League to record 6 1-hitters


Baseball PitcherSteve Carlton

• 1982 Gene Michael becomes NY Yankee manager for 2nd time

NFL Draft
1983 NFL Draft: Stanford quarterback John Elway first pick by Baltimore Colts


NFL QuarterbackJohn Elway

• 1983 San Antonio spurs beat Denver Nuggets, 152-133 in NBA playoff game
• 1988 NBA approves addition of 3rd referee in 1988-89 season

Sports History
1988 NY Met Davey Johnson becomes 2nd manager to record 400 victory in 1st 4 years (Al López was 1st)


Baseball PlayerAl López
Mike Tyson' Speeding Ticket
1989 Mike Tyson gets a speeding ticket for drag racing his Lamborghini in Albany, New York


Heavyweight Boxing ChampionMike Tyson

• 1990 NY court of appeals ends 2½ year legal battle over 1988 America's Cup by refusing jurisdiction of case

Baseball Record
1990 Texas Rangers Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller's record of pitching 12 one-hitters in 1-0 win over Chicago White Sox at Arlington Stadium


MLB Pitching LegendNolan Ryan

Baseball Hall of Fame PitcherBob Feller
Maradona Suspended
1991 Soccer star Diego Maradona, suspended for using cocaine, arrested in Argentina for possession & distribution of illegal narcotics


Football LegendDiego Maradona
Baseball Record
1992 MLB St. Louis Cardinals Ozzie Smith steals his 500th base


Baseball PlayerOzzie Smith

• 1992 NFL Draft: University of Washington defensive end Steve Emtman from first pick by Indianapolis Colts
• 1995 Baseball season begins after lengthy strike
• 2003 NFL Draft: USC quarterback Carson Palmer first pick by Cincinnati Bengals
• 2008 NFL Draft: University of Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long first pick by Miami Dolphins
• 2012 NFL Draft: Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck first pick by Indianapolis Colts

London Marathon
2015 35th London Marathon: Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge & Ethiopian Tigist Tufa win


Long Distance RunnerEliud Kipchoge
FC Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga
2015 FC Bayern Munich wins the 2014–15 Bundesliga for a 25th time


Football StarThomas Müller

• 2017 Gift Ngoepe becomes 1st black African to play in Major League Baseball, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• 2018 NFL Draft: Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield first pick by Cleveland Browns; 4 QBs taken in top 10 selections for first time in history

Pelé Added to Dictionary
2023 Brazilian Portuguese-language Michaelis dictionary adds "pelé" as a new adjective to its online edition, meaning "exceptional, incomparable, unique" [1]


Football LegendPele

 

APRIL 28

World's First Motor Race

1887 "Europe's first motoring competition" is 'won' by The Marquis de Dion on a steam-powered quadricycle built by French toymaker and engineer Georges Bouton; French newspaper Le Velocipede organized the 'test', and Bouton was the only participant


Georges Bouton and Jules-Albert de Dion causing a stir and setting a record in 1887. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

• 1901 Cleveland's Bock Baker gives up a record 23 singles as White Sox beat Blues (Cleveland Blues!) 13-1

Capablanca World Chess Champion
1921 Cuban José Raúl Capablanca becomes the world's third chess champion defeating German champion Emanuel Lasker in Havana


Chess GrandmasterJosé Raúl Capablanca

• 1923 Wembley Stadium opens - Bolton Wanderers vs West Ham United (FA Cup)
• 1930 First night of organized baseball is played in Independence, Kansas
• 1931 Program for woman athletes approved for 1932 Olympics track & field
• 1934 Soccer team Blue White '34 forms
• 1952 St Louis Browns lend 2 black minor leaguers to Hankyu Braves of Japan

Baseball Record
1956 Cincinnati Reds outfielder Frank Robinson hits his 1st of 586 HRs


Baseball Outfielder and ManagerFrank Robinson
LPGA Western Open
1957 LPGA Western Open Women's Golf, Montgomery CC: Patty Berg wins her 6th WO by 1 stroke from Wiffi Smith


GolferPatty Berg
Sports History
1961 Milwaukee Braves' future HOF pitcher Warren Spahn throws his second career no hitter at 41; beats SF Giants, 1-0 at County Stadium


Baseball Hall of Fame PitcherWarren Spahn

• 1965 Lindsey Nelson broadcasts baseball game at Houston Astrodome from a hanging gondola
• 1966 20th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3

Sports History
1967 Muhammad Ali refuses induction into army & stripped of boxing title


Heavyweight Boxing ChampionMuhammad Ali

• 1972 Courts award 1968 Kentucky Derby prize money to 2nd place winner due to the winner being given drugs before the race

Sports History
1985 Billy Martin named NY Yankee manager for 4th time


Baseball Player and ManagerBilly Martin
Sports History
1985 Fernando Valenzuela sets record of 41 scoreless inn to start season


Baseball Hall of Fame PitcherFernando Valenzuela

• 1987 NBA announces expansion to Charlotte NC & Miami Fla in 1988 & Minneapolis Minn & Orlando Fla in 1989
• 1987 NFL Draft: University of Miami quarterback Vinny Testaverde first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 1988 Baltimore Orioles lose AL record 21 games in a row
• 1988 NJ Devils set all time playoff mark for penalty minutes
• 1990 Boston Celtics score most points in a playoff, beat NY Knicks 157-128

Sports History
1993 NY Islanders beat Washington Capitals 4 to 1 in playoffs, Capitals' Dale Hunter attacks Pierre Turgeon after scoring, in hockey's worst cheap shot


NHL StarPierre Turgeon

• 1993 Zambian national football team dies in a plane crash near Libreville, Gabon that kills 30 people [1]
• 2002 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Superstition Mountain G&CC: Jim Thorpe wins his lone career major title with birdie on first playoff hole against John Jacobs

Sports History
2003 Andre Agassi recaptures the world #1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male in the history of the ATP rankings at 33 years and 13 days


Tennis LegendAndre Agassi

• 2007 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados: Australia 3-peat with 53 run win over Sri Lanka; Player of the Match: Adam Gilchrist (AUS) 149 (104) & 2 catches
• 2007 NFL Draft: LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell first pick by Oakland Raiders
• 2011 NFL Draft: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton first pick by Carolina Panthers
• 2016 NFL Draft: Cal quarterback Jared Goff first pick by Los Angeles Rams
• 2018 Shaquem Griffin is the first one-handed person to be drafted into the NFL; selected by Seattle Seahawks
• 2019 American diver Victor Vescovo makes the deepest dive ever to the bottom of the Mariana trench at 10,927m (35,849ft), and finds a plastic bag

 

APRIL 29

• 1751 The New York Gazette and Post Boy carries first public report of a cricket match played in America; New York XI v London XI on the site of what is today the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, NYC
• 1892 Charlie Reilly becomes one of baseball's first pinch hitters
• 1901 27th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Winkfield on His Eminence wins in 2:07.75

Speaker Ties Record

1918 Tris Speaker ties career outfield record of 4 unassisted double plays


Baseball PlayerTris Speaker

• 1922 First official International Weightlifting Federation Championship is held in Tallinn, Estonia
• 1930 123 runs are scored in 7 major league games

Ferrell No-Hits Browns
1931 Cleveland Indians pitcher Wes Ferrell no-hits St Louis Browns, 9-0 at League Park II, Cleveland


Baseball PitcherWes Ferrell

• 1934 Pittsburgh is last major league baseball city to play a home game on a Sunday, as the Pirates host the Cincinnati Reds
• 1936 1st pro baseball game in Japan is played Nagoya defeats Daitokyo, 8-5
• 1953 Milwaukee Braves' Joe Adcock is 1st to homer into New York's Polo Grounds center field bleachers
• 1961 ABC's "Wide World of Sports" debuts

Golf Tournament
1963 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Marilynn Smith beats Mickey Wright by 1 shot in 18-hole playoff


LPGA GolferMickey Wright

• 1980 NFL Draft: Oklahoma running back Billy Sims first pick by Detroit Lions

Baseball Record
1981 MLB Philadelphia Phillies Steve Carlton is 1st lefty to strike out 3,000 batters


Baseball PitcherSteve Carlton

• 1981 NFL Draft: South Carolina running back George Rogers first pick by New Orleans Saints

Sports History
1985 New York Yankees fire manager Yogi Berra 16 games into season, despite assurance from owner George Steinbrenner that he would be kept for the whole season. Billy Martin named as replacement.


MLB Catcher and ManagerYogi Berra

Baseball Player and ManagerBilly Martin

New York Yankees OwnerGeorge Steinbrenner

• 1985 Tony Tubbs beats defending champion Greg Page by unanimous decision in 15 rounds at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo for WBA heavyweight boxing title

Baseball Record
1986 Boston Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens strikes out 20 Seattle Mariners


MLB Pitching LegendRoger Clemens
Sports History
1986 NFL Draft: Auburn running back Bo Jackson first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers


NFL Running Back and Baseball OutfielderBo Jackson
Sports History
1987 Chicago Cub Andre Dawson hits for cycle


MLB StarAndre Dawson

• 1988 Baltimore Orioles end their record 21-game losing streak by beating the White Sox 9-0
• 1988 Orioles beat White Sox 9-0 for 1st 1988 win after 21 loses

Sports History
1990 Dan Quisenberry (all-time AL save king, 238) announces his retirement


MLB PlayerDan Quisenberry

• 1995 KC Royal John Nonely is 70th to HR on his 1st at bat
• 1997 MLB Kansas City Royals Chili Davis is 75th to hit 300 HRs
• 2006 NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans

Sports History
2018 Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal equals his Open-era record for most wins at the same event (11 Monte Carlo) with his 11th Barcelona ATP title


Tennis ChampionRafael Nadal
The Rise and Fall of Boris Becker
2022 London court sentences retired tennis star Boris Becker to 2-1/2 years in prison for hiding assets during bankruptcy proceedings


Golden days: 17-year-old Boris Becker celebrates as Wimbledon men’s singles champion