This Day in Sports History

In 1935, golfer Gene Sarazen holed out from the fairway on Augusta National's 15th hole for a double eagle 2. He went on to force a playoff and then win in a 36-hole playoff. In 1963, golfer Jack Nicklaus won the first of his six Masters Green Jackets In 1985, Herschel Walker scored the on the longest TD run in USFL history while compiling a USFL record 233 rushing yards. In 1928, New York Rangers...

In 2024, MMA fighter Mason Lewis used an unconventional method of tickling his opponent to escape a hold. In 1893, boxers Andy Bowen and Jack Burke fought to a draw in New Orleans after 7 hours, 19 minutes. In 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard won a controversial split decision over reigning middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. In 1896, the modern Olympic games were born in Greece.

In 1993, Michigan's Chris Webber called the infamous timeout his team did not have in the NCAA National Championship game. In 1976, the NCAA reinstated the slam dunk. In 1915, boxer Jack Johnson was beaten for the first time since becoming heavyweight champ. In 1971, Joe Theisman was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fourth round of the NFL draft. He decided to play for Toronto in the CFL inste...

In 1983, NC State beat Houston in one of the great upsets in NCAA Tournament Championship history. In 1985, Tulane eliminated its men's basketball program following the discovery of a points shaving scandal. In 1965, Sam Snead won the GGO for his 82nd and final PGA win. He's the oldest to win a PGA Tour event at 52 years, 10 months and 8 days In 2016, Villanova's Kris Jenkins hit a buzzer-beating...

In 1985, 8 seed Villanova beat Georgetown to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. As an 8 seed are still the lowest seed to win it all. In 1978, New York Islander's rookie Mike Bossy scored his 50th goal of the season, becoming the first rookie to reach that plateau. In 2007, Morgan Pressel won the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship at the age of 18 years, 313 days, becoming the youngest woman...

In 1931, Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was killed in a plane crash in Kansas. The crash led to reforms in airplane design and construction. In 2001, Duke rallied from a 22-point deficit to beat Maryland to advance to the NCAA Championship game. In 1985, golfer Calvin Peete won the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass for his first PGA Tour win. In 1974, the Toronto Northmen of the new Wor...

In 1919, the Spanish Flu wreaked havoc during the Stanley Cup finals and caused it to finish in a draw between Montreal and Seattle. In 1987, Indiana beat Syracuse to win the National Championship In 1981, Indiana beat North Carolina to win the National Championship In 1940, Indiana beat Kansas to win the National Championship In 1991, Duke ended UNLV's bid to go undefeated, beating the Runnin' Re...

In 1982, the North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Georgetown Hoyas 63-62. In 1976, the Indiana Hoosiers beat the Michigan Wolverines to win the the National Championship and finish the year a perfect 32-0. The Hoosiers are the last team to go through the season and win the title undefeated. Also Bobby Knight became the first to win a championship as a player and head coach. In 1981, it was the beginn...

In 1950, Detroit Red Wing Gordie Howe crashed head first into the boards and nearly died. In 1950, CCNY became the first and forever only team to win both the NIT and the NCAA Tournament in the same season. In 1990, Michael Jordan had his best night as a pro and it is statistically the greatest game by any NBA player. In 1992, Duke's Christian Laettner was a perfect 10 for 10 from the field and 10...

In 1990, Pascual Perez showed up 8 days late for training camp for the New York Yankees. He was rushed out to the mound for a photo op workout. That workout would lead to problems a month later. In 1939, Oregon beat Ohio State to win the first NCAA Tournament. In 1978, Jack 'Goose' Givens scored 41 exploiting a soft Duke 2-3 zone as Kentucky beat the Blue Devils to win the NCAA Championship. In 20...

In 1977, Marquette's Jerome Whitehead scored the game winner in the National Semifinal game to beat Cornbread Maxwell and the UNC Charlotte 49ers. In 2005, Illinois erased a 15 point second deficit to beat Arizona. In 2009, Villanova's Scottie Reynolds dribbled length of the court to hit the game winner. In 1983, NC State beat Virginia for the second time in 2 weeks to advance to the Final Four. I...

In 1967, Evel Knievel made his debut on Wide World of Sports, nine months before his attempt over the Caesar's Palace Fountains. In 1961, the Cincinnati Bearcats beat Ohio State to win the NCAA title. In 1961, in the third place game, St. Joe's beat Utah but that win was later vacated due the 1961 point shaving scandal. In 1979, the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets replayed the final 17 minu...

In 2001, Arizona Diamondback Randy Johnson obliterated a bird on a pitch to the plate in a spring training game. In 2001, Tiger Woods hit a slippery 60-foot triple breaker putt to make birdie at the 17th island green of TPC Sawgrass. CBS announcer Gary Koch called it 'Better than Most.' In 2007, Anthony Atkinson scored 10 points in the final 45 seconds to lift Barton from certain defeat to a D-2 N...

In 1957, the North Carolina Tar Heels finished a perfect 32-0 after beating Kansas to win the National Title. In 1962, a shocking exposé by The Saturday Evening Post was released with accusations leveled against Alabama Head Football Coach Bear Bryant and Georgia's Athletics Director Wally Butts colluding to fix a game. In 1994, Los Angeles King Wayne Gretzky scored career goal 802, passing his ch...

In 1993, Cleveland Indians pitchers Tim Crews and Steve Olin were killed in a boating accident in Florida during Spring Training. Pitcher Bob Ojeda was also severely injured but survived. In 1989, Buffalo Sabre goalie Clint Malarchuk suffered a major cut across a main artery in his neck and nearly died on the ice in a game against St. Louis. Here's the article referenced in the episode: https://ww...

In 1970, Slovenian ski jumper Vinko Bogataj plunged off the end of the ramp, becoming the 'Agony of Defeat' soon after. In 1976, champion US ski racer Spider Sabich was shot and killed by his girlfriend and actress Claudine Longet. In 1940, golfer Ben Hogan won his first golf tournament after years of grinding on tour. In 1987, the Providence Friars continued to surprise folks in the NCAA Tourname...

In 1954, tiny Milan High School beat Muncie High to win the Indiana State Basketball Championship and inspired the movie 'Hoosiers.' In 2016, Northern Iowa gave up a 12 point lead in the final minute against Texas A&M and lost in overtime. In 2010, Northern Iowa upset top-seed Kansas behind the hot shooting of Ali Faroukmanesh. In 1934, Babe Didrikson faced 3 major league batters in an spring...

In 1993, LaBradford Smith scored 37 against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in a five point loss. It's supposed to be what happened after the game that led to the story. In 1981, Danny Ainge went end-to-end to hit the game winning layup vs. Notre Dame to advance to the Elite Eight. In 1955, Indianapolis' Crispus Attucks High School led by Oscar Robertson beat Roosevelt High (Gary, IN) to win...

In 1981, Carlton Fisk became a member of the Chicago White Sox. In 1953, the Boston Braves packed up the moving vans and moved to Milwaukee. In 1985, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle were reinstated by new baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth. In 1993, the Santa Clara Broncos featuring a baby-faced Steve Nash stunned Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 1983, NC State survived a 2OT...

In 1955, the Richard Riot started in Montreal. It was political bonfire with the suspension of Maurice 'the Rocket' Richard as the lit match. In 1982, a horrible oversight during a routine knee surgery led to a respected French footballer slipping into.a coma for 39 years. In 2012, Bolton's Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the field during an FA Cup match against Tottenham. In 1973, the Philadelphia 76...

In 2018, the UMBC Retrievers beat top-seed Virginia. In 1980, Louisville's Dr. Dunkenstein and the Doctors of Dunk destroyed LSU to advance to the Final Four. In 1958, Cincinnati Royals player Maurice Stokes collapsed on the airline ride home from a game. The seizure he suffered left him incapacitated, ending his career. Most figured he would have been compared with the likes of Bill Russell and E...

In 1985, 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson came within a whisker of beating #1 seeded Michigan. It was the first year the tournament expanded to 64 teams. In 1989, Michigan Head Basketball coach Bill Frieder was fired two days before he was to coach his #3 seeded Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament. 'A Michigan man will coach Michigan!' said, Bo Schembechler. In 1963, the all-white Mississippi State B...

On March 10th, 2001, current Louisville Head Football Coach and former XFL QB with the Orlando Rage started a game just six days after getting literally 'knocked out' of a game. On March 10th, 1976, the origin of 'Ain't over 'til the fat lady sings' can be tracked back to an article written in that days' Dallas Morning News. On March 9th, 1946, baseball’s Ted Williams turned down a $500,000 contra...

In 1937, Howie Morenz, known by some as 'the Babe Ruth of hockey' died as a direct result of an injury suffered in a hockey game a month earlier. In 1971, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met at Madison Square Garden in the 'Fight of the Century.' In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a two-year contract paying him $80,000 a season and was asked after why he deserved more money than the President of the US to whi...

In 1964, Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali was ordered to report to military service. In 1954, the ACC crowned its first men's basketball champ, sending that team to the NCAA tournament. In 2015, the NCAA penalized Syracuse men's basketball and head coach Jim Boeheim after an investigation found misconduct and impermissible booster activity. In 2000, Laker Shaquille O'Neal celebrated...