Today in Sports – Week Ahead, April 18 – 24
April 22
1876 — The first official National League baseball game is played with Boston beating Philadelphia 6-5.
1914 — Babe Ruth’s 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win.
1945 — The Toronto Maple Leafs edge the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup in seven games.
1947 — The Philadelphia Warriors, behind Joe Fulks’ 34 points, beat the Chicago Staggs 83-80 in Game 5 to win the first Basketball Association of America title.
1954 — NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule.
1957 — All NL baseball teams integrate, John Irwin Kennedy becomes the 1st Black player for the Philadelphia Phillies.
1962 — The Toronto Maple Leafs capture the Stanley Cup in six games with a 2-1 triumph over the Chicago Black Hawks.
1969 — Joe Frazier knocked out Dave Zyglewicz in 96 seconds to retain the heavyweight boxing title. Zyglewicz, 28-1 against journeymen, was fighting as the hometown hero at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston.
1981 — Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd shutout in 4 starts.
1987 — The NBA grants expansion franchises to Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando. Charlotte and Miami join the league in the 1988-89 season, while Minnesota and Orlando join in 1989-90.
1988 — New Jersey’s Patrik Sundstrom sets an NHL playoff record scoring eight points — three goals and five assists — in a 10-4 rout of Washington in the Stanley Cup quarterfinals.
1990 — NFL Draft: University of Illinois quarterback Jeff George first pick by Indianapolis Colts.
1993 — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils extends their NHL playoff record to 14 straight wins.
1994 — Shannon Miller wins the women’s all-around title for the second straight year at the World Gymnastics Championships in Brisbane, Australia.
1994 — American figure skater Tonya Harding sues ex-husband Jeff Gillooly for $42,500.
1994 — Michael Moorer outpoints Evander Holyfield to win the IBF and WBA titles and become the first left-handed heavyweight champion.
1995 — George Foreman beats Axel Schulz in 12 for heavyweight boxing title in Las Vegas.
1995 — NFL Draft: Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter first pick by Cincinnati Bengals.
2003 — Minnesota and Vancouver become the first teams since 2000 to come back from 3-1 series deficits and win. The Wild take Game 7 in Colorado on Andrew Brunette’s overtime goal for a 3-2 win. The Canucks oust St. Louis with a 4-1 win.
2003 — Patrick Roy plays his final career NHL game.
2006 — New Jersey scores a playoff-record five power-play goals in its 6-1 win over New York.
2006 — In Berlin, Germany, Wladimir Klitschko stops Chris Byrd in the seventh round of a one-sided fight to gain the IBF heavyweight title.
2007 — The Boston Red Sox tie a major league record by hitting four straight home runs in a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek connect in a span of 10 pitches during the third inning against Chase Wright.
2008 — John Smoltz of Atlanta becomes the 16th pitcher in major league history to reach the 3,000-strikeout plateau in the Braves’ 6-0 loss to Washington.
2010 — NFL Draft: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford first pick by St. Louis Rams.
2013 — Manchester United defeat Aston Villa to claim the 2012/2013 English Premier League.
2014 — Albert Pujols becomes the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, driving in five runs to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 7-2.
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April 23
1903 — The New York Highlanders, later renamed Yankees, win their first game as a major league team, 7-2 over the Washington Senators.
1939 — Boston Red Sox Ted Williams hits his 1st HR.
1946 — Ed Head of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitches a no-hitter against the Boston Braves 5-0 at Ebbets Field.
1950 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the New York Rangers 4-3 in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup.
1950 — The Minneapolis Lakers become the first team to win back-to-back NBA championships by defeating the Syracuse Nationals 110-95 in Game 6 of the finals. George Mikan leads the Lakers with 40 points in a game marred by three fights, four Minneapolis players fouling out, and Nats coach Al Cervi being ejected for complaining too vociferously about a call.
1954 — The NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock.
1954 — Hank Aaron hits 1st of his 755 homers.
1969 — Jerry West scores 53 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Boston 120-118 in the opening game of the NBA finals.
1989 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores 10 points in his last game as a Laker in a 121-117 win over Seattle SuperSonics at the LA Forum.
1989 — NFL Draft: #1 pick UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman by Dallas Cowboys.
1993 — The Dallas Mavericks avoid matching the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers as the worst team in NBA history, beating Minnesota 103-100 for their 10th triumph of the season.
1993 — Orlando’s Nick Anderson scores 50 points in the Magic’s 119-116 win over the New Jersey Nets at The Meadowlands. Anderson’s feat is overshadowed by Shaquille O’Neal, who rips down the backboard in the first quarter, delaying the game 45 minutes. 1999 — Fernando Tatis hits two grand slams in one inning to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 12-5 win over Los Angeles. Tatis becomes the first player in major league history to hit two grand slams in one inning and set the record with eight RBIs in an inning.
2002 — Brent Johnson of the St. Louis Blues ties an NHL record with three straight shutouts in the playoffs. That had not happened in 57 years. Johnson reaches the milestone with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
2005 — NFL Draft: University of Utah quarterback Alex Smith first pick by San Francisco 49ers.
2008 — The Chicago Cubs win their 10,000th game, joining the Giants as the only franchise to reach that mark with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings at Colorado.
2011 — The Portland Trail Blazers rally from 23 points down in the second half, including an 18-point deficit to start the fourth quarter to defeat Dallas 84-82 and tie the first-round series at 2-2. Portland’s Brandon Roy scores 18 in the fourth quarter, including a 4-point play and the go ahead jumper with 39 seconds left. Roy outscores Dallas 18-15 in the quarter.
2017 — Kenyan runner Mary Keitany breaks Paula Radcliffe’s women-only marathon world record with a third victory in London. Keitany completes the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 17 minutes and 1 second to shave 41 seconds off Radcliffe’s 12-year-old mark.
2020 — NFL Draft: LSU quarterback Joe Burrow first pick by Cincinnati Bengals.
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April 24
1945 — Albert B. “Happy” Chandler, junior Senator from Kentucky, is elected baseball commissioner by a unanimous vote of the major league club owners. Chandler is elected to a seven-year term and succeeds Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who died in November 1944.
1962 — LA Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax’s 2nd career 18-strikeout, in a 10-2 win over Cubs in Chicago.
1963 — Bob Cousy ends his 13-year career by scoring 18 points as the Boston Celtics win their fifth consecutive NBA championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-109 in Game 6.
1967 — The Philadelphia 76ers win the NBA championship in six games with 125-122 comeback victory over the San Francisco Warriors. Billy Cunningham scores 13 points in the final 12 minutes as the 76ers overcome a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
1974 — Tampa, Fla. is awarded the NFL’s 27th franchise.
1978 — Angels Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 Mariners, 20th time he has 15 in game.
1981 — San Antonio blocks 20 Golden State shots to set NBA regular season game record.
1988 — NFL Draft: Auburn tight end Aundray Bruce first pick by Atlanta Falcons.
1993 — George Branham III becomes the first black bowler to win a PBA Triple Crown event when he beats Parker Bohn III 227-214 in the Tournament of Champions.
1994 — David Robinson scores 71 points to win the NBA scoring title as the San Antonio Spurs end the regular season with a 112-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Robinson, the fourth NBA player to score more than 70 points in a game, edges Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal for the scoring title.
1994 — NFL Draft: Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson first pick by Cincinnati Bengals.
1996 — Petr Nedved scores a power-play goal with 44.6 seconds left in the fourth overtime, ending the longest NHL game in 60 years and giving the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals.
2003 — Petr Sykora scores 48 seconds into the fifth overtime as Anaheim outlasts Dallas 4-3 to win the opener of the Western Conference semifinal series. The game is the fourth-longest in NHL history.
2004 — NFL Draft: Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning first pick by San Diego Chargers.
2010 — Jamaican Usain Bolt dazzles a capacity crowd with a lightning-fast final leg, overtaking USA Blue’s Ivory Williams to win the 4×100-meter relay at the Penn Relays. A quartet of Mario Forsythe, Yohan Blake, Marvin Anderson and Bolt finishes in 37.90 seconds for Jamaica Gold, setting a Penn Relays record. Trailing entering the final leg, Bolt takes the handoff and finishes the final 100 meters in an unofficial time of 8.79 seconds.
2016 — Klay Thompson scores 23 points and the Golden State Warriors set an NBA playoff record with 21 3-pointers to overcome another injury to Stephen Curry and beat the Houston Rockets 121-94 for a 3-1 series lead. The Warriors made eight 3s in the third quarter alone to set a franchise playoff record for 3-pointers in a period. Thompson led the way from long range, going 7 of 11, and Draymond Green made four.
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