TODAY'S EVENTS IN SPORTS HISTORY 2025

MARCH 18

• 1875 37th Grand National: Tommy Pickernell wins his 3rd GN aboard 100/6 chance Pathfinder
• 1876 English FA Cup Final Replay, Kennington Oval, London: Wanderers beat Old Etonians, 3-0 after initial 1-1 draw; Wanderers 3rd title
• 1892 Lord Stanley presents silver challenge cup for hockey (Stanley Cup)

• 1900 Ajax soccer club forms in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (33 Eredivisie titles, 18 KNVB Cups, 4 Champions League); named after legendary Greek hero
• 1910 72nd Grand National: Bob Chadwick wins aboard 100/8 chance Jenkinstown; earliest Grand National to which there are moving images
• 1918 Soccer team SON OF Meerssen forms
• 1921 80th Grand National: Fred Rees wins aboard 100/9 bet Shaun Spadah; winner is only horse to complete the course without falling
• 1930 Boston Bruins win record 20th NHL home game
• 1932 91st Grand National: Tim Hamey wins aboard 50/1 outsider Forbra

Maribel Vinson US Champion

1933 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson


Figure SkaterMaribel Vinson

• 1939 England beats Scotland, 9-6 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh to force a share of the Home Nations Rugby Championship with Wales and Ireland

Black Players Try Out
1942 Two Black players, Jackie Robinson and Nate Moreland, request a tryout with the Chicago White Sox and are allowed to work out


Baseball PlayerJackie Robinson
Richard 1st to Score 50
1945 Montreal Canadien Maurice "Rocket" Richard becomes the 1st NHLer to score 50 goals


Ice Hockey PlayerMaurice Richard

• 1951 LPGA Titleholders Championship Women's Golf, Augusta CC: Pat O'Sullivan wins her only major title by 2 strokes from fellow amateur Beverly Hanson
• 1953 15th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Kansas, 69-68; Jayhawks' center B. H. Born is named tournament Most Outstanding Player
• 1953 MLB National League approves Boston Braves move to Milwaukee (1st shift since 1903)
• 1958 MLB Los Angeles Dodgers announce their mascot and clown Emmett Kelly will not perform in 1958

NBA Record
1959 Boston Celtic's Bill Sharman begins record of 56 straight free-throws


NBA GuardBill Sharman

• 1970 NFL selects Wilson as official football & scoreboard as official time
• 1972 Cornell NCAA hockey team shut out for 1st time in 225 games (Boston U)
• 1978 Wales beats France, 16-7 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to clinch its 20th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, a record 8th Grand Slam and record 3rd consecutive Triple Crown
• 1981 Buffalo Sabres sets NHL record of 9 goals in 1 period (vs Toronto)

Sports History
1985 Commissioner Peter Ueberroth reinstates Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle


Olympic Executive and Commissioner of BaseballPeter Ueberroth

Baseball LegendMickey Mantle

MLB LegendWillie Mays

• 1986 Exciting draw in final gives NSW the Sheffield Shield over Queensland

Sports History
1989 Dino Ciccarelli sets Washington Capital record of 7 pts in a game


NHL StarDino Ciccarelli

• 1990 32-day lockout by baseball owners ends
• 1990 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Jodie Mudd wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Mark Calcavecchia; winner's cheque $270,000

Sports History
1991 Mike Tyson beats Razor Ruddock in the 7th round


Heavyweight Boxing ChampionMike Tyson
Sports History
1991 Philadelphia '76ers retires Wilt Chamberlain's #13 jersey


NBA LegendWilt Chamberlain

• 1991 Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers) ends NBA free throw streak of 52 games
• 1995 In a final round title decider, England beats Scotland, 24-12 at Twickenham to claim the Five Nations Rugby Championship, Grand Slam, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup

Sports History
1995 Michael Jordan announces he is ending his 17 month NBA retirement


Basketball SuperstarMichael Jordan

• 1996 50,000 swimmers raise 15 million for charity during BT's Swimathon '96

Sports History
2000 England clinch inaugural Six Nations Rugby Championship with 59-12 thrashing of Italy at Stadio Flaminio, Rome; England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson kicks 7 goals and winger Austin Healey scores 3 tries


Rugby PlayerJonny Wilkinson

• 2006 France wins Six Nations Rugby Championship on points difference over Ireland, with a 21-16 win over Wales at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff; Ireland receives consolation prize of the Triple Crown Trophy
• 2007 Former England Test cricket batsman, and Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer is found dead one day after his team's defeat to Ireland puts them out of the World Cup in the West Indies; cause of death remains suspicious
• 2012 Superleague Greece football match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos is abandoned after fans set fire to Athens' Olympic Stadium

Contract of Interest
2014 Phil Jackson signs a five-year contract to be president of the New York Knicks


NBA CoachPhil Jackson
Sports History
2018 Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo records his 50th career hat-trick in Real Madrid's 6-3 win over Girona


Football StarCristiano Ronaldo

• 2019 40-year old Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki overtakes Wilt Chamberlain to go 6th with 31,424 points on the NBA scorers' list; Mavs suffer 129-125 OT loss to New Orleans Pelicans

 

MARCH 19

• 1880 42nd Grand National: Tommy Beasley aboard Irish 8/1 chance Empress wins by 2 lengths from defending champion The Liberator
• 1892 3 brothers Hearne play in same Test Cricket England v South Africa (Cape Town)
• 1910 Australasian Championships Men's Tennis, Adelaide: Rodney Heath wins his 2nd and last Australasian title; beats fellow Australian Horace Rice 6-4, 6-3, 6-2

• 1914 Stanley Cup, Arena Gardens, Toronto ON: Toronto HC (NHA) defeat Victoria Aristocrats (PCHA), 2-1 for a 3-0 series sweep; final series of the "challenge" era
• 1915 VI Summer (Modern) Olympic Games: IOC President Pierre de Coubertin writes to Associated Press indicating 1916 Berlin Games won't take place because of WWI
• 1932 England beats Scotland, 16-3 at Twickenham, London to force a 3-way share with Wales and Ireland of renewed Home Nations Rugby Championship; France expelled, alleged professionalism
• 1937 96th Grand National: With King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in attendance, aptly-named Royal Mail ridden by jockey Evan Williams wins at odds of 100/6; estimated crowd, 300,000
• 1938 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans combine to score 8 goals in just under 5 minutes; Toronto wins game 8-5
• 1938 Scotland beats England, 21-16 at Twickenham, London to win the Home Nations Rugby Championship, Triple Crown and Calcutta Cup
• 1942 Thoroughbred Racing Association of US formed in Chicago

LaMotta Defeats Reeves

1943 In their third match, Jake LaMotta finally defeats Jimmy Reeves by knocking him out in the sixth round


World Middleweight Boxing ChampionJake LaMotta
Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Win
1950 US Open Women's Golf, Rolling Hills CC: Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins by 9 strokes from amateur Betsy Rawls


LPGA GolferBetsy Rawls

All-Round Athlete and GolferBabe Didrikson Zaharias
Cricket History
1954 "The Three Ws" of West Indian cricket each score centuries in one innings; Clyde Walcott scores 124 following Everton Weekes (206) and Frank Worrell (167) in 1st innings of drawn 4th Test v England at Port of Spain


West Indian CricketerEverton Weekes
Sports History
1954 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright


Figure SkaterTenley Albright
Sports History
1955 17th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: San Francisco beats La Salle, 77-63; Dons' future Hall of Fame center Bill Russell is named tournament Most Outstanding Player


Basketball PlayerBill Russell

• 1956 Biggest NBA margin of victory - Minn Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75
• 1957 Indians reject Boston's offer of $1 million for Herb Score

Sports History
1958 Garfield Sobers completes a century in each innings for WI vs. Pakistan


CricketerGarfield Sobers
Sports History
1960 22nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Ohio State beats California, 75-55; Buckeyes' future Hall of Fame forward Jerry Lucas is named tournament MOP


NBA ForwardJerry Lucas

• 1966 28th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Texas Western beats Kentucky, 72-65; Miners first title in first title game
• 1971 Philadelphia 76ers outscore Cincinnati Royals 90-80 in 2nd half enroute to a 147-127 victory
• 1972 1st AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48 in Normal
• 1972 LA Lakers beat Golden State Warriors, 162-99, by then record 63 pts
• 1975 Pennsylvania is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports
• 1977 France beats Ireland, 15-6 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin to clinch its 6th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and 2nd Grand Slam

PGA Players Championship
1978 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Sawgrass CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 3rd TPC title, 1 stroke ahead of Lou Graham; 4th straight start for Nicklaus that ends with a top-2 finish


GolferJack Nicklaus

• 1981 Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 14-4
• 1983 France (16-9 v Wales) and Ireland (25-15 v England) win final round matches to finish level and share the Five Nations Rugby Championship; no tie-break procedure exists before 1993

Sports History
1984 Two-time Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain is indicted on charges of drug trafficking, embezzlement and racketeering; 25 year sentence later quashed


Baseball PitcherDenny McLain

• 1985 NSW wins cricket Sheffield Shield by beating Queensland by 1 wicket

World Record
1987 Bonnie Blair skates ladies' world record 500 m (39.43 sec)


Speed SkaterBonnie Blair
World Record
1987 Yvonne van Gennip skates ladies world record 3 km (4:16.85)


Speed SkaterYvonne van Gennip

• 1988 France edges Wales, 10-9 at the National Stadium, Cardiff to share the Five Nations Rugby Championship with the Welsh with 3-1 records
• 1988 Yvonne van Gennip skates un-official world record 10 km (15:25.25)
• 1989 Ice Dance Championship at Paris won by M Klimova & S Ponomarenko (USSR)
• 1989 Ice Pairs World Championship at Paris won by Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov (USSR)

Sports History
1989 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Kurt Browning (CAN)


Figure SkaterKurt Browning
PGA Players Championship
1989 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Tom Kite wins the title in gusty conditions, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Chip Beck


GolferTom Kite

• 1989 Wales beats England, 12-9 at Cardiff Arms Park to allow France to claim it's 9th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship
• 1990 1st world ice hockey tournament for women held (Ottawa)

Sports History
1991 KC Royals announce they are putting Bo Jackson on waivers


NFL Running Back and Baseball OutfielderBo Jackson
Super Bowl
1991 NFL owners strip Phoenix of the 1993 Super Bowl game because Arizona does not recognize the federal holiday Martin Luther King Jr. Day


Civil Rights ActivistMartin Luther King Jr.

• 1991 Sacramento Kings set NBA record of 29 consecutive road loses

Sports History
1991 St Louis Blues Brett Hull is 3rd NHLer to score 80 goals in a season


NHL LegendBrett Hull

• 1993 Ice Dance Championship in Prague won by M Usova & A Zhulin (RUS)
• 1994 England beats Wales, 15-8 at Twickenham, London but the Welsh take the Five Nations Rugby Championship as title decided by using points difference for the first time

Sports History
1994 Lara scores 167 for WI v England at Georgetown


CricketerBrian Lara

• 1994 NJ Devils club record 41st win of the season
• 1995 American Bonnie Blair skates female world record point total (156.450)

Sports History
1995 Michael Jordan rejoins NBA Chicago Bulls after 17 months trying a career in baseball; he scores 19 poimts in 103-96 loss to the Pacers in Indianapolis


Basketball SuperstarMichael Jordan

• 1995 NBA NY Knicks beat NY Nets in 100th meeting (Knicks 53 Nets 47)
• 1997 Major League Baseball announces 5 year/$50M deal with Pepsi
• 2005 Wales beats Ireland, 32-20 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to win the Six Nations Rugby Championship and become the 1st team to complete a Grand Slam playing more games away than at home
• 2011 Despite a final round 24-8 defeat to Ireland at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin, England wins the Six Nations Rugby Championship courtesy of their opening 4 straight victories

Sports History
2016 England beats France 31-21 at Stade de France, Paris to claim Six Nations Rugby Championship; secure their first Grand Slam since 2003; Owen Farrell with 7 goals, England's 2nd-highest points scorer behind Jonny Wilkinson


Rugby PlayerJonny Wilkinson

• 2019 Houston Rockets guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points against all 29 opponents in a single season with 31 in a 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks

Sports History
2022 LeBron James moves past Karl Malone (36,909) into second on NBA's all-time scoring list with 38 points in LA Lakers' 127-119 loss to Washington Wizards; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads (38,387)


Basketball PlayerLeBron James

Basketball PlayerKarl Malone