TODAY'S EVENTS IN SPORTS HISTORY 2025

APRIL 26

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April26
Today's Events in Sports History

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• Birthdays
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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