Today In Sports History 3/26

Our past has shaped present by many things in history including sports, here is how sports marked our history.

Baseball

• 1937 – Joe DiMaggio takes Ty Cobb’s advice and replaces his 40 with 36 ounce bat.
• 1960 – Baltimore Orioles-Cincinnati Reds series for Havana, Cuba is moved to Miami, Florida.
• 1976 – American League approves purchase of Toronto franchise by LaBatt Brewing for US$7 million.
• 1979 – San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants announce plans to play exhibition series in Tokyo, but Giants’ players reject it.

Basketball

• 1945 – De Paul wins NIT basketball championship, George Mikan scores 34.
• 1949 – 11th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kentucky beats Oklahoma State 46-36.
• 1952 – 14th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kansas beats Saint Johns 80-63.
• 1972 – Los Angeles Lakers break NBA record by winning 69 of 82 games.
• 1973 – 35th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Memphis 81-76; this is UCLA’s 7th consecutive NCAA basketball title.
• 1979 – 41st NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Michigan State Spartans beat Indiana State Sycamores, 75-64 as Magic Johnson outscores Larry Bird, 24-19; this snaps Indiana State’s 33-game win streak.
• 1987 – National Federation of High School adopts college 3 point shot (21 feet).
• 2000 – In Seattle, Washington, the Kingdome sports arena is demolished into a mound of rubble over 65 feet high, to make way for a new stadium.

Boxing

• 1974 – George Foreman TKOs Ken Norton in two rounds for heavyweight boxing title.

Golf

• 1951 – Patty Berg wins LPGA Sandhills Women’s Golf Open
• 1961 – Louise Suggs wins LPGA Golden Circle of Golf Festival.
• 1967 – Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Venice Ladies’ Golf Open.
• 1972 – Betsy Cullen wins LPGA Sears Women’s World Golf Classic.
• 1989 – Allison Finney wins LPGA Standard Register Turquoise Golf Classic.
• 1995 – 24th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Nanci Bowen.

Hockey 

• 1915 – Stanley Cup: Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) sweep Ottawa Senators in 3 games.
• 1917 – Stanley Cup: Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) beat Montreal Canadiens (NHL), 3 games to 1; Seattle is first US team to win Stanley Cup.
• 1923 – Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators beat Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA), three games to one.
• 1975 – Washington Capitals play record NHL 37th road game without a win and NHL record of 17 straight losses.
• 1992 – NHL New York Rangers clinch first NHL regular season championship in 50 years.
• 1997 – NHL announce Mighty Ducks and Vancouver Canucks to open 1998 in Japan.

Ice Skating

• 1994 – Bonnie Blair skates world record 500 metre ladies (38.99 seconds).
• 1994 – Gunda Niemann skates un-official world record 10 km ladies (14:02.60).
• 1994 – Gunda Niemann skates world record 5 km ladies (7:03.26).

Swimming

• 1960 – USC captures NCAA swimming title.
• 1988 – Janet B Evans swims 1500 metre freestyle female world record (15:02.10).