Retired American professional baseball player Hank Aaron speaks during the 2013 Hank Aaron Award press conference wearing a beige suit

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On April 4, there have been many notable moments and stories from sports legends. These are just some of them.

Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records

Great sports moments that occurred on April 4 include:

1921: The Ottawa Senators defeated the Vancouver Millionaires 2-1, securing a 3-2 series victory and the Stanley Cup.
1937: At the fourth annual Masters, Byron Nelson won the first of his five major titles. He finished two strokes ahead of Ralph Guldahl.
1959: France won the Five Nations Rugby Championship by defeating Wales 11-3 at Stade Colombes.
1986: Wayne Gretzky achieved 213 points in a season, which established the NHL record.
1989: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played his final NBA game in Seattle.
2010: Yani Tseng of Taiwan won her second major title by one stroke, finishing ahead of runner-up Suzann Pettersen of Norway.

College Basketball Championships

April 4 featured several interesting upsets:

1983: North Carolina State defeated Houston 54-52. The Wolfpack won on a buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles off a 30-foot shot from Derek Whittenburg.
1988: Kansas defeated Oklahoma 83-79. Jayhawks power forward Danny Manning was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
1994: At Arkansas’ first championship game appearance, they defeated Duke 76-72 and won their first national title.
2005: North Carolina defeated Illinois 75-70, securing their fourth national championship.
2011: Point guard Kemba Walker scored 16 points for the Huskies, helping Connecticut defeat Butler 53-41.
2016: Villanova defeated North Carolina 77-74. Wildcats guard Phil Booth scored 20 points.
2022: Kansas overcame a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat North Carolina 72-69, winning their fourth national title.

Baseball History

Some of the biggest names in baseball came up on April 4:

1911: Hugh Chalmers, an automaker, introduced the idea of “Most Valuable Player” in baseball.
1948: 84-year-old Connie Mack challenged 78-year-old Clark Griffith to a race from home plate to first base. The race ended in a tie.
1974: Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's home run record by hitting his 714th in Cincinnati off Jack Billingham.
1988: The New York Mets set an Opening Day record with six home runs during a 10-6 win over the Montreal Expos.
1989: New York Yankees pitcher Tommy John tied the record for playing 26 seasons. His 287th win moved him to 19th on the all-time list.

Looking back on these April 4 statistics, the main theme was impressive baseball records and moments. Connie Mack was famous for his longevity and success as an MLB manager, Hank Aaron held the MLB record for career home runs for 33 years, and Tommy John is famous for being the first baseball player to undergo an elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery, which is now known as Tommy John surgery. April 4 saw several notable figures making history.

Sports History

Yvette DeLaCruzEditor