April is an exciting month for sports fans, featuring NBA and NHL playoffs, the start of MLB, The Masters, the NCAA Basketball title game, the NFL Draft, and Grand Prix events. April 7 has seen many memorable moments in sports history.
In 1896, Edwin Flack from Australia won gold in the first 1500-meter race at the modern Olympics in Athens. Fast forward to 1940, Jimmy Demaret claimed his first Masters title, followed by Herman Keiser winning his only major title in 1946. Ben Hogan took home his first Masters title in 1951.
In 1956, the Philadelphia Warriors won the NBA Championship against the Fort Wayne Pistons, despite George Yardley scoring 30 points. Doug Ford won his only Masters in 1957, and in 1963, Jack Nicklaus secured his first of six Green Jackets with a clutch putt.
April 7, 1979, was notable for Ken Forsch’s no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves, making him and his brother the only MLB siblings to achieve this. That same day, Mike Bossy scored four goals in a game for the New York Islanders.
In 1984, Jack Morris no-hit the Chicago White Sox, and in 1985, Herschel Walker set a USFL record with 233 rushing yards. Syracuse won its first national title in 2003, and in 2008, Kansas made history by having all four top seeds reach the Final Four.
In 2010, Don Nelson became the NBA’s all-time winningest coach. Connecticut won both the men’s and women’s national titles in 2014, and UConn claimed another championship in 2015. The Warriors made history in 2016 by winning 70 games in a season, while Ernie Els recorded a shocking 10 on the first hole at The Masters. Lastly, in 2019, the Houston Rockets set an NBA record with 27 three-pointers in a single game.
