ON THIS DATE
1915: Jess Willard beats Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight boxing title in Havana, Cuba.
1927: Johnny Weissmuller breaks his own 200-meter freestyle record by seven seconds in 2:08. He also lowers his own record in the 100-yard freestyle to 51 seconds, a record that stood for 17 years.
1959: Art Wall birdies five of the last six holes to cap a final-round 66 and edge Fred Hawkins by one stroke to win the Masters. 1967: Wilt Chamberlain sets an NBA record with 41 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-104 victory over the Boston Celtics and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Division playoffs.
1970: New York beats Detroit 9-5 to take fourth place and the final playoff berth in the NHL’S East Division. The Rangers, with 246 goals, become the first team in NHL history to advance to the playoffs on the basis of goals scored when they finish in a tie with Montreal at 92 points and 38 wins. The Canadiens, who lose to Chicago 10-2 in a night game, finish with 244 goals.
1972: For the first time in history, major league baseball fails to open because of a general player strike, which started April 1 and would be settled April 13.
1984: Kareem Abdul-jabbar hits a sky hook with 8:53 left to play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 129-115 victory over the Utah Jazz to become the NBA’S top career scorer. Wilt Chamberlain, with 31,419 points, held the record since his retirement in 1973.
1993: Donald Williams scores 25 points to lead North Carolina to a 77-71 win over Michigan in the NCAA championship.
1997: Bruce Baumgartner wins a record eighth World Cup wrestling gold medal, beating David Musolbes 2-1 in overtime at 275 1⁄2 pounds as the United States routs Russia 25-7.
2004: Led by 24 points from Emeka Okafor and 21 from Ben Gordon, the Connecticut Huskies outclass Georgia Tech 82-73 to win the men’s national championship.
2008: The Boston Celtics set an NBA record for biggest singleseason turnaround with a 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. The Celtics improve to 61-15, 37 more wins than the previous season.
2009: Brittany Lincicome sinks a 6-foot eagle putt on No. 18 to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship, capturing her first victory in a major.
2010: Duke wins its fourth national men’s basketball championship, holding off Butler 61-59 and surviving Gordon Hayward’s last second desperation shot that clangs off the rim.
2011: Danielle Adams scores 22 of her 30 points in a dominating second half to help Texas A&M win its first NCAA women’s basketball championship with a thrilling 76-70 victory over Notre Dame.