The fourth Commonwealth Games (then called the British Empire Games) was held in New Zealand.
The first Maccabiah Games were held in Tel Aviv. These Games were styled on the Olympic Games for Jewish athletes from around the world.
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1951
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1952
It was the year of the Olympics and the Summer Games was held in Helsinki, Finland and the Winter Games was held in Oslo, Norway. The host nation Norway won the Winter Games by taking 11 gold medals and a 16 total medals. The United States won the Summer Games taking 40 gold medals and 76 total medals.
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1953
Ben Hogan, a nine-time major winner who has won all the four majors at least once, won the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open and The Open Championship, to become one of the very few to have won three majors in a calendar year.
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1954
English runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run one mile in under four minutes.
The New York Giants won the The Baseball World Series.
1955
The Brooklyn Dodgers won the The Baseball World Series.
1956
It was the year of the Olympics and the Summer Games was held in Melbourne, Australia and the Winter Games was held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The Melbourne Olympics were the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. Australian Betty Cuthbert was termed as the "Golden Girl" for the three gold medals that she won in the track and field events.
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1957
The Milwaukee Braves won the The Baseball World Series.
1958
Arnold Palmer, a seven time major winner, won the Masters Tournament for the first major title of his career. Peter Thomson won The British Open for the fourth time in his career. He won the event again in 1965 for his fifth major all of it coming in The British Open.
In February 6, 1958, a plane carrying the Manchester United football team along with a number of supporters and journalists, crashed at takeoff from Munich Airport, West Germany. 23 of the 44 people on board the aircraft died, including eight Manchester United players.
The New York Yankees won the The Baseball World Series.
1959
The Daytona 500 auto race, the most prestigious of the American NASCAR events, was first run at the Daytona speedway this year.
Alex Olmedo from the United States won the Australian Open for his first grand slam title. The very same year he also won the Wimbledon for his second grand slam.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the The Baseball World Series.
1960
The Baseball World Series was won by Pittsburgh Pirates.
Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, first got the attention of the world by winning a gold medal in the boxing light heavyweight division at the Olympics.
Bill Mazeroski hits a ninth-inning home run to break a 9 to 9 tie, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a Game 7 World Series victory over the New York Yankees.
1961
Yankees slugger Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's record for home runs in a single season, hitting 61.
Basketball player Oscar Robertson became the first player to average a triple-double (10 or more points, rebounds, and assists per game).
1962
In a basketball game pitting the Philadelphia Warriors played the New York Knicks, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points to contribute to the win against the Knicks. This is still the highest point total scored in a NBA game.
1963
Tenley Albright became the first U.S. world figure skating champion.
Arthur Ashe became the first African-American tennis player to be named in the US Davis Cup team.
1964
Immediately after becoming the new boxing heavyweight champion, Cassius Clay announced that he was a member of the Black Muslim sect and insisted that he be called by his “nonslave” name of Muhammad Ali.
1965
Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers cemented his place in baseball history, with an amazing 2 shutout World Series performance to compliment his 26 wins in the regular season. He also threw a perfect game in 1965 and struck out 382 batters, an MLB record.
1966
NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his league would merge with the American Football League, eventually expanding the new NFL to 28 teams.
1967
The Kansas City Chiefs took on the Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1967 in the first Super Bowl game. The Packers won, 35-10.
Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run.
1968
After Tommie Smith and John Carlos medaled in the 200 meters at the 1968 Summer Olympics, both men took the medal stand and raised a fist covered by a black glove to protest inequalities in America.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson posted a 1.12 earned run average, the lowest in modern baseball history. With a 22-9 record, Gibson threw 13 shutouts and also led the National League with 268 strikeouts.
1969
Pete Maravich of Louisiana State, later known as "Pistol Pete" while a pro basketball player, became the first college player to score 2,000 points in his first two college seasons. He won the scoring title with an average of 44.2 points per game, almost 11 more than the next closest, Rick Mount (33.3).
1970
Returning home from a game at East Carolina University, 37 Marshall football players and eight coaches died in a plane crash. Coach Jack Lengyel and others kept the program from being discontinued and Marshall football carries on today.
1971
Two teams began their streak that to this date stands as the longest streaks ever. The LA Lakers started their 33-game winning streak and won 30 games in that year. The UCLA men's basketball team started their 88-game winning streak which would eventually span multiple years and championships.
1972
itle IX became law. The law states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
1973
In a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match following player Bobby Riggs making sexist comments about female players and that a women could never beat a male tennis player, Riggs lost to female player Billie Jean King.
1974
Henry “Hank” Aaron hit career home run 715, surpassing Babe Ruth’s career record for home runs. He finished his career with 755, a record that stood until 2007, when Barry Bonds became the new all-time leader.
1975
Pennsylvania became the first state to allow girls to compete with boys in high school sports.
1976
At the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci became the first Olympic gymnast to be awarded a perfect 10 score. Comăneci received 10s on both the uneven bars and balance beam and went on to win three gold medals.
1977
Reggie Jackson earned the moniker "Mr. October" during the 1977 World Series. In Game 6, Jackson hit three home runs, keying the New York Yankees’ 8-4 clinching victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1978
Tennis great Martina Navratilovawon her first grand slam title by defeating the seven time grand slam winner Chris Evert in Wimbledon.
1979
Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player and goal scorer ever, fired his first goal, beginning a career that holds about 60 NHL records.
ESPN began broadcasting.
1980
The 1980 Summer Olympics, hosted by the Soviet Union in Moscow, were boycotted by many athletes and their countries, including the U.S., in protest over Russia's invasion of Afghanistan. Sixty-five countries refused to participate.
Despite winning gold medals for hockey in four previous Winter Olympics, the Soviet Union lost 4-3 to the U.S. in the 1980 Olympics hockey medal round. The game was considered a US victory in the Cold War and became known as the "Miracle on Ice".
1981
During the Major League Baseball season, the Los Angeles Dodgers let loose 20-year-old rookie Fernando Valenzuela, who led the majors with 180 strikeouts and eight shutouts.
Wayne Gretzky, a hockey pro for only 3 years, broke the 50-goal record in just 39 games.
Frank Robinson of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first African American manager in the National League.
1982
Steffi Graf, the most successful woman in tennis grand slam history, made her professional debut.
1983
Cal Ripken Jr. became the first player in baseball history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in consecutive seasons.
1984
Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers set an NBA playoff-game record by passing for twenty-four assists.
1985
Pete Rose recorded hit No. 4,195 at Riverfront Stadium, surpassing Ty Cobb's all-time baseball hits record.
1986
20-year-old Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion when he knocked out Trevor Berbick.
1987
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana completed an NFL record twenty-two straight passes against the Green Bay Packers.
1988
Sisters-in-law Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner both won gold medals and set world records in their respective Olympic events: Joyner-Kersee in the heptathlon and Griffith Joyner in the 200-meter dash.
1989
Former baseball player and Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime suspension from baseball for gambling.
Art Shell was hired as the coach of the Los Angeles Raiders, becoming the first African American NFL coach since Fritz Pollard served as player-coach for the Hammond (Indiana) Pros (1923–25).
1990
Mike Tyson lost the heavyweight title to James “Buster” Douglas. Tyson, previously undefeated and an overwhelming favorite, lost his title in a 10th round knockout.
1991
For the first time in the modern era, a team rose from last place to first, and won the World Series. In fact two teams pulled off this feat, the Minnesota Twins and the Atlanta Braves.
1992
The decision to let pro basketball players compete in the Olympics created what came to be known as the Dream Team in that year's games, a team that included Michael Jordan, Larry Byrd, and Magic Johnson.The Dream Team won the gold medal and beat teams by an average of 43.8 points per game, solidifying American dominance in basketball.
1993
Michael Jordan, considered to be the best player in basketball, unexpectedly announced his retirement from the NBA at age 30.
1994
Boxer George Foreman beat Michael Moorer for the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles at age 45, making him the oldest heavyweight champion of all time.
The longest strike in history hit baseball. The season was ended 52 games early, and no team won more than 74 games. The playoffs and the World Series were not played.
1995
ESPN formed the X-Games, bringing everyone from skateboarders and snowboarders to BMX bikers and sky surfers into the mainstream. The first X-Games were held in Rhode Islandand attracted nearly 200,000 spectators.
"Iron Man" Cal Ripken, Jr. passed Lou Gehrig’s record for consecutive games played at 2,130, and went on to ultimately play 2,632 straight games.
1996
After being told by her coach that the U.S team’s chance for Olympic gold came down to her performance, Kerri Strug ignored a serious ankle injury to land her vault on both feet. The U.S. won the gold, after which Strug was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Three years after initially retiring, Michael Jordan became the NBA's best basketball player again, leading the league in scoring (2,491 points) and leading the Chicago Bulls to another NBA title.
1997
At 21, golfer Tiger Woods became the youngest Masters winner in history, as well as the first nonwhite winner. He set the scoring record at 270 and the record for largest margin of victory at 12 strokes.
1998
Baseball players Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa raced to break Roger Maris' record of hitting 61 home runs in 1961. McGwire smashed the mark with 70 home runs, and Sosa also bested it when he hit 66.
1999
At the age of 17, Serena Williams became only the second African American woman to win a grand slam title in tennis. Williams beat then-#1 player Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-6, in the U.S. Open final and marked the beginning of one of the most dominant careers in the history of women’s tennis.
