This Day in Sports History: April 7

Ernie Els of South Africa plays his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of the Shriners Hospitals For Children Open

Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images

Sports in April include playoffs for the NBA and NHL seasons, the first month of the MLB, The Masters, the NCAA Basketball title game, the NFL Draft, and some Grand Prix events. Over the years, April 7 has witnessed many notable moments and stories involving sporting legends. Here are some of them.

Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records

Great moments in sports history from April 7 included:

1896: Australian athlete Edwin Flack won gold in the inaugural 1500-meter final at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens.
1940: Jimmy Demaret won the first of his three Masters titles.
1946: American Herman Keiser won his only major title. This was the first Masters Tournament in four years due to World War II.
1951: Ben Hogan won the first of his two Masters titles.
1956: In the 10th NBA Championship, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated Fort Wayne 99-88, despite 30 points from Pistons forward George Yardley, to secure the series 4-1.
1957: Doug Ford won his only Masters Tournament.
1963: 23-year-old Jack Nicklaus won the first of his record six Green Jackets with a 3-foot par putt on the final hole, finishing one stroke ahead of Tony Lema.
1969: Ted Williams debuted as the manager for the Washington Senators, and they lost to the Yanks 8-4.
1979: Houston Astros' Ken Forsch no-hit the Atlanta Braves 6-0. He joined his brother, Bob, becoming the only MLB siblings to achieve this feat.
1979: The New York Islanders' Mike Bossy scored four goals on his first four shots in a 9-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
1984: Detroit Tigers' Jack Morris no-hit the Chicago White Sox 4-0.
1985: Herschel Walker set a USFL record by rushing for 233 yards on 34 carries for the New Jersey Generals.
2003: Syracuse defeated Kansas 81-78 to win its first national title. Carmelo Anthony was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
2008: Kansas beat Memphis 75-68. It was the first time since seeding began that all four of the top seeds advanced to the Final Four.
2010: The Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves and Don Nelson became the all-time winningest coach in NBA history.
2014: Connecticut defeated Kentucky 60-54, marking only the second time a school has won the men's and women's Division I national titles in the same year.
2015: In the NCAA Women's Basketball title game, UConn beat Notre Dame 63-53 and got their 10th championship.
2016: The Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs and became the second team in NBA history to win 70 games in a season.
2016: Ernie Els recorded a 10 on the par-4 first hole at the Masters, the worst score ever on that hole.
2019: The Houston Rockets set an NBA record by making 27 three-point field goals in a 149-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Three athletes who stood out on April 7 were Jack Morris, Don Nelson, and Ernie Els.

Morris is known for winning four World Series championships with three different teams (1984 Tigers, 1991 Twins, 1992-93 Blue Jays) and his iconic 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Nelson is a 3-time Coach of the Year and creator of the "point forward" concept. Els was a former World No. 1 with over 758 weeks in the top ten, renowned for his rivalry with Tiger Woods and his charitable work for autism.

Sports History