This Day in Sports History: April 2

Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records

• 1931: 17-year-old Jackie Mitchell struck out New York Yankees stars Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition baseball game.
• 1939: In the sixth Masters Tournament, Ralph Guldahl won his only Masters title with a tournament record 279 (9 under), one stroke ahead of Sam Snead.
• 1942: Dorothy Kirby retained her LPGA Titleholders Championship for Women's Golf.
• 1972: Bobby Orr became the first NHL defenseman to score 100 points in six straight seasons.
• 1976: The Oakland Athletics traded two key players from their recent World Series championship team. Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman were sent to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder Don Baylor and pitchers Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell.
• 1978: Tennis star Martina Navratilova won her first WTA Tour Championship.
• 1980: In his first full season in the NHL, Wayne Gretzky scored for the Oilers in a 1-1 tie against the Minnesota North Stars. At the age of 19 years and 2 months, he was the youngest player to reach 50 goals.
• 1980: Montreal right winger Guy Lafleur scored twice to become the first player in NHL history to record six straight 50-goal seasons.
• 1983: The New York Islanders' right winger Mike Bossy scored in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to become the first player in NHL history to score 60 goals in three consecutive seasons.
• 1984: Georgetown beat Houston 84-75. Patrick Ewing was named Most Outstanding Player.
• 1985: Quebec's Czech center, Peter Stastny, scored his 100th NHL point of the season for the fifth straight year.
• 1986: Paul Coffey of the Edmonton Oilers scored his 47th and 48th goals of the season, breaking Bobby Orr's record for most goals in a season by a defenseman.
• 1990: Nevada-LV beat Duke 103-73. This was the largest victory margin in a championship game, and it was the Runnin' Rebels' first title.
• 1995: NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor beat Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania XI.
• 1996: Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder stole his first base in his 1,097th career game. It was the longest period in MLB history without a stolen base.
• 2001: New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens became the American League all-time strikeout leader with 3,509.
• 2001: Ichiro Suzuki got his first MLB hit with the Seattle Mariners.
• 2001: Duke defeated Arizona 82-72. It was the Blue Devils' third title, and Shane Battier was named MOP.
• 2007: Florida beat Ohio State 84-75. The Gators won back-to-back titles, and Corey Brewer won the MOP award.
• 2012: Kentucky defeated Kansas 67-59.
• 2018: Villanova beat Michigan 79-62.