Sports History Network

March 27, 1939: The inaugural NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship was played. The single-elimination game tournament started off in this first year of existence with just an eight-team field. The concept was the brainchild of then Ohio State Coach Harold Olsen who with the help of the National Association of Basketball Coaches turned the idea into a … Read more

March 26, 1937 – Legendary New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio, in just his second season as a pro, received some advice from former MLB superstar Ty Cobb, to help his batting average. The advice by Cobb was to switch from using a heavy 40-ounce bat to a lighter 36-ounce model. Though we had trouble confirming … Read more

March 25, 1958 – Boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson, claimed victory in a 15 round split-decision over opponent Carmen Basilio and the Champ became the first boxing belt holder to win the title on 5 different occasions. Sugar Ray held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and won the world middleweight title later that year. … Read more

March 24, 1936 – A Stanley Cup playoff game takes a record 9 periods to declare a winner. In game one of hockey’s premier championship, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Maroons completed a marathon contest that ended at 2:25 AM after remaining scoreless for 176.5 minutes of live-action. Rookie Red Wing winger Mud Bruneteau … Read more

March 23, 1938 –  Commissioner, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis declared that seventy-four of the players in the St Louis Cardinals minor league system would be declared as free agents. There were almost 100 players in all across baseball that this declaration affected to be able to seek opportunities on other clubs. Landis who served as the very first … Read more