By NoontimeSports.com | @NoontimeNation
Happy Sunday, everyone!
As usual, we hope EVERYONE is doing well and staying safe – we will overcome this unusual time.
And as mentioned yesterday, we are starting a new daily post – On This Date in History – so let’s highlight some exciting (and amazing) sports memories that occurred on April 5th.
On This Date in History: April 5th
- 1967: Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record of 41 rebounds in a postseason contest against the Boston Celtics.
- 1973: The NFL announces a jersey-number system that assigns certain ranges of numbers to each player position from which they can choose.
- 1984: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time career scoring record.
- 1990: John Stockton reaches 1,000 assists for the third consecutive season.
- 1998: The Arizona Diamondbacks win their first-ever win in franchise history with a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. The win over the Giants snapped a five-game losing streak – it was the worst start for any expansion team in MLB history.
- 2005: The Washington Nationals lose their inaugural season-opener to the Philadelphia Phillies. The contest marked the first time a professional baseball team competed (and represented) the nation’s capitals since the Washington Senators departed the area following the 1971 season.
- 2014: Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire earned his 1,000th career win when his team beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-3.
- 2016: Breanna Stewart led the Connecticut women’s basketball team to an NCAA Championship win over Syracuse by netting 24 points.
- 2019: Oklahoma City‘s Russell Westbrook‘s becomes the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for three-straight years after leading the Thunder to a 123-110 win over the Detroit Pistons.
