This Day in Sports History: April 2

Notable moments and achievements from sporting legends have occurred on April 2, and these are some of them. Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records Great moments in sports from April 2 include: 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. 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. 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. College Men's Basketball Championships April 2 featured several upsets: 1984: Georgetown beat Houston 84-75. Patrick Ewing was named Most Outstanding Player. 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. 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. Hockey History Some of the biggest names on the ice have been featured on April 2: 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. 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. Looking back at these April 2 events, two feats stand out: Fielder playing 1,000 games before finally recording a stolen base and UNLV defeating powerhouse Duke by 30 points in a championship game. Russ Nixon was also a solid player and still holds the record for the most career hits (670) without ever attempting a steal. UNLV's blowout win over Duke remains the largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament title game.