1968 in sports

 

Years in sports:	1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
Years:	1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971

Athletics

Marathon

• December 8 — Fukuoka Marathon, Japan
  • Men's Winner: Bill Adcocks (ENG) 2:10:48

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - David Pearson
• Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser
• USAC Racing - Bobby Unser won the season championship
• Formula One Champion: Graham Hill of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Pedro Rodríguez / Lucien Bianchi won driving a Ford GT-40
• Rally racing - Vic Elford / David Stone won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911T
• Drag racing - Don Garlits won the NHRA, "Top Fuel" Championship

Baseball

• January 23: Joe Medwick is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Medwick won the Triple Crown in 1937 and batted .300 in 14 of 17 seasons.

• January 28: Goose Goslin and Kiki Cuyler are admitted to the Hall of Fame by unanimous vote of the Special Veterans Committee. Goslin was a career .316 hitter who played in four World Series. Cuyler was a .321 career hitter with four stolen base crowns.

• Denny McLain of the Detroit Tigers becomes the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to win 30 or more games since Dizzy Dean of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1934. Since McLain, no pitcher has accomplished that feat.

• World Series: Detroit Tigers won 4 games to 3 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Series MVP was Mickey Lolich, Detroit.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • UCLA wins 78-55 over North Carolina

• NBA Finals|NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Boxing

• May 24 - Bob Foster knocked out Dick Tiger in the fourth round to win the World Light Heavyweight Championship.

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia won by Eddy Merckx of Belgium
• Tour de France - Jan Janssen of the Netherlands
• World Cycling Championship: Vittorio Adorni of Italy

Field Hockey

• Olympic Games (Men's Competition) in Mexico City, Mexico
  • Gold Medal: Pakistan
  • Silver Medal: Australia
  • Bronze Medal: India

• March 9 - In an international women's field hockey match at Wembley Stadium, England. England beat the Netherlands 1-0.

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships:
  • Men's champion: Emmerich Dänzer, Austria
  • Ladies' champion: Peggy Fleming, United States
  • Pair skating champions: Ludmila Belousova & Oleg Protopopov, Soviet Union
  • Ice dancing champions: Diane Towler & Bernard Ford, Great Britain

Football (American)

• January 14 Super Bowl II: Green Bay Packers won 33-14 over the Oakland Raiders After the game, Packer head coach Vince Lombardi announced his retirement as head coach of the Packers

• The Cincinnati Bengals were formed

• November 17: The Oakland Raiders score two consecutive touchdowns in the last minute of the fourth quarter to beat the New York Jets 43-32, in the infamous "Heidi Game".

• Baltimore Colts 34-0 Cleveland Browns in 1968 NFL championship game.

• New York Jets 27-23 Oakland Raiders in the 1968 AFL championship game.

Football (Australian rules football)

• Victorian Football League
  • Carlton wins the 72nd VFL Premiership (Carlton 7.14 (56) d Essendon 8.5 (53))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Bob Skilton (South Melbourne)

Football (Canadian)

• Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 24-21 over the Calgary Stampeders
• Vanier Cup: Queen's Golden Gaels won 42-14 over the Waterloo Lutheran Golden Hawks

Football (Soccer)

For an extensive coverage see 1968 in football (soccer)

• England - First Division Champions: Manchester City F.C.
• England - FA Cup: WBA (defeated Everton 1-0)
• Scotland - First Division Champions: Celtic F.C.
• Scotland - Cup Winners: Dunfermline Athletic F.C. (defeated Heart of Midlothian 3-1)
• European Championship - Italy beat Yugoslavia 2-0 in a replay. The original final ended 1-1.

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. April - The Masters - Bob Goalby Gaolby won after Roberto DeVicenzo write a scoring error in which Roberto wrote a 4 instead of the 3 on the 17th hole.
  2. June - US Open - Lee Trevino Trevino became the first golfer to shoot in the 60s in every round of the U.S. Open.
  3. July - British Open - Gary Player
  4. August - PGA Championship - Julius Boros

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Billy Casper - $205,169

Women's Golf

• Canadian rookie Sandra Post became the youngest golfer, male or female, to ever win a PGA Tour major tournament by capturing the LPGA Championship.

• US Women's Open - Susie Berning
• LPGA Championship: Sandra Post
• Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $48,379

Thoroughbred Horse Racing

• Australia - Melbourne Cup - Royal Parma
• Canada - Queen's Plate - Merger
• France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Vaguely Noble
• Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Ribero

• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Sir Ivor
  2. Epsom Derby - Sir Ivor
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Ribero

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Forward Pass
  2. Preakness Stakes - Forward Pass
  3. Belmont Stakes - Stage Door Johnny

Harness Racing

• Rum Customer won the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Rum Customer
  2. Little Brown Jug - Rum Customer
  3. Messenger Stakes - Rum Customer

• Nevele Pride won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Nevele Pride
  2. Yonkers Trot - Nevele Pride
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Nevele Pride

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: First Lee
  • Trotters: Stylish Major

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks

• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the St. Louis Blues

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia

• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship: University of Denver Pioneers defeat University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 4-0 in Duluth, MN

Skiing

• Alpine Skiing
  • The men's overall season champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France
  • The women's overall season champion: Nancy Greene, Canada

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship challenge match: John Pulman beats Eddie Charlton 39-34

Swimming

Events

• XIX Olympic Games, held in Mexico City, Mexico (October 17 – October 26)

Tennis

• The Open Era in tennis begins, as all the Grand Slam events open to professionals for the first time.

• Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
  1. Australian Open - Bill Bowrey
  2. French Open - Ken Rosewall
  3. Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
  4. US Open - Arthur Ashe

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Billie Jean King
  2. French Open - Nancy Richey
  3. Wimbledon championships - Billie Jean King
  4. US Open - Virginia Wade

• Davis Cup of world tennis: United States defeated Australia 4-1

General sporting events

• 1968 Summer Olympics takes place in Mexico City, Mexico
  • United States wins the most medals (107), and the most gold medals (45)

• 1968 Winter Olympics takes place in Grenoble, France
  • Norway wins the most medals (14), and the most gold medals (6)

• Fifth Winter Universiade held in Innsbruck, Austria

• National Christian College Athletic Association formed

Trivia

• Ultimate invented in Maplewood, New Jersey, initially as a joke
• February 11 - Madison Square Garden III closes, Madison Square Garden IV opens in New York.
• February 17 - In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.

Awards

• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: Denny McLain, Major League Baseball
• Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year: Peggy Fleming, Figure skating

Births

January

• January 1 — Davor Suker, Croatian football (soccer) player
• January 2 — Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
• January 3 — Kent Carlsson, Swedish tennis player
• January 6 — Domingo Damigella, Argentine featherweight boxer
• January 7 — Tara Croxford, Canadian field hockey player
• January 8 — Paul Tony Howe, British swimmer
• January 9 — Leo Klein Gebbink, Dutch field hockey player
• January 10 — Luca Sacchi, Italian medley swimmer
• January 14 — Michael Meldrum, Canadian medley swimmer
• January 17 — Stella de Heij, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
• January 18 — Irina Kuhnt, German field hockey player
• January 24 — Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
• January 24 — Bianca Weiß, German field hockey goalkeeper
• January 25 — Pauline Buck, tenpin bowling player
• January 25 — Luc Krotwaar, Dutch long-distance runner
• January 26 — George Cosac, Romanian tennis player
• January 31 — Birte Weigang, East German butterfly swimmer

February

• February 2 — Espen Bredesen, Norwegian ski jumper
• February 3 — Javier Castillejo, Spanish boxer
• February 3 — Mark Koevermans, Dutch tennis player
• February 3 — Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Nigerian sprinter
• February 5 — Regina Rajchrtova, Czech tennis player
• February 7 — Phillip Tahmindjis, Australian ice speed skater
• February 7 — Mark Tewksbury, Canadian swimmer
• February 9 — Joel Brough, Canadian field hockey player
• February 10 — Maurits Crucq, Dutch field hockey defender
• February 12 — Carrie Steinseifer, American freestyle swimmer
• February 14 — Stefan Botev, Bulgarian-Australian weightlifter
• February 16 — Annabelle Cripps, British swimmer
• February 20 — Ted Hankey, English darts player
• February 22 — Erica Alfridi, Italian race walker
• February 27 — Matt Stairs, Canadian Major League Baseball player
• February 28 — Mandy Nicholls, British field hockey player

March

• March 1 — Kunjarani Devi, Indian weightlifter
• March 3 — Vichairachanon Khadpo, Thai boxer
• March 5 — Marq Mellor, American field hockey forward
• March 11 — Sapphire Cooper, New Zealand field hockey player
• March 11 — Salvador Gómez, Spanish water polo player
• March 14 — Marko Klok, Dutch volleyball player
• March 18 — Mitzi Kremer, American freestyle swimmer
• March 18 — Rowan Williams, English boxer
• March 21 — Blagovest Stoyanov, Bulgarian canoer
• March 24 — Tina Peters, German field hockey player
• March 26 — Patrick Kühl, East German medley swimmer

April

• April 1 — Miguel Dias, Dutch boxer
• April 2 — Alfredo Duvergel, Cuban boxer
• April 4 — Bert Brinkman, Dutch water polo player
• April 4 — Jesús Miguel Rollán, Spanish water polo player
• April 7 — Duncan Armstrong, Australian freestyle swimmer
• April 8 — Darius Dimavičius, Lithuanian basketball player
• April 10 — Rob Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
• April 10 — Dmitriy Kapitonov, Russian long-distance runner
• April 12 — Toru Aoyanagi, Japanese ice speed skater
• April 17 — Jim Bilba, French basketball player
• April 20 — Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek, Polish pentathelete
• April 21 — Richard Igbineghu, Nigerian boxer
• April 23 — Wouter van Pelt, Dutch field hockey player
• April 26 — Ahmed Elmaghraby, Egypt-born field hockey forward from the United States
• April 27 — Akemi Matsuno, Japanese long-distance runner
• April 29 — Christine Ferneck, German field hockey player
• April 29 — Mariusz Podkoscielny, Polish freestyle swimmer and swimming coach

May

• May 5 — Jane Kerr, Canadian butterfly and freestyle swimmer
• May 9 — Masahiko Harada, Japanese ski jumper
• May 9 — Marie-José Perec, French athlete
• May 10 — Craig Russ, New Zealand field hockey player
• May 12 — Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
• May 14 — Richard Tapper, Canada-born freestyle swimmer from New Zealand
• May 16 — Noemi Lung, Romanian butterfly swimmer
• May 16 — Marjolein de Jong, Dutch volleyball player
• May 20 — William Irwin, Canadian boxer
• May 20 — Artur Wojdat, Polish swimmer
• May 27 — Jeff Bagwell, American Major League Baseball player
• May 27 — Frank Thomas, American Major League Baseball player

June

• June 5 — Hans Nieuwenburg, Dutch water polo defender
• June 5 — Gonnelien Rothenberger, Dutch equestrian
• June 6 — Bart Voskamp, Dutch road bicycle racer
• June 7 — Pál Lakatos, Hungarian boxer
• June 8 — Torsten Gutsche, German flatwater canoer
• June 15 — Károly Güttler, Hungarian breaststroker swimmer
• June 24 — Boris Gelfand, Israeli chess grandmaster
• June 26 — Scott Anderson, New Zealand field hockey goalkeeper
• June 28 — Christian Blunck, German field hockey player

July

• July 8 — Christian Saceanu, Romanian-born tennis player from Germany
• July 9 — Elin Kristiansen, Norwegian biathlete
• July 12 — Catherine Plewinski, French swimmer
• July 12 — Angelique Seriese, Dutch judoka
• July 13 — Luis Román Rolón, Puerto Rican boxer
• July 16 — Leo Peelen, Dutch track cyclist
• July 16 — Barry Sanders, Pro Football Hall of Famer
• July 17 — Davis Kamoga, Ugandan athlete
• July 22 — Harry Taylor, Canadian freestyle swimmer
• July 23 — Tammy van Wisse, Australian marathon swimmer
• July 27 — Samuel Matete, Zambian athlete
• July 27 — Adewale Olukoju, Nigerian discus thrower
• July 28 — Eoin Collins, Irish tennis player
• July 28 — Marianne and Mildred Muis, Dutch swimmers and twin sisters
• July 30 — Robert Korzeniowski, Polish racewalker
• July 30 — Deane Pieters, Australian freestyle swimmer
• July 31 — Jenny Duck, New Zealand field hockey player

August

• August 3 — Christophe Bordeau, French swimmer
• August 7 — Leslie Lyness, American field hockey midfielder
• August 9 — Jay Stacy, Australian field hockey player
• August 15 — Sergio López Miró, Spanish swimmer
• August 20 — Jody Holden, Canadian beach volleyball player
• August 20 — Nuria Olivé, Spanish field hockey player
• August 21 — Robbie Johnston, New Zealand long-distance runner
• August 22 — Henrik Holm, Swedish tennis player
• August 22 — Endrio Leoni, Italian road bicycle racer

September

• September 1 — Shahbaz Ahmad, Pakistani field hockey player
• September 7 — Marcel Desailly, French football (soccer) player
• September 7 — Darrin Van Horn, American boxer
• September 11 — Andreas Tews, German boxer
• September 12 — Manuel Sobral, Spanish-born Canadian boxer
• September 13 — Phajol Moolsan, Thai boxer
• September 15 — Raymond Joval, Dutch boxer
• September 19 — Koos Maasdijk, Dutch rower
• September 23 — Daniel Dumitrescu, Romanian boxer
• September 23 — Donna McGinnis, Canadian swimmer
• September 30 — Sharon Jaklofsky, Australian-Dutch athlete
• September 30 — Simone Osygus, German freestyle swimmer

October

• October 1 — Erik Hochstein, German swimmer
• October 2 — Sandy Goss, Canadian swimmer
• October 2 — Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player
• October 10 — Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountainbiker
• October 10 — Scott Donie, American diver
• October 24 — Ross Anderson, New Zealand swimmer
• October 24 — Francisco Clavet, Spanish tennis player
• October 27 — Antoinette Lucas, US field hockey midfielder
• October 29 — Johann Olav Koss, Norwegian speed skater

November

• November 1 — Gisele Miro, Brazilian tennis player
• November 1 — Andrea Nugent, Canadian butterfly and freestyle swimmer
• November 8 — Olof van der Meulen, Dutch volleyball player
• November 12 — Sammy Sosa, Major League Baseball player
• November 13 — Irena Machovcak, Czech-Dutch volleyball player
• November 18 — Melvin Stewart, American swimmer
• November 18 — Lubomir Sekeras, Slovakian ice hockey player
• November 18 — Gary Sheffield, American baseball player
• November 19 — Gord Fraser, Canadian road race cyclist
• November 20 — Jan-Peter Tewes, German field hockey player
• November 28 — Stephanie Storp, German shot putter

December

• December 1 — Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Australian squash player
• December 1 — Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer
• December 2 — Darren Ward, US-born swimmer from Canada
• December 3 — Toni Jeffs, New Zealand swimmer
• December 4 — Mike Barrowman, American swimmer
• December 9 — Pedro Francisco García, Spanish water polo player
• December 23 — Olga Shishigina, Kazakhstani athlete
• December 24 — Xavier Daufresne, Belgian tennis player
• December 24 — Marleen Renders, Belgian long-distance runner
• December 24 — Astrid Strauß, East German freestyle swimmer

Deaths

• January 7 — Gholamreza Takhti (37), Iranian wrestler (b. 1930)
• January 15 — Bill Masterton, Canadian ice hockey player
• January 22 — Duke Kahanamoku (77), American swimmer and surfer (b. 1890)
• April 7 — Jimmy Clark, Formula One racing driver
• April 25 — John Tewksbury (92), American track and field athlete (b. 1876)
• June 17 — José Nasazzi, Uruguayan football (soccer) player (b. 1901)
• July 7 — Ugo Frigerio (66), Italian athlete (b. 1901)
• August 14 — Marcel Thil, French world champion boxer
• October 5 — Harry Freeman, British field hockey player
• November 15 — Charles Bacon (85), American athlete (b. 1883)
• December 15 — Jess Willard, American heavyweight boxing champion
• December 21 — Vittorio Pozzo (82), Italian football (soccer) coach (b. 1886)

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