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This Day in Sports History

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 4/2

1931 – 17-year-old girl pitcher Jackie Mitchell strikes out both Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in an exhibition game.

1972 – New York Mets manager Gil Hodges dies of a heart attack. Hodges played in parts of 20 seasons as a major league and was an eight-time All-Star. A native of Princeton, Indiana, Hodges is also a member of the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.

1976 – The Oakland A’s trade Reggie Jackson to the Baltimore Orioles.

1980 – Montreal Canadiens forward Guy Lafleur becomes the first player in NHL history to have six straight 50-goal seasons.

1983 – Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders becomes the first player in NHL history to score 60 or more goals in three straight seasons.

1984 – Georgetown wins the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, defeating Houston 84-75. Houston becomes the second team in NCAA history to lose two consecutive championship games.

1985 – The NCAA adds a 45-second shot clock for men’s basketball to avoid stalling.

1986 – The NCAA adds the three-point line, setting the mark at 19 feet, nine inches.

1990 – UNLV routs Duke 103-73 to win their first NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They are the first team to score more than 100 points in a national championship and the 30-point margin of victory sets the record for the largest in a title game.

1995 – The UCONN women’s basketball team finishes off an undefeated season, beating Tennessee 70-64 to win the program’s first national championship.

2000 – Another title for the UCONN women’s basketball team as they beat Tennessee 71-52 in the title game.

2001 – Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first Japanese position player to appear in an MLB game. Ichiro has two hits as part of a 5-4 Seattle win over Oakland.

2007 – The Florida Gators win their second straight NCAA men’s basketball national championship, beating Ohio State 84-75. They are the first program to repeat as national champions since Duke in 1991-92.

2012 – Kentucky wins their 8th men’s basketball national title, beating Kansas 67-59.

2014 – The Lakers lose their 50th game of the season, making it the first time since the 1974-75 season the team had that many losses.

2018 – Villanova wins their men’s basketball national championship in three years, beating Michigan 79-62. The Wildcats won all six games of the tournament by double digits.

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