Today in sports history – 1 April

As sport grinds to a halt all over the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve decided to have a daily look back at those “simpler” times, when there was triumph, drama and disappointment on various fields and arenas.

This is today in sport history…

1888

general view, dark clouds, flood lights, stand, artificial grass, logo during the Dutch Eredivisie match between Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar at the Sparta stadium Het Kasteel on September 15, 2017 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands(Photo by VI Images via Getty Images)

Sparta Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ oldest professional club, is established by a group of students. Yet the typically wayward thinking of young adults becomes abundantly clear in the first few years of its existence. The club is initially christened Rotterdamsche Cricket & Football Club Sparta, with a specific focus on, yes, cricket!

Cricket had been hugely popular in the country at the end of the 19th century. Despite having “Football” in its name, the club only played its first competitive soccer match about two years later. And in 1892, cricket was totally ditched as an offering. Nonetheless, Sparta has cultivated a rich history in the round-ball game.

1919

Joe Hall. Photo: Public Domain.

So you think the cancellation of sport events due to a virus was unprecedented before Covid-19 reared its head? Ice Hockey’s Stanley Cup was building up to a thrilling conclusion, with the best-of-five finals series between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans tied at two-all. It would all boil down to the decider.

But, in what was clearly not an April Fool’s joke, the game was cancelled just over five hours before its scheduled start. The reason? Both teams were in the grip of the Spanish Flu, which killed an estimated 17 to 50 million people. George Kennedy, the Canadiens’ manager, was one of the individuals to fall ill and was gracious enough to offer to forfeit the cup to Seattle.

But his counterpart, Pete Muldoon, refused such an outcome, arguing it wasn’t Montreal’s fault that they didn’t have enough players available to fill their roster. At the time, the Canadiens had four players hospitalised. It was then decided to simply not declare a winner, a decision that seemed prudent after Canadiens star Joe Hall died a week later from pneumonia.

Kennedy eventually made it out of hospital, but the virus left his body permanently scarred. He succumbed two years later.

1993

Alan Kulwicki after qualifying for the Daytona 500 on February 19, 1989, at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Bob Harmeyer/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

All Alan Kulwicki ever wanted was a plane. As a mechanical engineer, the legendary Nascar driver felt he wasn’t asking for too much. For six years, he had beaten an immensely hard path to success. It would prove to be a fatal wish.

In 1985, car owner Bill Terry offered the promising if unheralded Kulwicki an opportunity to run five races for him.

The initial picture was comical. Kulwicki had sold almost all of his belongings to move to North Carolina, towing a trailer full of books and furniture with his pickup truck. But an electrical fire saw his “bakkie” become toast and he had to borrow another one just to get to his new base. He did enough though to earn a full-time racing gig in 1986, being honoured with that year’s Nascar’s Rookie award.

Kulwicki had arrived, but – probably because of an infamously pedantic and puristic view on the sport – he chose to race for his own team, AK Racing, for the majority of his career. He thus seriously lacked financial firepower due to a lack of corporate backing. Then, in 1991, Hooters – yes, the restaurant chain with the scantily clad waitresses – came knocking.

Buoyed by his new sponsor, Kulwicki became a household name, winning the famed Nascar Winston Cup in 1992 and finishing consistently high enough throughout the season to claim the overall championship as well.

His newfound fame put him on solid financial footing, though he still remained prudent with his money.

“The only thing I really wanted to buy was a plane, but it turns out Hooters has a couple I can use,” Kulwicki said.

He entered into a lease agreement with the company, but that became a source of tension as he wanted clarity on how frequently he could fly, which formed part of broader financial concerns. Ironically, Kulwicki was returning from a Hooters promotional event in Knoxville in a company-owned plane, which crashed near Blountville. He was killed along with three others on board.

The big wish, became a tragedy. Kulwicki was 37.

1995

Chris Sutton makes Premier League history by scoring the quickest goal in the English top-flight. It takes him only 12.94 seconds to round off the opener in Blackburn Rovers’ meeting with Everton. The sheer speed of the goal has many soccer fans in awe, but it actually merely proves a springboard for other players to eclipse the record.

In fact, the mark has been better no less than six times since then, with Southampton’s Shane Long donning the mantle as the quickest scorer ever – a freakish 7.69 second effort against Watford last year.

2007

Michael Phelps of the United States competes in the Men’s 400m Individual Medley Final during the 12th FINA World Championships at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on April 1, 2007. Michael Phelps of the US won the men’s 400m individual medley gold medal at the world swimming championships, touching in a new world record time of 4:06.22. His teammate Ryan Lochte took the silver in 4:09.74 and Luca Marin of Italy won the bronze in 4:09.88. (Photo by Osports/WireImage)

That man Michael Phelps is at it again as he secures an incredible seventh gold medal at the Swimming World Championships in Melbourne. And just to top it all off, he breaks his own world record in the 400m individual medley  in a time of 4:06.22. What a show-off…

2007

Gerhard Zandberg of South Africa reacts after the Men’s 50m Backstroke Semifinal during the XII FINA World Championships at the Rod Laver Arena on March 31, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images)

But South Africa also has something to celebrate in the very same showpiece as Gerhard Zandberg races to gold in the 50m backstroke. It proves to be fitting end to a fairly fruitful campaign for our country. Roland Schoeman won the 50m butterfly gold and a 19-year-old Cameron van der Burgh claims a worthy bronze in the 50m breaststroke.

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