1968 in sports

yearbox
in?=in sports
cp=19th century
c=20th century
cf=21st century
yp1=1965
yp2=1966
yp3=1967
year=1968
ya1=1969
ya2=1970
ya3=1971
dp3=1930s
dp2=1940s
dp1=1950s
d=1960s
da=0
dn1=1970s
dn2=1980s
dn3=1990s|

Athletics

Marathon

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

Auto racing

* September 28: Pedro Rodríguez and Lucien Bianchi win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

=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.

*June 24: Jim Northrup hits grand slams in consecutive at-bats, 5th and 6th innings.

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 8 - Bob Foster knocked out Dick Tiger in the fourth round to win the World Light Lightweight Championship.

Cricket

*January 31 - Australia secure victory in the Fourth Test match versus India and win the series 4-0
*August 27 - England win the final Test match at The Oval against Australia to tie the series 1-1. Australia retain The Ashes
*August 28 - Basil D'Oliveira is excluded from the MCC South African tour side leading to turmoil in the world of cricket.

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 professional
*April 11-14 - Masters Tournament - Bob Goalby wins after Roberto DeVicenzo makes on a score card error. DeVicenzo writes a 4 instead of the 3 on the 17th hole.
*June 13-16 - U.S. Open - Lee Trevino becomes the first golfer to shoot in the 60s in every round of the U.S. Open.
*July 10-13 - British Open - Gary Player
*July 18-21 - PGA Championship - Julius Boros
*PGA Tour money leader - Billy Casper - $205,169Men's amateur
*British Amateur - Michael Bonallack
*U.S. Amateur - Bruce FleisherWomen's professional
*Women's Western Open - discontinued
*LPGA Championship - Sandra Post
*U.S. Women's Open - Susie Berning
*Titleholders Championship - not playes
*LPGA Tour money leader - Kathy Whitworth - $48,379
*Canadian rookie Sandra Post became the youngest golfer to ever win an LPGA major tournament by capturing the LPGA Championship.

=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:
*#2,000 Guineas Stakes - Sir Ivor
*#Epsom Derby - Sir Ivor
*#St. Leger Stakes - Ribero

*United States Triple Crown Races:
*#May 4 - Kentucky Derby - Forward Pass
*#Preakness Stakes - Forward Pass
*#Belmont Stakes - Stage Door Johnny

Ice Hockey

*Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks

*Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Stan Mikita, Chicago Black Hawks

*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:
*#Australian Open - Bill Bowrey
*#French Open - Ken Rosewall
*#Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
*#US Open - Arthur Ashe

*Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
*#Australian Open - Billie Jean King
*#French Open - Nancy Richey
*#Wimbledon championships - Billie Jean King
*#US Open - Virginia Wade

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

Multi-sport 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 3 — Montserrat Hidalgo, Costa Rican breaststroke swimmer
* January 6 — Domingo Damigella, Argentine featherweight boxer
* January 7 — Tara Croxford, Canadian field hockey player
* January 8 — Mark Croghan, American middle-distance runner
* 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 16 — Abraham Torres, Venezuelan boxer
* 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 27 — Werner Reiterer, Australian discus thrower
* January 30 — Svetlana Maziy, Ukrainian rower
* January 31 — Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
* 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 14 — Alejandra de la Guerra, Peruvian volleyball player
* February 14 — Diego Fortuna, Italian discus thrower
* February 16 — Annabelle Cripps, British swimmer
* February 20 — Ted Hankey, English darts player
* February 22 — Erica Alfridi, Italian race walker
* February 25 — Enrique Molina, Spanish track and field athlete
* 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 1 — Sergey Lyakhov, Russian discus thrower and shot putter
* March 3 — Vichairachanon Khadpo, Thai boxer
* March 4 — Kirkor Kirkorov, Bulgarian boxer
* March 5 — Marq Mellor, American field hockey forward
* March 7 — Björn Maaseide, Norwegian beach volleyball player
* March 11 — Sapphire Cooper, New Zealand field hockey player
* March 11 — Salvador Gómez, Spanish water polo player
* March 13 — Rodrigo González, Mexican freestyle swimmer
* 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
* March 26 — Nick Sweeney, Irish discus thrower

April

* April 1 — Miguel Dias, Dutch boxer
* April 2 — Alfredo Duvergel, Cuban boxer
* April 4 — Bert Brinkman, Dutch water polo player
* April 4 — Daniel Jorgensen, American freestyle swimmer
* April 4 — Jesús Miguel Rollán, Spanish water polo player
* April 7 — Duncan Armstrong, Australian freestyle swimmer
* April 8 — Gabriele Faehnrich, East German gymnast
* 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 13 — Daniela Petrescu, Romanian long-distance runner
* April 17 — Jim Bilba, French basketball player
* April 17 — Eduardo Piccinini, Brazilian butterfly swimmer
* April 18 — Alejandro Alvizuri, Peruvian backstroke swimmer
* April 19 — Armando Quintanilla, Mexican long-distance runner
* April 20 — DeDee Nathan, American heptathlete
* April 20 — Arkadiusz Skrzypaszek, Polish pentathlete
* April 21 — Richard Igbineghu, Nigerian boxer
* April 23 — Wouter van Pelt, Dutch field hockey player
* April 25 — Vitaliy Kirilenko, Ukrainian long jumper
* 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 1 — Oliver Bierhoff, German soccer player (footballer)
* May 2 — Miriam Gallardo, Peruvian volleyball player
* May 4 — José García, Venezuelan boxer
* 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 — Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby player
* May 20 — Artur Wojdat, Polish swimmer
* May 21 — Davide Tizzano, Italian rower
* May 26 — Rachael Sporn, Australian basketball player
* May 27 — Jeff Bagwell, American Major League Baseball player
* May 27 — Simona Koch, German diver
* May 27 — Frank Thomas, American Major League Baseball player
* May 28 — Tom Pukstys, American javelin thrower

June

* June 4 — Sandrine Fricot, French high jumper
* 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 11 — Todd Torres, Puerto Rican swimmer
* June 15 — Francesco Bruno, Italian sport shooter
* June 15 — Károly Güttler, Hungarian breaststroker swimmer
* June 16 — Lyne Poirier, Canadian judoka
* June 22 — Heidi Rakels, Belgian judoka
* 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, American football player
* July 16 — Georgi Mikhalev, Bulgarian backstroke swimmer
* July 17 — Davis Kamoga, Ugandan athlete
* July 20 — Dario García, Argentine judoka
* 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 6 — Olga Markova, Russian long-distance runner
* August 7 — Vahdettin İşsever, Turkish boxer
* August 7 — Leslie Lyness, American field hockey midfielder
* August 9 — Jay Stacy, Australian field hockey player
* August 15 — Fuat Çapa, Belgian-Turkish football (soccer) manager
* August 15 — Sergio López Miró, Spanish swimmer
* August 17 — Ed McCaffrey, American football player
* 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
* August 29 — Yoko Sakaue, Japanese judoka
* August 31 — Jørre Kjemperud, Norwegian beach volleyball player

eptember

* September 1 — Shahbaz Ahmad, Pakistani field hockey player
* September 1 — Jorge Querejeta, Argentine field hockey player
* September 4 — Angie Bradburn, American high jumper
* 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 16 — Tara Cross-Battle, American volleyball player
* September 17 — Patricia Kohlmann, Mexican swimmer
* 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 4 — Shigeo Ogata, Japanese freestyle swimmer
* October 9 — Karla van der Boon, Dutch water polo goalkeeper
* October 10 — Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountainbiker
* October 10 — Scott Donie, American diver
* October 10 — Mónica Falcioni, Uruguayan long and triple jumper
* October 24 — Ross Anderson, New Zealand swimmer
* October 24 — Francisco Clavet, Spanish tennis player
* October 27 — Bertrand Damaisin, French judoka
* 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 5 — Carlos Retiz, Mexican long-distance runner
* November 8 — Olof van der Meulen, Dutch volleyball player
* November 12 — Tina Rättyä, Finnish heptathlete
* November 12 — Sammy Sosa, Major League Baseball player
* November 13 — María Elena Giusti, Venezuelan synchronized swimmer
* 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 21 — Nikolay Kolev, Bulgarian discus thrower
* November 21 — Niklas Wallenlind, Swedish hurdler
* November 23 — Rob Denmark, British distance runner
* November 27 — Maurício Lima, Brazilian volleyball 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 10 — Izumi Maki, Japanese long-distance runner
* 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
* October 12 — Harry Hebner (77), American backstroke and freestyle swimmer (b. 1891)
*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)