Sports in March are all about college basketball's March Madness, NBA and NHL teams making their final push to clinch a playoff spot, and spring training for MLB. There were some other notable sports moments and stories from legends of the game. Let's take a closer look at these and more.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Remarkable moments in sports that occurred on March 12 include:
- 1908: The Montreal Wanderers secured the Stanley Cup, beating the Winnipeg Maple Leafs 9-3 at the Montreal Arena in Westmount, Quebec, for a 2-0 sweep of the challenge series.
- 1910: In the same competition and venue, the Montreal Wanderers beat the Berlin Dutchmen 7-3.
- 1949: Ireland retained the Five Nations Rugby Championship and Triple Crown with a 5-0 win over Wales at St Helen's Ground in Swansea, Wales.
- 1966: The Chicago Blackhawks' Bobby Hull scored his 51st goal of the season, a new NHL record for goals in a season.
- 1978: American speed skater Eric Heiden set a 1,000-meter world record of 1:14.99.
- 2023: In the PGA Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Scottie Scheffler became the third golfer, after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to hold Masters and Players titles simultaneously.
Sports History
March 12 featured some of the biggest names in horse racing, cricket, and basketball:
- 1966: After 40 years and 6,032 wins, jockey Johnny Longden retired.
- 1982: Cricketer Courtney Walsh made his first-class debut, playing for Jamaica against the Leeward Islands.
- 1985: Larry Bird scored a Boston Celtics record of 60 points in a game.
- 1987: David Robinson scored 50 points in an NCAA basketball game.
- 1995: In Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies cricketer Brian Lara scored 139 runs in a one-day international vs. Australia.
College Basketball Tournaments and the Covid Shutdown
March 12 featured some college basketball upsets, but it also marked the beginning of sports shutting down due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19:
- 1989: In the 36th ACC men's basketball tournament, #9 North Carolina beat #7 Duke 77-74.
- 1995: The SEC men's basketball tournament saw Kentucky beat Arkansas 95-93 in overtime.
- 2011: In the 32nd Big East men's basketball tournament, #9 Connecticut beat #3 Louisville 69-66.
- 2020: The NCAA men's basketball tournament was canceled over concerns about the spread of COVID-19, the first abandonment of March Madness since it began in 1939.
Looking back at these March 12 statistics, the dominant theme was the COVID-19 shutdown, alongside some remarkable basketball achievements. March Madness is one of the most popular sports tournaments, and March 12 marked the beginning of the sporting world shutting down. Most sports remained suspended for five months. Madness was happening but not from Cinderella moments on the hardwood.
On a more positive note, David Robinson went on to become a Hall of Fame center in the NBA. The record for the most points in a Division I college basketball game stands at 72, set by Kevin Bradshaw in 1991.
