Browse through this sports timeline and see how sport changed over time. Notice that sport as a competitive form of recreation was and still is closely connected to gambling. Sports betting evolved with sport and still has influence on it. Sports betting became part of sport.

References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 October 2.

1991 May 1 Oakland Athletics' Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brock's record with his 939th base steal (vs New York Yankees). [1] [56] Last day of Test cricket for Gordon Greenidge. [1] Milwaukee Brewers beat Chicago Cubs, 10-9, in 19 innings. [1] Texas Rangers' Nolan Ryan pitches record 7th no hitter (beats Toronto Blue Jays 3-0). [1] May 4 117th Kentucky Derby: Chris Antley aboard Strike the Gold wins in 2:03. [1] ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Doug Kent. [1] Cleveland Indians' Chris James sets club record for most RBIs in a game (9). [1] New York Mets' M Sasser and Mark Carreon are 8th to hit consecutive pinch homeruns. [1] May 5 Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic. [1] May 6 Chucky Mullins, US soccer player, dies. [1] Seppo Raty of Finland sets javelin record to 301' 9". [1] May 7 Haryana beats Bombay in the Ranji Cricket Trophy final by two runs. [1] May 12 Hollis Stacy wins LPGA Crestar-Fresh Farm Golf Classic. [1] May 13 Yankee Stadium fans sing "Like a Virgin" to Jose Canseco. [1] May 15 England's Queen Elizabeth II is President George Bush's guest at the Oakland Athletics - Baltimore Orioles game played at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. [56] Manchester United wins 31th Europe Cup II at Rotterdam, Netherlands. [1] President Bush takes Queen Elizabeth to Oakland Athletics-Baltimore Orioles game. [1] The Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox play a game for 4 hours and 11 minutes setting a new record for slowest game ever played in nine innings. [1] [56] May 18 117th Preakness: Jerry Bailey aboard Hansel wins in 1:54. [1] May 19 Pat Bradley wins LPGA Centel Golf Classic. [1] Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Centel Senior Golf Challenge. [1] May 20 Chicago Bulls' Michael Jordan named NBA's Most Valuable Player. [1] Baseball pitcher Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save. [1] May 22 Inter Milan wins 20th UEFA Cup at Rome. [1] NFL Owners agree to add two teams in 1994. [1] May 23 Philadelphia Phillies' Tommy Greene no-hits Montreal Expos, 2-0. [1] San Diego Sockers win fourth consecutive Major Soccer League championship. [1] May 25 NHL Stanley Cup: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Minnesota North Stars, 4 games to 2. [1] May 26 Betsy King wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic. [1] May 28 The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Minnesota North Stars 8-0 in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. [41] May 29 In Bari, Red Star Belgrade, Beograd wins Champions Cup in football. [41] Crevena Zvezda wins 36th Europe Cup I. [1] May 30 Arturo Barrios runs world record one-hour distance (21,096 km). [1] June 8 Former New York Jets' Mark Gastineau wins first pro boxing fight in 12 seconds. [1] Mary Bacon, jockey, dying of cancer, commits suicide by gun at age 43. [1] Monica Seles beats Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-3, 6-4 for French Open. [1] June 9 Hansel wins the Belmont Stakes. [1] Jim Courier beats Andre Agassi for the French Open. [1] World Bowl-World League of American Football first championship. [1] June 12 The Chicago Bulls win their first NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the best-of-7 series 4 games to 1. [41] June 13 NHL owners present contract to players (leads to April 1, 1992 strike). [1] A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open. [41] June 14 Leroy Burrell of USA sets the 100m record (9.90) in New York City. [1] June 16 Minnesota Twins win a team record 15 games in a row. [1] Otis Nixon steals National League record six bases in one day. [1] With three runs in the 9th, Baltimore Orioles end Minnesota Twins 15-game win streak 6-5. [1] June 18 San Francisco Giants pitcher Dave Dravecky's cancerous left arm is amputated. [1] New York Yankees' pitchers pick-off three Toronto Blue Jays. [1] June 21 New York Islanders Denis Potvan and Michael Bossy inducted into NHL Hall of Fame. [1] June 30 Portugal wins the FIFA U-20 World Cup defeating Brazil on the final by 4-2, after penalty shoot out, in Lisbon, Portugal. [41] July 5 In a unanimous vote, final approval is given by baseball owners for the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins to join the National League in 1993. [56] July 7 Michael Stich beats Boris Becker for Wimbeldon championship. [1] July 19 With New York Yankees victory, 10 of 14 American League teams are at .500 or better. [1] July 26 Montreal Expos' Mark Gardner no hits Los Angeles Dodgers for 9 innings, but loses in 10th. [1] July 28 Buffalo Bills beat Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13 in American Bowl football in Wembley. [1] Montreal Expos' Dennis Martinez pitches baseball's 15th perfect game versus (Los Angeles Dodgers). [1] Miguel Indurain of Spain wins the Tour de France bicycle race. [1] July 29 First Sunday Night game at Shea Stadium (New York Mets beat Chicago Cubs 6-0). [1] July 30 Boston Red Sox player Carlos Quintana is 11th to get six RBIs in an inning (third). [1] August 1 Death of Chris Short, American baseball pitcher (born 1937). [41] August 3 Pan Am games open in Havana, Cuba. [1] August 5 Paul Brown, NFL founder (Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals), dies at age 82 (born 1908). [1] [41] Sergei Bubka of USSR sets pole vault record (20.25") in Malmö, Sweden. [1] August 7 Shotzie, Cincinnati Reds' dog mascot, dies at age 9. [1] US sets 400m relay record at 37.67 seconds. [1] August 10 NFL sportscaster Paul Maquire suffers a heart attack at age 53. [1] August 11 John Daly, rookie golfer wins the PGA title. [1] Death of J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (born 1938). [41] August 18 Pan Am games close in Havana, Cuba. [1] August 24 Abel Kivlat, US 1500m runner (Olympic-silver-1912), dies at age 99. [1] August 25 Michael Schumacher makes his Formula 1 debut in the Belgian Grand Prix. [41] Carl Lewis runs 100m in 9.86 seconds. [1] August 26 Kansas City Royals' Brett Saberegen no-hits Chicago White Sox 7-0. [1] August 28 Cincinnati Reds' Tom Browning vs Montreal Expos' Dennis Martinez; both perfect game pitchers. [1] August 30 Dan O'Brien sets US decathalon record with 8,812 points. [1] France beats US by narrowest Ryder Cup margin - 14.5 to 13.5. [1] Mike Powell of the US sets long jump record at 29 feet 4.5 inches. [1] Death of Cyril Knowles, English footballer and manager (born 1944). [41] September 7 Monica Seles wins the US Open. [1] September 8 Buffalo Bills' Jim Kelly passes for six touchdowns vs Pittsburgh Steelers (52-34). [1] Stefan Edberg wins the US Open. [1] September 9 Only 1,695 fans watch Boston Red Sox play Cleveland Indians. [1] September 13 Joe Coleman's third 100 RBI season in a row three teams (Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, and Toronto Blue Jays). [1] September 15 South Dakota State freshman Marshall Faulk sets NCAA rushing record of 386 yards. [1] September 17 4,355 turn out to see the Montreal Expos play the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. [1] September 23 New York Islanders' Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin inducted into NHL Hall of Fame. [1] September 24 Robin Yount is 37th to hit 2,000 singles. [1] September 27 First scheduled NHL exhibition game in Saint Petersburg, Florida, is cancelled due to poor ice conditions (New York Islanders vs Boston Bruins). [1] September 28 New York Yankees set record of 75 games without a complete pitched game. [1] September 29 US beats Europeans 14.5 to 13.5 to capture the Ryder's cup. [1] October 4 NHL New York Rangers trade Bernie Nichols to Edmonton Oilers for Mark Messier. [1] October 6 New York Mets' David Cone ties National League record by striking out 19 Philadelphia Phillies players. [1] October 7 Leo Durocher, baseball coach/manager (Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants), dies at age 86. [1] October 11 Chip Beck ties PGA lowest 18 hole score of 59. [1] October 13 Toronto Blue Jays' Cito Gaston is first manager ejected in a playoff game. [1] October 27 Minnesota Twins beat Atlanta Braves 1-0 in ten innings to win the 8th World Series in seven games. [1] [56] October 29 Buck Showalter replaces Stump Merrill as the New York Yankees' manager. [56] October 30 William Shea, Shea Stadium namesake, dies at age 84. [1] November 2 Australia beats England 12-6 at Twickenham Stadium to lift the Rugby World Cup. [41] November 3 New York City Marathon winners are Salvador Garcia (Mexico) and Liz McColgan (Scotland). [1] November 7 Magic Johnson announces he has HIV virus and retires from Los Angeles Lakers. [1] [41] November 10 Marty Glickman broadcasts his 1,000th football game. [1] November 15 Ricky Pierce (Seattle SuperSonics) begins NBA free throw streak of 75 games. [1] November 17 Detroit Lions player Mike Utley is paralyzed in a game vs Los Angeles Rams. [1] November 21 David "Sonny" Werblin, AFL owner (New York Jets), dies at age 81. [1] Terry Pendleton wins the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. [56] November 23 Evander Hollyfield retains heavyweight boxing title, knocks out Bert Cooper in seven rounds. [1] December 1 80th Davis Cup: France beats USA in Lyon (3-1); this is France's first Davis Cup since 1932. [1] December 2 Bobby Bonilla signs record $29 million-5 year pact with the New York Mets. [1] December 5 Aad Mansfield, soccer player/trainer (ADO/Feyenoord/FC Utrecht), dies. [1] December 7 A J Kitt, American, wins World Skiing Cup. [1] December 8 Kris Tschetter/Billy Andrade win LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic. [1] December 10 Howard Spira sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for trying to extort money from New York Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner. [1] December 12 Ken Keltner, US baseball player (Cleveland Indians), dies at age 75. [1] New Jersey Nets set NBA record of 22 blocks beating Denver Nuggets 121-81. [1] Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Dexter Manley retires after failing drug test. [1] December 13 Ricky Pierce (Seattle SuperSonics) ends NBA free throw streak of 75 games. [1] December 14 57th Heisman Trophy Award: Desmond Howard, Michigan (world record). [1] John Arlott, cricketer (the greatest of cricket commentators), dies. [1] December 15 Deb Richard wins JBP Cup LPGA Match Play Golf Championship. [1] December 16 Florida Marlins sign their first player, 16-year-old pitcher Clemente Nunez. [1] Death of Horatio Luro, Argentine-born racehorse trainer (born 1901). [41] December 17 Cleveland Cavaliers beat Miami Heat 148-80, by record 68 points. [1] December 18 Death of George Abecassis, English race car driver (born 1913). [41] December 20 NHL grants permanent membership to Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators. [1] December 25 Last day of a washout Pakistan vs Sri Lanka at Gujranwala. [1] Mahmood Hussain, cricketer (27 Tests for Pakistan, 68 wickets), dies. [1] December 26 Chuck Knolls retires as NFL coach after 23 years. [1] New York Islanders' Derek King ties New Jersey Devils 5-5 with half second left. [1] December 27 Cincinnati Bengals hire Dave Shula as youngest NFL coach (32). [1] Chuck Knox retires as Seattle Seahawks coach. [1] December 28 Eight are crushed to death at a RAP basketball game at City College, New York City, New York. [1] Blockbuster Bowl 2: Alabama beats Colorado, 30-25. [1] December 31 Daniel R McCarthy elected New York Yankees managing general partner. [1] J Donald Crump resigns as Canadian Football League Commissioner. [1]