Sports in March include crucial stretches of the NBA and NHL seasons, MLB Spring Training/Opening Day, March Madness, NASCAR, Formula 1, UFC Fight Nights, and some PGA Tour Events. Over the years, March 6 has witnessed many notable moments and stories involving sporting legends. Here are some of them.
Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records
Great moments in sports history from March 6 included:
- 1895: England beat Australia to win one of the best cricket series ever, 3-2, and Jack Brown scored the fastest 50 in test cricket in 28 minutes.
- 1954: At the first ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, North Carolina State beat Wake Forest 82-80 in overtime.
- 1964: Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
- 1965: NC State defeated Duke University 91-85 at the 12th ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
- 1965: Bruce Taylor scored 105 for New Zealand in the first innings of the test match against India.
- 1971: Indian cricket great Sunil Gavaskar made his test cricket debut in a match against West Indies at Port of Spain. He went on to play 125 tests, scoring 10,122 runs at an average of 51.12 and making 34 centuries.
- 1972: Jack Nicklaus passed Arnold Palmer as golf’s all-time money winner.
- 1974: Australian cricketing brothers Ian (145 and 121) and Greg Chappell (247 not out and 133) made unique twin centuries in the drawn first test against New Zealand in Wellington.
- 1976: The 23rd ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament saw Virginia beat North Carolina 67-62.
- 1976: In his tenth title defense, WBA light welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia was beaten by 17-year-old Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benitez in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Benitez became the youngest-ever world champion.
- 1976: American Dorothy Hamill won the women’s event at the World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- 1982: Alabama defeated Kentucky 48-46 at the 23rd SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament.
- 1982: In the NBA’s highest-scoring game, San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 in three overtimes.
- 1988: Julie Krone becomes the winningest female jockey in history.
- 1996: Aravinda De Silva smashed 145 in Sri Lanka’s 5 for 398 in 50 overs in the match against Kenya in the Cricket World Cup in Kandy. Sri Lanka won by 144 runs.
- 1999: At the 20th Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament, Connecticut defeated St. John’s 82-63.
- 2000: Long-time Boston Bruin defenseman Ray Bourque was traded to the Colorado Avalanche.
- 2010: The New Jersey Nets beat the Knicks 113-93, and the Knicks missed all 18 three-point attempts.
- 2014: The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Lakers 142-94, and it was the largest margin of victory in Clippers history.
- 2019: Lebron James scored his 32,293rd point in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 115-99 loss to Denver in Los Angeles to pass Michael Jordan into fourth place on the NBA all-time scoring list.
Three athletes who stood out on March 6 were Jack Nicklaus, Julie Krone, and Ray Bourque.
Nicklaus is famous for his record 18 professional major championships and 73 PGA Tour victories. Krone is a legendary Hall of Fame jockey and the most successful female Thoroughbred rider in history, with over 3,700 career wins. Bourque is known for his incredible longevity, offensive prowess, and elite defensive skill over a 22-season career (1979–2001).