1968 in sports - Definition and Overview

See also: 1967 in sports, other events of 1968, 1969 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'.

General sporting 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).

• Ultimate frisbee 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.
• October 12 - 1968 Summer Olympics open in Mexico City, Mexico.
• National Christian College Athletic Association formed

Auto Racing

• Stock car racing:
  • Cale Yarborough won the Daytona 500
  • NASCAR Championship - David Pearson
• Indianapolis 500 - Bobby Unser
• USAC Racing - Bobby Unser won the season championship
• Formula One Champion: Graham Hill of Great Britain
• 24 hours of Le Mans: the team of Pedro Rodriguez / Lucien Bianchi won driving a Ford GT-40
• Rally racing - Vic Elford / David Stone won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911T
• Drag racing - Don Garlits won the NHRA, "Top Fuel" Championship

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.

Basketball

• NCAA Men's Basketball Championship:
  • UCLA wins 78-55 over North Carolina

• NBA Finals:
  • Boston Celtics won 4 games to 2 over the Los Angeles Lakers

Boxing

• May 24 - Bob Foster knocked out Dick Tiger in the fourth round to win the World Light Heavyweight Championship.

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

• 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
  • Women's champion: Peggy Fleming, United States
  • Pairs champions: Ludmila Belousowa & Oleg Protopopow, Soviet Union

Football (American)

• 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 Bowl".

• Super Bowl II: Green Bay Packers won 33-14 over the Oakland Raiders

Football (Australian Rules)

• 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)

• 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)

Golf

Men's Golf

• Grand Slam of golf results:
  1. May - The Masters - Bob Goalby
  2. June - US Open - Lee Trevino
  3. July - British Open - Gary Player
  4. August - PGA Championship - Julius Boros

• PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Billy Casper - $205,169

Women's Golf

• US Women's Open - Susie Berning
• LPGA Championship: Sandra Post
• Kathy Whitworth: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $48,379

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:
  1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Sir Ivor
  2. Epsom Derby - Sir Ivor
  3. St. Leger Stakes - Ribero

• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby - Forward Pass
  2. Preakness Stakes - Forward Pass
  3. Belmont Stakes - Stage Door Johnny

Harness Racing

• Rum Customer won the United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
  1. Cane Pace - Rum Customer
  2. Little Brown Jug - Rum Customer
  3. Messenger Stakes - Rum Customer

• Nevele Pride won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
  1. Hambletonian - Nevele Pride
  2. Yonkers Trot - Nevele Pride
  3. Kentucky Futurity - Nevele Pride

• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
  • Pacers: First Lee
  • Trotters: Stylish Major

Ice Hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks

• Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks

• Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens win 4 games to 0 over the St. Louis Blues

• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Czechoslovakia

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

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:
  1. Australian Open - Bill Bowrey
  2. French Open - Ken Rosewall
  3. Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
  4. US Open - Arthur Ashe

• Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
  1. Australian Open - Billie Jean King
  2. French Open - Nancy Richey
  3. Wimbledon championships - Billie Jean King
  4. US Open - Virginia Wade

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

Births

• January 1 - Davor Suker, Croatian soccer star
• January 1 - Jacqueline Toxopeus, Dutch field hockey goalkeeper
• January 24 - Mary Lou Retton, gymnast
• February 27 - Matt Stairs, Major League Baseball player
• May 9 - Marie-José Perec, French athlete
• May 12 - Tony Hawk, skateboarding legend
• May 27 - Jeff Bagwell, Major League Baseball player
• May 27 - Frank Thomas, Major League Baseball player
• July 16 - Barry Sanders, Pro Football Hall of Famer
• September 7 - Marcel Desailly, French footballer
• October 2 - Jana Novotna, tennis star
• November 12 - Sammy Sosa, Major League Baseball player

Deaths

• January 15 - Bill Masterton, Ice Hockey player, from head injury sustained in on-ice incident.
• April 7 - Jimmy Clark, Formula One racing driver
• December 15 – Jess Willard, former heavyweight boxing champion