ArmchairGM Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Recap of the year 1969 in sports.


Auto Racing[]

  • Stock car racing:
    • LeeRoy Yarborough won the Daytona 500
    • NASCAR Championship - David Pearson
  • Indianapolis 500 - Mario Andretti
  • USAC Racing - Mario Andretti won the season championship
  • Formula One Championship - Jackie Stewart of Great Britain driving a Matra
  • 24 hours of Le Mans:
    • Jacky Ickx / Jackie Oliver won driving a Ford GT-40
  • Rally racing - the team of Bjorn Waldegard / Lars Helmer won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Porsche 911S
  • Drag racing:
    • Don Prudhomme won the NHRA,s "Top Fuel" championship
    • Steve Carbone won "Top Fuel" at the NHRA World Finals

Baseball[]

  • April 14: Montreal Expos outfielder Mack Jones hit a three-run home run and two-run triple that highlighted an 8-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Expos' first home victory as a franchise at Jarry Park. Jones' blast was also the first MLB home run hit outside the United States.
  • July 20: San Francisco Giants pitcher Gaylord Perry, six years after quipping, "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run," hits the first and only home run of his career just hours after Neil Armstrong lands on the moon.

Basketball[]

Boxing[]

  • June 23 - Joe Frazier scored a 7th round TKO over Jerry Quarry.
  • October 18 - Jose Napoles retained the World Welterweight Championship in a 15 round decision over Emile Griffith.

Cycling[]

  • Giro d'Italia won by Felice Gimondi of Italy
  • Tour de France - Eddy Merckx of Belgium
  • World Cycling Championship: Harm Ottenbros of Netherlands

Figure Skating[]

  • World Figure Skating Championships:
    • Men's champion: Tim Wood, United States
    • Women's champion: Gabrielle Seyfert, Germany
    • Pairs champions: Irina Rodnina & Alexej Ulanow, Soviet Union

Football (American)[]

  • January 12 - The American Football League New York Jets upset the NFL's heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III by a score of 16-7, after quarterback Joe Namath "guaranteed" a victory.

Football (Australian Rules)[]

  • Victorian Football League
    • Richmond wins the 73rd VFL Premiership (Richmond 12.13 (85) d Carlton 8.12 (60))
    • Brownlow Medal awarded to Kevin Murray (Fitzroy)

Football (Canadian)[]

  • Grey Cup: Ottawa Rough Riders won 29-11 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
  • Vanier Cup: Manitoba Bisons won 24-15 over the McGill Redmen

Football (Soccer)[]

  • September 26: the Bolivian soccer team is killed in a plane crash near La Paz, Bolivia

Golf[]

Men's Golf

  • Grand Slam of golf results:
    1. May - The Masters - George Archer
    2. June - US Open - Orville Moody
    3. July - British Open - Tony Jacklin
    4. August - PGA Championship - Ray Floyd
  • PGA tour's leading money winner for the year: Frank Beard - $164,707
  • Ryder Cup: United States and Britain tied 16 all in world team golf.

Women's Golf

  • US Women's Open - Donna Caponi
  • LPGA Championship - Betsy Rawls
  • Carol Mann: leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earning $49,152.

Thoroughbred Horse Racing[]

  • February 11 - Diana Crump becomes 1st American woman jockey to ride against men.
  • February 22 - Barbara Jo Rubin wins a United States thoroughbred horse race making history as the first women to do so.
  • Australia - Melbourne Cup - Rain Lover
  • Canada - Queen's Plate - Jumpin Joseph
  • France - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Levmoss
  • Ireland - Irish Derby Stakes - Prince Regent
  • English Triple Crown Races:
    1. Two Thousand Guineas Stakes - Right Tack
    2. Epsom Derby - Blakeney
    3. St. Leger Stakes - Intermezzo
  • United States Triple Crown Races:
    1. Kentucky Derby - Majestic Prince
    2. Preakness Stakes - Majestic Prince
    3. Belmont Stakes - Arts and Letters

Harness Racing[]

  • United States Pacing Triple Crown races:
    1. Cane Pace - Kat Byrd
    2. Little Brown Jug - Laverne Hanover
    3. Messenger Stakes - Bye Bye Sam
  • Lindy's Pride won the United States Trotting Triple Crown races:
    1. Hambletonian - Lindy's Pride
    2. Yonkers Trot - Lindy's Pride
    3. Kentucky Futurity - Lindy's Pride
  • Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship:
    • Pacers: Richmond Lass

Ice Hockey[]

  • Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
  • Hart Memorial Trophy: for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
  • World Hockey Championship
    • Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden

Skiing[]

  • Alpine Skiing
    • The men's overall season champion: Karl Schranz, Austria
    • The women's overall season champion: Gertrud Gabi, Austria

Snooker[]

Tennis[]

  • Australian Rod Laver, one of only two men to ever win the Grand Slam in tennis wins it for the second time.
  • Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
    1. Australian Open - Rod Laver (Australia)
    2. French Open - Rod Laver
    3. Wimbledon championships - Rod Laver
    4. US Open - Rod Laver
  • Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
    1. Australian Open - Margaret Smith Court
    2. French Open - Margaret Smith Court
    3. Wimbledon championships - Ann Haydon Jones
    4. US Open - Margaret Smith Court
  • Davis Cup: United States wins 5-0 over Romania in world tennis.
  • Australian Rod Laver completes his second Grand Slam and the fourth in the history of tennis.

General sporting events[]

Births[]

January-March[]

  • January 1Jane Smith, British field hockey international
  • January 2Stephen Davies, Australian field hockey player
  • January 2 — Tommy Morrison, American heavyweight boxing champion
  • January 3Michael Schumacher, Formula One driver
  • January 11Andrew Griffiths, Canadian field hockey player
  • January 12Robert Prosinečki, Croatian football (soccer) player
  • January 13Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
  • January 15Roberto Balado, Cuban boxer
  • January 16Roy Jones Jr., US boxer
  • January 28Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
  • February 1Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian football (soccer) player
  • February 3Retief Goosen, South African golfer
  • February 11Bryan Eversgerd, US baseball player
  • February 12Steve Backley, British athlete
  • February 12 — Hong Myung-Bo, South Korean football (soccer) player
  • February 16Fermín Cacho, Spanish athlete
  • February 17David Douillet, French judoka
  • February 22Brian Laudrup, Danish football (soccer) player
  • March 10Ximena Restrepo, Colombian track and field sprinter
  • March 18Sheila Taormina, American swimmer and triathlete
  • March 20Fabien Galthié, French rugby player
  • March 20 — Karen Smithies, English cricketer
  • March 23Juan Escarré, Spanish field hockey player
  • March 24Stefan Eberharter, Austrian alpine skier

April-June[]

  • April 1Arnaud Boetsch, French tennis player
  • April 3Danny Sapsford, British tennis player
  • April 4Jorge Julio Rocha, Colombian boxer
  • April 5Pontus Kåmark, Swedish football player
  • April 7Gary Anderson, Canadian medley swimmer
  • April 7 — Chris Garner, American tennis player
  • April 13Stefan Schwarz, Swedish football player
  • April 16Germán Burgos, Argentinian football goalkeeper
  • April 22Lindsey Carlisle, South African field hockey defender
  • April 24David Luckes, English field hockey goalkeeper
  • April 25Jo Chamberlain, English cricketer
  • April 27Brett Steven, New Zealand tennis player
  • May 2Brian Lara, West Indies cricketer
  • May 7Melanie Valerio, American swimmer
  • May 8Fabrice Tiozzo, French boxer
  • May 10Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch football player
  • May 15Emmitt Smith, American football player
  • May 23Ashley Carey, Australian field hockey player
  • May 30Albertino Essers, Dutch darts player
  • May 30 — Koen Pijpers, Dutch field hockey player and coach
  • June 2David Wheaton, American tennis player
  • June 7Arie van de Bunt, Dutch water polo goalkeeper
  • June 8Laurel Martin, American field hockey player
  • June 14Steffi Graf, German tennis player
  • June 15Oliver Kahn, German football goalkeeper
  • June 15 — Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
  • June 17Paul Tergat, Kenyan athlete
  • June 20Paulo Bento, Portuguese football (soccer) player
  • June 20 — MaliVai Washington, American tennis player
  • June 26Ingrid Lempereur, Belgian swimmer

July-September[]

  • July 5John LeClair, American ice hockey player
  • July 7Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
  • July 13Shaun Greatbatch, English darts player
  • July 16Turlough O'Hare, Canadian freestyle swimmer
  • July 23Stéphane Diagana, French athlete
  • July 25Artur Partyka, Polish high jumper
  • July 25 — Andrea Wieland, US field hockey goalkeeper
  • August 7Clement N'Goran, Côte d'Ivoire tennis player
  • August 14Stig Tøfting, Danish football (soccer) player
  • August 23Hari Kant, Canadian field hockey goalkeeper
  • August 26Nicole Arendt, American tennis player
  • August 27Mark Ealham, English cricketer
  • August 28Joakim Haeggman, Swedish golf player
  • August 31Javagal Srinath, Indian cricketer
  • September 3Robert Karlsson, Swedish golf player
  • September 10Nicola Payne, New Zealand cricketer
  • September 13Shane Warne, Australian cricketer
  • September 20Jennifer Turner, New Zealand cricket player
  • September 23Juan Dinarés, Spanish field hockey player
  • September 25Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (d. 2002)

October-December[]

  • October 2Luis Villalta, Peruvian boxer (d. 2004)
  • October 10Brett Favre, American football player
  • October 11Jury Chechi, Italian gymnast
  • October 13Antonio González, Spanish field hockey player
  • October 17Ernie Els, South African golfer
  • October 19Erwin Sánchez, Bolivian football (soccer) player
  • October 20Dariusz Adamczuk, Polish football (soccer) player
  • October 20 — Guillermo Perez-Roldan, Argentine tennis player
  • October 22Owen Casey, Irish tennis player
  • October 29Dougie Brown, Scottish cricketer
  • November 1Charles Nkazamyampi, Burundian middle distance runner
  • November 4Kathrin Boron, German rower and four-times Olympic champion
  • November 15Helen Kelesi, Canadian tennis player
  • November 19Igor Pamić, Croatian football (soccer) player
  • November 29Tomas Brolin, Swedish football (soccer) player
  • November 30Trina Gulliver, English female darts player
  • December 9Bixente Lizarazu, French football (soccer) player
  • December 12Debra Wurzburger, Canadian freestyle swimmer
  • December 13Sonia Barrio, Spanish field hockey player
  • December 13 — Sergei Fedorov, Russian ice hockey player
  • December 16Sergi Pedrerol, Spanish water polo player
  • December 19Carlos Retegui, Argentinian field hockey player
  • December 22Mats Lilienberg, Swedish football (soccer) player
  • December 22 — Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete
  • December 24Leavander Johnson, American boxing world champion (d. 2005)
  • December 30Jens Eriksen, Danish badminton player

Deaths[]

  • June 1Ivar Ballangrud (65), Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
  • June 21Maureen Connolly (34), American tennis player, first woman to win the Grand Slam in tennis (b. 1934)
  • August 31Rocky Marciano (45), Italian-American World Heavyweight boxing champion (b. 1923)
  • September 6Arthur Friedenreich, (77), Brazilian football (soccer) player (b. 1892)
  • October 12Sonja Henie (57), Norwegian figure skater (b. 1912)
Advertisement