THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY: 4/1

1938 – Joe Louis knocks out Harry Thomas in the fifth round to retain the world heavyweight title.

1969 – The Seattle Pilots trade minor league outfielder Lou Pinella to the Yankees. Pinella would go on to win Rookie of the Year after hitting .282 with 11 homers and 68 RBI.

1972 – Major League baseball players go on strike for the first time. The strike would last for 12 days, forcing the cancellation of 86 games.

1978 – Mike Bossey of the New York Islanders becomes the first rookie in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

1981 – Wayne Gretzky breaks Bobby Orr’s record for assists in a season by collecting his 103rd of the year.

1984 – USC wins their second straight women’s basketball national championship, defeating Tennessee 72-61.

1985 – The Villanova Wildcats become the lowest-seeded team to win the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, defeating Georgetown 84-75 in the championship. The Wildcats were a #8 seed.

1989 – Bart Giamatti replaces Peter Ueberroth as commissioner of Major League Baseball.

1991 – Duke captures their first NCAA men’s basketball national title, defeating Kansas 72-65. Christian Laettner is named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

1992 – A week before the Stanley Cup Final is set to begin, NHL players go on strike for the first time in the league’s history. The strike would last 10 days.

1996 – MLB umpire John McSheery dies of a heart attack while umpiring an Opening Day game in Cincinnati.

1996 – Kentucky wins its first NCAA men’s basketball championship since 1978 with a 76-67 win over Syracuse.

1999 – Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown records his 900th professional basketball win. His mark included 671 NBA wins and 229 ABA wins.

2001 – Notre Dame beats Purdue 68-66 to win the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

2002 – Maryland beats Indiana 64-52 to win their first men’s college hoops title.

2018 – Notre Dame beats Mississippi State 61-58 to win the NCAA women’s hoops tournament.