This Day in Sports History: March 21

On March 21, there were some notable sports moments and stories from legends of the game. Let's take a closer look at these and more. Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records Great moments in sports that occurred on March 21 include: 1909: Moran and MacFarland from the U.S. won Europe's first six-day bicycle race in Berlin. 1931: Maribel Vinson won the United States Ladies' Figure Skating championship. 1941: In his 15th title defense, Joe Louis knocked out Abe Simon in the 13th round at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, keeping his New York State Athletic Commission heavyweight boxing crown. 1948: Patty Berg won her fourth Titleholders title by one stroke, just ahead of Babe Zaharias and Peggy Kirk. 1953: In the Boston versus Syracuse game, there was an NBA record of 106 fouls and 12 players fouled out. 1981: France beat England 16-12 at Twickenham, London, for their seventh outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and third Grand Slam title. 1994: Wayne Gretzky tied Gordie Howe's NHL record of 801 goals. College Basketball Championships March 21 featured a few NCAA tournament upsets: 1959: During the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, California beat West Virginia, 71-70. Future Hall of Famer and NBA legend Jerry West was named Most Outstanding Player. 1964: In the 26th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, UCLA defeated Duke, 98-83. It was the Bruins' first title game. 1970: UCLA beat Jacksonville 80-69 during the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. It was the Bruins' fourth straight title under coach John Wooden. Sports History Some of the biggest names in sports came up on March 21: 1961: Art Modell bought the Cleveland Browns for a then-record sum of $3,925,000. 1973: The Montreal Canadiens' left wing Frank Mahovlich became the fifth NHL player to score 500 goals. 1985: Canadian Rick Hansen began his Man in Motion world tour, in his wheelchair raising money for spinal research. He started in Oakridge Mall, Vancouver. 2014: Canadian freestyle skier and two-time Olympic gold medalist Alexandre Bilodeau retired at age 26. 2019: Japanese baseball right fielder Ichiro Suzuki finished his career with a record 4,367 base hits (NPB and MLB) as the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics 5-4 in Tokyo, Japan. Looking back on these March 21 statistics, the theme is centered around some untouchable records in NHL and MLB history. A significant number of Wayne Gretzky's NHL records are considered unbreakable. In baseball, Ichiro Suzuki's professional baseball hits record will likely never be broken. March 21 certainly left its mark on sports history.