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In 1996, Australian Greg Norman was doomed by a final-round 78 at the Masters. Stephen Munday/ALLSPORT

April 14 in sports history: On this day, it bites to be a 'Shark'

By Yardbarker Staff | Last updated 4/13/20

Here's a look back at notable sports news on April 14 through the years.

1996: Ever have a day at the office where absolutely everything goes wrong?

Your Zoom conference call goes haywire, the boss yells at you (twice), and to top it off, you unknowingly walk about with toilet paper stuck to your shoe. And all this happens in front of dozens of your co-workers.

At the Masters, Greg Norman had a very bad day at his office.

In one of the greatest individual collapses in sports history, the "Shark" blew a six-shot lead, giving Nick Faldo his third green jacket. It was the largest lead ever surrendered by the third-round leader on the final day of the Masters.

"I am upset inside," said Norman after shooting a final-round 78, "I'm not going to run around and be like Dennis Rodman and head-butt an official."

Norman's peers were stunned by the Australian's dreadful Sunday. "It's hard to imagine that 78," Phil Mickelson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I don't know what the deal was."

Said Nick Price, Norman's best friend: "It made me sick to my stomach."

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2002: Tiger Woods remembers this date for much more pleasant reasons.

On April 14, 2002, Woods became the third player to claim back-to-back Masters, beating Retief Goosen of South Africa by three strokes.

All the lengthening and toughening of holes by Masters chairman Hootie Johnson — "Tiger-proofing," the media called it — was for naught.

"Is that your best shot, Hootie?" Glenn Sheeley of the Journal-Constitution wrote. "Better warm up the bulldozers again. Push the first tee back to the guard gate. Hire Stephen King as new course architect for something really scary this time. Widen Rae’s Creek to include a moat and alligators, and grow the rough long enough to hide a courtesy car."

Seventeen years later on this date, a 43-year-old Woods won his fifth green jacket and 15th major title — three behind Jack Nicklaus' record. This one was special for Tiger, who, in the previous several years, had endured four back surgeries, a public divorce and other controversies.

"Woooooooo!" Woods screamed as he made his way to the scoring room.

2013: Adam Scott accomplished what the "Shark" could not: He became the first Australian to win the Masters. Playing in a steady rain, he beat Angel Cabrera on the second playoff hole for his first major title. Afterward, Scott credited Norman: "He's been incredible to me and all young golfers in Australia. Part of this definitely belongs to him."

President William Howard Taft's first pitch was slightly off target in 1910. Getty Images

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1910: At the Washington Senators' opener in D.C. against the Athletics, William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to throw out the first pitch at a MLB game. For the record, the throw to Senators pitcher Walter Johnson from box seats near the field was a little low, according to a newspaper account, "but Johnson stuck out his long arm and grabbed the ball before it hit the ground."

Taft, a 6-foot, 300-pound-plus right-hander, was expected to throw the ball to Washington catcher Gabby Street, who stood near home plate, but for some reason he threw it to future Hall of Famer Johnson.

The historic ball was reportedly saved as a souvenir, and the Washington Post complimented the president for a "faultless delivery."

1925: In Cleveland, the Indians and St. Louis Browns played a baseball game with a football result: 21-14. In their win, the Indians, taking advantage of five Browns errors, scored 12 runs in the eighth inning. George Sisler, the hapless St. Louis first baseman, had four errors.

"Thirty-four players were rushed in relays to the merry-go round, 10 pitchers were belted for 39 hits, and 12 chances in the field were miscued before the rivals declared an overnight truce," the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News reported.

1969: In the first regular-season Major League Baseball game played outside the United States, the expansion Montreal Expos beat the Cardinals, 8-7. The playing field at Jarry Park was, ah, less than ideal. Frost pushed up from underneath the surface, giving the field a soft, lumpy consistency, according to The Associated Press. "I've played on some bad diamonds," the Cardinals' Curt Flood said, "but this is the worst."

1996: Detroit wrapped up the winningest season in NHL history with a 5-1 win over Dallas. The Red Wings finished with 62 victories, beating the 60 wins of the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. (The wins total was tied by the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning.) The Red Wings went on to lose in the Western Conference finals to eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado.

Coverage in the Hartford Courant of a historic WNBA Draft in which UConn players went 1-2-3 overall.

2016: The first three picks in the WNBA Draft perfectly encapsulated the dominance of Connecticut's NCAA champion women's basketball team:

No. 1. Breanna Stewart (UConn) , Seattle Storm
No. 2. Moriah Jefferson (UConn), San Antonio Stars
No. 3. Morgan Tuck (UConn), Connecticut Sun

It was the first time in draft history — any U.S. professional sport's draft — that players from the same school went with the first three picks. The 2016 Lady Huskies finished 38-0 in winning the school's 11th national title under head coach Geno Auriemma.

"It shows how special of a group we are," Stewart said of the historic draft. "When we do something with the three of us, we do it together. We went in as freshmen together. We won four national championships together. Now we all were drafted together. Every single one of us — Mo or Morgan — could have gone No. 1 in any draft class."

Happy birthday ...

Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, who won 355 games in a 23-year career in the big leagues (55).
Cleveland Browns quarterback, 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and 2018 No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Baker Mayfield (26).