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December 1, 2009

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Sports history for April 5

Monday, April 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

1915 - Jess Willard beats Jack Johnson in the 26th round to win the world heavyweight title in Havana, Cuba.

1927 - Swimmer Johnny Weismuller breaks his own 200-meter freestyle record by seven seconds with a 2:08 clocking. He also lowers his own record in the 100-yard freestyle to 51 seconds, a record he held for 17 years.

1952 - Henry Wittenberg wins the 191-pound AAU wrestling title for the eighth time. Wittenberg won more than 350 bouts in 13 years including a gold medal in the 1948 Olympics.

1959 - Art Wall birdies five of the last six holes to cap a final-round 66 and edge Fred Hawkins by one stroke to win the Masters.

1967 - Wilt Chamberlain sets an NBA record with 41 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-104 victory over the Boston Celtics and 3-0 lead in Eastern Division playoffs.

1972 - A strike wipes out the opening of the baseball season for the first time.

1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hits a sky hook with 8:53 left in the Los Angeles Lakers' 129-115 victory over the Utah Jazz to become the all-time NBA scorer. Wilt Chamberlain, with 31,419 points, had held the record since his retirement in 1973.

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