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This list shows notable sports-related deaths, events, and notable outcomes that occurred in April of 2005.
Deaths
28 – Red Horner 23 – Earl Wilson 18 – Clarence Gaines 18 – Sam Mills 15 – Jimmy Allan 15 – Art Cross 15 – Duilio Spagnolo 13 – Don Blasingame 12 – Bill Jones 11 – Lucien Laurent 10 – Al Lucas 9 – Scott Mason 7 – Cliff Allison 3 – Frank Clair
Ongoing events 2005 English cricket season 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2005 in NASCAR 31 Mar-15 May: Cricket: S Africa tour W Indies 16 April–2 May: Snooker: World Championship
30 April 2005 (Saturday) Boxing: Iván Calderón retains his WBO world Minimumweight title with an eighth-round knockout of Noel Tunacao, Nelson Dieppa loses his WBO world Light Flyweight title with a ten-round technical decision against Hugo Cazares in San Juan, Puerto Rico; John Ruiz loses his WBA world Heavyweight title to James Toney by a twelve-round unanimous decision at New York, New York and announces his retirement from boxing, and Christy Martin posts a second-round knockout win over Lana Alexander in Lula, Mississippi.Boxrec.com Bundesliga: Kaiserslautern 0–4 Bayern Munich Bayern win their 19th Bundesliga title and their third in the last five years. (Eurosport) Premier League: Bolton 0–2 Chelsea Chelsea win their first Premier League Championship in 50 years. (Eurosport) 2005 English cricket season: County Championship – Division One: Gloucestershire (8pts) drew with Kent (11pts) Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Sussex (6pts) by 10 wickets Surrey (18pts) beat Glamorgan (5pts) by 5 wickets Warwickshire (22pts) beat Middlesex (5pts) by 7 wickets County Championship – Division Two: Essex (22pts) beat Somerset (2pts) by 9 wickets Lancashire (17pts) beat Worcestershire (6pts) by 76 runs Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Derbyshire (7pts)
29 April 2005 (Friday) 2005 English cricket season: MCC University matches in 2005: Gloucestershire beat Cardiff UCCE by 95 runs Leicestershire drew with Durham UCCE
28 April 2005 (Thursday) Former Toronto Maple Leafs player Red Horner, the oldest living member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the oldest former NHLer, passes away at age 95. TSN Football: UEFA Cup semi-finals, first leg: Parma 0 – 0 CSKA Moscow (UEFA.com) Sporting 2 – 1 AZ Alkmaar (UEFA.com)
27 April 2005 (Wednesday) Football (soccer): UEFA Champions League, semi-final, first leg: Chelsea 0 – 0 Liverpool
26 April 2005 (Tuesday) ICC Intercontinental Cup: United Arab Emirates (30pts) beat Hong Kong (12.5pts) in Sharjah Football (soccer): UEFA Champions League, semi-final, first leg: AC Milan 2 – 0 PSV Eindhoven (UEFA.com)
25 April 2005 (Monday) Football (soccer): The Football Association asks UEFA to grant Liverpool a place in next season's Champions League should they win the competition this year but finish below fourth place in the FA Premier League. UEFA have indicated that they will not allow five teams from one country to take part. The FA could still place Liverpool in the Champions League if they win it – but they would have to deny the fourth placed Premiership club (currently Liverpool's intracity rivals Everton) in order to do so. (sportinglife.com)
24 April 2005 (Sunday) 2005 ICC Intercontinental Cup: Kenya (32pts) beat Uganda (15pts) by 168 runs in Kampala 2005 English cricket season: National League Division One in 2005: Gloucestershire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by 9 runs Middlesex (4pts) beat Lancashire (0pts) by 69 runs National League Division Two in 2005: Durham (4pts) beat Surrey (0pts) by 138 runs Kent (4pts) beat Leicestershire (0pts) by 6 runs (D/L method) Sussex (4pts) beat Derbyshire (0pts) by 2 runs (D/L method) Yorkshire (4pts) beat Somerset (0pts) by 5 wickets Basketball: Defending champions Guangdong Southern Tigers defeat Jiangsu Dragons in the fifth and final match of the best-of-five Chinese Basketball Association finals, winning the finals 3 games to 2. Guangdong had a 42-point fourth quarter, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the early minutes of that quarter to win the final match by eight points, 107–99. Rugby union, Heineken Cup semifinal: Leicester Tigers 19, Toulouse 27 at Walkers Stadium, Leicester. Toulouse will face fellow French side Stade Français in the final on 22 May at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. (BBC) Formula One: Fernando Alonso wins a dramatic San Marino Grand Prix, beating Michael Schumacher by just 0.215 seconds. It is the closest finish in Formula One (not involving teammates) since 1992. (Formula1.com)
23 April 2005 (Saturday) Boxing: Antonio Margarito retains his WBO world Welterweight title, with a fifth-round knockout win over Kermit Cintron. In the undercard, Shane Mosley returns to boxing with a ten-round decision win over David Castillo. ESPN.com Wladimir Klitschko returns to the ring, with a fourth-round knockout over Eliseo Castillo. Boxing Central.com 2005 English cricket season: County Championship – Division One: Middlesex (9pts) drew with Nottinghamshire (12pts) Kent (10pts) drew with Warwickshire (10pts) Sussex (9pts) drew with Hampshire (9pts) County Championship – Division Two: Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Leicestershire (9pts) Yorkshire (22pts) beat Somerset (3pts) by an innings and 44 runs Rugby union, Heineken Cup semifinal: Stade Français 20, Biarritz 17 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, metro Paris. Stade advances to the final to be held 22 May at Murrayfield, Edinburgh. (BBC) NFL: The 2005 NFL draft begins at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Highlights (ESPN): The San Francisco 49ers, selecting first overall, pick Utah quarterback Alex Smith, as expected. For the first time ever, three running backs are among the first five selections: Auburn teammates Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams (second and fifth respectively) and Texas' Cedric Benson (fourth). Auburn has four first-round picks, with Brown and Williams joined by cornerback Carlos Rogers (ninth) and QB Jason Campbell (25). Cal QB Aaron Rodgers, who was regarded by many as a possible top overall pick until a week before the draft, freefalls through the first round all the way to the 24th slot. The Green Bay Packers pick Rodgers, who now stands to be the eventual successor to Brett Favre. In a surprise move, the Denver Broncos draft Maurice Clarett, former Ohio State running back, as a third-round compensatory pick. Nextel Cup: In the series' first night race at Phoenix International Raceway, Kurt Busch leads over half of the laps en route to his first victory of the season at the Subway Fresh 500. (NASCAR.com) Major League Soccer: The Los Angeles Galaxy defeats C.D. Chivas USA 3–1 in an inter-city match. A strange delay occurs in the 41st minute when the "SkyCam", a movable TV camera suspended above the ground on a cable, that ESPN2 is using crashes to the ground, sparking a -minute stoppage. The camera is removed at halftime. No one is injured when it falls.(MLSNet MatchTracker)
22 April 2005 (Friday)
2005 English cricket season: National League, Division One The match between Glamorgan and Essex was abandoned without a ball being played (2pts each) MCC Universities: Derbyshire drew with Oxford UCCE Bradford/Leeds UCCE beat Surrey by 4 wickets
21 April 2005 (Thursday) 2005 English cricket season: County Championship – Division Two: Durham (19pts) beat Worcestershire (3pts) by 7 wickets
18 April 2005 (Monday) Cycling: Six times winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, announces that he will retire from competition after this summer's Tour. (BBC) Olympic champion Tyler Hamilton is banned for two years for blood doping, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency reports. Hamilton forfeits all competitive results since the Tour of Spain where he tested positive last 11 September. (BBC) Athletics – Boston Marathon: Men's race – Hailu Negussie, Ethiopia, 2 hours, 11 minutes, 45 seconds. (AP/ESPN) Women's race – Catherine Ndereba, Kenya, 2 hours, 25 minutes, 13 seconds. (AP/ESPN)
17 April 2005 (Sunday) Athletics – London Marathon: Men's race – Martin Lel, Kenya, 2 hours, 7 minutes, 26 seconds. (BBC) Women's race – Paula Radcliffe, Britain, 2 hours, 17 minutes, 42 seconds. (BBC) 2005 English cricket season: National League, Division One: Essex (4pts) beat Hampshire (0pts) by 16 runs (D/L) The match between Lancashire and Glamorgan was abandoned (2pts each) Worcestershire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by 31 runs (D/L) Middlesex (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 35 runs (D/L) National League, Division Two: The match between Derbyshire and Kent was abandoned (2pts each) Durham (4pts) beat Leicestershire (0pts) by 9 runs (D/L) Yorkshire (4pts) beat Surrey (0pts) by 43 runs in the only game unaffected by rain The match between Warwickshire and Somerset was abandoned (2pts each) (BBC) Football (soccer): FA Cup semi-final: Newcastle United 1 – 4 Manchester United. Manchester United reach their seventeenth FA Cup Final. (BBC) The Oceania Football Confederation has given its permission for Australia to leave that confederation and join the Asian Football Confederation. The AFC has already endorsed Australia's move. FIFA must approve the move, and will make its decision later in 2005. The proposed move will not take effect until after the 2006 World Cup. (Reuters/Yahoo!) Nextel Cup: After starting in the back of the field after wrecking his primary car in a practice session, Greg Biffle comes back to wins the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. (NASCAR.com) Golf: Australian Peter Lonard gets his very first PGA Tour win in a very strange final round of the MCI Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 54-hole leader Darren Clarke is at 14-under at one point in the final round, but ends up at 5-under in a 4-way tie for second place, a tie that includes 5-time tournament winner Davis Love III. Lonard finishes at 7-under.(The Golf Channel)
16 April 2005 (Saturday) 2005 English cricket season: County Championship, Division One: Hampshire (17pts) beat Gloucestershire (4pts) by 48 runs Surrey (12pts) drew with Sussex (9pts) Warwickshire (22pts) beat Glamorgan (1pt) by an innings and 43 runs County Championship, Division Two: Worcestershire (21pts) beat Derbyshire (3pts) by 10 wickets Essex (12pts) drew with Yorkshire (5.5pts) Lancashire (10pts) drew with Somerset (9pts) Football (soccer): FA Cup semi-final: Arsenal 3 – 0 Blackburn Rovers. Arsenal reach their fourth FA Cup Final in five years. (BBC)
15 April 2005 (Friday) 2005 English cricket season: County Championship, Division Two: Durham (22pts) beat Leicestershire (1pt) by an innings and 216 runs. Universities: Kent drew with Cardiff UCCE Nottinghamshire drew with Loughborough UCCE Football (soccer): UEFA hands down its punishment to Internazionale for the unruly behaviour of their fans during their Champions League match against AC Milan. AC has been awarded a 3–0 victory in the match and will advance to the semifinals to face PSV Eindhoven. In addition, Inter must play their next four UEFA home matches in an empty stadium, with the possibility of two more empty stadium matches if fans cause more trouble during a three-year probation period. (Reuters/Yahoo!) Auto racing: Just 5 days after opening his Champ Car title defense by winning at Long Beach, Sébastien Bourdais beats NASCAR driver Mark Martin to win the second round of the International Race of Champions season at Texas Motor Speedway.(AP via Yahoo!)
14 April 2005 (Thursday) Baseball: In the first Major League Baseball contest held in Washington, D.C. since 1971, the hometown Nationals defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5–3. During the 8th inning of a Yankees/Red Sox game, a fan hits right fielder Gary Sheffield in the face while in foul territory. Security guards quickly intervene to prevent a major skirmish. In the game itself, the Red Sox win 8–5. (ESPN.com) Cricket: New Zealand (522/9 declared) beat Sri Lanka (211 and 273) by an innings and 38 runs in the second Test at Wellington, winning the two-match series 1–0. (Wisden Cricinfo)