Sporting Highlights for 1969
Here are some of the sporting highlights in the world of sport for 1969.
Eddy Merckx, nicknamed "The Cannibal" for his sheer competitiveness, won his first Tour de France title. He went on to win the race in the next three consecutive years and for the fifth time in 1974 to tie for the most number of Tour de France wins by a single rider. Despite his wins, there is a lot of cloud over his achievements because he was tested positive for banned substances in three separate instances.
In men's tennis, the year belonged to Australian tennis superstar Rod Laver. He won all the four grand slam titles for the second time and for the first time in the open era. He is the only male tennis player to have achieved this feat in the open era. Unfortunately, Rod was not able to further his success in the open era in the following years and did not win another title.
The women's tennis was all about another Australian Margaret Court who won three slams. Margaret unlike Rod Laver found a lot of success in the open ear too in which she won 14 of her total 24 grand slam titles.
In sports, it's never a good idea to argue with the referees. But ironically, the owner of NHL's LA Kings, Jack Kent Cooke, fined all his players $100 for not arguing with the referees.
Deaths: Rocky Marciano, heavyweight boxing champion, died in a plane crash
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 1969.
| Date | Results |
|---|---|
| Jan | Tennis Australia Open won by Rod Laver and Margaret Court |
| Jan | Super Bowl held in Miami won by the NY Jets |
| April | Golf Masters won by George Archer |
| May | Tennis French Open won by Rod Laver and Margaret Court |
| June | Golf US Open won by Orville Moody |
| July | the Cycling Tour de France won by Eddy Merckx |
| July | Tennis Wimbledon won by Rod Laver and Ann Jones |
| July | Golf The Open Championship won by Tony Jacklin |
| Aug | Golf US PGA won by Raymond Floyd |
| Sep | Tennis US Open won by Rod Laver and Margaret Court |
| Oct | The Baseball World Series won by New York Mets |
Please note that the dates for past events are not always known, and are sometimes just placed in the month that the current event is held. If no exact date is listed, then it is just an estimated month that it was held.
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Ballon D'or Winners for 1969
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For future sporting events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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