April Dates In The Sports History Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

HARTFORD-TOLLAND COUNTIES, CT — This monthly series on Patch sites in Hartford and Tolland counties recalls historic dates, events and milestones which occurred in the region during that month.

Here is the April timeline, arranged by calendar date rather than chronologically by year:

April 2, 1966 - Linebacker Bill Romanowski, who won four Super Bowls and was a 2-time Pro Bowl selection, was born in Vernon.

April 2, 1995 - UConn won its first national championship in women's basketball, defeating Tennessee 70-64 in the title contest.

April 2, 1995 - The World Wrestling Federation conducted its yearly pay-per-view extravaganza, Wrestlemania XI, at the Hartford Civic Center. Recently-retired New York Giants football star Lawrence Taylor competed in the main event, pinning Bam Bam Bigelow.

April 3, 1993 - Jason Couch won his first tournament as a member of the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, capturing the Tums Classic at Bradley Bowl in Windsor Locks. The left-hander was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2012.

April 11, 1975 - The infamous "Brawl At the Mall" erupted at the Hartford Civic Center during a World Hockey Association playoff game between the New England Whalers and Minnesota Fighting Saints. What began as a routine fight between the Whalers' Brad Selwood and the Saints' Curt Brackenbury quickly escalated into a 32-minute exchange of punches involving every player from both teams. A total of 217 penalty minutes were assessed by referee Alan Glaspell.

April 11, 1980 - "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers played his final NHL game at age 52. The playoff game against the Montreal Canadiens resulted in a 4-3 overtime loss.

April 11, 2017 - The first baseball game was played at Hartford's new downtown stadium, Dunkin' Donuts Park, but not by the Hartford Yard Goats. The University of Hartford defeated Quinnipiac 6-4 in the first contest, with the Yard Goats making their debut two days later in a 7-2 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

April 12, 1986 - The fourth-seeded Hartford Whalers trounced the top-seeded Quebec Nordiques 9-4 at the Hartford Civic Center to sweep the Adams Division semifinal series in three straight games. It would be the only NHL playoff series victory for the Whalers, who joined the NHL during the merger with the WHA in 1979 and stayed until departing for North Carolina in 1997.

April 13, 1997 - The Hartford Whalers played their final game in Connecticut's capital city, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. Captain Kevin Dineen scored the final goal in Whalers history; the franchise relocated to North Carolina the next season.

April 17, 1982 - Pete Weber attained the first victory of his illustrious PBA Tour career by defeating Pete McCordic 210-199 in the title game of the Greater Hartford Open at Bradley Bowl in Windsor Locks. The son of bowling legend Dick Weber was himself inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1998.

April 20, 1964 - Placekicker John Carney, a 2-time Pro Bowl selection and member of the Super Bowl XLIV champion New Orleans Saints, was born in Hartford.

April 20, 1988 - Nick Bonino, a standout hockey player at Farmington High School and Avon Old Farms School who won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, was born in Newington.