March 15

1869 - The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first pro baseball team, is organized by George Ellard and Harry Wright.

1940 - Colorado, led by Bob Doll's 15 points, beats Duquesne 51-40 for the NIT championship.

1985 - Larry Holmes scores a 10th-round knockout of David Bey in Las Vegas to retain the world heavyweight title.

1987 - Don Pooley aces the 192-yard 17th hole at the Bay Hill Classic in Orlando and wins $1 million. Pooley receives half and the other half is donated to the Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital.

1997 - North Carolina's Dean Smith becomes the career victory leader when the Tar Heels beat Colorado 73-56. Smith, with 877 victories, passes Kentucky coaching legend Adolph Rupp.

2001 - The NCAA men's basketball tournament opens with a series of close calls and upsets, with 15th-seeded Hampton beating second-seeded Iowa State 58-57 in the biggest surprise of the day.

2004 - Alexander Mogilny has three assists in Toronto's 6-5 overtime victory at Buffalo, becoming the second Russian to reach the NHL's 1,000-point plateau.

2008 - Georgia Southern sets an NCAA record for all Divisions, hitting 14 home runs in a 26-8 win over Columbia. In all, 12 different Eagles hit a home run.

2009 - Detroit beats Columbus 4-0 to become the first team in NHL history to top 100 points in nine straight seasons. The Stanley Cup champion Red Wings, the NHL leader with 101 points, break a tie with Montreal (1974-75 through 1981-82).

2011 - John Baker, a 48-year-old musher from Kotzebue - wins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He's the first Alaska Native musher to win the world's longest sled dog race since Jerry Riley did it in 1976.

2012 - Syracuse avoids becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 when it rallies for a 72-65 victory over North Carolina-Asheville in the East Regional. The Bulldogs were up 34-30 at halftime - the seventh 16 seed to lead at the break.