TODAY'S EVENTS IN SPORTS HISTORY 2024

DECEMBER 22

• 1877 "American Bicycling Journal" begins publishing (Boston, Mass)

Sullivan vs. Kilrain
1888 Heavyweight boxing champ John L. Sullivan challenges Jake Kilrain


Heavyweight Boxing ChampionJohn L. Sullivan

• 1894 United States Golf Association forms in New York
• 1915 Organized baseball and Federal League sign a peace treaty at Cincinnati; Federal Baseball League dissolves
• 1917 In the NHL's first official week of play, 3 players score hat tricks in the same game, for the same team; Corb Denneny, Reg Noble, & Harry Meeking each score 3 for the Toronto Arenas in an 11-4 win over the Ottawa Senators

Highest Australian Partnership
1923 Bill Ponsford and Edgar Mayne make record 456 opening stand for Victoria against Queensland - highest first wicket partnership by an Australian pair


CricketerBill Ponsford

• 1924 Babe Dye of NHL's Toronto St Patricks scores 5 goals beat Bruins 10-2
• 1941 1942 NFL Draft: Bill Dudley from University of Virginia first pick by Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1943 Manufacturers get permission to use synthetic rubber for baseball core
• 1946 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-9 in AAFC championship game
• 1951 Australia cricket all out 82 v West Indies at Adelaide
• 1953 Jack Dunn III, owner of Baltimore Orioles in Intl League, turns name over to newly relocated St Louis Browns
• 1959 Baseball's new Continental League awards its 7thfranchise to Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
• 1959 NY Ranger goalie Marcel Paille wears a customized mask
• 1962 1,000,000th NBA point scored

Award to Denis Law
1964 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United striker Denis Law wins award for best European football player; beats Inter midfielder Luis Suárez and Real Madrid winger Amancio Amaro; first Scotsman to win the award


Football StarLuis Suárez Miramontes

• 1969 Pete Marovich sets NCAA record of hitting 30 of 31 foul shots

Esposito Scores 500
1974 Phil Esposito, Boston, became 6th NHLer to score 500 goals


NHL StarPhil Esposito
Cardinals Release Bonds
1980 MLB St. Louis Cardinals release outfielder Bobby Bonds


MLB Outfielder and CoachBobby Bonds

• 1983 Indiana Pacers win, 133-132 in Denver to end a 28 NBA game losing streak on the road
• 1983 NHL NY Islanders score 3 shorthanded goals against Washington Capitols
• 1984 Test Cricket debut of Craig McDermott, v WI at the MCG
• 1985 74th Davis Cup: Sweden beats Germany in Munich (3-2)
• 1986 India score 7-676 v Sri Lanka at Kanpur in Cricket

Coffey 2nd to Score 1000
1990 Paul Coffey becomes the second NHL defenceman to record 1000 points, doing so in a record-breaking 770 games


NHL StarPaul Coffey
Ballon d'Or
1992 Ballon d'Or: Milan's Dutch striker Marco van Basten wins his 3rd title as best football player in Europe ahead of Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov and Ajax forward Dennis Bergkamp


Soccer StarMarco van Basten

FootballerHristo Stoichkov
Contract of Interest
1995 David Cone signs $19.5 million 3 year contract with NY Yankees


Baseball PitcherDavid Cone
Brett Hull Equals Father's Record
1996 St Louis Blues’ right wing Brett Hull scores his 26th NHL career hat trick to reach 500 career goals in a 7-4 win over the LA Kings; with father Bobby Hull, first father/son combo to each record 500 goals


NHL LegendBrett Hull

NHL LegendBobby Hull

• 1996 Steelers' Kordell Stewart runs quarterback record 80 yds for TD
• 1996 Zimbabwe & England draw Bulawayo Test Cricket with England needing 1 run to win

Kerrigan and Harding Record Show
1997 Nancy Kerrigan & Tonya Harding pre-record a show to air on FOX on Feb 5


Figure SkaterTonya Harding

Figure SkaterNancy Kerrigan
1st Coach to 200 Wins
1997 Scotty Bowman's Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 giving him 200 wins with Detroit, and making him the first NHL coach to record 200 wins with 3 different teams; also Montreal and Buffalo


NHL CoachScotty Bowman
Award to Zidane
1998 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Zinedine Zidane is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Davor Šuker and Inter forward Ronaldo


Football StarRonaldo

Football Player and ManagerZinedine Zidane
Ballon d'Or
2003 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd is named best football player in Europe ahead of Arsenal forward Thierry Henry and Milan defender Paolo Maldini


Footballer and ManagerThierry Henry
NY Knicks Hire Isiah Thomas
2003 The New York Knicks hire Isiah Thomas as President of Basketball Operations


NBA Point Guard and CoachIsiah Thomas

• 2012 Tomasz Adamek outpoints Steve Cunningham in a split decision in the IBF heavyweight title eliminator at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
• 2019 New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas sets NFL record for most catches in a season with his 144th as Saints beat Tennessee 38-28; breaks 17-year old record held by Marvin Harrison (143)

Messi Overtakes Pele Record
2020 Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi scores his 644th goal for FC Barcelona during 3-0 win over Real Valladolid to break Pele's record for most goals for one club; Pele, 643 goals for Santos 1956-74


Football StarLionel Messi
Sports History
2020 Caitlin Clark registers her first triple-double at Iowa with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists against Western Illinois


Basketball PlayerCaitlin Clark

 

DECEMBER 23

• 1866 First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY
• 1923 Yankees pitcher Carl Mays sold to Reds for $85,000

Morenz Goal Record
1933 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz scores in 3-0 win v Detroit Red Wings; his NHL record 249th career goal


NHL StarHowie Morenz

• 1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game
• 1953 Dodgers 2nd baseman Jim Gilliam wins NL Rookie of Year

Cricket Debut
1957 Test cricket debut for all-time great Australian wicketkeeper Wally Grout and future captain and coach Bobby Simpson, 1st Test v South Africa in Johannesburg


Cricket WicketkeeperWally Grout
Ballon d'Or
1969 Ballon d'Or: Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera wins award for best European football player ahead of Cagliari forward Luigi Riva and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller


Footballer and StrikerGerd Müller

• 1972 "Immaculate Reception" Steelers turns around a 7-6 defeat with a last second touchdown reception against Raiders to win 13-7 [1]
• 1972 2nd Fiesta Bowl: #15 Arizona State beats Missouri, 49-35
• 1972 New York Islanders end 15 games winless streak
• 1975 Chairman of MLB arbitration panel Peter Seitz rules pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to be free agents

Trootier Sets Scoring Record
1978 NY Islanders center Bryan Trottier sets NHL record scoring 6 points - 4 goals & 2 assists - in 2nd period of 9-4 win over rival NY Rangers; adds goal & assist for game total 8 points; Islanders undefeated home streak stands at 16 games


NHL StarBryan Trottier

• 1979 NY Islanders greatest shutout lose (8-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
• 1981 Geoffrey Boycott becomes leading run-scorer in Test Cricket with 8033

Richards Bats 208
1984 West Indies batsman Viv Richards scores 208 vs Ausatralia in test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground


Cricketer and Master BlasterViv Richards

• 1987 Buffalo goaltender Tom Barrasso leads the Sabres to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings to record his 100th NHL victory; makes him the youngest player to reach milestone at just 22 years, 9 months
• 1994 Baseball owners impose salary cap, fiercely opposed by players

Ballon d'Or
1997 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona/Inter's Brazilian striker Ronaldo wins his first of 2 best football player in Europe awards ahead of Real Madrid forward Predrag Mijatović and Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane


Football StarRonaldo

Football Player and ManagerZinedine Zidane
Jackson Quickest to 500 Wins
1997 Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson is quickest to reach 500 wins (682 games)


NBA CoachPhil Jackson
Kurri Scores 800
1997 Colorado Avalanche Jari Kurri is 8th NHLer to score 600 career goals


NHL StarJari Kurri

• 2000 Cricket Women's World Cup: New Zealand defeats Australia by 4 runs

Ovechkin Most Career Goals
2022 Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin scores two goals to move past Gordie Howe on most NHL career goals list in 4-1 win over visiting Winnipeg Jets


NHL StarAlex Ovechkin

Ice Hockey LegendGordie Howe