Events in Sport
NHL Record
Dec 1 Toronto Maple Leafs beat St. Louis Eagles, 4-3 to set an NHL record for the most wins to start the season with 8; Leafs do it again 59 years later; won 10 in a row to start 1993-94 season
NFL Championship
Dec 9 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears, 30-13
- Dec 10 NFL adopts player waiver rule; applies after 6th game of season
- Dec 11 1st Toronto Maple Leaf penalty shot, Conacher unsuccessful vs Rangers
- Dec 11 Ford C. Frick becomes president of baseball's National League
- Dec 11 NL votes to permit night baseball (up to 7 games per home team)
- Dec 26 Yomiuri Giants, Japan's 1st professional baseball team forms
- Dec 28 First ever Women's cricket international begins England vs Australia in Australia
- Dec 29 First collegiate basketball doubleheader is played at Madison Square Garden, NYC; New York University beats Notre Dame, 25-18; Westminster edges St. John's, 37-33
- Dec 30 New York Rangers and Boston Bruins battle out a 0-0 tie; first of a 37-game overtime undefeated streak for the Bruins, the longest in NHL history; streak spans over 4 years and includes 27 ties
Birthdays in Sport
- Dec 1 LaMar Clark, American boxer (record most consecutive knockouts 44, including unsanctioned bouts), born in Cedar City, Utah (d. 2006)
- Dec 2 Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball shortstop (first Bahamian to play in MLB; NY/SF Giants; Chicago Cubs), born in Nassau, Bahamas (d. 2004)
- Dec 6 Nick Bockwinkel, American professional wrestler (WCW/AWA), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2015)
- Dec 11 Salim Durani, Indian cricketer (successful Indian batsman of 60's), born in Kabul, Afghanistan
- Dec 16 John L. Rotz, American thoroughbred jockey (Preakness Stakes 1962; Belmont Stakes 1970; Racing Hall of Fame 1983), born in Niantic, Illinois (d. 2021)
- Dec 17 Ray Wilson, English footballer
- Dec 18 Colin Baker, Welsh soccer wing half (7 caps; Cardiff City 298 games), born in Cardiff, Wales (d. 2021)
- Dec 19 Al Kaline, American Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder (18 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1968; 10 × Gold Glove Award; Detroit Tigers), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2020)
- Dec 21 Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani Cricket Batsman (55 Tests; longest Test innings in history at 16 hours, 337 v WI 1958; 12 x 100), born in Junagadh, British India (d. 2016)
- Dec 22 David Pearson, American auto racer (NASCAR Cup Series C'ship 1966, 68, 69; NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1960; Daytona 500 1976), born in Spartanburg, South Carolina (d. 2018)
- Dec 25 Giancarlo Baghetti, Italian auto racer (French GP 1961) and journalist/photographer, born in MIlan, Italy (d. 1995)
- Dec 26 Martín Pando, Argentine soccer forward (11 caps; Argentinos Juniors, River Plate), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 2021)
- Dec 27 Larisa Latynina, Ukrainian Soviet gymnast (Olympic gold 1956, 60, 64), born in Kherson, Soviet Union
- Dec 28 Peggy Wilson, American golfer (US Open runner-up 1969), born in Lauderdale, Mississippi
- Dec 28 Virginio Pizzali, Italian track cyclist (Olympic gold team pursuit 1956), born in Mortegliano, Udine, Italy (d. 2021)
- Dec 29 Benny Dees, American college basketball coach (U of New Orleans; U of Wyoming; Western Carolina Uni), born in Mount Vernon, Georgia (d. 2021)
Deaths in Sport
- Dec 12 Thorleif Haug, Norwegian Nordic skier (b. 1894)