December 1944 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Dec 2 10th Heisman Trophy Award: Les Horvath, Ohio State (QB)
Dec 3 Temporary merger of 2 NFL teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals, dissolves at finish of season; WWII ends before start of 1945 season, so both teams resume normal operations

NFL Championship

Dec 17 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 14-7 for 6th and final league title under long-time coach Curly Lambeau

Dec 28 Former Wash 3rd baseman Buddy Lewis wins Distinguished Flying Cross

Sports History

Dec 28 Montreal right wing Maurice 'Rocket' Richard becomes first player in NHL history to score 8 points in one game with 5 goals and 3 assists in the Canadiens' 9-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings

Birthdays in Sport

Dec 4 François Migault, French auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1976 runner-up; 16 F1 GP), born in Le Mans, France (d. 2012)
Dec 15 Stan Bahnsen, American baseball pitcher (AL Rookie of the Year 1968, NY Yankees), born in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Dec 17 Ference Bene, Hungarian record 12 soccer goals (Olympic gold 1964)

Steve Carlton

Dec 22 Steve Carlton, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1965-88, 4X Cy Young ('72, '77, '80, '82), Hall-of-Fame (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and 4 other teams), born in Miami, Florida

Dec 24 Erhard Keller, German speed skater (Olympic gold 1968, 72 500m), born in Günzburg, Germany
Dec 25 Jairzinho, Brazilian soccer winger (81 caps; Botafogo FC 416 games) and manager (Gabon), born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dec 25 Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby union lock (17 caps; Manawatū), born in Palmerston North, New Zealand (d. 2019)
Dec 29 Rodney Redmond, NZ cricketer (opener scored century in Test v Pak 1973), born in Whangarei, New Zealand

Deaths in Sport

Dec 2 Eiji Sawamura, Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (first no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball 1936), dies in battle when his ship torpedoed, at 27
Dec 4 Roger Bresnahan, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, outfielder and manager (World Series 1905 NY Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; first shin guards and batting helmet), dies at 65
Dec 16 Don Meyer Basketball coach Northern State, Lipscomb, and Hamline