December 2008 in Sports History

Events in Sport

Football Awards

Dec 2 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his first award as best football player in the world; Barcelona forward Lionel Messi 2nd, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres 3rd

Football Star Cristiano Ronaldo — Football Star
Cristiano Ronaldo

Football Star Lionel Messi — Football Star
Lionel Messi

Event of Interest

Dec 5 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery

NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal O.J. Simpson — NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal
O.J. Simpson

Dec 6 17th SEC Championship Game: #2 Florida beats #1 Alabama, 31-20
Dec 6 4th ACC Championship Game: Virginia Tech beats #18 Boston College, 30-12
Dec 6 13th Big 12 Championship Game: #4 Oklahoma beats #19 Missouri, 62-21
Dec 15 74th Heisman Trophy Award: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma (QB)

NBA Record

Dec 25 Phil Jackson becomes the sixth coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games

NBA Coach Phil Jackson — NBA Coach
Phil Jackson

Dec 28 Detroit Lions crash to a 31-21 loss to Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field; first team in NFL history to go winless in a 16-game season

Event of Interest

Dec 30 NFL head coach Mike Shanahan is fired by the Denver Broncos

Deaths in Sport

Dec 2 Ted Rogers OC, Canadian entrepreneur and MLB team owner (Toronto Blue Jays), dies of heart failure at 75
Dec 8 Kerryn McCann, Australian athlete, dies at 41
Dec 9 Ibrahim Dossey, Ghanaian football player (b. 1972)
Dec 13 John Drake, New Zealand rugby union footballer (b. 1959)
Dec 17 Dave Smith, American baseball player (b. 1955)

Sammy Baugh

Dec 17 Sammy Baugh, American football player, dies at 94

Dec 19 Dock Ellis, American baseball pitcher (b. 1945)