Events in Sport
- 1810 Tom Cribb (GB) beats Tom Molineaus (US-Negro) in 1st interracial boxing championship (40 rounds)
- 1831 "Spirit of the Times" begins publishing in New York City, the premier sports journal of the 19th century
- 1918 John Heyder becomes president of baseball's National League for the 2nd time
- 1919 NL votes to ban the spitball's use by all new pitchers
- 1922 Pete Henry makes longest known NFL drop-kicked field goal, 45 yards
- 1922 1st National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (10-0-2) named inaugural champions
- 1924 Agreement reached on permanent rotation of World Series with each league, getting games 1, 2, 6, 7 in alternating years
- 1934 NFL adopts player waiver rule; applies after 6th game of season
- 1935 As sell Jimmie Foxx to the Red Sox for $150,000
- 1935 White Sox sell Al Simmons to the Tigers for $75,000
- 1938 CFL Grey Cup: In repeat of last year, Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 30-7 to retain Championship
- 1939 National Football League Championship, Dairy Bowl, West Allis, Wisconsin: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 27-0; Packers 5th title
- 1940 1941 NFL Draft: Tom Harmon from University of Michigan first pick by Chicago Bears
- 1945 Aust Services lose 3rd Victory Test Cricket to India by 6 wkts
- 1954 Philadelphia Phillies purchase Connie Mack Stadium
- 1965 Test Cricket debut of Doug Walters v England at the Gabba
Boxing Title Fight
1968 Joe Frazier beats Oscar Bonavena in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
Joe Frazier
- 1970 North American Soccer League awards NY & Toronto franchises
Event of Interest
1973 First time since 1885, tennis has 2 top male players - Americans Stan Smith and Jimmy Connors
Jimmy Connors
Boxing Title Fight
1982 Heavyweight Michael Doakes KOs Mike Weaver in 1:03 in Las Vegas
Mike Weaver
- 1983 Last NFL game at Shea Stadium; Steelers beat NY Jets 34-7
Tennis Open
1983 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins 8th career Grand Slam singles event; beats Kathy Jordan of the US 6-2, 7-6
Martina Navratilova
- 1986 Atlanta Hawk Dominique Wilkins scores 57 points vs Chicago Bulls
Event of Interest
1986 Ivan Lendl repeats previous year's result with a 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 win over Boris Becker to claim back-to-back season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles at Madison Square Garden, NYC
Ivan Lendl
Boris Becker
- 1988 Washington Capitals 1st NHL scoreless tie, vs Montreal Canadiens
- 1992 NHL awards franchises to Miami & Anaheim for 1994-95
- 1992 NY Yankees sign free agent pitcher Jimmy Key
- 1994 60th Heisman Trophy Award: Rashaan Salaam, Colorado (RB)
- 1995 1st meeting of NBA expansion teams, Raptors beat Grizzlies 93-81
- 1995 Ricky Ponting makes 96 on Test Cricket debut (Aust v Sri Lanka, WACA)
- 2000 89th Davis Cup: Spain beats Australia in Barcelona (3-1)
- 2001 67th Heisman Trophy Award: Eric Crouch, Nebraska (QB)
- 2005 71st Heisman Trophy Award: Reggie Bush, USC (RB) (Bush would later forfeit the trophy)
Event of Interest
2006 British Broadcasting Corporation gives Swedish tennis icon Björn Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award; presented by Boris Becker
Björn Borg
Boris Becker
- 2012 78th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (QB) (first freshman to win the award)
- 2016 82nd Heisman Trophy Award: Lamar Jackson, Louisville Cardinals (QB), youngest player to win at 19
- 2017 Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is out for the season after injuring his knee in 43-35 win over Los Angeles Rams in Los Angeles
Birthdays in Sport
- 1870 Tom McKibbin, Australian cricketer (NSW & Aust off-spinner late 19th century), born in Bathurst, New South Wales (d. 1939)
- 1883 Jesse Harper, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (Notre Dame), born in Paw Paw, Illinois (d. 1961)
- 1886 William Booth, England Test cricket batsman (WWI 2 Tests), born in Pudsey, England (d. 1916)
- 1907 Lucien Laurent, French footballer (scored the first ever FIFA World Cup goal), born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France (d. 2005)
- 1918 Anatoly Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (considered as the father of Russian ice hockey), born in Moscow (d. 1995)
- 1920 Ragnhild Hveger, Danish 200m swimmer (Olympic silver 1936), born in Cyborg, Denmark (d. 2011)
- 1933 Grenville Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer (NZ tourist to Aust 1973-74), born in Invercargill, New Zealand
- 1933 Larry Morris, NFL Linebacker (NFL 1960s All-Decade Team), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 2012)
- 1935 Terry Allcock, English footballer (Norwich City), born in Leeds, England
- 1937 Don Bies, American golfer (Tradition at Desert Mountain 1989), born in Cottonwood, Idaho
- 1941 Jeff Jones, Welsh cricketer (England left-arm pace bowler in 60's), born in Dafen, Carmarthenshire, Wales
- 1947 Zinaida Voronina, Russian and Soviet gymnast (1968 Olympics: 4 medals including 1 gold), born in Yoshkar-Ola, Russia (d. 2001)
- 1950 Simon Owen, New Zealand golfer (British Open runner-up 1978), born in Wanganui, New Zealand
- 1959 Mark Aguirre, NBA forward (Detroit Pistons)
- 1960 Paul Assenmacher, pitcher (Cleveland Indians), born in Detroit, Michigan
- 1962 John de Wolf, soccer player (Feyenoord)
- 1963 Doug Henry, pitcher (NY Mets), born in Sacramento, California
- 1963 Gerald Sandel, soccer player (Sparta)
- 1963 Michael Lofton, fencer-sabre (Olympics 1996), born in Montgomery, Alabama
- 1963 Robin White, tennis player (US Open doubles 1988), born in San Diego, California
- 1964 Luis Polonia, Dominican MLB outfielder (NY Yanks, Orioles), born in Santiago City, Dominica Republic
- 1966 Mel Rojas, MLB pitcher (Montreal Expos), born in Haina, Dominican Republic
- 1966 Norberto Martin, infielder (Chicago White Sox), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
- 1968 Rob Davis, NFL guard (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31)
- 1969 Darren Berry, cricketer (Victorian wicket-keeper since 1989-90)
- 1969 Nadim Khan, cricketer (brother of Moin Pakistani lefty spinner 1993)
- 1969 Rob Blake, NHL defenseman (Team Canada, LA Kings), born in Simcoe, Ontario
- 1969 Todd Furdyk, CFL tackle (BC Lions)
- 1970 Bryant Stith, NBA guard (Denver Nuggets)
- 1971 Amanda Hardy, Altona Australia, badminton player (Olympics 1996)
- 1971 Carla Sacramento, Lisbon, 1.5k runner
- 1971 Manjula Munasinghe, cricketer (Sri Lankan ODI pace bowler)
- 1972 Marcos di Palma, Argentine racing driver
- 1973 Bernard Holsey, defensive tackle (NY Giants)
- 1973 Marcus Wall, CFL receiver (Montreal Alouettes)
- 1973 Rusty LaRue, NBA guard (Chicago Bulls)
- 1975 Josip Skoko, Australian footballer
- 1978 Brandon Novak, American skateboarder
- 1981 Fábio Rochemback, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 Ryan Pini, Papua New Guinea swimmer
- 1982 Matt Stutzman, American Paralympic archer and record holder for longest accurate shot in archery- despite having no arms, born in Kansas City, Kansas
- 1983 Habib Mohamed, Ghanaian footballer
- 1983 Zé Kalanga, Angolan footballer
- 1985 T. J. Hensick, American ice hockey player
- 1986 Matthew Bates, English footballer
- 1987 Gonzalo Higuaín, French-born Argentine footballer
Weddings in Sport
- 1994 Former Senate Majority Leader Mitchell (61) weds sports marketing executive Heather MacLachlan (35) at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in New York City
- 2005 Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated model Isabeli Fontana (22) weds actor-model Henri Castelli (27) at Fort Are Joao in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
- 2005 Rugby Star Clyde Rathbone (24) weds Carrie-Ann Leeson in South Africa
Wedding of Interest
2010 Tennis player Martina Hingis (30) weds equestrian show jumper Thibault Hutin at a private civil ceremony in Paris, France
Martina Hingis
Deaths in Sport
Walter Johnson
1946 Walter Johnson, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (3-time Triple Crown: Washington Senators), dies of a brain tumour at 59
Walter Johnson
- 1959 Charles Jones, cricket batsman (WI in 4 Tests 1930-35, 63 runs), dies
- 1977 Adolph Rupp, American basketball coach (b. 1901)
- 1992 Dan Maskell, English tennis commentator (b. 1908)
- 1994 Alexander Wilson, Canadian athlete (b. 1905)
- 2010 MacKenzie Miller, American horse trainer and breeder (b. 1921)
Dolph Schayes
2015 Dolph Schayes, American basketball Hall of Famer (Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers) and coach, dies of cancer at 87
Dolph Schayes
December in History
![Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family]()
Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family
On this day a tragedy engulfed one of Britain’s noted theatrical families of the early 20th century.
December 8, 1926![Coronation Street, King of the Soaps]()
Coronation Street, King of the Soaps
Thought to have no great future when launched on this day, Coronation Street still reigns supreme
December 9, 1960![Marconi's Dream: Telegraphy Without Wires]()
Marconi's Dream: Telegraphy Without Wires
Italian radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi's career received a big boost on this day with backing from the British Post Office.
December 11, 1896![A King Salutes Remarkable Woman Soldier]()
A King Salutes Remarkable Woman Soldier
Whether she went to war out of love or duty, Phoebe Hessel, who died on this day, led a remarkable life on and off the battlefield.
December 12, 1821
