On This Day in Sport for December 24
Events in Sport
- 1889 Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake
- 1921 Ottawa’s Harry Broadbent scores in 10-0 Senators blowout of the Montreal Canadiens; first in 16-game NHL record goal-scoring streak; Charlie Simmer’s 13 game streak (1979) is considered modern-day record
- 1927 Test Cricket debut of Walter Hammond, who scored 51 & took 5-36 v S Af
- 1950 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Cleveland Browns beat LA Rams, 30-28; Cleveland has 5 interceptions, Rams 1
- 1961 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium, San Diego: Houston Oilers beat San Diego Chargers 10-3; Billy Cannon scores game's only TD
- 1968 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United's winger George Best wins award for best European football player ahead of teammate Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Džajić; first Northern Irish national to win the award
- 1969 Curt Flood writes to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn refusing to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him and in favor of free agency [1]
- 1974 MLB St Louis Cardinals Lou Brock is named Sportsman of the Year
- More Events in Sport
Birthdays in Sport
- 1868 Emanuel Lasker, German World Chess Champion (1894-21), born in Barlinek, Poland (d. 1941)
- 1885 Arthur Dolphin, English cricketer (Yorkshire & England keeper, later Test ump), born in Wilsden, United Kingdom (d. 1942)
- 1898 Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer, born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 1967)
- 1921 Bill Dudley, NFL halfback (Pittsburgh, Detroit, Washington), born in Bluefield, Virginia
Weddings in Sport
- 1971 Professional boxer George Foreman (22) weds Adrienne Calhoun
More Weddings & Divorces in Sport
Deaths in Sport
- 1897 Marshall Newell, American College Football Hall of Fame tackle (Harvard; All-American 1890-93) and coach (Cornell, Tufts), dies in a railroad accident at 26
- 2003 Herman Keiser, American golfer (US Masters 1946), dies of Alzheimer's disease complications at 89
- 2004 Johnny Oates, American MLB baseball catcher, 1970-81 (Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, and 3 other teams), and manager, 1991-2001 (Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers), dies of brain cancer at 58
- 2009 George Michael, American sportscaster (The George Michael Sports Machine) (b. 1939)