On This Day in Sport for December 4

  • December

Events in Sport

  • 1909 1st CFL Grey Cup, Rosedale Field, Toronto: University of Toronto Blues beat Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26-6; Blues undefeated
  • 1909 Oldest still-operating NHL franchise is officially established as J. Ambrose O’Brien and Jack Laviolette create the “Club de Hockey Canadien,” known today as the Montreal Canadiens

Event of interestEvent of Interest

1914 Walter Johnson accepts money from Federal League Chicago Whales Clark Griffith threatens to take Johnson to court

MLB Pitcher Walter Johnson
MLB Pitcher
Walter Johnson
  • 1920 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: U of Toronto Blues win 4th title; beat Toronto Argonauts, 16-3
  • 1921 American Professional Football Association Championship, Cubs Park, Chicago: Chicago Staleys beat Buffalo All-Americans, 10-7 in de facto championship game after teams tied in standings
  • 1926 CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators retain Championship with 10-7 win over U of Toronto Blues
  • 1943 Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes
  • 1945 11th Heisman Trophy Award: Doc Blanchard, Army (FB)
  • 1947 In the first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 98 by Australia in Brisbane to lose by an innings & 226 runs; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 6 for 29 for match figures of 11 for 31
  • 1948 13th Iron Bowl (first since 1907): Alabama beats Auburn 55-0 in Birmingham
  • 1949 Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run
  • 1956 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (QB)
  • 1956 Australian swimmer Murray Rose sets world record 4:27.3 to claim the 400m gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Rose later also wins 1,500m gold
  • 1956 American diver Pat McCormick wins the 3m springboard gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 142.46 points; later wraps up the women's double when she takes the 10m platform gold

Sport defeatBoxing Title Fight

1961 Floyd Patterson KOs Tom McNeeley in 4 for heavyweight boxing title

Boxer and Undisputed Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson
Boxer and Undisputed Heavyweight Champion
Floyd Patterson
  • 1961 Smallest NY Knick, 49th St Madison Square Garden crowd-1,300 (snowstorm)

  • 1961 1962 NFL Draft: Ernie Davis from University of Syracuse first pick by Washington Redskins
  • 1963 Boston Bruins' right wing Andy Hebenton sets a new NHL record by playing in his 581st consecutive game in 2-2 tie with Chicago Black Hawks; reaches 630 straight games
  • 1964 Baseball approves a free-agent draft
  • 1964 Commissioner's office given full powers in baseball disputes
  • 1964 Test Cricket debut of Ian Chappell, v Pakistan MCG, 11, 0-49, 0-31
  • 1965 2nd NY Knicks game postponed (due to death of opponent 76ers' owner)
  • 1965 San Francisco Giant Masanori Murakami, 4-1 this year, does not renew his contract signing instead with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka for $40,000
  • 1977 NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats KC 27-7
  • 1977 66th Davis Cup: Australia beats Italy in Sydney (3-1)
  • 1977 West Indies win 1st World Series Cricket 'Test' against Australia at VFL Park in Melbourne by 3 wickets; chasing 235 for victory, Viv Richards with 56 and Clive Lloyd 44 guide WI to 237/7 with 2 days to spare
  • 1977 Davis Cup Tennis, Sydney: John Alexander beats Adriano Panatta of Italy 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 8-6, 11-9 in a 3 hour, 54 minute classic to give Australia a 3-1 victory
  • 1979 Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 7, Bingo Smith
  • 1980 Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)
  • 1982 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)
  • 1983 NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota Detroit Red Wings 6-0

Event of interestEvent of Interest

1985 Slobodan Živojinović of Yugoslavia upsets No. 2 seed John McEnroe 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open quarter finals; leaves McEnroe without a major singles title for the first time since 1978

Tennis Player John McEnroe
Tennis Player
John McEnroe

Event of interestEvent of Interest

1987 Defending champion Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia wins 3rd straight season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title by defeating Mats Wilander of Sweden 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 in the final at Madison Square Garden, NYC

Tennis Player and Eight-Time Major Champion Ivan Lendl
Tennis Player and Eight-Time Major Champion
Ivan Lendl
Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion Mats Wilander
Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion
Mats Wilander

Event of interestEvent of Interest

1988 Orioles trade veteran 1B Eddie Murray to the Dodgers

MLB 1st Baseman Eddie Murray
MLB 1st Baseman
Eddie Murray
  • 1988 Edmonton center Jimmy Carson becomes just the third player to score 6 NHL hat tricks before the age of 21 in the Oilers 10-6 win over the New York Rangers
  • 1993 2nd SEC Championship Game: #9 Florida beats #16 Alabama, 28-13
  • 1994 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
  • 1996 Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest ponts scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57
  • 1997 NBA suspends former Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell for 1 year for attacking coach P.J. Carlesimo
  • 1999 8th SEC Championship Game: #7 Alabama beats #5 Florida, 34-7
  • 2004 13th SEC Championship Game: #3 Auburn beats #15 Tennessee, 38-28
  • 2005 94th Davis Cup: Croatia beats Slovak Republic in Bratislava (3-2)
  • 2007 Ballon d'Or: Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaká is named best football player in the world; first year in which players from clubs outside the UEFA federation eligible for nomination
  • 2010 19th SEC Championship Game: #2 Auburn beats #18 South Carolina, 56-17
  • 2010 6th ACC Championship Game: #12 Virginia Tech beats #20 Florida State, 44-33
  • 2010 15th Big 12 Championship Game: #10 Oklahoma beats #13 Nebraska, 23-20
  • 2011 100th Davis Cup: Spain beats Argentina in Seville (3-1)
  • 2017 New York Giants fire head coach Ben McAdoo and manager Jerry Reese after a 2–10 start
  • 2018 Ownership group Seattle Hockey Partners led by billionaire businessman Davis Bonderman is unanimously granted an NHL license by the Board of Governors; to start play 2020-21 season at KeyArena

Birthdays in Sport

  • 1858 Billy Gunn, English cricketer (Notts & England batsman in 11 Tests 1886-99), born in St Ann's, Nottingham (d. 1921)
  • 1868 Jesse Burkett, American baseball player, born in Wheeling, West Virginia (d. 1953)
  • 1875 Joe Corbett, American baseball player, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1945)
  • 1899 Charlie Spencer, English football player, born in Washington, England (d. 1953)
  • 1910 Amar Singh, Indian cricketer (dashing Indian all-rounder of thirties), born in Rajkot, Gujarat, British India (d. 1940)
  • 1912 Jack Walsh, Australian cricket china bowler (didn't represent Australia), born in Walcha, New South Wales, Australia (d. 1980)
  • 1915 Fred Freer, Australian cricketer (Australian pace bowler played one Test in 1946), born in North Carlton, Victoria, Australia (d. 1998)
  • 1930 Harvey Kuenn, American baseball player (AL Rookie of the Year-1953), born in West Allis, Wisconsin (d. 1988)
  • 1931 Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings), born in Fort William, Ontario, Canada
  • 1935 Fred Rumsey, English cricket lefty pace bowler (5 Tests 1964-65), born in Stepney, London
  • 1938 Richard Meade, British equestrian (3 Olympic Golds 1968, 1970), born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire (d. 2015)
  • 1941 Raul Blanco, Argentine-Australian soccer asst coach (Olyroos, Olympics 1996), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 1944 François Migault, French racing driver, born in Le Mans, France
  • 1953 Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 1955 Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player, born in Levack, Ontario
  • 1956 Bernard King, American basketball player (NY Knicks, NJ Nets), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1956 Blagoi Blagoyev, Bulgarian 82.5 kg weightlifer (Olympic silver 1976), born in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria
  • 1957 Lee Smith, American baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds), born in Jamestown, Louisiana
  • 1957 Raul Boesel, Brazil, Brazilian Indy-car racer (CART), born in Curitiba, Brazil
  • 1959 Paul McGrath, Irish footballer (Aston Villa, Sheffield United), born in Ealing, England
  • 1960 David Green, American baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals), born in Managua, Nicaragua
  • 1960 Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 1984), born in Toowoomba, Australia
  • 1961 Frank Reich, American NFL quarterback (Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions), born in Freeport, New York
  • 1962 Arnold Scholten, Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord), born in Den Bosch, Netherlands
  • 1962 John Gaasbeek, soccer player (FC Twente/NAC)
  • 1962 Stan Gelbaugh, American NFL quarterback (Seattle Seahawks), born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
  • 1962 Kevin Richardson, English footballer (Everton), born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England
  • 1963 Johanna Wright, WPVA volleyballer (Pismo Beach-4th), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
  • 1963 Mike Snoei, Dutch soccer player (Sparta), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • 1963 Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter (Olympic gold 1988, 6 world titles), born in Luhansk, Ukraine
  • 1964 Bill Peterson, Smithfield NC, WLAF general mgr (Amsterdam Admirals)
  • 1967 Klaus Wilmsmeyer, American NFL punter (New Orleans Saints), born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
  • 1967 Martha O'Kelley, American softball infielder (Olympic gold 1996)
  • 1968 Mike Barrowman, American 200m breast stroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1992, 96), born in Costa Mesa, California
  • 1969 Ferric Collons, American NFL defensive end (New England Patriots), born in Scott Air Force Base, Illinois
  • 1969 Mike Middleton, American WLAF safety (Barcelona Dragons), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 1970 Jeff Blake, American NFL quarterback (Cincinnati Bengals), born in Daytona Beach, Florida
  • 1970 Sylvester Terkay, American professional wrestler, born in Washington, Pennsylvania
  • 1971 Terrence Wisdom, American NFL guard and center (NY Jets, London Monarchs), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1971 Shannon Briggs, American professional boxer, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1972 Damien Covington, American NFL linebacker (Buffalo Bills), born in Berlin Township, New Jersey
  • 1972 Howard Eisley, American NBA guard (Utah Jazz), born in Detroit, Michigan
  • 1972 Jassen Cullimore, Canadian NHL defenseman (Vancouver Canucks), born in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
  • 1972 Jude St John, CFL offensive linebacker (Hamilton Tiger Cats), born in London, Ontario, Canada
  • 1972 Kerry Anne Guse, Australian tennis star (1996 final Hobart), born in Brisbane, Australia
  • 1972 Ted Johnson, American inside linebacker (NE Patriots), born in Alameda, California
  • 1973 Corliss Williamson, American NBA forward (Sacramento Kings), born in Russellville, Arkansas
  • 1973 Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league footballer (Manly Sea Eagles), born in Manly, New South Wales, Australia

Person of interestAnke Huber

1974 Anke Huber, German tennis player (Fed Cup 1992, Hopman Cup 1995), born in Bruchsal, Germany

Tennis Player Anke Huber
Tennis Player
Anke Huber
  • 1974 Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player and manager (Chiba Lotte Marines), born in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo, Japan
  • 1976 John Lee, American dance skater (& Julia Bikbova), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1977 Shahid Nazir, Pakistani cricketer (Pakistan Test fast bowler v Zimbabwe 1996), born in Faisalabad, Punjab
  • 1979 Jay DeMerit, American soccer player, born in Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • 1980 Michele Di Piedi, Italian footballer, born in Palermo, Italy
  • 1982 Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese racing driver, born in Velp, Netherlands
  • 1985 Andrew Brackman, American baseball player, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 1985 Carlos Gómez, Dominican baseball player, born in Santiago, Dominican Republic
  • 1985 Ibtihaj Muhammad, American fencer, first American Muslim to wear hijab at Olympics, born in Maplewood, New Jersey
  • 1986 Martell Webster, American basketball player, born in Edmonds, Washington
  • 1989 Pornanong Phatlum, Thai golfer (British Open 2018 runner-up), born in Khon Kaen, Thailand

Weddings in Sport


LoveWedding of Interest

1973 NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle (47) weds activist Carrie Cooke

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle
NFL Commissioner
Pete Rozelle
  • 2005 2004 Olympic volleyball team member Kerri Walsh (27) weds fellow volleyball player Casey Jennings (30) at the La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, California

Deaths in Sport

  • 1935 Hylton Philipson, cricketer (England keeper in 5 Tests 1892-95), dies
  • 1944 Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player, dies at 65
  • 1980 Stanislawa Walasiewicz [Stella Walsh], Polish-born American sprinter (Olympic gold 1932), dies shot during an armed robbery, at 69
  • 2000 Colin Cowdrey, England cricket batsman (114 Tests, 7,624 runs @ 44.06), dies of a heart attack at 67
  • 2003 Iggy Katona, American race car driver, dies at 87
  • 2011 Sócrates [Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Sousa Vieira de Oliveira], Brazilian footballer (60 caps and 22 goals for Brazil), dies at 57
  • 2012 Miguel Calero, Colombia footballer, dies from cerebral thrombosis at 41
  • 2016 Margaret Whitton, American actress (Good & Evil, Major League), dies of cancer at 67

December in History