Events in Sport
- 1907 Eugene Corri becomes 1st referee in a boxing ring
Golf Tournament
1929 Leo Diegel wins PGA golf tournament
Leo Diegel
- 1930 13th PGA Championship: Tommy Armour at Fresh Meadows CC Flushing
Donald Bradman
- 1935 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Winnipeg Pegs (later Blue Bombers) defeat Hamilton Tigers, 18-12
Contract of Interest
1937 Red Sox acquire the contract of 19-year-old Ted Williams
Ted Williams
- 1937 Russian chess player Alekhine recaptures world title from Max Euwe
Hall of Fame
1939 Lou Gehrig, 36, is elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
Lou Gehrig
- 1940 CFL Grey Cup (Game 2), Lansdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa beats Toronto Balmy Beach, 12-5
- 1949 15th Heisman Trophy Award: Leon Hart, Notre Dame (E)
- 1956 Australian swimmer Murray Rose claims his 3rd gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics when he wins the 1,500m in 17:58.9; also wins 400m & 4 x 200m relay
- 1956 American diver Pat McCormick wraps up the women's double when she wins the 10m platform gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 84.85 points; also won the 3m springboard gold
- 1956 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina takes her gold medal tally to 4 at the Melbourne Olympics; wins teams and individual all-round titles having earlier won vault and floor exercise sections
- 1973 Orioles sell pitcher Eddie Watt to the Phillies
- 1973 Phillies sell infielder-outfielder Cesar Tovar to the Texas Rangers
Event of Interest
1975 Romanian tennis star Ilie Năstase wins his 4th season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout of Björn Borg of Sweden in Stockholm
Ilie Năstase
Björn Borg
NHL Record
1978 Islander's Mike Bossy's 1st career hat trick
Mike Bossy
Tennis Open
1985 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for her 3rd and final Australian singles crown
Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert
- 1988 NY Islanders fire Simpson, Arbour new coach
Contract of Interest
1988 Rangers sign free-agent pitcher Nolan Ryan to a one-year contract
Nolan Ryan
- 1995 NBA settles strike of referees, refs to return on Dec 12
- 1996 5th SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida beats #11 Alabama, 45-30
- 1996 1st Big 12 Championship Game: Texas beats #3 Nebraska, 37-27
- 1996 Australian rugby union team ends 12-game European tour unbeaten after 39-19 victory over the Barbarians at Twickenham; Wallabies fullback Matt Burke scores 2 tries and lands 4 conversions, 2 penalties
- 2002 11th SEC Championship Game: #4 Georgia beats #22 Arkansas, 30-3
- 2013 22nd SEC Championship Game: #3 Auburn beats #5 Missouri, 59-42
- 2013 9th ACC Championship Game: #1 Florida State beats #20 Duke, 45-7
Football Awards
2017 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins his 5th award to equal Lionel Messi's record; 2nd consecutive win for Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2017 Former US gymnastics physician Larry Nasser is sentenced to 60 years on child pornography charges
Birthdays in Sport
- 1882 Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (great NSW & Aussie opening bat 1909-26), Warren, New South Wales (d. 1954)
- 1902 Janardan Navle, Indian cricketer (India's 1st Test wicket-keeper), born in Fulgaon, Maharashtra, India (d. 1979)
- 1908 John Doeg, American tennis champ (US Open-1930), born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico (d. 1978)
- 1914 Winston Place, English cricketer (England opener in West Indies 1948), born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, England (d. 2002)
- 1920 Fiorenzo Magni, Italian professional road racing cyclist, born in Vaiano, Italy (d. 2012)
- 1924 John Love, Zimbabwean Formula One driver, born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (d. 2005)
- 1925 Hernando da Silva Ramos, French-Brazilian racing driver, born in Paris
- 1926 Victor Kermit Kiam II, American businessman (Remington shavers) and NFL owner (Patriots), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)
- 1930 Hal Smith, American baseball player, born in West Frankfort, Illinois
- 1942 Alex [Alexander] Johnson, American professional baseball player, born in Helena, Arkansas (d. 2015)
Johnny Bench
1947 Johnny Bench, MLB catcher (Reds), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Johnny Bench
Larry Bird
1956 Larry Bird, American Basketball Hall of Fame forward, coach, executive (Boston Celtics 3-time NBA champion, 12-time NBA All Star), born in West Baden, Indiana
Larry Bird
- 1957 Geoff "Henry" Lawson, Australian cricket player, fast bowler (1980-89) and coach of Pakistan, born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
- 1957 Rohan Jayasekera, cricketer (one Test Sri Lanka v Pakistan 1982)
- 1959 Salim Yousuf, cricketer (Pakistani wicket-keeper in 32 Tests 1986-90)
- 1963 Theo Snelders, former Dutch footballer
- 1964 Peter Laviolette, Norwood Mass, US hockey defenseman (Olympics 1994)
- 1964 Tadao Uematsu, Japanese racing driver
- 1964 Vladimir Artemov, Russian gymnast (4 Olympic gold 1988), born in Vladimir, Russia
- 1965 Colin Hendry, Scottish footballer and coach, born in Keith, Scotland
- 1966 Shinichi Itoh, Japanese motorcycle racer
- 1967 Tino Martinez, 1st baseman (Seattle Mariner, NY Yankees), born in Tampa, Florida
- 1968 Cammy Myler, Plattsburgh NY, luger (Olympics 1994)
- 1968 Keith Goganious, NFL linebacker (Jacksonville Jaguars)
- 1968 Melissa Iverson, Anoka Minn, rower (Olympics 1996)
- 1968 Ricky Ervins, NFL running back (SF 49ers)
- 1968 Tom Myslinski, NFL guard (Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 1968 Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1969 Sabine Hack, West Germany, tennis star
- 1970 Courtney Browne, cricketer (West Indies Test wicket-keeper 1995)
- 1970 Ed Robinson, WLAF linebacker (Frankfurt Galaxy)
- 1971 Ben Atkins, American fencer-epee (Olympics 1996), born in NYC, New York
- 1971 Mauricio Hadad, Cali Colombia, tennis star (1995 Bermuda)
- 1971 Vladimir Akopian, Armenian chess player
- 1972 Bobby Schoonens, soccer player (RKC)
- 1972 Clay Shiver, American NFL center (Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers), born in Tifton, Georgia
- 1972 Jordi Buritlo, Spanish tennis star
- 1972 Kevin Dogins, corner (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- 1973 Mark Hartsell, WLAF QB (Scotland Claymores)
- 1973 Terrell Owens, wide receiver (San Francisco 49ers)
- 1974 Alex Radutescu, Romania, tennis star
- 1974 Annette Salmeen, 200m butterfly/800m freestyle relay (Olympics 1996)
- 1975 Jamie Clapham, English footballer
- 1976 Alan Faneca, American football player
- 1976 Brent Johnson, Canadian football player
- 1976 Georges Laraque, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 Fernando Vargas, Oxnard Ca, welterweight boxer (Olympics 1996)
- 1977 Francesca Lubiani, Bologna Italy, tennis star (Futures-Amadora-POR)
- 1977 Luke Donald, English golfer (US Masters 2005, PGA C'ship 2006 3rd), born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
- 1979 Lampros Choutos, Greek footballer
- 1980 John Terry, English footballer
- 1983 Fausto Carmona, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 Robert Kubica, the first Polish Formula One racing driver
- 1984 Luca Rigoni, Italian footballer
- 1984 Aaron Gray, American basketball player
- 1986 Billy Horschel, American golfer (FedEx Cup 2014, 5 PGA Tour titles), born in Grant, Florida
- 1988 Nathan Adrian, American swimmer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 2012), born in Bremerton, Washington
Deaths in Sport
- 1927 Albert Griffiths ("Young Griffo"), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion), dies of apoplexy at 56
- 1938 Harry Moses, cricketer (6 Tests for Australia 1887-95), dies
- 1969 Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (b. 1897)
- 1975 Beatrix Loughran, American figure skater (Olympic gold 1924, 1928, 1932), dies at 75
- 1977 Paul Gibb, cricketer (England batsman, 8 Tests), dies
- 1984 Lee Roy Yarbrough, American race car (Nascar) driver (b. 1938)
- 1994 J.C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1939)
- 1997 Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer dies at 54 from a suspected heart attack
- 2005 Bud Carson, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2016 Paul Elvstrøm, Danish sailer (4 Olympic gold, Finn class 1948, 52, 56, 60), dies at 88
- 2017 Peter Walwyn, British thoroughbred trainer (champion trainer 1974-75), dies at 84
December in History
![Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius]()
Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius who composed over 600 works in his short lifetime, died mysteriously on this day and was buried unceremoniously.
December 5, 1791![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
