- 1898 Australian cricketer Joe Darling hits the 1st six in Tests (out of the ground)
- 1919 John McGraw, Charles A Stoneham and Judge MCQuade buy NY Giants
- 1927 Toronto Maple Leafs 1st hat trick (Hap Day) vs NY Rangers
- 1932 Racing Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro wins his 1st race
- 1935 Australian Championships Women's Tennis, Melbourne: In an all-British final Dorothy Round Little defeats Nancy Lyle 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
- 1935 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Home favourite Jack Crawford wins his 4th Australian title; beats Fred Perry of England 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- 1940 Commissioner Kenesaw Landis gives free agency to 91 Detroit Tigers
- 1940 2nd NFL All Star Game, Gilmore Stadium, LA, CA: Green Bay Packers beat NFL All-Stars, 16-7
- 1943 Montreal Canadiens' left wing Alex Smart becomes the first NHL rookie to score a hat trick in his first NHL game, a 5-1 win at home over the Chicago Black Hawks
- 1946 1946 NFL Draft: Frank Dancewicz from University of Notre Dame first pick by Boston Yanks
NFL Pro Bowl
1951 1st NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American Conference beats National Conference, 28-27; MVP: Otto Graham, Cleveland Browns, QB
Otto Graham
- 1961 Chic Bear Willard Dewveall becomes 1st NFLer to join AFL
NFL Pro Bowl
1962 12th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-30; MVPs: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns, RB; Henry Jordan, Green Bay Packers, DT
Jim Brown
NBA All-Star Game
1964 14th NBA All-Star Game, Boston Garden: East beats West, 111-107; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG
Oscar Robertson
Super Bowl
1968 Super Bowl II, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Green Bay Packers beat Oakland Raiders, 33-14; MVP: Bart Starr, Green Bay, QB
John Madden
- 1969 Matt Busby retires from Manchester United
- 1969 19th NBA All-Star Game, Baltimore Civic Centre: East beats West, 123-112; MVP: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, PG
- 1973 Super Bowl VII, LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA: Miami Dolphins beat Washington Redskins, 14-7; MVP: Jake Scott, Miami, S
- 1975 Anita Wold (Norway) sets women's ski jump distance record-98 m
NBA All-Star Game
1975 25th NBA All-Star Game, Arizona Vets Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Az: East beats West, 108-102; MVP: Walt Frazier, NY Knicks, PG
Walt Frazier
Event of Interest
1976 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves
Ted Turner
Event of Interest
1979 John McEnroe wins his first of 3 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles 6–7, 6–3, 7–5 against fellow American Arthur Ashe at Madison Square Garden, NYC
John McEnroe
Arthur Ashe
- 1979 Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benitez beats WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino of Mexico in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; becomes two-division champion at the age of 20
- 1984 Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini scores a 3rd-round TKO of Bobby Chacon to retain his WBA lightweight title in Reno, Nevada; Chacon so severely battered he thanks referee Richard Steele for stopping the fight
Event of Interest
1985 Martina Navratilova is 3rd to win 100 tennis tournaments (Connors & Evert)
Martina Navratilova
- 1987 Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
AFC Championship
1990 AFC Championship, Mile High Stadium, Denver: Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 37-21
John Elway
- 1990 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: San Francisco 49ers beat Los Angeles Rams, 30-3
Event of Interest
1993 Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton blocks 2 shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle SuperSonics; becomes only 2nd player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 1994 Inna Lassovskaya triple-jumps ladies world record (14.61m)
- 1995 Vinny Pazienza beats Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Durán in a 12-round unanimous decision in a super middleweight bout in Atlantic City; 2nd time in 6 months Pazienza wears down 43-year-old Duran in a high profile pay-pay-view bout
- 1996 AFC Championship, Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Indianapolis Colts, 20-16
- 1996 NFC Championship, Texas Stadium: Dallas Cowboys beat Green Bay Packers, 38-27
Event of Interest
1998 Charles Barkley pleads not guilty to an assault charge
Charles Barkley
- 2001 AFC Championship, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland: Baltimore Ravens beat Oakland Raiders, 16-3
- 2001 NFC Championship, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford: New York Giants beat Minnesota Vikings, 41-0
January in History
The Man Who Saved Elton John's Life
Long John Baldry was born on this day - a friend of stars from Rod Stewart to The Beatles and who, in 1969, famously took Elton John aside and saved the life.
January 12, 1941Designer Throws His Hat Into the Ring; Creates a Sensation
The first time a man stepped out in London wearing a topper it caused a sensation, then a court case. Who now could imagine Fred Astaire without his famous top hat?
January 15, 1797Squaring Up for Radio Commentary
This was the day when the BBC broadcast live sports commentary for the first time and introduced a novel way of involving listeners in the action.
January 15, 1927British Museum Opens its Doors
The British Museum opened to visitors on January 15, 1759. Fearing damage to the collections by unruly hordes, nobody was admitted without a ticket.
January 15, 1759
