- 1811 1st Women's Golf Tournament held
- 1903 Baseball's National & American Leagues make peace
- 1903 Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the American League's Baltimore baseball franchise for $18,000 and move it to NYC (later the NY Yankees)
- 1930 Boston Bruins wins then NHL record 14th straight game
Event of Interest
1952 Marines give notice that they will recall Ted Williams to active duty
Ted Williams
Event of Interest
1958 In basketball Oscar Robertson (Cin) scores 56, Seton Hall team 54
Oscar Robertson
Event of Interest
1972 Led by future Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks beat LA Lakers, 120-104, ending LA's consecutive win streak at 33, the longest winning streak in major league sports history
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- 1975 Australia beat England by 171 runs in 4th Test to regain Ashes
Event of Interest
1976 Bryan Trottier failed in 4th Islander penalty shot
Bryan Trottier
Super Bowl
1977 Super Bowl XI, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA: Oakland Raiders beat Minnesota Vikings, 32-14; MVP: Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland, WR
John Madden
Australian Tennis Open
1977 Australian Open Men's Tennis: American Roscoe Tanner wins his first and only Grand Slam event; beats Guillermo Vilas of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Roscoe Tanner
Guillermo Vilas
Hall of Fame
1989 Johnny Bench & Carl Yastrzemski elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
Johnny Bench
Carl Yastrzemski
- 1991 Dean Smith of NC is 6th to win 700 career coaching basketball games
Event of Interest
1991 Chicago's Michael Jordan scores a game-high 40 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-99 win over Philadelphia at the Spectrum; reaches the 15,000 point mark of his career
Michael Jordan
- 1993 Franziska van Almsick swims world record 100m free style (53.33)
- 1998 Anatoly Karpov defeats Viswanathan Anand to retain chess title
- 1998 Boston Red Sox Mo Vaughn pleads not guilty to drunken driving
- 1998 Hockey News selects Wayne Gretzky best NHL player ever
- 1999 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Mark Philippoussis clinches Australia's unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1), with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Sweden's Jonas Björkman; Australia's first title
Event of Interest
2000 Dan Marino wins his last career NFL game (20-17 vs Seattle)
Dan Marino
- 2009 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Dominik Hrbatý beats Russia's Marat Safin 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 for an unassailable 2-0 lead, and Slovakia's 3rd title
Event of Interest
2010 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: María José Martínez Sánchez & Tommy Robredo of Spain beat British pair Laura Robson & Andy Murray 7-6, 7-5 to clinch a 2-1 win; Spain's 3rd title
Andy Murray
Football Awards
2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins award for a record 3rd consecutive year; Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa wins women's award
Lionel Messi
- 2012 College Football, 14th BCS National Championship, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: #2 Alabama beats #1 LSU, 21-0
- 2014 Yaya Toure wins African Footballer of the Year
- 2016 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Australian Nick Kyrgios beats Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine 6-3, 6-4 for an unassailable 2-0 lead and the home nation's second title
- 2017 College Football National Championship, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa: #2 Clemson beats #1 Alabama, 35-31
January in History
![A Crackdown on Lovers in New York]()
A Crackdown on Lovers in New York
New York wasn't always a free and easy city. Time was when not only adultery was a crime, but even looking at a lady in the wrong way could land a guy in trouble.
January 8, 1902![The Man Who Saved Elton John's Life]()
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, 1941![British Museum Opens its Doors]()
British 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![Designer Throws His Hat Into the Ring; Creates a Sensation]()
Designer 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, 1797
