This Day in Sports History

In 1999, Justin Leonard sank a 45-foot birdie on 17 to grab a crucial 1/2 point and complete an incredible comeback to win the Ryder Cup back from the Europeans. In 2021, Justin Tucker hit the longest FG in NFL history to beat the Detroit Lions. But the kick should have been longer. In 1981, top-ranked Southern Cal scored the game winning TD with :02 left to beat #2 Oklahoma in a thriller. In 2010...

In 1971, Marshall won its first game after a plane crash 10 months earlier killed 75 people, including most of the team, coaching staff, administrators, and several fans. In 1982, Northwestern broke their 34-game losing streak. In 2000, Vince Carter, aka Air Canada, dunked over France's Fredrick Weis in an Olympic prelim game. Some have called it the greatest in game dunk in basketball history. In...

in 1989, Joe Montana led a fourth quarter comeback against Philadelphia despite the fact he was sacked 8 times on the day. In 1972, NY Jets Joe Namath and the Baltimore Colts Johnny Unitas put on quite a display of aerial firepower. In 1972, Oakland Raider Jack Tatum returned a fumble for an NFL record 104 yards. In 1994, Colorado beat Michigan on a stunning Hail Mary. In 2000, diver Laura Wilkins...

In 2000, the UAB Blazers stunned LSU at Death Valley. In 1979, John Madden dropped his first 'BOOM' during an NFL broadcast. In 1992, Manon Rheume became the first woman to suit up and play for an NHL team. In 1969, LA Dodger John Miller hit a home run in his final at bat. He'd also his a homer in his first at bat. He only hit two in his career. In 1908, Fred Merkle failed to touch the next base o...

In 1974, the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals got into a bench clearing brawl after Bill Madlock walked away from the plate in response to Cardinal pitcher Al Hrabosky doing what Al Hrabosky did. In 1927, Jack Dempsey knocked down Gene Tunney but didn't go to a neutral corner soon enough. His delay cost him a Heavyweight title. In 1990, Illinois running back Howard Griffith scored 8 touchdowns...

In 1969, Wayne Maki hit Ted Green in the head with his stick, cracking his skull. The blow nearly killed him and it resulted in the first assault charges being filed against NHL players for an on-ice, in-game fight. In 1970, Monday Night Football debuted on ABC. In 2008, the Miami Dolphins rolled out the 'Wildcat' offense as a component of their offense. In 1985, the Baylor Bears pulled off a huge...

In 1973, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in straight sets in a made for TV tennis match in the Houston Astrodome. In 1973, the New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in 13 innings after getting extremely lucky on a ball that should have gone over the fence. In 1969, Jack Nicklaus conceded Tony Jacklin's two-foot putt in an all-square match on the final hole of the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup fin...

In 1988, Olympic medalist Greg Louganis hit his head on the 3m Springboard during the prelims. In 1998, Tennessee beat Florida 20-17 in OT in front of the then largest crowd to watch a college football game outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1965, the NFL added an official to the crew to make sure quarterbacks weren't going past the line of scrimmage. In 1959, Jack Nicklaus won the US Amateur. In...

In 1982, Stanford with senior QB John Elway played San Jose State coached by Jack Elway for the fourth and final time. In 1988, Arnold Palmer won his final golf tournament. In 1999, 35-year old Jim Morris made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His story inspired a movie with Dennis Quaid playing Morris.

In 1988, the top ranked Miami Hurricanes scored 17 points in the final 5:30 to beat #16 Michigan 31-30. In 1961, the expansion Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears in the opening week of the season. In 1933, the 'Bronco Nagurski' rule went into effect. In 1994, UNLV Quarterback Jason Davis completed 28 of 41 passes for 347 yards...in a single quarter! In 2004, it was a horrible start for the A...

In 1869, Young Tom Morris holed the first Ace in a major golf tournament. In 1989, Raghib ‘Rocket’ Ismail ran back two kickoffs for TDs against Michigan in a 24-19 win. It was the second time Rocket ran two back for TDs in a game. In 2000, Kentucky State’s Alvon Brown rushed for 405 yards rushing to set a Division 2 record. In 1924, St. Louis Cardinal Jim Bottomley drove in 12 of his team's 17 run...

In 1978, Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks to win his third In 1969, Steve Carlton struck out 19 and lost to the New York Mets In 1971, Larry Yount was brought in to pitch in his major league debut but never threw an official pitch and never pitched again in the majors. In 1973, Archie Griffin started a string of 31 consecutive 100 yard rushing games. In 2002, Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon started a...

In 1969, tire issues caused concern among NASCAR drivers at the brand new track at Talladega. It led to a 17-driver boycott. In 1991, San Diego State freshman running back Marshall Faulk set a new rushing record with 386 yards and 7 touchdowns. In 2003, Baltimore Raven running back Jamal Lewis rushed for a then NFL record 295 yards in a win over Cleveland. In 1994, the remainder of the Major Leagu...

In 1992, San Francisco' Steve Young and Buffalo's Jim Kelly went head-to-head in an offensive air assault. It became the first NFL game with zero punts. In 1981, the Atlanta Falcons scored 31 points in the 4th quarter against Green Bay to tie an NFL record. In 2015, Tennessee Titan Marcus Mariotta became the first rookie QB to put together a perfect QB rating in his first start. In 1958, Florida S...

In 2009, Serena Williams exploded at a linesman after a foot fault. It cost her the match and a record amount of money. In 1992, Michael Chang and Stefan Edberg played a record setting marathon match at the US Open. In 1971, Johnny Miller won his first PGA Tournament after canceling a fishing trip. In 1976, Niki Lauda made his return to F1 just 33 days from a fiery crash. In 1995, the Harlem Globe...

In 1985, Pete Rose picked up hit number 4,192 to pass Ty Cobb as the all-time MLB hits leader. In 1906, Boston Americans right fielder Jack Hayden and his teammate, second baseman Hobe Ferris got into a horrific fight that led to Hayden losing teeth and both being arrested. In 1991, it was an unusual combined no-hitter in Atlanta. In 2015, Meadville (Pa.) High School beat DuBois (Pa.) High School...

In 2016, Central Michigan benefitted from an officiating error to get an untimed down and then shocked Oklahoma State on the final play. In 1978, the Oakland Raiders pulled off the 'Holy Roller' to beat San Diego. In 1972, an imposter jumped into the men's Olympic marathon with about a kilometer to go and then ran around the track as if he was the leader. In 1983, a linesman was struck by ball dur...

In 1972, the US Men's basketball team had their Gold Medals stolen from them by the Soviets and FIBA. In 2020, the Atlanta Braves scored 29 runs to set a new National League record. In 1965, LA Dodger Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs. The game set records for fewest hits in a game (1) and baserunners (2). In 1960, the Denver Broncos and the Boston Patriots played the firs...

In 2002, the Kansas Chiefs beat the Cleveland Browns on an untimed field goal after Dwayne Rudd took off his helmet before the play was over. In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first female track athlete to win three gold medals during an Olympic Summer games. In 2001, Venus and Serena Williams played against each other in a grand slam finals match for the first time. In 1957, Althea Gibson became...

In 1980, Green Bay kicker Chester Marcol scored the game winning touchdown against Chicago. In 2003, Carolina Panther QB Jake Delhomme sparked a second half comeback to beat Jacksonville Jaguars. In 1979, ESPN hit the air with the words, 'If you're a fan, if you're a fan, what you'll see in the minutes, days and weeks that follow may convince you, you've gone to sports heaven.' In 1889, the St. Lo...

In 1976, LA Dodger Steve Yaeger nearly died but he turned his horrific injury into a new piece of equipment. In 1995, Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken became Major League Baseball's new Iron Man. In 1924, St. Louis Browns pitcher Urban Shocker pitched both games of a double header. In 2004, Tiger Woods lost his number one ranking after holding it for 264 consecutive weeks. In 1975, tennis player Martin...

In 2013, Peyton Manning became the sixth NFL QB to throw 7 TDs in a game. In 1906, the first legal forward pass was thrown in a football game. In 1997, Houston's Tony Peña pulled off the second fake intentional walk of his career. In 1972, eight members of Black September, an offshoot of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, invaded the Israeli Olympic living quarters with guns drawn, taking ho...

In 1950, NASCAR raced 500 miles for the first time. The Southern 500 wreaked havoc on tires and was a battle of attrition. In 1991, the notation that Babe Ruth was the record holder for home runs in a 154 game season was finally removed from the record books. There was never an asterisk. In 1993, New York Yankee Jim Abbott pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. In 1972, U.S. swimmer Ri...

In 1989, a World Cup qualifying match between Brazil and Chile ended in chaos. In 1977, Japan’s Sadaharu Oh hit career homer number 756, passing Hank Aaron’s total. In 2008, it was the first official use of replay in major league baseball. In 1906, the first prize fight was hosted in the Nevada desert featuring Battling Nelson and Joe Gans. In 1970, Vince Lombardi died after battling colon cancer....

In 1972, US middle distance runner Dave Wottle won the gold medal in one of the most dramatic comebacks in the 800m final. In 1995, Northwestern beat Notre Dame after being a 28-point underdog. In 1956, F1 rookie Peter Collins gave up his race car to teammate Juan Manual Fangio midway through the final race to allow Fangio a chance to capture the championship title. In 1979, Philadelphia Eagles ki...