This Day in Sports History

In 2007, Tiger Woods won the Buick Invitational for his seventh consecutive PGA Tour win. In 1958, Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella crashed his car and was left paralyzed. In 1990, San Francisco crushed Denver in the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history. In 1975, St. Louis’ Freddie Lewis won the ABA All-Star MVP and was given a horse for his effort. In 1957, American tennis player Shirley...

In 2001, Duke erased a 10-point deficit with a minute left at Maryland and then won the game in OT. In 2024, Wyoming erased an 11-point deficit with a 1:10 left to beat Colorado State in OT. In 1977, the Bradley Braves scored the first 28-points of the game against New Mexico State but lost. It's the largest lead given up after preventing the other team from scoring. In 1976, Julius Erving bested...

In 1996, Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Dave Schultz was murdered by John DuPont on the Foxcatcher Farm in Pennsylvania. In 1913, Jim Thorpe was stripped of his 1912 Olympic Gold Medals for accepting $25/week to play baseball in 1910 and 1911. In 1986, the Chicago Bears beat New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. In 1993, Cheryl Miller scored 105 points in a women's high school basketball game o...

In 2010, JamesOn Curry came off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers and played 3.9 seconds. He was subbed for and never played again. In 1972, the Ohio State vs. Minnesota basketball game ended in a horrible brawl that sent three Buckeye players to the hospital. In 1924, the first Winter Olympics got started in Chamonix, France. And in 1939, Joe Louis fought his friend John Henry Lewis as a fav...

In 1981, New York Islanders' Mike Bossy scored a pair of goals in the closing minutes to score his 50th goal in the first 50 games of the season. In 1999, David Duval carded 11 birdies and an eagle en route to the third 59 in a PGA Tour Event. In 1982, a Super Bowl of firsts. First for both teams, first in a cold weather city, first use of the telestrator, first Super Bowl for John Madden in the b...

In 1971, ABA commissioner Jack Dolph left his briefcase open courtside during the ABA All Star game exposing pro contracts for two college basketball players who still had eligibility. The contracts were noticed and led to an NCAA investigation. When the investigation ended, Villanova had its entire season vacated while Western Kentucky had its postseason erased. In 1983, Swedish tennis star Bjorn...

In 1973, the Sunshine Showdown in Jamaica between Joe Frazier and Joe Foreman. After Foreman put Frazier on the mat, Howard Cosell screamed, 'Down Goes Frazier!' In 1989, Super Bowl XXIII in Miami between San Francisco and Cincinnati. But there was more going on in Miami that week that nearly caused the game to be relocated. In 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 in the second best night for an NBA player...

In 1952, Seattle University shocked the Harlem Globetrotters 84-81. In 1979, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII. The game is known for Jackie Smith's dropped TD pass. In 1990, John McEnroe became the first player ever disqualified from the Australian Open for misconduct. In 1984, Bobby Knight unloaded on Michigan head coach Bill Frieder for breaking an 'unwritten ru...

In 1970, Muhammad Ali vs. Rocky Marciano in the 'Super Fight.' This was a movie version of a computer generated outcome between the two heavyweights. In 1968, UCLA played Houston in the Astrodome in college basketball's 'Game of the Century.' Elvin Hayes outdueled Lew Alcindor to snap the Bruins 47-game winning streak. In 1996, Fox Sports debuted the FoxTrax Hockey Puck Tracker. And in 1980, the M...

In 1974, Notre Dame beat UCLA 71-70 ending the Bruins 88-game winning streak. In 1975, UCLA legendary big men Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played against each other for the first time in the NBA. In 1981, Muhammad Ali talked a suicidal man off a ledge in Los Angeles. In 1983, minor league hockey player Tom Martin was traded for a bus. In 2002, did Tom Brady fumble or simply throw an incompl...

In 1971, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 to Super Bowl X. This was also the first Super Bowl that featured a halftime show. In 1958, Willie O'Ree became the first black player to play in the NHL when he played for the Boston Bruins. In 1896, the University of Chicago played the University of Iowa in the first collegiate basketball game that featured 5 man teams. In 1950, Clev...

In 1971, Jim O'Brien kicked the game winner in an error-filled Super Bowl V. In 1999, Minnesota's Gary Anderson picked a bad time to miss his first field goal in two years. In 1988, Cleveland's Earnest Byner fumbled inside the five to give Denver the ball and the Browns missed out on a Super Bowl. In 1951, a points shaving scandal rocked college basketball.

In 2000, Paul Azinger won the Sony Invitational. It was his first win in 7 years and it came three months after his good friend Payne Stewart died in a plane accident. In 1977, the smooth-swinging Bruce Lietzke won the Tucson Open for his first tour win. In 1905, the Dawson City Nuggets traveled 4000 miles to challenge Ottawa for the Stanley Cup. They failed miserably. In 1972, Dallas beat Miami 2...

In 1967, the first Super Bowl was played in Los Angeles. In 1997, Chicago Bull Dennis Rodman kicked a courtside camera guy. In 1990, the origin of the 'Trent Tucker' Rule. In 1878, Harvard's Fred Thayer patented his new invention; the catcher's mask.

In 1973, the Miami Dolphins beat Washington 14-7. It would have been 17-0 if not for Garo Yepremian's unfortunate error. In 1995, Roberto Duran fought Vinny Pazienza for the second time. In 1954, former New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe. In 1976, NASL's Chicago Sting drafter Playboy Playmate Marilyn Lange.

In 1991, Bo Jackson injured his hip and ended his football career. In 1999, Michael Jordan retired for the second time. In 1968, Minnesota North Star Bill Masterton was knocked out on the ice and never regained consciousness. He died on the 15th. In 1974, the Miami Dolphins beat Minnesota to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. In 2009, the Dallas Covenant girls basketball team from Dallas bea...

In 1969, the New York Jets shocked the Baltimore Colts and the world, winning Super Bowl III. In 2013, Joe Flacco hit Jacoby Jones for a 70-yard TD pass to tie up an NFL playoff game and then they won in it 2OT. In 1992, Division II's Troy State beat NAIA opponent DeVry 258 -141 for the highest scoring college basketball game.

In 1956, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Ken Venturi, and Harvie Ward played a memorable match that nearly nobody saw. In 1987, John Elway engineered the 'Drive' on the road at Cleveland to advance to the Super Bowl. In 1983, Edmonton’s Pat Hughes scored two short-handed goals in a span of 25 seconds, breaking a record set by Wayne Gretzky. And in 1953, J. Edgar Hoover turned down a $100,000 offer to tak...

In 1980, newly hired LSU football coach Bo Rein died in a plane accident. In 1982, San Francisco's Joe Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the endzone for the winning touchdown to beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship. In 1982, Cincinnati beat the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game. The temperature at game time was minus 9 but with a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour...

In 1971, Maryland beat #2 South Carolina in a slow down game. In 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers to end their 33-game winning streak. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar outdueled Wilt Chamberlain. In 1963, Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown was fired by owner Art Modell. Brown was a true innovator in the game and went on to start up and coach the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2005, Minnesota's...

In 2011, Seattle's Marshawn Lynch broke 8 tackles on his way to a touchdown. The roar from the crowd registered as a tremor on local seismic devices. In 2000, the Tennessee Titans used the 'Home Run Throw Back' to pull off the Music City Miracle agains the Buffalo Bills. In 2012, Tim Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas for the game winner against Pittsburgh on the first play of OT. In 1955, Georgia Tech sh...

In 2017, the Nevada Wolfpack trailed by 19 with 4 1/2 to play, were down 14 with 1:04 left to tie it up and send it to OT and then win it 105-104. In 2007, second ranked LSU beat #1 Ohio State 38-24 to win the National Championship. It was first time that a team with two losses won a title since 1960. In 1980, the Philadelphia Flyers lost. It was their first loss since Oct. 13th. Between, the Flye...

In 1950, Ben Hogan played his first competitive round after his near fatal car crash 11-months prior. In 1961, Arnold Palmer carded a 12 on a par 4. In 2014, Florida State erased an 18-point deficit to beat Auburn and win the BCS Championship. In 2018, Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariotta caught his own pass and scored a touchdown to help beat the Kansas City Chiefs. In 1991, Nancy Kerrigan was ass...

In 2003, the San Francisco 49ers came from 24 points down to beat the New York Giants in Wildcard Playoff game. There was a controversial end that led NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to say it was the worst reffing blunder in his 13 year career. In 1971, boxer Sonny Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Was he murdered for not taking a dive? In 1988, Pete Maravich died playing a pickup game...

In 2004, Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck made a bold statement but didn't deliver. In 1981, the Cleveland Browns Brian Sipe threw an interception to end their season on a play called 'Red Right 88.' The reason they ran it was due to their kicker struggling to kick the ball straight. In 1976, 48-year old George Blanda played his final game, wrapping up a 27 year career that spanned four decades. --- Also...