Events in Sports History on December 17

  • 1894 Cricket day 3 1T Australia v England; England 325 all out, 261 behind on 1st innings
  • 1920 AL votes to let spitball pitchers to continue using it
  • 1924 The Hamilton Tigers and Ottawa Senators battle out the first scoreless game in NHL history; Jake Forbes (Hamilton) and Alex Connell (Ottawa) each record shutouts

Bradman's 1st Class Debut

1927 Australian cricketing prodigy Don Bradman scores 118 in his 1st-class debut for NSW against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval

Victoria Score 793

1927 Victoria score 793 against Queensland, Bill Ponsford 437

Cardinals Trade Bottomley

1932 St. Cardinals trade future Baseball HOF first baseman Jim Bottomley to Cincinnati Reds for Estel Crabtree & Ownie Carroll

  • 1933 Bryan Valentine (136) and Lala Amarnath (102no) score centuries on their Test Cricket debut on Day 3 of 1st Test between England and India at Bombay

Chicago Bears Win 1st Title

1933 National Football League Championship - 1st title game, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 23-21; "Bronko Nagurski Rule" - forward pass is legal anywhere behind line of scrimmage

Packers 6th League Title

1944 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Green Bay Packers beat New York Giants, 14-7 for 6th and final league title under long-time coach Curly Lambeau

  • 1946 Bradman & Barnes complete record 405 run 5th wicket stand, score 234 each in 2nd Cricket Test Australia vs. England in Sydney

Alfredo Di Stéfano Wins

1957 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid forward Alfredo Di Stéfano wins award for best football player in Europe ahead of Englishmen Billy Wright and Duncan Edwards

  • 1957 The largest trade in NHL history at the time in terms of quantity; Chicago Black Hawks move Nick Mickoski, Jack McIntyre, Bob Bailey & Hec Lalonde to Detroit Red Wings for Earl Reibel, Billy Dea, Bill Dineen & Lorne Ferguson

Lindsay's Scoring Record

1958 Ted Lindsay becomes highest scoring left wing in NHL history, passing Aurel Joliat who retired with 270; scores twice and adds an assist In Chicago Black Hawks' 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins at Chicago Stadium

  • 1963 Ballon d'Or: Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Lev Yashin wins award for best European football player; beats Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera and Tottenham striker Jimmy Greaves; first Russian national to win trophy
  • 1975 NHL NY Islanders shut-out NY Rangers, for 1st time in 3-0 win with Billy Smith in goal
  • 1977 Rookie defenseman Barry Beck scores first career hat trick and adds an assist in Colorado Rockies' 5-1 win v Minnesota North Stars; sets NHL record for rookie defensemen with a goal in his 6th straight game

Gretsky's 800th Point

1983 In his 352nd NHL game, Wayne Gretzky scores a goal & 5 assists in 8-1 rout of Quebec Nordiques to record his 800th point and 500th assist; averages 2.27 points, 1.42 assists, 0.85 goals per game to start career

  • 1986 Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky scores 4 goals, including a natural hat trick in the 1st period and also records an assist as the Oilers win 5-3 over the visiting Quebec Nordiques; his 41st NHL career hat trick
  • 1988 77th Davis Cup: Germany beats Sweden in Gothenburg (4-1)
  • 1988 Bryan Murray becomes 17th NHL coach to win 300 games (Washington Capitals)
  • 1988 NY Islanders break 12 game losing streak, beat Devils 5-2
  • 1989 78th Davis Cup: Germany beats Sweden in Stuttgart (3-2)
  • 1989 Michael Bevan scores cricket century on 1st-class debut (114 SA v WA)
  • 1991 Cleveland Cavaliers beat Miami Heat 148-80, by record 68 pts
  • 1991 NBA's most lopsided game Cleveland beats Miami 148-80
  • 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins score team record 8 goals in one period in 2nd session of 10-2 win over NHL expansion San Jose Sharks

Bruin Players Post Records

1999 Ray Bourque becomes just the 3rd player in NHL history to score 1,100 assists, and goaltender Byron Dafoe records his 100th NHL victory in Boston Bruin's 3-1 win over the Thrashers in Atlanta

  • 2013 Australia wins the 3rd test to take win the 2013-14 Ashes test cricket series
  • 2014 103-year-old Gus Andreone records the 8th ace of his career on the 113-yard, 14th hole of the Lakes Course, Palm Aire, Sarasota, FL; oldest golfer to record a hole-in-one
  • 2015 José Mourinho is sacked as manager of British Premier football club Chelsea

Kaka Retires

2017 Brazilian footballer and former AC Milan and Real Madrid player Kaka retires

  • 2019 England's Fallon Sherrock becomes first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, beating compatriot Ted Evetts, 3-2 at the Alexandra Palace in London
  • 2022 Minnesota Vikings recover from 33-0 down at halftime to beat Indianapolis Colts, 39-36 in overtime at US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN; biggest comeback in NFL history