Events in Sports History on December 18

  • 1894 Day 4 of the 1st cricket test Australia v England, England following on 4-268, 7 in front
  • 1932 National Football League Championship; Playoff, Chicago Stadium: Chicago Bears beat Portsmouth Spartans, 9-0

Bradman's Sheffield Debut

1935 Don Bradman scores 117 in his debut Sheffield Shield cricket match for South Australia in an innings & 5 run win over his old team, New South Wales

  • 1936 Queensland cricket all out for 49 v Vic, Fleetwood-Smith 7-17
  • 1949 National Football League Championship, Philadelphia Eagles beat Los Angeles Rams, 14-0; played in driving rain that caused field to become a mud pit
  • 1952 Ellis W. Ryan resigns as Cleveland Indians president

Inaugural Ballon d'Or

1956 Ballon d'Or: Blackpool & England winger Stanley Matthews wins inaugural award for best football player in Europe; beats Real Madrid pair Alfredo Di Stéfano & Raymond Kopa

Rizzuto for the Yankees

1956 Phil Rizzuto signs as NY Yankees radio-TV announcer

Baugh 1st Titans' Coach

1959 Sammy Baugh named 1st coach of NY Titans (AFL)

  • 1961 For 2nd consecutive year, AP names Wilma Rudolph female athlete of year
  • 1962 Ballon d'Or: Dukler Prague midfielder Josef Masopust wins award for best European football player; beats Benfica striker Eusébio and FC Köln defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger
  • 1973 Yanks sign Dick Williams as manager, overturned later by AL Pres
  • 1977 NBA Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 42, Nate Thumond
  • 1983 NBA San Diego Clippers ends 29 game road losing streak
  • 1984 73rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats USA in Gothenburg (4-1)
  • 1988 Cricket Women's World Cup: Australia defeats England by 8 wickets
  • 1988 Seattle Seahawks win their 1st ever division title with 9-7 record

Strawberry Pleads Not Guilty

1994 Darryl Strawberry pleads not guilty on tax evasion charges

  • 1996 Start of 1st Test Cricket match between Zimbabwe & England
  • 2001 Ballon d'Or: Liverpool forward Michael Owen is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Raúl and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn
  • 2017 Australia regains cricket's Ashes against England, winning by an innings to take 3 game lead at the WACA in Perth
  • 2018 Manchester United sacks high profile Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho; United in 6th place in EPL, 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer new caretaker manager

Argentina Defeats France

2022 FIFA World Cup Final, Lusail Stadium, Qatar: Argentina beats France, 4-2 in penalty shootout after teams locked at 3-3 after extra time; Lionel Messi scores 2 for Argentina, Kylian Mbappé a hat-trick for France