Events in Sports History on December 20

  • 1894 England beat Australia by 10 runs in the 1st six-day Test Cricket, Australia needed 177 to win, all out at 166 on 6th day

O'Brien vs. Fitzsimmons

1905 'Philadelphia' Jack O'Brien wins the World Light Heavyweight boxing title after defending champion Bob Fitzsimmons of England retires in round 13 of 20 in San Francisco

  • 1920 Bert Collins scores 104 on Test Cricket debut v England SCG

World Series Best-of-7

1921 AL votes to return to best-of-7 World Series, while NL votes best-of-9; Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis casts deciding vote for best-of-7

  • 1925 National Football League Championship: Chicago Cardinals (11-2-1) win controversial first past the post title; Pottsville Maroons suspended after playing unsanctioned game

Cardinals Trade Hornsby

1926 St. Louis Cardinals trade future Baseball Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby to NY Giants for Frankie Frisch & Jimmy Ring; concerns over Hornsby's gambling

  • 1929 Heinie Wagner replaces Bill Carrigan as Red Sox manager
  • 1930 Cricketer Learie Constantine scores 100 runs in 52 mins West Indies v Tasmania (10x4, 1x6, 1x5) [1]
  • 1932 50-year-old Australian cricket Test spinner Bert Ironmonger captures 7-13 as Queensland dismissed for 74; Victoria wins by an innings & 139 runs in Melbourne
  • 1937 Australian cricket spin bowler Bill O'Reilly takes career best 9-41 for NSW in a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval
  • 1938 Boston Bruins rookie goalie Frankie Brimsek records his 3rd straight shutout with a 3-0 win over the New York Americans, making it his incredible sixth shutout in his first 8 NHL games

Connie Mack Acquires Athletics

1940 Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Athletics for $42,000

  • 1959 Indian cricket spin bowler Jasubhai Patel takes 9-69 in Australia's 1st innings 219 in 2nd Test at Kanpur
  • 1966 NBA awards Seattle Supersonics a franchise for 1967-68 season

Cronin Refuses Williams

1973 AL president Joe Cronin refuses to allow Dick Williams to manage Yankees

Richard Scores 1,000

1973 Montreal Canadien Henri Richard scores his 1,000th NHL point

  • 1979 Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Behn Wilson scores with 4:08 remaining in regulation to earn a 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins and equal NHL record for longest undefeated streak of 28 games; go on to break record and extend to 35 games
  • 1981 Winnipeg left wing Doug Smail sets NHL record by scoring just 4 seconds into Jets' 5-4 win over the St Louis Blues; fastest goal from opening face-off to back of net in history; later tied by Bryan Trottier and Alex Mogilny

Lafleur Scores 500

1983 Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens, becomes 10th NHLer to score 500 goals

  • 1983 NY Islanders score their most goals (11) vs Pitts Penguins

Potvin Passes Orr

1985 Denis Potvin passes Bobby Orr as NHL defenseman scorer (916 points)

  • 1985 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC
  • 1987 76th Davis Cup: Sweden beats India in Gothenburg (5-0)
  • 1991 NHL approves expansion teams Tampa Lightning & Ottawa Senators

Ballon d'Or

1994 Ballon d'Or: FC Barcelona's Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov is named Europe's best football player ahead of Juventus striker Roberto Baggio and Milan defender Paolo Maldini

  • 2001 90th Davis Cup: France beats Australia in Melbourne (3-2)