Events in Sports History on December 23

  • 1866 First yacht race across the Atlantic won by the schooner Henrietta owned by Gordon Bennett of New York, first to reach Bishop Rock in the Scilly Isles after racing from NY
  • 1923 Yankees pitcher Carl Mays sold to Reds for $85,000

Morenz Goal Record

1933 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz scores in 3-0 win v Detroit Red Wings; his NHL record 249th career goal

  • 1951 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Los Angeles Rams beat Cleveland Browns, 24-17; first coast-to-coast televised NFL title game
  • 1953 Dodgers 2nd baseman Jim Gilliam wins NL Rookie of Year
  • 1957 Test cricket debut for all-time great Australian wicketkeeper Wally Grout and future captain and coach Bobby Simpson, 1st Test v South Africa in Johannesburg

Ballon d'Or

1969 Ballon d'Or: Milan midfielder Gianni Rivera wins award for best European football player ahead of Cagliari forward Luigi Riva and Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller

  • 1972 "Immaculate Reception" Steelers turns around a 7-6 defeat with a last second touchdown reception against Raiders to win 13-7 [1]
  • 1972 2nd Fiesta Bowl: #15 Arizona State beats Missouri, 49-35
  • 1972 New York Islanders end 15 games winless streak
  • 1975 Chairman of MLB arbitration panel Peter Seitz rules pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to be free agents

Trootier Sets Scoring Record

1978 NY Islanders center Bryan Trottier sets NHL record scoring 6 points - 4 goals & 2 assists - in 2nd period of 9-4 win over rival NY Rangers; adds goal & assist for game total 8 points; Islanders undefeated home streak stands at 16 games

  • 1979 NY Islanders greatest shutout lose (8-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
  • 1981 Geoffrey Boycott becomes leading run-scorer in Test Cricket with 8033

Richards Bats 208

1984 West Indies batsman Viv Richards scores 208 vs Ausatralia in test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

  • 1987 Buffalo goaltender Tom Barrasso leads the Sabres to a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings to record his 100th NHL victory; makes him the youngest player to reach milestone at just 22 years, 9 months
  • 1994 Baseball owners impose salary cap, fiercely opposed by players

Ballon d'Or

1997 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona/Inter's Brazilian striker Ronaldo wins his first of 2 best football player in Europe awards ahead of Real Madrid forward Predrag Mijatović and Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane

Jackson Quickest to 500 Wins

1997 Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson is quickest to reach 500 wins (682 games)

Kurri Scores 800

1997 Colorado Avalanche Jari Kurri is 8th NHLer to score 600 career goals

  • 2000 Cricket Women's World Cup: New Zealand defeats Australia by 4 runs

Ovechkin Most Career Goals

2022 Washington Capitals center Alex Ovechkin scores two goals to move past Gordie Howe on most NHL career goals list in 4-1 win over visiting Winnipeg Jets