- 1860 First ever inter-club football match between Hallam F.C. and Sheffield F.C. at Sandygate Road ground in Sheffield, England
Jackson vs. Burns
1908 African-American boxer Jack Johnson stops Canadian defending champion Tommy Burns in the 14th round in Sydney, Australia, to become the first black man to win world heavyweight title; Burns is favorite in 12th title defense but Johnson dominates before police stop the bout
- 1925 1st East-West Shrine Bowl game of college football 'all-stars' played before 25,000 fans at Ewing Park, San Francisco. Proceeds continue to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.
- 1925 NY Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates set an NHL record by recording a combined 141 shots on goal in Americans' 3-1 win; Roy Worters makes incredible 70 saves for Pittsburgh and Jake Forbes has 67 for NY
Weissmuller Retires
1928 Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming
- 1934 Yomiuri Giants, Japan's 1st professional baseball team forms
- 1938 Tom Goddard takes a cricket hat-trick for England v South Africa
- 1940 1st-class cricket debut of Arthur Morris, who scores 148
- 1943 National Football League Championship, Wrigley Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat Washington Redskins, 41-21; Bears 6th title
- 1950 Gillette & Mutual buy All Star & World Series rights ($6M for 6 yrs)
- 1954 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Municipal Stadium: Cleveland Browns thrash Detroit Lions, 56-10; Browns' placekicker Lou Groza makes 8 extra points, a new title game record
- 1955 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams, 38-14; Browns defend title and win their 3rd NFL Championship of the 1950s in a second straight rout
Eagles Defeat Packers
1960 National Football League Championship, Franklin Field, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles beat Green Bay Packers, 17-13; lone playoff defeat for Packers coach Vince Lombardi before Packers establish dynasty
- 1964 AFL Championship, War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo: Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 20-7; defending champions can't overcome 1st quarter injury to star RB Keith Lincoln
- 1965 AFL Championship, Balboa Stadium San Diego: Buffalo Bills beat San Diego Chargers 23-0; repeat previous year's win over SD
- 1967 Ballon d'Or: Ferencváros forward Flórián Albert wins award for best European football player ahead of Manchester United midfielder Bobby Charlton and Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone
- 1968 Bruin Ted Green sets NHL penalty record of 3 minors, 2 majors & 2 game misconducts in a game against NY Rangers in NY's Madison Square Garden
Ali vs. Blin
1971 Muhammad Ali finishes off German Jürgen Blin with a thundering right cross for a 7th-round knockout in a non-title heavyweight boxing contest in Zurich, Switzerland
Franz Beckenbauer Gets Award
1972 Ballon d'Or: Bayern Munich defender Franz Beckenbauer wins award for best European football player ahead of tied fellow German duo of Gerd Müller and Günter Netzer
Raiders Beat Steelers
1976 AFC Championship, Oakland Coliseum: Oakland Raiders beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-7
- 1976 NFC Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Los Angeles Rams, 24-13
- 1980 10th Fiesta Bowl: #10 Penn State beats #11 Ohio State, 31-19
- 1981 One of the great day's Test Cricket at the MCG Australia v West Indies
- 1983 Test Cricket debut of Gregory Richard John Matthews, v Pakistan at the MCG
- 1985 Test Cricket debut of Steve Waugh, v India at the MCG
- 1986 Hartford center Doug Jarvis sets NHL record of 916 consecutive games as the Whalers tie 1-1 after OT against his old club Montreal Canadiens
Messier Suspended
1986 Mark Messier is suspended for 10 games for instigating a fight with Jamie Macoun and breaking his cheekbone
Ballon d'Or
1989 Ballon d'Or: Milan's second straight 1-2-3; Dutch striker Marco van Basten wins his 2nd best football player in Europe title ahead of Franco Baresi and Frank Rijkaard
Taylor and Jayasuriya Debut
1989 ODI cricket debut for Australia's Mark Taylor and Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya at the MCG
Kasparov Defeats Karpov
1990 Garry Kasparov defeats fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov to retain the world chess championship
- 1990 Reggie Williams becomes 1st GM of WLAF's NY-NJ Knights
- 1990 Senior Professional Baseball Association folds
Pittsburgh Routs Toronto
1991 Future Hockey Hall of Fame right wing Joe Mullen scores 4 goals for the second straight NHL game as the Pittsburgh Penguins rout Toronto, 12-1; Mario Lemieux adds 2 goals & 5 assists and Kevin Stevens has 2 goals & 4 assists
Chuck Noll Retires
1991 Future Pro Football HOF coach Chuck Noll retires as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers (1969–1991)
- 1991 NY Islander Derek King ties NJ Devils 5-5 with ½ second left
- 1992 New York Jets announcer Marty Glickman retires at 75
- 1992 The NHL's San Jose Sharks end a 13-game losing streak with a 7-2 win over the LA Kings, albeit allowing 59 shots, the most in team history; Jeff Hacket makes 57 saves
- 1995 Paul Adams becomes South Africa's youngest Test Cricket player at 18 yrs 340 days
- 2006 At 40 years, 268 days, Teddy Sheringham scores for West Ham United in a 2-1 loss to Portsmouth at Upton Park, London; becomes oldest goalscorer in EPL history
Warne 1st to 700 Test Wickets
2006 Spin bowling great Shane Warne becomes first bowler in Test cricket history to take 700 wickets; bowls England opener Andrew Strauss for 50 during Australia's 4th Test win in Melbourne
- 2023 The Detroit Pistons suffer a 118-112 loss to the Brooklyn Nets at home to set an NBA single-season record with their 27th straight defeat