Events in Sports History on December 3

  • 1901 At the MLB meeting, the Milwaukee Brewers franchise is officially dropped from the American League and replaced by the St. Louis Browns
  • 1921 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: Toronto Argonauts win 2nd Championship; beat Edmonton Eskimos, 23-0

Bruins Streak begins

1929 Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1, the first win of an NHL record 14-game winning streak, and a 22-game home winning streak

  • 1932 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Hamilton Tigers defeat Regina Roughriders, 25-6 for their 5th Championship

Mickey Cochrane

1933 As part of a famous MLB fire sale of players, Philadelphia A's owner Connie Mack sells catcher Mickey Cochrane to Detroit for $100,000; Cochrane is immediately named Tigers manager

  • 1933 Joe Lilliard QBs Chic Cardinals; last NFL black until 1946
  • 1943 9th Heisman Trophy Award: Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame (QB)
  • 1944 Temporary merger of 2 NFL teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals, dissolves at finish of season; WWII ends before start of 1945 season, so both teams resume normal operations
  • 1946 12th Heisman Trophy Award: Glenn Davis, Army (HB)

Bradman's Testimonial

1948 Australian cricket icon Don Bradman scores 123 for the Bradman XI in his own testimonial match against the Lindsay Hassett's XI in front of 52,360 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

  • 1949 14th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 14-13 in Birmingham
  • 1950 Cleveland Browns last NFL team with no-pass game (beat Philadelphia 13-7)
  • 1956 Australian 4 x 200m freestyle relay team of Kevin O'Halloran, John Devitt, Murray Rose & Jon Henricks swim world record 8:23.6 to take the gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Rose's 2nd of 3 gold at the Games

Chamberlain's Varsity Debut

1956 Basketball icon Wilt Chamberlain makes his much anticipated varsity debut; scores 52 points and grabs 31 rebounds, breaking both all-time Kansas records in an 87–69 win against Northwestern

  • 1957 23rd Heisman Trophy Award: John Crow, Texas A&M (HB)
  • 1961 Dutchman Anton Geesink becomes 1st non-Japanese judo world champion

George Blanda

1961 George Blanda of Houston Oilers kicks 55-yard field goal

  • 1962 1963 NFL Draft: Terry Baker from Oregon State first pick by Los Angeles Rams
  • 1966 31st Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 31-0 in Birmingham
  • 1967 Australian Derek Clayton runs world marathon record 2:09:36.4 at the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan
  • 1968 MLB Rules Committee adopts a series of changes designed to increase amount of offensive run production; decreases strike zone size and lowers height of pitcher's mound from 15" to 10"; changes are successful
  • 1970 Claude Ruel resigns as coach of the NHL Montreal Canadiens; replacement Al MacNeil leads Habs to a Stanley Cup championship 5 months later
  • 1972 CFL Grey Cup, Ivor Wynne Stadium, Hamilton: Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat Saskatchewan Roughriders, 13-10; Tiger-Cats first team in CFL's modern era to win Grey Cup at home
  • 1979 45th Heisman Trophy Award: Charles White, Southern California (RB)

Don Sutton

1980 Don Sutton, the winningest pitcher in Los Angeles Dodgers history, signs a 4-year contract with Houston; Astros career shortened by a patellar fracture; returns to Dodgers in 1988 after stints with 3 other MLB clubs

Leonard vs. Benitez

1982 After losing his world welterweight boxing titles to Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns wins WBC Super Welterweight crown in a majority points decision over Wilfred Benitez at Superdome, New Orleans

  • 1983 48th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 23-20 in Birmingham
  • 1983 49th Heisman Trophy Award: Mike Rozier, Nebraska (RB)

Sri Lanka Dismissed for 55

1986 Chasing the West Indies 248/5, Sri Lanka is sensationally dismissed for just 55 in cricket's Champions Trophy in Sharjah; Windies pace bowler Courtney Walsh takes 5 for 1 in 4.3 overs

  • 1988 54th Heisman Trophy Award: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State (RB)

Stefan Edberg

1989 Stefan Edberg of Sweden claims his first and only ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title with a 4–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–1 win over defending champion Boris Becker at Madison Square Garden, NYC

  • 1994 3rd SEC Championship Game: #6 Florida beats #3 Alabama, 24-23

US Defeats Russia

1995 Davis Cup Tennis, Moscow: Pete Sampras beats Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 to give US a winning 3-1 lead (ends 3-2); record 31st US title

  • 1995 England cricket wicket keeper Jack Russell dismisses Clive Eksteen with his record 11th catch in 2nd Test v South Africa in Johannesburg
  • 1997 Golden State Warriors terminates guard Latrell Sprewell's four-year, $32 million NBA contract for attacking coach P.J. Carlesimo
  • 1999 Ottawa Senators' right wing Kevin Dineen becomes 5th player in NHL history to score 300 career goals and record 2,000 penalty minutes; picks up a misconduct penalty in 7-4 loss to NJ Devils

Gustavo Kuerten

2000 French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil wins the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the only time; beats Andre Agassi 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 in the final in Lisbon, Portugal

  • 2005 10th Big 12 Championship Game: #2 Texas beats Colorado, 70-3
  • 2005 14th SEC Championship Game: #13 Georgia beats #3 LSU, 34-14
  • 2005 1st ACC Championship Game: #22 Florida State beats #5 Virginia Tech, 27-22
  • 2006 Davis Cup Tennis, Moscow: Marat Safin beats José Acasuso of Argentina 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 to clinch Russia's 3-2 victory
  • 2009 Patrick Kane signs a five-year, $31.5 million contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks
  • 2011 20th SEC Championship Game: #1 LSU beats #16 Georgia, 42-10
  • 2011 7th ACC Championship Game: #21 Clemson beats #5 Virginia Tech, 38-10
  • 2014 Australian Rugby star David Pocock is arrested after protesting against a coal mine under construction in an Australian national forest

Ballon d'Or

2018 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić wins; first time since 2007 that either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't win award; Norwegian striker Ada Hegerberg is inaugural women's winner