Events in Sports History on January 12

Malone 1st to 20 Goals

1918 Montreal Canadien's center Joe Malone scores 5 goals in a 9-4 win over Ottawa to become the first 20 goal scorer in NHL history; goes on to score 44 regular season goals

  • 1920 Annual drafting of baseball players from minor leagues to be done in inverse order of the final standings, agreed to
  • 1946 NFL champs Cleveland Rams owner Daniel Reeves announces plans to move team to Los Angeles, to avoid having to compete with the incoming AAFC Browns team

Charles vs. Oma

1951 Ezzard Charles TKOs Lee Oma in 10 for heavyweight boxing title

  • 1952 2nd NFL Pro Bowl, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: National Conference beats American Conference, 30-13; MVP: Dan Towler, LA Rams, FB
  • 1958 8th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 26-7; MVPs: Hugh McElhenny, SF 49ers, HB; Gene Brito, Washington Redskins, DE
  • 1958 NCAA adds 2 point conversion to football scoring

Schayes Sets Record

1958 Syracuse National Dolph Schayes sets NBA record at 11,770 points

West Indies 399 Stand

1960 Garfield Sobers and Frank Worrell complete 399 stand for 4th wkt WI v England

  • 1960 Syracuse National Dolph Schayes is the 1st NBA player to score 15,000 points

Western Defeats Eastern Conference

1964 14th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: Western Conference beats Eastern Conference, 31-17; MVPs: Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, QB; Gino Marchetti, Baltimore Colts, DE

Auerbach's 1,000th Win

1966 Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach records his 1,000th NBA career victory (regular season and playoffs), 114-102 over the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston

Darft Board Refuses Ali Exemption

1967 Louisville, Kentucky draft board refuses exemption for boxer Muhammad Ali [1]

NY Jets Win Super Bowl

1969 Super Bowl III, Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: New York Jets beat Baltimore Colts, 16-7; MVP: Joe Namath, NY Jets, QB

Wilkens Oldest MVP

1971 21st NBA All-Star Game, San Diego Sports Arena: West beats East, 108-107; MVP: Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics, PG; oldest MVP in All-Star history (33); scores 21 points

  • 1975 Super Bowl IX, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Minnesota Vikings, 16-6; MVP: Franco Harris, Pittsburgh, RB

Borg Wins ATP

1980 Björn Borg of Sweden wins his first of 2 season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis titles outclassing American Vitas Gerulaitis 6–2, 6–2 at Madison Square Garden, NYC

  • 1980 Phoenix point guard Mike Bratz begins NBA free throw streak of 57 games during a 107-96 loss at the Golden State Warriors
  • 1981 MLB Cincinnati Reds become last team to sign a free agent, outfielder Larry Biitner
  • 1983 NCAA creates football Kickoff Classic to begin in August
  • 1983 Quebec Nordiques play 230th NHL game without being shut out
  • 1986 AFC Championship, Miami Orange Bowl: New England Patriots beat Miami Dolphins, 31-14
  • 1986 Chicago Blackhawk centre Denis Savard scores at 4 seconds of 3rd period
  • 1986 NFC Championship, Soldier Field, Chicago: Chicago Bears beat Los Angeles Rams, 24-0

Baseball Hall of Fame

1988 Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder/first baseman Willie Stargell elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

  • 1991 Largest crowd to watch Atlantic Coast Women's Basketball game (11,520)
  • 1991 Melvin Stewart swims world record 200 m butterfly (1:55.69)

Bills Defeat Broncos

1992 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Denver Broncos, 10-7

  • 1992 Highest scoring NCAA basketball game; Troy State Trojans defeat DeVry Hoyas 258-149 in Troy, Alabama
  • 1992 NFC Championship, RFK Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Washington Redskins beat Detroit Lions, 41-10

Lemieux's Diagnosis

1993 NHL great Mario Lemieux announces that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma

Baseball Hall of Fame

1994 Lefthanded pitcher Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies) elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

1995 10th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: The Allman Brothers Band; Al Green; Janis Joplin; Led Zeppelin; Martha and the Vandellas; Neil Young; Frank Zappa; The Orioles; Paul Ackerman

OJ Simpson Trial

1995 Murder trial against O.J. Simpson, begins in LA

  • 1997 AFC Championship, Foxborough Stadium: New England Patriots beat Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-6
  • 1997 Ladies' figure skating star Oksana Baiul injured slightly while driving intoxicated in Bloomfield, Connecticut
  • 1997 NFC Championship, Lambeau Field, Green Bay: Green Bay Packers beat Carolina Panthers, 30-13

Messier's Jersey Retired

2006 During an emotional ceremony, Mark Messier's #11 jersey is retired by the New York Rangers

Ronaldo Player of the Year

2009 Cristiano Ronaldo is awarded 2008 FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time at a ceremony in Zurich

  • 2013 "Mile High Miracle", In AFC Divisional Playoff Game Denver Broncos ahead of Baltimore Ravens 35-28 with 1:09 remaining, quarterback Joe Flacco heaves 70 yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacoby Jones to tie the game. Ravens win in overtime.
  • 2014 Stephen Bunting and Lisa Ashton win the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship
  • 2015 College Football National Championship, AT&T Stadium, Arlington: #4 Ohio State beats #2 Oregon, 42-20
  • 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid & Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo wins for a 2nd consecutive time; his 3rd award overall; VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Nadine Keßler is women's award winner
  • 2017 Justin Thomas (23) becomes the youngest player to shoot a sub-60 round of 59 in the opening round of the Sony Open at Waialae CC in Hawaii; he also wins the tournament

Serbia Pair Defeat Spanish

2020 1st ATP Cup Men's Tennis, Sydney: Novak Đoković & Viktor Troicki beat Spanish pair Pablo Carreño Busta & Feliciano López 6-3, 6-4 to clinch inaugural title for Serbia, 2-1; Đoković beats Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6

Sports History

2020 Argentine striker Sergio Agüero becomes top-scoring overseas player in English Premier League football history with a hat-trick in Manchester City's 6-1 rout of Aston Villa; total 177 takes him past Thierry Henry