Events in Sports History on January 18

  • 1886 Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England
  • 1896 First college basketball game with 5 players on each side is conducted by the University of Iowa; invites student athletes from University of Chicago for an experimental game; Chicago beats Iowa 15-12
  • 1938 Pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Greenberg to the Pirates

1947 Detroit Tigers sell Hank Greenberg to Pirates (for $25-35,000)

Feller Takes Pay Cut

1950 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller, after 15-14 season, takes $20,000 salary cut to $45,000; pay cut is Feller's own suggestion

  • 1951 1951 NFL Draft: Kyle Rote from SMU first pick by New York Giants
  • 1951 NFL rules tackles, guards & centers ineligible for forward pass
  • 1951 NFL takes control of failing Baltimore Colts

5th NBA All-Star Game

1955 5th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden NYC: East beats West, 100-91; MVP: Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics, G

  • 1958 Willie O’Ree is the 1st African-American to appear in the NHL, making his debut for the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 victory in Montreal

Davis Coaches Oakland Raiders

1963 Al Davis becomes the head coach and general manager of the Oakland Raiders

20th NHL All-Star Game

1967 20th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: Montreal Canadiens beat All-Stars, 3-0; MVP: Henri Richard, Montreal, C

20th NFL Pro Bowl

1970 20th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 16-13; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; George Andrie, Dallas Cowboys, DE

West's Game-winning Jumper

1972 22nd NBA All-Star Game, The Forum, Inglewood, Ca: West beats East, 112-110: MVP: Jerry West, LA Lakers, G, hits a last-second, 20-foot game-winning jumper

  • 1973 Boston Red Sox sign Orlando Cepeda as 1st player signed as a DH
  • 1973 Islanders break 12 game losing streak, 20 game road winless streak
  • 1976 Super Bowl X, Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, FL: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17; MVP: Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh, WR

Pakistan Defeats Australia

1977 Pakistan cricket all-rounder Imran Khan takes 6 for 63 in the Australian 2nd innings for a match total of 12 to lead his side to an easy 8 wicket 3rd Test win in Sydney

Borg's Second Title

1981 Swedish tennis star Björn Borg claims his second straight ATP Masters Grand Prix title with a 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 win over Ivan Lendl at Madison Square Garden, NYC

  • 1983 Dick Motta becomes the 5th NBA coach to record 600 wins as his Dallas Mavericks defeat the Golden State Warriors, 112-102 in Oakland, California

Thorpe's Olympic Medals Restored

1983 IOC restores Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals (Pentathlon & Decathlon victories) 70 years after they were taken from him for being paid $25 in semi-pro baseball

  • 1989 West Indies beat Australia in a rain-affected 3rd final in Sydney to win cricket's World Series Cup Tri-Series, 2-1; match reduced to 18 overs

The Longest Match

1991 Longest tennis match at the Australian Open, Boris Becker beats Italy's Omar Camporese in 5 hours & 11 mins

  • 1991 WLAF's NY Knights become NY-NJ Knights

Campbell Defeat Wales Conference

1992 43rd NHL All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA: Campbell beats Wales, 10-6; MVP: Brett Hull, St. Louis, RW

  • 1993 West Indies beat Australia 2-0 win cricket's World Series Cup
  • 1996 Baseball owners unanimously approve interleague play in 1997
  • 1997 47th NHL All-Star Game, San Jose Arena, San Jose, CA: East beats West, 11-7; Mark Recchi, Montreal, RW
  • 1998 48th NHL All-Star Game, General Motors Place, Vancouver, BC: North America beats World, 8-7; MVP: Teemu Selänne, Anaheim, RW
  • 1998 Boston Celtics retire Robert Parrish's #00

Bird's Return, Parish Honored

1998 Larry Bird returns to Boston as head coach of the Indiana Pacers for the first time, as former Celtics center Robert Parish is honoured by having his No. 00 raised to the Fleet Center rafters

  • 2001 New York's Mike Richter picks up his 267th career NHL win to become the winningest goaltender in team history; passes Ed Giacomin; Rangers beat the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 in overtime
  • 2004 AFC Championship, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough: New England Patriots beat Indianapolis Colts, 24-14
  • 2004 NFC Championship, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia: Carolina Panthers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 14-3
  • 2009 AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Baltimore Ravens, 23-14
  • 2009 NFC Championship, University of Phoenix Stadium: Arizona Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25
  • 2015 AFC Championship, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough: New England Patriots beat Indianapolis Colts, 45-7

Seahawks Defeat Packers

2015 NFC Championship, CenturyLink Field, Seattle: Seattle Seahawks beat Green Bay Packers, 28-22 (OT)

  • 2015 South African batsman AB de Villiers makes fastest century in ODI cricket history from 31 balls during an innings of 149 against the West Indies in Johannesburg

Bagwell, Raines, Rodriguez Added

2017 Baseball Hall of Fame adds Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez

  • 2018 Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira rides the largest-ever wave by a female surfer at 20.72 m (68 ft) at Praia do Norte in Nazaréin, Portugal
  • 2020 Premiership Rugby announces reigning European and English champions Saracens to be relegated for exceeding salary cap the previous 3 seasons; club fined £5.3m and docked 35 Premiership points
  • 2022 Boston Bruins retire Willie O'Ree's #22 jersey, on the 64th anniversary of his becoming the NHL's first Black player [1]