Events in Sports History on January 3

"Curse of the Bambino"

1920 Boston Red Sox baseball club owner Harry Frazee announces agreement to sell slugger Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 in cash and a $350,000 loan; start of the 84 year "Curse of the Bambino"

Bradman's 1st Test Century

1929 Australian cricket icon Don Bradman follows up a 1st innings of 79 to score 112 in 3rd Test v England in Melbourne; his 1st of 29 Test centuries

  • 1931 Montreal Maroons centre Nels Stewart scores fastest 2 goals in NHL history with a pair 4 seconds apart in a 5-3 win over Boston Bruins at Montreal Arena
  • 1943 Max and Doug Bentley assist on brother Reg's only NHL goal in Chicago Blackhawks' 3-3 tie with the Rangers in NYC; only time in NHL history trio of family members score and assist on a scoring play
  • 1948 Australian cricket batting maestro Don Bradman completes dual Test centuries (132 & 127* [26th Test 100]) in 3rd Test v India in Melbourne

Weekes Record Century

1949 West Indian cricket batsman Everton Weekes scores 101 in 3rd Test against India in Calcutta; his world record fifth consecutive Test century

  • 1958 Australian cricket fast bowler Lindsay Kline takes a hat-trick (Eddie Fuller, Hugh Tayfield, Neil Adcock) as South Africa dismissed for 99 in follow-on 2nd Test at Cape Town

Colts Defeat Raiders

1971 1st AFC Championship, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore: Baltimore Colts beat Oakland Raiders, 27-17

  • 1971 1st NFC Championship, Kezar Stadium, SF: Dallas Cowboys beat San Francisco 49ers, 17-10

Rosewell Retains Title

1972 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Ken Rosewall retains title for his 4th overall Australian crown; beats fellow Australian Mal Anderson 7-6, 6-3, 7-5

NY Yankees Bought

1973 A 12-man syndicate led by Michael Burke and George Steinbrenner III buys MLB's New York Yankees from CBS for US$10 million

Goolagong's 3rd Win

1976 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley beats Renata Tomanova of Czechoslovakia 6-2, 6-2 for her 3rd straight home singles title

  • 1978 Indian cricket spin bowler B. S. Chandrasekhar becomes first in Test history to register identical figures in both innings (6 for 52) in Indian innings win over Australia in 3rd Test in Melbourne

Vilas Defeats Marks

1979 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Guillermo Vilas of Argentina wins 3rd Grand Slam title; beats Australian John Marks 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Million Dollar World Challenge

1981 American golfer Johnny Miller wins the sport's first $1 million tournament when he beats Seve Ballesteros of Spain in a playoff in the inaugural Million Dollar World Challenge at Sun City, South Africa

Chappell Scores 204

1981 Australian cricket captain Greg Chappell scores a masterly 204 v India in the 1st Test in Sydney; home side wins by an innings and 4 runs

Mandlíková's 1st Grand Slam

1981 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Czech teenager Hana Mandlíková wins her 1st of 4 career Grand Slam singles titles; beats home favourite Wendy Turnbull 6-0, 7-5

  • 1981 NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 34, Austin Carr
  • 1982 Australian Open Men's Tennis: South African Johan Kriek wins first career Grand Slam title; beats American Steve Denton 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4
  • 1983 Dallas running back Tony Dorsett sets NFL record with 99-yard rush in the Cowboys' 31-27 defeat at Minnesota Vikings
  • 1985 Future Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin scores 110 on debut in drawn 3rd Test against England in Kolkata

Gretsky Youngest to 700

1991 Wayne Gretzky becomes fastest and youngest player in NHL history to score 700 goals (886 games at age 29 years, 342 days) in LA Kings’ 6-3 win over the NY Islanders at the Nassau Veteran Memorial Coliseum

Boon's Unbeaten 129

1992 Australian cricket batsman David Boon scores an unbeaten 129 in drawn 3rd Test against India in Sydney; his 11th Test century

  • 1992 English club Wigan pays Widnes a world record rugby league transfer fee of £440,000 for Great Britain international winger Martin Offiah
  • 1992 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Jakob Hlasek beats Karel Nováček of Czechoslovakia 6-4, 6-4 for a 2-0 lead (ends 2-1) and Switzerland's first title
  • 1993 "The Comeback", QB Frank Reich leads Buffalo Bills back from a 32-point deficit, to defeat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in a wild card playoff game, the greatest comeback ever in NFL history

Young's Record 3rd Passing Title

1994 Steve Young of the San Francisco 49ers becomes first quarterback to win 3 straight NFL passing titles despite a 37-34 OT loss to the Philadelphia Eagles; first to lodge 3 consecutive passer ratings of 100+

  • 1997 Texas-El Paso head basketball coach Don Haskins becomes 10th coach in NCAA Division I history to record 700 career wins when the Miners edge SMU, 66-64
  • 1997 Zimbabwe cricket fast bowler Eddo Brandes takes ODI hat-trick as home team scores another upset against England, winning by 131 runs and sweeping series, 3-0 in Harare
  • 1998 Los Angeles Clippers Bill Fitch coaches his 2,000th NBA game, a 97-88 win against the Dallas Mavericks at the LA Memorial Sports Arena
  • 2001 College Football, 3rd BCS National Championship, Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens: #1 Oklahoma beats #2 Florida State, 13-2, at 67th Orange Bowl
  • 2002 College Football, 4th BCS National Championship, Rose Bowl, Pasadena: #1 Miami beats #2 Nebraska, 37-14, at 88th Rose Bowl
  • 2003 College Football, 5th BCS National Championship, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ: #2 Ohio State beats #1 Miami, 31-24, at 32nd Fiesta Bowl
  • 2004 Panthers kicker John Kasay ties NFL-playoff record with 5 field goals to lead Carolina to a 29-10 win over Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round of playoffs in Charlotte, North Carolina
  • 2005 71st Sugar Bowl: #3 Auburn beats #9 Virginia Tech, 16-13; first perfect season in school history
  • 2006 72nd Orange Bowl: #3 Penn State beats #22 Florida State, 26-23 in 3OT
  • 2007 73rd Sugar Bowl: #4 LSU beats #11 Notre Dame, 41-14
  • 2007 High profile Miami Dolphins NFL head coach Nick Saban resigns after agreeing to return to college football and take head coaching job at Alabama
  • 2008 74th Orange Bowl: #8 Kansas beats #5 Virginia Tech, 24-21
  • 2010 Phil Taylor successfully defends his PDC World Darts title with a 7–3 victory over Simon Whitlock of Australia in the final in London; Taylor's 13th PDC and 15th overall world championship
  • 2011 77th Orange Bowl: #5 Stanford beats #12 Virginia Tech, 40-12
  • 2011 Adrian Lewis of England wins his first PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-5 win over Scotsman Gary Anderson at the Alexandra Palace, London
  • 2012 78th Sugar Bowl: #13 Michigan beats #11 Virginia Tech, 23-20
  • 2013 42nd Fiesta Bowl: #5 Oregon beats #7 Kansas State, 35-17
  • 2014 80th Orange Bowl: #12 Clemson beats #7 Ohio State, 40-35
  • 2016 Jimmy Butler breaks Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls record for points in an NBA half, scoring 40 of his 42 points in the second half to lead the Bulls in a 115-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors
  • 2016 Scotsman Gary Anderson retains his PDC World Darts Championship beating Adrian Lewis of England, 7-5 at the Alexandra Palace, London
  • 2021 Welshman Gerwyn Price wins his first PDC World Darts Championship; beats Gary Anderson of Scotland, 7-3 at the Alexandra Palace in London
  • 2022 Scotsman Peter Wright wins his second PDC World Darts Championship; beats Michael Smith of England, 7-5 at the Alexandra Palace in London

Ronaldo's Record Salary

2023 Cristiano Ronaldo joins Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr for the “biggest salary ever in football”, leaving Manchester United after criticizing it publicly [1]

  • 2023 England's Michael Smith hits a nine-dart finish on the way to his first PDC world darts title, beating Dutchman Michael van Gerwen, 7-4 at the Alexandra Palace, London
  • 2024 In an all-English final, Luke Humphries claims his first PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-4 win over 16-year-old prodigy Luke Littler at the Alexandra Palace, London