Denny Shute's 1st PGA
1936 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Pinehurst CC: Denny Shute wins first of his consecutive PGA titles, defeating Jimmy Thomson, 3 & 2
Celtic vs. Warriors
1956 Boston shooting guard Bill Sharman hits 10 free throws in Celtics 101-78 over Philadelphia Warriors at Philadelphia Civic Center
- 1956 XVI Summer Olympic Games open in Melbourne, Australia; first to be staged in Southern Hemisphere and Oceania, as well as first to be held outside Europe and North America
Mantle AL MVP
1957 Mickey Mantle wins AL MVP for the 2nd time
- 1959 American Football League (AFL) conducts its first draft in Minneapolis with the 8 clubs selecting their playing rosters for the inaugural 1960 season
Robinson NL MVP
1961 Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds outfielder, selected as NL MVP
Pettit's Free Throw Record
1961 St. Louis Hawk Bob Pettit sets NBA record, hitting 19 of 19 free throws
Ali vs. Patterson
1965 In his second title defense, Muhammad Ali scores 12th-round KO of Floyd Patterson at Las Vegas Convention Center to retain his world heavyweight boxing championship
- 1966 32nd Heisman Trophy Award: Steve Spurrier, Florida (QB)
- 1970 20th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Bobby Isaac wins
- 1972 In Pittsburgh, Penguins set NHL record for scoring fastest 5 goals (2:07) in 10-4 win over St. Louis Blues
- 1972 Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Islanders and start them on 15 game winless streak
- 1974 Test Cricket debut of Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards, at Bangalore
Waltrip Wins NASCAR
1981 31st NASCAR Sprint Cup: Darrell Waltrip wins
- 1981 CFL Grey Cup, Olympic Stadium, Montreal: Edmonton Eskimos 4th consecutive Championship; beat Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-23; final Grey Cup game for Rough Riders, fold in 1996
Tyson Youngest Heavyweight
1986 20-year-old Mike Tyson becomes youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history when he stops titleholder Trevor Berbick in round 2 at Las Vegas Hilton to earn the WBC title
Gretzky's Makes 500
1986 Edmonton Oiler Wayne Gretzky becomes the 13th NHLer to score 500 goals
Earnhardt's NASCAR Win
1987 37th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Dale Earnhardt wins
- 1987 Jack Sikma (Milwaukee) ends his NBA free throw streak of 51 games
- 1987 NFL New England Patriots shutout Indianapolis Colts 24-0 at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts
Puckett's $3M Contract
1989 MLB center fielder Kirby Puckett signs record $3,000,000 per year contract with Minnesota Twins
Ewing's $18.8 Million
1991 NY Knicks pay Patrick Ewing a record $18.8 million for 2 yr extension
- 1992 Sandra Volker swims world record 50m backstroke (28.57 sec)
Seles Wins WTA
1992 Yugoslavian tennis star Monica Seles beats Martina Navratilova for the second consecutive year to win WTA Tour Championship 7–5, 6–3, 6–1 in NYC; her 3rd straight end of season title
O. J. Simpson Takes the Stand
1996 O.J. Simpson takes stand as hostile witness in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against him, saying it is "absolutely not true"
- 1997 62nd Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 18-17 in Auburn
- 1998 48th NASCAR Sprint Cup: Jeff Gordon wins
- 1998 CFL Grey Cup, Winnipeg Stadium: Calgary Stampeders defeat Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 26-24; future NFL 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Garcia MVP
Hingis Wins WTA
1998 Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis beats American Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 in the WTA Tour Championship final at Madison Square Garden, NYC
England World Champions
2003 5th Rugby World Cup Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney: Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson lands winning drop goal in extra time as England beats Australia, 20-17
- 2003 68th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 28-23 in Auburn
- 2008 13th Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand beats Australia 34-20
Roy's Jersey Retired
2008 Patrick Roy's #33 jersey is retired by the Montreal Canadiens
Carlsen World Chess Champion
2013 Norwegian, Magnus Carlsen defeats Viswanathan Anand to win the 2013 World Chess Championship
Messi's Goal Record
2014 Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona sets a new goal scoring record in La Liga of 253 goals
Busch's First NASCAR Win
2015 Kyle Busch driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, wins Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Florida to claim his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Đoković Wins ATP, Defeats Federer
2015 Serbian tennis star Novak Đoković makes it 4 straight season-ending ATP World Tour Finals tennis titles beating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in the final in London, England
- 2016 'Vegas Golden Knights' is revealed as the Las Vegas NHL expansion team's name
Medvedev Wins ATP
2020 24-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev wins ATP World Tour Finals tennis title beating Dominic Thiem of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in London