Events in Sports History in January 1991

Gretsky Youngest to 700

Jan 3 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

Jan 4 12-year-old Chinese diver Fu Mingxia wins 10m platform gold medal at World Swimming Championships in Perth, Australia; youngest world champion in the history of any aquatic event
Jan 4 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Goran Prpić beats American David Wheaton 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 for an unassailable 2-0 lead, (ends 2-1) and Yugoslavia's first title
Jan 5 Kevin Bradshaw of US Intl scores NCAA Div 1 record 72 pts
Jan 6 Portland Trail Blazers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 114-111 before a sellout crowd at the Portland Memorial Coliseum; marks the Blazers' 600th consecutive sellout at home

Perry, Jenkins and Carew Elected

Jan 8 Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins & Rod Carew elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Baseball Hall of Fame Infielder Rod Carew

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher and Coach Ferguson Jenkins

Jan 8 Tamas Darnyi swims world record 400m medley (4:12.36)

Pete Rose Banned

Jan 9 Baseball officially bans Pete Rose from being elected to Hall of Fame for betting on baseball

Jordan Reaches 15,000 Points

Jan 9 Chicago's Michael Jordan scores a game-high 40 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-99 win over Philadelphia at the Spectrum; reaches the 15,000 point mark of his career

Jan 9 Dean Smith of NC is 6th to win 700 career coaching basketball games
Jan 11 Ben Johnson's 1st race after being stripped of his 1988 Olympic Gold medal for steroid use, he finishes 2nd
Jan 12 Largest crowd to watch Atlantic Coast Women's Basketball game (11,520)
Jan 12 Melvin Stewart swims world record 200 m butterfly (1:55.69)
Jan 13 Football fans of the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates clash in Orkney, South Africa leading to a riot and 42 deaths in the Oppenheimer Stadium disaster
Jan 15 Dean Jones (76) and Mark Taylor (71) lead Australia to 7 wicket win over New Zealand in cricket's World Series Cup 2nd Final in Melbourne; win series, 2-0
Jan 17 Andy Van Hellemond sets NHL record for most games worked by a referee when he appears in his 1,173rd regular season encounter as the St. Louis Blues host the Montreal Canadiens

The Longest Match

Jan 18 Longest tennis match at the Australian Open, Boris Becker beats Italy's Omar Camporese in 5 hours & 11 mins

Jan 18 WLAF's NY Knights become NY-NJ Knights
Jan 19 42nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Campbell beats Wales, 11-5; Vincent Damphousse, Toronto Maple Leafs, C
Jan 20 AFC Championship, Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY: Buffalo Bills beat Los Angeles Raiders, 51-3
Jan 20 NFC Championship, Candlestick Park, SF: New York Giants beat San Francisco 49ers, 15-13
Jan 20 Paul Chihara and John Driver's musical "Shogun - The Musical", based on James Clavell's novel, closes at Marquis Theater, NYC, after 72 performances
Jan 21 Sacramento's Dick Motta coaches in his 1,648th regular season game, a 97-94 Kings' victory over Houston; at the time an NBA record for the most regular-season coaching appearances
Jan 25 Mark Waugh scores ton in 1st Test Cricket innings, v England Adelaide

Hull's 50 Points Record

Jan 25 St. Louis right wing Brett Hull scores twice in Blues' 9-4 win at Detroit, to give him 50 goals in 49 games; becomes 3rd player in NHL history with 50 goals in less than 50 games

Seles Beats Novotná

Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Monica Seles becomes the only Yugoslav player – male or female – to win a Grand Slam singles title; beats Jana Novotná 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

Tennis Player and Nine-Time Major Champion Monica Seles

Tennis Player and Wimbledon Champion Jana Novotna

Jan 26 Jan Stenerud becomes 1st pure placekicker to make NFL Hall of Fame
Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Boris Becker of Germany wins his 1st Australian title; beats Ivan Lendl 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Jan 27 Super Bowl XXV, Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL: New York Giants beat Buffalo Bills, 20-19; MVP: Ottis Anderson, NY Giants, RB