Events in Sports History on December 16

  • 1892 Commencement of 1st Sheffield Shield cricket game, SA v NSW
  • 1899 Italian football club A.C. Milan founded as Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club by Englishmen Alfred Edwards and Herbert Kilpin (disputed possibly 13 Dec)

Dempsey vs. Morris

1918 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds

  • 1922 Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Baseball Clubs formally organizes
  • 1922 NSW all out for 786 against South Australia Cricket
  • 1923 National Football League Championship: undefeated Canton Bulldogs (11-0-1) repeat as champions

Landis MLB Contract Renewed

1926 MLB owners renew contract with Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis for a second 7-years term

Bradman Ist Class Debut

1927 Australian cricket's batting maestro Don Bradman makes his 1st-class debut for NSW v South Australia at the Adelaide Oval finishing Day 1 on 65 not out

  • 1928 National Football League Championship: Providence Steam Roller (8-1-2) win first past the post title
  • 1929 Chic Blackhawks 1st game at Chicago Stadium, beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1

1st James E. Sullivan Award

1930 Golfer Bobby Jones is the first to win the James E. Sullivan Award (best US amateur athlete)

  • 1939 Bradman scores 251* SA v NSW, 271 minutes, 38 fours 2 sixes

Louis vs. McCoy

1940 Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago

  • 1945 National Football League Championship, Cleveland Stadium: Cleveland Rams beat Washington Redskins, 15-14; last game before Rams move west to Los Angeles
  • 1946 1947 NFL Draft: Bob Fenimore from University of Oklahoma A&M first pick by Chicago Bears

Ballon d'Or

1958 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid's French midfielder Raymond Kopa wins award for best football player in Europe ahead of German winger Helmut Rahn and French forward Just Fontaine

  • 1962 NY Giant Y. A. Tittle sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with 6 touchdowns vs Dallas (41-31)

Chamberlain's 68 Points

1967 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points vs Chicago

  • 1972 Miami Dolphins become 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0)

Simpson Rush Record

1973 O.J. Simpson becomes 1st NFL running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season

Veeck Buys White Sox

1975 Bill Veeck buys 80% of MLB Chicago White Sox from John Allyn

Finley vs. Kuhn Suit

1976 Charlie Finley's $10 million damage suit against Bowie Kuhn begins

  • 1979 68th Davis Cup: USA beats Italy in San Francisco (5-0)
  • 1979 Dallas QB Roger Staubach throws 3 TDs and 336 yards in his last NFL regular season game with the Cowboys, a 35-34 win over Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium

Yogi Berra for NY Yankees

1983 Yogi Berra named New York Yankees manager for 2nd time

  • 1989 Commencement of 1st Test Cricket play at Bellerive Oval, Hobart (v SL)
  • 1991 MLB expansion club Florida Marlins sign their 1st player, 16-year-old pitcher Clemente Nunez
  • 2012 Corinthians defeat Chelsea 1-0 to win the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup
  • 2013 79th Heisman Trophy Award: Jameis Winston, Florida State (QB)

Sports History

2014 Thierry Henry announces his retirement as a player and states he would begin working for Sky Sports as a pundit

Brees' Touchdown Pass Record

2019 Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning's NFL record (539) for career touchdown passes as New Orleans Saints rout Indianapolis Colts, 34-7; Brees 29 of 30 for 307 yards & 4 TDs for record 96.7% pass completion

  • 2020 US Major League Baseball announces it is elevating the Negro Leagues to Major League status