Events in Sports History on December 19

  • 1891 Canadian Rugby Union forms
  • 1904 Dawson City hockey team begins 9 day walk to get a boat to Seattle to catch a train to Ottawa to play in Stanley Cup on Jan 13 1905

Johnson vs. Johnson

1913 Jack Johnson fights fellow African-American Jim Johnson to a draw in 10 rounds for the vacant world heavyweight boxing title in Paris, 1st time two black fighters compete for the title

  • 1917 1st NHL game played on artificial ice in Toronto
  • 1917 Quebec Bulldogs play their 1st professional hockey game
  • 1920 1st US indoor curling rink opens (Brookline, Mass)

Ponsford Test Debut

1924 Test Cricket debut of Bill Ponsford, who scored 110 in 1st innings

  • 1926 National Football League Championship: Frankford Yellow Jackets (14-1-2) win first past the post title
  • 1927 National Football League Championship: New York Giants (11-1-1) win first past the post title
  • 1947 1948 NFL Draft: Harry Gilmer from University of Alabama first pick by Washington Redskins
  • 1948 Cleveland Browns beats Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game
  • 1948 National Football League Championship, Shribe Park, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles shutout Chicago Cardinals, 7-0 in a snowstorm, 'the Philly Blizzard'
  • 1974 Dave Kryskow scores Washington Capitals 1st NHL shorthanded goal
  • 1976 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Santiago, Chile: Paolo Bertolucci & Adriano Panatta give Italy unassailable 3-0 lead; beat Patricio Cornejo & Jaime Fillol of Chile 6-3, 2-6, 9-7, 6-3; ends, 4-1
  • 1976 John Lever takes 7-46 in 1st Test Cricket innings, v India Delhi
  • 1976 Piper Cherokee plane crashes into Baltimore Memorial Stadium upper stands, 10 minutes after Colts lose 40-14 to Pittsburgh Steelers, no one seriously hurt

"Raging Bull"

1980 "Raging Bull", directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro as boxer Jake LaMotta and Cathy Moriarty as his wife, is released in the United States

  • 1983 The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, is stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation in Rio de Janeiro

Bowman's Record NHL Win

1984 Scotty Bowman wins his 691st regular season game, the most wins by any coach in NHL history

Gretzky Youngest to Score 1,000

1984 Wayne Gretzky, 23, is 18th & youngest NHL-er to score 1,000 points

Jack Morris - Tigers Dispute

1986 Jack Morris agrees to salary arbitration with former team Tigers & accuses owners of collusion against free agency

  • 1986 Michael Sergio, who parachuted into Shea Stadium during game 6 of the World Series, sentenced to 100 hrs of community service & fined $500
  • 1987 NHL Boston Bruins Ken Linseman & St. Louis Blues Doug Gilmore set a record for the fastest two goals in league history, scoring 2 seconds apart
  • 1988 Oklahoma's College football team gets 3 year probation

Bird Begins Free Throw Streak

1989 Larry Bird (Celtics) begins NBA free throw streak of 71 games

  • 1991 NY Yankee pitcher Steve Howe arrested for cocaine possession

Ballon d'Or

2000 Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid's Portuguese midfielder Luís Figo is named best football player in Europe ahead of Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane and Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko

  • 2009 Former Welsh and Lions captain Gareth Thomas is the first international rugby player to reveal he is gay
  • 2010 "Miracle at the New Meadowlands", Philadelphia Eagles trail New York Giants by 21 points with eight minutes to play, before scoring 4 touchdowns in final 7 minutes, including dramatic walk-off punt returned for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson
  • 2018 Houston Rockets set NBA single-game record with 26 three-pointers in 136-118 victory over Washington Wizards; 8 players hit from deep as Rockets shoot 26-of-55 (47.3%); James Harden leads charge, shooting 6-of-11 on 3s