Events in Sports History on December 4

  • 1909 1st CFL Grey Cup, Rosedale Field, Toronto: University of Toronto Blues beat Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26-6; Blues undefeated
  • 1909 Oldest still-operating NHL franchise is officially established as J. Ambrose O’Brien and Jack Laviolette create the “Club de Hockey Canadien,” known today as the Montreal Canadiens

Johnson and the Federal League

1914 Walter Johnson accepts an advance from the Chicago Whales of the Federal League; Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith threatens to take Johnson to court

  • 1920 CFL Grey Cup, Varsity Stadium, Toronto: U of Toronto Blues win 4th title; beat Toronto Argonauts, 16-3
  • 1921 American Professional Football Association Championship, Cubs Park, Chicago: Chicago Staleys beat Buffalo All-Americans, 10-7 in de facto championship game after teams tied in standings
  • 1926 CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators retain Championship with 10-7 win over U of Toronto Blues
  • 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Paul Waner wins NL MVP

Clubs May Sign Negros

1943 MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes

  • 1945 11th Heisman Trophy Award: Doc Blanchard, Army (FB)

First Test India vs. Australia

1947 In the first cricket Test match between the 2 nations, India is dismissed for 98 by Australia in Brisbane to lose by an innings & 226 runs; fast bowler Ernie Toshack takes 6 for 29 for match figures of 11 for 31

  • 1948 13th Iron Bowl (first since 1907): Alabama beats Auburn 55-0 in Birmingham
  • 1949 Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run
  • 1956 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (QB)
  • 1956 American diver Pat McCormick wins the 3m springboard gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics with 142.46 points; later wraps up the women's double when she takes the 10m platform gold
  • 1956 Australian swimmer Murray Rose sets world record 4:27.3 to claim the 400m gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; Rose later also wins 1,500m gold

Ernie Davis

1961 1962 NFL Draft: Ernie Davis, University of Syracuse RB #1 pick by Washington Redskins

Patterson vs. McNeeley

1961 Floyd Patterson KOs Tom McNeeley in 4 for heavyweight boxing title

  • 1961 Smallest NY Knick, 49th St Madison Square Garden crowd-1,300 (snowstorm)
  • 1963 Boston Bruins' right wing Andy Hebenton sets a new NHL record by playing in his 581st consecutive game in 2-2 tie with Chicago Black Hawks; reaches 630 straight games
  • 1964 Baseball approves a free-agent draft
  • 1964 Commissioner's office given full powers in baseball disputes
  • 1964 Test Cricket debut of Ian Chappell, v Pakistan MCG, 11, 0-49, 0-31
  • 1965 2nd NY Knicks game postponed (due to death of opponent 76ers' owner)

Masanori Murakami

1965 San Francisco Giant Masanori Murakami, 4-1 this year, does not renew his contract signing instead with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka for $40,000

  • 1977 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Sydney: John Alexander beats Adriano Panatta of Italy 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 8-6, 11-9 in a 3 hour, 54 minute classic to give Australia a 3-1 victory
  • 1977 NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats KC 27-7

1st World Series Cricket 'Test'

1977 West Indies win 1st World Series Cricket 'Test' against Australia at VFL Park in Melbourne by 3 wickets; chasing 235 for victory, Viv Richards with 56 and Clive Lloyd 44 guide WI to 237/7 with 2 days to spare

  • 1979 Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 7, Bingo Smith
  • 1980 Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)
  • 1982 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)
  • 1983 NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota North Stars 6-0

Živojinović Upsets McEnroe

1985 Slobodan Živojinović of Yugoslavia upsets No. 2 seed John McEnroe 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the Australian Open quarter finals; leaves McEnroe without a major singles title for the first time since 1978

Lendl's 3rd ATP

1987 Defending champion Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia wins 3rd straight season-ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis title by defeating Mats Wilander of Sweden 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 in the final at Madison Square Garden, NYC

  • 1988 Edmonton center Jimmy Carson becomes just the third player to score 6 NHL hat tricks before the age of 21 in the Oilers 10-6 win over the New York Rangers

Eddie Murray

1988 Orioles trade veteran 1B Eddie Murray to the Dodgers

  • 1993 2nd SEC Championship Game: #9 Florida beats #16 Alabama, 28-13

Dan Jansen

1993 Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.92 sec)

  • 1994 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
  • 1996 Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest points scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57
  • 1997 NBA suspends former Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell for 1 year for attacking coach P.J. Carlesimo
  • 1999 8th SEC Championship Game: #7 Alabama beats #5 Florida, 34-7
  • 2004 13th SEC Championship Game: #3 Auburn beats #15 Tennessee, 38-28
  • 2005 94th Davis Cup: Croatia beats Slovak Republic in Bratislava (3-2)

Ballon d'Or

2007 Ballon d'Or: Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaká is named best football player in the world; first year in which players from clubs outside the UEFA federation eligible for nomination

  • 2009 Montreal Canadiens retire Hall of Fame center Elmer Lach's jersey (No. 16), as part of team's centennial celebration
  • 2010 15th Big 12 Championship Game: #10 Oklahoma beats #13 Nebraska, 23-20
  • 2010 19th SEC Championship Game: #2 Auburn beats #18 South Carolina, 56-17
  • 2010 6th ACC Championship Game: #12 Virginia Tech beats #20 Florida State, 44-33
  • 2011 100th Davis Cup: Spain beats Argentina in Seville (3-1)
  • 2011 Pedro Martínez officially announces his retirement from professional baseball
  • 2017 New York Giants fire head coach Ben McAdoo and manager Jerry Reese after a 2–10 start
  • 2018 Ownership group Seattle Hockey Partners led by billionaire businessman Davis Bonderman is unanimously granted an NHL license by the Board of Governors; to start play 2020-21 season at KeyArena
  • 2020 New Zealand cricket captain Kane Williamson smashes 251 to set up the home side's innings & 134 run win over the West Indies in the 1st Test in Hamilton
  • 2021 New Zealand cricket spin bowler Ajaz Patel (10-119) joins Jim Laker and Anil Kumble as the only three men to take all ten wickets in a Test innings, on Day 2 of the 2nd Test against India in Mumbai
  • 2023 Caitlin Clark posts 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for Iowa against Wisconsin, surpassing the Big Ten career triple-double record