- 1895 Belmont Stakes: Fred Taral aboard Preakness winner Belmar wins in 2:11½; race run in November as NY Jockey Club closed out its affairs
- 1895 First organised auto race in the United States is run in Chicago; 6 cars race over 52-mile lakefront course; 2 finish because of blizzard conditions
First Official Cheerleader
1898 Cheerleading begins in the United States as Johnny Campbell leads the crowd cheering on the football team at the University of Minnesota
- 1913 St. Louis Browns player-manager George Stovall, fired the previous summer, is the first MLB player to jump to the Federal League, signing to manage the Kansas City Packers
Sports History
1934 MLB All-Star team led by Connie Mack and including Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig starts 18-game tour against Japanese Big-Six University League
Sports History
1938 Boston Red Sox first baseman Jimmie Foxx is voted Most Valuable Player of the American League for the third time
- 1947 After just 6 games of the season, Chicago Blackhawks trade NHL scoring leader Max Bentley along with Cy Thomas to Toronto Maple Leafs for Gus Bodnar, Bud Poile, Gaye Stewart, Bob Goldham, and Ernie Dickens
- 1958 Los Angeles Rams beat Chicago Bears, 41-35 before 90,833 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum; NFL single-game attendance record
Sports History
1960 New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris beats teammate Mickey Mantle for American League MVP Award, 225-222; second-closest vote ever
- 1964 Columbia Broadcasting System buys 80% share in the New York Yankees Baseball Club for $11.2 million; later purchases club outright
Sports History
1965 Craig Breedlove driving FIA-legal four-wheeler, Sonic I, breaks land speed record with a two-run average of 555.483 mph (893.963 km/h) at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Sports History
1969 41-year old Detroit right wing Gordie Howe picks up his 19th and final NHL hat trick as the Red Wings beat Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3; Howe is the oldest player to score an NHL hat-trick
- 1969 Quarterbacks Billy Kilmer of New Orleans and St Louis' Charlie Johnson each pass for 6 touchdowns for combined NFL record of 12 passing TDs in a game; Saints beat Cardinals, 51-42 at Busch Memorial Stadium
- 1971 Baltimore Orioles pitcher Pat Dobson no-hits the Yomiuri Giants, 2 - 0; first no-hitter in history of exhibition play between American and Japanese teams
Election of Interest
1971 Retired boxer Jersey Joe Walcott KO's William Strang in election for Sheriff of Camden County, New Jersey; first African-American to be elected to the position
Sports History
1972 Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton is unanimously selected National League Cy Young Award winner; wins 27 games for Phillies, who as a team win only 59 games
Baseball Trade
1974 Atlanta Braves trade then MLB home run king Hank Aaron to Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Dave May
- 1975 First sports event at The Summit arena in Houston - NBA's Houston Rockets beat Milwaukee Bucks, 104-89; future Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich top scores with 24 points
- 1977 Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Steve Carlton wins his second Cy Young Award, outpointing Tommy John of the LA Dodgers; Carlton leads National League with 23 wins and posts 2.64 ERA
Sports History
1978 Wayne Gretzky is sold to the Edmonton Oilers after just 8 games with the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA (scoring 6 points); scores 104 points in 72 games (both teams combined) and is named WHA rookie of the year
- 1985 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Aqueduct Racetrack; winners: Cozzene, Life's Magic, Pebbles, Precisionist, Proud Truth, Tasso, Twilight Ridge
- 1985 LA Kings score 5 goals in a span of 5:37, the fastest in NHL team history; rout Hartford Whalers, 8-1 at Hartford Civic Center
- 1985 Tulsa's Gordon Brown (214) and Steve Gage (206) set NCAA football record for combined rushing yards in one game for 2 teammates who gained more than 200 yards each in 42-26 win at Wichita State
- 1986 Ayako Okamoto wins Nichirei Ladies Cup US-Japan Team Golf Championship
Sports History
1986 German tennis star Boris Becker wins his third tournament in 3 weeks in different continents; beats Sergio Casal of Spain 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in the final of the Paris Open after victories in Japan and Australia
New York City Marathon
1986 New York City Marathon: Grete Waitz of Norway wins her 8th NYC event in 2:28:06; Gianni Poli of Italy, men's champion in 2:11:06
Sports History
1988 A's shortstop Walt Weiss wins AL rookie of year; 3rd straight for Oakland; Jose Canseco 1986, Mark McGwire 1987
Radio History
1988 Mexican radio station erroneously reports Mike Tyson had died in car crash
- 1990 First NBA game at Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Rolando Blackman top scores with 21 points as Timberwolves beat Mavericks, 98-85
- 1990 First regular season game played outside North America by any major professional sports league the NBA's Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz, 119-96 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Japan
- 1990 Golden State Warriors register a 162-158 win over the Denver Nuggets at McNichols Arena, with the 320 total points setting an NBA record for most points scored by 2 teams in a non-overtime game
Sports History
1991 2nd Rugby World Cup Final, Twickenham: Australia beats England, 12-6 with Wallabies fly-half Michael Lynagh landing 2 penalties and a conversion
- 1991 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Churchill Downs; winners: Arazi, Black Tie Affair, Dance Smartly (leading female thoroughbred money-earner, with $3,083,456), Miss Alleged, Opening Verse, Pleasant Stage, Sheikh Albadou
- 1991 Nevada makes biggest comeback in NCAA football history, overcoming a 35 point 3rd quarter deficit to rally and beat Weber State, 55-49
Sports History
1993 First commemorative bricks are laid at Bob Feller Museum, Van Meter, Iowa
- 1994 NFL announces the expansion Carolina Panthers would play in the NFC West, while the Jacksonville Jaguars is assigned to the AFC Central
- 1996 Miami Heat’s Pat Riley becomes eighth coach to win 800 games in 97-95 win at Indiana; milestone accomplished 2 weeks shy of his 15th coaching anniversary, faster than any coach in NBA history
- 1997 New York City Marathon: John Kagwe of Kenya wins men's race in 2:08:12; Franziska Rochat-Moser of Switzerland women's champion in 2:28:43
- 1997 NFL San Diego Chargers Eric Metcalf returns punts for touchdowns of 85 & 67 yards in 38-31 loss at Cincinnati; joins Hall of Famer Jack Christiansen as only players in NFL history to return punts for TDs twice in a game
- 2002 14th College Football Holy War: Boston College beats Notre Dame 14-7 in South Bend
Sports History
2002 Mark Messier plays his 1,616th NHL game, a 3-2 Rangers loss against the St. Blues, to move into 2nd place on the all-time games played list; passes Larry Murphy and ends career with 1,756 games, just 11 shy of Gordie Howe
- 2003 New York City Marathon: Margaret Okayo of Kenya wins in 2:22:31 to break her own record; her countryman Martin Lel wins men's race in 2:10:30
Sports History
2007 Patrick Kane is named the NHL Rookie of the Month for October
F1 World Champion
2008 British McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton finishes 4th in season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace to clinch his first F1 World Drivers Championship by 1 point from Felipe Massa
Sports History
2011 Prodigious Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th goal for Real Madrid in his 105th game for the club in a 2-0 Champions League win over Olympique Lyon
- 2012 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Santa Anita Racetrack; Day 1 winners: Hightail, Calidoscopio, Flotilla, Beholder, Zagora, Royal Delta
Sports History
2013 Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina claims ASP World Junior Title by beating Ramzi Boukhiam of Morocco in a high-scoring final at Joaquina Beach in Florianopolis, Brazil
- 2013 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Santa Anita Racetrack; Day 2 winners: Ria Antonia, Dank, Groupie Doll, Mizdirection, New Year's Day, Magician, Secret Circle, Wise Dan, Mucho Macho Man
- 2013 Masahiro Tanaka's record streak of 30 consecutive starts without a loss ends when the Rakuten Golden Eagles' ace is beaten, 4-2, by the Yomiuri Giants in Game 6 of the Japan Baseball Series
- 2014 New York City Marathon: Wilson Kipsang of Kenya wins in 2:10:59; compatriot Mary Keitany wins first of 3 straight women's titles in 2:25:07
- 2016 Baseball World Series: Chicago Cubs beat Cleveland Indians, 8-7 in Game 7 at Progressive Field, Cleveland; first Cubs' title in 108 years; MVP: Chicago utility Ben Zobrist
- 2018 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Churchill Downs; Day 1 winners: Bulletin, Newspaperofrecord, Jaywalk, Line of Duty, Game Winner
- 2019 9th Rugby World Cup, Yokohama: South African fly-half Handré Pollard lands 6 penalties and 2 conversions as Springboks beat favourites England, 32-12 for their 3rd title
- 2019 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Santa Anita Racetrack; Day 2 winners: Covfefe, Belvoir Bay, Spun to Run, Iridessa, Mitole, Uni, Blue Prize, Bricks and Mortar, Vino Rosso
- 2021 Baseball World Series: Atlanta Braves win 4th title in franchise history; beat Houston Astros, 7-0 in Game 6 at Minute Maid Park, Houston for 4-2 series victory; MVP: Braves outfielder Jorge Soler
- 2022 MLB World Series: Houston Astros pitcher Cristian Javier and 3 relievers combine for no-hitter in 5-0 win over Phillies to tie series 2-2 at Citizen's Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the only other Series no-hitter was Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956
