Events in Sports History in December 1985

Chicago's Only Loss

Dec 2 Chicago Bears' head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan almost come to blows at halftime in a 38-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl, Miami; Chicago's only loss of the NFL season

Marino vs. Elway

Dec 2 NFL quarterback legends Dan Marino and John Elway (Denver Broncos) face each other for the first time, a 30-26 win for Marino's Miami Dolphins (390 yards and 3 TDs)

Živojinović Upsets McEnroe

Dec 4 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

Trophy to Bo Jackson

Dec 7 51st Heisman Trophy Award: Bo Jackson, Auburn (RB)

NFL Running Back and Baseball Outfielder Bo Jackson

Navratilova Defeats Evert-Lloyd

Dec 7 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Chris Evert-Lloyd 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 for her 3rd and final Australian singles crown

Edberg Wins First Grand Slam

Dec 8 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Stefan Edberg wins 1st career Grand Slam singles title; beats defending champion & fellow Swede Mats Wilander 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Tennis Player and Seven-Time Major Champion Mats Wilander

Jerry Rice's Streak

Dec 9 SF 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice begins NFL streak of 274 consecutive games with a reception in a 27-20 loss to LA Rams at Candlestick Park

Dec 11 NHL Record 62 points scored, Edmonton (36) beats Chicago (26) 12-9 & ties record of 21 goals

Boons' 1st Test Century

Dec 13 Australian cricketer David Boon's 1st Test century, 123 v India at Adelaide

Dec 13 Test debut of cricketers Merv Hughes, Geoff Marsh and Bruce Reid (v India)

Potvin Passes Orr

Dec 20 Denis Potvin passes Bobby Orr as NHL defenseman scorer (916 points)

Dec 20 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC
Dec 22 74th Davis Cup: Sweden beats Germany in Munich (3-2)

Ballon d'Or

Dec 24 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Michel Platini is named Europe's best football player for the 3rd consecutive time; beats Verona striker Preben Elkjær and Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster