Today’s Sports Highlight in History:
1948 — The Cleveland Browns complete an undefeated season beating the Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game.
On this date:
1913 — Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson fights to a 10-round draw with Battling Jim Johnson in Paris.
1917 — The NHL begins play. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 9-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Harry Hyland of the Montreal Wanderers scores five goals in a 10-9 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1943 — Harry Lumley, at 17 years and 38 days old, becomes the youngest goaltender in NHL history when he plays for the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
1948 — The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 in a major snowstorm for the NFL title. Philadelphia’s Bucko Kilroy recovers a fumble on the 17-yard line in the fourth period, and Steve Van Buren later scores from the 5.
1976 — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Colts 40-14 in an AFC playoff game. Ten minutes after the game, Donald Kroner, a former charter pilot, crashes a rented, low-wing, Piper Cherokee into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. No one is seriously hurt as most of the capacity crowd of 60,020 left the one-sided contest early or were heading down the exit ramps.
1987 — Boston and St. Louis combine for the fastest two goals in NHL history. Ken Linseman puts the Bruins ahead 6-5 with 10 seconds left in the third period. Doug Gilmour of Boston wins the faceoff and shoots the puck into an empty net two seconds later to wrap up a 7-5 win over the Blues at Boston Garden.
1990 — Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson is named to the AFC team, as a reserve, becoming the first athlete chosen for All-Star games in two sports.
2001 — Marshall, led by Byron Leftwich, comes back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to beat East Carolina 64-61 in double-overtime in the GMAC Bowl for the highest scoring bowl game in history.
2007 — New York Islanders forward Chris Simon is banned for 30 games, drawing the longest suspension in NHL history again. Simon’s latest infraction was stepping on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu with his skate during a Dec. 15 game. This is the seventh suspension of Simon’s career.
2009 — Michael Phelps helps his American team trounce a group of European all-stars in the Duel in the Pool, anchoring a relay to one of the eight world records the U.S. sets over the two-day meet in Manchester, England.
2010 — Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson returns a punt 65 yards for a touchdown as time expires in the Eagles’ 38-31 comeback win at the New York Giants. It’s the only game-winning punt-return touchdown in NFL history as the Eagles come back from a 31-10 fourth-quarter deficit. It marks the ninth time in NFL history in which a team trailed by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter and wins the game.
2010 — The Detroit Lions stop their record road skid at 26 games with a 23-20 overtime win at Tampa Bay. It’s the first road win since Oct. 28, 2007, when they beat the Bears 16-7 at Chicago.
2017 — Freshman Trae Young has 26 points and ties an NCAA Division I record with 22 assists as No. 17 Oklahoma rolls past Northwestern State 105-68.
2017 — North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell becomes the third women’s Division I coach to register her 1,000th career victory after the Tar Heels beat Grambling State 79-63.
2017 — Geno Auriemma wins his 1000th game as top-ranked UConn beat Oklahoma 88-64 in the Hall of Fame women’s Holiday Showcase. Auriemma becomes the fourth women’s coach to reach the 1,000-win mark, joining Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell, who earned her milestone victory earlier in the day.
2018 – Houston Rockets set NBA single-game record with 26 three-pointers in 136-118 victory over Washington Wizards.