Nov. 22
1945 — Jim Benton of the Cleveland Rams is the first NFL player to have more than 300 receiving yards in a game. Benton has 10 receptions for 303 yards and a touchdown in a 28-21 victory over the Detroit Lions.
1950 — The Fort Wayne Pistons edge the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18 in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history. John Oldham leads the Pistons with five points and George Mikan had 15 of the Lakers’ points.
1959 — The AFL holds their first player draft. First round choices are Boston, Gerhard Schwedes; Buffalo, Richie Lucas; Dallas, Don Meredith; Denver, Roger LeClerc; Houston, Billy Cannon; Los Angeles, Monty Stickles; Minneapolis, Dale Hackbart; New York, George Izo.
1965 — Muhammad Ali knocks out Floyd Patterson in the 12th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1981 — Kellen Winslow of the San Diego Chargers catches five touchdown passes in a 55-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders.
1986 — Mike Tyson becomes the youngest heavyweight champion ever when he knocks out Trevor Berbick in the second round to win the WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1986 — Wayne Gretzky, playing in his 575th NHL game, scores his 500th goal in the Edmonton Oilers’ 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
1992 — North Carolina wins its seventh straight Division I women’s soccer title with a 9-1 win over Duke. The Tar Heels also set the record for most goals in a championship game.
1998 — John Elway of the Denver Broncos joins Dan Marino as the only players with 50,000 yards as the Broncos post a 40-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
2003 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3, in the NHL’s first outdoor game. The game marking the 86th anniversary of the founding of the league is played in front of a record crowd of 57,167 at a football arena in Edmonton.
2003 — Utah ends BYU’s NCAA-record streak of 361 consecutive games without being shutout when the Utes beat the Cougars 3-0 in Provo, Utah. Wind and snow limits both offenses. Bryan Borreson’s 41-yard field goal is the all the 9-2 Utes need to clinch the Mountain West conference title. The Cougars had scored in every game dating back to Oct. 3, 1975.
2006 — Teemu Selanne scores his 500th career goal in Anaheim’s 3-2 loss to Colorado. Selanne, the 36th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, joins Jari Kurri as the only Finnish-born NHL players to score 500 goals.
2008 — Abilene Christian sets a record for points in an NCAA playoff game, beating West Texas A&M 93-68 in the second round of the Division II playoffs.
2010 — Alex Kovalev records his 1,000th point with a power-play goal midway through the first period of Ottawa’s game against Los Angeles.
2012 — New England embarrasses the New York Jets with a 35-point second quarter in a 49-19 victory to give and Bill Belichick his 200th NFL victory. Belichick is the eighth coach in NFL history with 200 career victories, including the playoffs.
2014 — Samaje Perine of Oklahoma sets the single-game FBS record by rushing for 427 yards in the Sooners’ 44-7 in over Kansas. Perine breaks the single-game FBS record of 408 set by Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon a week earlier.
2015 — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth straight title at the season-ending ATP finals by beating six-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4. Djokovic, who won three Grand Slam titles this year and reached the final in the other, caps the best season of his life.
2020 — Russian Daniil Medvedev wins ATP World Tour Finals tennis title beating Dominic Thiem of Austria 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in London.
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Nov. 23
1947 — Sammy Baugh throws six touchdown passes as the Washington Redskins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 45-21.
1958 — Bobby Mitchell of the Cleveland Browns returns a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in a 28-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
1968 — Houston scores 49 points in the fourth quarter to complete the rout an injury-riddled, flu-stricken Tulsa, 100-6.
1975 — Minnesota’s Fran Tarkenton becomes the all-time completions leader in the NFL. Tarkenton completes his 2,840th pass in the Vikings’ 28-13 win over the San Diego Chargers.
1984 — Doug Flutie passes for 472 yards and leads Boston College to a 47-45 upset victory over Miami with a last second touchdown throw to Gerard Phelan.
1988 — Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th NHL goal.
1991 — Tony Sands smashes NCAA records with 396 yards and 58 carries and scores four touchdowns as Kansas trounces Missouri 53-29. Sands broke the NCAA one-game rushing record of 386 yards set this season by Marshall Faulk of San Diego State.
1991 — Desmond Howard returns a punt against rival No. 18 Ohio State for a touchdown, celebrating with his “Heisman Pose” en route to No. 3 Michigan’s biggest win over the Buckeyes in almost 50 years. The Wolverines win 31-3.
1991 — Evander Holyfield comes back from a third-round knockdown to batter and bloody Bert Cooper before stopping him in the seventh round of a IBF and WBA heavyweight title fight.
1996 — Iowa State’s Troy Davis becomes the first Division I-A player to rush for 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons, gaining 225 yards in a 35-20 loss to Kansas State. Davis, who had 2,010 yards in 1995, finishes with 2,185 yards.
2001 — Middleweight boxer James Butler punches his opponent Richard Grant long after the final bell at Madison Square Garden in New York. Grant, winner of a 10-round decision, is dropped by Butler who connects with a short hook with gloves off. Butler, facing second-degree assault charges, is suspended indefinitely by the New York State Athletic Commission.
2002 — Penn State’s Larry Johnson becomes the ninth running back in NCAA Division I-A history to run for 2,000 yards in a season when he gained 279 yards and scored four TDs in a 61-7 win against Michigan State.
2007 — In a rare instance of double triple-doubles, Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors get the better of Caron Butler and the Washington Wizards. Davis finishes with 33 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds and Golden State beat Washington 123-115. Butler ends with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
2012 — The San Diego Sockers set a U.S. professional team sports record with their 41st consecutive victory, 14-4 against the Toros de Mexico in the Professional Arena Soccer League. The Sockers had been tied with the Sioux Falls Storm of United Indoor Football, who set the old record of 40 from 2005-08.
2014 — New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko ends a big year on the LPGA Tour with the largest payoff in women’s golf. Ko wins the $1 million bonus from the “Race to CME Globe” even before she begins a three-way playoff in the CME Group Tour Championship. The 17-year-old adds $500,000 when she defeats Carlota Ciganda of Spain on the fourth extra hole at Tiburon Golf Club.
2016 — Kevin Love scores 40 points, including an NBA-record 34 in the first quarter, LeBron James records his 44th career triple-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 137-125.
2018 — Phil Mickelson needs 22 holes to beat Tiger Woods in their head-to-head golf matchup. Mickelson wins the $9 million purse and a championship belt crafted with 18-karat gold and two karats worth of diamonds. The four extra holes force the match to finish under the lights at Shadow Creek Golf Course in North Las Vegas. B/R Live, the sports streaming platform for Turner Sports, makes the match available for free to anyone after technical difficulties prevent those who paid $19.99 to see the live stream.
2023 — Dallas Cowboys defensive back Ron Bland breaks NFL single-season record for interception returns for a touchdown with his fifth, in 45-10 win over visiting Washington Commanders; previous record of 4 set in 1971 and most recently tied in 1993.
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Nov. 24
1904 — Fullback Sam McAllester is thrown for a touchdown to give Tennessee a 7-0 victory over Alabama. McAllester, wearing a wide leather belt with handles sewn on the side, is repeatedly thrown by two teammates over the line of scrimmage, including the only touchdown of the game.
1927 — The “Golden Egg Trophy,” is presented for the first time at the Egg Bowl played on Thanksgiving Day. Mississippi beats Mississippi State (then Mississippi A&M) 20-12.
1949 — The Syracuse Nationals edge the Anderson Packers 125-123 in five overtimes in the National Basketball league.
1949 — Led by quarterback Joe Paterno, Brown overcomes a 26-7 third-quarter deficit by scoring 34 points in the final 17 minutes to beat Colgate 41-26.
1957 — Cleveland Brown rookie Jim Brown rushes for 232 yards and scores four touchdowns in a 45-31 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
1960 — Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors sets an NBA record with 55 rebounds in a 132-129 loss to the Boston Celtics.
1977 — Miami’s Bob Griese throws for six touchdowns in a 55-14 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Detroit Lions.
1985 — Ron Brown of the Los Angeles Rams returns two kickoffs for touchdowns in a 34-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
1996 — Karrie Webb, capping a sensational rookie year, wins the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship to become the first player in tour history to earn more than $1 million in a season.
2000 — LaDainian Tomlinson caps the fourth-best rushing season with 174 yards and a touchdown in TCU’s 62-7 victory over SMU. Tomlinson, who also won his second straight NCAA rushing title, finishes the season with 2,158 yards.
2002 — Annika Sorenstam completes the best LPGA Tour season in 38 years with a 4-under 68 to win the season-ending ADT Championship, her 11th victory of the year.
2007 — Kevin Smith rushes for 219 yards and a touchdown to surpass 2,000 yards for the season in Central Florida’s 36-20 win over UTEP. Smith is the nation’s leading rushing with 2,164 yards, the fourth highest in Division I-A (Bowl Subdivision) history.
2010 — Boston’s Mark Recchi scores two third-period goals to become the 13th NHL player to reach 1,500 career points and helps the Bruins defeat Florida 3-1.
2011 — In the first NFL game featuring brothers as opposing head coaches, John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens top Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers 16-6.
2013 — Sebastian Vettel wins Formula One’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, matching Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 victories in a year and equaling the nine consecutive wins of Alberto Ascari.
2015 — The defending champion Golden State Warriors set the record for best start in NBA history at 16-0. Stephen Curry has 24 points and nine assists in a 111-77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers.
2018 — Dwayne Haskins throws five touchdown passes, freshman Chris Olave scores twice and blocks a punt that is returned for a TD and No. 10 Ohio State continues its mastery over No. 4 Michigan with a 62-39 victory.
2018 — Kellen Mond’s 2-point conversion to Kendrick Rogers in the seventh overtime gives Texas A&M 74-72 victory over No. 8 LSU, tying the NCAA record for most overtimes in an FBS game.
2018 — Florida uses a punishing ground attack to end a five-game losing streak to Florida State, defeating the Seminoles 41-14. The Gators send the Seminoles (5-7) their first losing season since 1976, Bobby Bowden’s first season as head coach.
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Nov. 25
1925 — Red Grange, playing his first game as a professional with the Chicago Bears, is held to 36 yards in a 0-0 tie with the Chicago Cardinals.
1934 — The Detroit Lions suffer the first defeat in franchise history, 3-0 to the Green Bay Packers. The Lions had won the first 10 games of the season.
1948 — Howie Dallmar of the Philadelphia Warriors matches his NBA record for futility by missing all 15 shots against the Washington Capitols.
1976 — Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson rushes for 273 yards and scores two touchdowns in a 27-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
1979 — Pat Summerall and John Madden broadcast a game together for the first time, a pairing that lasts 22 years and becomes one of the most well-known partnerships in TV sportscasting history.
1980 — “No Mas, No Mas.” Roberto Duran quits with 16 seconds to go in the eighth round at New Orleans, allowing Sugar Ray Leonard to regain the WBC welterweight title.
1983 — Larry Holmes knocks out Marvis Frazier at 2:57 of the first round to retain the world heavyweight title in Las Vegas.
1985 — Clemson’s Grayson Marshall sets an NCAA record with 20 assists in an 83-57 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore.
1995 — Tim Biakabutuka rushes for a career-high 313 yards as Michigan upsets Ohio State 31-23.
2002 — Ozzie Newsome becomes the first black general manager in NFL history, signing a new five-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens that includes an upgrade in his title.
2007 — San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson becomes the 23rd player in NFL history rush for 10,000 yards, reaching the milestone on a 36-yard run in the Chargers’ 32-14 win over Baltimore.
2007 — Minnesota returns three interceptions by Eli Manning for touchdowns in a 41-17 win over the New York Giants. Darren Sharper scores on a 20-yard return, Dwight Smith rumbles 93 yards and Chad Greenway follows from 37 yards just a few plays later.
2012 — The Toronto Argonauts beats the Calgary Stampeders 35-22 in the 100th Grey Cup. Toronto earns its 16th Grey Cup title and first since 2004.
2014 — Lionel Messi becomes the UEFA Champions League all-time scorer.
2018 — LA Charger Quarterback Philip Rivers sets an NFL single-game record completing 25-straight passes in a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
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