Jan. 5
1964 — Keith Lincoln of the San Diego Chargers, rushes for 206 yards in 13 carries, catches seven passes for 123 yards, completes one pass for 20 and scores two touchdowns in a 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots for the AFL title.
1983 — In his 42nd game, Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky scores his 100th point of the season with an assist in the Oilers’ 8-3 triumph over the Winnipeg Jets.
1991 — Kevin Bradshaw of U.S. International scores 72 points to break Pete Maravich’s NCAA Division I single-game scoring record of 69, but Loyola Marymount sets an NCAA team scoring record in defeating the Gulls 186-140.
1993 — Reggie Jackson, who hit 563 homers and played on five championship teams in 21 seasons, is the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1996 — Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula announces his retirement as winningest NFL Head Coach of all-time.
1997 — The second-year Carolina Panthers, behind John Kasay’s four field goals, beat the Dallas Cowboys 26-17 to advance to the NFC Championship game.
1999 — Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount are voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the biggest class of first-time candidates since Babe Ruth and four others were chosen in the original election of 1936.
2003 — Jeff Garcia hits Tai Streets with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute left, and the New York Giants botch the snap on a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expires in San Francisco’s 39-38 victory — the second-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.
2009 — Pittsburgh makes it to the top of The Associated Press’ men’s college basketball poll for the first time. The Panthers are one of a record nine Big East teams in the poll. The 16-team league had a record eight schools ranked for three weeks earlier in the season.
2013 — Aaron Rodgers connects with an NFL playoff-record 10 receivers as he throws for 274 yards in his first playoff victory at home, leading Green Bay to a 24-10 victory over Minnesota.
2013 — Arian Foster rushes for 140 yards and a touchdown in Houston’s 19-13 win over Cincinnati, and becomes the first NFL player to have 100-yard games in each of his first three playoff games.
2017 — The Columbus Blue Jackets lose 5-0 to the Washington Capitals ending their winning streak at 16 games, one shy of the NHL record. Columbus lose for the first time since Nov. 26, ending a captivating run that fell short of the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins’ record of 17 consecutive wins.
2021 – 86th Heisman Trophy Award: DeVonta Smith, Alabama (WR).
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Jan. 6
1951 — The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Rochester Royals 75-73 in six overtimes, the longest game in NBA history.
1976 — Ted Turner, a millionaire communications executive and internationally known yachtsman, buys the Atlanta Braves for a reported $10-to-12 million.
1980 — The Los Angeles Rams, behind three field goals by Frank Corral, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-0 to win the NFC Championship. This is the first conference championship game in NFL history without a touchdown being scored.
1980 — The Pittsburgh Steelers advance to their fourth Super Bowl appearance since 1974 by eliminating the Houston Oilers for the second consecutive year with a 27-13 triumph in the AFC title game.
1981 — John Tonelli ties a New York Islanders record with five goals in a 6-3 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nassau Coliseum. Mike Bossy gets an assist on all six goals to set an Islanders record. Tonelli scores once in the first period, once in the second and three times in the third.
1985 — Dan Marino passes for a record 421 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Miami Dolphins to a 45-28 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC championship game.
1985 — The San Francisco 49ers holds the Chicago Bears to 186 yards and sacks quarterback Steve Fuller nine times to win the NFC Championship 23-0.
1994 — Nancy Kerrigan is attacked after practice at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Shane Stant clubs Kerrigan on the knee and flees the scene. Later that evening, Scott Davis wins the men’s U.S. Figure Skating title.
1995 — Lenny Wilkens becomes the winningest coach in NBA history as the Atlanta Hawks post a 112-90 victory over the Washington Bullets. Wilkens, with his 939th win, surpasses Red Auerbach’s record. Wilkens reaches the record in his 22nd year as an NBA coach, including four as a player-coach.
2005 — For the first time in NBA history, a player leads his team in scoring without making a field goal. Detroit’s Richard Hamilton scores 14 points despite missing all 10 of his field goal attempts in a 101-79 loss to Memphis.
2011 — Miami of Ohio caps a historic season with a 35-21 win over Middle Tennessee in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. The RedHawks (10-4) are the first team in Football Bowl Subdivision history to win 10 games one season after losing 10. Miami finished a dismal 1-11 in 2009.
2014 — Patrick Maher of Division III Grinnell College breaks the NCAA record with 37 assists in a 164-144 victory over College of Faith.
2014 — Jameis Winston throws a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left and No. 1 Florida State beat No. 2 Auburn 34-31 to win the last BCS national championship game.
2015 — Patrik Elias has a goal and two assists to reach 1,000, NHL points, and the New Jersey Devils beat the struggling Buffalo Sabres 4-1. The goal is the 399th for Elias.
2016 — Ken Griffey Jr. is elected to the baseball Hall of Fame with the highest voting percentage ever, and Mike Piazza makes it in his fourth year on the ballot. Griffey is on 437 of 440 votes in his first appearance on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot. His 99.3 percentage tops Tom Seaver’s 98.84 in 1992.
2018 — Jon Gruden returns to the NFL as Oakland Raiders head coach after nearly a decade of broadcasting (ESPN Monday Night Football 2009-17).
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Jan. 7
1920 — Joe Malone of Quebec scores two goals to become the NHL’s career leader with 59 and leads the Bulldogs to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Arenas.
1925 — Harry Broadbent of the Montreal Maroons scores five goals in a 6-2 triumph over Hamilton.
1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Atlanta Hawks 134-90 for their 33rd straight victory, an NBA record.
1979 — The Pittsburgh Steelers win their third AFC championship by beating the Houston Oilers 34-5 in a cold, steady rain at Three Rivers Stadium.
1981 — Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings scores his 1,000th point with a goal in a 5-3 triumph over the Hartford Whalers.
1987 — Gary Bossert of Niagara sets an NCAA record by hitting 12 of 14 three-point shots, including 11 straight, against Siena.
1992 — Pitchers Tom Seaver and Rollie Fingers are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Seaver receives the highest percentage of votes in baseball history.
1997 — Rutgers-Camden ends its NCAA-record 117-game losing streak with a 77-72 victory over Bloomfield College. The Division III Pioneers were winless since beating Ramapo 74-73 on Jan. 18, 1992.
2003 — Kobe Bryant makes an NBA-record 12 shots from 3-point range, including nine straight, and scores 45 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-98 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
2004 — Brian Boucher becomes the first NHL goalie in almost 55 years to record four consecutive shutouts. His 27 saves carry the Phoenix Coyotes past Washington 3-0.
2006 — The New England Patriots set an NFL mark with 10 straight postseason victories by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-3. New England’s milestone surpasses the nine straight playoff victories by Green Bay in the 1960s.
2007 — Coach Phil Jackson gets his 900th NBA victory as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Dallas 101-98. Jackson is the fastest to reach 900, doing so in 1,264 games.
2008 — Second-ranked LSU turns the BCS national championship game into a horrible replay for No. 1 Ohio State. Matt Flynn throws four touchdown passes in a 38-24 win. LSU (12-2) becomes the first two-loss team to play for the title and wins its second BCS crown in five seasons.
2010 — Alabama knocks Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of the BCS title game early and goes on to a 37-21 victory for the Crimson Tide’s first national title since 1992.
2011 — Rookie Luke Harangody has career highs with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first NBA double-double, and the Boston Celtics earn the 3,000th victory in franchise history, beating the Toronto Raptors 122-102.
2012 — Old Dominion routs hapless Towson 75-38 giving the Tigers the NCAA Division I record for consecutive losses at 35. Towson had been tied at 34 with Sacramento State.
2012 — Jarome Iginla scores his 500th career goal, leading the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Iginla is the 42nd player in NHL history to reach the milestone and the 15th to do it with one team.
2013 — Alabama rolls to its second consecutive BCS championship, and third in four seasons, beating No. 1 Notre Dame 42-14 in a BCS championship game. AJ McCarron throws four touchdown passes and Eddie Lacy runs for 140 yards and scores twice for the second-ranked Crimson Tide.
2019 — College Football, National Championship, Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara: #2 Clemson beats #1 Alabama, 44-16.
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Jan. 8
1972 — The NCAA announces freshmen will be eligible to play on varsity football and basketball teams starting in the fall.
1973 — David Vaughn of Oral Roberts grabs 34 rebounds in a 123-95 win over Brandeis.
1984 — The Executive Committee of the NCAA votes to expand the championship basketball field to 64 teams starting in 1985.
1984 — Bengt Gustafsson of the Washington Capitals scores five goals in a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
1993 — Michael Jordan becomes the 18th NBA player to reach the 20,000-point plateau when he scores 35 points in the Chicago Bulls’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan reaches 20,000-points in 620 games, faster than anyone except Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in 499 games.
1994 — Dino Ciccarelli becomes the 19th NHL player to score 500 career goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
2000 — Eddie House scores 61 points to tie Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 record and lead the Sun Devils to 111-108 double-overtime victory over California.
2003 — Utah guard Mark Jackson becomes the third NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists in the Jazz’s 99-93 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jackson joins career assists leader and teammate John Stockton (15,425) and Magic Johnson (10,141).
2007 — Second-ranked Florida dominates Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and No. 1 Ohio State for a 41-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl. The Gators become the first Division I school to hold football and basketball titles at the same time.
2008 — Goose Gossage becomes the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame.
2009 — Tim Tebow wins the matchup of Heisman winners as No. 1 Florida beats No. 2 Oklahoma and this year’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford, 24-14, in the BCS National Championship Bowl.
2011 — The Seattle Seahawks stun the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to open the NFL playoffs. Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record at 7-9, advances behind four touchdown passes by Matt Hasselbeck and a brilliant 67-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.
2012 — Denver’s Tim Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos stun the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in a AFC wild-card game. The play, the longest to end a playoff game in overtime, takes 11 seconds and is the quickest ending to an overtime in NFL history.
2014 — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short.
2016 — Oakland’s Khalil Mack makes history earning a selection at two positions on the 2015 Associated Press All-Pro Team, an NFL first. The second-year Raiders defensive end and outside linebacker draws enough support from a panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league to make the squad both spots.
2018 — College Football National Championship, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta: #4 Alabama beats #3 Georgia, 26-23.
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