Jan. 3
1920 — Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells pitcher-outfielder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,000 loan.
1931 — Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons scores two goals four seconds apart in the third period of a 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.
1946 — George Woolf falls off head first from his mount, Please Me, as he rounds the clubhouse turn in the fourth race at Santa Anita Park. Suffering from a concussion, the 35-year-old jockey, is taken to the hospital where he dies the following day. Woolf, known as “The Iceman” for his coolness in the saddle, has 3,784 mounts, 721 wins, 589 seconds and 468 thirds, with earnings of $2,856,125 in his 18-year career.
1973 — A 12-member group headed by George Steinbrenner buys the New York Yankees from the Columbia Broadcasting System for $10 million.
1991 — Wayne Gretzky scores three goals, including his 700th, as the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Islanders 6-3.
1993 — The Buffalo Bills stage pro football’s biggest comeback to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The Oilers held a 35-3 lead 1:41 into the third quarter. Frank Reich throws four touchdown passes to give Buffalo its first lead of the game 38-35. Al Del Grecco’s 26-yard field goal ties the game. Steve Christie kicks the game-winning 32-yard field goal in overtime.
1995 — Nebraska, the fourth team to finish 13-0 in Division I-A football history, wins its first national football title since 1971 as the Cornhuskers are the overwhelming choice in The Associated Press poll.
1998 — Michigan wins its first national championship since 1948 as the Wolverines are officially declared No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The coaches poll jumps Nebraska to the No. 1 spot, creating a split national championship for the third time in the 1990s.
1999 — Brian Bellows of the Washington Capitals, has a goal and an assist, including the 1,000th point of his NHL career, to lead Washington past Toronto 5-2.
2003 — Ohio State completes an unlikely, unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 double-overtime win over Miami at the Fiesta Bowl.
2007 — High profile Miami Dolphins NFL head coach Nick Saban resigns after agreeing to return to college football and take head coaching job at Alabama.
2010 — Chris Johnson rushes for 134 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee’s 17-13 win over Seattle and finishes the year with 2,006 yards.
2011 — Connecticut’s nearly three-year hold on the top ranking ends when they were overtaken by Baylor and drop to No. 2 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. Connecticut, which had it’s 90-game win streak snapped by Stanford on Dec. 30, had been the top team for a record 51 straight weeks, beginning Feb. 18, 2008.
2015 — A month shy of 43, Jaromir Jagr scores three times to pass Gordie Howe and becomes the oldest NHL player to record a hat trick, leading New Jersey to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
2016 – Jimmy Butler breaks Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls record for points in an NBA half, scoring 40 of his 42 points in the second half to lead the Bulls in a 115-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
2023 — Cristiano Ronaldo joins Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr for the “biggest salary ever in football”, leaving Manchester United after criticizing it publicly.
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