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Note the red jersey with Number 25, for December 25
December 25, 1850: Fraley Westcote Rogers is born in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. His older brothers Al and Mort Rogers were both what passed for stars in baseball's amateur era. A right fielder, he played amateur ball for the Star Club of Brooklyn, and later helped the Boston Red Stockings (forerunners of the Atlanta Braves) win the National Association Pennant in 1872.
Records are sketchy, and say only that he played 2 games for the Red Stockings in 1873, and no more games in any pro league. No mention of an injury or an illness. On May 10, 1881, having suffered from malaria and a financial setback, he shot himself to death age age 30. He is believed to be the 1st professional baseball player to commit suicide.
December 25, 1856: James Francis Galvin is born in St. Louis. The Hall of Fame pitcher was nicknamed "Pud" because he was said to have "reduced hitters to pudding." No word on whether it was figgy pudding.
He won 365 games -- a total topped by only 4 pitchers ever -- for the Buffalo Bisons (who went out of business in 1885) and the Pittsburgh team that would be renamed the Pirates before he retired, in a career that lasted from 1875 to 1892. That career curiously stopped right before the distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound was extended from 50 feet to the now-traditional 60 feet, 6 inches, thus making it harder on pitchers.
A 2006 National Public Radio article refers to Galvin as "the first baseball player to be widely known for using a performance enhancer." The Washington Post reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard elixir, which contained monkey testosterone, before a game in 1889. However, no one then seemed bothered by his use of the elixir, and the Post practically endorsed it after the game, saying that Galvin's performance was "the best proof yet furnished of the value of the discovery."
He was poor, and couldn't afford to take care of himself, and died in 1902. He was only 45 years old. I can't find a reference to the cause of his death, so I can neither confirm nor deny that the steroid he took had anything to do with it. But photographs suggest he was overweight, so maybe it was a heart attack or high blood pressure that did him in.
December 25, 1864: Joseph James Quinn is born in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, and grows up in St. Louis. A 2nd baseman, his career began and ended very dubiously, but he did well in between.
Joe Quinn started in 1884 with the St. Louis Maroons, of the rebel Union Association. They dominated that league, which was major only in the mind of its founder, the Maroons' owner, Henry V. Lucas. But Joe would be signed by the Boston Beaneaters (forerunners of the Braves).
After siding with the rebel Players' League in 1890, helping their Boston Reds win the Pennant, he went back to the Beaneaters, and helped them win the National League Pennant in 1891 and '92. He later helped the Baltimore Orioles win the NL Pennant in 1896.
But he got stuck with the Cleveland Spiders, as both player and manager. They had been stripped of most of their good players, and went 20-134, the worst record in baseball history, including a 24-game losing streak, the longest in MLB history.
He was, appropriately, a mortician in the off-season, and lived until 1940. Until the arrival of Craig Shipley in 1986, Joe Quinn was the only Australian-born player to make the major leagues.
Also on this day, Thomas W. Cahill -- I can find no record of what the W stands for -- is born in Manhattan, and grows up in St. Louis. He loved baseball and track, but when a soccer team from Toronto visited St. Louis, he got hooked on the sport.
On April 5, 1913, at the Astor House hotel in New York, Tom Cahill founded the United States Football Association, which later became and remains the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the governing body of American soccer. He served as its 1st Executive Secretary, until 1921, when he left to merge 2 regional leagues into the American Soccer League. The Great Depression killed it in 1931, and he died in 1951, forgotten.
He would later be elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and should be remembered as the father of American soccer.
December 25, 1866: George Silas Haddock is born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A pitcher, "Gentleman George" he went 95-87 in a career from 1888 to 1894. He was a member of the 1891 American Association Champion Boston Reds. he died in 1926.
December 25, 1871, 150 years ago: Reading Football Club is founded in Reading, Berkshire, England. They played at Elm Park from 1896 to 1999, and since then at the 24,161-seat Madejski Stadium.
"The Royals" have not been particularly successful. They have won England's 4th division once, its 3rd division 3 times, and its 2nd division twice, but their best 1st division finish has been 8th place in 2007. Their best finish in the FA Cup has been the Semifinals, in 1927 and 2015, although they've gotten to at least the Quarterfinals 6 times, including 4 times since 2010. Their best finish in the League Cup is the Quarterfinals in 1996 and 1998.
They won the Football league Third Division South Cup in 1938, the London War Cup in 1941, and the Full Members Cup in 1988. This was a competition created after English clubs were banned from European play after the Heysel Stadium disaster of 1985, to give them some extra competition. It lasted a little longer than the ban did, until 1992. They are currently in The EFL Championship, the current name of the 2nd division of English soccer.
December 25, 1875: Soccer's 1st Edinburgh Derby is played at a park known as The Meadows. Heart of Midlothian defeat Hibernian 1-0. This is the oldest remaining senior "derby" in the world, older than the "Old Firm" in Glasgow, with similarities: Like Rangers, "Hearts" were founded as an all-Protestant side; while, like Celtic, "Hibs" ("Hibernia" was the Roman Empire's name for Ireland) were founded as a team for Catholic immigrants from Ireland.
Hearts have won 286 matches, Hibs 206, with 159 draws. The teams frequently play each other on the day after Christmas, Boxing Day, but not this season.
But not all is well in Scottish sports on this holiday. "Young Tom Morris," an early golf legend, and the son of an early golf legend known as Old Tom Morris, dies in his native St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. He is only 24. He had recently played a match in terrible weather, and probably caught pneumonia.
Although it would be a Scotsman, Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, it would be decades before it could have saved Young Tom, who had also recently lost his wife and child in childbirth, and, between his grief and his illness, may have lost the will to live.
Old Tom Morris, born in 1821, lived on until 1908. St. Andrews, home of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and the site of 27 British Opens (but never, as yet, a Ryder Cup), is still "the Home of Golf," partly because of the legacy of the Tom Morrises.
December 25, 1877: Henry Judah Trihey is born in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. A center, Harry Trihey won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Shamrocks in 1899 and 1900. Regarded as the best forward of his era, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and died in 1942.
December 25, 1886: According to club legend, a meeting of workers of the Dial Square Shop of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, Kent (now part of Southeast London) is held at the nearby Royal Oak pub. The men involved had played football under the name Dial Square Football Club 2 weeks earlier, on December 11, defeating Eastern Wanderers 6-0 at Millwall F.C.'s former ground on the Isle of Dogs.
Now, the legend says, they formalize themselves, calling themselves Royal Arsenal Football Club. They will play their home games at the Manor Ground in nearby Plumstead.
We now know, thanks to research by the Arsenal History Society, that this story is not true. They uncovered a publication dated January 2, 1887, with an advertisement seeking matches under the Dial Square F.C. name, meaning that the change of name to Royal Arsenal had not yet occurred. But on January 8, just 6 days later, they used the Royal Arsenal name in a 6-1 win over Erith at Plumstead Common, not far from the Royal Arsenal itself.
They would turn professional in 1893, necessitating a name change, since a professional sports team was not permitted to have "royal" in its name. So they renamed themselves for their locality: Woolwich Arsenal. In 1913, they moved across the River Thames to the Highbury section of North London. A year later, they dropped the now-erroneous locality from the name, and became simply Arsenal Football Club.
When they play at home right before Christmas, their fans are known to sing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Santa is an Arsenal fan, and at Highbury today!" This is despite the fact that, in 2006, they moved from the old Arsenal Stadium, nicknamed Highbury, and into the Emirates Stadium. When their last game before Christmas is on the road, the fans sing, "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to see The Arsenal win away!"
Also on this day, Morris Charles Rath is born in Mobeetie, in the Texas Panhandle. A 2nd baseman, he played for the Chicago White Sox, then played against them for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1919 World Series.
This was the Series that was "fixed," resulting in the Black Sox Scandal. The signal to the gamblers that the fix as on was that the Reds' leadoff hitter in the 1st game would be hit with a pitch. On his 2nd pitch of the game, Chicago's Eddie Cicotte hit Rath with a pitch. He was not injured.
Rath played 1 more season in the major leagues, and then ran a sporting goods store outside Philadelphia. His health declined, and he committed suicide in 1945.
December 25, 1889: Royal Arsenal play on Christmas Day for the 1st time, at the Manor Ground. They defeat Preston Hornets 5-0.
December 25, 1890: In Lancashire, England, soccer hooliganism, if not "invented," is first exposed to a wide audience. Blackburn Rovers play a home match at Ewood Park against nearby team Darwen. Rovers are scheduled to play West Midlands club Wolverhampton Wanderers the following day, Boxing Day, and so they field a weakened team. This infuriates the Blackburn fans, particularly as, in a real Scroogelike move, ticket prices had been increased for the game.
When the Darwen team appears, the fans urge them to leave the pitch, which they do, later re-emerging with their second eleven. Eventually, Blackburn and Darwen fans invade the pitch, pulling up the goal posts and threatening to wreck the press box. The police intervene, and finally manage to control the situation.
December 25, 1891, 130 years ago: Royal Arsenal come from a 3-0 deficit to draw 3-3 with Sheffield United, at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
December 25, 1893: The newly-professional, newly-in-the-Football-League, newly-renamed Woolwich Arsenal host Burslem Port Vale, later just "Port Vale." Today, they are the only 2 teams in the 92-team Football League who are not named after a specific locality. Arsenal win, 4-1.
December 25, 1894: In a manner of speaking, the 1st holiday-season college bowl game is played on this day. Certainly, it was the 1st game between teams from 2 different parts of the country. And it was the 2 men most responsible for the development of American football who set it up and opposed each other in it.
Walter Camp had been one of the 1st great college football players, at Yale University in the late 1870s. In 1888, he became Yale's head coach, and one of his players on that great team was Amos Alonzo Stagg. Between them, they invented pretty much every feature that turned American football from a game resembling soccer and rugby to the game that became so popular in the 20th Century.
Both men went West to start college football programs, Stagg at the University of Chicago, Camp at the newly-founded Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay Area. They played at the Haight Street Grounds in San Francisco. Chicago beat Stanford 24-4.
The Haight Street Grounds stood from 1887 to 1895. It was actually not at Haight Street, but at the southeastern corner of Stanyan and Waller Streets, in the Haight-Ashbury district that would become the seat of the Hippie movement in the 1960s, at the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park, about a block from where Kezar Stadium would later be built.
Also on this day, Woolwich Arsenal again host Burslem Port Vale, and win 7-0. Patrick O'Brien scores 3 goals -- not yet known as a "hat trick" in either ice hockey or association football.
December 25, 1890: In Lancashire, England, soccer hooliganism, if not "invented," is first exposed to a wide audience. Blackburn Rovers play a home match at Ewood Park against nearby team Darwen. Rovers are scheduled to play West Midlands club Wolverhampton Wanderers the following day, Boxing Day, and so they field a weakened team. This infuriates the Blackburn fans, particularly as, in a real Scroogelike move, ticket prices had been increased for the game.
When the Darwen team appears, the fans urge them to leave the pitch, which they do, later re-emerging with their second eleven. Eventually, Blackburn and Darwen fans invade the pitch, pulling up the goal posts and threatening to wreck the press box. The police intervene, and finally manage to control the situation.
December 25, 1891, 130 years ago: Royal Arsenal come from a 3-0 deficit to draw 3-3 with Sheffield United, at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
December 25, 1893: The newly-professional, newly-in-the-Football-League, newly-renamed Woolwich Arsenal host Burslem Port Vale, later just "Port Vale." Today, they are the only 2 teams in the 92-team Football League who are not named after a specific locality. Arsenal win, 4-1.
December 25, 1894: In a manner of speaking, the 1st holiday-season college bowl game is played on this day. Certainly, it was the 1st game between teams from 2 different parts of the country. And it was the 2 men most responsible for the development of American football who set it up and opposed each other in it.
Walter Camp had been one of the 1st great college football players, at Yale University in the late 1870s. In 1888, he became Yale's head coach, and one of his players on that great team was Amos Alonzo Stagg. Between them, they invented pretty much every feature that turned American football from a game resembling soccer and rugby to the game that became so popular in the 20th Century.
Both men went West to start college football programs, Stagg at the University of Chicago, Camp at the newly-founded Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay Area. They played at the Haight Street Grounds in San Francisco. Chicago beat Stanford 24-4.
The Haight Street Grounds stood from 1887 to 1895. It was actually not at Haight Street, but at the southeastern corner of Stanyan and Waller Streets, in the Haight-Ashbury district that would become the seat of the Hippie movement in the 1960s, at the southeastern corner of Golden Gate Park, about a block from where Kezar Stadium would later be built.
Also on this day, Woolwich Arsenal again host Burslem Port Vale, and win 7-0. Patrick O'Brien scores 3 goals -- not yet known as a "hat trick" in either ice hockey or association football.
Also on this day, Thomas H. Cahill dies of an infection in Scranton, Pennsylvania, only 26 years old. No relation to the earlier Thomas W. Cahill, this Tom Cahill was a utility player who played just 1 season in the major leagues, 1891, with the Louisville Colonels.
December 25, 1895: Woolwich Arsenal again host Burslem Port Vale, and win 2-1.
December 25, 1896, 125 years ago: Woolwich Arsenal host Lincoln City, and win 6-2.
December 25, 1897: Arsenal lose on Christmas for the 1st time. It is against Tottenham Hotspur, then in Middlesex. (The Tottenham area wouldn't be brought into London, North or otherwise, until the municipal boundaries were redrawn in 1963, effective January 1, 1965.) Until Arsenal moved to North London in 1913, they considered "Spurs" to be just another opponent. This time, though, Spurs win, 3-2 at the Manor Ground.
December 25, 1896, 125 years ago: Woolwich Arsenal host Lincoln City, and win 6-2.
December 25, 1897: Arsenal lose on Christmas for the 1st time. It is against Tottenham Hotspur, then in Middlesex. (The Tottenham area wouldn't be brought into London, North or otherwise, until the municipal boundaries were redrawn in 1963, effective January 1, 1965.) Until Arsenal moved to North London in 1913, they considered "Spurs" to be just another opponent. This time, though, Spurs win, 3-2 at the Manor Ground.
Also on this day, Norman Christopher Barry is born in Chicago. Playing at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne, he was in the same backfield as George Gipp, and won the National Championship in 1920. He played in the NFL for the Chicago Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Badgers. In 1925, he coached the Cardinals to the NFL Championship, although the story is marred by controversy.
He went back to Notre Dame for law school, served in the Illinois State Senate from 1943 to 1953, and then as a circuit court Judge until 1978. He lived until 1988.
December 25, 1899: Woolwich Arsenal travel to Lincoln City, and lose 5-0.
Also on this day, Eugene Edward Robertson is born in St. Louis. A 3rd baseman, Gene Robertson played in the major leagues from 1919 to 1928, including winning the 1928 World Series with the Yankees. He finished his career with a .280 batting average, and lived until 1981.
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December 25, 1900: Woolwich Arsenal host East London club West Ham United, and win 1-0.
Also on this day, the 4,000-seat Patrick Arena opens in Victoria, the capital of the Province of British Columbia, with the 1st artificial ice surface in Western Canada. It is built by brothers Frank and Lester Patrick, who owned, ran and played for the Victoria Senators of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The team would later be known as the Victoria Aristocrats and the Victoria Cougars.
In 1925, by then members of the Western Canada Hockey League, the Cougars beat the NHL Champion Montreal Canadiens, and won the Stanley Cup. They remain the last non-NHL team, and the last team from British Columbia, to win the Cup.
Frank sold his share of the team to Lester, and led the Vancouver Millionaires to the 1915 Stanley Cup, still the only one won by a Vancouver team. In 1926, Lester became the general manager and head coach of the expansion New York Rangers. Neither was involved with the arena bearing their family name anymore.
On November 11, 1929, it burned down -- usually considered to be arson. It would take until 1949 for a new Victoria Memorial Arena to be built (not on the same site) and for professional hockey in Victoria to be restored. In 2005, "The Barn on Blanshard" was replaced on the same site by a new arena, the 7,000-seat Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. It is home to the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League.
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December 25, 1920: Arsenal go to Goodison Park in Liverpool, and beat Everton 4-2.
Also on this day, Richard James Barwegen is born in Chicago. A guard, Dick Barwegan (somewhere down the line, he changed the spelling) starred at Purdue University, and made 4 Pro Bowls with the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Colts. He died in 1966, and was posthumously named to the NFL's 1940s All-Decade Team and the 100 Greatest Chicago Bears, in commemoration of the Bears' 100th Season in 2019. However, he is not yet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1922: Arsenal go to Burnden Park in Bolton, Lancashire, and lose to Bolton Wanderers 4-1.
Also on this day, Julius Neal Watlington is born in Yanceyville, North Carolina. A catcher, he arrived in professional baseball in 1941, then went off to World War II, and was wounded and received a Purple Heart. He appeared in 21 major league games, all with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953, and remained at the Triple-A level until retiring after the 1958 season. He died on December 29, 2019, 4 days after his 97th birthday.
UC's stadium, built the following year, is named for him. His brother Louis Nippert would later own the Cincinnati Reds.
December 25, 1924: The Los Angeles Christmas Festival is held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. A football game is played, and the hosts, the University of Southern California, defeat the University of Missouri, winners of the Big Six Conference (which would eventually evolve into the Big Twelve), 20-7. Due to the expense of putting it all together, the Festival and its game would not be repeated.
December 25, 1925: Arsenal host Notts County at Highbury, and win 3-0.
Also on this day, Ned Franklin Garver is born in Ney, Ohio, outside Toledo. In 1951, he went 20-12 pitching for the St. Louis Browns, the team that became the Baltimore Orioles 3 years later. This was quite a feat, considering that the Browns went 52-102 that year. Garver was the starting pitcher for the American League in that year's All-Star Game in Detroit.
Pitching in the major leagues from 1948 to 1961, with mostly bad teams, Garver finished with a career record of 129-157. But he must have had some talent, above and beyond his remarkable 1951 season, because the great Ted Williams said, "He could throw anything up there and get me out." He died on February 26, 2017, age 91.
Also on this day, Samuel Patterson Smyth Pollock is born in Montreal. Hired by the Montreal Canadiens' front office in 1959, he was general manager from 1963 to 1978, helping to build 12 Stanley Cup winners. He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and died in 2007.
December 25, 1927: The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-0 at the old Madison Square Garden.
Along with his contemporaries Phil Rizzuto, Gil Hodges and Richie Ashburn, and the younger Ron Santo, Fox was one of those guys that everyone hoped would one day get into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but wondered why it was taking so long. Rizzuto lived long enough to make it, in 1994. So did Ashburn, in 1995. Fox didn't, dying of skin cancer in 1975 and getting elected in 1997. Santo didn't, either, dying in 2010 and being elected in 2012. Hodges died in 1972, and his supporters are still waiting.
Also on this day, Leo Roman Kubiak is born in Toledo, Ohio. He played professional baseball, but didn't make the major leagues. He did make them in basketball, playing for the Waterloo Hawks of Iowa from 1948 to 1950. He is one of the last surviving players from the founding days of the NBA.
December 25, 1928: Arsenal play their 1st Christmas Day match under manager Herbert Chapman. They lose 5-2, away to Blackburn Rovers.
After that season, he was part of the biggest trade in baseball history, 17 players, going to the Yankees, along with Don Larsen and Bob Turley. But he never played for the Yankees, or any other team again. He died in 2004.
In 1960, he got his 1st college job, at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, getting them to what we would now call the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1966 and the Elite Eight in 1968. That got the attention of the University of Maryland, and they hired him in 1969.
On July 12, 1973, Lefty Driesell and 2 friends were surf fishing in Bethany Beach, Delaware, when they saw a fire at a resort building. They rushed to shore, and Driesell broke down a door and rescued at least 10 children. It would be another half an hour before the firemen arrived. He said he wasn't a hero: "It was just lucky that we were fishing right in front of the houses."
He built a pretty good coaching record in College Park, too. He reached the Sweet Sixteen 5 times, and the Elite Eight in 1973 and 1975. He won them Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in the regular season in 1975 and 1980, and in the Tournament in 1984, led by a powerful sophomore forward named Len Bias. Other star players of his included Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Albert King and Buck Williams.
In 1986, Bias had a chance to be taken as the Number 1 pick in the NBA Draft. He wasn't: Brad Daugherty of North Carolina was, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Boston Celtics had traded up for the Number 2 pick, and chose Bias. When asked about him, Driesell said, "Leonard's only vice is ice cream." This turned out not to be the case. It was also revealed, after Bias' cocaine-induced death, that he'd used up his eligibility. The scandal forced Driesell to resign.
He returned to the coaching ranks in 1988, with James Madison University of Harrisonburg, Virginia. He led them to 5 Conference Championships. He closed his career at Georgia State University, and led them to 4 Conference Championships. In so doing, he became the 1st coach to win more than 100 games at 4 different NCAA Division I schools. His final record, from 1960 to 2003, was 786-394. He is still alive, a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and was just elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Also on this day, Benjamin Basil Heatley is born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. On June 13, 1964, Basil Heatley won the Polytechnic Marathon in London, running it in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 55 seconds to break the world record for the marathon. But he would only win a Silver Medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, as the man whose record he broke, 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, reclaimed the Gold and the record. Heatley died in 2019, at age 85.
December 25, 1934: Now managed by George Allison, Arsenal defeat Lancashire club Preston North End 5-3, at Highbury. Hulme scores 2, Bastin 1, Ray Bowden 1, and they also get the benefit of an own goal by Preston. The next day, Preston get revenge, 2-1 at their home ground of Deepdale. Arsenal go on to make it 3 straight League titles.
In the 1st season of the Football League, 1888-89, Preston went unbeaten, winning 18 games, drawing 4 and losing none. They also won the FA Cup, making the 1st "Double." An unbeaten League season would not happen again until Arsenal in 2003-04: As broadcaster Alan Parry said, "They were, quite literally, unbeatable: Played 38, won 24, drawn 12, lost exactly none!"
He was a 3-time CFL All-Star, and helped the Ticats win the 1963 and 1965 Grey Cups. He died in 2011.
Also on this day, Oleg Georgievich Grigoryev is born in Moscow. He won the Gold Medal in the bantamweight division of Olympic boxing in Rome in 1960, the same tournament in which Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) won in the middleweight division. He is still alive.
December 25, 1938: Three games were played in the NHL. The New York Americans beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 1-0 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium.
It was not intentional: He had no reputation for hitting batters, and hit only 1 other batter during the course of the season. Also, someone had thrown a smoke bomb onto the field a few minutes earlier, and the smoke hadn't fully cleared, making it harder to see the ball during a night game.
Hamilton never recovered from the stigma of having hit Tony C, and retired after 2 more seasons. He later ran restaurants in his native Iowa, and in Branson, Missouri, where he died in 2018, at age 79.
Also on this day, Joseph Jean-Noel Yves Picard in Montréal, Québec. A defenseman, he won the Stanley Cup with the 1965 Montreal Canadiens, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals 3 more times, with the 1968, 1969 and 1970 St. Louis Blues.
He is best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to trip Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins up in overtime of Game 4 of the 1970 Finals, allowing Orr to score the Cup-winning goal, and putting Picard into perhaps the most famous photograph in the history of hockey.
Noel Picard was a member of 2 1st-year NHL expansion teams, the 1967-68 Blues and the 1972-73 Atlanta Flames. He later became a broadcaster for the Blues, and ran a restaurant in the suburbs of St. Louis. He died in 2017.
December 25, 1939: With World War II underway, the Football League has again suspended operations, and won't start again until the 1946-47 season (although the Football Association will play a full FA Cup tournament in 1945-46). Arsenal host East London team Clapton Orient, and win 3-0. Kirchen, Jack Crayston and Reg Lewis score the goals. Clapton Orient is now known as Leyton Orient, nicknamed just "Orient," or "The O's."
He played pro ball until 1974, making 3 Pro Bowls, catching 360 passes for 5,619 yards and 44 touchdowns. He is in the College Football and Texas Sports Halls of Fame. He went on to work in law enforcement, and invented a garden tool, the Speedy Weedy. He died on August 7, 2019.
Also on this day, Noël Le Graët is born in Bourbriac, Côtes-d'Armor, France. Since 2011, he has been President of the French Football Federation (FFF), the governing body of French soccer. Under his leadership, France has advanced to the Final of Euro 2016, losing to Portugal, and won the 2018 World Cup, beating Croatia in the Final.
December 25, 1942: Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge in West London, and lose 5-2 to Chelsea.
December 25, 1943: Arsenal travel to The Den in South London, and beat Millwall 5-1. Lewis scores twice. Goals are also scored by Drake, Denis Compton and Bobby Flavell.
The brothers Leslie and Denis Compton were accomplished athletes, both of whom played soccer for Arsenal (Les was better at that sport) and cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club (Denis was better at that one).
He later ran a string of Athlete's Foot sporting-goods stores, and then an investment firm, and is in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. He is still alive.
Also on this day, Dennis Eugene Musgraves is born in Indianapolis. A pitcher, he made 5 major league appearances, all in July 1965 for the Mets. He had no decisions, but had a 0.56 ERA. This begs the question: As bad as the Mets were, why didn't they give him more of a chance? He stayed in pro ball until 1971, and is still alive.
December 25, 1944: Arsenal travel to Griffin Park in West London, and draw 1-1 with Brentford.
December 25, 1945: With World War II over and victory belonging to the Allies, Arsenal travel to Wales, and lose 2-1 to Newport County at Rodney Parade in Newport.
The Blackhawks -- like the Chicago hockey team, named for the famous early 19th Century Native chief of the region -- play in Moline for 5 years, but in 1951, they moved again, becoming the Milwaukee Hawks. In 1955, they became the St. Louis Hawks, reaching 4 NBA Finals including winning the 1958 NBA Championship. In 1968, despite having won a Division title, they moved again, becoming the Atlanta Hawks. Given their attendance problems lately, they may have to move again.
He moved around a lot as a manager, leading Al Wasl to the league title in the United Arab Emirates in 1982, 1983 and 1985. He returned home and won Brazilian State Championships for Vasco in 1992 and 1993, Bahia in 1994, for Rio team Fluminense (or "Flu") in 1995, for Flu's arch-rivals Flamengo (or "Fla") in 1996, for Rio team Botafogo in 1997, for Bahia again in 1999, Vitória in 2003, Fla again in 2008, and Botafogo again in 2010.
But his biggest achievement was leading Vasco to the league title in 2000, making him one of the few managers in any country to win a league title for the same team as a player and a manager. He now manages an amateur team in the Los Angeles suburbs.
Also on this day, Kyle Rote Jr. is born in Dallas. The son of Southern Methodist University (SMU) running back Kyle Rote, soon to become a pro star with the Giants, Kyle Jr. played the original football. He starred for the Dallas Tornadoes, becoming one of the earliest American-born soccer players to be widely known. Indeed, he was the 1st American-born, and the 1st American-trained, player to lead the North American Soccer League in scoring for a season, in 1973.
However, he only played 5 games for the national team. He also won ABC's Superstars competition 3 times in 4 years in the late 1970s. He now runs an athletes' agent service.
He also managed both teams, as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. But the only Pennant he was involved in was in his rookie year, with the Dodgers (or, as they were then known -- I swear, I am not making this up, it came from several of their players having gotten married in a single off-season -- the Bridegrooms) in 1890.
But Chelsea will go on to win the League title for the 1st time in their 50-year history -- the only time they will do so until 2005, when corrupt Russian energy boss Roman Abramovich has taken them over. They win this 1955 title with the 1st man ever to win the League as both a non-managing player and a non-playing manager. And he's an Arsenal man: Ted Drake.
December 25, 1956: Arsenal play Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Whittaker had died earlier in the year, and the club had gone into a long decline that wouldn't be reversed for 10 years.
This remains the last game that Arsenal have played on a Christmas Day. By the 1970s, England's Football Association would stop allowing Football League games to be played on Christmas Day. To this day, however, they are still played on the day after, a.k.a. Boxing Day, often by neighboring rivals to save on travel costs.
December 25, 1957: Three games are played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lose to the Syracuse Nationals, 134-130 in overtime at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 115-105 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-104 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
In 1990, he went back to Yorkshire, and helped Leeds United win the 2nd division and get promoted to the 1st. However, they sold him to Bedfordshire team Luton Town in 1991-92, and when Leeds won the League that year, Kamara didn't get a winner's medal.
He managed Yorkshire team Bradford City, and got them promoted from the 3rd to the 2nd division in 1996. He has since gone into the broadcasting side of soccer.
Also on this day, Hanford Dixon (no middle name) is born in Mobile, Alabama. The All-Pro cornerback for the Cleveland Browns would bark like a dog at his teammates to get them psyched up, and fans in the bleachers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium would start barking along with him. Soon, he started calling that section the Dawg Pound, and they would respond by wearing dog masks and throwing dog biscuits. He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1959: Four games are played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lose to the Boston Celtics, 123-119 at Madison Square Garden. The Philadelphia Warriors, playing one of their occasional "home games" at the Hershey Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, outside Harrisburg, beat the Syracuse Nationals, 129-121.
He later managed Coventry, Leeds and Birmingham club Aston Villa, and is now a club ambassador for Liverpool.
Also, Corey Edward Widmer is born outside Washington in Alexandria, Virginia. A linebacker, he played for the Giants from 1992 to 1999.
He won the CFL Championship, the Grey Cup, with both Alberta teams, the 1998 Calgary Stampeders and the 2003 Edmonton Eskimos. He was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and TSN's (The Sports Network, Canada's version of ESPN) 50 Greatest CFL Players.
And Rob Mariano is born in Canton, Massachusetts. "Boston Rob" continually wore a Red Sox cap while appearing on the CBS series Survivor, and ended up marrying his season's winner, Amber Brkich. Together, they went on to compete on another CBS series, The Amazing Race. They now live in Pensacola, Florida, and have 4 children, all girls.
December 25, 1981, 40 years ago: Same 4 teams at home as a year ago. This time, though, the Knicks lost to the Nets, 96-95. The Bullets beat the Indiana Pacers, 115-98. The Suns lost to the Lakers, 104-101. And the Trail Blazers beat their rivals, the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-94.
But he was one of these players who simply didn't get on base often enough to make his speed a useful weapon. He last appeared in Major League Baseball since 2010, with the Washington Nationals, but kept his career going through 2019, by playing in the Mexican and Dominican leagues.
December 25, 1982: The 1st Aloha Bowl is played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The University of Washington, then ranked Number 9 in the nation, defeats the University of Maryland, then Number 16, 21-20.
Honolulu had previously hosted the Poi Bowl from 1936 to 1939, and the Pineapple Bowl from 1940 to 1952, but those games were held on New Year's Day. The Aloha Bowl would be held on Christmas Day, and would feature a man in a Santa Claus suit parachuting onto the field to present the referee with the game ball. In 1991, the ABC sitcom Coach would feature a 2-part episode about the show's fictional Minnesota State University playing in the Pineapple Bowl on Christmas Day.
In 1998, 1999 and 2000, Aloha Stadium hosted a doubleheader, with the Aloha Bowl preceded by the Oahu Bowl. But that game quickly folded. The last Aloha Bowl was played in 2000. It was a commercial failure: Of the 19 games played, only the 1989 edition was a sellout of the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
Having quickly gone from hosting 2 bowl games in 2000 to none in 2001, Hawaii tried again. The Hawai'i Bowl was established in 2002, and was played on Christmas Day that year and the next, but has usually been played on Christmas Eve since. This year, it will be played on Christmas Eve, between teams yet to be determined from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Mountain West Conference, at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex, on the University of Hawaii campus. A combination of poor construction and 46 years of tropical weather have led to the closing of Aloha Stadium.
His brother Stacy Andrews was an Eagle teammate in 2009, and closed his career helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.
Also on this day, Alastair Nathan Cook is born in Gloucester, England. I don't know what makes a cricket player great, but Cook holds the records for most caps (appearances) and most caps as Captain for the England national team. He was named International Cricket Council Player of the Year in 2011. He is 5th on the all-time list for most runs in Test cricket, with 12,472. (Sachin Tendulkar of India holds the record, with 15,921.)
He currently plays for Essex County Cricket. That's Essex County in England, not in New Jersey. England does have a city named Newark, but, unlike in New Jersey, it isn't in the County of Essex, but in the County of Nottinghamshire. However, he retired from international cricket before the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and was not a member of the England team that won it.
December 25, 1988: The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards, 125-110 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. And the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 101-87 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
A right wing, he played the original Senators from 1923 to 1934, including being an integral part of their 1927 Stanley Cup win. Due to the Great Depression, the Senators did not play in the 1931-32 season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were allowed to sign him, enabling him to win that season's Stanley Cup with the Leafs. He was the Senators' Captain upon their return. In the 1933-34 season, he played in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game in Toronto.
But after that season, they moved to St. Louis, already known for good support of a minor-league team. Finnigan scored the final goal in the history of the old Senators. The St. Louis Eagles were terrible in 1934-35 and folded, selling him back to the Leafs, for whom he played until 1937. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II and managed hotels.
Finnigan was the last surviving Senator from the Stanley Cup winners of 1927 -- still the last Cup won by an Ottawa team -- and participated in the "Bring Back The Senators" campaign. On October 8, 1992, before their 1st regular-season home game, at the Ottawa Civic Centre, his Number 8 was raised to the rafters, and his son Frank Finnigan Jr. was invited to drop the ceremonial puck before the 1st home game.
His brother Eddie Finnigan also played in the NHL, including for the St. Louis Eagles after they were no longer the Senators, but was mostly a career minor-leaguer. His daughter Joan Finnigan was a noted Canadian writer, including writing a book about the Senators' re-establishment, and several books about the Ottawa Valley.
In the 1946-47 season, he made 10 appearances for the club, which won the Football League title, but that was 1 game short of qualifying for a winner's medal under the rules of the time. He played for Liverpool in the 1950 FA Cup Final, but they lost to Arsenal. He broke his leg late in the next season, missing the entire 1951-52 season, and retired a year later, just 31.
Most of their current players are Chinese, but they also have Brazilian players Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior, who goes by simply "Oscar."
He then managed in the minor leagues, and was promoted to bench coach by the Braves in 1991, a part of 5 World Series with them, winning in 1995. His hometown of Grove, Oklahoma named its baseball field for him while he as still alive and well enough to enjoy it. "Beauchamp" is French for "beautiful field."
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December 25, 1900: Woolwich Arsenal host East London club West Ham United, and win 1-0.
Also on this day, Albert J. Trace is born in Chicago. A musician who played minor-league baseball, he wrote songs with his brother Ben Trace, including "You Call Everybody Darlin'" and "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake." He died in 1993.
December 25, 1901, 120 years ago: Woolwich Arsenal host Lancashire club Blackpool. The game ends in a 0-0 draw.
December 25, 1901, 120 years ago: Woolwich Arsenal host Lancashire club Blackpool. The game ends in a 0-0 draw.
December 25, 1902: Woolwich Arsenal travel to Staffordshire, and lose 2-1 to Burton United.
December 25, 1903: Woolwich Arsenal host Yorkshire club Bradford City, and win 4-1. At the conclusion of the 1903-04 season, Arsenal will be promoted to the Football League Division One for the 1st time.
December 25, 1905: Woolwich Arsenal host the defending Football League Champions, North-East club Newcastle United, and win 4-3.
December 25, 1906: Woolwich Arsenal host the defending Champions of the Scottish Football League, Celtic of Glasgow, and lose 2-0 in front of 15,000 fans, a big crowd for that era.
December 25, 1907: Woolwich Arsenal again host Newcastle United, again the defending Champions, and play to a 2-2 draw.
Also on this day, John Ross Rosenblatt is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Good enough in baseball to win a scholarship to the University of Iowa, he had to drop out to support his family. He went on to play semipro ball in Omaha for 20 years, played in a 1927 exhibition game with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and, in another, batted against Satchel Paige.
In 1948, Omaha elected him City Commissioner, and he got a stadium built. The College World Series would be held at his stadium, named for him in 1964, from 1950 until 2010, when a replacement was built. In 1954 and again in 1957, he was elected Mayor. Although Jewish, he was called "the supreme gentleman" by the city's Archbishop, Gerald T. Bergan. He lived until 1979.
December 25, 1908: Woolwich Arsenal visit Leicester Fosse, the club now known as Leicester City, and draw 1-1. In those days, it was a common practice for teams to play each other at one's ground on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and then travel to the other's ground to play again on December 26, Boxing Day. This was the 1st time that Arsenal did it, and they won the rematch in Plumstead, 2-1.
Also on this Day, William Benjamin Chapman is born in Nashville. A left fielder, he debuted for the Yankees in 1930, helped them win the World Series in 1932, played in the 1st 4 All-Star Games from 1933 to 1936, and led the American League in stolen bases in 1931, '32, '33 and '37.
By the last of those years, he was with the Washington Senators, as the dark side of his personality had surfaced. When the Nazis took over Germany in 1933, he took it as a sign that it was okay to yell anti-Semitic slurs and throw fascist salutes at Jewish fans, of which there were plenty in New York City, and, at the time, particularly in The Bronx. That season, sliding into 2nd base, he intentionally spiked Senators 2nd baseman Buddy Myer -- of Jewish descent but not raised in the faith. Myer fought back, and it grew into a 20-minute brawl, and both men were suspended for 5 games and fined $100.
It wasn't just bigotry that was wrong with him: In 1935, his 1st wife, Mary Elizabeth, filed for divorce, claiming what we would now call domestic abuse. In 1936, his hitting declining and Joe DiMaggio having arrived, Chapman was traded to Washington -- Myer's team. If there were any further incidents between them, they were not publicized. Ironically, one of the players the Yankees got in the trade was Jake Powell, who also turned out to be a nasty bigot.
Chapman managed in the minor leagues in 1942, but punched an umpire, and was suspended for the entire 1943 season. In 1944, with World War II having taken so many players, the 35-year-old Chapman was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers -- which would retroactively become another irony. They traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945, and they named him their manager, and he continued to play until 1946, finishing with a lifetime batting average of .302.
But in 1947, when the Phillies went to Brooklyn to play the Dodgers, Chapman launched a fusillade of racial epithets at the Dodgers' new signing, Jackie Robinson. At the time, the press wouldn't get specific, only saying that it was bad enough that even the Southerners on the Dodgers rallied around Jackie.
The 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story, with Jackie playing himself, showed a sanitized version of events. But the 2013 film 42 shows Alan Tudyk playing Chapman, and may well have set a record for the most utterances of "the N-word" by a white actor in movie history. (Tudyk's career has not suffered for this.)
The Commissioner of Baseball, Kentucky native (and former Governor and Senator) Albert B. "Happy" Chandler, warned the Phillies that there had better not be any incidents during the Dodgers' upcoming roadtrip to Philadelphia. It was suggested that a photograph be taken of Chapman and Robinson shaking hands. Chapman refused, so they posed together holding a bat. There were no further incidents.
Chapman was fired in the middle of the 1948 season -- not for the kind of person he was, but for losing. Only once more did he wear a major league uniform, as a coach with the Cincinnati Reds in 1952.
December 25, 1903: Woolwich Arsenal host Yorkshire club Bradford City, and win 4-1. At the conclusion of the 1903-04 season, Arsenal will be promoted to the Football League Division One for the 1st time.
December 25, 1905: Woolwich Arsenal host the defending Football League Champions, North-East club Newcastle United, and win 4-3.
December 25, 1906: Woolwich Arsenal host the defending Champions of the Scottish Football League, Celtic of Glasgow, and lose 2-0 in front of 15,000 fans, a big crowd for that era.
December 25, 1907: Woolwich Arsenal again host Newcastle United, again the defending Champions, and play to a 2-2 draw.
Also on this day, John Ross Rosenblatt is born in Omaha, Nebraska. Good enough in baseball to win a scholarship to the University of Iowa, he had to drop out to support his family. He went on to play semipro ball in Omaha for 20 years, played in a 1927 exhibition game with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, and, in another, batted against Satchel Paige.
In 1948, Omaha elected him City Commissioner, and he got a stadium built. The College World Series would be held at his stadium, named for him in 1964, from 1950 until 2010, when a replacement was built. In 1954 and again in 1957, he was elected Mayor. Although Jewish, he was called "the supreme gentleman" by the city's Archbishop, Gerald T. Bergan. He lived until 1979.
December 25, 1908: Woolwich Arsenal visit Leicester Fosse, the club now known as Leicester City, and draw 1-1. In those days, it was a common practice for teams to play each other at one's ground on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, and then travel to the other's ground to play again on December 26, Boxing Day. This was the 1st time that Arsenal did it, and they won the rematch in Plumstead, 2-1.
Also on this Day, William Benjamin Chapman is born in Nashville. A left fielder, he debuted for the Yankees in 1930, helped them win the World Series in 1932, played in the 1st 4 All-Star Games from 1933 to 1936, and led the American League in stolen bases in 1931, '32, '33 and '37.
By the last of those years, he was with the Washington Senators, as the dark side of his personality had surfaced. When the Nazis took over Germany in 1933, he took it as a sign that it was okay to yell anti-Semitic slurs and throw fascist salutes at Jewish fans, of which there were plenty in New York City, and, at the time, particularly in The Bronx. That season, sliding into 2nd base, he intentionally spiked Senators 2nd baseman Buddy Myer -- of Jewish descent but not raised in the faith. Myer fought back, and it grew into a 20-minute brawl, and both men were suspended for 5 games and fined $100.
It wasn't just bigotry that was wrong with him: In 1935, his 1st wife, Mary Elizabeth, filed for divorce, claiming what we would now call domestic abuse. In 1936, his hitting declining and Joe DiMaggio having arrived, Chapman was traded to Washington -- Myer's team. If there were any further incidents between them, they were not publicized. Ironically, one of the players the Yankees got in the trade was Jake Powell, who also turned out to be a nasty bigot.
Chapman managed in the minor leagues in 1942, but punched an umpire, and was suspended for the entire 1943 season. In 1944, with World War II having taken so many players, the 35-year-old Chapman was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers -- which would retroactively become another irony. They traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945, and they named him their manager, and he continued to play until 1946, finishing with a lifetime batting average of .302.
But in 1947, when the Phillies went to Brooklyn to play the Dodgers, Chapman launched a fusillade of racial epithets at the Dodgers' new signing, Jackie Robinson. At the time, the press wouldn't get specific, only saying that it was bad enough that even the Southerners on the Dodgers rallied around Jackie.
The 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story, with Jackie playing himself, showed a sanitized version of events. But the 2013 film 42 shows Alan Tudyk playing Chapman, and may well have set a record for the most utterances of "the N-word" by a white actor in movie history. (Tudyk's career has not suffered for this.)
The Commissioner of Baseball, Kentucky native (and former Governor and Senator) Albert B. "Happy" Chandler, warned the Phillies that there had better not be any incidents during the Dodgers' upcoming roadtrip to Philadelphia. It was suggested that a photograph be taken of Chapman and Robinson shaking hands. Chapman refused, so they posed together holding a bat. There were no further incidents.
Chapman was fired in the middle of the 1948 season -- not for the kind of person he was, but for losing. Only once more did he wear a major league uniform, as a coach with the Cincinnati Reds in 1952.
Interviewed by Ray Robinson (a journalist working on a biography of Chapman's long-ago teammate, Lou Gehrig) in 1993, shortly before his death, he expressed regret over his actions, and pointed out that his son was coaching an integrated high school football team in Alabama: "Look, I'm real proud I've raised my son different. And he gets along well with them. They like him. That's a nice thing, don't you think?"
Also on this day, Joe Gregg Moore is born in Gause, Texas, outside Houston. A left fielder, "Jo-Jo" Moore played for the New York Giants from 1930 to 1941, helping them win 3 National League Pennants and the 1933 World Series. He was a 6-time All-Star, and retired with a lifetime batting average of .298. He lived until 2001.
Also on this day, Joe Gregg Moore is born in Gause, Texas, outside Houston. A left fielder, "Jo-Jo" Moore played for the New York Giants from 1930 to 1941, helping them win 3 National League Pennants and the 1933 World Series. He was a 6-time All-Star, and retired with a lifetime batting average of .298. He lived until 2001.
Also on this day, Albert Cohen (no middle name) is born in Brooklyn, and grows up in Rockville Centre, Long Island. An outfielder, "Alta" Cohen was an All-Star in the minor leagues, but didn't play much in the majors, spending parts of the 1931 and 1932 seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the 1933 season with the Philadelphia Phillies. He became a businessman in Essex County, New Jersey, and lived until 2003.
December 25, 1909: Woolwich Arsenal, by now in a financial meltdown that will see them just barely saved from going out of business in the Spring, again host Newcastle United, finishing up what is still the most productive decade in their history, and lose 3-0.
Also on this day, Bryan Morel Grant Jr. is born in Atlanta. Only 5-foot-4, and thus known as "Bitsy" Grant, he still became one of the top tennis players of the 1930s. His upset wins earned him the nickname "Itsy Bitsy the Giant Killer."
He never won a major: The closest he came was in the Semifinals of the U.S. Open in 1935 and 1936. He was elected to the International Tennis and Georgia Sports Halls of Fame, and died in 1986.
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December 25, 1911, 110 years ago: Not that most people then rooting for Woolwich Arsenal cared about who the opponent was, but the Gunners lose 5-0 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane, in front of a huge crowd for the time, 47,000. The next day, the clubs meet again at the Manor Ground, and Arsenal win 3-1.
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December 25, 1911, 110 years ago: Not that most people then rooting for Woolwich Arsenal cared about who the opponent was, but the Gunners lose 5-0 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane, in front of a huge crowd for the time, 47,000. The next day, the clubs meet again at the Manor Ground, and Arsenal win 3-1.
Also on this day, the 4,000-seat Patrick Arena opens in Victoria, the capital of the Province of British Columbia, with the 1st artificial ice surface in Western Canada. It is built by brothers Frank and Lester Patrick, who owned, ran and played for the Victoria Senators of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The team would later be known as the Victoria Aristocrats and the Victoria Cougars.
In 1925, by then members of the Western Canada Hockey League, the Cougars beat the NHL Champion Montreal Canadiens, and won the Stanley Cup. They remain the last non-NHL team, and the last team from British Columbia, to win the Cup.
Frank sold his share of the team to Lester, and led the Vancouver Millionaires to the 1915 Stanley Cup, still the only one won by a Vancouver team. In 1926, Lester became the general manager and head coach of the expansion New York Rangers. Neither was involved with the arena bearing their family name anymore.
On November 11, 1929, it burned down -- usually considered to be arson. It would take until 1949 for a new Victoria Memorial Arena to be built (not on the same site) and for professional hockey in Victoria to be restored. In 2005, "The Barn on Blanshard" was replaced on the same site by a new arena, the 7,000-seat Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. It is home to the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League.
Also on this day, Lon Worth Evans is born in Fort Worth, Texas. A 2-way tackle, he won a Southwest Conference Chamionship with Texas Christian University in 1932, and an NFL Championship with the Green Bay Packers in 1936. The Packers elected him to their team Hall of Fame, and he lived until 1992.
December 25, 1912: Arsenal host Nottingham club Notts County, and draw 0-0. The 1912-13 season will be, competitively speaking, the worst in Arsenal's history, the only time they will ever be relegated to the 2nd division. Team owner Henry Norris, a real estate tycoon and a Member of Parliament, decided that the location in Southeast London, then having poor transportation links, was a problem.
So he bought land in Islington, in North London, and built a new stadium, officially named the Arsenal Stadium, but nicknamed Highbury after the neighborhood. It was much easier to reach for clubs both inside and outside London. Alas, it would begin life outside the top flight.
In 1987, the Docklands Light Railway began service, including to the area that was once home to Arsenal. That didn't help the team. But in 1913, the Highbury area included a stop on the London Underground's Piccadilly Line.
In 1932, Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman convinced the company then running the Underground (what we would call a subway system) to rename the station closest to the stadium "Arsenal." The old tiles reading "GILLESPIE ROAD" can still be seen on the wall of the station, and motormen who are fans of arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur will, inevitably, use the train's public-address system to identify the station as "Gillespie Road" instead of Arsenal.
To this day, Arsenal are the only London-area team to have a stop named for them. With Tottenham having built a new stadium, there is a proposal to rename the White Hart Lane national railway station "Tottenham Hotspur," but it has not been acted upon.
December 25, 1912: Arsenal host Nottingham club Notts County, and draw 0-0. The 1912-13 season will be, competitively speaking, the worst in Arsenal's history, the only time they will ever be relegated to the 2nd division. Team owner Henry Norris, a real estate tycoon and a Member of Parliament, decided that the location in Southeast London, then having poor transportation links, was a problem.
So he bought land in Islington, in North London, and built a new stadium, officially named the Arsenal Stadium, but nicknamed Highbury after the neighborhood. It was much easier to reach for clubs both inside and outside London. Alas, it would begin life outside the top flight.
In 1987, the Docklands Light Railway began service, including to the area that was once home to Arsenal. That didn't help the team. But in 1913, the Highbury area included a stop on the London Underground's Piccadilly Line.
In 1932, Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman convinced the company then running the Underground (what we would call a subway system) to rename the station closest to the stadium "Arsenal." The old tiles reading "GILLESPIE ROAD" can still be seen on the wall of the station, and motormen who are fans of arch-rival Tottenham Hotspur will, inevitably, use the train's public-address system to identify the station as "Gillespie Road" instead of Arsenal.
To this day, Arsenal are the only London-area team to have a stop named for them. With Tottenham having built a new stadium, there is a proposal to rename the White Hart Lane national railway station "Tottenham Hotspur," but it has not been acted upon.
Also on this day, Quincy Thomas Trouppe is born in Dublin, Georgia. A catcher, he was an 8-time Negro League All-Star, playing from 1930 to 1948, before finally being accepted into white baseball. He only played 6 games in the major leagues, all in 1952 for the Cleveland Indians, at age 39.
But one of those games deserves to be remembered: On May 3, Sam Jones came in to relieve for the Indians, and Quincy Trouppe was catching. This made them the 1st all-black battery in American League history, 3 years after Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers had done it in the National League. Trouppe was elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and lived until 1993.
December 25, 1913: Woolwich Arsenal travel to Yorkshire and beat Bradford Park Avenue (not to be confused with Bradford City) 3-2. At the conclusion of the season, Norris, noting that the club no longer plays in Woolwich, drops the locality from the name, and it becomes simply "Arsenal Football Club." Many fans will continue to call the club what they've been calling it: "The Arsenal." Many still do refer to it as such, writing and typing, Capital T, Capital A.
December 25, 1914: Upon hearing German soldiers sing Christmas carols in their trench on the Western Front of what was then called The Great War (later World War I), the British soldiers start to do so in theirs. Soon, the men on both sides come out of their trenches, and stop treating each other as enemies for a few hours, exchanging food, drinks, and trinkets. It becomes known as the Christmas Truce.
Legend has it that there was even a soccer game. Sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: A football match. It's not clear which side produced the ball, but according to most accounts that discuss the match, the Germans beat the English, 3-2.
This is the 1st time that Englishmen would be defeated by Germans at their national game. There have been many more. But, as England manager Alf Ramsey pointed out before the 1966 World Cup Final, twice in the 20th Century, the English (well, the British, and their allies) would beat the Germans at their national game (war), and on their soil no less.
December 25, 1914: Upon hearing German soldiers sing Christmas carols in their trench on the Western Front of what was then called The Great War (later World War I), the British soldiers start to do so in theirs. Soon, the men on both sides come out of their trenches, and stop treating each other as enemies for a few hours, exchanging food, drinks, and trinkets. It becomes known as the Christmas Truce.
Legend has it that there was even a soccer game. Sorry, forgot to "speak English" there: A football match. It's not clear which side produced the ball, but according to most accounts that discuss the match, the Germans beat the English, 3-2.
This is the 1st time that Englishmen would be defeated by Germans at their national game. There have been many more. But, as England manager Alf Ramsey pointed out before the 1966 World Cup Final, twice in the 20th Century, the English (well, the British, and their allies) would beat the Germans at their national game (war), and on their soil no less.
Military historian Andrew Robertshaw (a technical advisor for the film version of the World War I story War Horse) says such a truce would have been unthinkable a year later: "This was before the poisoned gas, before aerial bombardment. By the end of 1915, both sides were far too bitter for this to happen again."
In 1997, Garth Brooks and Joe Henry wrote a song titled "Belleau Wood" for Brooks' album Sevens. It describes a Christmas truce between American and German soldiers at Belleau Wood in 1917. But this is fiction, as the battle of Belleau Wood took place in June 1918, in Aisne, Picardy, France.
The Football League did not suspend operations until the conclusion of the 1914-15 season. On Christmas, Arsenal began a home-and-home series, defeating Leicester Fosse away 4-1 on the 25th, and 6-0 at home on the 26th.
December 25, 1915: With rosters depleted by the war, Arsenal travel to Upton Park in East London for what is, essentially, a reserve match, and lose 8-2 to West Ham United.
December 25, 1916: Arsenal travel to the Park Royal Ground in West London, then the stadium of Queens Park Rangers. They beat QPR 3-2.
December 25, 1917: Arsenal travel to Craven Cottage in West London, home of Fulham, and play to a 1-1 draw.
December 25, 1918: The war finally over, but the League deciding not to re-establish play until the following season (September 1919), Arsenal travel to East London, and lose 3-2 to Clapton Orient, the club now known as Leyton Orient.
In 1997, Garth Brooks and Joe Henry wrote a song titled "Belleau Wood" for Brooks' album Sevens. It describes a Christmas truce between American and German soldiers at Belleau Wood in 1917. But this is fiction, as the battle of Belleau Wood took place in June 1918, in Aisne, Picardy, France.
The Football League did not suspend operations until the conclusion of the 1914-15 season. On Christmas, Arsenal began a home-and-home series, defeating Leicester Fosse away 4-1 on the 25th, and 6-0 at home on the 26th.
December 25, 1915: With rosters depleted by the war, Arsenal travel to Upton Park in East London for what is, essentially, a reserve match, and lose 8-2 to West Ham United.
December 25, 1916: Arsenal travel to the Park Royal Ground in West London, then the stadium of Queens Park Rangers. They beat QPR 3-2.
December 25, 1917: Arsenal travel to Craven Cottage in West London, home of Fulham, and play to a 1-1 draw.
December 25, 1918: The war finally over, but the League deciding not to re-establish play until the following season (September 1919), Arsenal travel to East London, and lose 3-2 to Clapton Orient, the club now known as Leyton Orient.
It's a big day for Arsenal for another reason, although no one will know it for nearly 50 years. Bertram Mee (no middle name) is born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire. A winger, he played for Mansfield Town and Southampton, but his playing career was cut short by injury.
This had also been the case for Arsenal players Tom Whittaker and Billy Milne, and Bertie Mee followed the path that each of those men took, taking what he'd learned in treating his injury and putting it to work as a physiotherapist, becoming Arsenal's, and in 1966 becoming Arsenal's manager. But before going to Arsenal, World War II intervened, and he entered the Royal Army Medical Corps.
He rose to the rank of Sergeant, but after succeeding Milne as physiotherapist in 1960 and being named manager in 1966, he remained a Sergeant through and through. He instilled discipline in an Arsenal side that was nearly relegated in 1966, a team that was not only terrible, but was perhaps the least interesting in London, what with Tottenham and West Ham having won major trophies in the decade, and Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers all having gotten favorable notices in the media for their play.
In 1966-67, he handled the personnel management and the discipline, while assistant manager Dave Sexton trained the offense. After that season, Sexton was named manager at Chelsea, but former star right back Don Howe, another whose career ended too soon by injury, was named assistant manager, and he straightened out the defense. Arsenal reached the Final of the League Cup in 1968 and 1969, won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, and then, with a few adjustments due to injury that turned out to be very fortuitous, won both the Football League and the FA Cup -- "The Double" -- in 1971.
In 1972, with Howe having left for the manager's job at West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal finished 5th in a tight 5-team race, and lost the FA Cup Final. In 1973, they finished a close 2nd and lost the FA Cup Semifinal. Unfortunately, Mee saw every challenge to his authority, even minor ones, as betrayal, and acted the Sergeant too often. And he started a tradition followed by Terry Neill in 1980, George Graham in 1991, and Arsène Wenger in 2005: Breaking up a great Arsenal team too soon. Both of these problems manifested themselves in his sale of Captain Frank McLintock after the 1973 season.
Arsenal fell apart, and nearly got relegated in the 1975 and 1976 seasons, barely staying up both times. Mee was finally let go. He later served as Graham Taylor's assistant at Watford, and lived until 2001. He won 241 games as Arsenal manager, a record that stood until surpassed by Wenger in 2006.
This had also been the case for Arsenal players Tom Whittaker and Billy Milne, and Bertie Mee followed the path that each of those men took, taking what he'd learned in treating his injury and putting it to work as a physiotherapist, becoming Arsenal's, and in 1966 becoming Arsenal's manager. But before going to Arsenal, World War II intervened, and he entered the Royal Army Medical Corps.
He rose to the rank of Sergeant, but after succeeding Milne as physiotherapist in 1960 and being named manager in 1966, he remained a Sergeant through and through. He instilled discipline in an Arsenal side that was nearly relegated in 1966, a team that was not only terrible, but was perhaps the least interesting in London, what with Tottenham and West Ham having won major trophies in the decade, and Chelsea, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers all having gotten favorable notices in the media for their play.
In 1966-67, he handled the personnel management and the discipline, while assistant manager Dave Sexton trained the offense. After that season, Sexton was named manager at Chelsea, but former star right back Don Howe, another whose career ended too soon by injury, was named assistant manager, and he straightened out the defense. Arsenal reached the Final of the League Cup in 1968 and 1969, won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, and then, with a few adjustments due to injury that turned out to be very fortuitous, won both the Football League and the FA Cup -- "The Double" -- in 1971.
In 1972, with Howe having left for the manager's job at West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal finished 5th in a tight 5-team race, and lost the FA Cup Final. In 1973, they finished a close 2nd and lost the FA Cup Semifinal. Unfortunately, Mee saw every challenge to his authority, even minor ones, as betrayal, and acted the Sergeant too often. And he started a tradition followed by Terry Neill in 1980, George Graham in 1991, and Arsène Wenger in 2005: Breaking up a great Arsenal team too soon. Both of these problems manifested themselves in his sale of Captain Frank McLintock after the 1973 season.
Arsenal fell apart, and nearly got relegated in the 1975 and 1976 seasons, barely staying up both times. Mee was finally let go. He later served as Graham Taylor's assistant at Watford, and lived until 2001. He won 241 games as Arsenal manager, a record that stood until surpassed by Wenger in 2006.
Also on this day, Ermal Glenn Allen is born in Kyles Ford, Tennessee, on the State Line with Kentucky. He was All-Conference in basketball at the University of Kentucky. He was also a quarterback there, and was a member of the Cleveland Browns, backing up Otto Graham on their 1947 team that won the All-America Football Conference title.
He later coached at Kentucky under Bear Bryant, and on the Dallas Cowboys under Tom Landry, serving on the staff that won Super Bowls VI and XII. A member of the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, he died in 1988.
December 25, 1919: Arsenal, back in League play and promoted back to Division One, travel to Derbyshire, and lose 3-2 to Derby County. The next day, the teams meet at Highbury, and Arsenal win 1-0.
Also on this day, Cliftonhill Stadium opens in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home of Albion Rovers Football Club. They have won Scottish soccer's 2nd division in 1934, its 3rd in 1989, and its 4th in 2015. But they have rarely been in the 1st division, under any name. They have never won the Scottish Cup, but in that 1st season, 1919-20, they got to the Final. They have won 8 Lanarkshire Cups, but the last was in 1987.
Also on this day, Cliftonhill Stadium opens in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home of Albion Rovers Football Club. They have won Scottish soccer's 2nd division in 1934, its 3rd in 1989, and its 4th in 2015. But they have rarely been in the 1st division, under any name. They have never won the Scottish Cup, but in that 1st season, 1919-20, they got to the Final. They have won 8 Lanarkshire Cups, but the last was in 1987.
Today, it is known as The Reigart Stadium for sponsorship purposes, and only the 1,572-seat Airdrie Stand remains open. Currently, Rovers are in the Scottish League Two, Scotland's 4th division. In the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons, Hamilton Academical F.C. groundshared at Cliftonhill, while their Douglas Park was rebuilt.
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December 25, 1920: Arsenal go to Goodison Park in Liverpool, and beat Everton 4-2.
Also, the National Hockey League, in its 4th season, plays a game on Christmas Day for the 1st time. The Toronto St. Patricks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4 at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto. True to their name, the St. Patricks wear green. In 1927, having been bought by hyper-patriotic Canadian Conn Smythe, their name will be changed to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their solid color to blue.
December 25, 1921, 100 years ago: Melvin Anthony Maceau is born in Milwaukee. A center, Mel Maceau played for the Cleveland Browns, and helped them win the All-America Football Conference in 1946, 1947 and 1948, the last of these an undefeated season. He was cut before the 1949 season, when the Browns again won the AAFC title, before joining the NFL. He died in 1981.
Also on this day, Richard James Barwegen is born in Chicago. A guard, Dick Barwegan (somewhere down the line, he changed the spelling) starred at Purdue University, and made 4 Pro Bowls with the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Colts. He died in 1966, and was posthumously named to the NFL's 1940s All-Decade Team and the 100 Greatest Chicago Bears, in commemoration of the Bears' 100th Season in 2019. However, he is not yet in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1922: Arsenal go to Burnden Park in Bolton, Lancashire, and lose to Bolton Wanderers 4-1.
Also on this day, Julius Neal Watlington is born in Yanceyville, North Carolina. A catcher, he arrived in professional baseball in 1941, then went off to World War II, and was wounded and received a Purple Heart. He appeared in 21 major league games, all with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953, and remained at the Triple-A level until retiring after the 1958 season. He died on December 29, 2019, 4 days after his 97th birthday.
Also on this day, Stephen Wojciechowski (no middle name) is born in Fort William, Ontario, now part of Thunder Bay. A right wing, playing under the name of Steve Wochy, he played 49 games for the Detroit Red Wings in the 1944-45 season, and 5 in 1946-47. He continued playing professional hockey until 1955, helping the Cleveland Barons win the Calder Cup, the Championship of the American Hockey League, in 1951 and '53.
At 99, he is the oldest living former NHL player, and the last to have played in the NHL during World War II.
Also on this day, Félix Loustau (no middle name) is born in Avellaneda, in the state of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A left wing, he starred on the Buenos Aires soccer team River Plate. With Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera and Ángel Amadeo Labruna, he formed a 5-man forward line known as La Máquina, "the Machine." They won Argentine league titles in 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947.
Loustau also helped Argentina win the Copa América, South America's continental championship for national teams, in 1945, 1946 and 1947. He died in 2003. Muñoz was the last survivor of La Máquina, living until 2009.
At 99, he is the oldest living former NHL player, and the last to have played in the NHL during World War II.
Also on this day, Félix Loustau (no middle name) is born in Avellaneda, in the state of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A left wing, he starred on the Buenos Aires soccer team River Plate. With Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera and Ángel Amadeo Labruna, he formed a 5-man forward line known as La Máquina, "the Machine." They won Argentine league titles in 1941, 1942, 1945 and 1947.
Loustau also helped Argentina win the Copa América, South America's continental championship for national teams, in 1945, 1946 and 1947. He died in 2003. Muñoz was the last survivor of La Máquina, living until 2009.
December 25, 1923: James Gamble Nippert dies from blood poisoning, the result of an injury he suffered a month earlier playing football at the University of Cincinnati, in a win over arch-rival Miami University of Ohio. The son of a judge, and of an heir to the Procter & Gamble fortune, he had survived serving in World War I, only to face this fate. He was only 23 years old.
UC's stadium, built the following year, is named for him. His brother Louis Nippert would later own the Cincinnati Reds.
December 25, 1924: The Los Angeles Christmas Festival is held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. A football game is played, and the hosts, the University of Southern California, defeat the University of Missouri, winners of the Big Six Conference (which would eventually evolve into the Big Twelve), 20-7. Due to the expense of putting it all together, the Festival and its game would not be repeated.
Two games were played in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-0 at the Mount Royal Arena in Montreal. And the Hamilton Tigers beat the Toronto St. Patricks, 8-1 at the Barton Street Arena in Hamilton, Ontario.
Also on this day, Arsenal go to St. Andrews Stadium in Birmingham, and lose to Birmingham City 2-1.
December 25, 1925: Arsenal host Notts County at Highbury, and win 3-0.
On a postseason tour, designed to make as much money as possible in the wake of superstar running back Red Grange having revolutionized the NFL, the Chicago Bears play a team known as the Coral Gables Collegians, made up of former University of Miami players. The Bears win, 7-0, on the UM campus in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables, Florida.
Also on this day, the Final of the South American Championship (forerunner of soccer's Copa América) is played at Estadio Ministro Brin y Senguel in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Brazil scored 2 goals in 3 minutes to take the lead, but Argentina scored in the 41st and 55th minutes to achieve a draw, which was all they needed to win the tournament.
Also on this day, Ned Franklin Garver is born in Ney, Ohio, outside Toledo. In 1951, he went 20-12 pitching for the St. Louis Browns, the team that became the Baltimore Orioles 3 years later. This was quite a feat, considering that the Browns went 52-102 that year. Garver was the starting pitcher for the American League in that year's All-Star Game in Detroit.
Pitching in the major leagues from 1948 to 1961, with mostly bad teams, Garver finished with a career record of 129-157. But he must have had some talent, above and beyond his remarkable 1951 season, because the great Ted Williams said, "He could throw anything up there and get me out." He died on February 26, 2017, age 91.
Also on this day, Samuel Patterson Smyth Pollock is born in Montreal. Hired by the Montreal Canadiens' front office in 1959, he was general manager from 1963 to 1978, helping to build 12 Stanley Cup winners. He is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and died in 2007.
December 25, 1926: Two games are played in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto St. Patricks, 3-2 at the Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Cougars, 2-0 at the Chicago Coliseum.
The Pirates, named for the baseball team in town, moved in 1930, becoming the Philadelphia Quakers, and folded after 1 more season. The Cougars became the Detroit Falcons in 1930 and the Detroit Red Wings in 1932. The Chicago franchise, like the Wings and the Pirates founded for this season, would spell "Black Hawks" as 2 words until 1986, when their founding charter was found, and it was discovered that they'd officially been registered with the NHL with "Blackhawks" written as 1 word. It's been "Blackhawks" ever since.
Also on this day, Richard Wesley Manville is born in Des Moines, Iowa. A man brilliant enough to earn degrees from both Harvard and Yale, Dick Manville was also a major league pitcher -- briefly. He pitched 1 game, 2 innings, for the Boston Braves in 1950; and 11 games for the Chicago Cubs in 1952. He died in 2019, at age 93.
December 25, 1927: The New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-0 at the old Madison Square Garden.
Also on this day, Jacob Nelson Fox is born in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania. Nellie Fox, a diminutive but crafty 2nd baseman, had his Number 2 retired by the Chicago White Sox, whom he led to an American League Pennant in 1959, resulting in his being named the AL's Most Valuable Player. Yankee pitching legend Whitey Ford called him the toughest out he ever faced, and author, radio show host and White Sox fan Jean Shepherd called him his favorite player of all time.
Along with his contemporaries Phil Rizzuto, Gil Hodges and Richie Ashburn, and the younger Ron Santo, Fox was one of those guys that everyone hoped would one day get into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but wondered why it was taking so long. Rizzuto lived long enough to make it, in 1994. So did Ashburn, in 1995. Fox didn't, dying of skin cancer in 1975 and getting elected in 1997. Santo didn't, either, dying in 2010 and being elected in 2012. Hodges died in 1972, and his supporters are still waiting.
Also on this day, Leo Roman Kubiak is born in Toledo, Ohio. He played professional baseball, but didn't make the major leagues. He did make them in basketball, playing for the Waterloo Hawks of Iowa from 1948 to 1950. He is one of the last surviving players from the founding days of the NBA.
December 25, 1928: Arsenal play their 1st Christmas Day match under manager Herbert Chapman. They lose 5-2, away to Blackburn Rovers.
There were 3 NHL games played. The New York Americans beat the New York Rangers, 1-0 at the old Madison Square Garden. (Officially, it was a home game for the Rangers.) Charley McVeigh won it for the Amerks with 3:36 left in regulation.
The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at the brand-new Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Maroons, 4-1 at the Mutual Street Arena.
Also on this day, Michael John Blyzka is born outside Detroit in Hamtramck, Michigan. A pitcher, he played for the last St. Louis Browns team in 1953, and moved with them to play for the 1st Baltimore Orioles team in 1954.
After that season, he was part of the biggest trade in baseball history, 17 players, going to the Yankees, along with Don Larsen and Bob Turley. But he never played for the Yankees, or any other team again. He died in 2004.
December 25, 1929: Arsenal, on the way to their 1st major trophy (the 1930 FA Cup), travel to Fratton Park, and beat Hampshire team Portsmouth 1-0 on a goal by their diminutive but prolific inside left Alex James.
Also, the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at the Boston Garden.
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December 25, 1930: Arsenal travel to Manchester, and beat Manchester City at Maine Road, 4-1. Goals by Joe Hulme, David Jack, Jack Lambert (no relation to the later Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker of the same name), and a penalty by Cliff Bastin. This is the start of a 3-game stretch where Arsenal score 14 goals, on the way to their 1st League title in April 1931.
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December 25, 1930: Arsenal travel to Manchester, and beat Manchester City at Maine Road, 4-1. Goals by Joe Hulme, David Jack, Jack Lambert (no relation to the later Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker of the same name), and a penalty by Cliff Bastin. This is the start of a 3-game stretch where Arsenal score 14 goals, on the way to their 1st League title in April 1931.
There were 4 NHL games played. The New York Rangers beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Ottawa Auditorium. The New York Americans beat the Montreal Maroons, 2-1 at the old Madison Square Garden. The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Quakers, 8-0 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Falcons beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 10-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
Also on this day, Emanoul Aghassian is born in Salma, in the Persian Empire, present-day Iran. He represented Iran as a boxer in the Olympics of 1948 in London and 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After the 1952 Games, he and his brother Samuel moved to Chicago. Emanoul changed his name to the more American-sounding Mike Agassi. He later took a job at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, where he raised his children, including his son Andre Agassi.
Andre not only won "the career Grand Slam," winning 4 Australian Opens, 2 U.S. Opens, and Wimbledon and the French Open once each, but, in Atlanta in 1996, won what had eluded his father: An Olympic Gold Medal. Mike died this past September 24, at age 90.
Andre not only won "the career Grand Slam," winning 4 Australian Opens, 2 U.S. Opens, and Wimbledon and the French Open once each, but, in Atlanta in 1996, won what had eluded his father: An Olympic Gold Medal. Mike died this past September 24, at age 90.
December 25, 1931, 90 years ago: Arsenal travel to Yorkshire, and lose to Sheffield United 4-1 at Bramall Lane. They go on to a dubious near-Double, finishing 2nd in the League and losing the FA Cup Final.
The New York Rangers put coal in the stockings of their Madison Square Garden tenants, beating the New York Americans 6-0.
Also on this day, Charles Grice Driesell is born in Norfolk, Virginia. Although naturally lefthanded, he was nicknamed for country singer William "Lefty" Frizzell, a star in his youth. He played basketball at Duke University before that became a big deal, then became a coach, starting at his alma mater in Norfolk, Granby High School.
In 1960, he got his 1st college job, at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, getting them to what we would now call the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1966 and the Elite Eight in 1968. That got the attention of the University of Maryland, and they hired him in 1969.
On July 12, 1973, Lefty Driesell and 2 friends were surf fishing in Bethany Beach, Delaware, when they saw a fire at a resort building. They rushed to shore, and Driesell broke down a door and rescued at least 10 children. It would be another half an hour before the firemen arrived. He said he wasn't a hero: "It was just lucky that we were fishing right in front of the houses."
He built a pretty good coaching record in College Park, too. He reached the Sweet Sixteen 5 times, and the Elite Eight in 1973 and 1975. He won them Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in the regular season in 1975 and 1980, and in the Tournament in 1984, led by a powerful sophomore forward named Len Bias. Other star players of his included Tom McMillen, Len Elmore, John Lucas, Albert King and Buck Williams.
In 1986, Bias had a chance to be taken as the Number 1 pick in the NBA Draft. He wasn't: Brad Daugherty of North Carolina was, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the Boston Celtics had traded up for the Number 2 pick, and chose Bias. When asked about him, Driesell said, "Leonard's only vice is ice cream." This turned out not to be the case. It was also revealed, after Bias' cocaine-induced death, that he'd used up his eligibility. The scandal forced Driesell to resign.
He returned to the coaching ranks in 1988, with James Madison University of Harrisonburg, Virginia. He led them to 5 Conference Championships. He closed his career at Georgia State University, and led them to 4 Conference Championships. In so doing, he became the 1st coach to win more than 100 games at 4 different NCAA Division I schools. His final record, from 1960 to 2003, was 786-394. He is still alive, a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and was just elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1932: The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Maroons, 2-0 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-0 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
December 25, 1933: Having won the League the season before, Arsenal travel to Yorkshire, and beat Leeds United 1-0 at Elland Road. Bastin scores. Despite Chapman's death 2 weeks after Christmas, they win the League again under interim manager Joe Shaw.
The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Maroons, 3-0 at Madison Square Garden. And the Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
Also on this day, Frederick Sasakamoose is born in Ahtahkakoop, Saskatchewan. A center, on February 27, 1954, Fred Saskamoose, of the Cree tribe, became the 1st indigenous Canadian to play in the National Hockey League. But he only played 11 NHL games, all that season, and all with the Chicago Blackhawks -- appropriately enough, also named for a Native chief.
He continued playing in the minor leagues until 1960, went into coaching, and served for 6 years as Chief of a Cree reservation: "Chief Running Deer." He was named to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and the Order of Canada, and died on November 24, 2020, at 86.
Also on this day, Benjamin Basil Heatley is born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. On June 13, 1964, Basil Heatley won the Polytechnic Marathon in London, running it in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 55 seconds to break the world record for the marathon. But he would only win a Silver Medal in the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, as the man whose record he broke, 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, reclaimed the Gold and the record. Heatley died in 2019, at age 85.
December 25, 1934: Now managed by George Allison, Arsenal defeat Lancashire club Preston North End 5-3, at Highbury. Hulme scores 2, Bastin 1, Ray Bowden 1, and they also get the benefit of an own goal by Preston. The next day, Preston get revenge, 2-1 at their home ground of Deepdale. Arsenal go on to make it 3 straight League titles.
In the 1st season of the Football League, 1888-89, Preston went unbeaten, winning 18 games, drawing 4 and losing none. They also won the FA Cup, making the 1st "Double." An unbeaten League season would not happen again until Arsenal in 2003-04: As broadcaster Alan Parry said, "They were, quite literally, unbeatable: Played 38, won 24, drawn 12, lost exactly none!"
Four games were played in the NHL: At The Garden, the Rangers beat the Americans, 3-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 6-2 at the Montreal Forum. The Montreal Maroons beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
Also on this day, Santa Anita Park opens in Los Angeles. Still the West Coast's premier thoroughbred horse racing track, it annually hosts the Santa Anita Derby, one of the warmup races for the Triple Crown. It has also hosted the Breeders' Cup more times than any other track, 10: 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019.
December 25, 1935: Liverpool win at Highbury, 2-1. Arsenal go on to win the 1936 FA Cup.
It's yet another location which, due to its proximity to Hollywood, has frequently served as a filming location for its usual subject: The Marx Brothers' A Day at the Races and the original version of A Star Is Born in 1937, and The Story of Seabiscuit in 1949. Seabiscuit had famously won his last race there, the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap. The ill-fated 2012 TV series Luck was also filmed there.
It also includes statues of several horses, including Seabiscuit, John Henry and Zenyatta; and jockeys such as Johnny Longden, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr.
It also includes statues of several horses, including Seabiscuit, John Henry and Zenyatta; and jockeys such as Johnny Longden, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr.
Also on this day, Charles Alfonzo Beamon is born in Oakland, California. He attended McClymonds High School at the same time as Bill Russell, Frank Robinson and Curt Flood. He was a September callup for the Baltimore Orioles in 1956, '57 and '58, going 3-3. He died in 2016. His son Charlie Beamon Jr. played 1st base in the major leagues from 1978 to 1981.
Two games were played in the NHL. The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 3-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0 at the Olympia Stadium.
December 25, 1936: Arsenal host Preston, and win 4-1, on goals by Jackie Milne, Alf Kirchen, and 2 by Ted Drake.
The Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings couldn't find a winner, playing to a 1-1 tie at the Olympia Stadium.
December 25, 1937: Three games were played in the NHL. The Boston Bruins beat the New York Americans, 1-0 at Madison Square Garden. The Canadiens beat the Maroons, 2-0 at the Montreal Forum. At the end of the 1937-38 season, the Maroons folded, unable to keep going during the Great Depression. And the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a tie, 1-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Also on this day, Bronko Nagurski Jr. is born in International Falls, Minnesota. That was his legal name, unlike his father, who was born Bronislau Nagurski. An offensive tackle, he played at Notre Dame, and then 7 seasons with the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats. (That makes more sense than you might think: International Falls is a border town, across the Rainy River from Fort Frances, Ontario, and closer to Thunder Bay and Winnipeg than it is to Minneapolis.)
He was a 3-time CFL All-Star, and helped the Ticats win the 1963 and 1965 Grey Cups. He died in 2011.
Also on this day, Oleg Georgievich Grigoryev is born in Moscow. He won the Gold Medal in the bantamweight division of Olympic boxing in Rome in 1960, the same tournament in which Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) won in the middleweight division. He is still alive.
December 25, 1938: Three games were played in the NHL. The New York Americans beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 1-0 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Jack Edwin Hamilton is born in Burlington, Iowa. He went 32-40 in 8 seasons as a major league pitcher, including for the Mets in 1966 and 1967. However, the Mets traded him to the California Angels, and on August 18, 1967, he hit Tony Conigliaro of the Boston Red Sox in the head, ruining his career.
It was not intentional: He had no reputation for hitting batters, and hit only 1 other batter during the course of the season. Also, someone had thrown a smoke bomb onto the field a few minutes earlier, and the smoke hadn't fully cleared, making it harder to see the ball during a night game.
Hamilton never recovered from the stigma of having hit Tony C, and retired after 2 more seasons. He later ran restaurants in his native Iowa, and in Branson, Missouri, where he died in 2018, at age 79.
Also on this day, Joseph Jean-Noel Yves Picard in Montréal, Québec. A defenseman, he won the Stanley Cup with the 1965 Montreal Canadiens, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals 3 more times, with the 1968, 1969 and 1970 St. Louis Blues.
He is best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to trip Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins up in overtime of Game 4 of the 1970 Finals, allowing Orr to score the Cup-winning goal, and putting Picard into perhaps the most famous photograph in the history of hockey.
Noel Picard was a member of 2 1st-year NHL expansion teams, the 1967-68 Blues and the 1972-73 Atlanta Flames. He later became a broadcaster for the Blues, and ran a restaurant in the suburbs of St. Louis. He died in 2017.
December 25, 1939: With World War II underway, the Football League has again suspended operations, and won't start again until the 1946-47 season (although the Football Association will play a full FA Cup tournament in 1945-46). Arsenal host East London team Clapton Orient, and win 3-0. Kirchen, Jack Crayston and Reg Lewis score the goals. Clapton Orient is now known as Leyton Orient, nicknamed just "Orient," or "The O's."
Three games were played in the NHL. The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-3 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Alex Smith (as far as I can tell, his full name) is born in Cowie, Stirlingshire, Scotland. A forward who never won a trophy as a player, he had more success as a manager, winning the Scottish Cup with St. Mirren in 1987 and Aberdeen in 1990, also winning the Scottish League Cup in 1990. He last managed in 2017, on an interim basis with Falkirk.
Also on this day, Everett Ben Krug is born in Los Angeles. A career backup catcher, "Chris" Krug played for the Chicago Cubs when Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched a perfect game against them on September 9, 1965. He was also an original San Diego Padre in 1969, but that was his last season in the major leagues. He is still alive.
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December 25, 1940: South Side Park burns down in Chicago. As far as anyone knows, the fire is not purposely set. It was the 1st home of the American League's Chicago White Sox (1901 to 1910), and of the Negro Leagues' Chicago American Giants (1910 to 1940). The American Giants won 7 Pennants while playing there, the White Sox 2.
December 25, 1940: South Side Park burns down in Chicago. As far as anyone knows, the fire is not purposely set. It was the 1st home of the American League's Chicago White Sox (1901 to 1910), and of the Negro Leagues' Chicago American Giants (1910 to 1940). The American Giants won 7 Pennants while playing there, the White Sox 2.
There were 3 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers played the Chicago Black Hawks to a tie, 3-3 at Madison Square Garden. The New York Americans lost to the Boston Bruins, 8-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, under the wartime conditions of depleted rosters, Tommy Lawton plays for Everton against Liverpool at Anfield in the morning. Liverpool win, 3-1. Then he is asked to play as a guest player for Merseyside club Tranmere Rovers at nearby Cheshire club Crewe Alexandra in the afternoon. As he recalled, "The Tranmere people came into the dressing room, and asked if anyone wanted to play, as they were two men short. I said, 'Go on, I'll help you out.' And I did."
He didn't help much: Crewe won the match, 2-1. Still, on Christmas Day 1940, Lawton played a full 90 minutes in the afternoon, after having already done so in the morning. Given the heavy leather balls and ragged pitches (especially in Winter) of the era, this may qualify as a Christmas miracle.
Just 4 days after Christmas, the Luftwaffe bombed the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, which had been making Spitfire planes for the Royal Air Force.
Also on this day, Arsenal lose 4-2 away to West Ham United. They finished 4th in the Southern Regional, the Hammers 2nd, and Crystal Palace of Southeast London won.
Just 4 days after Christmas, the Luftwaffe bombed the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, which had been making Spitfire planes for the Royal Air Force.
Also on this day, Arsenal lose 4-2 away to West Ham United. They finished 4th in the Southern Regional, the Hammers 2nd, and Crystal Palace of Southeast London won.
December 25, 1941, 80 years ago: Arsenal host Fulham and win 2-0, on goals by Kirchen and Lewis. Although both men's best years happened during The War (always Capital T, Capital W), Lewis would score twice to win Arsenal the 1950 FA Cup Final.
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden. And the Brooklyn Americans -- desperate to hang on, the other New York team rebranded as "Brooklyn," though they were still playing at The Garden -- lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in overtime at the Olympia Stadium. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 2-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Also on this day, David Wayne Parks is born outside Dallas in Muenster, Texas. He starred as an end at Texas Tech, and was the 1st pick in the 1964 NFL Draft, the 1st receiver so honored, by the San Francisco 49ers. In 1965, he led the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, the "receiving triple crown."
He played pro ball until 1974, making 3 Pro Bowls, catching 360 passes for 5,619 yards and 44 touchdowns. He is in the College Football and Texas Sports Halls of Fame. He went on to work in law enforcement, and invented a garden tool, the Speedy Weedy. He died on August 7, 2019.
Also on this day, Noël Le Graët is born in Bourbriac, Côtes-d'Armor, France. Since 2011, he has been President of the French Football Federation (FFF), the governing body of French soccer. Under his leadership, France has advanced to the Final of Euro 2016, losing to Portugal, and won the 2018 World Cup, beating Croatia in the Final.
December 25, 1942: Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge in West London, and lose 5-2 to Chelsea.
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a 2-2 tie at the Montreal Forum.
Also on this day, Françoise Dürr is born in Algiers, in what was then French Algeria. "Frankie" was one of the top women's tennis players of the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly in doubles. In singles, she won the 1967 French Open. She is still alive.
December 25, 1943: Arsenal travel to The Den in South London, and beat Millwall 5-1. Lewis scores twice. Goals are also scored by Drake, Denis Compton and Bobby Flavell.
The brothers Leslie and Denis Compton were accomplished athletes, both of whom played soccer for Arsenal (Les was better at that sport) and cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club (Denis was better at that one).
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1 at the Montreal Forum. And the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings played to a 4-4 tie at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Howard James Twilley Jr. is born in Houston. In 1965, playing wide receiver for the University of Tulsa, he was runner-up to USC running back Mike Garrett for the Heisman Trophy. He became an original 1966 Miami Dolphin, and was the only one to make it to their undefeated 1972 team that won Super Bowl VII, also winning Super Bowl VIII.
He later ran a string of Athlete's Foot sporting-goods stores, and then an investment firm, and is in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. He is still alive.
Also on this day, Dennis Eugene Musgraves is born in Indianapolis. A pitcher, he made 5 major league appearances, all in July 1965 for the Mets. He had no decisions, but had a 0.56 ERA. This begs the question: As bad as the Mets were, why didn't they give him more of a chance? He stayed in pro ball until 1971, and is still alive.
December 25, 1944: Arsenal travel to Griffin Park in West London, and draw 1-1 with Brentford.
Only 1 game was played in the NHL: The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-4 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Rodney Jarvis Sherman is born outside Los Angeles in Pasadena, California. A receiver, Rod Sherman played with the Oakland Raiders when they won the 1967 AFL Championship. He was an original Cincinnati Bengal in 1968, and also played for the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams. He is still alive.
Also on this day, Jair Ventura Filho is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Known as Jairzinho and nicknamed O Furacão (The Hurricane), he starred with hometown club Botafogo and the Brazilian national soccer team, and won World Cups for his country in 1962 and 1970. He is still alive, and currently manages a Rio-based team in the lower divisions of Brazil's league system.
December 25, 1945: With World War II over and victory belonging to the Allies, Arsenal travel to Wales, and lose 2-1 to Newport County at Rodney Parade in Newport.
One game was played in the NHL: The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Kenneth Michael Stabler is born in Foley, Alabama. "The Snake" was backup quarterback to Joe Namath at the University of Alabama in their 1964 National Championship season, then led them to another title in 1965. He guided the Oakland Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XI in 1977.
He once said, "There's nothing wrong with reading a playbook by the light of a jukebox." The writer Jack London, also a noted party animal in Oakland, once wrote, "I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor than a sleepy, permanent planet." Someone once read those words to Stabler, and asked him what he thought they meant. Stabler paused a moment, then said, "Throw deep." He may have been reckless, but he was smart.
Somehow, in spite of all his carousing, Ken Stabler lived until 2015 -- but not long enough to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which elected him in a sympathy vote right after his death. He was already a member of the Alabama and Bay Area Sports Halls of Fame.
December 25, 1946, 75 years ago: The Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League announce that they're moving to the "Tri-Cities" of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa, and becoming the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Later, Bettendorf, Iowa will be added to the region's traditional name, making it the "Quad Cities."
He once said, "There's nothing wrong with reading a playbook by the light of a jukebox." The writer Jack London, also a noted party animal in Oakland, once wrote, "I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor than a sleepy, permanent planet." Someone once read those words to Stabler, and asked him what he thought they meant. Stabler paused a moment, then said, "Throw deep." He may have been reckless, but he was smart.
Somehow, in spite of all his carousing, Ken Stabler lived until 2015 -- but not long enough to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which elected him in a sympathy vote right after his death. He was already a member of the Alabama and Bay Area Sports Halls of Fame.
December 25, 1946, 75 years ago: The Buffalo Bisons of the National Basketball League announce that they're moving to the "Tri-Cities" of Rock Island and Moline, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa, and becoming the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Later, Bettendorf, Iowa will be added to the region's traditional name, making it the "Quad Cities."
The Blackhawks -- like the Chicago hockey team, named for the famous early 19th Century Native chief of the region -- play in Moline for 5 years, but in 1951, they moved again, becoming the Milwaukee Hawks. In 1955, they became the St. Louis Hawks, reaching 4 NBA Finals including winning the 1958 NBA Championship. In 1968, despite having won a Division title, they moved again, becoming the Atlanta Hawks. Given their attendance problems lately, they may have to move again.
All 6 NHL teams were in action. The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at Madison Square Garden. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-3 at the Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Arsenal host Portsmouth, and win 2-1 on goals by Jimmy Logie and Ronnie Rooke. Rooke was 35, old for a forward and very old for a good one. But in 1947-48, the season in which he turned 36, he scored 33 goals to help Arsenal win the League.
That total remains the most any Arsenal player has scored in a post-World War II season, and only 2 Arsenal players since have scored 30 in a League season: Thierry Henry in 2003-04 and Robin van Persie in 2011-12. Rookie did not live to see either achievement, dying in 1985.
Also on this day, Lawrence Richard Csonka is born in Stow, Ohio, outside Akron. One of many star running backs at Syracuse University, he rushed for 8,081 yards and 64 touchdowns for the Miami Dolphins. He was a 3-time All-Pro, helped the Dolphins to an undefeated season in 1972, capped by Super Bowl VII, and was the MVP of Super Bowl VIII.
He left the Dolphins to play in the World Football League, but that didn't work out. He came to the New York Giants, but that didn't work out, either, culminating in the 1978 play known as "The Miracle of the Meadowlands." He came back to the Dolphins for 1 more season and retired. He has been elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. The Dolphins retired his Number 39. He is still alive.
Also on this day, Gene William Lamont is born in Rockford, Illinois. A catcher, he reached the postseason with the 1972 Detroit Tigers, but was never more than a backup. He is now best remembered as a coach, frequently working under Jim Leyland.
He reached the postseason as a coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and '91, as manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1993 (and was named American League Manager of the Year), the Houston Astros in 2004, and the Tigers in 2006, '09, '11, '12, '13 and '14. He has also managed the Pirates, and now works in the Kansas City Royals' front office.
Also on this day, John Boyle (no middle name) is born in Motherwell, Scotland. A midfielder, he reached the 1967 FA Cup Final with West London team Chelsea, but lost; and was injured for their 1970 FA Cup Final win. But he got a winner's medal for their 1971 win in the European Cup Winners' Cup.
He later came to America, and both played for and managed the Tampa Bay Rowdies, winning the NASL Championship as a player in 1975, Tampa Bay's 1st title in any sport. He is still alive.
That total remains the most any Arsenal player has scored in a post-World War II season, and only 2 Arsenal players since have scored 30 in a League season: Thierry Henry in 2003-04 and Robin van Persie in 2011-12. Rookie did not live to see either achievement, dying in 1985.
Also on this day, Lawrence Richard Csonka is born in Stow, Ohio, outside Akron. One of many star running backs at Syracuse University, he rushed for 8,081 yards and 64 touchdowns for the Miami Dolphins. He was a 3-time All-Pro, helped the Dolphins to an undefeated season in 1972, capped by Super Bowl VII, and was the MVP of Super Bowl VIII.
He left the Dolphins to play in the World Football League, but that didn't work out. He came to the New York Giants, but that didn't work out, either, culminating in the 1978 play known as "The Miracle of the Meadowlands." He came back to the Dolphins for 1 more season and retired. He has been elected to the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame. The Dolphins retired his Number 39. He is still alive.
Also on this day, Gene William Lamont is born in Rockford, Illinois. A catcher, he reached the postseason with the 1972 Detroit Tigers, but was never more than a backup. He is now best remembered as a coach, frequently working under Jim Leyland.
He reached the postseason as a coach with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and '91, as manager of the Chicago White Sox in 1993 (and was named American League Manager of the Year), the Houston Astros in 2004, and the Tigers in 2006, '09, '11, '12, '13 and '14. He has also managed the Pirates, and now works in the Kansas City Royals' front office.
Also on this day, John Boyle (no middle name) is born in Motherwell, Scotland. A midfielder, he reached the 1967 FA Cup Final with West London team Chelsea, but lost; and was injured for their 1970 FA Cup Final win. But he got a winner's medal for their 1971 win in the European Cup Winners' Cup.
He later came to America, and both played for and managed the Tampa Bay Rowdies, winning the NASL Championship as a player in 1975, Tampa Bay's 1st title in any sport. He is still alive.
December 25, 1947: Arsenal, now managed by former player and physiotherapist Tom Whittaker, beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield, on 2 goals by Rooke and 1 by Don Roper. As I said, Arsenal go on to win the 1948 League title.
Also, for the 1st time, the Basketball Association of America, the league that will merge with the NBL in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association, begins a tradition of playing on Christmas Day. The New York Knicks beat the Providence Steamrollers, 89-75 at the old Madison Square Garden. And the Washington Capitols beat the St. Louis Bombers, 73-56 at the St. Louis Arena.
The entire NHL was in action, and the road team won every game. The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0 at the Olympia Stadium. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 at the Montreal Forum. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 6-1 at the Boston Garden.
December 25, 1948: Arsenal host East Midlands team Derby County, and the teams play to a 3-3 draw.
Five games were played in the BAA. The Chicago Stags beat the New York Knicks, 70-64 at the old Madison Square Garden. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 80-77 at the Philadelphia Arena. The Baltimore Bullets beat the Providence Steamrollers, 88-83 at the Rhode Island Arena in Providence. The Washington Capitols beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 88-74 at the Uline Arena in Washington (now the Washington Coliseum). And the Rochester Royals beat the St. Louis Bombers, 90-82 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester.
The entire NHL was in action. The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 2-0 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Also on this day, Joel Natalino Santana is born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, his middle name coming from his birth on Christmas (Natal in Portuguese). A centreback, he starred for hometown team Vasco da Gama, winning the national league (Campeonato Brasileiro) in 1974.
He moved around a lot as a manager, leading Al Wasl to the league title in the United Arab Emirates in 1982, 1983 and 1985. He returned home and won Brazilian State Championships for Vasco in 1992 and 1993, Bahia in 1994, for Rio team Fluminense (or "Flu") in 1995, for Flu's arch-rivals Flamengo (or "Fla") in 1996, for Rio team Botafogo in 1997, for Bahia again in 1999, Vitória in 2003, Fla again in 2008, and Botafogo again in 2010.
But his biggest achievement was leading Vasco to the league title in 2000, making him one of the few managers in any country to win a league title for the same team as a player and a manager. He now manages an amateur team in the Los Angeles suburbs.
December 25, 1949: There are 7 games played in the NBA. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Baltimore Bullets, 64-63 at the Baltimore Coliseum. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Indiana-based Anderson Packers, 94-88 at the State Fair Coliseum in Syracuse. The Rochester Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 88-79 at the Edgerton Park Arena.
In the West, the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 72-58 at the Minneapolis Auditorium. The Washington Capitols beat the St. Louis Bombers, 81-68 at the St. Louis Arena. The Waterloo Hawks beat the Indianapolis Olympians, 97-93 at the Hippodrome in Waterloo, Iowa. And the Sheboygan Red Skins beat the Denver Nuggets, 76-72 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver. (These Nuggets went out of business at the end of the 1949-50 season. The ABA's Denver Rockets would rename themselves the Nuggets in 1974.)
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks play to a tie, 4-4 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at the Olympia Stadium.
After this, the NHL's 2 Canadian-based teams, Montreal and Toronto, would resist playing on Christmas Day. The 4 American-based teams, New York, Boston, Detroit and Chicago, would not.
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December 25, 1950: Arsenal host Stoke City and their legendary midfielder, Stanley Matthews, the man known as the Wizard of Dribble. Stoke win 3-0.
Five NBA games were played. The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 86-84 in overtime at the Philadelphia Arena. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 81-69 at the State Fair Coliseum in Syracuse. The Rochester Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 90-77 at the Edgerton Park Arena. The Tri-Cities Blackhawks beat the Baltimore Bullets, 87-72 at the Wharton Field House in Moline, Illinois. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Washington Capitols, 93-79 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
There were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 7-4 at the Boston Garden.
Also on this day, Jesus Manuel Marcano Trillo is born in Caripito, Venezuela. A child born on December 25, and named Jesus? Not just Jesus, but Jesus Manuel -- as in short for "Emmanuel," meaning "God with us"? He's better known as Manny Trillo, the 2nd baseman of the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Also on this day, Kyle Rote Jr. is born in Dallas. The son of Southern Methodist University (SMU) running back Kyle Rote, soon to become a pro star with the Giants, Kyle Jr. played the original football. He starred for the Dallas Tornadoes, becoming one of the earliest American-born soccer players to be widely known. Indeed, he was the 1st American-born, and the 1st American-trained, player to lead the North American Soccer League in scoring for a season, in 1973.
However, he only played 5 games for the national team. He also won ABC's Superstars competition 3 times in 4 years in the late 1970s. He now runs an athletes' agent service.
December 25, 1951, 70 years ago: Arsenal host Portsmouth, and win 4-1 on goals by Lewis, Logie, Freddie Cox and Peter Goring.
Four games were played in the NBA, including a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. In the opener, the Syracuse Nationals beat the Milwaukee Hawks, 70-65. In the nightcap, the New York Knicks beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 72-65.
Also, the Rochester Royals beat the Indianapolis Olympians, 87-78 at the Edgerton Park Arena. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, 100-93 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
Two games were played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at the Boston Garden.
Also on this day, David Roy Kryskow is born in Edmonton. A left wing, he had a rollercoaster career. In his 1st season in the NHL, 1973, he helped the Blackhawks reach the Stanley Cup Finals. But they chose not to protect him in the expansion draft, and so he played for the team with the worst single-season record in NHL history, the expansion 1974-75 Washington Capitals.
Just 3 years later, he won the World Hockey Association Championship with the Winnipeg Jets. That was his last major league season. He is still alive.
December 25, 1952: Arsenal beat Bolton Wanderers 6-4 at Burnden Park. The goals are scored by Logie, Roper, Ray Daniel, Arthur Milton, and 2 by Cliff Holton. Milton, who lived until 2007, was the last survivor of the 12 men to have played for England at the senior level in both soccer and cricket. The Compton Brothers had also done so. Arsenal would win the 1953 League title, in the closest race in the League's history.
Five games were played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 97-84 at Madison Square Garden. The Rochester Royals beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 93-78 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Baltimore Bullets, 102-92 at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. The Fort Wayne Pistons beat the Milwaukee Hawks, 71-69 in double overtime at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Indianapolis Olympians, 90-73 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Red Wings played to a 3-3 tie at the Olympia Stadium.
December 25, 1953: Patrick "Patsy" Donovan dies at age 88. The native of Queenstown, County Cork, Ireland was one of the top baseball players of his time, the 1890s and 1910s. A right fielder, he batted .307 for his career, collecting 2,253 hits, playing mainly for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. He led the National League in stolen bases in 1900.
He also managed both teams, as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Red Sox. But the only Pennant he was involved in was in his rookie year, with the Dodgers (or, as they were then known -- I swear, I am not making this up, it came from several of their players having gotten married in a single off-season -- the Bridegrooms) in 1890.
There were 4 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Syracuse Nationals, 89-80 at Madison Square Garden. The Rochester Royals beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 73-65 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. The Fort Wayne Pistons beat the Boston Celtics, 108-79 at the Allen County Coliseum in Fort Wayne.
And the Baltimore Bullets beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 88-78 at the St. Paul Auditorium. The Minneapolis Auditorium wasn't available on the day, not even to a team that had already won the city 5 league titles (1 NBL, 4 NBA).
Only 1 game was played in the NHL: The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-1 at the Boston Garden.
December 25, 1954: Arsenal host Chelsea at Highbury, and win 1-0 on a goal by 1940 Merseyside hero Tommy Lawton, now playing out the string at age 36.
But Chelsea will go on to win the League title for the 1st time in their 50-year history -- the only time they will do so until 2005, when corrupt Russian energy boss Roman Abramovich has taken them over. They win this 1955 title with the 1st man ever to win the League as both a non-managing player and a non-playing manager. And he's an Arsenal man: Ted Drake.
Four games were played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Syracuse Nationals, 109-101 at the old Madison Square Garden. The Rochester Royals beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 80-73 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rochester. The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Hawks, 108-99 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 99-91 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
If it seems like those scores are higher than they had been, that's because 1954-55 was the 1st season with the 24-second shot clock, the best Christmas present the NBA could have received.
For the 1st time in 5 years, the entire NHL played on Christmas. The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a 3-3 tie at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
December 25, 1955: There were 3 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lost to the Fort Wayne Pistons, 92-87 at the Allen County Coliseum. The Syracuse Nationals beat the Rochester Royals, 111-96 at the War Memorial Arena. And the Boston Celtics beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 115-112 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.
In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a 1-1 tie at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, William Andrews (no middle name) is born in Thomasville, Georgia. A running back, he made 4 straight Pro Bowls for the Atlanta Falcons, his home-State team, starting in 1980. But in training camp in 1984, he wrecked his knee, and missed the next 2 seasons, and possibly ended his chances of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He came back in 1986, but he wasn't the same, and retired. The Falcons retired his Number 31, and he has been elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1956: Arsenal play Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Whittaker had died earlier in the year, and the club had gone into a long decline that wouldn't be reversed for 10 years.
This remains the last game that Arsenal have played on a Christmas Day. By the 1970s, England's Football Association would stop allowing Football League games to be played on Christmas Day. To this day, however, they are still played on the day after, a.k.a. Boxing Day, often by neighboring rivals to save on travel costs.
There were 4 games played in the NBA, including a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 89-82, followed by the Knicks losing to the St. Louis Hawks, 107-105 in overtime. So, instead of the usual 48 minutes of pro basketball, Garden patrons got 101 minutes, and they got to see the defending NBA Champions (the Warriors) and the teams that would end up playing in that season's Finals, and in 4 of the next 5 Finals (the Celtics would beat the Hawks in 1957, '60 and '61, while the Hawks would beat the Celtics in '58).
The Rochester Royals beat the Syracuse Nationals, 98-93 at the Rochester Community War Memorial Arena. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 100-89 at the Allen County Coliseum. This would be the last season for the Royals in Rochester, as they moved to Cincinnati in 1957; and the last for the Pistons in Fort Wayne, as they moved to Detroit.
Once again, the NHL's Canadian teams backed out of playing on Christmas Day, and the American teams played. The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 8-1 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Boston Garden.
Also on this day, Charles William Lea is born in Orléans, France. That's right, not New Orleans, but its namesake in the old country. However, he did grow up in a classic Southern city, Memphis. A pitcher, he threw a no-hitter for the Montreal Expos on May 10, 1981, and helped them reach the ostseason for the 1st time. He was an All-Star in 1984.
But, like William Andrews, injuries caused him to miss 2 full seasons, in his case 1985 and 1986. He pitched for the Expos in 1987 and the Minnesota Twins in 1988, and then retired with a 62-48 record. He was elected to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, and died of a heart attack in 2011, only 54 years old.
December 25, 1957: Three games are played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lose to the Syracuse Nationals, 134-130 in overtime at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. The Philadelphia Warriors beat the Boston Celtics, 115-105 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. And the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 106-104 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
In the NHL, the New York Rangers lost to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Boston Bruins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-4 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Also on this day, Christopher Kamara (no middle name) is born in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. A midfielder, Chris Kamara helped Wiltshire team Swindon Town win England's 4th division in 1986, and get them promoted from the 3rd to the 2nd division the next year.
In 1990, he went back to Yorkshire, and helped Leeds United win the 2nd division and get promoted to the 1st. However, they sold him to Bedfordshire team Luton Town in 1991-92, and when Leeds won the League that year, Kamara didn't get a winner's medal.
He managed Yorkshire team Bradford City, and got them promoted from the 3rd to the 2nd division in 1996. He has since gone into the broadcasting side of soccer.
December 25, 1958: Three games are played in the NBA. In a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, the Detroit Pistons beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 98-97 in overtime; and the Knicks lose to the Boston Celtics, 129-120. Also, the St. Louis Hawks beat the Cincinnati Royals, 100-92 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Three games are played in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0 at the Olympia Stadium.
Also on this day, Rickey Nelson Henley is born in Chicago. His mother, who had named him after singer Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson, remarried and took him to her husband's hometown of Oakland, California, and the boy was renamed Rickey Henley Henderson. A Baseball Hall-of-Famer and by far the all-time leader in stolen bases, Rickey is a legend. Just ask him.
Also on this day, Hanford Dixon (no middle name) is born in Mobile, Alabama. The All-Pro cornerback for the Cleveland Browns would bark like a dog at his teammates to get them psyched up, and fans in the bleachers at Cleveland Municipal Stadium would start barking along with him. Soon, he started calling that section the Dawg Pound, and they would respond by wearing dog masks and throwing dog biscuits. He is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.
December 25, 1959: Four games are played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lose to the Boston Celtics, 123-119 at Madison Square Garden. The Philadelphia Warriors, playing one of their occasional "home games" at the Hershey Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, outside Harrisburg, beat the Syracuse Nationals, 129-121.
The Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 121-103 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 112-96 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. The 1959-60 season will be the last season in "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" for the Lakers, as they move to Los Angeles, where lakes are few and far between.
Two games were played in the NHL. Again, it was the Canadian teams that backed out. The New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-1 at the Boston Garden.
Also on this day, Robert Washington Jones is born in Demopolis, Alabama. A linebacker, Robbie Jones was a member of the University of Alabama team that won the 1979 National Championship, and was special teams captain of the Giants when they won Super Bowl XXI.
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December 25, 1960: The entire NHL is in action. The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Garden, 4-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-0 at the Olympia Stadium.
There were 2 games in the NBA. The New York Knicks got slaughtered by the Syracuse Nationals, 162-100 at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. This in spite of no Nats player scoring more than 24 (Hal Greer and Dave Gambee both did). And the Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 126-119 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Also on this day, Thomas Patrick O'Malley is born in Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, but grows up in Mountoursville, Pennsylvania, the same hometown as Baseball Hall-of-Famer Mike Mussina. A 3rd baseman, he debuted with the San Francisco Giants in 1982, but was a career backup, last playing in the major leagues in 1990 with the Mets.
Then he went to Japan, playing for the Hanshin Tigers and the Yakult Swallows. He was a 3-time All-Star, and led the Tokyo-based Swallows to the 1995 Japan Series, winning the Central League's Most Valuable Player award. His lifetime batting average was .256 in North America, but .315 in Japan. He later returned to the Hanshin Tigers as a coach.
December 25, 1961, 60 years ago: In the NHL, the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-4 at the Olympia Stadium. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs played to a 3-3 tie at the Chicago Stadium.
In the opener of a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, the Chicago Packers beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-97. You read that right: "The Chicago Packers." This was their 1st season, and this was probably its highlight. After the season, probably to avoid the confusion of seeing the name of the NFL team that Chicagoans hated the most, they changed their name to the Chicago Zephyrs. It didn't attract many more fans, and for the 1963-64 season, they moved, becoming the Baltimore Bullets. They became the Washington Bullets in 1973, and the Washington Wizards in 1997.
In the nightcap of the Garden doubleheader, the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 136-135 in double overtime. Wilt Chamberlain scored 59 points for the visitors, Richie Guerin 40 for the hosts. After the season, the Warriors were sold, and moved to San Francisco. After playing the 1962-63 with no NBA team, Philadelphia found a buyer, Ike Richman, who bought the Syracuse Nationals, and moved them to become the Philadelphia 76ers.
Also in the NBA that day, the aforementioned Nationals lost to the Boston Celtics, 127-22 at the War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cincinnati Royals, 141-127 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
December 25, 1962: The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 6-2 at the Boston Garden. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium. And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 6-0 at the Chicago Stadium.
At Madison Square Garden, the San Francisco Warriors beat the St. Louis Hawks, 94-91; and the Knicks lost to the Syracuse Nationals, 123-111. At the Cincinnati Gardens, the Cincinnati Royals beat the Detroit Pistons, 131-120.
December 25, 1963: The New York Rangers lost to the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Olympia Stadium. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Boston Garden. And the Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium.
In the NBA, the New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 134-126 at Madison Square Garden. And the Cincinnati Royals beat the St. Louis Hawks, 113-107.
December 25, 1964: The New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins, 3-0 at the Boston Garden. The Montreal Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings played to a 2-2 tie at the Olympia Stadium. And the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a 3-3 tie at the Chicago Stadium.
In a doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, the Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 118-106; and the New York Knicks lost to the Baltimore Bullets, 114-108. At the Cincinnati Gardens, the Cincinnati Royals beat the St. Louis Hawks, 130-125 in overtime.
Also on this day, Gary McAllister (no middle name) is born in Motherwell, Scotland. A midfielder, he helped hometown soccer club Motherwell gain promotion to Scotland's 1st division in 1985, was bought by English club Leicester City, helped Leeds United win England's Football League in 1992, played for Coventry City, and then was a member of the 2001 Liverpool team that won a "cup treble": The FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Cup (the tournament now known as the UEFA Europa League).
He later managed Coventry, Leeds and Birmingham club Aston Villa, and is now a club ambassador for Liverpool.
December 25, 1965: The New York Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens.
In the NBA, the New York Knicks lost to the St. Louis Hawks, 131-111 at Madison Square Garden. The Boston Celtics beat the Baltimore Bullets, 113-99 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now named the Royal Farms Arena). The Cincinnati Royals beat the San Francisco Warriors, 119-113 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 115-106 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
December 25, 1966: On this last Christmas Day of the NHL's erroneously-named "Original Six Era," the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 1-0 at the Chicago Stadium. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 4-2 at the Boston Garden. And the Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-0 at the Olympia Stadium.
In the NBA, the New York Knicks beat the expansion Chicago Bulls, 133-132 at the old Madison Square Garden. Of course, Michael Jordan was only 3 years old at the time.
The Detroit Pistons beat the Baltimore Bullets 129-127 in overtime at the Baltimore Civic Center. And the San Francisco Warriors beat the Cincinnati Royals, 124-112 at the Cincinnati Gardens.
Also on this day, Wendy Gebauer (no middle name) is born in Washington, D.C., and grows up in the nearby suburb of Reston, Virginia. A forward in the University of North Carolina's women's soccer dynasty, she was a member of the U.S. team that won the 1st-ever Women's World Cup in 1991. She now goes by her married name, Wendy Gebauer Palladino, and has gone into broadcasting.
December 25, 1967: Four games were played in the NBA. For the last time, the New York Knicks hosted a Christmas game at the old Madison Square Garden, and lost it to the Boston Celtics, 134-124. The new Garden opened on February 11, 1968.
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 108-105 at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Cincinnati Royals beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-112 at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the San Diego Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-101 at the San Diego Sports Arena. (That building is now named the Pechanga Arena. The Rockets moved to Houston in 1971.)
One game was played in the brand-new American Basketball Association. The Kentucky Colonels beat the Oakland Oaks, 112-98 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
But all 12 teams in the newly-expanded NHL were in action. The New York Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-1 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Boston Bruins beat the Oakland Seals, 6-3 at the Boston Garden. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Chicago Stadium. And the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota North Stars, 1-0 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.
December 25, 1968: There were 5 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 110-109 at the new Madison Square Garden. The Baltimore Bullets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-112 at the Baltimore Civic Center. The Cincinnati Royals beat the Chicago Bulls, 103-98 at the Cincinnati Gardens. The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 119-113 at The MECCA. And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
There were 3 games played in the ABA. The New York Nets lost to the Denver Rockets, 129-110 at the Long Island Arena in Commack, New York. The Minnesota Pipers beat the Kentucky Colonels, 129-118 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. And the Oakland Oaks beat the Los Angeles Stars, 127-122 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
There were 5 games played in the NHL. The New York Rangers played the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-2 tie at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Oakland Seals beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Boston Garden. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings, 6-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-3 at the Chicago Stadium. And the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-0 at the Met Center in Bloomington.
Also on this day, James Thomas Dowd is born in Point Pleasant, Ocean County, New Jersey. Growing up in neighboring Brick, Jim Dowd was the 1st New Jerseyan to play for the Devils, and remains the only New Jerseyan to have his name on the Stanley Cup, having scored a late winner in Game 2 of the 1995 Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. He now coaches a youth hockey team in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Also, Corey Edward Widmer is born outside Washington in Alexandria, Virginia. A linebacker, he played for the Giants from 1992 to 1999.
December 25, 1969: There were 4 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 112-111 at Madison Square Garden. The Baltimore Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 121-113 at the Baltimore Civic Center. The San Francisco Warriors beat the Cincinnati Royals, 124-120 in overtime at the Cincinnati Gardens. And the Phoenix Suns beat the Boston Celtics, 127-116 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
There were 2 games played in the ABA. The Washington Capitols beat the Pittsburgh Pipers, 131-112 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. And the Los Angeles Stars beat the Kentucky Colonels, 105-101 at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
There were 3 games played in the NHL. The Boston Bruins beat the Los Angeles Kings, 7-1 at the Boston Garden. The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Oakland Seals, 3-1 at The Spectrum. And the Chicago Black Hawks and the Minnesota North Stars played to a 4-4 tie at the Met Center.
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December 25, 1970: There were 2 games played in the NHL. The Boston Bruins beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 8-4 at the Boston Garden. And the Minnesota North Stars beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
There were 6 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the expansion Buffalo Braves, 115-102 at Madison Square Garden. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons, 105-100 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Baltimore Bullets beat the Chicago Bulls, 128-112 at the Baltimore Civic Center, despite 42 points from the Bulls' Bob Love.
The Cincinnati Royals beat the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers, 117-100 at the Cincinnati Gardens. The Phoenix Suns beat the Atlanta Hawks, 127-115 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics, 123-113 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Jerry West scored 32 points.
There were 5 games played in the ABA. The Pittsburgh Condors beat the Carolina Cougars, 136-121 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. The Virginia Squires beat the Texas Chaparrals, 145-131 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. And the Memphis Pros beat the Utah Stars, 107-102 at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis.
December 25, 1971, 50 years ago: The longest game in NFL history is played. The Miami Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 24-21, when Garo Yepremian kicks a field goal with 7 minutes and 20 seconds to go in the 2nd overtime of an AFC Divisional Playoff. It was also the Chiefs' last game at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, before moving to Arrowhead Stadium in September 1972.
There were 6 games played in the NHL. Since this day, the League has never played on Christmas Day again. In fact, traditionally, it has not played on December 24, or 25, and usually not on 26, either.
The New York Rangers beat the Minnesota North Stars, 2-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The Boston Bruins beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1 at the Boston Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
The St. Louis Blues and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 4-4 at the St. Louis Arena. And the Oakland-based California Golden Seals beat the Los Angeles Kings, 3-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles, in Inglewood, California.
There were 7 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Golden State Warriors, 114-89 at Madison Square Garden. Walt Frazier scored 36 points.
The Boston Celtics beat the Cincinnati Royals, 99-94 at the Cincinnati Gardens. This was the end of a tradition: The last Christmas game in Cincinnati. The following season, the Royals moved, becoming the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
Also, the Baltimore Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Atlanta Hawks beat the Buffalo Braves, 140-117 at the Alexander Coliseum in Atlanta. Walt Bellamy scored 40 points. The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 120-118 in overtime at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 38 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Pistons.
The Phoenix Suns beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-86 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Connie Hawkins scored 31 for the Suns. And the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-88 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
There were 3 games played in the ABA. The Virginia Squires beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 133-126 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Memphis Pros beat the Carolina Cougars, 110-102 at the Mid-South Coliseum. And the Utah Stars beat the Indiana Pacers, 150-129 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
Also on this day, Terry Vaughn (no middle name) is born in Sumter, South Carolina. A star receiver at the University of Arizona, he was not drafted by an NFL team, but became the 1st receiver in the Canadian Football League to catch 1,000 passes in a career.
He won the CFL Championship, the Grey Cup, with both Alberta teams, the 1998 Calgary Stampeders and the 2003 Edmonton Eskimos. He was named to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and TSN's (The Sports Network, Canada's version of ESPN) 50 Greatest CFL Players.
December 25, 1972: There were 3 games played in the new World Hockey Association. This would be the only time the WHA would play games on Christmas Day.
The New York Raiders lost to the New England Whalers, 8-2 at Madison Square Garden. The Cleveland Crusaders beat the Philadelphia Blazers, 8-0 at the Cleveland Arena. And the Chicago Cougars beat the Alberta Oilers, 3-2 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago.
There were 4 games played in the NBA. The New York Knicks beat the Detroit Pistons, 113-110 at Madison Square Garden. Dave Bing scored 35 for the Pistons, but the Knicks got 29 from Bill Bradley, 24 from DeBusschere and 20 from Frazier.
The Kansas City-Omaha Kings were no longer the Cincinnati Royals, but they were still playing a home game on Christmas Day. They lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-99 at the Kansas City Municipal Auditorium. The Phoenix Suns beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-108 at the Arizona Coliseum in Phoenix. And the Portland Trail Blazers, building a rivalry, beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-113 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
December 25, 1973: The New York Knicks lost to the Capital Bullets -- the Washington team used that name only in their 1st season in the D.C. area -- 102-100 at Madison Square Garden. And the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 135-100 at the Arizona Coliseum.
Also on this day, Bullet Joe Simpson dies at age 80 in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables, Florida. A defenseman, he starred for the Edmonton Eskimos of the West Coast Hockey League, winning that league's title in 1922, and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the team now known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. He later starred for the NewYork Americans, and is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Also on this day, Robert James Elliott is born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the North-East of England. A left back, Robbie Elliott starred for his hometown team, Newcastle United, and also played the 2006-07 season for their arch-rivals, Sunderland. Since 2009, he has worked with the United States Under-20 national team.
December 25, 1974: Three games were played in the NBA. The New York Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 104-97 at Madison Square Garden. The Washington Bullets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 110-92 at the Capital Centre in Landover. And the Phoenix Suns beat the Boston Celtics, 110-96 at the Arizona Coliseum in Phoenix.
One game was played in the ABA. The Utah Stars beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 112-100 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
December 25, 1975: Two very different Boston legends are born. Hideki Okajima is a Japanese-born pitcher for the Red Sox, who helped them win the 2007 World Series.
And Rob Mariano is born in Canton, Massachusetts. "Boston Rob" continually wore a Red Sox cap while appearing on the CBS series Survivor, and ended up marrying his season's winner, Amber Brkich. Together, they went on to compete on another CBS series, The Amazing Race. They now live in Pensacola, Florida, and have 4 children, all girls.
There were 4 NBA games. The Knicks again played the Sixers at the Garden, but this time, the Knicks won, 111-103. The Bullets again played the Hawks at the Cap Centre, and won again, 99-94. The Phoenix Suns again played at home, and beat the Kansas City Kings, 122-111. And the New Orleans Saints beat the Houston Rockets, 101-99 at the new Superdome in New Orleans.
December 25, 1976: The NBA splurged, with 6 games. As usual, the Knicks, Bullets, Kings (formerly the Royals) and Suns were at home. The Knicks lost to the 76ers, 105-104. The Bullets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 117-99. The Suns beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-96. The Kings lost to the Chicago Bulls, 96-91 at the new Kemper Arena in Kansas City. (It's now named the Hy-Vee Arena.
The Buffalo Braves beat the Detroit Pistons, 115-106 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 110-95 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. The Blazers were on their way to Oregon's 1st World Championship in any sport.
December 25, 1977: On the 1st day of Christmas, the NBA gave to us 7 games. Beats 7 swans a-swimming.
At home on the day as usual: The Knicks, beating the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-110; the Bullets, beating the Hawks, 100-93; the Jazz, losing to the San Antonio Spurs, 115-105; the Kings, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks, 131-122; and the Blazers, beating the Golden State Warriors, 109-97.
Also: The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Buffalo Braves, 111-105 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio; and the Lakers beat the Sonics, 111-96 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
December 25, 1978: This time, the NBA cut back to 3 games. Of course, one was the Knicks at The Garden, but they lost to the 76ers, 109-94. The Trail Blazers beat the Warriors, 115-102 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. And the San Diego Clippers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 123-118 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
December 25, 1979: There were 5 NBA games. As usual, the Knicks were at home, beating the New Jersey Nets, 131-102, thanks to 33 points from Bill Cartwright. As usual, the Trail Blazers were at home, beating the Warriors, 113-91.
As usual, the Bullets were playing at home. As usual, the 76ers were playing on the road. The Sixers beat the Bullets, 95-92.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 111-101 in Richfield. And the Utah Jazz, newly moved from New Orleans, beat their new geographic rivals, the Denver Nuggets, 122-111 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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December 25, 1980: Most of the usual suspects were at home. The Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 117-108. The Bullets beat the New Jersey Nets, 109-94. The Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, 131-111. And the Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 115-114.
Also on this day, Marcus Lavon Trufant is born in Tacoma, Washington. A cornerback, he helped his home-State Seattle Seahawks win their 1st Conference Championship in 2005, although they lost Super Bowl XL. He made the Pro Bowl in 2007. The Seahawks named him to their 35th Anniversary Team in 2010.
His brother Isaiah Trufant played for the Jets and the Cleveland Browns, but spent most of his career in the Arena Football League. His brother Desmond Trufant was with the Atlanta Falcons when they won the 2016 NFC Championship, but infamously lost Super Bowl LI. He now plays for the Las Vegas Raiders. All 3 brothers are cornerbacks.
December 25, 1981, 40 years ago: Same 4 teams at home as a year ago. This time, though, the Knicks lost to the Nets, 96-95. The Bullets beat the Indiana Pacers, 115-98. The Suns lost to the Lakers, 104-101. And the Trail Blazers beat their rivals, the Seattle SuperSonics, 99-94.
Also on this day, Willy Taveras -- apparently, his entire full name -- is born in Tenares, Dominican Republic. A center fielder, he reached the postseason with the 2004 and '05 Houston Astros, and the 2007 Colorado Rockies, playing in the 2005 and '07 World Series. In 2008, with the Rockies, he led the National League in stolen bases.
But he was one of these players who simply didn't get on base often enough to make his speed a useful weapon. He last appeared in Major League Baseball since 2010, with the Washington Nationals, but kept his career going through 2019, by playing in the Mexican and Dominican leagues.
December 25, 1982: The 1st Aloha Bowl is played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The University of Washington, then ranked Number 9 in the nation, defeats the University of Maryland, then Number 16, 21-20.
Honolulu had previously hosted the Poi Bowl from 1936 to 1939, and the Pineapple Bowl from 1940 to 1952, but those games were held on New Year's Day. The Aloha Bowl would be held on Christmas Day, and would feature a man in a Santa Claus suit parachuting onto the field to present the referee with the game ball. In 1991, the ABC sitcom Coach would feature a 2-part episode about the show's fictional Minnesota State University playing in the Pineapple Bowl on Christmas Day.
In 1998, 1999 and 2000, Aloha Stadium hosted a doubleheader, with the Aloha Bowl preceded by the Oahu Bowl. But that game quickly folded. The last Aloha Bowl was played in 2000. It was a commercial failure: Of the 19 games played, only the 1989 edition was a sellout of the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium.
Having quickly gone from hosting 2 bowl games in 2000 to none in 2001, Hawaii tried again. The Hawai'i Bowl was established in 2002, and was played on Christmas Day that year and the next, but has usually been played on Christmas Eve since. This year, it will be played on Christmas Eve, between teams yet to be determined from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Mountain West Conference, at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex, on the University of Hawaii campus. A combination of poor construction and 46 years of tropical weather have led to the closing of Aloha Stadium.
In the NBA, 3 of the usual 4 teams were at home. Bernard King scored 32 to lead the Nets over the Knicks, 112-110 in overtime. The Bullets got 37 from Greg Ballard, but lost to the Atlanta Hawks, 97-91. The Suns were on the road this time, but beat the Utah Jazz, 111-101 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. And the Blazers beat the Sonics, 95-88.
Also on this day, Shawn Cornelius Andrews is born in Camden, Arkansas. A guard, he starred at the University of Arkansas, made 2 Pro Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles, and played in Super Bowl XXXIX. He is a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Eagles' 75th Anniversary Team. He played with the Giants in 2010, but a back injury soon ended his career.
His brother Stacy Andrews was an Eagle teammate in 2009, and closed his career helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.
December 25, 1983: The Knicks beat the Nets at The Garden, 112-110 at The Garden. And the Blazers beat the Lakers, 141-121 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
December 25, 1984: For about a year now, the best basketball player in the world has not been Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Magic Johnson, or Larry Bird, or Julius Erving, and certainly not newly-minted NBA rookie Michael Jordan. It's been Bernard King. On this Christmas Day, he came down the chimney at Madison Square Garden and scored 60 points, a record for the 1968 Garden. In spite of this performance for the Knicks, the Nets beat them, 120-114. Micheal Ray Richardson scored 36 for New Jersey.
Sadly, 'Nard will see his reign come to an end on March 23, 1985, with a terrible knee injury in Kansas City. It ends up being the 1st of 12 straight games the Knicks, already plagued with injuries, lost the end the season. Then they got the 1st pick in the 1985 NBA Draft, and selected Patrick Ewing.
Elsewhere, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 109-106 in Richfield; the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-108 at the Silverdome; and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors, 106-97 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
Jack Balmer dies in Liverpool at age 68. A forward, he helped Liverpool F.C. win the Football League title in 1947.
Also on this day, Limas Lee Sweed Jr. is born outside Houston in Brenham, Texas. A receiver, he was with the University of Texas when it won the 2005 National Championship, and the Pittsburgh Steelers when they won Super Bowl XLIII. He last played in 2012, with the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Also on this day, Alastair Nathan Cook is born in Gloucester, England. I don't know what makes a cricket player great, but Cook holds the records for most caps (appearances) and most caps as Captain for the England national team. He was named International Cricket Council Player of the Year in 2011. He is 5th on the all-time list for most runs in Test cricket, with 12,472. (Sachin Tendulkar of India holds the record, with 15,921.)
He currently plays for Essex County Cricket. That's Essex County in England, not in New Jersey. England does have a city named Newark, but, unlike in New Jersey, it isn't in the County of Essex, but in the County of Nottinghamshire. However, he retired from international cricket before the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and was not a member of the England team that won it.
December 25, 1985: Dave Zinkoff dies following heart surgery in Philadelphia. He was 75. He was the public address announcer for the Philadelphia Warriors from the founding of the NBA in 19476 until they moved in 1962, and for their replacements, the Philadelphia 76ers, from their arrival in 1963 until his death. In 1986, in place of a uniform number to retire, the 76ers raised a banner with his name and a picture of a microphone on it.
Two NBA games were played. The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 113-104 at Madison Square Garden. Patrick Ewing scored 32 points, to overcome the Celtics' forward line of Larry Bird (23), Kevin McHale (29) and Robert Parish (24). And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 121-107 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Marques Johnson scored 31 for the Clippers, but it wasn't enough.
December 25, 1986: As usual, the Knicks were at home. They beat the Chicago Bulls, 86-85, despite 30 points from Michael Jordan.
As usual, the 76ers and the Bullets were in action. But it was the reverse of the usual: The Bullets were on the road, and the Sixers were at home, at The Spectrum. The Bullets won, 102-97.
December 25, 1987: The Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 91-87 at The Garden. And Dominique Wilkins, the dunk artist known as "The Human Highlight Film," scored 45 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the 76ers, 106-100 at The Spectrum.
Also on this day, Demaryius Antwon Thomas is born in Montrose, Georgia. A receiver, he was with the Denver Broncos when they won Super Bowl 50. He retired after playing the 2019 season with the Jets, the 5-time Pro Bowler has caught 724 passes for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns. He died of an unspecified medical issue on December 9, 2021, shortly before his 34th birthday.
December 25, 1988: The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Washington Wizards, 125-110 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. And the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 101-87 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.
Also on this day, Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. is born in Indianapolis. Named Indiana's "Mr. Basketball" in 2007, the guard played just 1 season at Indiana University before declared for the NBA Draft. It took a while to become a big pro player, including 3 years with the Los Angeles Clippers and 5 years with the New Orleans Pelicans, but in 2017, with the Houston Rockets, he was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He still plays for the Rockets.
December 25, 1989: Yankee legend manager Billy Martin is killed in a drunken-driving crash near his home in Johnson City, New York, outside Binghamton. He was 61.
Also on this day, for the 1st time, ABC Monday Night Football broadcasts on a Christmas Day. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 29-21 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
Also on this day, Walter Ris dies in Mission Viejo, California, just short of his 66th birthday. A swimmer, the Chicago native won 2 Gold Medals for the U.S. at the 1948 Olympics in London. He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Only 1 NBA game is played: The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-104 at The Omni in Atlanta. Michael Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb, all 5-foot-7 of him, leads all scorers with 26 points.
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December 25, 1990: The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 98-86 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scores 37 points, sending a message to the Motor City Bad Boys, who have represented the Eastern Conference in the last 3 NBA Finals, winning the last 2: It's over for you, and for us, it's just beginning.
December 25, 1990: The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons, 98-86 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scores 37 points, sending a message to the Motor City Bad Boys, who have represented the Eastern Conference in the last 3 NBA Finals, winning the last 2: It's over for you, and for us, it's just beginning.
Also on this day, Garrett Nicholas Cooper is born in Auburn, Alabama, where his father was teaching at Auburn University. His father later got a teaching job in Los Angeles, and that's where Garrett grew up, although he returned to Auburn to play baseball. He made his major league debut in 2017, as a 1st baseman for the Yankees, and now plays for the Miami Marlins.
December 25, 1991, 30 years ago: Frank Finnigan dies of a heart attack in his hometown of Shawville, Quebec, a suburb of Canada's national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. He was 90 years old, and had lived long enough to see his efforts to get his former hockey team, the Ottawa Senators, restored to the NHL for the 1992 expansion, but not long enough to see them take the ice.
December 25, 1991, 30 years ago: Frank Finnigan dies of a heart attack in his hometown of Shawville, Quebec, a suburb of Canada's national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. He was 90 years old, and had lived long enough to see his efforts to get his former hockey team, the Ottawa Senators, restored to the NHL for the 1992 expansion, but not long enough to see them take the ice.
A right wing, he played the original Senators from 1923 to 1934, including being an integral part of their 1927 Stanley Cup win. Due to the Great Depression, the Senators did not play in the 1931-32 season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were allowed to sign him, enabling him to win that season's Stanley Cup with the Leafs. He was the Senators' Captain upon their return. In the 1933-34 season, he played in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game in Toronto.
But after that season, they moved to St. Louis, already known for good support of a minor-league team. Finnigan scored the final goal in the history of the old Senators. The St. Louis Eagles were terrible in 1934-35 and folded, selling him back to the Leafs, for whom he played until 1937. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II and managed hotels.
Finnigan was the last surviving Senator from the Stanley Cup winners of 1927 -- still the last Cup won by an Ottawa team -- and participated in the "Bring Back The Senators" campaign. On October 8, 1992, before their 1st regular-season home game, at the Ottawa Civic Centre, his Number 8 was raised to the rafters, and his son Frank Finnigan Jr. was invited to drop the ceremonial puck before the 1st home game.
His brother Eddie Finnigan also played in the NHL, including for the St. Louis Eagles after they were no longer the Senators, but was mostly a career minor-leaguer. His daughter Joan Finnigan was a noted Canadian writer, including writing a book about the Senators' re-establishment, and several books about the Ottawa Valley.
There were 2 games played in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 121-99 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scored 14 points; on his own team, he was outscored by Scottie Pippen (27), B.J. Armstrong (18) and Horace Grant (17). But the Celtics were crumbling, and this would be the last season for Larry Bird.
And the Los Angeles Lakers went back to their 1st home in L.A., the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, and beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 85-75.
December 25, 1992: The New York Knicks lose to the Chicago Bulls, 89-77 at the Chicago Stadium. Michael Jordan scored 42 points. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 103-94 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Sean Elliott scored 32 for the Clippers.
Arin Hadley Walton Gilliland is born in Lexington, Kentucky. Now using her married name of Arin Wright, she plays left back for the Chicago Red Stars of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She missed the 2020 season on maternity leave, and has returned to the Red Stars.
Also on this day, Tanner Scott Rainey is born outside New Orleans in Folsom, Louisiana. He debuted with the Cincinnati Reds in 2018, making 8 appearances for them. He now pitches for the Washington Nationals, making 4 appearances in the 2019 World Series, which the Nats won.
December 25, 1993: The NBA probably wanted a Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic game on Christmas to set up a battle between Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal. But with Jordan taking his sabbatical, the ratings weren't as good. The Bulls won, 95-93 at Chicago Stadium. Shaq scored 20 points, and Nick Anderson scored 24. But Scottie Pippen led all scorers with 28.
In the other game, Charles Barkley had a game worthy of the holiday showcase, with 38 points and 18 rebounds, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 111-91 win over the Houston Rockets at the AmericaWest Arena.
Also on this day, Cole Croston (no middle name) is born outside Omaha in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa. An offensive tackle for the New England Patriots, he was with them when they won Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019. But he was released, and has not played a down of pro football since.
December 25, 1994: The Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 107-104, in overtime at the new United Center in Chicago. Of course, this was during Michael Jordan's hiatus... And the Denver Nuggets beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 105-96 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
Of the NFL's 14 games that weekend, only 1 fell on Christmas Day: The Miami Dolphins beat the Detroit Lions, 27-20 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.
December 25, 1995: The Dallas Cowboys beat the Arizona Cardinals, 37-13 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona, on Monday Night Football. The previous week, on the TV show Coach, Hayden Fox's Orlando Breakers hosted the Cardinals in a Christmas game on Monday Night Football, their last game of the season, and it turned out to be their only win.
In the NBA, in a rematch of the previous season's Finals, the Magic beat the Rockets, 92-90 at the Orlando Arena; and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Suns, 105-100 at the AmericaWest Arena.
December 25, 1996, 25 years ago: The Bulls beat the Pistons, 95-83 at the United Center; and the Lakers beat the Suns, 108-87 at the AmericaWest Arena.
Also on this day, Bill Osmanski dies in Chicago at age 80. The running back was a 2-time All-American at Holy Cross. With the Chicago Bears, he led the NFL in rushing in 1939, made 3 Pro Bowls, and won 4 NFL Championships.
He was named to the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFL's 1940s All-Decade Team and the Bears' 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Bears. However, he has not yet been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Also on this day, Bill Hewitt dies in Port Perry, Ontario at age 68. The grandson of sportswriter W.A. Hewitt and the son of sportscaster Foster Hewitt, he was a longtime TV voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As far as I know, the Hewitts are the only family with 3 generations in any sport's Hall of Fame.
The Chicago Bears also had a Bill Hewitt, and he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But by the time Osmanski arrived on the Bears, their Bill Hewitt was playing elsewhere, so they were never teammates.
December 25, 1997: The Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 90-80 at the United Center; and the Jazz beat the Rockets, 107-103 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. (The Delta Center is now named the Vivint Arena.)
December 25, 1998: No NBA games today, because the team owners had locked the players out. The season didn't start until February 5.
December 25, 1999: The Knicks lost to the Indiana Pacers, 101-90, at the new Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (The arena is now named the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.) Reggie Miller, perennial Knick nemesis, led all scorers with 26 points.
And, at the new Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, the Lakers beat the Spurs, 99-93. Tim Duncan scored 28, but Shaquille O'Neal scored 32.
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December 25, 2000: The Tennessee Titans beat the Dallas Cowboys, 31-0 at Adelphia Coliseum (now named Nissan Stadium) in Nashville, on Monday Night Football.
In the NBA, the Pacers beat the Magic, 103-93 at the Fieldhouse; and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Lakers, 109-104 at the Staples Center.
December 25, 2001, 20 years ago: The film Ali premieres, starring Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, depicting his life from the 1st time he wins the Heavyweight Championship of the World, in 1964 against Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, to the 2nd time he wins it, in 1974 against George Foreman in Zaire, and all the magic and all the madness in between.
In the NBA, the Knicks beat the Toronto Raptors, 102-94 at Madison Square Garden; and the Lakers beat the 76ers, 88-82 at the Staples Center.
December 25, 2002: The New Jersey Nets, in their renaissance under coach Byron Scott and star player Jason Kidd, beat the Boston Celtics, 117-81 at the Meadowlands, at the building then named the Continental Airlines Arena.
The Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons, 104-99 at the Orlando Arena. And the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-99 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
December 25, 2003: The Orlando Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-101 at the Orlando Arena. The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 99-87 at the Staples Center. And the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings, 111-103 at the ARCO Arena.
December 25, 2004: The Knicks beat the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, the team that went on to become the new Charlotte Hornets, 91-82 at Madison Square Garden. The Pistons beat the Pacers, 98-93 at the Conseco Fieldhouse. And the Heat beat the Lakers, 104-102 in overtime at the Staples Center.
Also on this day, Eddie Spicer dies in Rhyl, Wales at age 82. In 1939, the centreback signed for his hometown soccer team, Liverpool F.C., at just 17 years old. But World War II was underway, and he served in Britain's Royal Marines. He didn't make his official debut for the Mersey Reds until January 30, 1946, at 23.
In the 1946-47 season, he made 10 appearances for the club, which won the Football League title, but that was 1 game short of qualifying for a winner's medal under the rules of the time. He played for Liverpool in the 1950 FA Cup Final, but they lost to Arsenal. He broke his leg late in the next season, missing the entire 1951-52 season, and retired a year later, just 31.
December 25, 2005: Shanghai Dongya Football Club is founded. Dongya means "East Asia." In 2015, the Shanghai International Port Group bought them, and changed their name to Shanghai SIPG. After finishing 2nd in the Chinese Super League in 2015 and 2017, they won their 1st title in 2018. In 2021, they changed their name to Shanghai Port F.C.
Of the NFL's 16 games that weekend, only 2 were played on Christmas Day. Appropriately, one was played in the League's snowiest place, between the League's oldest arch-rivals: The Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, 24-17 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. And the Baltimore Ravens beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-23 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
In the NBA, the Heat beat the Lakers, 97-92 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. (It's now named the FTX Arena.) If league officials were expecting a battle between Kobe Bryant and ex-Laker Shaquille O'Neal, they didn't get it: Kobe scored 37, more than Shaq and Dwyane Wade combined (each scored 18), but the Heat won. And the Pistons beat the Spurs, 85-70 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan.
December 25, 2006: Despite it being a Monday, 2 networks broadcast NFL games. On NBC, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys, 23-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Austin, Texas. And, in the show's 1st season on ABC's sister network ESPN, Monday Night Football shows the New York Jets' 13-10 win over the Miami Dolphins at Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in the Miami suburb of Miami Gardens, Florida.
Only 1 NBA game was played. Again, they wanted a Shaq vs. Kobe matchup. Kobe only scored 16. And Shaq didn't even play. But Wade scored 40, and the Heat beat the Lakers, 101-85 at the American Airlines Arena.
December 25, 2007: Christmas games returned to Cleveland and Portland. The Cavaliers beat the Heat, 96-82 at the Gund Arena in downtown Cleveland. (It's now named the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.)
And the Trail Blazers beat their arch-rivals, the Seattle SuperSonics, 89-79 at the Rose Garden. (It's now named the Moda Center.) This would be the last Christmas game for the Sonics, as, the next season, they moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Lakers and the Suns, both used to playing at home on Christmas Day, played each other. The Lakers won, 122-115 at the Staples Center. Kobe scored 38.
Also on this day, Jim Beauchamp dies of leukemia at age 68. An outfielder, he was named Most Valuable Player of the Texas League in 1963, but that success didn't carry over into the major leagues. He debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1963, was part of the Houston Astros' youth movement in 1964 and '65, was with the Milwaukee Braves when they moved to Atlanta in 1966, was traded away by the Cincinnati Reds right before they started winning Pennants again, and finally saw the postseason with the Pennant-winning 1973 Mets.
He then managed in the minor leagues, and was promoted to bench coach by the Braves in 1991, a part of 5 World Series with them, winning in 1995. His hometown of Grove, Oklahoma named its baseball field for him while he as still alive and well enough to enjoy it. "Beauchamp" is French for "beautiful field."
December 25, 2008: The NBA scheduled 5 games for Christmas Day, all in cities used to it. The Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards, 93-89 at the Gund Arena. The Magic beat the New Orleans Hornets, 88-68 at the Amway Arena (formerly the Orlando Arena).
The Spurs beat the Suns, 91-90 at the AmericaWest Arena. The Mavericks beat the Trail Blazers, 102-94 at the Moda Center. And the Lakers beat the Celtics, 92-83 at the Staples Center.
December 25, 2009: The Knicks lost to the Heat, 93-87 at The Garden. Dwyane Wade scored 30, while Danilo Gallinari led the Knicks with 26.
The Celtics beat the Magic, 86-77 at the Amway Arena. The Suns beat the Clippers, 124-93 at the AmericaWest Arena. The Cavaliers beat the Lakers, 102-87 at the Staples Center. And the Trail Blazers beat the Nuggets, 107-96 at the Moda Center.
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December 25, 2010: There were 5 games in the NBA. Apparently, Commissioner David Stern forgot that Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing were retired, because he scheduled Bulls vs. Knicks at The Garden for Christmas. At any rate, the Knicks won, 103-95.
The Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics, 86-78 at the Amway Center in Orlando. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets, 114-106 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. (It's now named the Paycom Center.) The Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 96-80 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And the Golden State Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-102 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
December 25, 2011, 10 years ago: As in 2005, the last time Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, the NFL had 16 games, but tinkered with the schedule to have as few as possible on the day. In this case, only 1, and, as in 2005, it was Bears vs. Packers at Lambeau. This time, Green Bay beat Chicago, 35-21.
The 2011-12 NBA season opened on this day, delayed due to the lockout. The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 106-104 at Madison Square Garden. Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic, 97-89 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City.
In a rematch and a reverse of the previous season's NBA Finals, the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks, 105-94 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. LeBron James scored 37. The Chicago Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 88-87 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors, 105-86 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
December 25, 2012: There were 5 games played in the NBA, including a doubleheader at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The New York Knicks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, 100-94; and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets, 112-100.
The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Boston Celtics, 93-76 at the Barclays Center. The Miami Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 103-97 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. (It's now the FTX Arena.) And the Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls, 120-97 at the United Center in Chicago.
December 25, 2013: The Knicks lost to the Thunder, 123-94 at The Garden. The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Chicago Bulls, 95-78 at the Barclays Center. The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs, 111-98 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Heat beat the Lakers, 101-95 at the Staples Center. And the Warriors beat the Clippers, 105-103 at the Oracle Arena.
December 25, 2014: The Knicks lost to the Washington Wizards, 102-91 at The Garden, despite Carmelo's 34 points. The Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 101-91 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, despite LeBron James having returned to Cleveland. The Bulls beat the Lakers, 113-93 at the United Center. The Thunder beat the Spurs, 114-106 at the AT&T Center. And the Clippers beat the Warriors, 100-86 at the Staples Center.
December 25, 2015: No game in New York. The Heat beat the New Orleans Hornets, 94-88 in overtime at the American Airlines Arena. The Bulls beat the Thunder, 105-96 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The Rockets beat the Spurs, 88-84 at the Toyota Center in Houston. The Clippers beat the Lakers, 94-84 at the Staples Center. And the Warriors beat the Cavaliers, 89-83 at the Oracle Arena.
December 25, 2016: Again the NFL managed to play only 2 of 16 games on Christmas Day. No Bears or Packers this time. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 31-27 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. And the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 33-10 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
In the NBA, the Knicks lost to the Celtics, 119-114 at Madison Square Garden. In a rematch of the last 2 NBA Finals, the Cavaliers overcame 36 points and 15 rebounds from Kevin Durant, and beat the Warriors, 109-108 at the Quicken Loans Arena. (The arena has since been renamed the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.)
The Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 112-100 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Spurs beat the Bulls, 119-100 at the AT&T Center. And in the "Tunnel Series" at the Staples Center, the Lakers beat the Clippers, 111-102.
December 25, 2017: On Monday Night Football, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Oakland Raiders, 19-10 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
In the NBA, the Knicks lost to the 76ers, 105-98 at Madison Square Garden. The Wizards beat the Celtics, 111-103 at the TD Garden. The Thunder beat the Rockets, 112-107 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 121-104 at the Staples Center. And in a rematch of the last 3 NBA Finals, the Warriors beat the Cavaliers, 99-92 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
December 25, 2018: The Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-95 at Madison Square Garden. The Celtics beat the 76ers, 121-114 in overtime at the TD Garden, thanks to 40 points by Kyrie Irving. And in another LeBron vs. Warriors battle, the Lakers beat the Warriors, 127-101 at the Oracle Arena.
The Rockets beat the Thunder, 113-109 at the Toyota Center in Houston, thanks to 41 points from James Harden. The Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 117-96 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. (I guess Mormons have no problem with going to a professional sporting event on Christmas Day.)
December 25, 2019: The 76ers beat the Bucks, 121-109 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors, 118-102 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The New Orleans Hornets beat the Denver Nuggets, 112-100 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (A few weeks later, the arena was renamed the Ball Arena.) The Clippers beat the Lakers, 111-106 at the Staples Center, led by 35 points from Kawhi Leonard. And the Warriors beat the Rockets, 116-104 at the Oracle Arena.
December 25, 2020: The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 52-33 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Alvin Kamara of the Saints rushes for 6 touchdowns. He is the 4th NFL player to score 6 touchdowns in a game. Ernie Nevers had done it for the Chicago Cardinals in 1929, and remains the only player besides Kamara to rush for 6 touchdowns in a game. Dub Jones rushed for 4 and caught passes for 2 for the Cleveland Browns in 1951. And Gale Sayers rushed for 4, and had 1 each receiving and returning for the Chicago Bears in 1965.
In the NBA, the Nets beat the Celtics, 123-95 at the TD Garden. The Heat beat the Pelicans, 111-98 at the FTX Arena in Miami. The Clippers beat the Nuggets, 121-108 at the Ball Arena in Denver. The Lakers beat the Dallas Mavericks, 138-115 at the Staples Center. And the Bucks beat the Warriors, 138-99 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
December 25, 2021: Dear Santa Claus: For Christmas, I want better health for myself, my family, and all the teams I root for. We've had enough pain. I'll leave tickets with the milk and cookies.