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What happened in history on this day: December 31?
On December 31 in ...
- 1918 - Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as Chicago White Sox manager.
- 1920 - Roy Park makes first-ball duck in only Test Cricket inning, versus England at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- 1927 - Bill Ponsford scores 336 in cricket against South Africa, giving him 1146 for month.
- 1945 - Donald Bradman scores 112, his first post-War century, South Africa versus Australia Services.
- 1957 - Amateur Athletic Union awards Bobby Morrow the James Sullivan Memorial Trophy.
- 1958 - 47th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Brisbane (3-2).
- 1958 - Willie Shoemaker becomes first jockey to win national riding championship four times.
- 1961 - Green Bay Packers shutout New York Giants 37-0 in NFL championship game.
- 1962 - American Basketball League announces suspension of operation.
- 1962 - Ohio ends suit against Cincinnati Reds when they agree to stay in Cincinnati for ten years.
- 1963 - Chicago Bears win NFL championship.
- 1964 - Donald Campbell of the United Kingdom sets world water speed record (276.33 mph).
- 1966 - Test Cricket debut of Bishen Singh Bedi, India versus West Indies Calcutta, 2-92.
- 1967 - First NBA game at Great Western Forum, Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston Rockets 147-118.
- 1967 - Oakland Raiders beat Houston Oilers 40-7 in AFL championship game.
- 1967 - Coldest NFL game, -13 degrees F, dubbed the Ice Bowl. Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in NFL championship game.
- 1972 - 39th Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma beats Penn State 14-0.
- 1972 - Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 in AFC championship game.
- 1972 - Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3 in NFC championship game.
- 1973 - 40th Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame 24 beats Alabama 23.
- 1973 - 61st Australian Men's Tennis: John Newcombe beats O Parun (6-3, 6-7, 7-5, 6-1).
- 1973 - Johan Cruyff chosen European soccer Player of Year.
- 1974 - 41st Sugar Bowl: Nebraska 13 beats Florida 10.
- 1974 - Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter signs record US$3.75 million five-year New York Yankees contract.
- 1975 - 42nd Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13 beats Pennsylvania State 6.
- 1980 - New York Islanders' greatest shutout margin (9-0) versus Chicago Black Hawks.
- 1984 - Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, versus England at Calcutta, India.
- 1988 - NHL player Mario Lemieux scores a goal in each of the five different ways possible in one game (even-strength, power-play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty-net)
- 1989 - Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Chicago Bears 20-12 victory over Philadelphia Eagles.
- 1989 - Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year.
- 1991 - Daniel R McCarthy elected New York Yankees managing general partner.
- 1991 - J Donald Crump resigns as Canadian Football League Commissioner.
- 1995 - 62nd Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Texas.
- 1995 - Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria.
- 1997 - Marv Levy retires as coach of Buffalo Bills.
- 1997 - Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba.
- 2007 - In Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the Baltimore Ravens fire long-time head coach Brian Billick, after finishing a disappointing 5-win, 11-loss season. Billick spent nine seasons in Baltimore and was the Ravens' most successful coach with an 85-67 record.
- 2008 - Moscow Dynamo defeats Canada in hockey to win the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
- 2021 - At Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, USA, NHL regular season game: Washington Capitals beats Detroit Red Wings by score 3-1. Capitals' forward Alexander Ovechkin scores his 275th power play goal, breaking the record held by Dave Andreychuk.
- 2021 - At Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA, NHL regular season game: New York Rangers beats Tampa Bay Lightning by score 4-3.
- 2021 - At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, NHL regular season game: Vegas Golden Knights beats Anaheim Ducks by score 3-1.
- 2021 - At Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA, NHL regular season game: New Jersey Devils beats Edmonton Oilers by score 6-5.
Births of sports figures on December 31
- 1870 - Birth of Thomas Connolly; US Major League Baseball's major league umpire for 50 years.
- 1893 - Birth of J M Blankenberg; cricket player (60 wickets in 18 Tests for South Africa).
- 1904 - Birth of Chuck Gardiner in United Kingdom; NHL goalie (Vezina winner).
- 1906 - Birth of Erna Bogen in Hungary; foils (Olympics-bronze-1932).
- 1921 - Birth of Rocky Graziano in New York City, New York, USA; boxer (Middleweight champion), actor (Miami Undercover).
- 1924 - Birth of Victoria Draves; American platform/springboard diver (Olympics-gold-1948).
- 1928 - Birth of Hugh McElhenny; NFL halfback (San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Detroit Lions).
- 1929 - Birth of Peter May; cricket player (dashing English batsman of 1950s).
- 1935 - Birth of Peter Allan; cricket player (one Test Australia versus England 1965, 2-58 and 0-25).
- 1938 - Birth of Atje Keulen-Deelstra in Holland; speed skater (world champion).
- 1939 - Birth of Afaq Hussain; cricket player (Pakistani off-spinner in two Tests 1961-64).
- 1939 - Birth of Willye White; American long jumper (Olympics-silver-1956, appeared in five Olympics).
- 1941 - Birth of Milkha Singh; cricket player (brother of Kripal Singh, India batsman in four Tests).
- 1950 - Birth of Inge Helten in the German Federal Republic; sprinter (Olympics-bronze-1976).
- 1950 - Birth of Robert Bryan Gilder in Corvallis, Oregon, USA; PGA golfer (1980 Canadian Open).
- 1951 - Birth of Michael Allen Bantom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; basketball player (Olympics-silver-1972).
- 1957 - Birth of David Allen Ogrin in Waukegan, Illinois, USA; PGA golfer (1994 Byron Nelson-second).
- 1958 - Birth of Geoff Marsh; cricket player (Australia opening batsman 1985-92).
- 1961 - Birth of Rick Aguilera in San Gabriel, California, USA; pitcher (Minnesota Twins).
- 1962 - Birth of Tyrone Corbin; NBA forward (Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks).
- 1963 - Birth of Ed Simmons; NFL tackle (Washington Redskins).
- 1964 - Birth of Denis Hickey; cricket player (fast bowler for Victoria, South Africa and Glamorgan).
- 1964 - Birth of Klari MacAskill in Budapest, Hungary; kayaker (Olympics-5th-1992, 1996).
- 1964 - Birth of Liz Masakayan in Quezon City, Philippines; WPVA volleyball (Best of Beach-third-1994).
- 1964 - Birth of Winston Benjamin; cricket player (West Indies righty quick 1987-95).
- 1965 - Birth of Michelle Dobek in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA; golfer (1995 GHP Heartland Classic-45th).
- 1967 - Birth of Brad Daluiso; NFL place kicker (New York Giants).
- 1970 - Birth of Bryon Russell; NBA forward (Utah Jazz).
- 1970 - Birth of Dan Howe in Kingston, Ontario, Canada; canoeist (Olympics-1996).
- 1970 - Birth of Dunstan Anderson; NFL defensive end (Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Rhein Fire).
- 1970 - Birth of Edwin Huizinga; Dutch soccer player (SC Heerenveen, Emmen).
- 1970 - Birth of Michel Brunet in Gatineau, Québec, Canada; ice dancer (1996 Canadians-second).
- 1971 - Birth of Brent Barry; NBA guard (Seattle Sonics, Los Angeles Clippers).
- 1971 - Birth of Erin Warren in Winchester, Massachusetts, USA; luger (Olympics-1994).
- 1971 - Birth of Heath Shuler; NFL quarterback (Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints).
- 1972 - Birth of Chris Parker; running back (Jacksonville Jaguars).
- 1972 - Birth of Cole Ford; NFL kicker (Oakland Raiders).
- 1972 - Birth of Kelvin Kinney; defensive end (Washington Redskins).
- 1973 - Birth of Curtis Myden in Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 200 metre/400 metre swimmer (Olympics-2 bronze-1996).
- 1973 - Birth of George Jones; running back (Pittsburgh Steelers).
- 1973 - Birth of Hiroyuki Miura; hockey defenseman (Team Japan 1998).
- 1975 - Birth of Cole Ford; kicker (Oakland Raiders).
Deaths of sports figures on December 31
- 1896 - Leland Hone, cricket player (scored 7 and 6 in only England Test 1879), dies.
- 1967 - Arthur Mailey, cricket player (10-66 and Australia versus Gloucestershire 1921), dies.
- 1972 - Pittsburgh Pirates' outfielder Roberto Clemente is killed at age 38 when a cargo plane crashes during a relief effort to bring supplies to the victims of the Nicaraguan earthquake.
- 1980 - Arthur Wellard, cricket player (two Tests for England, legendary 6-hitter), dies.
- 1983 - Bill Hunt, cricket player (Test for Australia, out 0, took 0-25 and 0-14), dies.
- 1985 - Alexander Matheson, cricket player (two wickets/2 Tests for New Zealand 1930-31), dies.
- 1990 - George Allen, US football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins), dies.
- 1994 - Woodrow "Woody" Strode, American rugby player/black cowboy actor (Posse, Cotton Club, Vigilante, Oil), dies.
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