TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1931 Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play first exhibition night game.
1951 South Carolina House urges “Shoeless Joe” Jackson be reinstated.
1952 Dick Button performs first figure skating triple jump in competition.
1953 Longest collegiate basketball game (six overtimes); Niagara beats Siena 88-81.
1968 American Major League Baseball announces a minimum annual salary of $10,000.
1969 Ted Williams signs five-year contract to manage Washington Senators.
1973 Chicago Black Hawks play record 262nd NHL game without being shutout.
1974 Tom Seaver becomes the highest-paid pitcher in baseball history when he signs a contract for US$172,000 per season with the New York Mets.
1980 Hanni Wenzel is first Liechtensteiner to win Olympics gold (giant slalom).
1980 Eric Heiden skates Olympics record 1,500 metres in 1:55.44. 1983 Donald Davis runs one mile backwards in 6 minutes 7.1 seconds.
1985 Tim Raines is awarded a US$12 million salary for 1985 by arbitrator.
1986 Tennis star Jimmy Connors fined US$20,000 and suspended for 10 weeks.
1986 In defiance of the Cincinnati Reds’ policy, Rollie Fingers refuses to cut off his handlebar moustache, and retires from baseball.
1989 Pete Rose meets with Commissioner Peter Ueberroth to discuss his gambling.
1992 Kristi Yamaguchi of U.S. wins Olympics gold medal in women’s figure skating.
1993 Sergei Bubka pole vaults world record (indoor)of 6.15 metres.
1995 Canadian Football League’s Sacramento Gold Miners become San Antonio Texans.