ON THIS DATE

1943: Montreal’s Ray Getliffe scores five goals to lead the Canadiens to an 8-3 triumph over the Boston Bruins. 1958: Ted Williams signs a contract with the Boston Red Sox for $135,000, making him the highest paid player in major league history.

1967: Muhammad Ali successfully defends his world heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Ernest Terrell in Houston.

1970: The NBA expands to 18 teams with the addition of franchises in Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston and Portland. 1981: Wayne Gretzky scores three goals and three assists in a 10-4 Edmonton victory over the Winnipeg Jets, giving him 100 points in the season. 1985: Seventeen-year-old Dianne Roffe becomes the first U.S. woman to win a gold medal in a World Alpine Ski Championship race, capturing the giant slalom in 2:18.53. 1988: Chicago’s Michael Jordan wins the NBA Slam

Dunk contest with a perfect score of 50 on his final dunk, in front of a hometown crowd at Chicago Stadium.

1990: Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues scores his 50th goal, making him and his Hall of Famer father, Bobby Hull, the only father-son combination in NHL history to reach that milestone.

1993: Riddick Bowe wins his first defense of his WBA and IBF heavyweight boxing titles by beating Michael Dokes in the first round of their championship bout held at New York’s Madison Square Garden. 2000: Randy Moss sets records with nine catches for 212 yards, and Mike Alstott scores three TDS in the NFC’S 51-31 victory over the AFC, the highest-scoring Pro Bowl. 2000: Pavel Bure records the 11th hat trick in All-star history and goalie Olaf Kolzig plays a shutout third period as the World team routs North America 9-4 in the NHL’S 50th All-star game.