Today in Sport HISTORY

Dec. 28

1944 — Maurice Richard has five goals and three assists to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 9-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings.

1947 — The Chicago Cardinals behind Elmer Angsman’s two 70-yard scores and Charlie Trippi’s 44-yard TD run and 75-yard punt return beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 for the NFL title on a frozen Comiskey Park field.

1952 — Doak Walker’s 67-yard third-quarter touchdown run leads the Detroit Lions to a 17-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns for the NFL championship.

1954 — Tony Trabert and Vic Seixas give the United States a 3-2 victory over Australia for the Davis Cup.

1958 — The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 23-17 in overtime to win the NFL championship at Yankee Stadium. Quarterback Johnny Unitas takes the Colts 80 yards in 13 plays, the last a one-yard carry by Alan Ameche at 8:15 of sudden death overtime. The regulation game ends 17-17 when Baltimore’s Steve Myhra kicks a 20-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the game. The game is widely known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” With a national television audience watching, this game is believed to have made the NFL a challenger to baseball as the national pastime.

1968 — Arthur Ashe leads the United States to its first Davis Cup title since 1963 with a 4-1 victory over Australia.

1975 — The Dallas Cowboys beat the Minnesota Viking 17-14 on Roger Staubach’s desperate 50-yard pass to Drew Pearson in the final minute of an NFC Divisional playoff game. Staubach connects with Pearson down the right sideline with 24 seconds remaining after the Cowboys had second-and-10 with no timeouts left. Staubach later tells reporters he got knocked down on the play, closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary. The term “Hail Mary” is born.

1988 — Division II Alaska-Anchorage, behind Michael Johnson’s 20 points, pulls the biggest surprise of the college basketball season by stunning No. 2 Michigan 70-66 in the opening round of the Utah Classic.

2000 — Robby Portalatin becomes the fourth bowler to roll a 900 series according to the American Bowling Congress. Portalatin, a 28-year-old worker for an auto parts company, accomplishes the feat at Airport Lanes in Jackson, Mich.