THIS DATE IN SPORTS
December 15
1925 — The first NHL game is played at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Americans score first, but the Montreal Canadiens prevail 3-1, before 17,000 in attendance.
1929 — The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 in their first game at Chicago Stadium. Vic Ripley scores twice in 35 seconds during the second period to the delight of the 14,212 fans in attendance.
1935 — Detroit Lions win NFL championship with a 26-7 win over the New York Giants.
1946 — Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants 24-14 at the Polo Grounds for the NFL championship. A record crowd of 58,326 attend the game. Sid Luckman’s 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth puts the Bears ahead 21-14. Before the game, New York’s star fullback Merles Hapes is declared ineligible by NFL commissioner Bert Bell for not reporting bribe attempt to throw the game. New York police phone taps produced conversations with gambler Alvin J. Paris and Hapes. The Bears were 10-point favorites.
1964 — San Francisco’s Wilt Chamberlain scores 58 points, including nine in overtime, to give the Warriors a 134-132 victory over the New York Knicks.
1970 — Glenn Hall of the St. Louis Blues becomes the second goaltender in NHL history to reach 400 victories. Hall makes 38 saves in a 2-1 win against the Minnesota North Stars. Hall joins Terry Sawchuk in the 400-win club.
1973 — Tennessee beats Temple 11-6 in the lowest scoring NCAA basketball game since 1938. With 11:44 left in the first half and Tennessee leading 7-5, Temple holds onto the ball without a shot. Tennessee doesn’t take a shot in the second half, but manages four free throws by John Snow. 1973 — Sandy Hawley becomes the first jockey in history to win 500 races in a single year, riding Charlie Jr. to victory in the third race at Laurel Race Course. 1974 — Oakland’s Jim “Catfish” Hunter is ruled a free agent by arbitrator Peter Seitz when A’s owner Charles O. Finley fails to live up to the terms of Hunter’s contract. 1984 — Edmonton’s Wayne Gretzky has five goals and an assist to lead the Oilers to an 8-2 triumph over the St. Louis Blues. 1995 — The Vancouver Grizzlies avoid tying the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season by snapping a 19-game losing streak with a 104-100 overtime victory over Portland.
2000 — Georgia Southern beats Montana 27-25 for a second-straight Division I-AA championship and its a record sixth championship.
2012 — Matt Scott throws two touchdown passes in the final 46 seconds and college bowl season starts with a wild one when Arizona rallies to beat Nevada 4948 in the New Mexico Bowl. Arizona trails 45-28 entering the final quarter. The teams combine for 1,237 total yards, the second most of any bowl game.
2013 — Jamaal Charles ties a franchise record with five touchdowns in a game as the Kansas City Chiefs beat Oakland 56-31. The Chiefs become the fourth team ever to make the playoffs a year after losing at least 14 games.
2016 — In the biggest Division I women’s basketball rout ever, No. 3 Baylor overwhelms Winthrop 140-32. The 108-point margin of victory surpasses the 102 set by Grambling when it beat Jarvis Christian College 139-37 in 1986.
2017 — Mount Union wins its 13th Division III football national championship with a 12-0 victory over defending champion Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Purple Raiders (15-0) limit Mary Hardin-Baylor to 144 yards. The Crusaders (14-1) had not trailed all season and had their 29-game winning streak snapped.