This Day In Sports

1942 — Joe Louis knocks out Buddy Baer with four seconds left in the first round at Madison Square Garden in New York to retain the world heavyweight title. 1977 — Oakland captures its first NFL Championship and the Minnesota Vikings drop their fourth Super Bowl, with the Raiders winning 32-14.

1988 — Anthony Carter catches 10 passes for an NFL postseason-record 227 yards to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a 36-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers and advances to the NFC title game.

2006 — Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scores 45 points against Indiana, making him the first player since Wilt Chamberlain — in November 1964 — to score at least that many in four straight games. 2007 — Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Mark McGwire, whose 583 home runs ranked seventh on the career list, does not make it on his first ballot. 2010 — Peyton Manning becomes the first player to win The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player honors four times.

2012 — Jeremy Shelley kicks five field goals and Trent Richardson breaks a 34-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter as No. 2 Alabama beats No. 1 LSU 21-0 — the first shutout in BCS title game history.

2017 — Deshaun Watson and Clemson dethrone the defending champions and become the first team to beat Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty in a national title game, taking down the top-ranked Crimson Tide 35-31 in the College Football Playoff. Watson finds Hunter Renfrow for a 2-yard touchdown pass with a second remaining to give the Tigers their first national championship since 1981.