THIS WEEKEND IN SPORTS HISTORY
Saturday 1926 USGA legalizes steel shaft golf clubs. 1931 Major League Baseball cuts teams from 25 to 23 players and the National League continues to prohibit numbers on uniforms. 1933 21st Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeat Sarnia Imperials, 4-3. 1934 New York Giants defeat Chicago Bears, 30-13, for NFL title. 1936 The American League authorizes night baseball for St. Louis. 1949 NFL merges Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts from AAFC. 1953 The Montreal Canadiens (106) and Toronto Maple Leafs (98) get 204 penalty minutes in a game. 1961 Wilt Chamberlain of the NBA’s Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points against the New York Knicks. 1978 In the first game of the Women’s Pro Basketball League (WBL), the Chicago Hustle and Milwaukee Does battle. 1984 59th Australian Open women’s tennis: Chris Evert beats Helena Sukova, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3. 1984 Los Angeles Rams’ Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for a season-record 2,003. 1985 74th Australian Open men’s tennis: Stefan Edberg beats Mats Wilander, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. 1987 Larry Bird ends a streak of 59 consecutive free throws. 1988 The New York Yankees sign a 12-year TV contract with Madison Square Garden for $500 million. 1990 New York Giants’ Otis Anderson becomes the eighth player in NFL history to rush for 10,000 career yards. 1992 Cincinnati Reds’ owner Marge Schott apologizes for racist remarks. 1992 The New Jersey Devils announce they will change their colours to black, red and white for the 1992-93 season. 1995 61st Heisman Trophy award: Eddie George, Ohio State (running back). Sunday 1896 First intercollegiate basketball game (Wesleyan beats Yale, 4-3). 1919 The National League votes to ban the spitball’s use by all new pitchers. 1922 Pete Henry makes the longest NFL drop-kicked field goal, 45 yards. 1924 Agreement is reached on a permanent rotation of World Series baseball championships, each league getting games 1, 2, 6, 7 in alternating years. 1938 26th Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeat Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 30-7. 1939 The Green Bay Packers win the NFL championship, beating the New York Giants, 27-0. 1968 Joe Frazier beats Oscar Bonavena in 15 rounds for the heavyweight boxing title. 1970 The North American Soccer League awards New York and Toronto franchises. 1973 The American League votes unanimously to adopt the designated-hitter rule on a trial basis for three years. 1982 Heavyweight Michael Doakes knocks out Mike Weaver in 1:03 in Vegas. 1983 58th Australian Open women’s tennis: Martina Navratilova beats Kathy Jordan, 6-2, 7-6. 1983 In the last NFL game at Shea Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New York Jets, 34-7. 1986 Atlanta Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins scores 57 points against Chicago. 1992 The National Hockey League votes unanimously to expand to Anaheim, Calif., approving a new team, The Mighty Ducks, owned by The Walt Disney Company. 1992 NHL awards a franchise to Miami (for 1994-95). 1992 The New York Yankees sign free-agent pitcher Jimmy Key.