From the original Ancient Grecian olympics to last year’s Super Bowl, sports have been around for millenia. Today’s public, however, often doesn’t know the history of some of the nation’s favorite sports. Here you can find some relevant, monumental and inspiring games that have changed the future of sports forever.
Jan. 8, 1993 Michael Jordan scores 20,000 career point
Chicago Bull Michael Jordan reached a career high of 20,000 points when he scored 35 points against the Milwaukee Bucks in Chicago Stadium. This game also marked his 620 NBA game. During the game, he also had eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Jan. 9, 1979 Bobby Orr’s jersey is retired
Bobby Orr, a Boston Bruins defenseman had his jersey number 4 retired on this day. He won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies for NHL’s best defenseman and three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league’s MVP.
Jan. 10, 1982 The iconic NFC championship game catch
The San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys 28-27 with a touchdown reception that went down in history. With 58 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Joe Montana made a six yard touchdown pass to tight-end Dwight Clark in the endzone with a leaping grab in the back of the endzone. It’s said to have represented the end of the Cowboys domination in the NFC.
Jan. 11, 1973 American League creates designated hitter rule
The owners of 24 MLB teams voted to allow teams in the American League to use a “designated pinch-hitter” that could bat for the pitcher so the pitcher could stay in the game. This is done by adding a tenth man to the baseball lineup to bat for the pitcher. This idea was originally suggested as early as 1906 by Connie Mack, manager of Philadelphia Athletics at the time.
Jan. 12, 1966 Red Auerbach wins 1,000 game
Boston Celtics Head Coach won his thousandth game. Over the span of his career he won 938 games and nine NBA championships. He later became the team president in which he won an additional seven NBA titles making him one of the most successful team officials in North American professional sports.
Jan. 13, 1962 Wilt Chamberlain breaks NBA record
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors broke an NBA record by scoring 73 points in one game against Chicago which was the most points ever scored at the time. He later broke his own record two months later by scoring 100 points over the New York Knicks.
Jan. 14, 1976 Ted Turner becomes CEO of Atlanta Braves
He is most well known as the founder of the Cable News Network, or CNN. But from 1976-1996 he owned the Atlanta Braves. He later was named Time Magazine “Man of the Year” in 1991 and gave $1 billion to the United Nations and created the United Nations Foundation.
