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This Day in Sports History: December 22

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Sports in December include the NBA and NHL seasons, NFL teams pushing for the playoffs, the end of the college football season, F1 auto racing, UFC Fight Nights, and college basketball tournaments. Over the years, Dec. 22 has witnessed many notable moments and stories involving sporting legends. Here are some of them.

Unforgettable Games and Remarkable Records

Great moments in sports history from Dec. 22 included:

  • 1924: Babe Dye of the NHL’s Toronto St. Patricks scored five goals in a 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.
  • 1941: With the first pick in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Bill Dudley from the University of Virginia.
  • 1962: A player in one of three games scored the 1,000,000th point in NBA history.
  • 1964: Manchester United’s Denis Law won the Ballon d’Or award.
  • 1969: Pete Maravich set an NCAA record for hitting 30 of 31 foul shots.
  • 1974: Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins became the sixth NHL player to score 500 career goals.
  • 1983: The Indiana Pacers ended their 28-game road losing streak.
  • 1983: The New York Islanders scored three shorthanded goals against the Washington Capitals.
  • 1985: Sweden beat Germany 3-2 to win the Davis Cup.
  • 1987: Michael Jordan scored 52 points in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
  • 1990: Paul Coffey became the second NHL defenseman to record 1,000 points.
  • 1992: AC Milan’s Marco van Basten won his third Ballon d’Or award.
  • 1996: Right-winger Brett Hull scored his 26th career hat trick while scoring his 500th career goal.
  • 1996: Steelers’ quarterback Kordell Stewart ran a record 80 yards for a touchdown.
  • 1997: Scotty Bowman became the first NHL coach to record 200 wins with three different teams.
  • 2003: Pavel Nedvěd of Juventus won the Ballon d’Or award.
  • 2003: A day after his father passed away, quarterback Brett Favre threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns.
  • 2012: Tomasz Adamek outpointed Steve Cunningham in a split decision for the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title.
  • 2013: Quarterback Peyton Manning threw his 51st touchdown pass of the season, breaking Tom Brady’s record for the most touchdown passes in a single NFL season.
  • 2019: Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas set an NFL record for most catches in a season with 144.
  • 2020: Lionel Messi broke the record for most goals with one club when he scored his 644th goal for FC Barcelona.
  • 2020: Caitlin Clark picked up her first triple-double at Iowa.

Three athletes who stood out on Dec. 22 were Paul Coffey, Marco van Basten, and Michael Thomas.

Coffey revolutionized the position by playing like a fourth forward, and his legendary career earned him induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004. Van Basten was a legendary Dutch footballer, considered one of the game’s greatest strikers, while Thomas won Offensive Player of the Year and earned the nickname “Can’t Guard Mike.”

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