AP Sportlight

Dec. 22

1894 - The United States Golf Association is founded, becoming the governing body for the game in the country.

1915 - The Federal League folds. Owners of the American and National Leagues buy out half of the owners (Pittsburgh, Newark, Buffalo, and Brooklyn) of the Federal League teams. Phil Ball, owner of the St. Louis Terriers, is allowed to buy the St. Louis Browns of the AL, and Charles Weeghman, owner of the Chicago Whales, buys out the Chicago Cubs of the NL.

1924 - Babe Dye of the Toronto St. Patricks scores five goals in a 10-2 victory over the Boston Bruins.

1946 - The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees 14-9 in the first AAFC championship game.

1969 - Pete Maravich sets an NCAA record by hitting 30 of 31 foul shots, and scores 46 points to lead LSU to a 98-89 victory over Georgia.

1974 - Boston’s Phil Esposito scores two goals, including his 500th goal, to lead the Bruins to a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Boston Garden.

1990 - Paul Coffey becomes the second NHL defenseman to record 1000 points. Coffey reaches the milestone with an assist on Kevin Stevens’ goal in second-period of a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders.

1996 - Brett Hull becomes the 24th player in NHL history to score 500 goals, with a hat trick in the St. Louis Blues’ 7-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Brett and his father, Bobby Hull, become the first father-son tandem to each score 500 goals.

2002 - Rich Gannon breaks Warren Moon’s 11-year-old single-season NFL record for completions in the second quarter of the Oakland Raiders’ game against Denver. Gannon throws a 5-yard pass to Charlie Garner for his 405th completion of the season, breaking the mark set by Moon with the Houston Oilers in 1991.

2003 - Brett Favre passes for 399 yards and four touchdowns a day after his father dies, moving into second place in NFL history for career TD passes while leading the Green Bay Packers to a 41-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Favre passes Fran Tarkenton on the NFL’s career list with his 343rd career TD throw.

2006 - Peter Bondra scores his 500th NHL goal early in the third period to snap a 1-all tie and lead Chicago past Toronto 3-1.

2012 - Calvin Johnson has 11 catches for 225 yards in Detroit’s 31-18 loss to Atlanta. Johnson breaks Jerry Rice’s single-season yards receiving record with 1,892 yards.

2013 - Peyton Manning finishes 32 for 51 for 400 yards and four touchdown passes to set the single season touchdown mark in Denver’s 37-13 win over Houston. Manning, with 51 touchdown passes, passes Tom Brady (50 in 2007) for the most in a single season in NFL history.

2013 - Tom Brady leads the Patriots to a 41-7 win at Baltimore as New England clinches the AFC East. It’s the 11th division title for Brady, the most by a starting quarterback in NFL history.

2018 - Army quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. rushes for 170 yards and an Armed Forces Bowl-record five touchdowns and the No. 22 Black Knights overwhelm Houston 70-14 to reach 11 wins for the first time in program history. The Black Knights’ 56-point win ties the FBS record for largest margin of victory in a bowl game, set by Tulsa in its 63-7 win over Bowling Green in the 2008 GMAC Bowl.

Dec. 23

1933 - Montreal’s Howie Morenz scores his 251st goal to become the NHL’s career goal-scoring leader. Morenz’s goal caps the Canadiens’ 3-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

1951 - Norm Van Brocklin’s 73-yard touchdown pass to Tom Fears in the fourth quarter gives the Los Angeles Rams a 24-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns for the NFL title.

1962 - Tommy Brooker kicks a 25-yard field goal 17:54 into overtime, giving the Dallas Texans a 20-17 victory over Houston for the AFL title.

1972 - The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13-7 on Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception,” in an AFC Divisional playoff game. The Steelers have 4th-and-10 on their own 40-yard line with 22 seconds remaining and no time outs. Terry Bradshaw, under pressure, throws a pass over the middle to Oakland’s 35-yard line which is deflected by Oakland’s Jack Tatum. Running back Franco Harris catches the deflection at the Raiders’ 43-yard line and runs down the left sideline for a touchdown. It’s the first playoff victory in Steeler franchise history.

1978 - Bryan Trottier has five goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 9-4 victory over the Rangers. Trottier sets an NHL record with three goals and three assists in the second period.

1979 - Minutes after the Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 4-3 at Madison Square Garden, a brawl breaks out between the Bruins and fans. After the final horn both teams start jawing at one another and end up in the corner of the ice. A fan reaches over the glass and punches Stan Jonathan. Jonathan puts his stick up as a reflex and the fans grabs his stick. Terry O’Reilly jumps into the seats and grabs the fan with the stick, but is swarmed by the mob. Peter McNab leads other Bruins, including Mike Milbury, into the stands. It takes security guards a good five minutes to restore order.

1982 - Chaminade, an NAIA school, beats top-ranked Virginia and 7-foot-4 center Ralph Sampson, 77-72, for one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. The game is played at Honolulu’s International Center in front of 3,383 fans. Tony Randolph leads Chaminade with 19 points. Sampson scores 12 points and pulls down 17 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

2007 - The New England Patriots set an NFL record with their 15th win, the best start in league history, with a 28-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins 28-7.

2008 - The Boston Celtics set a franchise record with their 19th consecutive victory, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 110-91. The Celtics improve to 27-2 - the best start for a two-loss team in NBA history. The 19-game winning streak breaks the Celtics record set in 1981-82.

2009 - Maya Moore scores 23 points and Tina Charles adds 20 to help top-ranked Connecticut win its 49th straight game, an 80-68 victory over No. 2 Stanford.

2018 - The New England Patriots earned their 10th straight AFC East title with a 24-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills. New England becomes the first franchise in NFL history to earn playoff berths in 10 straight seasons and the first team to win their division in 10 consecutive seasons since 1970. The Patriots tie the 49ers (1983-98) with having at least 10 wins in 16 consecutive seasons.

Dec. 24

1950 - Cleveland’s Otto Graham throws four touchdown passes, despite icy footing in Municipal Stadium, and Lou Groza kicks a 16-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to give the Browns a 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL title in their first year in the league.

1961 - George Blanda’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Billy Cannon gives the Houston Oilers a 10-3 victory over the San Diego Chargers for their second AFL title.

1967 New York’s Joe Namath becomes the first player to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Namath passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Jets to a 42-31 win at San Diego. Namath finishes the year with 4,007 yards.

1997 - In one of the biggest upsets in college basketball, Division II American-Puerto defeats the No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks 64-59 in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.

2000 - Marshall Faulk breaks Emmitt Smith’s NFL record for touchdowns, scoring three times to give him 26 for the St. Louis Rams. Faulk’s three touchdowns and 220 yards fueled a 26-21 victory over the New Orleans Saints. Emmitt Smith scored 25 times for Dallas in 1995.

2000 - Baltimore sets an NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game schedule. The Ravens allow 165 points, easily breaking the mark of 187 by the 1986 Chicago Bears.

2006 - Colt Brennan sets the NCAA single-season record for touchdown passes at 58, throwing five in the second half to lead Hawaii to a 41-24 victory over Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl. Brennan, 33-of-42 for 559 yards, breaks the previous mark of 54 set by Houston’s David Klingler in 1990.

2006 - Atlanta’s Michael Vick becomes the first NFL quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Needing only 10 yards to reach the mark, he gains 17 on his first carry on the Falcons’ opening possession. Morten Andersen’s 539th career field goal, a 40-yarder, gives the 46-year-old Falcons kicker the NFL record, passing Gary Anderson for the career mark.

2011 - Denver’s Willis McGahee becomes the second NFL player to reach 1,000 yards rushing with three teams. McGahee has 64 yards rushing in a 40-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills, to give him 1,054 this season. He previously did it with Buffalo and Baltimore. Ricky Watters rushed for 1,000 yards with San Francisco, Philadelphia and Seattle.

2014 - Western Kentucky holds on to defeat Central Michigan 49-48 in a wild inaugural Bahamas Bowl. Central Michigan trail 49-14 entering the fourth quarter before Cooper Rush engineers a comeback. He throws four touchdown passes in the final minutes, and the Chippewas get the ball back at their own 25 with one second remaining. Rush completes a pass to Jesse Kroll, and the ball is lateraled three times before Titus Davis dove into the pylon for a touchdown with no time remaining. CMU elects to go for two, only to have the pass drop incomplete.

2016 - Miami’s Jay Ajayi rushes for 206 yards and breaks loose for a 57-yarder in overtime to set up Andrew Franks’ 27-yard field goal with 47 seconds left to lead the Dolphins past Buffalo 34-31. Ajayi is the fourth player in NFL history to have at least three games with at least 200 rushing yards in a season. Earl Campbell, O.J. Simpson, Tiki Barber are the others.

2016 - With a 41-3 rout of the New York Jets, Bill Belichick earns his 200th regular-season victory in New England, making him the fifth coach in NFL history to reach the milestone with one team.

2016 - Cleveland survives a last-second field-goal attempt and gets its first victory after 14 losses by beating the San Diego Chargers 20-17. When San Diego’s Josh Lambo misses a 45-yard field-goal attempt as time expires, the Browns (1-14) gets their first win in 377 days.

Dec. 25

1956 - Corky Devlin of Fort Wayne goes 0-for-15 from the field against the Minneapolis Lakers to tie an NBA record.

1971 - Garo Yepremian’s 37-yard field goal at 7:40 of the second overtime gives the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the AFC playoffs. At 82:40, it’s the longest game in NFL history.

1984 - Bernard King of the New York Knicks scores 60 points in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets.

1995 - Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys scores his 25th touchdown of the season in a 37-13 win over Arizona, breaking the record for most TDs in a season. Smith passes John Riggins of Washington, who scored 24 in 1983.

1999 - Hawaii beats Oregon 23-17 in the Oahu Bowl to cap a remarkable turnaround for the Rainbow Warriors. Hawaii improves from 0-12 in 1998 to 9-4 - the greatest single-season improvement in NCAA history.

2002 - Katie Hnida becomes the first woman to play in a Division I football game when she attempts an extra point following a New Mexico touchdown in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hnida, a walk-on junior, has her kick blocked in the 27-13 loss to UCLA.

2008 - The Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston to end the Celtics’ franchise-record winning streak at 19 games. Kobe Bryant scores 27 points and grabs nine rebounds to lead Los Angeles in the 92-83 win. Lakers coach Phil Jackson reaches 1,000 victories. Jackson, the sixth coach to reach 1,000, has a career record of 1,000-423 with Chicago and the Lakers.

2008 - New Orleans guard Chris Paul has his NBA-record steals streak end at 108 games in the Hornets’ 88-68 loss to Orlando.

2012 - The Los Angeles Clippers extend their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games with a 112-100 win over the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers claim the NBA’s best record at 22-6 in the finale of a Christmas Day doubleheader at Staples Center. In the first game, Kobe Bryant scores 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game to lead the Lakers to a 100-94 win over the New York Knicks 100-94.

2016 - Ben Roethlisberger shakes off a pair of interceptions to throw two late touchdowns, including a 4-yard strike to Antonio Brown with 9 seconds remaining to lift the Steelers to a 31-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Brown catches Roethlisberger’s pass just short of the goal line and stretches the ball into the end zone with his left hand to cap a wild fourth quarter and give Pittsburgh the AFC North title. The win is the 600th regular-season victory in franchise history. Roethlisberger also becomes the 10th player in NFL history to throw for at least 300 career touchdowns.

Dec. 26

1908 - Jack Johnson becomes the first black man to win the world heavyweight boxing title, with a 14th-round knockout of Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.

1917 - Toronto’s Harry Cameron becomes the first defenseman to score four goals in a game as the Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 7-5.

1943 - Sid Luckman throws five touchdown passes to lead the Chicago Bears to a 41-21 victory over the Washington Redskins for the NFL championship.

1954 - Otto Graham scores three touchdowns and passes for three more to lead the Cleveland Browns to a 56-10 rout of the Detroit Lions for the NFL title.

1955 - The Cleveland Browns intercept six passes, one of which is returned 65 yards for a touchdown by Don Paul, in a 38-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams for the NFL championship. Otto Graham of the Browns passes for two touchdowns and scores two more.

1960 - The Philadelphia Eagles come from behind twice on a 35-yard pass to Tommy McDonald from Norm Van Brocklin and a 5-yard run by Ted Dean to beat the Green Bay Packers 17-13 for the NFL title.

1964 - Wray Carlton and Jack Kemp each score touchdowns and Pete Gogolak kicks two field goals to give the Buffalo Bills a 20-7 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFL championship.

1965 - The Buffalo Bills win their second straight AFL championship with a 27-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are able to get inside Buffalo’s 25-yard line only once.

1976 - Minnesota, utilizing two blocked kicks, wins the NFC championship with a 24-13 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. In the first quarter Nate Allen blocks Tom Dempsey’s field goal attempt and Bobby Bryant returns the ball 90 yards to open the scoring. A blocked punt sets up Fred Cox’s 25-yard field goal for a 10-0 halftime lead. Minnesota’s Chuck Foreman, who rushes for 118 yards, makes it 17-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

1986 - Center Doug Jarvis of the Hartford Whalers plays his 915th consecutive game, setting an NHL record.

1999 - Mike Vanderjagt’s 21-yard field goal with four seconds left gives the Indianapolis Colts a 29-28 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Indianapolis, which went 3-13 in 1998, makes NFL history by winning 10 more games than they did the previous season.

2001 - Colorado’s Patrick Roy becomes the first NHL goalie to win 500 games as he records his seventh shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over Dallas.

2004 - Peyton Manning breaks Dan Marino’s single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 48th and 49th of the season, rallying Indianapolis from a 31-16 fourth-quarter deficit to win 34-31 in overtime over San Diego.

2007 - Chris Summers kicks a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the Motor City Bowl, lifting Purdue to a 51-48 win over Central Michigan. The 99 points ties the second-highest total in a bowl game that ended in regulation, trailing only the 2003 Insight Bowl, where California beat Virginia Tech 52-49.

2011 - Drew Brees sets the NFL record for yards passing in a season, breaking a mark that Dan Marino had held since 1984, and the New Orleans Saints clinch the NFC South title with a 45-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. Brees throws for 307 yards and four touchdown passes, the last a 9-yard strike to Darren Sproles that set the record with 2:51 to go. It was Brees’ final pass of the game and it gave him 5,087 yards passing, to break the record by three yards.

2017 - Stanford swimmer Katie Ledecky is named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year after earning five golds and a silver at this year’s world championships in Budapest, Hungary. Ledecky receives 351 points, edging out Serena Williams with 343.

Dec. 27

1953 - The Detroit Lions edge the Cleveland Browns 17-16 for the NFL championship. Doak Walker’s extra point, following a 33-yard scoring pass, is the difference.

1959 - The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 31-16 in the NFL championship. Three field goals by Pat Summerall give the Giants a 9-7 lead after three periods, but Baltimore’s defensive backfield makes three interceptions that result in scores.

1964 - The Cleveland Browns break out after a scoreless first half with 17 points in the third quarter and go on to beat the Baltimore Colts 27-0 for the NFL title.

1974 - Ohio State junior running back Archie Griffin wins the Heisman Trophy.

1987 - Steve Largent of the Seattle Seahawks becomes the NFL’s all-time reception leader in the Seahawks’ 41-20 loss to Kansas City. Largent’s six catches gives him 752, surpassing the 750 by San Diego’s Charlie Joiner. Gayle Sierens announcing the game for NBC becomes the first female play-by-play announcer in NFL history.

1999 - Joe Sakic scores his 1,000th career point on a second-period assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

2000 - Mario Lemieux makes a remarkable comeback after 3½ years of retirement, scoring a goal and assisting on two others - one on his first pass on his first shift, no less - as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-0.

2005 - Rudy Carpenter passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns as Arizona State holds off Rutgers for a wild 45-40 victory in the Insight Bowl. Both teams combine for 1,210 yards, a record for any bowl game.

2008 - Pat White, the most prolific running quarterback in college football history, has the best passing game of his career to lead West Virginia to a 31-30 victory over North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl. The senior is voted MVP of a bowl for the third straight year and finishes 4-0 in postseason games, the first quarterback to do so.

2009 - Brad Smith returns the second-half kickoff 106 yards in the New York Jets’ 29-15 win over Indianapolis. The Jets end the Colts’ pursuit of perfection and their NFL-record 23-game winning streak. Peyton Manning was 14 of 21 for 192 yards for the Colts, playing long enough to join Brett Favre, Dan Marino and John Elway as the only members of the 50,000-yard club.

2010 - Niklas Kronwall scores the game-winner with 1:18 remaining in overtime and Chris Osgood stops a season-high 46 shots in the Detroit Red Wings’ 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche to become the 10th goalie in NHL history to reach 400 wins.

2015 - Carolina’s bid for an undefeated season ends when Julio Jones’ dramatic 70-yard touchdown reception powers the Atlanta Falcons to a 20-13 victory over Cam Newton and the 14-1 Panthers.

2015 - Kansas City beat Cleveland 17-13 for its ninth consecutive victory and clinches a playoff spot when Pittsburgh loses to Baltimore. The Chiefs and 1986 Jets are the only teams in NFL history with a nine-game win streak and five-game losing streak in the same season.

2018 - Jonathan Taylor rushes for 205 yards and a touchdown and tops the 2,000-yard season mark to help Wisconsin rout Miami 35-3 in the Pinstripe Bowl. Taylor, just a sophomore, rips off runs of 39 and 41 yards and combines with a defense that forces five turnovers to help a Wisconsin to its fifth straight bowl victory.

Dec. 28

1944 - Maurice Richard has five goals and three assists to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 9-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings.

1947 - The Chicago Cardinals behind Elmer Angsman’s two 70-yard scores and Charlie Trippi’s 44-yard TD run and 75-yard punt return beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-21 for the NFL title on a frozen Comiskey Park field.

1952 - Doak Walker’s 67-yard third-quarter touchdown run leads the Detroit Lions to a 17-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns for the NFL championship.

1958 - The Baltimore Colts beat the New York Giants 23-17 in overtime to win the NFL championship at Yankee Stadium. Quarterback Johnny Unitas takes the Colts 80 yards in 13 plays, the last a one-yard carry by Alan Ameche at 8:15 of sudden death overtime. The regulation game ends 17-17 when Baltimore’s Steve Myhra kicks a 20-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in the game. The game is widely known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” With a national television audience watching, this game is believed to have made the NFL a challenger to baseball as the national pastime.

1968 - Arthur Ashe leads the United States to its first Davis Cup title since 1963 with a 4-1 victory over Australia.

1975 - The Dallas Cowboys beat the Minnesota Viking 17-14 on Roger Staubach’s desperate 50-yard pass to Drew Pearson in the final minute of an NFC Divisional playoff game. Staubach connects with Pearson down the right sideline with 24 seconds remaining after the Cowboys had second-and-10 with no timeouts left. Staubach later tells reporters he got knocked down on the play, closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary. The term “Hail Mary” is born.

1988 - Division II Alaska-Anchorage, behind Michael Johnson’s 20 points, pulls the biggest surprise of the college basketball season by stunning No. 2 Michigan 70-66 in the opening round of the Utah Classic.

2000 - Robby Portalatin becomes the fourth bowler to roll a 900 series according to the American Bowling Congress. Portalatin, a 28-year-old worker for an auto parts company, accomplishes the feat at Airport Lanes in Jackson, Mich.

2003 - Jamal Lewis becomes the fifth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He gains 114 yards on 27 carries in Baltimore’s 13-10 overtime victory against Pittsburgh, finishing the year with 2,066 yards - second-most in NFL history.

2003 - San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for a career-high 243 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-14 win over Oakland. Tomlinson also becomes the first halfback in NFL history to catch 100 passes.

2003 - Kansas City’s Priest Holmes sets an NFL record with his 27th touchdown of the season when he scores twice in a 31-3 victory over Chicago.

2008 - The Detroit Lions lose to the Green Bay Packers 31-21, making them the first team to go winless through a 16-game season. Green Bay’s Donald Driver (111) and Greg Jennings (101) each have 100 yards receiving. Combined with Ryan Grant and DeShawn Wynn’s 106-yard rushing days, it is the first time in league history a team has a pair of 100-yard rushers and 100-yard receivers in a single game.

2008 - The New England Patriots become the NFL’s first team with an 11-5 record to miss the playoffs since Denver in 1985 and the first since the NFL expanded to six playoff teams per conference in 1990.

2008 - The Cleveland Browns lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-0, setting an NFL record by failing to score a touchdown for six straight games.

2014 - Roman Harper and Tre Boston return interceptions for touchdowns as Carolina’s defense leads the Panthers to a 34-3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons to win the NFC South. Carolina (7-8-1) won four straight to become the first team to enter the playoffs with a losing record since 2010, when Seattle was 7-9.

2017 - Al Horford makes a hook shot with 3.7 seconds left to give Boston its only lead of the game, and the Celtics rally from a 26-point deficit to beat the Houston Rockets 99-98. Houston opened the game on a 12-0 run and led 62-38 at halftime.

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