AP Sportlight

Dec. 12

1937 - Rookie Sammy Baugh throws second-half touchdown passes of 55, 78 and 33 yards to overcome a 14-7 Chicago lead and give the Washington Redskins a 28-21 victory over the Chicago Bears for the NFL championship.

1953 - Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens becomes the NHL’s all-time leading scorer with a goal and two assists in a 7-2 victory against the New York Rangers at Montreal’s Forum. Richard finishes the game with 611 points, one more than injured linemate Elmer Lach, who has held the record since February 1952.

1965 - Chicago’s Gale Sayers scores six touchdowns with 336 combined yards to lead the Bears to a 61-20 rout of the San Francisco 49ers. The six TDs give Sayers an NFL-record 21 for the season. Sayers’ first touchdown is a reception, the next four rushing and the final, an 85-yard punt return.

1971 - Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks scores his 1,000th point with an assist in the first period of a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota North Stars.

1977 - NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien fines Kermit Washington $10,000 and suspends the Los Angeles Lakers forward for at least 60 days (26 games) for punching Houston’s Rudy Tomjanovich during a game on Dec. 9. The suspension is the longest ever in NBA history and the fine is the maximum permissible under league rules. Tomjanovich suffered Tomjanovich fractures to face, upper jaw and nose.

1982 - New England beats Miami 3-0 with the help of a snowplow. Heavy rains the night before soaks the AstroTurf surface at Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. A snowstorm hits during the game and an emergency ground rule allows the ground crew to use a snowplow to clear the yard markers. With 4:45 left to go in the game, Patriots coach Ron Meyer motions to snowplow operator Mark Henderson to clear a spot on the field specifically for placekicker John Smith. Instead of going straight across along the yard marker, Henderson veers left, directly in front of the goal post, giving Smith a clean spot from which to kick. Smith hits 33-yard game-winning field-goal.

1986 - James “Bonecrusher” Smith knocks out Tim Witherspoon in the first round to win the WBA heavyweight title in New York.

1987 - Guard Mookie Blaylock leads Oklahoma to an NCAA-record 33 steals with 13 in a 152-84 victory over Centenary.

1990 - Connecticut uses a stifling press and quickness to jump to a 32-0 lead en route to an 85-32 victory over New Hampshire. New Hampshire plays 11 minutes and 48 seconds before scoring its first point.

1992 - Miami quarterback Gino Torretta, 26-1 as a starter for the top-ranked Hurricanes, wins the Heisman Trophy. Torretta, with 1,400 points, edges San Diego State running back Marshall Faulk, who receives 1,080 points.

2010 - The inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome, where the Minnesota Vikings play, collapses overnight following a snow storm that dumps 17 inches on the city. The NFL is forced to shift the Giants-Vikings game to Detroit’s Ford Field on Monday night.

2015 - Keenan Reynolds ends his Navy career with a clean sweep against Army. Reynolds rushes for two touchdowns and throws for another score to lead the No. 21 Midshipmen to their 14th straight win over the Black Knights, 21-17. Reynolds is the first quarterback over the 116-game series to go 4-0.

2015 - The Golden State Warriors’ NBA-record start ends at 24 wins when the Milwaukee Bucks beat them 108-95.

___

___