Jan. 3
1920 - Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells pitcher-outfielder Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,000 loan.
1931 - Nels Stewart of the Montreal Maroons scores two goals four seconds apart in the third period of a 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins.
1946 - George Woolf falls head first from his mount, Please Me, as he rounds the clubhouse turn in the fourth race at Santa Anita Park. Suffering a concussion, the 35-year-old jockey, is taken to the hospital where he dies the following day. Woolf, known as “The Iceman” for his coolness in the saddle, has 3,784 mounts, 721 wins, 589 seconds and 468 thirds, with earnings of $2,856,125 in his 18-year career.
1973 - A 12-member group headed by George Steinbrenner buys the New York Yankees from the Columbia Broadcasting System for $10 million.
1991 - Wayne Gretzky scores three goals, including his 700th, as the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Islanders 6-3.
1993 - The Buffalo Bills stage pro football’s biggest comeback to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The Oilers take a 35-3 lead 1:41 into the third quarter on Bubba McDowell’s 58-yard interception return. Kenneth Davis starts the Bills’ rally with a 1-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Frank Reich throws four touchdown passes to give Buffalo its first lead of the game 38-35. Al Del Grecco’s 26-yard field goal ties the game. Steve Christie kicks the game-winning 32-yard field goal in overtime.
1995 - Nebraska, the fourth team to finish 13-0 in Division I-A football history, wins its first national football title since 1971 as the Cornhuskers are the overwhelming choice in The Associated Press poll.
1998 - Michigan wins its first national championship since 1948 as the Wolverines are officially declared No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll. The coaches poll jumps Nebraska to the No. 1 spot, creating a split national championship for the third time in the 1990s.
2003 - Ohio State completes an unlikely, unbeaten run to their first national title in 34 years with a 31-24 double-overtime win over Miami at the Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes’ upset ends the Hurricanes’ bid for a second straight title and their winning streak at 34.
2010 - Jamaal Charles rushes for a Chiefs-record 259 yards in Kansas City’s 44-24 win over Denver. The Broncos join the 1978 Redskins and ’03 Vikings as the only teams since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to miss the playoffs after a 6-0 start.
2011 - Connecticut’s nearly three-year hold on the top ranking ends when they were overtaken by Baylor and drop to No. 2 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. Connecticut, which had it’s 90-game win streak snapped by Stanford on Dec. 30, had been the top team for a record 51 straight weeks, beginning Feb. 18, 2008.
2016 - Alex Smith throws two touchdown passes, the Chiefs sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr six times, and Kansas City holds on for a 23-17 home win over Oakland. The Chiefs (11-5) make the playoffs after a 1-5 start and is the only team in NFL history to win 10 consecutive following a losing streak of five or more games.
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