1 December in Sports History

In this edition of the Sports Break, we cover the top events in sports history along with the players and athletes that were a part of them on December 1. As a bonus, we place the jersey number worn at the time with the athlete as well.

Sports history is made every day of the year. We will preserve at least a small sampling from some great athletes every day based on the uniform number they wore.

19 - 42 - 6 - 4 - 25 - 20 - 13 - 38 - 33 - 14 - 22 - 33 - 99 - 10 - 9 - 23 

December 1, 1924 - The Boston Bruins beat fellow expansion Montreal Maroons, 2-1 at Boston Arena; first NHL game to be played in the United States
 
December 1, 1928 - National League President John Heydler first to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or 'designated hitter', to bat in place of the pitcher; ironically, the NL vote in favour of proposal, but the American League turn it down
 
December 1, 1936 - 2nd Heisman Trophy Award went to Yale end, Number 19, Larry Kelley.
 
December 1, 1940 - Four sets of brothers play in one NHL game when Chicago Blackhawks beat NY Rangers, 4-1. Rangers players : Lynn Patrick and Muzz Patrick, and Neil Colville & Mac Colville as well as Blackhawk bros Max Bentley and Doug Bentley along with Bob Carse and Bill Carse.
 
December 1, 1951 - 17th Heisman Trophy Award was given to Princeton halfback, Number 42, Dick Kazmaier. Princeton University sometime later officially retired the football Number 42 in Kazmaier's (and Bill Bradley's) honor.
 
December 1, 1956 - Led by future Basketball Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K C Jones, the US wins it's 4th consecutive Olympic gold medal with an 89-55 victory over the Soviet Union at the Melbourne Games. Russell wore Number 6 for the Stars and Stripes in the Olympics, the same number he wore as a Boston Celtic. Jones wore Number 4 as an Olympian in '56 but wore Number 25 as a Celtic. The Boston NBA franchise retired both 6 and 25 in honor of these two fantastic players.
 
December 1, 1959 - 25th Heisman Trophy Award went to LSU halfback, Number 20, Billy Cannon.
 
December 1, 1964 - After just 3 seasons in MLB the Houston Colt .45s change name of the team to Astros; owners say move signals a step into the future for the franchise and the city of Houston
 
December 1, 1967 - Philadelphia center, Number 13, Wilt Chamberlain scores 52 points in 76ers' 133-109 win over Seattle SuperSonics; sets NBA record for 22 free throw misses
 
December 1, 1980 - 46th Heisman Trophy Award was given to South Carolina running back, Number 38, George Rogers. As a matter of fact, Rogers had his Number 38 jersey retired during halftime ceremonies at South Carolina's final 1980 home game
 
December 1, 1981 - LA Laker center, Number 33, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar passed long time Number 14, Oscar Robertson (26,710) to become the NBA’s second all-time leading scorer behind legendary Number 13, Wilt Chamberlain; scores 14 points in 117-86 Lakers' win over Utah Jazz in Los Angeles
 
December 1, 1984 - 50th Heisman Trophy Award was given to Boston College Quarterback, Number 22, Doug Flutie.
 
December 1, 1990 - 56th Heisman Trophy Award was won by BYU Quarterback, Number 14, Ty Detmer.
 
December 1, 1990 - New York Knicks center, Number 33,  Patrick Ewing scores career high 22 field goals in his 50 point haul in 113-96 win v Charlotte at Madison Square Garden
 
December 1, 1991 - Miami quarterback, Number 13, Dan Marino set an NFL record when he reaches 3,000 yards passing for the 8th time in his career during Dolphin's 33-14 win over Tampa Bay at Joe Robbie Stadium
 
December 1, 1996 - New York Rangers skater, Number 99, Wayne Gretzky became the first and only player in NHL history to reach 3,000-point plateau (including playoffs); records an assist in NY Rangers' 6-2 win over Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden
 
December 1, 1997 - In their 81st season, Montreal Canadiens become first team in history to play 5,000 NHL games; host the Penguins but lose, 1-0; franchise record 2,625-1,603-772 with .620 winning percentage
 
December 1, 2009 - Ballon d'Or: FC Barcelona forward Number 10, Lionel Messi was named best football player in the world; wins award by a then record margin, 240 points ahead of Number 9,  Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid with Barcelona midfielder Xavi 3rd
 
December 1, 2012 - Ex-England soccer captain midfielder, Number 23, David Beckham left the LA Galaxy triumphantly with a second MLS Cup winner's medal after a 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo in Carson, CA; final game of a 6-year stint in US
 
December 1, 2012 - FC Barcelona with 13 wins and a draw sets new La Liga start to Spanish football season record; Number 10, Lionel Messi scored twice in 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao; pass Real Madrid's 1991-92 season mark

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of the 1903 Stands along the third base line, Huntington Avenue Grounds, taken by an unknown.