31 November 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 November 3. 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.

4 - 3 - 6 - 9 - 29 -17 - 32 - 13 - 11 - 45 - 18 - 34 - 50 -  16 - 25 - 23 - 8 - 14 - 7 - 80 - 2 - 31 - 5 

November 3, 1934 - New York Yankees first baseman Number 4, Lou Gehrig wins American League Triple Crown after hitting .363 with 49 HRs and 165 RBI; but Philadelphia A's catcher Number 3, Mickey Cochrane (.320, 2 HRs, 76 RBI) is named American League MVP

November 3, 1942 - Boston Red Sox outfielder Number 9, Ted Williams wins American League Triple Crown (.356 average, 36 HRs, 137 RBI). However NewYork Yankees pitcher Number 6, Joe Gordon was American League MVP

November 3, 1948 - 2nd NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: All-Stars beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1; Number 9, Gordie Howe's first of 23 All-Star appearances

November 3, 1948 - Number 29, Kleggie Hermsen and Number 17, Bones McKinney each score 17 points as Washington Capitols beat Philadelphia Warriors, 77-70 at Washington Coliseum to win first of 15 straight games to start season; best start in NBA history

November 3, 1960 - Pittsburgh Pirates starter Number 32​​​​​​​, Vern Law (20-9, 18 complete games) wins MLB's Cy Young Award

November 3, 1962 - San Francisco Warriors center Number 13, Wilt Chamberlain scored 72 points in 127-115 defeat to LA Lakers at LA Memorial Sports Arena; then 4th-highest point total in NBA history; remains 6th highest game total

November 3, 1965 - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Number 32, Sandy Koufax was named Cy Young Award winner by a unanimous vote and for a third time; posts 26-8 record, 1.73 ERA and record-shattering 382 strikeouts

November 3, 1968 - New York Jets kicker Number 11,  Jim Turner nailed 6 field goals and an extra point to beat Buffalo Bills, 25-21 at Shea Stadium

November 3, 1970 - Future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Number 45, Bob Gibson won his second NL Cy Young Award (23-7 record, 274 strikeouts and 3.12 ERA

November 3, 1973 - BYU receiver Number 18, Jay Miller set an NCAA football single game record with 22 catches (for 263 yards) en route to a 56-21 victory over New Mexico at Cougar Stadium, Provo, Utah

November 3, 1981 - Milwaukee Brewers future Baseball Hall of Fame reliever Number 34, Rollie Fingers (6-3 record, 28 saves and 1.04 ERA) wins American League Cy Young Award, with 22 of 28 possible 1st-place votes

November 3, 1982 - Pitcher Number 50, Pete Vuckovich became the Milwaukee Brewers' second consecutive American League Cy Young Award winner;. The hurler edged out Jim Palmer of the Baltimore Orioles; Vuckovich, 18-6 with 105 strikeouts and 3.34 ERA

November 3, 1982 - San Diego guard Number 9, Randy Smith played in his 845th consecutive game in Clippers' 130-111 loss in Philadelphia. With this he passed by Johnny Red Kerr's NBA record; goes on to play in 906 straight

November 3, 1987 - New York Rangers' center Number 16, Marcel Dionne became just the 2nd NHL player to register 1,700 career points, scoring a goal in 5-3 loss at Calgary

November 3, 1987 - Oakland A's first baseman Number 25, Mark McGwire won the American League Rookie of the Year with 49 home runs, 118 RBI; second to win AL award unanimously. the first one to accomplish this feat was Carlton Fisk 1972

November 3, 1989 - NBA expansion Minnesota Timberwolves made the franchise's NBA debut but lost 106-94 against SuperSonics at Seattle Center Coliseum. Thie bright spot was Number 23, Tyrone Corbin T-Wolves top scorer with 20 points

November 3, 1989 - Number 13, Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Number 8, Alexander Volkov become first Russians to play in a regular season NBA game; Marciulionis scores 19 as Golden State lose 136-106 to Phoenix. Volkov was held scoreless in Atlanta's 126-103 defeat by Indiana

November 3, 1990 - Atlanta Hawks' center Number 2, Moses Malone sets an NBA record for free throws made in a career by hitting 7-of-9 in a 121-120 win over Indiana Pacers at the Omni; passes Oscar Robinson's record (7,694)

November 3, 1990 - TCU quarterback Number 14, Matt Vogler completed 44 passes including 5 touchdowns for an NCAA football record 690 passing yards in a 56-35 loss to Houston at the Astrodome. Houston Cougars quarterback Number 7, David Klingler threw for 7 TDs

November 3, 1993 - Defenseman Number 3, Ken Daneyko sets New Jersey Devils 'Ironman' record by playing 322nd consecutive NHL game in 2-3 loss at LA Kings

November 3, 1993 - Number 31, Greg Maddux becomes first pitcher since Sandy Koufax to win the National League's Cy Young Award in successive MLB seasons and the first in successive seasons with different teams; Cubs 1992, Braves 1993

November 3, 1996 - Los Angeles Lakers superstar Number 8, Kobe Bryant became the then youngest player to make his NBA debut (18 years, 2 months, 11 days) in 91-85 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Great Western Forum

November 3, 1996 - San Francisco 49ers receiver Number 80, Jerry Rice grabs 3 passes for 45 yards and a TD to become 1st player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions in 24-17 win over New Orleans Saints; finishes career with 1,549

November 3, 1997 - Boston Red Sox shortstop Number 5, Nomar Garciaparra becomes 6th player to be unanimous choice for American League Rookie of the Year; leads AL in hits (209), triples (11), multi-hit games (68); also sets AL rookie-record with 30-game hitting streak

November 3, 2001 - San Antonio Spurs guard Number 8, Steve Smith played in his first game against Portland after being traded from the Trail Blazers; ties NBA record for most 3-point field goals in a game without a miss; goes 8-for-8, scores 36 points in 106-90 win

November 3, 2013 - Number 9, Nick Foles connected with Number 14, Riley Cooper 3 times to become 7th passer in NFL history with 7 TD tosses in a game during Philadelphia Eagles’ 49-20 win over the Raiders at Oakland; Foles completes 22 of 28 for 406 yards

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 November 3. As a bonus, we place the jersey number worn at the time with the athlete as well.