Christmas Day Sports Moments

Christmas is the most well-known holiday, and it has surprisingly produced some significant sports moments. Though some are better off being a long distance memory(or in some cases where fans of the losing team would love to forget), they're notable for their impact. Sports on Christmas Day are a gift to fans regardless of what team they pull for, but are presents that only require the tuning in of the television. However, some happened long before a television existed. Here are some of the sports moments that happened on Christmas Day:

1862: Hilton Head, South Carolina was the location for a baseball moment that had nothing to do with off-season trades or free agency. A baseball game was played as Union Army soldiers that were imprisoned during the Civil War took place as a large crowd of up to 40,000 watched on. It was a "gift" to have soldiers play a game that would later be this country's national past time.

1894: For the first time ever, a mid-western team in college football played on the West Coast as the University of Chicago traveled to Palo Alto, CA to play Stanford. Palo Alto was just incorporated in that same year, but Stanford couldn't deliver a "gift" to the town with a victory. The University of Chicago beat Stanford 24-4. However, Stanford avenged the loss to Chicago by beating them in the same place four days later in a 12-0. Stanford finished the season 6-3 while Chicago finished 14-7-1.
Note: ESPN College Football Encyclopedia lists the game date as December 15, 1894. Fanbase.com as well as other sites list the game date as December 25, 1894.

1940: In an event reminscent to the Great Chicago Fire, South Side Park burns down. It was the third such park of the same name, and was the home of the Chicago White Sox from 1900 to 1910. The White Sox then played their games at Comiskey Park for the next 80 years. The Negro League team Chicago American Giants played their games at South Side Park before they finished their last ten years at Comiskey Park. Today, the Chicago Housing Authority's Wentworth Gardens is on the property where South Side Park used to be. There was no such "gift" for a park burning down on this Christmas Day in 1940.

1971: The longest NFL game in terms of actual game time takes place in Kansas City as the Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the AFC Playoffs. The home team scored on their first two possessions on a field goal and touchdown pass from future Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson. But the Dolphins answered with 10 points of their own to tie the game in the second quarter at halftime on a touchdown run from Larry Csonka and field goal. The two teams traded touchdowns in the 3rd quarter before the Chiefs took a 24-17 lead in the last quarter. But the Dolphins tied the game with a touchdown from another future Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese late in the 4th quarter. Chiefs kicker Jan Stenerud had his field goal attempt blocked in overtime, and Dolphins kicker Garo Yepremian missed a 52-yard attempt. In a second overtime, Yepremian redeemed himself by kicking a 37-yard field goal to give the Dolphins their first ever playoff win midway into the second overtime making the official game time at 82 minutes and 40 seconds. The Dolphins would win the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Colts before losing in their first Super Bowl appearance to the Dallas Cowboys. The following season, the Dolphins went undefeated in route to winning their first Super Bowl before winning back-to-back titles in 1973. This back-and-forth game gave football fans everywhere a "gift" to watch a great contest on Christmas Day.

1971: On the same day the longest NFL game ever played took place, to date the last Christmas Day games took place in the NHL. Six games were scheduled that day with the Los Angeles Kings hosting the California Seals as the last game on the schedule since they played on the West Coast. Earlier in the day, Buffalo and St. Louis skated to a 4-4 tie, Toronto defeated Detroit 5-3 at home, Pittsburgh defeated Montreal at home, the New York Rangers won 2-1 at Minnesota, and the Boston Bruins won at home 5-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Seals beat the Kings 3-1 later that day. The NHL has not given any of their fans "gifts" of playing any Christmas Day games since this day in 1971.

1984: An NBA match-up between the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets takes place at Madison Square garden where a "gift" of a record is set. Knicks forward Bernard King torched the Nets defense by scoring 40 points in the first half. He scored 20 more in the second half for a total of 60 points setting the record for points scored in a single game at MSG until it was later broken by Kobe Bryant's 61 in February 2009. But New Jersey played the role of Scrooge spoiling Christmas for Knicks fans as they won a "gift" of their own beating New York 120-114. King was a very gifted NBA player that led the league in scoring in 1984-85 which was the one time he accomplished the feat in his career.

1986: Madison Square Garden was the stage for another Christmas Day game as the Knicks hosted the Chicago Bulls. The 6-21 Knicks led by second year center Patrick Ewing vs the 13-12 Bulls led by third year star guard Michael Jordan. The Bulls held the lead late in the game as Jordan had 30 points on that Christmas Day. With seconds remaining, the Knicks had one last shot as Ewing delivered a "gift" for his team by hitting a jump shot to give New York a 86-85 win. Chicago would make the playoffs that year while the Knicks stayed at home, but it was Ewing and the Knicks that celebrated with a "gift" of a win on that Christmas Day in 1986. This would be one of the first few classic games between the two clubs throughout the rest of the 1980s into the 1990s.

1989: One of the most well-known baseball managers in recent memory died on Christmas Day in a one car accident. Billy Martin, a former player and five-time manager for the New York Yankees, died in Port Crane in the town of Fenton, NY. Martin, who was well-known for antics and drinking problem, was the passenger in the car with his friend William Reedy as the driver. It was reported that Martin was originally the driver of the car. But Autopsy forensic pathologist Michael Baden determined by the injuries to the right side of Martin's body that he had been the passenger in the car. Martin was part of four World Series championships as a player and delivered a "gift" to the Yankees as a manager with a title in 1977.

Sources:
Fanbase link about Chicago vs Stanford 1894 game
The Longest Day article about Dolphins-Chiefs game in 1971
NBA.com
wikipedia.com
Today in Baseball History