Nov. 3
Today in sports history
Today is Nov. 3. On this date in:
1899: Heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries defeated Tom Sharkey by decision after 25 punishing rounds at Coney Island, New York, in one of the era’s most celebrated title fights.
1962: Wilt Chamberlain scored 72 points for the San Francisco Warriors in a 127-115 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, producing the fourth-highest single-game total in NBA history at the time.
1968: Graham Hill won the season-ending Mexican Grand Prix and clinched his second Formula 1 world championship.
1974: Boston Bruins forward Johnny Bucyk collected two assists in a 10-1 victory over Minnesota and passed Bobby Hull as the highest-scoring left wing in NHL history.
1982: Randy Smith appeared in his 845th consecutive NBA game, surpassing Johnny “Red” Kerr’s league record; Smith ultimately extended the streak to 906 games.
1987: New York Rangers center Marcel Dionne became the second NHL player to reach 1,700 career points when he scored in a 5-3 loss to Calgary.
1989: Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Alexander Volkov became the first players from the Soviet Union to appear in NBA regular-season games.
1989: The expansion Minnesota Timberwolves played their first NBA game, losing 106-94 to the Seattle SuperSonics.
1995: The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies won their inaugural games, marking the regular-season debuts of the NBA’s first Canadian franchises since the Toronto Huskies folded in 1947.
1995: Kevin Garnett made his NBA debut for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a loss to Sacramento, beginning a Hall of Fame career.
1996: Kobe Bryant made his NBA debut at age 18, playing six minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 91-85 victory over Minnesota.
2007: Hall of Fame coach Al Arbour returned from retirement for one game and recorded his 1,500th appearance behind the New York Islanders’ bench as they rallied past Pittsburgh 3-2.
2008: The Detroit Pistons traded Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson in a blockbuster exchange of All-Star guards.
2010: Paul Pierce scored his 20,000th career point on a late-overtime free throw and helped the Boston Celtics defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-102.
2011: Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne signed a seven-year, $49 million contract extension on his 29th birthday, then made 35 saves in a 3-0 shutout of Phoenix.
2018: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves in a 3-0 victory over Carolina and became the 29th goalie in NHL history to record 50 career shutouts.
2023: The NBA began group play in its inaugural In-Season Tournament, later renamed the NBA Cup, with seven games and specially designed tournament courts.
— USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, November 3
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