Nov. 4
Today in sports history
Today is Nov. 4. On this date in:
1923: Chicago Bears founder, co-coach and player George Halas returned a Jim Thorpe fumble 98 yards for a touchdown in a 26-0 victory over the Oorang Indians, setting an NFL record that stood for 49 years.
1951: The United States captured the Ryder Cup at Pinehurst, defeating Great Britain 9½-2½ with a team led by Sam Snead.
1959: Chicago Cubs slugger Ernie Banks was named National League MVP for the second consecutive season after another power-filled year at shortstop.
1961: Philadelphia Warriors star Wilt Chamberlain began an NBA-record streak of 65 consecutive games scoring at least 30 points.
1962: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Bill Gadsby recorded his 500th career point in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to reach the milestone.
1965: Johnny Kerr played his 844th consecutive NBA game, then a league record, as the Baltimore Bullets lost 108-107 to the New York Knicks.
1971: Los Angeles Lakers star Elgin Baylor retired because of persistent knee injuries, ending a 14-season career in which he scored 23,149 points and made 11 NBA All-Star teams.
1976: Major League Baseball conducted its first free-agent reentry draft, a landmark business event in the sport’s labor history that included stars such as Reggie Jackson, Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi and Willie McCovey.
1977: New York Rangers star Phil Esposito scored his 600th career goal in a 5-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks, becoming the third player in NHL history to reach the mark.
1980: Japanese home-run king Sadaharu Oh retired after a legendary career in which he hit a professional-record 868 home runs.
1987: Edmonton Oilers star Wayne Gretzky recorded his 1,000th career assist in his 645th NHL game, adding a hat trick in a 7-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
1988: The Charlotte Hornets played the first game in franchise history, losing 133-93 to the Cleveland Cavaliers before a sellout crowd at Charlotte Coliseum.
1989: David Robinson made his long-awaited NBA debut after fulfilling his U.S. Navy commitment, scoring 23 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98.
1989: The Orlando Magic played the first regular-season game in franchise history, losing 111-106 to the New Jersey Nets at Orlando Arena.
1993: The NBA Board of Governors awarded the league’s 28th franchise to a Toronto ownership group headed by John Bitove Jr., creating the Toronto Raptors, who began play in 1995.
1996: Houston Rockets forward Charles Barkley became the fourth player in NBA history to compile at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 3,500 assists as Houston defeated Utah 75-72.
2000: Grove City running back R.J. Bowers became the first player in NCAA history to surpass 7,000 career rushing yards, reaching the milestone during a 14-10 win over Carnegie Mellon.
2001: Luis Gonzalez singled home the winning run off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7 to win the first World Series championship in franchise history.
2003: The Big East announced a major expansion during a wave of college conference realignment, adding Louisville, Cincinnati and South Florida in all sports and DePaul and Marquette in sports other than football.
2003: New York Rangers captain Mark Messier scored twice in a 3-0 victory over the Dallas Stars to pass Gordie Howe and move into second place on the NHL’s career points list with 1,851.
2006: Carolina Hurricanes captain Rod Brind’Amour collected the 1,000th point of his NHL career during a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
2007: Minnesota Vikings rookie Adrian Peterson rushed for an NFL-record 296 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-17 win over the San Diego Chargers.
2009: Hideki Matsui drove in six runs, tying the World Series single-game record, as the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 to win their record 27th championship. Matsui was unanimously selected World Series MVP.
2012: Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 433 yards against Miami, setting an NFL rookie single-game passing record in a 23-20 victory.
2016: Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s NBA-record streak of 157 consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer ended.
— USA TODAY Network
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Today in sports history, November 4
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