This day in sports history

Dec. 31 marks several milestones in sports history. Here’s a recap of what transpired on this last day of the year:

In 1924, Victoria Manalo Draves was born. The Fil-Am could’ve become the first and only Olympic gold medalist from the Philippines but chose to compete for the US at the 1948 London Summer Games. She won two gold medals in springboard and platform diving then visited the Philippines in a sentimental homecoming as President Quirino’s special guest.

In 1954, the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons and the Minneapolis (now Los Angeles) Lakers gave new meaning to the term “streetball” as fouls took them to the stripe for an NBA-record 127 free throws. The Lakers won, 103-91, in what was described by sportswriters as a “hackfest.” That season, the Pistons advanced to the Finals but lost in a seven-game thriller to the Syracuse Nationals who took the clincher via a 92-91 squeaker.

The Pistons stars included Larry Foust, George Yardley and Max Zaslofsky. The Lakers were led by Vern Mikkelsen, Clyde Lovellette and Slater Martin while the Nationals mainstays were Dolph Schayes, Paul Seymour, Red Rocha, Red Kerr and Earl Lloyd.

In 1964, one of the world’s greatest indoor and beach volleyball players Liz Masakayan of UCLA was born in Quezon City. Like Draves, she opted to play for the US indoor volleyball team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Masakayan and Karolyn Kirby are ranked as the No. 2 beach volleyball pair of all time with 29 career wins, including 26 on the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association circuit.

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In 1967, the Green Bay Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys before 50,861 fans in freezing temperature at Lambeau field. At the start of the National Football League (NFL) championship game, the reading was 14 degrees below zero and it was 12 degrees below zero at the end.

What was remarkable was how the players went about their business on the turf whose under-heating system didn’t work and nobody in the stands left to find refuge from the cold.

The fans were treated to a historic climax as Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown with 13 seconds to play as the Packers nipped the Cowboys, 21-17. If Starr hadn’t scored, the Packers could’ve tried to knot the count with a field goal on fourth down and send it to a sudden-death overtime.

But Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi said he ruled out an option to tie. It was do or die for the Packers. Luckily for the hosts, Starr delivered in the clutch. “We didn’t want a tie,” said Lombardi. “We had compassion for those spectators. We wanted to send them home right then.” Whether Lombardi was serious or not couldn’t be ascertained because Green Bay had no timeouts left with the clock almost out.

According to writer William Wallace of the New York Times, the players risked frostbite and played over a thin layer of ice covering the frozen grounds of the Packers stadium.

In 1970, Bryon Russell was born. He will be remembered for his one-on-one defense against Michael Jordan in the Chicago-Utah series for the NBA title in 1998. In Game 6 at Salt Lake City, Jordan stole the ball from Karl Malone on the Jazz’ side of the court, raced to the top of key on the Bulls’ side, pushed Russell away and hit a jumpshot at the buzzer to lift Chicago to an 87-86 win for the crown. There was no whistle on Jordan’s push but it was clear that Russell was thrown off-balance for his Airness to take an uncontested shot.

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In 1972, Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente was killed on a mission of mercy when the cargo Douglas DC-7 plane he had chartered to bring relief to earthquake victims in Nicaragua crashed into the Caribbean waters shortly after takeoff from San Juan. He was 38. His body was never recovered. A year later, Clemente was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame, the only player ever for whom the mandatory waiting period of 60 months was waived. He played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was named the National League MVP in 1966 and took MVP Finals honors in 1971. The San Juan stadium is named in Clemente’s honor.

In 1973, Notre Dame, led by quarterback Tom Clements, beat top-ranked Alabama, 24-23, in a Sugar Bowl thriller that featured six lead changes at the Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. It was Irish coach Ara Parseghian’s second national football title. Notre Dame wound up the season with a perfect 11-0 record.

In 1988, Pittsburgh star Mario Lemieux, only 23, scored five goals in five separate ways – even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot and into an empty net – to lead the Penguins to an 8-6 home win over the New Jersey Devils in the National Hockey League (NHL).

In 1999, Brett Hull of the Dallas Stars became the 12th player in NHL history to notch 600 goals when he netted two shots in a 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in Texas. He reached the milestone in his 900th game. Only the legendary Wayne Gretzky (718th game) and Lemieux (719th) did it sooner.

You can make your Dec. 31 equally memorable by doing something positive and making a difference in someone’s life. It’s a good way of ending the year on a high note to ring in a new beginning of hopes, wishes and dreams for 2010. Happy New Year to one and all!