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Most Significant Sports History on November 24th
Learn about November 24th's most significant sports history including Wilt's historic 55-rebound day, numerous NFL rushing records, and more!
National Basketball Association
Filled with record-setting performances and career milestones, November 24th will always be remembered for the unprecedented numbers put up by two of the greatest football and basketball players in history — Wilt Chamberlain and Jim Brown. Two years after Pat Riley joined an exclusive list of coaches with his 200th victory as the Miami Heat HC on this date, Terry Porter capped off his lengthy career as the ultimate stat-sheet stuffer. These historic performances continue to set the bar for the best athletes in the world today.
This Date in @NBAHistory (11/24/60) Wilt Chamberlain pulled down an @NBA record 55 rebounds vs. Bill Russell and the @celtics. Wilt also scored 34 points. Despite Wilt's record-setting efforts, the @celtics defeated the @warriors, 132-129. (Photo: Wilt, @76ers vs. @celtics, '67) pic.twitter.com/12T40UIh5J
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) November 24, 2017
YEAR: 1960
SIGNIFICANCE: Philadelphia Warriors C Wilt Chamberlain collected an NBA-record 55 rebounds in a single game
A man who stood as tall as his unbreakable records, Wilt Chamberlain, commonly referred to as “Wilt the Stilt” was an unmovable force underneath the hoop in his heyday. The 7-foot-1, 275-pound monster outmatched his foes on a nightly basis, ripping down rebounds with an overbearing tenaciousness as he was crowned an 11x rebound champ during his 14 active seasons.
The peak of his prowess was on this day 60 years ago as the Philadelphia Warriors center gathered a still-NBA record 55 rebounds in a single game in which he couldn’t escape a narrow 132-129 defeat to his rivaled Boston Celtics. This season marked the pinnacle for Chamberlain’s rebounding efforts, amounting to an inconceivable average of 27.2 rebounds over the 79 games he played that year.
On this date in 1957, Jim Brown rushed for 237 yards and 4 TDs against the Rams. Fantasy leagues in 1957 would have been pretty boring unless you were the guy who had Jim Brown. pic.twitter.com/4ZDIWGvdLp
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) November 25, 2019
YEAR(s): 1957, 1996, & 2019
SIGNIFICANCE: Jim Brown set the single-game rush record on the same day of the year Barry Sanders & Frank Gore made history
A staple throughout this Significant History series, is Jim Brown’s presence as one of the most dominant players the NFL has ever seen. Long before shattering basically every single rushing record, Brown followed up his multi-sport, All-American career at Syracuse with a league-leading 942 rushing yards, nine TDs, and the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. After mustering just a single 100-yard day through his first eight games, however, Brown ripped the Rams on this date for an NFL-record 237 yards and four TDs on 31 carries in the 45-31 victory. In the NFL, only Brown himself would tie the mark in 1961 until Willie Ellison finally broke it in ’71.
In addition to the greatness of Jim Brown, another pair of outstanding backs reached iconic milestones on this date. First and foremost, Barry Sanders reached an unprecedented milestone with his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard season despite a loss to the Bears. The very first in NFL history with such a streak, he didn’t ever stop at just 1,000 yards. Averaging 1,465 yards per season over that stretch, his lowest season output came in 1993 when he missed five games and still reached 1,115 rushing yards.
Sanders would retire just two years later in 1998 after 10 seasons as a pro, but those final two seasons not only extended this record to a decade, but also included a record-setting 1997 during which he broke the single-season scrimmage yards record (2,358) and fell just 52 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s rushing record (2,105).
Lastly, the ageless Frank Gore also managed to pass the aforementioned Sanders on the all-time rushing list exactly a year ago. In his 15th season at the age of 36, Gore started eight games for the playoff-bound Bills, nearly topping 700 total yards, and found the end zone twice while splitting carries with rookie Devin Singletary. Although he had been a primary backfield option for the entirety of his career to that point, Gore accepted the timeshare in Buffalo and continues trucking along. Now sitting just under 1,000 yards behind the great Walter Payton, Gore might have to settle with third place behind “Sweetness” if 2020 is in fact his final season.
Emmitt. Payton. Gore.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 24, 2019
The moment Frank Gore passed Barry Sanders and became the third leading rusher of all time 🔥pic.twitter.com/HDf11WsvYw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCvnIuS2S3E
YEAR: 1976
SIGNIFICANCE: Reds 2B Joe Morgan was named NL MVP in back-to-back years, beating out teammate George Foster
After a 1976 campaign where he led the majors with a 1.020 OPS, Cincinnati Reds 2B Joe Morgan won his second consecutive NL MVP award. Morgan finished above his teammate OF George Foster and 3B Pete Rose, who finished in fourth-place. The native Texan became the first player to win back-to-back MVPs since Roger Maris in 1960-61 and the first NL player since Ernie Banks in 1958-59, nearly two decades later.
Morgan, nicknamed The Little General, guided the Big Red Machine through the 1976 World Series, where Cincinnati—after a 102-game winning season—won all of their seven postseason games for their third championship in franchise history. On October 12, 2020, Morgan passed away at 77 years old with the baseball community recognizing him as one of the greatest second baseman of all-time, and his second straight MVP award that was announced on this day almost half a century ago stands as a big reason why.
OTD: in 2001, Terry Porter becomes 1st in NBA history to have 15,000 pts, 7,000 assists, 1,000 steals, 1,000 3pts. http://t.co/kLcXOGBhd2
— COMC.com - Check Out My Cards (@CheckOutMyCards) November 24, 2014
YEAR: 2001
SIGNIFICANCE: Terry Porter became the very 1st player to record 15K career points, 7K assists, 1K steals, and 1K 3-pointers
More memorably known as the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2x All-Star, in the final season of his 17-year-long career Terry Porter of the San Antonio Spurs made a unique entry of his own into the history books. The 6-foot-3 point guard had produced seasons with averages in assists as high as 10, multiple years with two steals per game, and numerous seasons scoring upwards of 18 points a contest.
All of these grandiose accolades accumulated to the 38-year-old Porter becoming the only player to ever record 15,000 points, 7,000 assists, 1,000 steals, and 1,000 3-pointers in their career after dishing out three assists in a 99-94 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on this day almost two decades ago.
Nov 24, 1999
— Relive Sport History (@ReliveHistory) November 25, 2014
Miami Heat's Pat Riley earns win 200. That makes 200 wins with 3 teams@Lakers #Lakers@nyknicks #Knicks@MiamiHEAT #Heat
YEAR: 1999
SIGNIFICANCE: Head coach Pat Riley won his 200th game with the Miami Heat, the 3rd team he won 200+ games with
The Godfather of the NBA Pat Riley has had his handprints on the league ever since he became a player with the San Diego Rockets in 1967. The HOFer took over as head coach of the L.A. Lakers in 1981, replacing Paul Westhead and won his debut matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. In his nine years in L.A., he raised four championship banners but then departed for his home-state New York Knicks. In 1995, he found a long-lasting love in Miami as he took the helm of the Heat franchise.
On this date in 1999, 3x Coach of the Year Pat Riley logged his 200th win for Miami – a 93-91 victory over Atlanta – making him just the third coach to guide three different teams to 200 wins. The two other coaches to do so are Lenny Wilkens and Bill Fitch, but Riley holds a record of his own for the longest time between winning an NBA title as his first came in 1982 and last in 2006.
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