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Most Significant Sports History on December 16th
Learn about December 16th's most significant sports history including numerous passing records, NFL undefeateds, OJ's RUSH record, and more!
@Saints/Twitter
Filled with a plethora of NFL records, the 16th of December is remembered fondly for the achievements of a career-long Knick as well as a number of legendary NFL QBs. Not only was perfection officially achieved in Miami (and Canton), but the 2,000-yard rushing threshold was also broken exactly one year later. All-time legends like Brett Favre and Drew Brees reached career milestones on this date, but the history of December 16th runs incredibly deep.
#TBT to @ProFootballHOF QB Y.A. Tittle's record breaking 1962 and 1963 seasons. He was the first QB ever to have consecutive 30 TD seasons. pic.twitter.com/ThkKaKpFph
— NFL Alumni (@NFLAlumni) March 2, 2017
YEARS: 1962, 2007, & 2019
SIGNIFICANCE: Multiple single-season and career PASS records were set by Drew Brees, Brett Favre, and Y.A. Tittle
After proving the doubters wrong in 1961 and leading the New York Giants to the NFL Championship game, 35-year-old Y.A. Tittle wasn’t finished yet despite planning to retire after the next season. After tying the NFL record with seven TD passes in a victory over Washington in October, Tittle came into the season finale against Dallas on this day with 27 on the season. He proceeded to light up the Cowboys for 341 yards and SIX touchdowns in the 41-31 victory to bring his total to 33, breaking Sonny Jurgensen’s record of 32 TD passes set just a season earlier.
Near the end of his final season in Green Bay, Brett Favre officially became the NFL’s all-time leader in PASS yards exactly 45 years later, putting the game’s evolution over half a century into perspective. While the aforementioned Tittle would retire as the league’s career leader in YDS (28,339), TD (212), ATT (3,817), and CMP (2,118) over 17 seasons, Favre surpassed most of those by his eighth season. Surpassing Dan Marino’s career mark of 61,361 passing yards in a rout of the St. Louis Rams, Favre would continue with the Jets and Vikings until 2010, retiring with a final total of 71,838 career passing yards.
12 years after Favre’s monumental achievement, Drew Brees toppled a different career passing record on Monday Night Football — per usual. Completing 29-of-30 passes for 307 yards, Brees’ four TDs brought his career total to 541, breaking Peyton Manning’s all-time record in a 34-7 shellacking of Manning’s former team (Colts) ironically. In addition to the career record, Brees’ 96.7% completion rate also broke a single-game record as he went on a personal-record run of 22 consecutive completions. By the end of the night, Drew Brees officially became the NFL’s all-time leader in career YDS, TDs, CMP, and CMP%.
On this day in 2007, Packers QB Brett Favre passed Dan Marino to become the NFL's career passing yards leader. pic.twitter.com/S9B6yzgVeQ
— Sports Anniversaries (@SportsAnnys) December 17, 2016
History: Drew Brees throws his 540th career TD pass, passing Peyton Manning for the most all time.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 17, 2019
- Brees: 540 (& counting)
- Peyton: 539
- Brady: 538 (& counting)
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/ubXwCGhstk
YEAR: 1972
SIGNIFICANCE: The Dolphins completed the very 1st undefeated regular season in the NFL’s modern era
Though every team strives for perfection, rarely is it ever achieved — especially in professional sports. Back in the NFL’s inaugural season (1920), the Akron Pros managed an 8-0-3 record to win the league’s first championship. Then, from 1922 through 1923, the legendary Canton Bulldogs squad — led by HOF HC/E Guy Chamberlin — won 25 straight (three ties) and consecutive NFL Championships with their second undefeated season completed exactly 97 years ago. The 1929 Packers also compiled a record of 11-0-1 to win their first title, but lost to the non-NFL Memphis Tigers on this exact date to put a smear on their perfect record.
Under George Halas, the Bears completed perfect regular seasons in both 1934 (13-0) and ’42 (11-0), but lost the Championship game both times. Exactly 49 years after Canton’s second straight title, however, the Miami Dolphins successfully completed the very first undefeated season of the modern era. Led by the league’s top-ranked offense and defense, the Dolphins dominated the ground game and became the first team with two 1,000-yard rushers (HOF FB Larry Csonka & HB Mercury Morris). Sweeping through the AFC Playoffs and Super Bowl, Miami would eventually cement their names in NFL lore with the first (and only) true perfect season.
YEAR: 1973
SIGNIFICANCE: OJ Simpson broke Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record and became the 1st to 2,000 yards
Five years removed from his Heisman Trophy and six years from his collegiate National Championship, OJ Simpson finally reached the level of stardom the Buffalo Bills anticipated when selecting him first overall in 1969. After uninspiring rushing outputs in his first three seasons, the final top draft pick in AFL history finally broke out with a 1,200-yard 1972 campaign, then took it to an entirely new level. In 1973, the “Juice” didn’t just break Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record the next year — he shattered it.
On a career-high 332 carries over all 14 games — including a record-setting Thanksgiving performance — he officially broke the record on this date in a season-ending victory over the Jets. OJ didn’t stop there, however, as he would finish the day with exactly 200 RUSH yards to bring his season total to a whopping 2,003 yards. The very first in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard threshold, he obviously led the league with an average of 143 YPG along with 12 TDs en route to his NFL MVP and AP Athlete of the Year Awards.
Wilt Chamberlain started an @NBA record run of 7 straight games where he scored 50 points or more #OTD 1961 pic.twitter.com/srMlxkjcxw
— John Casey (@JohnCasey2880) December 15, 2015
YEAR: 1961
SIGNIFICANCE: Wilt Chamberlain began a record streak of 7 consecutive 50-point games
Sporadically clocking in over 50 points a contest was a feat that the mammoth of a man, Wilt Chamberlain, became accustomed to in his day. The 7x scoring champion churned out terrific point-production in his usage over the years, but none more spectacular than in the 1961-62 season. “The Record Book” set sail that season on a momentous expedition that saw him average the most points ever (50.4) and the most minutes ever (48.5), playing nearly every minute of every game including OT, thanks to his ridiculously high motor.
The former college track and field star’s stamina was unmatched and starting on December 16th of that season, Chamberlain’s scoring plateaued at the astronomical baseline of 50 points. The first of seven-straight 50+ games for the Philadelphia Warriors’ centerpiece came against the Chicago Packers in a slim 112-110 win. This inhuman production rate was, at last, halted on December 30th in a loss to that season’s champion Boston Celtics. The only other players in history to sniff Wilt’s string of 50-pieces are Elgin Baylor’s three-game streak (1962) and Kobe Bryant’s four-game streak (2007).
🐐 x 🐐
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 16, 2019
This Day in Knicks History: Patrick Ewing passes Walt Frazier to become the Knicks’ all time-leading scorer. #NewYorkForever pic.twitter.com/GR5xVzK16u
YEAR: 1993
SIGNIFICANCE: Patrick Ewing passed Walt Frazier to become the New York Knicks’ all-time leading scorer
Turning back the calendar to December 16th, 1993 would see the moment that the 1985 No. 1 overall draft pick Patrick Ewing emerged as the New York Knicks’ most prolific scorer of all-time. In a cross-conference rivalry game between the L.A. Lakers and New York Knicks at MSG, 7-foot-tall Ewing added to his team’s landslide 108-85 win with a hefty 27 points. Those buckets that day, also, thrusted him past 2x NBA champion (1970, 1973) and unforgettable Knicks PG Walt “Clyde” Frazier on the franchise’s all-time scoring list.
Mounting Frazier’s 14,617-point mark, paint presiding Ewing continued to devastate defenses, yet never captured that ever-elusive title. Ewing’s 15-year stay in NYC came to a close in 2000 as he departed for Seattle. The 14x playoff appearance career of Ewing as a Knick concluded with a prolific 23,665 points, and the HOFer sits No. 23 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 24,815 after retirement in 2002, and still remains the Knicks all-time points leader by a wide margin.
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