Many historical events and memorable occurrences have taken place on November 27th, some good, some bad. One of the NFL’s most promising Safeties of the 21st century passed away on this day while his team celebrated the anniversary of the highest scoring game in the history of the league. Wilt Chamberlain made history with his unstoppable buckets, a NBA losing streak reached it’s peak, Joe DiMaggio collected a couple HOF resume builders, and just a year ago, Anthony Davis destroyed his former team.

Jaime Segui & Alex Raphael covered the MLB & NBA sections in this article.

DC Highs & Lows

YEAR: 1966 & 2007

SIGNIFICANCE: WAS defeated the NYG in the highest-scoring NFL game AND Sean Taylor was murdered in his Florida home

Nearly seven decades ago on this day, District of Columbia Stadium (later renamed RFK) hosted what remains the highest-scoring game the NFL has ever seen. Although the traveling 1-9-1 New York Giants managed to put up 41 points in DC, they also gave up 72 — the highest single-team score in NFL regular season history and just one less than the all-time record (1940 NFL Championship). Featuring a total of 113 points as a result of 16 TDs and a FG, Washington forced five INTs and returned a fumble 63 yards for a TD to put the Giants away early despite a four-TD second half from New York.

On a much more somber note, this date in 2007 also marks one of the darkest moments in DC sports history. A top-five pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, Sean Taylor had already proven his worth as one of the league’s brightest young defensive talents with eight forced fumbles and 12 INTs in just three and a half seasons. A bone-crushing hitter with ridiculous range and ball skills on the back end, he made his first Pro Bowl in 2006 and began the next season with five INTs through nine games.

Clearly oozing with natural talent, teammates believed the birth of his daughter helped get his priorities in order and catalyzed him to an entirely different level of play. Then, on November 26th, 2007, an intrusion on his Miami home turned fatal as he was shot in the leg in an effort to protect his family. Fortunately, his fiancee and 18-month-old daughter weren’t injured, but Taylor’s severed femoral artery caused massive blood loss and he passed away the next day. Posthumously named to his second Pro Bowl, Taylor’s death remains one of the most heartbreaking tragedies in recent sports history.

Consecutive Buckets

11/27/63: The Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain sets a record by hitting 18 straight shots. pic.twitter.com/PtGunAtN8G
— Yankee Archive (@YankeeArchive) July 16, 2019

YEAR: 1963

SIGNIFICANCE: Wilt Chamberlain set the record for most consecutive made FGs in a game (18)

In the early days of the NBA, a man by the name of Wilt Chamberlain dominated the association and his legacy continues to maintain its greatness as “The Big Dipper” has over 70 NBA records, one of which he set on this day in 1963. This record came at the dismay of the Knicks who were the recipient of Chamberlain’s clobbering as he made 18 field goal attempts in a row to fuel his San Francisco Warriors over New York, 118-89. This rate of efficiency and consistency is unmatched by league legends young and old as Chamberlain’s 7-foot-8 wingspan and 7-foot-1 stature allowed him to score over any opponent with ease.

Record Losing Streak

Philadelphia 76ers set record for longest losing streak in major U.S. pro sports history with 27 straight losses. pic.twitter.com/oW5R3Oy8q6
— Sporting Minute (@sportingminute) November 28, 2015

YEAR: 2015

SIGNIFICANCE: James Harden’s 50-piece gave the 76ers their 27^th straight loss, the most in professional sports history

Creeping up on the third-place rank for the most 50-point games in NBA history is James Harden, currently with 23, but “The Beard” has been churning out performances of this variety since 2015. One such game came versus a slumping Philadelphia 76ers squad who, on this date half a decade ago, took a tough 116-114 loss to Houston, representing their 27^thstraight loss spanning over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

This horrid string of games in the loss column set the record for not just the NBA but all professional sports across the board as the worst losing streak ever. The skid would end soon as they only dropped one more game to complete the record at 28 losses. This pre-Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons Sixers team, in fact, broke their own record of 26 consecutive losses that they succumbed to in the 2013-14 season. They would stumble to the finish line of the 2015-16 season with a dreadful 10-72 record, the third-worst record in the history of the NBA.

DiMaggio's MVPs

YEARS: 1941 & 1947

SIGNIFICANCE: Joe DiMaggio was named MVP in 1941, thanks to his record 56-game hit streak, and won again in 1947

Yankees OF Joe DiMaggio was named AL MVP on this day in 1941. DiMaggio was crowned the AL’s best player thanks in large part to his record-setting 56-game hit streak, which still stands to this day. DiMaggio beat Boston Red Sox OF Ted Williams in the voting, creating controversy among the writers and fans. Williams in 1941 became the last hitter to ever record a .400 AVG, signifying two of the greatest seasons in MLB history occurring simultaneously. What gave DiMaggio a leg up in the voting was his role in the 101-win Yankees squad despite Williams leading the league in almost every category (except RBIs, which DiMaggio led with 125).

History repeated itself six years later when future HOF again finished ahead of Williams in the AL MVP voting. This time, Joltin’ Joe beat him by just one vote. This was Joe’s third career MVP award and similar to ’41, Ted’s defeat caused the people to question the writers’ decision. Williams had a 9.5 WAR compared to DiMaggio’s 4.6, in addition to winning the Triple Crown, the second of his career. Interesting enough, Williams won the Triple Crown in 1942 and ’47, but he somehow did not win the prestigious award in either of those years whereas it’s usually a lock for individuals who accomplish such an impressive feat.

AD's Revenge Game

YEAR: 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Anthony Davis set an NBA record for the most PTS by any player in their 1st matchup against their former team

The New Orleans Pelicans, formerly known as the Hornets, made terrific use of the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by selecting a cornerstone player out of the University of Kentucky in Anthony Davis. The squad from the bayou held onto their 6x All-Star and defensive menace for seven seasons, but the tides turned with “The Brow” wanting out in search of a new scenery after a lack of playoff success in the Big Easy.

Davis would land in L.A. alongside LeBron James where he made a splash with the Lakers in his vengeful first matchup versus his former team, exactly a year ago today. AD showed no mercy to the booing fans of the Smoothie King Center by recording the most points ever scored by a player in their first game against their former team (41). Davis would make the game-sealing steal and a pair of free throws to edge out the Pelicans 114-110 behind his 41-point eruption, extending L.A.’s win streak to nine games and arguably the most significant performance of his regular season career to this point.