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Most Significant Sports History on November 30th
Learn about November 30th's most significant sports history including the conclusion of the Negro Leagues, the Jags' birthday, and more!
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Inc.
Known for numerous significant events, the final day of November holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Jacksonville, as their very first professional franchise was born over a quarter of a century ago. November 30th also marks the official disbandment of the “Negro National League”, which was prompted by the integration of MLB. Additionally, one of the winningest coaches in NBA history took over a 5-17 team to begin an incredible turnaround all the way to the NBA Finals and a rare player-manager was awarded the AL MVP.
YEAR: 1948
SIGNIFICANCE: Baseball’s “Negro National League” officially disbanded due to the integration of MLB
For nearly 40 years, the Negro National League gave African-Americans the only opportunity to play professional baseball. The Negro Leagues had a lot of success during the 1920s and the years after the Great Depression by featuring some of history’s greatest talent like Satchel Paige (who made his MLB debut earlier in 1948), Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell.
However, that all changed in 1947 when Jackie Robinson made his MLB debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers and began the integration era of baseball. In 1948, the National Negro League officially disbanded after it failed to keep their best talent from leaving to the Major Leagues. It took until the 1960s for all of the Negro League teams to officially fold.
#OTD in 1996, Michael Jordan became the 10th player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points. #TBT pic.twitter.com/HstPhzHulx
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 30, 2017
YEAR: 1990 & 1996
SIGNIFICANCE: Michael Jordan hit the 25K points mark AND Larry Bird reached 20K points, 5K assists, and 5K rebounds
On the final day of November in 1990, the Boston Celtic HOFer and 3x NBA champion Larry Bird summited in his career-long journey to 20,000 points to accompany his 5,000 assists, and 5,000 rebounds. This feat came in a victorious 125-95 thumping in the Garden at the expense of the Washington Bullets.
In the NBA’s history, Bird was just the fifth player to attain such a highly valued statistical status, with the only others to that point being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Havlicek, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West. Bird reached this royal achievement in his second to last season with a steady average of 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists in every game he played over the course of his incredible career.
Six years down the line on the same day, Chicago Bulls SG Michael Jordan managed to claim another memorable milestone as the premier face of the NBA. Two seasons before he would retire for the second time, Jordan blasted past the 25,000 point-mark to continue his ascension as the greatest player of all-time. He was only the tenth player in history to light up the scoreboard at this unprecedented rate and magnitude doing so in a mere 782 games, the quickest of any player ever with the exception of Wilt Chamberlain (691).
The tongue-out 10x scoring champion dropped 35 points to rise above the San Antonio Spurs 97-88 in the record-making matchup, improving his Bulls’ win-loss record to an almost blemish-free 15-1. When it was all said and done, Jordan would complete his astounding career with 32,292 points, at the time seated third on the all-time scoring list, behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
📌40 years ago today, November 30, 1977
— 🖼️NFT is Life (@NFT_Promoter) November 30, 2017
Lenny Wilkens replaced Bob Hopkins as coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, who at that time had a 5-17 record. Under Wilkens, the Sonics went 42-18 for the rest of the season and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/LumwPeIYQm
YEAR: 1977
SIGNIFICANCE: Lenny Wilkens was hired OTD as the 5-17 Supersonics HC and ended up taking them to the NBA Finals
The Seattle Supersonics started with head coach Bob Hopkins at the helm to tip-off the 1977-78 season. However, Hopkins only made it to November 30th of that year as Seattle’s former point guard Lenny Wilkens stepped into the spotlight as head coach of a struggling 5-17 team. Newly, under Wilkens’ reign, the Sonics did a 180 degree turn around as they finished the rest of the season 42-18 to lock up the third seed in the Western Conference.
This would be the peak of Wilkens’ win-loss ratio for his head coaching career (.700), and Seattle came just one game shy of topping off the season with a championship as they dropped Game 7 to the Washington Bullets 105-99 in the Finals. The mastery of Lenny Wilkens was paid tribute prior to him seeking retirement in 2005 as he was inducted as a HOFer for coaching in 1998, to follow up his first induction as a player in 1989.
Lou Boudreau had 676 plate appearances in 1948.
— ⚾ J. Daniel ⚾ (@JDaniel2033) December 19, 2017
He struck out 9 times.
He also managed the team.
H/T @jpballnut pic.twitter.com/fjAcaKxs4S
YEAR: 1948
SIGNIFICANCE: SS/MGR Lou Boudreau was named MVP after winning the WS despite midseason trade rumors
Seven years after being named the youngest ever manager in MLB history, Lou Boudreau won the AL MVP award the same year he led his team to a World Series. The Indians shortstop and manager hit .355/.453/.987 with 18 home runs and 106 RBI (all of those numbers were career-highs). Also during that season, Boudreau was part of some midseason trade rumors that had him going to the St. Louis Browns.
Boudreau stayed with Cleveland and managed to win the franchise their most recent World Series championship (longest active drought in MLB). The Illinois native played 13 of his 15 Major League seasons with the Indians, where he had an OPS of .798 during that span, won a Batting Title, and made six All-Star games.
November 30, 1993 at 4:12 p.m.
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) November 30, 2019
On this day, the Jacksonville Jaguars became an NFL Franchise. pic.twitter.com/n8Y04dvOBN
YEAR: 1993
SIGNIFICANCE: Jacksonville, FL was granted the NFL’s 30th franchise
In 1993, the NFL was looking to further expand to 30 teams and granted Charlotte, NC the league’s 29th franchise in October. Delaying an announcement on the 30th team for over a month later, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue officially awarded the second team to Jacksonville, FL on this date 27 years ago despite Baltimore and St. Louis being the favorites for expansion. After numerous failed attempts to lure a team into relocating, the city’s pipe dreams of becoming a pro football town were finally fulfilled as the Jaguars would debut on September 3, 1995 against the Houston Oilers.
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