Today is Wednesday, November 12, 2014 Today in Sports History 1892 - William Pudge Heffelfinger became the first professional football player when he was paid a $500 bonus for helping the Allegheny Athletic Association beat the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. 1920 - Judge Keneshaw Mountain Landis was elected the first commissioner of the American and National Leagues. 1931 - Maple Leaf Gardens opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was to be the new home of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL). 1933 - In Philadelphia, the first Sunday football game was played. 1953 - The NFL policy of blacking out home games was upheld by Judge Allan K. Grim of the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. 1967 - The Detroit Lions set a National Football League (NFL) record when they fumbled the ball 11 times. They only lost possession five of the eleven times. 1972 - Don Shula, coach of the Miami Dolphins, became the first NFL head coach to win 100 regular season games in 10 seasons. 1996 - Dennis Rodmans World Tour 96 debuted on MTV.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 11:42:02 +0000