THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY - JANUARY 1ST

1838 - First official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide.

1919 - Rocky Graziano, New York City, US boxer (Middleweight champ) 

and entertainer (Pantomime Quiz, Miami Undercover) is born.

1925 - George Conner, NFL tackle, linebacker (Chicago Bears) is born.
1927 - Doak Walker, American football star (d. 1998) is born.

1927 - Dodgers announce release of future Hall of Famer Zack Wheat.
1935 - First Sugar Bowl & first Orange Bowl.

1954 - Rose & Cotton Bowl are first sport colorcasts.

1967 - Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys 34-27 in NFL championship game.
1967 - KC Chiefs beat Buffalo Bills 31-7 in AFL championship game.
1969 - Jack Kent Cooke, owner of NHL's LA Kings, fines each player 

$100 for "NOT" arguing with the referee.
1970 - Charles "Chub" Feeney becomes president of baseball's National League.

1980 - Alabama beats Arkansas in Sugar Bowl for college football championship.
1981 - Georgia beats Notre Dame in Sugar Bowl for College Football title.
1982 - Clemson wins the Orange Bowl for College Football championship.

1983 - Penn State beats Georgia in Sugar Bowl for college football title.
1986 - Oklahoma wins Orange Bowl for College Football championship.

1986 - Bruce Norris, American hockey executive (Detroit Red Wings) (b. 1924) dies.

1988 - Miami beats Oklahoma for college football championship.
1990 - Sports News Network begins operation on cable TV.

1998 - Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (31 Grand Slams), dies at 92.
2010 - Suicide car bomb detonates at a Volleyball tournament 

in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100.