Jan. 26=
1913 — Jim Thorpe gives up his track medals from the 1912 Olympic games as a result of having been a professional. He had been paid $25 for playing in a semipro baseball game.
1924 — Charles Jewtraw of the United States wins the first Winter Olympic gold medal. Jewtraw wins 500-meter speedskating event with a time of 44.0 seconds. The "Winter Sports Week," held in Chamonix and Haute-Savoie, France, has 16 events including bobsled, curling, ice hockey, skating (figure and speed skating) and nordic skiing.
1960 — Pete Rozelle is chosen the new commissioner of the National Football League. He's elected on the 23rd ballot.
1986 — The Chicago Bears win their first NFL championship since 1963 by setting a Super Bowl-record for points scored in defeating the New England Patriots 46-10.
1991 — Houston guard Vernon Maxwell joins Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson and George Gervin as the only players in NBA history to score 30 points or more in a quarter. Maxwell scores 30 of his career-high 51 points in the fourth period to help Houston beat Cleveland 103-97.
1992 — The Washington Redskins win their third Super Bowl in 10 years, beating the Buffalo Bills 37-24, putting the game away with 24 straight points after a scoreless first quarter.
1996 — Three years after she won her last Grand Slam title on the same Center Court, Monica Seles wins her fourth Australian Open crown. Seles beats Germany's Anke Huber 6-4, 6-1 to claim her ninth major championship.
1997 — The Green Bay Packers, behind big plays, beat the New England Patriots 35-21 in the Super Bowl. Brett Favre finds Andre Rison for a 54-yard touchdown on the Packers' second offensive play, then throws an 81-yard TD pass to Antonio Freeman in the second quarter. Desmond Howard, the first special teams MVP, scores on a 99-yard kickoff return to put away the Patriots.
2002 — Jennifer Capriati produces the greatest comeback in a Grand Slam final to overcome Martina Hingis and defend her Australian Open title. Capriati saved four match points before clinching a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory over Hingis.
2003 — Tampa Bay beats Oakland 48-21 in the first Super Bowl matchup of the NFL's best offense against the best defense. The Buccaneers, led by Dexter Jackson's two interceptions, dominate the Raiders. Also, with two interceptions is Dwight Smith, who returns both of his picks for touchdowns, including a 50-yarder to finish off the scoring with 2 seconds left.
2019 — Naomi Osaka wins the Australian Open for a second consecutive Grand Slam title, edging Petra Kvitova 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-4. The victory allows the 21-year-old Osaka to become the first tennis player from Japan to reach No. 1 in the rankings.
2019 — Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States wins a World Cup women's bobsled race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, ending Germany's 24-race winning streak in World Cup and Olympic bobsled races going back to last season. Meyers Taylor and push athlete Lauren Gibbs beat the German sled driven by Stephanie Schneider and pushed by Lisa Sophie Gericke by six-tenths of a second, a huge margin in any sliding sport.
2019 — Natalie Geisenberger of Germany wins her fourth women's luge gold medal in Winterberg, Germany, to become the winner of more world championship gold medals than any other woman in luge history. Geisenberger gets her ninth world championship overall when adding team events and sprint races, one more than fellow German Tatjana Huefner for the most in women's luge.
Jan. 27=
1937 — Tris Speaker and Cy Young are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1969 — The Pittsburgh Steelers name Chuck Noll head coach. The 37-year-old Noll is the youngest head coach in NFL history at the time.
1973 — UCLA, led by Bill Walton, sets an NCAA record for consecutive victories with its 61st win, an 82-63 victory over Notre Dame. UCLA breaks the record of 60 set by San Francisco in 1956. Walton scores 16 points, grabs 15 rebounds and blocks 10 shots.
1982 — Geoff Houston of the Cleveland Cavaliers hands out 27 assists, two short of the NBA record and scores 24 points in a 110-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
1991 — The New York Giants survive the closest Super Bowl ever when Scott Norwood's 47-yard field goal attempt with 8 seconds left in the game goes wide. The Giants win their second Super Bowl in five years, 20-19 over the Buffalo Bills.
1993 — American Chad Rowan is awarded the highest rank in sumo wrestling, the ancient Japanese sport, making him the first foreign "yokozuna." The 6-foot-8, 455-pounder from Honolulu, becomes the 64th person to hold the top rank in the sport's history.
1996 — The U.S. Golf Association elects Judy Bell as the first female president in its 101-year history.
2001 — Jennifer Capriati upsets three-time winner Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-3 to win the Australian Open and her first Grand Slam tournament title.
2007 — Serena Williams wins her third Australian Open singles title, routing Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2. Unseeded and ranked 81st, Williams wins her eighth and most improbable Grand Slam. She is the second unseeded woman to win the Australian title in the Open era.
2008 — Novak Djokovic fends off unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the Australian Open final, earning his first Grand Slam title.
2011 — Roger Federer, the 16-time Grand Slam winner, is knocked out of the Australian Open by Novak Djokovic in a semifinal match, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-4. Federer's loss marks the first time since 2003 that he wouldn't hold any of the four major titles.
2013 — Novak Djokovic beats Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 to become the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles.
2013 — Little-known Max Aaron wins his first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and helps knock down three-time men's champion Jeremy Abbott to third place.
2013 — Speedskater Heather Richardson edges Canada's Christine Nesbitt in the final women's race to become the first American woman to win the World Sprint Championships since 2005. Richardson wins the overall title based on points, with a gold today to go with a pair of bronze medals yesterday.
2013 — The NFC blew past the AFC 62-35 in the Pro Bowl. Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph is voted the game's MVP with five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown.
2018 — Caroline Wozniacki captures her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, rebounding in the third set to beat top-seeded Simona Halep 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4.
2019 — Novak Djokovic wins his record seventh Australian Open championship and a third consecutive Grand Slam title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
Jan. 28=
1901 — The American League is founded. The league plans for a 140-game schedule, set player rosters at 14 and recognizes the Players Protective Association, the players' union.
1943 — Max Bentley of the Chicago Black Hawks has four goals and three assists in a 10-1 rout of the New York Rangers. Bentley scored all four goals and an assist in the third period. Max's brother, Doug, has four assists in the third period.
1949 — Monte Irvin and Ford Smith are signed by the New York Giants. They are the first black players to sign with the club.
1984 — Wayne Gretzky's record 51-game scoring streak is halted as the Angeles Kings post a 4-2 victory. Over the 51 games, Gretzky scored 61 goals and 92 assists.
1990 — The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the most lopsided Super Bowl. The 49ers are the first repeat NFL champion in a decade and tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with four Super Bowl wins.
1992 — Brett Hull becomes the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in 50 games more than once in a career when the St. Louis Blues tie the Los Angeles Kings 3-3.
1996 — The Dallas Cowboys become the first team to win three Super Bowls in four seasons with a 27-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2001 — Baltimore's brazen defense backs up its bragging by beating the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super Bowl. The Ravens intercept Kerry Collins four times, the final pick returned 49 yards for a touchdown by Duane Starks.
2007 — Roger Federer captures his 10th Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set at the Australian Open, beating Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4. The last man to go through a major without dropping a set was Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open. Federer is the first man in the Open era to twice win three straight majors and ties Jack Crawford's 73-year-old record by reaching seven consecutive finals in majors.
2011 — Oklahoma State shuts out Northern Colorado 44-0 to become the second Division I wrestling program in NCAA history to reach 1,000 wins in dual matches. Oklahoma State, winner of an NCAA record 34 team national championships, joins Iowa State as the only programs with at least 1,000 wins.
2012 — Towson ends its NCAA record 41-game losing streak with a 66-61 victory over North Carolina Wilmington. The victory is the first career win at Towson for coach Pat Skerry and the Tigers' first win since a win at La Salle on Dec. 29, 2010.
2014 — Calling the NCAA a dictatorship, Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and the United Steelworkers announce plans to form the first labor union for college athletes. Colter details the College Athletes Players Association at a news conference in Chicago, flanked by leaders of Steelworkers union that agree to pay legal bills for the effort.
2017 — Serena Williams wins her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her older sister Venus in the Australian Open final. With her record seventh Australian title, the 35-year-old Williams moves ahead of Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era.
2018 — Roger Federer becomes the first man to win 20 Grand Slam tennis singles titles, defeating Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 to capture his record-tying sixth Australian Open championship.
Jan. 29=
1950 — In an Associated Press poll of sports writers and broadcasters, Jack Dempsey is voted the greatest fighter of the past 50 years. Dempsey received 251 votes to 104 for Joe Louis.
1958 — The St. Louis Cardinals give Stan Musial a contract for $100,000, making him the highest paid player in the National League.
1963 — Eleven players and six officials are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Bronco Nagurski, Sammy Baugh, Dutch Clark, Johnny McNally, Ernie Nevers, Mel Hein, Pete Henry, Cal Hubbard and Don Hutson are the players. The six officials are Bert Bell, Joe Carr, George Halas, Curly Lambeau, Tim Mara and George Preston.
1971 — Hal Greer of Philadelphia becomes the sixth player in NBA history to score 20,000 points as the 76ers suffer a 142-118 loss to Milwaukee.
1984 — The East outlasts the West 154-145 in overtime in the All-Star Game in Denver. MVP Isiah Thomas scores all 21 of his points after halftime and adds 15 assists as the East overcomes a 14-point halftime deficit and Magic Johnson's record 22 assists.
1985 — Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders scores his 1,000th point with a goal in a 4-4 tie with the Minnesota North Stars.
1994 — Julio Cesar Chavez suffers his first loss in 91 fights when Frankie Randall knocks him down in the 11th round and wins the WBC super lightweight championship on a split decision.
1995 — San Francisco's Steve Young throws a record six touchdown passes, and the 49ers became the first team to win five Super Bowls with a 49-26 rout of the San Diego Chargers. Jerry Rice and Ricky Watters each tie the Super Bowl record with three touchdowns.
1997 — Brian Himmler rolls two perfect games to take the lead after the first two rounds of qualifying at the PBA's Columbia 300 Open.
2000 — Utah's Karl Malone becomes the third player in NBA history to score 30,000 points when he makes a layup with 8:53 left in the third quarter of a 96-94 loss to Minnesota.
2005 — Serena Williams fends off six break points in the fifth game of the second set, then wills herself to overcome an aching back in a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Australian Open final.
2006 — Roger Federer wins his seventh Grand Slam title, overcoming an early challenge from unseeded Marcos Baghdatis to win the Australian Open 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.
2010 — Bernard Lagat wins his eighth Wanamaker Mile at 103rd Millrose Games in New York. Lagat, who finishes in 3:56.34, had shared the record with Irish great Eamonn Coghlan.
2012 — Lydia Ko becomes the youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event by winning the Bing Lee/Samsung Women's NSW Open on the ALPG Tour. She is 14 and 8 months, one year younger than the previous youngest person ever to win a professional golf tour event, Japan's Ryo Ishikawa.
2012 — Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal to defend his Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final and becomes the fifth man to win three straight majors in the Open Era. Djokovic completes a 5-hour, 53-minute 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Nadal at 1:37 a.m.
2012 — Brandon Marshall catches six passes for 176 yards and a Pro Bowl-record four touchdowns and the AFC uses a second-half surge to beat the NFC 59-41.
2014 — Ben Scrivens sets an NHL record for saves in a regular-season shutout with 59 in a spectacular performance that help the Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks 3-0.
2017 — Roger Federer wins his 18th major title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to capture the Australian Open. Federer captures his first major title since Wimbledon in 2012 and his fifth Australian Open trophy.
Jan. 30=
1926 — The major league rules committee mandates that pitchers must have access to a rosin bag.
1971 — UCLA starts its 88-game winning streak with a 74-61 win over UC Santa Barbara.
1983 — John Riggins rushes for a Super Bowl-record 166 yards on 38 carries to spark the Washington Redskins to a come-from-behind, 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins. For Riggins, the game's MVP, it's his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game during the playoffs, also a record.
1992 — Jockey Mike Smith wins six races in one day at Aqueduct Racetrack for the second time in the month. His first six-winner day at Aqueduct was on Jan. 13.
1993 — Monica Seles beats Steffi Graf 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture her third straight Australian Open.
1994 — The Dallas Cowboys, behind MVP Emmitt Smith and safety James Washington, beats Buffalo 30-13 for their second straight NFL title while giving the Bills four straight Super Bowl losses.
1996 — Magic Johnson finishes with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-118 victory over Golden State. It Johnson's first regular-season game back from a 4 1/2-season retirement.
1999 — Martina Hingis wins her fifth Grand Slam title and third-straight Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over France's Amelie Mauresmo.
2000 — The St. Louis Rams hold on to beat the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in the Super Bowl. Kurt Warner's 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce with 1:54 left gives the Rams the lead. On the game's final play with six seconds left, Steve McNair's pass is caught by Kevin Dyson at the Rams 5. He scrambles for the end zone only to be stopped just one yard short by Mike Jones as Dyson's outstretched arm holds the ball near the goal line.
2001 — Daron Rahlves wins the super giant slalom, the first American to capture the event at the world championships.
2006 — Teemu Selanne scores two goals for his 1,000th career point in Anaheim's 4-3 overtime victory against Los Angeles.
2009 — Rafael Nadal holds off Fernando Verdasco in longest match in Australian Open history. Verdasco double-faults after saving two match points, and Nadal wins 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 in the 5-hour, 14-minute semifinal between the Spanish left-handers.
2010 — Maria Riesch of Germany wins a World Cup downhill race, ending Lindsey Vonn's perfect streak this season in the event. Vonn, who had six straight wins including the final downhill race of last season, finishes fifth.
2010 — Serena Williams puts an end to Justine Henin's hopes of a Grand Slam title in her return from retirement with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory in the Australian Open final.
2011 — Novak Djokovic wins his second Australian Open title, breezing past Andy Murray 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
2016 — Angelique Kerber upsets Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open title, ending the six-time champion's unbeaten streak in finals at Melbourne Park.
2018 — James Harden becomes the first player in NBA history to score 60 points as part of a triple-double and the short-handed Houston Rockets beat the Orlando Magic 114-107. Harden scores 18 points in the fourth quarter to eclipse the 57 points that Calvin Murphy scored in 1978 to break Houston's single-game scoring record. Harden also has 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
2019 — Lamont Evans, former Oklahoma State assistant basketball coach, pleads guilty to taking bribes from business advisers to steer them to star college athletes expected to turn pro.
Jan. 31=
1920 — Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs scores an NHL record seven goals in a 10-6 victory over the Toronto St. Patricks.
1941 — Joe Louis knocks out Red Burman in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to retain the world heavyweight title.
1950 — High school pitcher Paul Pettit signs with the Pirates for a record $100,000. To do so, Pittsburgh needs to purchase his contract from a film producer who had signed Pettit to an exclusive contract as an athlete/actor.
1988 — The Washington Redskins score 35 points in the second quarter to overcome a 10-0 deficit and beat the Denver Broncos 42-10 in the Super Bowl. MVP Doug Williams passes for four touchdowns and a record 340 yards. Timmy Smith rushes for a record 204 yards.
1991 — Michael Adams of the Denver Nuggets scores a career-high 45 points, hands out 12 assists and grabs 11 rebounds in a 123-119 win over New Jersey. The 5-foot-11 guard becomes the shortest player in the NBA to get a triple-double.
1993 — The Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl, beating Buffalo 52-17 and giving the Bills their third straight loss in the title game, a league record.
1998 — Martina Hingis, 17, becomes the youngest player in the Open era to defend a Grand Slam title, capturing her second Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Conchita Martinez.
1999 — John Elway gets his second straight Super Bowl ring, weaving his magic for the final time during the Denver Broncos' 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
2009 — Serena Williams routs Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to win the Australian Open — her 10th Grand Slam title — and return to the No. 1 ranking.
2009 — Bruce Smith and Rod Woodson are elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Senior nominee Bob Hayes and Randall McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson are also elected.
2010 — Roger Federer easily beats Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (11) for a fourth Australian Open championship and his 16th Grand Slam title overall.
2010 — Lindsey Vonn wins a super-G race, clinching the discipline title in the final World Cup race before the Vancouver Olympics. Vonn posts her ninth win of the season and third in super-G.
2011 — For the first time since the inception of the WTA rankings in 1975, the top 10 players hail from 10 different countries. With Danish player Caroline Wozniacki remaining at No. 1, the top 11 women are from 11 different countries.
2013 — Hannah Kearney, Heather McPhie and Eliza Outtrim complete an American sweep at a freestyle World Cup Moguls event at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. It's only the second sweep by U.S. women, with the other occurring Jan. 21, 2010, in Lake Placid, N.Y. Kearney won gold in 2010 as well, while McPhie took bronze behind Shannon Bahrke.
2015 — Serena Williams wins her 19th Grand Slam title and extends her decade-long domination of Maria Sharapova with a commanding 6-3, 7-6 (5) win.
2015 — Teen star Lydia Ko becomes the youngest golfer of either gender to reach No. 1 in the world ranking. The 17-year-old shares a second-place finish at the LPGA Tour's season opener, where she finishes a shot behind Na Yeon Choi in the Coates Golf Championship.
2016 — Novak Djokovic maintains his perfect streak in six Australian Open finals with a 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory that consigns Andy Murray to a fifth defeat in championship deciders at Melbourne Park. Djokovic equals Roy Emerson's long-standing record of six Australian Open titles.
Feb. 1=
1913 — Jim Thorpe, star of the 1912 Olympics, signs to play baseball with the New York Giants.
1914 — The Chicago White Sox and New York Giants play an exhibition game to promote baseball in Egypt. The game ends in a 3-3 tie.
1956 — Hayes Alan Jenkins leads the United States in a sweep of Olympic men's figure skating in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The silver goes to Ronald Robertson, and Jenkins' younger brother, David, wins the bronze.
1967 — The American Basketball Association is born. The league fields 11 teams in its first season.
1984 — David J. Stern becomes the NBA's fourth Commissioner, replacing the retired Larry O'Brien, who had served as Commissioner since 1975.
1995 — Utah guard John Stockton becomes the NBA's career assist leader, setting up Karl Malone with 6:30 left in the first half of the Jazz's 129-88 victory over Denver. Stockton's 9,922nd assist moves him ahead of Magic Johnson.
2003 — Regina Jacobs becomes the first woman to break four minutes in the indoor 1,500 meters at the Boston Indoor Games. Jacobs finishes in 3:59.98 to break the world record of 4:00.27 set by Romanian Doina Melinte in 1990.
2004 — The New England Patriots win their second Super Bowl in three seasons after Adam Vinatieri kicks a field goal with 4 seconds left to lift his team to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
2006 — New York's Epiphanny Prince scores 113 points for Murry Bergtraum High School in a 137-32 win over Brandeis High School, breaking a girls' national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller.
2008 — Jockey Russell Baze is the first to win 10,000th races in North America when he leads Two Step Cat to victory in the third race at Golden Gate Fields.
2009 — Rafael Nadal holds off Roger Federer in another momentum-swinging five-set final to win the Australian Open. Nadal needs 4 hours, 23 minutes to win 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2. The 22-year-old Nadal wins his sixth Grand Slam and becomes the first Spaniard to win the Australian title.
2009 — Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh offense end a Super Bowl of incredible swings with a final-minute touchdown for a historic victory, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals. Santonio Holmes makes a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining, lifting the Steelers to a record-setting sixth Super Bowl win.
2010 — UConn is No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll for a record 37th straight week, surpassing Louisiana Tech (1980-82) for the longest run atop the Top 25.
2014 — Oregon Institute of Technology men's basketball coach Danny Miles becomes the second men's coach at a four-year program to reach 1,000 career wins with a 71-51 victory over Corban. The 68-year old Miles has spent his entire career at Oregon Tech, where he has won three NAIA Division II national championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and recorded 10 seasons with 30 wins or more.
2015 — Novak Djokovic wins his fifth Australian Open title and extends Andy Murray's misery at Melbourne Park by beating the Scotsman 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-0.
2015 — Malcolm Butler intercepts Russell Wilson's pass in the end zone with 20 seconds left, helping New England hold on to beat Seattle 28-24 for their fourth Super Bowl title.
2016 — For the first time in more than eight years, Duke is not in The Associated Press men's basketball Top 25. The Blue Devils (15-6) had lost four of five, including two home games. They had been in every men's poll since the preseason rankings of 2007-08.
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