On this date: 1973 — Orlando Cepeda first player signed to be a designated hitter
Associated Press
Jan. 18
1938 — Grover Cleveland Alexander is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. His 90 shutouts is second on the all-time list to Walter Johnson and his 16 shutouts in 1916 is the major league record.
1958 — Canadian born Willie O'Ree becomes the NHL's first black player for the Boston Bruins.
1972 — The Lakers' Jerry West hits a last-second, 20-foot jumper to lead the West team to a 112-110 NBA All-Star victory over the East and earn the MVP award.
He signs with the Boston Red Sox one week after the designated hitter rule is approved.
1976 — Pittsburgh wins the Super Bowl for the second straight year. Terry Bradshaw's 64-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann and Glen Edwards' interception on the last play of the game gives the Steelers a 21-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Swann, with four receptions for 161 yards, is the game's MVP.
1992 — Brett Hull scores two goals with the help of linemate Wayne Gretzky to lead the Campbell Conference to a 10-6 victory over the Wales Conference in the NHL All-Star game.
1994 — The Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat combine for an NBA-record 23 3-point baskets. Los Angeles sets a team record with 11 3-pointers in a 126-124 win.
1996 — Baseball owners break with more than a century of tradition by unanimously approving interleague play in 1997.
2003 — Michelle Kwan wins her sixth straight title, and seventh overall, at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Michael Weiss, despite splattering on his quad lutz, two-footing a quad toe and not doing a triple axel the entire competition, gets his third U.S. men's title.
2004 — The New England Patriots earn their second trip to the Super Bowl in three seasons by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 24-14 in the AFC championship game. The Philadelphia Eagles fall one win short of the Super Bowl for the third straight year as the Carolina Panthers post a 14-3 win.
2005 — Earl Boykins breaks the NBA record for points in an overtime, scoring 15 of Denver's 21 points in the extra period as the Nuggets beat the Seattle SuperSonics 116-110. The 5-foot-5 guard, the league's smallest player, broke the record of 14 overtime points set by Butch Carter of Indiana against Boston on March 20, 1984.
2009 — Ryan Smyth and Milan Hejduk score their 300th career goals in Colorado's 6-2 victory over Calgary to become just the second set of players in NHL history to reach the milestone in the same game.
