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 lose to Milwaukee 142-118.

1985 — Edmonton's Jari Kurri scores his 100th point in the 39th game of the season with a goal in a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.

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.

1988 — Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson breaks his own world indoor best in the 50-yard dash at the Toronto Sun Challenge. Johnson crosses in 5.15 seconds to better the mark of 5.20 he set two weeks earlier.

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.

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.

2004 — Minnesota has its NHL record for most consecutive overtime games without a victory or defeat snapped at 15 with a 3-2 loss to Montreal.

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.

2005 — Irina Slutskaya joins the elite company of Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie by winning a sixth title at the European Figure Skating Championships.

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.

2007 — Kevin Garnett almost single-handedly snaps the Phoenix Suns' 17-game winning streak, scoring 44 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Minnesota's 121-112 victory.

2009 — Serena Williams, by reaching two finals at the Australian Open, breaks golf star Annika Sorenstam's record for career prize money by a female athlete with nearly $23 million. Williams pairs with older sister Venus to win the Australian doubles title, surpassing Sorenstam's total of $22.5 million.