The most memorable games played on New Year’s Eve

Not only was this bout notable that it was held on New Year’s Eve, but within the history of sports in North America. On this night in Coral Gables, Fla., the great Jake LaMotta was knocked down for the only time in 106 fights that spanned his legendary career. It came courtesy of Danny Nardico, described as a “fighting marine,” who floored LaMotta early in the seventh round of a match that was shortly called after by his corner. LaMotta would fight just three more times before retiring for good, while Nardico’s legacy was determined on this New Year’s Eve in Florida. 

With six NFL championships and four Super Bowls, the greatest — and likely most memorable — game in Green Bay Packers history came on New Year’s Eve 1967 — otherwise known as the “Ice Bowl.”  With a trip to Super Bowl II on the line, temperatures more than minus-30 degrees (with the wind) and the Lambeau Field turf essentially frozen solid, Green Bay’s Bart Starr followed a Jerry Kramer block into the end zone for a 1-yard score in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter, after the Cowboys went ahead on Lance Renzel’s 50-yard TD pass from Dan Reeves, to give the hosts an eventual 21-17 victory, according to lore. Starr and three Dallas players, George Andrie, who returned a fumble for a touchdown, Willie Townes, and  Dick Daniels, suffered frostbite.

It was a memorable Notre Dame moment,and one amid frigid temperatures. Undefeated but underdogs to the top-ranked Crimson Tide, Notre Dame wasn’t phased. In a highly competitive, instead back-and-forth contest, Alabama went ahead 23-21 with 9:33 remaining in the fourth quarter when Mike Stock caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Richard Todd. However, Notre Dame marched down the field and took the lead via Bob Thomas’ 19-yard field goal with 4:26 to play in the game. The Irish defense held, stunning the mighty Crimson Tide and their faithful.

This New Year’s Eve spectacle on the ice was always going to be more than an exhibition that was part of the Soviet tour. Held at the famed Montreal Forum, many of those in attendance, or who watched from afar, have dubbed this the greatest hockey game ever played. Perhaps because these were the two greatest hockey teams on the planet at the time. Filled with many of the franchise’s legends, Montreal led 2-0 on goals by Steve Shutt and Yvon Lambert. The Habs held a 3-1 advantage in the second period, but Ken Dryden struggled in goal, and the Soviets eventually tied the game. Famed Soviet netminder Vladislav Tretiak proved to be the star of the night with a 35-save performance.

New Year’s Eve ’83 proved to be quite an entertaining day of playoff football in the NFL. First, the second-seeded Dolphins were the defending AFC champions, noticeable favorites over the wild-card Seahawks, and led 13-7 at halftime. However, Seattle turned three second-half Miami turnovers in 13 points and Curt Warner, who rushed for 113 yards, scored both of his touchdowns after halftime to help the visitors pull off the upset. The Dolphins, meanwhile, turned the ball over five times on the day.

Hours after the Seahawks stunned Miami, the 49ers needed to rally to prevent visiting Detroit pull off the day’s second playoff road win in a matchup of NFC division winners. Behind backup quarterback Gary Danielson, the Lions more than held there own as three Eddie Murray field goals and two fourth-quarter touchdown runs from Billy Sims gave them a 23-17 lead in the waning minutes of the game. But, Murray also missed a pair of field goals in the fourth. San Francisco’s Joe Montana hit Freddie Solomon for a 14-yard touchdown with 1:23 remaining in regulation and Ray Wersching’s extra point proved the difference. 

Perhaps the most infamous sporting event played on the New Year’s Eve. There was plenty of intrigue with this matchup even before the thick fog rolled in off Lake Michigan and encompassed Soldier Field, so even those on the field could not see the game action. It was Mike Ditka against his former defensive coordinator, now Eagles coach, Buddy Ryan. The Bears never trailed and forced four turnovers, including three Randall Cunningham interceptions, most notably by Maurice Douglass, who burned down the sideline into the fog with fans not knowing whether he scored a touchdown or not. It might have been the most memorable NFL game nobody could witness. 

Houston won the two regular-season meetings with Pittsburgh, and there was no love lost between venerable Steelers coach Chuck Noll and brash Oilers’ boss Jerry Glanville. A pair of Ernest Givins fourth-quarter touchdown catches from Warren Moon put Houston up 23-17 with a little more than 6 minutes to play in the game. However, Pittsburgh forced overtime on Merril Hoge‘s 2-yard score. After Rod Woodson recovered an Oilers fumble in overtime, Gary Anderson connected on his fourth field goal of the game, from 50 yards, to give the Steelers the victory in this gritty battle.

Talk about ushering in the new year with some offensive fireworks. This high-scoring contest between the Empire State rivals featured eight goals combined in the third period, 69 combined shots and 26 penalties issued. Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny and Yuri Khmylev each recorded a hat trick, while teammate Pat LaFontaine had five assists. Fellow Sabre Brad May also posted the infamous “Gordie Howe” hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight. New York netminders Mike Richter and John Vanbiesbrouck combined to make just 22 saves. 

It can be argued that more drama involved these teams before the game than during. Off-field issues by some Hokies players and the future of coach Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech made headlines. Texas had a 30-year-old player using an assumed name and out of college eligibility, and the Longhorns claimed the latter proved to be a serious pre-game distraction for a squad with one loss and a tie and was riding a six-game winning streak. The Hokies’ Brian Still caught six passes for 119 yards with a touchdown and returned a punt for a score, and Virginia Tech stymied the Texas offense en route to closing the season on a 10-game winning streak after starting 0-2.

This was a barnburner and a great way to close out the 2011 college basketball calendar year. Ohio State was the second-ranked team in the country, while the Hoosiers was also a top-20 program. It was a close contest throughout. The Buckeyes, behind 16 points from Aaron Craft and 15 with nine rebounds courtesy of Jared Sullinger, shot 49 percent, but committed 17 turnovers. None bigger than when Craft threw the ball away with his team up 70-69, which turned into a go-ahead reverse layup from Victor Oladipo with 36 seconds left in regulation. 

Those hockey fans outside of Montreal or South Florida likely don’t remember this regular-season contest that proved one of the most controversial game’s of the campaign . First, Panthers fans were displeased with the 7 p.m. Eastern start time, which was switched from 5 p.m. to accommodate Canadian television. But would likely impede the host supporters’ New Year’s Eve celebration fans. On the ice, third-period goals from Florida’s Shawn Matthias and Tomas Fleischmann ended the 1-1 stalemate on a night when Canadiens star P.K. Subban was allegedly the recipient of a racial slur from Florida’s Krys Barch, who received a 10-minute game misconduct for the incident that was reportedly heard by linesman Daren Gibb. Subban apparently never heard the taunt, but the situation dominated the postgame and resonated for a time. Barch received a one-game suspension.

Both of these college football heavyweights entered the final game of 2012 at 10-2. But, LSU was favored and led 24-13 entering the fourth quarter, even though it managed 219 total yards on the night. However, the Tigers finally got serious in the final period, scoring 12 unanswered points, including a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tajh Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins with 2:47 remaining. Boyd and Hopkins hooked up again on 4th-and-16 with a 26-yard passing play to keep the game’s final drive alive. Chandler Catanzaro then kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired for Clemson’s comeback victory.

This wasn’t a particularly good way to send out the year for two of college basketball’s brightest blue bloods from the ACC. We start with ninth-ranked North Carolina, which suffered losses to ranked teams in Indiana and Kentucky prior, and faced a Georgia Tech squad that would lose 16 games in 2016-17. However, on this afternoon in Atlanta, the Tech defense was the story, as the Tar Heels shot 33.3 percent, including 5-of-26 from 3-point range, and committed 20 turnovers. Georgia Tech, which overcame a three-point halftime deficit, recorded 15 steals and got 26 points from Josh Okogie.

While the Tar Heels struggled in Georgia, Duke was just as miserable in Blacksburg. The fifth-ranked Blue Devils entered 12-1, but were held to 41.8 percent shooting, made just five 3-pointers and went a dismal 14-of-22 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Hokies made a sizzling 55.2 percent of their shots and went 8-of-13 from a distance en route to the massive victory. Justin Bibbs‘ 18 points led six Virginia Tech players in double figures. 

The marathon aspect of an NBA regular season doesn’t always produce many memorable games on a consistent basis. However, on this New Year’s Eve, the Lakers and Rockets played as if they didn’t want 2017 to end . The visiting Lakers shot 50.5 percent for the game and led 72-65 at halftime. They led by as many as 17 and got 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists from Julius Randle, but he, Jason Hart (26 points) and Tyler Ennis (20 points, 11 assists) each fouled out. Meanwhile, the Rockets got back in the game thanks to James Harden, who finished with 40 points and 11 assists, and Chris Paul, who had 28 and 10 dimes. But, it was P.J. Tucker‘s rebound and layup (his only points of the night) with 5.7 seconds remaining in the second overtime that broke a 142-142 tie. 

This was not the prettiest of NBA games. Neither the Bulls or Pacers shot better than 42 percent. However, three players posted double-doubles, and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan hit one of the most memorable shots in the regular-season history of the franchise. With the Bulls down 106-105 in the waning seconds of regulation, and following a Pacers miss, Chicago’s Coby White (24 points), got the rebound while on the floor. DeRozan then calmly dribbled up the floor and just to the right of the top of arc, but well behind, threw up a one-footed dagger that went in as the buzzer sounded. 

Yes, UConn would go on to win the 2023 national championship, but on this New Year’s Eve, Xavier was the better team,and handed the Huskies their first loss after opening 14-0 . Led by 16 points and 11 rebounds from Zach Freemantle, the Musketeers often frustrated UConn during this spirited affair. Trailing by a point at halftime, Xavier shot 53.8 percent for the game and went 23-of-28 from the free-throw line, where UConn had just nine attempts, making four. Thus adding to the frustration of Huskies coach Dan Hurley, who received a technical foul during a key stretch of the second half. Xavier closed on a 9-2 run.

Michigan was 13-0 and believed this to be a national championship-caliber team. The Wolverines, who boasted a defense that allowed an average of 13.4 points, were 7 1/2-point favorites against the upstart Horned Frogs, who were coming off a loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game. TCU jumped to a 14-0 lead and never trailed while amassing 488 yards, including 263 on the ground. Michigan also allowed Quentin Johnson to record 163 yards on six receptions and a touchdown while pulling off the upset. Now, Horned Frogs, we won’t bring up the national championship game.